The standard for the Grove City boys cross country program is a lofty one, but the Eagles didn’t disappoint at the District 10 Class AA Championship Meet.

Coach Mike Sample watched five of his runners place in the top 10 as Grove City earned its sixth straight district title Saturday afternoon at Buhl Park in Sharon.

The Eagles finished with 29 points, blowing away second-place Harbor Creek (73) in the process.

Freshman Jonah Powell led the way with a second-place finish of 16 minutes and 42 seconds, just one second behind Harbor Creek’s Ryan Starvaggi for the individual title.

Ben McKnight (third), Braydon Pyle (fifth), Jacob Hughes (ninth) and Ryan Myers (tenth) rounded out Grove City’s scoring team.

“The boys did a real nice job of getting out in front, putting the hammer down and accomplishing something they wanted to do,” said Sample. “Our kids are very familiar with the course at Sharon, but they didn’t establish their best times. It was like that for the entire field. It was kind of weird.”

The Eagles will now prepare for the state championship meet, scheduled next Saturday in Hershey.

“With the way we have been performing, the dream of a state title is still there for us,” Sample said.

Sample also knows the future looks very bright for his program. The Eagles’ top six runners on Saturday — which included Jacob Powell, who placed 14th — are all expected back next season.

“We go to meets during the regular season to find competition that will make us better,” he said. “We are deep.”

Grove City’s girls team also punched its ticket to Hershey. The Eagles (104 points) finished second behind Class AA district champ Villa Maria Academy (20).

Senior Catie Jaskowak was Grove City’s top finisher at 12th place (20:46), followed by Maddie Hamilton (14th), Hannah Sanford (21st), Marie Depew (30th) and Olivia Lowe (31st).

Slippery Rock junior Tabitha Donaldson qualified for states by placing 15th (20:52).

In the District 9 championships at Ridgway, A-C Valley senior Shannon Quaill earned a spot at states after placing 11th (21:46.9) in the Class A girls event.

Karns City’s Hannah Knoll finished one spot out of a trip to Hershey, placing 12th in Class AA girls. KC’s Conrad Snyder was 11th in Class AA boys.