Three Juniata Cross Country Runners get on the Podium at Paul Short Invitational

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: October 1, 2023

Courtesy of Shari Miller

The Juniata Cross Country team competed at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University on Saturday, September 30. In the boys white race, junior Wyatt Stroup lead the Indians with a 4th place finish with a personal best time of 16:19.6. Junior Joey Bomberger was next on the team finishing 21st with a time of 17:00.3. Other scorers for the Indians were sophomore Levi Zeiders placing 74th with a time of 18:17.7, junior Teagan Trout placing 159th with a personal best time of 19:30.5, and freshman Coy Kerstetter placing 163rd with a personal best time of 19:32.8. Also competing for the Indians were junior Charlie Telfer finishing 311th place with a season best time of 22:23.4, freshman Joel Hardin finishing 332nd with a time of 23:22.0, and junior Wesley Ehrisman who did not finish due to an ankle injury. The winner of the boys white race was Isaac Greene from Blair Academy with a time of 16:03.7. The Juniata boy’s team placed 12th out of 38 teams.

In the girls white race, the Indians were lead by freshman Sylvia Brubaker placing 13th with a time of 19:44.4. She was followed by junior Jessie Bomberger placing 151st in a time of 23:50.8. Rounding out the scoring for the team were freshman Hannah Book placing 192nd with a personal best time of 24:45.4, freshman Izabella Sanders placing 243rd with a personal best time of 26:42.4, and freshman Jordana Steffen finishing 314th with a personal best time of 30:00.5. The winner of the girls white race was Madison Hedglin from Dallas with a time of 18:26.9. The Juniata girls team placed 29th out of 38 teams.

Juniata Coach Miller said “I think the kids raced well today on a less than perfect course. The course was very soft and had several muddy sections especially on the turns. Wyatt had a great day taking the lead at the gun and then settling into his pace. He stayed strong and determined. Joey’s 21st place got him a podium position. It was nice to see Teagan and Coy get personal best times. Charlie ran to a season best time which is nice to see after he had knee surgery from a track injury this past spring. Unfortunately, Wesley had to drop out shortly after the 2 mile mark due to an ankle injury. We hope that it is a minor injury and doesn’t affect his possibility of making it to the state meet in about a month. Sylvia ran a good race to receive a podium position for her efforts. Hannah and Izabella were able to get personal best times by almost a minute on this muddy course. Jordana’s goal for the day was to break 30:00. She was very close by running a 30:00.5, but her efforts got her over a 2:00 personal best time.”

Juniata’s next meet will be on Tuesday, October 10 on their home course at East Juniata High School for the TVAA Championship meet.