Although the Freedom Patriots boys cross country team was expected to win its second consecutive district title last week, nothing was taken for granted at the District XI Class AAA Cross Country Championships at the Bethlehem Municipal Field.

"There were a lot more people in the beginning. It made me kind of nervous at the start because I knew there was a lot of work to do," said Freedom captain, Chris Kelly.

Easton's Colin Abert won the district championship in 15:43, but right behind the Red Rover were several Patriots.

Ben Ziegler placed second in 16:32, Dan Quigley placed fifth in 16:37, Jason Lopez was eighth in 16:53, Kelly came in ninth in 16:54, Will Alpaugh was 13th in 17:14, Shane Smith came in 17th in 17:27, and Isaac Gross placed 54th in 18:29.

Ziegler said, "This race was tougher for me. A lot of us went out hard, and you never know who will stay up there."

With Abert too far ahead, Ziegler strived to maintain second place, looking over his shoulder from time to time.

"It hurt. It was just tough. I just didn't want to let anyone pass me," he said.

Also in the top ten mix was Liberty junior, Alex Fitch, who placed sixth in 16:39.

"It was difficult because there were more teams, and there was more work to be done to get into a state qualifying position. It was harder to get around people. I had to go to the outside center. The last 100 meters was tough," Fitch said.

Last year, Fitch missed qualifying for states by eight spots.

"I'm excited and happy to be going to states. I wanted to do well in the regular meets, but states was always in the back of my mind," said Fitch.

Liberty teammate, Jonah George, just missed a trip to states, but it was of no consequence as the Hurricane sophomore surprised everyone with a 21st place finish in 17:33.

"In the beginning, I just tried to stay with Brendan [Reilly]. At the top of the hill, I decided to pick it up a lot and pass as many as I can," said George.

At the two-mile mark, George picked it up again.

"I feel pretty good. I pushed myself a lot more and gave it all I had," George said.

Liberty senior, Roberto Marrero, placed 28th in 17:52, and Reilly came in 31st in 18:00.

Also competing for the Hurricanes were Will Masemore, who finished in 33rd place in 18:01, Rob Appleby, who was 42nd in 18:15, and Josh Ledyard, who placed 84th in 19:08.

With 37 points and the District XI trophy in hand, the Patriots are headed to the PIAA State Cross Country Championships, scheduled for Nov. 2 in Hershey.

Kelly said, "We have experience on the state course. That should definitely help us work towards our goal of getting in the top five."