Bell, Cubbison lead MC XC to top 10 finish
Early Saturday morning on a cold rainy day, the Mifflin County Boys’ Cross Country team took the long ride to Big Springs High School for the Mid Penn Championships. The Huskies returned home cold, wet and with a top ten finish under their belts.
Miff County ended up 10th in a 28 team battle for the MP crown. State College, Hershey and Chambersburg finished 1-2-3. All three teams were ranked in Pennsylvania. Viney Raman from Hershey took the individual title in 15:54 over a soggy 5000 meter course.
Caden Bell placed first for MC clocking in at 17:24 (35th) with Reese Cubbison three seconds behind in 17:27 (37th). With a third PR in his last three races Aidan Scavitti 18:15 (69th) was next with Cody Fultz only a step behind in 18:16 (70th). Styers Oden ran 18:42(98th) while Wyatt Kauffman finished in 18:50 (100th) and Koy Aurand 18:54 (107th).
“During our pre-race course walk, we talked about the course being soft and slick from all the rain. There was mud and puddle hazards that needed focused attention. This was not a day to worry about times but it was about going out and competing. Run hard, do you best and the times and places take care of themselves. The Mid Penn is a premier league in the state. We’re happy the kids were top ten”.
“Caden and Reese have been pushing and pulling each other all season. It’s nice to have them working together to achieve faster race times. Aidan has been really putting things together the last few weeks and dropping time. Cody is keeping our middle tight and Styers is doing the job. Wyatt and Koy are freshmen getting varsity experience.”
In the JV Tim Cook race Hart Oden took 13th (18:36) and Hoyt Rodenbaugh 24th (18:54) to finish on the medal stand. Camryn Treaster was 91st (20:55) with Logan Breneman 102nd ((21:05), David Snyder 153rd (23:14) and Nathan Goss in 186th (25:57).
The JV boys were the fourth race of the day and the course was starting to show the signs. The mist falling most of the day turned into a steady soaker shortly before the race’s start.
“Our JV’s ran well. For a couple it was their first rainy day race. The learning curve is pretty steep and they are learning how to race in different conditions.”
Caden Bell summed up the experience perfectly stating,
“Today’s race was definitely an example of true cross country racing. On days you like today, you have to put aside the finish time, and focus on having fun and enjoying the sport for what it really is.”