Catasauqua’s early cross country returns can be a successful run for the Roughie harriers throughout the season.

The Roughies’ girls squad took second place in the class A bracket of the Moravian Academy Invitational Aug. 30 to begin the season.

Junior Lexi Rushatz topped the field for Catty with a 12th-place finish from the 109-girl field. Overall, the Roughies finished seventh as a team.

“The girls are off to a great start,” said head coach Kyle Rusnock. “They ran really hard and we have a strong nucleus overall.

“We know that we can compete with teams around the area.

”Catty’s girls also had a good afternoon at the team’s opening, five-team meet at Salisbury Sept. 5. They finished 3-2 in hear-to-head competition, defeating Northern Lehigh, Palmerton and Salisbury, while losing to Northwestern and Southern Lehigh. Rushatz finished fourth overall at Salisbury followed by sophomore Lucy Brubaker, who was 17th, junior Breonna Brinkley, 20th, and senior Montana Muller, 31st, out of the top-35 runners.

On the boys’ side, the Roughies finished 15th out of 16 teams at the Moravian Academy Invitational.

At Salisbury, the Roughies finished 1-4 overall, as they defeated Northern Lehigh.

Sophomore Cole Brown was their top finisher with a 25th-place finish, and fellow sophomore Larry Snyder was 47th.

Rusnock has liked what he has seen from the blossoming boys’ brigade.

“Cole Brown has been the top runner for the boys,” said Rusnock. “He (Brown) broke the 20-minute mark and I see him getting around the 18-minute mark.

“Larry Snyder has run a couple of good races, and he is coming on. Sophomore Jaryn Hartranft has been running strong and he will make an impact. Freshman Jayden Reynolds looks like he is on target for a big year.”

Rusnock has high expectations for the next few months.

“They have all done a ton of work and have really excelled,” added Rusnock. “They look like they have figured it out.

“They are lowering their times, and they look like they will get better and better.”