Hornet XC teams end year at District Meet

By: Ed Weaver  /  October 30, 2015

The Wellsboro Cross Country teams ended the 2015 season at the District IV Meet on Thursday, October 29 at Bloomsburg University.

The boys team finished sixth out of 14 teams in Class A and the girls were 8th out of 11 teams in Class AA in the rain and high winds. As successful as these runners have been all season, today was a tough day for the Hornets. Sophomore Anna Bleggi and freshman Aidan Perry were both vying for State Championship Meet qualifications and unfortunately things didn't go as planned.

Bleggi placed 12th overall (20:55) and missed the cut-off for states by two places. Perry had his own difficulties today as he experienced severe stomach cramps early on in the race and wasn't able to get his legs under him to get into contention. Perry finished 25th on the day with a time of 19:16.

"As a coach who has seen how hard these athletes train and compete it's hard to swallow such a humbling experience," said head coach Ron Brought. "I'm extremely pleased with how hard they tried and the courage it took to keep fighting even when they faced adversity but I was far more impressed with how they handled themselves after they didn’t meet their goal."

Junior Alden Weiner (19:11) finished in 23rd to lead the boys, Connor Brought (19:17) was 26th, freshman Bergen Weiner (20:05) was 42nd, freshman Zach Busch (20:06) was 43rd, junior Bryon Callahan (20:10) was 47th, and sophomore Kyle Wilson (21:49) was 73rd.

In the girls race, senior Samantha Bailey (23:20) was 37th, freshman Kara Doane (24:51) was 52nd, senior Camryn Keane (24:59) was 56th, freshman Zoe Iseri (25:03) was 57th, freshman Taylor Romania (25:23) was 61st, and senior Jordyn Coffee (26:49) was 74th.

Seven of the runners (Alden and Bergen Weiner, Brought, Busch, Bailey, Doane, and Bleggi) all ran their personal best times on the Bloomsburg course.

As I have seen all season, these kids have the tenacity to deal with whatever happens and still compete to the best of their ability," Brought concluded. "As a first year coach I was extremely lucky to be involved with this team and these kids and I take a lot of pride in saying I'm their coach."