Middle Schoolers Run Like BY PATTI STIRK YORK, PA--The fifth annual Panther Invitational Middle School Cross-Country meet was held Monday, September 21, 2009 at Central York High School. This firmly established two-mile event is sponsored by Wellspan Health and encourages middle school boys and girls to get out and run and to have a taste of running competitively. All fees, expenses, and awards are generously covered by Wellspan, with no expense to the students or their school districts. There were 163 boys and 150 girls from 12 York County school districts who competed in the event. With bright sunshine and temperatures in the high 70s, the times reflected the Indian Summer conditions. The girls were led by Katie Hackos of Central York in a time of 13:48. Julia Hendrick from Red Lion finished second in 13:52 followed by Nicole Smith of Dover in 13:55. Home-field advantage proved beneficial to Central’s own Royce Clemens who improved upon last year’s second place finish to lead all runners across the line in a time of 11:54. He was followed by Southwestern’s Jaden Sanders in 12:10 and Susquehannock’s Jacob Thomas in 12:28. In the boys’ team competition, home-team Central York took first place with an impressive 27 points by placing six boys in the top 10. South Western secured second place in the team competition. The Central York girls completed the sweep and also grabbed the first place team trophy with a total of 64 points while placing two finishers in the top 10. Susquehannock girls finished second as a team overall. Finish-line manpower and equipment were supplied by the York Road Runners Club as a service to our sport. Teams BOYS 1. Central York 24
1. Central York 64 Individuals Boys 1. Royce Clemens 11:54 Girls 1. Katie Hackos 13:48 |
