Four years ago before his freshman season Alec Hartranft was ready to become a member of the Catasauqua football program.

But then he had a meeting with Roughies’ cross country coach Kyle Rusnock and his sports career path took a sudden turn. Recently, Hartranft ended a steady career as a Roughie harrier, a choice he will never forget.

“I was ready to go out for football and then coach (Rusnock) talked me into joining the cross country team,” Hartranft recalled. “Once I started, I fell in love with the sport. At first, it was hard to get my breathing down, but I eventually overcame that.

“I have really enjoyed running over the past four years.”

Hartranft concluded his career at the recent District 11 Cross Country Championships. He was his team’s top finisher with an 80th-place finish from the field of 120 runners with a time of 20:02. The 20-minute mark had been his goal for the past two years and he earlier eclipsed the mark in a meet against Palisades this year.

“It was very hard for me to get to that goal,” noted Hartranft. “I was very happy to finally reach it. I had great support from my teammates and my coaches and they were very happy for me. It made me smile.”

Rusnock has watched Hartranft blossom into one of his most consistent runners.

“From the start, Alec (Hartranft) had worked very hard,” said Rusnock. “He kept improving his times and always really enjoyed what he was doing. He became very driven about breaking 20 minutes and we were all glad when he did it. Alec also has developed into a leader for the younger runners.”

Hartranft had relished his leadership role on the team and he took his cue from former runners Jacob Rusnock during his freshman year and Spencer Phillips in his sophomore season.

“Jacob (Rusnock) was a great role model and he really filled me in on everything,” said Hartranft. “He made me a role model. It was rough at times, but he (Rusnock) always was there to support me.

“Spencer Phillips always was working to achieve his goals and he always ran hard. He showed me what drive and determination was all about.”

After graduation, Phillips plans to either attend Lehigh Carbon Community College or join the Marines. His goal is to become an FBI agent.

Hartranft will run long distance during the spring for the track team, as he will have one more shot at the sport he cherishes.

“I’m glad I did what I did,” he stated. “It was a great experience and we are all one family. I am really going to miss it. It kept me going and helped me with my academics and everything else in life.”

Along with Hartranft, other Roughies who ran and finished at the district meet were junior Cam Ritter, 95th, 20:40; sophomore Bradshaw Henning, 103rd, 21:17; sophomore Jacob Schneck, 113th, 22:21; junior Darrien Wasser, 115th, 22:56; senior Nick Shelak, 118th, 23:47; and sophomore Sebastian Henry, 120th, 26:21. The boys finished last in the 17-team field with an average time of 21:28.

Freshman Montana Muller paced the girls with a 34th-place finish out of 64 runners in a time of 26:04. She was followed by freshman Katie Verenna, 35th, 26:06; junior Bree Sheldon, 38th, 26:41; freshman Alexis Sheldon, 44th, 27:31; senior Dani Pluchinsky, 60th, 31:26; and junior Tylar Treibar, 62nd, 34:08.