Emmaus senior Hanna Brosky is looked at as one of the veterans on the Hornet girls' cross-country team. Sophomore Katie Bacher is a relative newcomer to the team, as this season is her first running cross country.

Throughout the season, the two have helped each other tremendously in various aspects of one another's running.

During last week's District 11 Cross Country Championships at Bethlehem Golf Club, that continuous hard work paid off in a great way.

Bacher finished in fifth place and posted a personal best time of 19:42. Brosky came in 16th with a time of 20:20 during last Wednesday's district meet. More importantly, the Hornets edged out Easton for second place in the team championships, earning a spot in the upcoming PIAA Championships in Hershey.

"I can't say how proud I am of Katie Bacher," said Brosky, who was battling a sickness during the race. "I've been really trying to help her throughout the season, and she has just impressed me in every way possible.

"We've been training partners through all of this. It goes back and forth. She helps me in the stages in the middle of the race where I'm mentally not strong enough. I've tried to help her with the speed of things since I'm the shorter distance runner in track. I just think overall we've helped each other."

With her 19:42 finish, Bacher improved on her previous personal best that was set earlier in the regular season.

"It's always fun to get a personal record after working really hard and training," Bacher said. "It finally paid off.

"I was trying to stick with that front pack. It was tough going through the hills at the beginning, but then it's just flat for the rest of the course. I was just trying to keep up the pace and go as fast as I could."

The Hornets understood the importance of passing as many red uniforms as possible. In the end, they were able to pass just enough Trojans and Rovers to send the Hornets to states.

"I feel like the most important part of a team is being compact during a race, as to not let any other teams in between us," Brosky said. "We definitely did that. We didn't let Easton or Parkland, which were our main competitors, anywhere near us."

Following a second place finish in the LVC championship meet, Bacher's fifth-place finish led five Hornets that finished in the top 30. After Brosky in 16th, junior Jaclyn Reinbold finished 19th (20:23); sophomore Cassidy Leight finished 23rd (20:40); and junior Kristen Bray finished 30th (20:55). All played vital roles in edging Easton by one point in the team championships.

"I really wanted to make it to states," Bacher said. "Trying to get the team to states, I knew I had to beat as many Easton and Parkland girls as I could because they're our stiff competition."

Senior Katie Carney finished in 45th and Sophie Trowbridge finished in 47th for the Hornets.

Pottsville's Paige Stoner won teh District 11 Class AAA girls title. Parkland's Mikayla Stoudt came in second and Pleasant Valley's Samantha Young finished in third. Parkland finished in first place in the team championships with a score of 61.

"In some ways it's a relief, but it's also exhilarating at the same time," Emmaus head coach Dan Wessner said. "It was a very good day, but also a very tough day at the same time."

On the Class AAA boys' side, Emmaus finished in fifth place in the team championships. Sophomore Luke Pukanecz finished in 23rd place with a time of 17:34 to lead three Hornets in the top 30. Seniors Jordan Frank and Kile Vierling finished in 25th and 29th place, respectively.

Also for the Hornets were junior Darren Labenberg (35th), junior Barry Seng (59th), senior Matt Beck (74th) and senior Matt Kohls (89th).

Easton's Colin Abert took home first place relatively easily, posting a time of 15:43, which was 49 seconds in front of second-place winner Ben Ziegler of Freedom. Whitehall's Gabe Lamm finished in third. In the team competition, Freedom and Parkland will advance to the PIAA Championships.