The Parkland girls and boys cross country teams started the 2020 season with victories over Central Catholic and Whitehall.

On Sept. 14 the Trojans girls and boys defeated the Vikings Catholic 47-16 and 50-15, respectively. Eight days later they handled the Zephyrs 48-15 and 50-15 on the girls and boys side, respectively. Good things happen when you roll up your sleeves and dig into it.

“Our student-athletes come to work every day and enjoy cashing in their paychecks on race day,” said Parkland cross country head coach Stephen Ott.

Embodying his lunch pail philosophy for the girls is senior Brooke Labenberg, who won both races (20:26 against Central and 21:53 versus Whitehall). Sophomore Elena Wenger and senior Ava Bendetti were right behind.

“The three of them push each other and that helps with their success,” Ott said.

But a trio of talent isn’t enough to win any race. That requires depth and it’s something the Trojans have in abundance.

“My staff and I are pleased with the results from senior Lauren Williams, sophomore Zoe Patselas, sophomore Jessica Price and junior Emily Beers. “The girls team has had two strong performances against Central and Whitehall.”

The boys were led in both races by Ben Esquires (17:28 versus Central and 18:37 against Whitehall), who is always in the mix and rarely takes a back seat.

“Ben’s leadership and work ethic are helping to mold our underclassman,” said Ott.

Those include freshman Paul Abelin and sophomores Bray Hoffman and Brian Warren, who “are not afraid to get in the mix.” Senior Josh Beltrame and juniors Cameron Price and Avi Hochhauser are near the lead pack as well.

“It is great to see them pushing each other in practices and on race day,” the coach said.

Some up-and-coming runners emerged during the two races. For the girls, junior Imaan Mughal and freshman Gracie Trexler are climbing Parkland’s ranking chart. Both girls finished in the top 10 against Whitehall. Junior Ben Cook, who dealt with injuries all of last year and unable to race, is fighting for a top seven spot in 2020. Freshman Ethan Willard was “a pleasant surprise” against the Vikes and Zephs.

Ott is less than thrilled with the decision to only allow 12 runners per team in each race this season.

“With all the COVID-19 stuff, I get it,” he said. “But limiting the race to 12 runners makes it more difficult for the student-athletes to improve their team ranking if they are not in the top 12.”

That said, Ott is pleased with both his girls and boys programs “not getting stuck on the dot” and making the most of the situation.

“Each race, whether it be varsity, junior varsity or intrasquad has seen runner after runner push themselves,” he said.