Sophomore Brian Iatarola led the way for West, taking 12th overall in 16:46. Classmate Rock Fortna also broke 17 minutes, clocking 16:59 and claiming 16th place. The sophomore duo's performances earn them 2nd and 3rd Team All-League honors, respectively. Brian Mass was the 2nd freshman in the field, placing 27th overall in 17:18 to claim All-League Honorable Mention honors. Sophomore Declan McDonald (30th, 17:25) and freshman Ben Smullen (32nd, 17:30) also performed solidly to wrap up the scoring with a 44-second 1-5 gap. Sixth man and junior Trevor Belding displaced Hatboro-Horsham and Quakertown's 5th men as well as all but one of Souderton's varsity men. Seventh man Teagan Fortna made his varsity debut, displacing Quakertown's 5th man and Souderton's 2-5 as well. Every place and displacement mattered, as the Bucks defeated Hatboro by just one point and Quakertown by just two points! West put all five varsity scorers in the top 57% of the field.
West's athletes made a strong statement in the JV race on Friday, placing 4 runners in the top 20 of the 392-man field. West also had 15 athletes in the top 100 finishers. 85% of CBW's JV competitors finished in the top 40% of the field.
Juniors Ian Davies (3rd, 17:26), Beckett Wilson (8th, 17:40, PR), Patrick Kelly (15th, 17:51), and Ben Severn (19th, 17:55) all earned medals for their top 20 performances. Classmate Matt Bahner (33rd, 18:10) rounded out the scoring for the Bucks, who trailed only North Penn (63-78) for the JV team title. Pennsbury (114), CB East (114), CR South (142), CR North (147), Hatboro (190), Pennridge (206), Tennent (213), Wissahickon (255), CB South (284), Souderton (364), Neshaminy (382), Upper Merion (419), Quakertown (466), and six other teams followed.
Sixth man and sophomore Logan Mazullo displaced 69 scoring runners from the other 20 complete teams with his 38th place finish in his favorite time of 18:13. Junior Tyler Press displaced 57 scoring runners with his 56th place finish in a PR of 18:25.
Also placing in the top 40% of the 392-man field were junior Andrew Baker (59th, 18:26), freshman Mark McClenahan (60th, 18:28, PR), senior Ben Aunins (65th, 18:31), freshman Big Joe Altadonna (72nd, 18:36, PR), junior Matt Belding (77th, 18:38), senior Gray Wilson (82nd, 18:41), junior Troy Press (86th, 18:42), sophomore Ryan McIlhinney (99th, 18:50, PR), freshmen Alec Hofer (103rd, 18:54) and Damian Refice (109th, 18:56), senior Connor Baun (114th, 19:01), junior Jacob Cawley (127th, 19:09), sophomore Carter Zerweck 144th, 19:21), senior Dean Woodrow (151st, 19:27), and freshman Stephen Bolton (156th, 19:30).
West returns to action for the pinnacle of the season at the District One Championships on Friday at Lehigh University's Goodman Campus (123 Goodman Drive, Bethlehem). The top five teams and top 25 individuals will advance to the PIAA State Championships at Hershey Park on Saturday, November 2nd. Who smells chocolate?