Whitehall head cross country coach Brandon Hampton hasn’t based his team overall success on their race finishes, but instead Hampton has liked what he has seen from their improvement.

“They have worked hard all season,” said Hampton. “They have been lowering their times, and they are looking sharper as we get into postseason.

“There definitely have improved, and they will continue to get better.”

The Zephyrs recently ended their regular season with a meet hosted by Emmaus at Camp Olympic. Both the boys’ and girls’ squads went 2-3 on the day, defeating Allen and Dieruff and losing to Parkland, Emmaus, and Central Catholic.

Overall, the boys’ team finished the year with an overall 8-9 record, and the girls’ team finished 9-8.It was the boys’ best record since they finished 9-8 in 2021, and it was the girls’ best record since 2018.

“That’s a real testament to both teams,” noted Hampton. “They both really believe in themselves, and they saw what they could do.

“Many of them finished with their season bests and /or their personal bests at our last regular-season meet.”

Both teams also recently competed at the East Penn Conference (EPC) meet at DeSales University.

The boys finished 11th out of 16 complete teams (18 total) and the girls finished 10th out of 13 complete teams (18 total).

Derek Berg (20:11) was the top boys’ finisher followed by Habib Leyos (20:30), Daniel Tran (20:45), Gabe Unangst (21:13), Ben Charles (21:27), Kihan Resto (21:48), and Sebastian Zaiter (22:09).

Leyos, a senior and one of the top runners all season, is looking to end his high school career on a high note.

“Unfortunately, this league meet was not my best performance,” stressed Leyos. “I’m hoping for a much faster time at districts for my last meet.”

Isabelle Daigle (23:05) paced the girls followed by Emma Druckenmiller (24:50), Holly Kotch (26:15), Marli Jacobus (26:42), Julia Elseify (27:33), and Janelle Kies (28:53). Daigle and Elseify notched personal records.

Hampton likes the mood of his club as they will end their season at districts this week.

“The kids seem encouraged and motivated heading into our district meet,” said Hampton. “It has been a good year.”