The Emmaus cross country program continues to show the East Penn Conference what their runners can accomplish when they get out of their comfort zones.

Case in point, an outstanding performance by both the girls and boys squads at the DeSales Centaur Invitational held Sept. 13.

Coach Kelly Bracetty’s girls team claimed first place out of 38 teams, while the boys finished fourth out of 40 schools. This came roughly two weeks after strong showings at the Northampton Invite where the girls took second place behind Southern Lehigh and the boys took fifth.

Early in the season, Bracetty is pleased.

“Our girls have made a strong statement,” she said.

Four of them - Hailey Reinhard, Keerstin Augustin, Belle Lees and Kera Reinhard- have already broken 20 minutes in the 5K.

“We also have another four girls right behind them who are ready to join them,” Bracetty noted. “We have a solid pack and our strength within that pack is interchangeable.”

Bracetty is particularly pleased with Hailey Reinhard’s coachability. She is only a freshman, but races like a senior.

“She is fearless and takes risks, getting out right from the start,” she said. “Hailey pushes herself the entire way and finds the strength to finish strong at the end of every race.”

Kera Reinhard is “one of the most talented runners in the Valley,” the coach said. Her consistency and competitiveness is in addition to her “team first” attitude.

Lees is tough as nails.

“She just does not give up no matter what, no excuses,” said Bracetty.

Hailey Reinhard finished ninth at DeSales and 12th at Northampton, while Lees took 10th at DeSales. Teammate Augustin took 11th in Northampton at 12th at DeSales.

If the boys team were a stock, you’d want to buy it.

The team did get off to a 1-3 start, but the win was over Easton.

“Our boys have shown tremendous improvement early on this season compared to last year,” the coach said. “They are getting stronger and faster each week and I’m excited to see them improve even more in the second half of the season.”

A big reason why has to be Keshav Shankar.

“He is on fire this season and he’s consistently showing that he is one of the best runners in the Lehigh Valley,” said Bracetty. “He is the type of athlete that will not be outworked and with his mental toughness he can do anything this season.

Shankar took 22nd place in Northampton and 17th at DeSales.

Right behind him is Mark Magee, who “will continue to improve this season” according to his coach. Magee should also “be in the hunt for a spot to Hershey when districts roll around.”

Three other young men - Cameron Carter, Brendon Ward, Colin Schaffer and Ian Cox - comprise the rest of the boys core pack. It’s been their improvement in the early season that gives Bracetty reason to think they’ll be a menace to EPC competition all year long.

But that doesn’t mean anything is automatic. The Green Hornets will need to keep chopping wood to be among the better teams.

“There is still work to be done this season,” Bracetty said of the girls team. “They have a solid group up front and they work together so well during races.”

The boys contingent has plenty of competition.

“Districts is going to be loaded,” she said. “It’s going to be a fast race and we’ll have to put ourselves in contention right from the start.

Nazareth, Easton and Southern Lehigh will present problems, but Bracetty said “they are beatable.”

The Emmaus girls team went 3-0 at an EPC multi-team meet last Tuesday, Sept. 10.

The Hornets beat Northampton (19-42), Nazareth (16-47) and Easton (42-16).

Hailey Reinhard took first place overall in 19:37 on Northampton’s course. Isabella Lees was fourth overall, followed by teammates Keerstin Augustin (fifth), Kera Reinhard (sixth) and Clara Kennedy (10th) to round out the scoring.

The Hornet boys team beat Easton (26-32), but lost to Northampton (27-30) and Nazareth (17-36).

Keshav Shankar led the Emmaus boys team at the meet, finishing sixth overall. He was followed by teammates Mark Magee (11th), Cameron Carter (12th), Ian Cox (17th) and Colin Schaffer (18th).

DeSales Invitational Results

BOYS

Teams Standings (top five)

1. Downingtown East 62, 2.Twin Valley 102, 3. Central Bucks South 135, 4. Emmaus 148, 5. Southern Lehigh 148.

Individuals (top 10 plus all Emmaus finishers)

1. Cole Frank (Liberty) 16:11.4, 2. Alex Kane (Southern Lehigh) 16:26.8, 3. Noah Taylor (Twin Valley) 16:28.5, 4. Shane Artis (Salisbury) 16:38.4, 5. Brendan Flynn (Downingtown East) 16:42.1, 6. Kevin Haas (Blue Mountain) 16:49.3, 7. Luke Seymour (Schuylkill Valley) 16:51.5, 8. Sean McDonald (Downingtown East) 16:51.7, 9. Jared Fenessy (Central Bucks South) 16:57.0, 10. Caiden Leen (Downingtown East) 16:57.9, 17. Keshav Shankar (Emmaus) 17:13.9, 28. Cameron Carter (Emmaus) 17:30.3, 34. Mark Magee (Emmaus) 17:43.8, 37. Colin Schaffer (Emmaus) 17:47.9, 39. Ian Cox (Emmaus) 17:51.7, 49. Brendan Ward (Emmaus) 17:58. 9, 78. Dominic Nunez (Emmaus) 18:34.5.

GIRLS

Team (top five)

1. Emmaus 79, 2. Exeter 97, 3. Liberty 159, 4. Mount St. Joseph Academy 201, 5. Southern Lehigh 223.

Individuals (top 10 plus all Emmaus finishers)

1. Olivia Haas (Blue Mountain) 18:28.5, 2. Reagan Pender (Northern Lehigh) 19:00.5, 3. Emily Jobes (Liberty) 19:21.0, 4. Meredith Glunz (Villa Joseph Marie) 19:46.1, 5. Kat Kerchner (Exeter) 19:58.7, 6. Maggie Murphy (Mt. St. Joseph Academy) 20:01.1, 7. Brianna Jucewicz (Central Bucks South) 20:01.3, 8. Sara Smith (Exeter) 20:15.7, 9. Hailey Reinhard (Emmaus) 20:18.2, 10. Isabella Lees (Emmaus) 20:20.0, 12. Kirsten Augustin (Emmaus) 20:32.6, 13. Kera Reinhard(Emmaus) 20:33.8, 37. Clara Kennedy (Emmaus) 21:45.2, 45. Ashley Ryan (Emmaus) 22:01.5, 76. Ashleigh McNellis (Emmaus) 23:02.1.