With senior Michael Costello out front, Fox Chapel cross country dominates section meet

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, October 4, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Michael Costello got the result he was searching for during the WPIAL Section 4-3A cross country meet Oct. 1 in Apollo. Costello wanted to perfect how he finished races and wanted to find a way to beat Kiski Area’s Samuel Plazio.

Plazio had finished ahead of Costello several times this season, including most recently at the Foundation Meet in Hershey. Costello, a senior, had the right kick to finish the race in 16 minutes, 38.70 seconds to beat Plazio by nearly four seconds.

“I know he is super talented and works hard,” Costello said. “I’ve raced him all four years in high school. It was a goal of mine to be with him and compete against him. I decided for this race to stick with him, and that was part of my strategy. Luckily, at the end, I had some extra juice today.”

Costello’s performance helped cap a successful day for the Fox Chapel cross country team, which won the boys and girls team titles. The Foxes boys program has now won seven consecutive section titles.

The girls won for the first time since 2023. Fox Chapel coach Thomas Moul is happy with how Costello has taken over as the team’s top runner.

“Michael has needed to improve on how he finished races,” Moul said. “Michael’s been embracing the leadership role. There’s a freshman, Asher Eckel, who has been with him in training. He’s been taking him under his wing.”

Costello said he feels lucky to have had strong teammates to grow with in previous years. When it comes to races this year, Costello is learning to be more confident with decisions he makes.

“In those years, it was easy to model my performance after those guys,” Costello said. “This year, it’s been more of me making my own decisions in races, trying to represent myself well and serve in a similar role for younger kids. We have a talented squad.”

Fox Chapel’s boys team won with 26 points, which was ahead of second-place Kiski Area. Nolan Gwin placed third (17:03.20), Eckel fourth (17:11.10), Nolan ninth (17:42.90) and Victor White finished 11th (18:00.60).

On the girls side, Fox Chapel’s young runners helped the Foxes win with 24 points, which was 24 in front of second-place Kiski Area.

Freshman Claire Loudice was the Foxes’ top finisher, placing third with a time of 20:21.90. Bridget Hemingray finished fifth (20:26.2), Cecilia Ressler sixth (20:29.10), Sydney Kimmons seventh (20:34.50) and Maeve Sherry, in eighth (20:35.80), rounded out the top five for Fox Chapel.

“They’ve been pretty steely,” Moul said. “They haven’t shied away from any pressure so far.”

Costello is also looking to continue to perform well as the meets increase in magnitude. The major focus for Costello has been with how to finish a race.

“It’s always mentally hard to finish a race when you feel like you’ve been running as hard as you can for 4.5K already,” Costello said. “It comes down to confidence. It’s really easy to get into the mindset that it’s not worth it. I’m not sure if I can do it. I want to stay confident.”

Tags: Fox Chapel