Franklin Regional runners aim for success at WPIAL meet

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 23, 2017 | 5:33 PM

The Franklin Regional boys and girls cross country teams are coming off solid performances at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association championship meet in Youngwood. The boys finished seventh out of 13 teams, and the girls finished fifth out of 12 teams.

“I thought they both competed well,” coach Jim Passarelli said. “It was a longer course, so I am sure that it may have affected us a little bit, but everyone had to run it.”

The boys were led by senior Matt Busche, who placed fourth in 17 minutes, 33.4 seconds, followed by senior Hunter Fishell in 29th, sophomore Jacob Brush finishing 50th, senior Dacey Soltesz in 51st and senior Matt Pekarcik in 54th.

“The boys have had a great season so far,” Passarelli said. “Matt Busche has been a special part of this team. He has everything in being a leader. He has fun and keeps it cool with his teammates. They love working together.”

“I think we all ran pretty well at the meet,” Busche said. “Some of us didn't have fresh legs from training for the WPIAL race. But I think both the boys and girls teams ran very well and had a strong finish to the regular season.”

The girls were led by senior Clare McCarthy, who was fifth (20:45), followed closely by senior Sterling Simek, in 11th (21:19). Freshman Maria Brush finished in 32nd, junior Kaitlyn Kitch finished 39th and freshman Abbey Myers finished 44th.

“Clare is a workhorse,” Passarelli said. “All of the hard work that she has been putting in over the years has paid off, and it shows with the continual drop of her times. Clare and Sterling have been great senior leaders for this team.”

With the WPIAL cross country championships set for Thursday, the boys and girls are in preparation to make sure they meet their goals and expectations for the season.

“We will go in and compete, that is all you can ask,” Passarelli said. “For the boys, we have four seniors who are motivated to finish strong, and I think Matt can make a run at states. And for the girls, we have two great seniors in Clare and Sterling we want to send off on a high note and would like to see both of them competing at states.”

“Knowing our seniors, we will finish off the season strong and give all we've got in the playoffs,” Busche said. “I'm hoping to qualify for states again this year and hopefully place in the top 25 in the state championship.”

The WPIAL championship will take place Thursday at Cooper's Lake Campground in Slippery Rock.

Cody Scott is a freelance writer.

Tags: Franklin Regional