SPRING MILLS — The girls and boys cross country teams from Clearfield High School headed to Spring MIlls on Tuesday to face Mountain League opponent Penns Valley.
The girls came away with a hard earned 26-33 victory to get to 7-0 on the season, while the boys were outran 18-41 to fall below .500 at 3-4.
The win caps off an undefeated Mountain League season for the girls team.
State College was alo running in the tri-meet, but Clearfield was not scoring against them.
Top finisher for the Clearfield girls was Paige Miksell in 21:48, who finished fourth overall. The top time for the Clearfield boys was Jon Sponsler’s 18:46 that placed him eighth overall.
Clearfield head coach John Jacob had this to say about the close win over their hosts, “Today was a total team effort for the girls. Going into the first mile we were losing 30 to 25 but the girls maintained their focus and kept executing their race strategies. By the end of the third mile Claire Mikesell had passed two Penns Valley runners and was working her way towards their number one runner. Coach (Todd) Winters and I have been very impressed with the way Claire has been running races the entire season and she has really made a surprise impact on the entire team. Next was Courtney Smith, who was also able to work her way through the pack and pass Penns Valley’s second place runner. Courtney and Claire make a very potent one-two punch. Both girls have finished as the top runner for our team this season and they continue to make each other better every day at practice. Next were Kristi Fox and Emily Aveni , both runners ran smart races by picking their way through the pack and were able to put themselves in great position by the end of the race to help the team . The heart of our team has been Morgen Turner, Emily Hoover and Macy Forrest. All three girls have moved into scoring position by the end of all of our races this season. They may not stand out as the top runners but all three girls have contributed to make this a successful season.”
The boys team continues to improve according to Coach Jacob, “The boy’s team may not have been able to come away with the victory but they were able to come away with some fantastic times. Coach Winters and I are always looking for our runners to make themselves better through the entire season and that is what the boys have been able to accomplish. Along the way they continue to improve their team record each year. Jon Sponsler was the top finisher on the boy’s side today. Once again he was able to control his pace through the first mile of the race and then make his way through the pack to place very high in the overall standings. Our next group of runners – Josiah McClaren, Vince Kovach and Kenton Climie executed their race strategies and have continued to work their way towards their end of the year goals. While our third pack of runners – Kyle Thompson, Matt McKenzie and Jacob Ryan are also running very well are on the brink of moving into scoring position in almost every meet.”
The final dual meet for the Bison teams will be October 11 when they host Hollidaysburg.
To follow will be the Mountain League and District 9 Championship races.
Girls Results:
1. Hannah Catalano SC 20:22
2. Becca Johnson Cur 20:23
3. Alyssa Limbaugh PV 20:24
4. Claire Mikesell C 21:48
5. Victoria Scuth SC 21:48
6. Courtney Smith C 22:15
7. Shannon Piagott SC 22:19
8. Ellie Mhawdo SC 22:26
9. Emma Federinko PV 22:56
10. Stephanie Williams SC 23:27
Other Clearfield Finishers:
14 Kristi Fox 23:42
17 Emily Aveni 24:17
25 Macy Forrest 25:03
26. Morgen Turner 25:04
30 Emily Hoover 25:27
39 Sierra Jones 26:59
45 Jessica Shomo 27:43
46 Devan Sponsler 27:44
47. Jill Heichel 28:23
Boy’s Results
1. Michael Decker PC 17:07
2. Connor Stashko SC 18:08
3. Eric Heatwole SC 18:09
4. Chase Davis SC 18:14
5. Alex Decarle SC 18:38
6. Chase Davis SC 18:43
7. Nick Fuller PV 18:44
8. Jon Sponsler C 18:46
9. Phil Claurer SC 18:50
10. Seamus Wagner SC 18:51
Other Clearfield Finishers:
26 Kenton Climie 20:08
28 Vince Kovach 20:09
32 Josiah McClaren 20:16
34 Matt McKenzie 20:41
37 Jacob Ryan 20:48
44 Kyle Thompson 21:59
46 Shane Graham 22:16
48 Malav Patel 22:20
50 Matt Beichner 22:25
53 Tyler Pike 23:32
56 Matt Bell 24:25
57 Samuel Evans 28:04
Clearfield Bison Scoreboard:
| BOYS | GIRLS | ||||
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Score | Record |
| 09/01 | @ Big Valley Invitational (Mifflin Co.) | 10th | 0 – 0 | 7th | 0 – 0 |
| 09/08 | @ Spiked Shoe Invitational (PSU) | 22nd | 0 – 0 | 16th | 0 – 0 |
| 09/11 | Tri-Meet @ Bellefonte | ||||
| vs. Bellefonte | 45 – 18 | 0 – 1 | 22 – 39 | 1 – 0 | |
| vs. Philipsburg-Osceola | 17 – 46 | 1 – 1 | 15 – 45 | 2 – 0 | |
| 09/18 | TRI-MEET @ HOME | ||||
| vs. CENTRAL | 17 – 44 | 2 – 1 | 16 – 45 | 3 – 0 | |
| vs. CENTRAL MOUNTAIN | 35 – 22 | 2 – 2 | 25 – 30 | 4 – 0 | |
| 09/25 | Tri-Meet @ Tyrone | ||||
| vs. Tyrone | 33 – 22 | 2 – 3 | 23 – 36 | 5 – 0 | |
| vs. Bald Eagle Area | 20 – 42 | 3 – 3 | 15 – 50 | 6 – 0 | |
| 10/02 | @ Penns Valley | 18 – 41 | 3 – 4 | 26 – 33 | 7 – 0 |
| 10/11 | HOLLIDAYSBURG | ||||
| 10/17 | Mountain League Championships (@ PV) | ||||
| 10/27 | D9 Championship @ Ridgway Elem. School | ||||