Young Franklin Regional cross country teams each take 6th at WCCA meet
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Friday, October 11, 2019 | 5:28 PM
Penn-Trafford’s Joseph Whipkey, left, competes side-by-side with Franklin Regional’s Carson Yohe, right, in the boys’ varsity race during the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association’s cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 at the cross country course located at Westmoreland County Community College’s campus.
Sophomore Mia Tarantini was the only Franklin Regional cross country runner to earn a medal last Wednesday at the annual Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association meet at Westmoreland County Community College.
She finished 12th in a time of 20 minutes, 53.9 seconds.
Both the boys and girls squads finished sixth in the team standings.
“We knew it was going to be very competitive and tough to medal,” Franklin Regional coach Jim Passarelli said. “I’m happy with the way we ran. We were able to make some positive steps.”
The top 15 in each race earned medals.
Both Franklin Regional teams are loaded with underclassmen.
Tarantini led the girls. She was followed by junior Abbey Myers (30th, 22:22.2), sophomore Alexis Haines (34th, 22:37.9), sophomore Khara Grieco (38th, 22:51.5), sophomore Sam Fersch (40th, 23:00.5), junior Mia Rossi (45th, 24:00.8) and junior Isabel Snyder (53rd, 24:48.9).
“We’re young,” Passarelli said. “There are a lot of young teams this season. We’ll have to continue to work hard and try to move forward. I’m excited about our future.”
The boys were led by sophomore Nicolas Provenzo, who placed 19th with a time of 17:48.3. He’s the younger brother of Mark, who was a two-time champion.
The others to compete for the Panthers were sophomore Bennett Kerr (21st, 15:55.5), sophomore Alex Duffus (28th, 18:19.3), junior Justin Haines (30th, 18:22.4), junior Cameron Oaks (32nd, 18:23.8), sophomore Carson Yohe (38th, 18:51.5) and freshman Gino Piraino, (56th, 20:04.9).
Greensburg Central Catholic sophomore Corinn Brewer won the girls WCCA race in 18:54. Latrobe senior Rachel Harter, a four-time placewinner, was second with a time of 20:00.3, followed by Hempfield junior Lily Schmadel (20:12) and Greensburg Salem senior Jamie Tanto (20:14.7).
Hempfield won the team title with 54 points, ahead of Greensburg Salem (76) and Kiski Area (85).
The Norwin boys, minus top runner junior Alex Jubert, ran away with the boys team title with 43 points. Leading the way was senior Jacob Tarosky, who won in 16:18.5. Kiski Area (71) and Latrobe (73) finished second and third, respectively.
Greensburg Salem’s Noah Calistri (16:45), Norwin’s Dominic Spatolisano (16.47), Latrobe’s Justin Carlson (16.47) and Latrobe’s Joseph Hill (16:52) rounded out the top five in the boys race.
The Franklin Regional runners will compete at the WPIAL championship meet Oct. 24 at Cal (Pa.).
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Franklin Regional
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