Stroup Leads the Juniata Boys Cross Country Team to a 7th Place Finish at the PIAA Hershey Foundation Invitational on Saturday, September 23

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: September 23, 2023

Courtesy of Shari Miller

Junior Wyatt Stroup placed 9th with a time of 17:02 on the very challenging Hershey course to make the podium. He was followed by junior Joey Bomberger in 40th place in a time of 17:56 and Junior Wesley Ehrisman in 41st place with a time of 18:01. Rounding out the scoring for the Indians was sophomore Levi Zeiders in 96th place in a time of 19:07 and freshman Coy Kerstetter in 157th place in a time of 20:04. Junior Teagan Trout ran to a 196th place finish in a time of 20:38. Freshman Joel Hardin placed 268th with a time of 24:05. Junior Charlie Telfer ran to a time of 24:01 on the day. The Juniata boys finished in 7th place with 322 points out of 40 AA teams. Grove City won the AA team division with 83 points. 277 runners took part in the AA race. Ringgold’s Ryan Pajak won the boys race with a time of 15:48.

Juniata Coach Jeff Miller said “The boys ran great as a team today. They didn’t let the cold rain and mud get to them. Wyatt ran like he was on a mission. He was extremely focused today to prove to himself he can be in contention of a state medal when the time is right. Levi ran his best race of the season. Coy ran a very good race for a freshman on this challenging course.”

In the girls AA race, freshman Sylvia Brubaker ran to a 43rd place finish with a time of 21:33. She was followed by Jessie Bomberger in 127th place with a time of 24:05. Other scoring finishers for the Indians were Hannah Book in 199th place for a time of 27:39, Izabella Sanders in 203rd place with a time of 27:58, and Jordana Steffen in 222nd place in a time of 32:38. The girls team finished in 28th place as a team with 721 points. Danville girls won the team title with 66 points. Baylee Espinosa from Lewisburg Area won the race with a time of 19:18. 233 girls took part in the AA race.

Juniata Coach Jeff Miller said “Overall the girls ran well today. Sylvia would have made the podium, but ran into stomach issues with 400 meters to go and lost well over a minute since she had to walk some. She was sitting in 18th place at the time. I was proud of her for not giving up and finishing the race. Jessie ran a solid race in cold and muddy conditions. For Hannah, Izabella, and Jordana, this was their first time on this very difficult course. They all ran with heart. Izabella came very close to running a personal best. I told the girls before the race they would have a good day if they could be within a minute of their time on the BVI course and most of them were.”

Juniata competes again on Wednesday, September 27th at Susquenita High School.