Lackawanna Trail junior Brayden Clarke steadily worked his way up through the pack Nov. 5 in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Cross Country Championships on the Hershey Parkview Course.
By the time he was done, Clarke had earned a state medal for finishing in the top 25 in Class A boys.
Clarke completed the 3.1-mile (5-kilometer) course in 17:51.1 to place 20th out of 267 runners in the race.
A medal did not necessarily look promising early in the race.
Clarke was 49th after a mile, but he gained positions in the pack at each point where runners’ chips are monitored.
After making it to 41st by the midway point in the race, Clarke was up to 34th through two miles, then 32nd after four kilometers. Only four runners in the field – all of them top-five finishers – were faster than Clarke over the final 1.1 kilometers.
CLASS 3A GIRLS
Abington Heights freshman Anna Pucilowski missed a state medal by two places in the final race of a season that saw her set multiple course records, win a district title and go unbeaten in the Lackawanna League to earn Runner of the Year honors from league coaches.
Pucilowski was in medal position for much of the race, but settled for 27th out of 232 runners in the large-school girls race. She posted a time of 20:05.5.
Abington Heights finished 11th out of 20 teams with a score of 254.
North Allegheny beat out State College, 60-118, for the team title.
Emma Horsley was 74th for Abington Heights, followed by sophomore Reese Morgan in 100th, Maia Arcangelo in 124th, Hailey Hirtz in 173rd, Olivia Lam in 180th and Casey Healey in 202nd.
CLASS 3A BOYS
Abington Heights finished 19th out of 21 teams with a score of 435.
North Allegheny won with 85. La Salle College High was second with 161.
Tommy Walsh led the Comets, taking 117th out of 232 in 17:56.9.
Sean Rooey was 136th, followed by Alex Duffy in 146th, Nicholas Booth 176th, John Farrell 190th, Jack Sorensen, 216th and Hamza Mirza, 223rd.
