Bethlehem Catholic junior Skylar Husser clinched the fifth place medal at the District XI Class 1A Cross Country Championships on Oct. 28 at DeSales University.

“My goal this year was to place top 10 and qualify for states, and I’m really happy I achieved that,” Husser said.

Husser won’t be competing alone at states, however. Teammate Joseph Muhoro won the last spot on the Class 1A boys side after placing 14th.

“My coach (Krystyn Fenon) was yelling my place, but that last mile, I did not know where I was at,” Muhoro said. “I was just running, just running. I was out of it. I could feel my lungs, and everything hurt. I wasn’t happy until my coach told me you got 14th place. I started laughing. I was so happy because at least it was worth it.”

As Muhoro explained, what mattered in the district race was placement as opposed to time, but Muhoro’s personal record of 18:54.4 just happened to come along with his finish.

“That was like a push, a genuine push,” he said. “I came in here really scared, like, I was nervous as heck. I don’t even know. I just kept pushing it. So those seven guys in front of me, I was like, might as well just pass all those guys. I gotta get my place in states. So, yeah, that whole battle was an uphill battle for the entire time.”

Husser crossed the finish line with a time of 22:13.6.

“The first set of hills after the first mile, you can blow through that, ‘cause the adrenaline’s still pumping,” Husser said, “but then, once you get past the two mile, that steady incline cornhill, it’s where you really just have to almost lock it and just say, I don’t care if it hurts, and you gotta keep moving.”

Coach Fenon beamed with pride during the medal ceremony.

“I’m really happy,” Fenon said. “Skylar stayed tough throughout the whole race. Absolutely. From start to finish, her goal was to be top 10, so she cut that off to five. She was amazing. She bought into everything fully, so she sees where the results can start paying off once you’re committed.

“Joseph started out strong in the first mile, and he was patient, and he kept moving up just like we went over with race strategy the whole week, literally. I told him not to overthink it, just be in the moment and run the race. He PR’d right at the end of the season here. I’m really happy for him. His summer training paid off. The whole season paid off.”

Husser and Muhoro will compete at the PIAA Class 1A State Cross Country Championships on Nov. 7 at Big Spring High School in Newville.