Familiar runners ready to roll

By Sam Tallarico Eagle Staff Writer

September 01, 2011 Last Updated: September 01, 2011 03:17 PM High School

Karns City's Matt Slagle returns as one of the top runners on the Gremlins' cross country team this fall.

It's always tantalizing to think what a strong team can do when it returns almost its entire team back.

Still, performances have to improve and anything can happen along the way to the championship.

For teams like the Seneca Valley, Freeport and Grove City girls teams, they have to like their chances.

The Raiders placed 14th at the WPIAL Class AAA championships, but will return all eight letterwinners, led by senior Kristen McKinney.

It won't be easy, however, as Seneca Valley is housed in Section 3 along with powerhouse teams like North Allegheny and North Hills as well as Hampton and Butler among others.

“The section title, though, doesn't carry a lot of weight,” said Raiders coach Jim Nagle. “At the WPIAL meet, you want to be one of the top four teams to move on to states.

“We have a great group of coaches in our section,” Nagle added.

The Yellowjackets went 8-1 last year and lost just one runner, Lauren Screen, while seven letterwinners return with 19 runners on the Class AA team.

“We have a good shot at a section title and possibly getting to states,” said Freeport coach Bob Livrone.

As for Grove City, the squad earned its second consecutive undefeated season and Region 2 Class AAA title in District 10 title.

The Eagles lost two of their top three runners in Sara Chuzie and Jonna Schaper, but have plenty of experience.

“We'll have a little drop-off but our expectation is the region championship,” said Grove City coach Mike Sample.

Following are previews for the upcoming cross country season.

ButlerCoach: Rick Davanzati, sixth year2010 record: 4-5 overall, 4-4 in the sectionReturning letterwinners: Seniors Brendan Camp, Jacob Ferguson, Trey Neveux and Austin Randolph; sophomore Chris ShortCoach's comment: “This is a rebuilding year. There's a lot of weight that will be put on our returning seniors, which is kind of a positive. They've looked decent in workouts but haven't been tested yet. They'll come along as the year goes on. It's a work in progress.”Seneca ValleyCoach: Jim Nagle, seventh year2010 record: N/A; 10th in WPIALReturning letterwinners: Seniors Madison Goodman and Jake Perri; juniors Ben Nickel and Eli BrinkerCoach's comment: “We're very aware that we are in the hardest section in the state. In the section, we'll have trouble, but at the WPIAL meet, we'll see the boys move up and they believe they will, too. We have a lot of runners (35-plus) and right now, we'll finish in the middle of the WPIAL but by the end of the year, we should be in the top 10.”KnochCoach: Wess Brahler, 11th year2010 record: 5-7 overallReturning letterwinners: Seniors Luke McCullough, Mike Beamer and Phil Kletzli; juniors Alex Cetnar and Ben KinganCoach's comment: “We're very young, but very excited about our freshmen (Adam Sudano, Preston Carlsson and Paul Kasunic) who will make an immediate impact ... We have a nice group of guys, good leadership and had a nice summer of training.”MarsCoach: Dale Boring, first year2010 record: N/AReturning letterwinners: Senior Sean Gannon; junior Scott Slaney; sophomores Chris Georgiadis and John CarawayCoach's comment: “Our expectations is to get all of those guys to qualify for the state meet. From a team perspective, we'd like to be in the top 10 in the WPIAL meet. We should run strong up front.”FreeportCoach: Bob Livrone, 14th year2010 record: 6-3 overallReturning letterwinners: Sophomore Colin MeehanCoach's comment: We have only 10 boys and five are newcomers. We picked up seniors Jake McQueen and Jeremy Wiles and junior Zane Geist came from football. Our one freshman is Ryan Miller and another senior, Joe Ford, was with us last year. We picked up some decent new guys. I think it'll be a pretty good group.”Slippery RockCoach: Mike Hilliard, third year2010 record: 5-1 in District 10 Region 2 for second placeReturning letterwinners: Seniors Ryan Thompson, Jason Anna, Dylan Parson and Alex FleckerCoach's comment: “We'll do the same as we always do. The kids will work to the best of their ability and will be challenged in Class AAA in District 10. Our only hope is to train intelligently and keep the kids healthy to compete.”Grove CityCoach: Mike Sample, 12th year2010 record: 6-0, District 10 Region 2 championsReturning letterwinners: Seniors Ben Hoffman and Alex Knaby; juniors Dan Jaskowak, Ian Brown and Brandon Wise; sophomore Ryan WhitemanCoach's comment: “The team has trained harder than ever. I'm in my 12th year and they're putting in more miles than I want them to. They're very unselfish. They know what it takes to compete at a high level. there's nothing short of defending their district title for them.”Karns CityCoach: Colin Gaiser, second year2010 record: N/AReturning letterwinners: Juniors Matt Slagle and Evan McGarveyCoach's comment: “We lost four boys and have seven boys this year. We should be around .500 again. We do have some younger talent coming up with three freshmen.”MoniteauCoach: Ben Hutterer, first year2010 record: N/AReturning letterwinners: Seniors Anthony Conn, Tyler Kristufek and Tim Sherer; juniors Evan Miller, Zach Morgan and Nate TaylorCoach's comment: “They're competitors, so anything's possible. We've gotten a lot of good work in and a lot of work to do. If we get to jell, the sky's the limit. We can be a contender in the KSAC if it all comes together.”A-C ValleyCoach: Luke LaVan, eighth year2010 record: N/AReturning letterwinners: Senior Nate Best; junior Clayton McNanyCoach's comment: “We hoping to continue to build a team (four freshmen round out the roster) and reach our fullest potential. Hopefully when they're done, they'll enjoy running as a lifetime sport. Obviously, wins would be nice. We're training hard.”UnionCoach: Terry McCullough, second year2010 record: Didn't field a full teamReturning letterwinners: Junior Shawn Hazlett; sophomore Beau RankinCoach's comment: “Just with five boys, hopefully we'll get some competitiveness, get some good times and break some (personal records) from earlier in the year.”

ButlerCoach: Rick Davanzati, sixth year2010 record: 7-2 overall, 6-2 in the sectionReturning letterwinners: Juniors Alexis Swiergol and Rachel Konieczny; sophomore Holly KeeferCoach's comment: “We had 27 girls last year and lost 16 to graduation. Those three (letterwinners) give us a good core of girls. We have 15 girls and some have run track and some are soccer players.”Seneca ValleyCoach: Jim Nagle, seventh year2010 record: N/A, 14th in WPIALReturning letterwinners: Seniors Kristen McKinney and Michelle Botyrius; juniors Emily Seibert, Lucy Moore and Raquel Moore; sophomores Taryn Latsko, Emily Clark and Becky PaineCoach's comment: “All eight of our returning letterwinners are back and we feel we'll finish in the top 10 at the WPIAL meet. If I have health and they work hard, we'll be there.”KnochCoach: Wess Brahler, 11th year2010 record: 7-5, 12th at WPIALReturning letterwinners: Senior Emilee Hertweck; juniors Tena Pettit and Katie JonesCoachs comment: “We only have eight ladies on the team, but this group has been with me for the duration. With the top three, well be all right. Our goal, like always, is to get to that next level. Emilee will try to qualify for the third time for states. All the kids, I look for them to be competitive.”MarsCoach: Dale Boring, first year2010 record: N/AReturning letterwinners: Seniors Salina Smialek and Katie Williams; junior Maggie McChesney; Amanda Alikhani and Jocelyn LeMayCoach's comment: ‘It's really too early to tell. We haven't set a goal as a group. I'd say we are a top 20 team and I'd like to see us get some of our runners to the state meet.”FreeportCoach: Bob Livrone, 14th year2010 record: 8-1 overall, section runner-upReturning letterwinners: Senior Carol Amadee; juniors Nicole Miller and Kayla Zboran; sophomores Kelly Amadee, Hayley Davis, Becca Dudek and Laura WillCoach's comment: “We lost one senior (Lauren Screen) but have everyone back. We have a good shot at a section title and possibly getting to states. That's our goal. We'll see what happens.”Slippery RockCoach: Jessica Schroeffel, third year2010 record: 3-3 in District 10 Region 2Returning letterwinners: Senior Jessica Bennett; sophomore Rebecca MastersonCoach's comment: “We lost a lot of seniors. This is definitely a transition year. We've recruited some new talent to field a team. We have the quality. We don't have the quantity (seven runners) ... Jessica is definitely the leader of the team. She's taken the girls under her wing. We're expecting great things.”Grove CityCoach: Mike Sample, 12th year2010 record: 6-0, District 10 region 2 championsReturning letterwinners: Seniors Evyn Selden and Erica Cyphert; juniors Christine Potsubay, Lindsey Knaby and Jill MercerCoach's comment: “We're loaded with juniors and seniors. We have no freshmen from last year coming up, though. We still have 14 kids on the team. We lost our No. 1 and No. 3 runners from last year. We'll have a little drop off, but our expectation is the region championship.”Karns CityCoach: Colin Gaiser, second year2010 record: N/AReturning letterwinners: Seniors AinSoph Williams and Nicole Beck; junior Lacee Scheerbaum; sophomore Drew BarnhartCoach's comment: “We have a strong group and we expect to be a little better than .500. I think we'll do OK in the (KSAC). I don't think we'll be at the top, but somewhere in the middle.”MoniteauCoach: Ben Hutterer, first year2010 record: N/AReturning letterwinners: Junior Heather Porter; sophomores Brittany Boring, Kristin McDeavitt and Emily RiderCoach's comment: “We have a good-sized team. A lot of girls are new to the team and they'll definitely help out. Those returning are the cornerstone of what we're building around. They're all hard workers. Anything I've asked, they've done.”A-C ValleyCoach: Luke LaVan, eighth year2010 record: N/AReturning letterwinners: Juniors Nicole Felix and Jessica McGuire; sophomore Rachel ViertelCoach's comment: “We have six girls and two are freshmen. We're sporting full teams on the varsity and junior high and this year we're excited to have a full team. My goals are still to working on building teams, but to make them more competitive and see if we can't pick up a few more wins.”UnionCoach: Terry McCullough, second year2010 record: Didn't field a full teamReturning letterwinners: Sophomore Paige WhitmerCoach's comment: “Paige is looking really strong this preseason and doing pretty well. A sophomore, Shannon Myers is in her first year and did a good job in track last year. She won a few mile and 2-mile races ... Hopefully, interest is building and with a little bit of success, we will build some more.”