Freedom senior Brayden Boyle captured the eighth place medal at the District XI Class 3A Boys Cross Country Championships on Oct. 28 at DeSales University, which qualified the Patriot harrier for the state meet next weekend.

“I knew I was going out hard today, but I still tried to stay back a little. I passed three kids from mile one to mile two, and then me and [East Stroudsburg North’s Joseph Sokolowski] kept going back and forth up until the finish,” said Boyle. “It was kind of a shock because people who are usually behind me were way in front of me, but I ended up making up all that ground.”

Freedom coach Bob Thear reassured Boyle after seeing the fast start to the race.

“A lot of people were out quick, so that’s why I tried to let him know at the mile mark because he was back a couple places more than he thought he’d be,” said Coach Thear. “I said, ‘Don’t worry, they’re out fast.’ Then, in that second mile, he picked them up. He was almost 10 seconds faster than last week, close to a [personal record], I think.”

Boyle’s time was 16:33.4.

“Throughout, I felt pretty strong, a little tired in my legs, but other than that I felt really good,” said Boyle. “Once I saw myself picking up people, I felt better, and it was a course [personal record], so I’m happy with it.”

Webb Kurtz, Mikey Messa, Ben Davis, Will Hitchings, Nick DeVito, and Andrew Schnable also competed for the Patriots.

Sean Haas, Emerson Blasi, Wyatt Hendrickson, Alex Rodriguez, Cameron Slocum, Calvin Rittle, and Logan Lech competed for Liberty.

“We had several guys set a [personal record] today- season best and some with a lifetime best,” said Liberty coach Joe Spang. “Sean Haas broke 18:00 for the first time, our top five were all under 20:00, the first time that’s happened this season, and I’m really happy for them.”

Emmaus’ David Hearn won the meet with a time of 15:40.3.

In team results, Emmaus placed first with a score of 37, and Parkland came in second with a score of 42.

Boyle will compete at the PIAA Class 3A State Cross Country Championships on Nov. 7 at Big Spring High School in Newville.