Whitehall High School freshman, Autumn Dragovits, was the Zephyrs top female runner at the EPC Cross Country Championships last Tuesday at Bethlehem Municipal Golf Course, placing 46th among 133 runners with a time of 22:01.

Whitehall coach Mike Lelko said, “She ran a fantastic race.”

Even though Dragovits was under the weather, she hung with the top ten for awhile before fading back.

“It was bad because I couldn’t breathe. I was trying to stay with someone and then pass them,” she said.

Dragovits’s goal was to finish the race in under 21:00.

“I should have started my kick more at the end,” said Dragovits.

Zephyr teammate, Hannah Gill, placed 50th with a time of 22:20. Also, Juanita Flores placed 60th in 22:55, Rachel Herr placed 65th in 23:08, and Ashlee Brosky placed 74th in 23:16.

In team scores, Whitehall’s girls placed 11th, and Whitehall’s boys placed 13th.

Freshman, Daniel Jablonski, came in 69th with a time of 19:06.

“This was my first championship race, and I was pretty nervous at the start,” Jablonski said. “I thought I did pretty well on the hills. I mainly wanted to run my own race.”

Jablonski is hoping to drop time in the district meet this week.

“This was a really good opener to how championships are. I will get better and know where to focus my energy most,” said Jablonski.

Whitehall senior, Calvin Schneck, also competed but is still injured, as he has been almost all season.

“I felt pretty good in the first mile, but I wasn’t in shape,” he said. “I’m hoping to run a different strategy [at districts]. I hope to run a smarter race and make states.”

Elliot Miller took 81st place with a time of 19:20. Caleb Staub was 89th in 19:30, and Andrew Hawk was 90th in 19:31.

Schneck placed 102nd in 20:02, David Labib placed 103rd in 20:04, and Jonathan Cordero was 106th in 20:08.