The Parkland girls and boys cross country squads have performed well early in 2019, getting off to 3-0 starts. Coach Stephen Ott is pleased with the work ethic and results.

“Our first meet was on our course,” Ott said. “It is not an easy course, yet both teams did awesome.”

So far, solid teamwork has made a difference for the Trojans.

“Cross country is truly both a team and individual sport,” the coach said. “The support and encouragement the runners give each other is amazing.”

This year, Parkland’s seniors have been assigned a freshman to mentor.

“The hope is they can help the freshman through the daily grind that is required to do well in cross country,” he said. “It is also important to keep a positive attitude.”

A few storylines have developed early this season. On the girls side, Ava Bendetti, Brooke Labenberg and Lauren Williams are constantly pushing each other and their teammates.

“They train hard and the results show in the meets,” Ott said.

Leading for the way for the girls at the DeSales University Invitational was Elena Wenger, who finished at 21:39 for 35th place out of 187 runners. Teammates Isabella Esteban (59th), Jessica Price (66th), Taylor Rau (84th) and Madeline Souders (85th) rounded out Parkland’s top five for a 12th-place team finish at DeSales.

Kayla Kinney (90th) and Emma Garchinsky (91st) also ran in the DeSales varsity race for Parkland and finished in the top half of one of the largest fields that the invitational has attracted in recent years.

East Penn Conference teams excelled at the meet as Emmaus girls took first place and Liberty’s was third.

On the boys side, Nate Reimer, Ethan Warren and Logan Iacobelli are leading the way.

“They lead by example in practice,” said Ott. “They work toward reaching goal paces.”

Nate Kunz was the top Parkland finisher at DeSales, taking 46th place with a time of 17:58. He led the Trojans to a 12th place finish in the boys team standings. Warren (56th), Erik Hochstetler (62nd), Brady Hoffman (99th) and Jerry Zhang (153rd) rounded out Parkland’s top five. Christian Fragassi (154th) was one place behind.

Three days before competing in the invitational, Parkland hosted its first regular season EPC meet of the 2019. The Trojans boys and girls teams both went 3-0 to start the season.

Parkland’s boys team beat East Stroudsburg South (15-50), Stroudsburg (22-39) and East Stroudsburg North (15-50).

Warren finished second overall was the top Trojan finisher in 18:15. He led a Parkland pack with Iacobelli claiming third place overall in 18:27. Reimer took fourth overall with a 18:36 mark. Michael Schmitt (6th, 19:07.1) and Benjamin Esquieres (7th, 19:09.9) rounded out Parkland team score.

Parkland’s girls team opened the season with wins over Allen (15-50), Stroudsburg (20-43) and East Stroudsburg North (18-43).

Labenberg was the top Trojan finisher, taking second overall with a mark of 22:14.4. Bendetti finished 17 seconds behind, good for third place. Williams took fourth at 22:39.8. Ava Pugeda (6th, 22:49.1) and Wenger (8th, 23:21.7) rounded out Parkland’s top five at the meet.

The rest of the EPC will give Parkland a run for their money this year. The Trojans have yet to face some of the leagues top teams like Liberty, Easton and Emmaus.

“Each week is going to be tough,” Ott said. “Our schedule is filled with challenges, so we will take one race at a time.”

DeSales Invitational Results

BOYS

Team (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)

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.

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)

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.