With leagues and districts on the horizon, Catasauqua’s cross country teams have been rising to the occasion.

The girls’ team gained victories over Moravian Academy (25-30) and Saucon Valley (24-31) in a seven–team meet at Palisades Tuesday.

Lexi Rushatz finished fourth overall in a time of a new personal record of 19:54.10 and Lucy Brubaker was 16th (21:36). Breonna Brinkley was the other Rough Rider in the top 20 (18th, 21:42)

It marked their 10th win of the season, which is believed to be the most wins in a school season.

“They are all running well,” said head coach Kyle Rusnock. “It was great to see Lexi (Rushatz) break the 20-minute mark.

“It shows that the workouts and conditioning is paying off for them. The kids are improving and they are peaking at the right time.”

Rusnock also highlighted the efforts of Montana Muller, Bronwyn Pacchioli, and Lexi Sheldon for their steady contributions throughout the year.

On the boys’ side, Rusnock has relished the abundance of runners and their increasing progress.

Cole Brown was the top runner at the Palisades meet with a 35th-place finish in a time of 18:34.

“That was a great finish for him,” said Rusnock about Brown. “We knew he would crack the 19-minute mark, and he can only get better. All of our boys have been lowering their times.”

Rusnock also praised the consistency of Jaryn Hartranft, Jaydon Reynolds, Larry Snyder, Logan Germano, Luke Colon, Jared Schneck, Trevor Rogits, and Gavin Fehr to helping round out their lineup.

The boys have three wins on the season.

“They are figuring it out and making big strides,” added Rusnock. “The younger guys continue to lower their times and the older ones re taking the lead.

“They have really worked hard and they have taken the right steps to compete.”

Rusnock is anxious to see how his team will perform at the upcoming Colonial League and District 11 meets. The Roughies will meet Southern Lehigh in their final regular season meet next week.

“It has been exciting to see how they have progressed,” said Rusnock. “We are all looking forward to the league and districts because these kids believe they can make an impact.”