For the second consecutive year, Freedom's undefeated cross country season led to a Lehigh Valley Conference Championship on Tuesday at the Bethlehem Municipal Field.

The Patriots won with 33 points, while runner-up Parkland had 66 points. Easton was third with 95 points, followed by Liberty with 105 points, and Bethlehem Catholic had 210 points, finishing in seventh place.

Freedom coach Bob Thear said, "The boys ran great today, I thought. It feels great. Obviously, the main prize is next week at districts. It's good to feel confident and comfortable on the course, and we had five in the top 11."

Leading the way for the Patriots was junior, Ben Ziegler, who came in second place in 16:39, behind Easton's Colin Abert, who won the race in 16:04.

"I took it out really easy, just trying to get second place. I did better than I expected because it's really hot out here today. Going into the hills, I was six or seven, where I wanted to be. I surged once I got onto the golf course," said Ziegler.

Teammates, Jason Lopez, placed third in 16:56, Chris Kelly was eighth in 17:18, Dan Quigley was ninth in 17:22, and Will Alpaugh came in 11th in 17:30.

Shane Smith was 21st in 18:01, Isaac Gross placed 33rd in 18:36, Trevor Watlington came in 35th in 18:48, Kevin McPeek was 51st in 19:24, and Tommy Salerno placed 65th in 19:37.

Lopez said, "At the mile, Ben took off with Abert. Then it was me, Kevin Lapansky, and Alex Fitch. It was kind of hot the last two miles. You felt it. I made a move after the last hill coming off the golf course."

Lapansky, from Easton, placed fourth in 16:57, and Fitch, a Liberty junior, placed fifth in 16:59.

Fitch said, "Me and the kid from Easton kept switching spots for the second half of the race. At the end, he outkicked me."

At the start of the boys race, Fitch went out with teammate, Roberto Marrero, who placed 15th in 17:46.

"Me and Roberto went out fast because, in other races, we got stuck behind people. That helped because we were in a good position to keep our positions after the first half mile," said Fitch.

Bethlehem Catholic senior, John Donchez, placed 26th in 18:13.

"My start was good, and I felt good, and I was pretty much at the front, but I wanted to break 18:00. Every year, I do bad, and then I do better at districts," Donchez said.

At the district meet, Donchez's plan will be to attack the hills in the middle of the race, and push the tempo on the golf course.

The District XI Cross Country Championships are scheduled for Oct. 23, also at the Bethlehem Municipal Field, where Freedom's plan is to repeat as district champs.

Coach Thear said, "Parkland was without their top guy today, so maybe they think, hey, Freedom could take us for granted, but that's how you get beat. If we run like this next week, I'll be thrilled."