The North Penn Knights rolled to an impressive victory with just 36 team points. They were followed by a memorable result: after seven dual meets each and a championship race, all three CB schools were separated by just one point. CB South's pack mentality made the difference, as they posted 95 points to the Bucks' and Patriots' 96 points each. Pennridge was 5th with 121 points, followed by defending champions Hatboro-Horsham (139), Souderton (171), and Quakertown (225).
Fearlessly leading the Bucks' pack through the race was senior Alex Predhome. Predhome bested rival Alec Brand of the Patriots who won the East-West-South double-dual meet at Lake Galena a month ago. Predhome (9th), was joined by junior Chris Berry (8th) in the final straightaway of the race to place two Bucks in the top ten overall.
With his eyes on the prize, gutsy senior Ben Smith charged in to finish 20th and claim his medal in 17:10. Back from a hamstring strain was senior Nico Metzler, who solidly placed 24th for the Bucks. Junior Jimmie Kilgannon's 17:32 (32nd) followed, closing out a phenomenal 57-second spread for the Bucks. Fellow Junior AJ Morgan impressed with another PR, cracking the top 35 with a 17:39!
West's JV was outpaced by only North Penn (74 team points), staking their claim at who is up-and-coming in the Continental Conference with just 114 team points. The Bucks significantly bested rivals East (151), Pennridge (238), South (272), Souderton (318), Hatboro-Horsham (411), and Quakertown.
Amongst 318 runners from all three Suburban One League Conferences, neck-and-neck at the finish were senior sprinter Austin Kline (11th) and freshman phenom Baylor Griffin (12th), who now share an impressive PR of 17:47. Who knew: it is possible to sprint a 5k.
Also breaking 18 minutes to become the Bucks' sixth medalist of the day was super sophomore Ben Aunins (18th). Aunins was followed by a PR frenzy led by junior Shawn Young (33rd, 18:17). Senior Eric Zoleski stepped up to close out a magnificent 37-second 1-5 spread with his 18:24 (40th). Freshman Ben Severn was right behind with a massive PR of 18:29. The biggest PR of the day came from fellow freshman Patrick Kelly, who improved his best by an outstanding 2 minutes to run 18:36. Also posting personal records when it counted most were Eric Grznekowski (18:46), Steve Bohnel (19:07), and Roshan Padodara (20:29).
The Bucks had 18 runners run 18:53 or better on Friday, demonstrating depth only rivaled by perenial Pennsylvania powerhouses North Penn and Council Rock North.
The Bucks return to Lehigh University on Friday for the PIAA District One Championships. Based on their finish at Districts, the top five teams and the top 25 individuals not on those teams will advance to the PIAA State Championships at Hershey Park on November 5th. The boys AAAA/AAA varsity race is at 11:30 am, followed by the unseeded varsity at 12:30pm. AAAA/AAA awards will follow at 1:45 in the stadium.