Jenkintown captures Bicentennial Athletic League Cross Country Championship

NEWTOWN – In this, the 2017th year of the Gregorian Calendar, the Year of the Fire Rooster on the Chinese Calendar, Jenkintown brought Holy Ghost Prep’s 22-year hold on the Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) Cross Country Championships to an end.

Jenkintown junior Jack Miller (16:36) and senior Josh Jackson (16:50) finished one-two while freshmen Luke Miller (17:42) and Carter Geer (17:52) finished fourth and sixth, respectively for the Drakes, earning Jenkintown both the overall and the Constitution Division title.

While the Drakes’ win might have raised eye brows in some area racing circles, Miller said his team’s BAL triumph came as no surprise to him.

“We ran with all these teams before so we knew we had a pretty good chance of doing well with where our guys have been placing the whole season,” said Miller.

“We just came and tried to run our race – look for the win.”

Additional runners stepping up for Jenkintown included junior Patrick Wagner (16th, 18:39), senior Charles Mangan (17th, 18:44) and junior Travis Geer (20th, 19:05); all three broke into the top 20.

While Jackson – for his part – finished 14 seconds behind Miller, he knocked 47 seconds off the time he turned in last season, when he took sixth. The senior likes the view from the top.

“It was getting really old seeing them win every single meet,” admitted Jackson.

“Since freshman year, it kept happening – they always had the number one, coming in the 15s and 16s.

“This year, it felt pretty good to get back at them for all the years that they’ve been winning it.

“I expect great things from the team we have right now.”

The Firebirds still finished second overall and first in the Independence Division, a title they’ve held onto for the past seven years when the league powers split the BAL into two conferences.

While Holy Ghost (HGP) captured the District 1 Class AA title last year and finished sixth in the state, the team was decimated by graduation including the loss of last year’s BAL champion Callahan Lennon, Kevin Dineen, Sean Dixon, Mark Featherstone, Liam Flood and Tom Horgan.

The ‘birds have just two varsity lettermen back this year including junior Burton “Tony” Carbino (18:16), who was Ghost’s top runner at BALs this year with an eighth-place finish. It was a freshman, Antonio Camacho, coming in right behind Carbino at 18:19.

And the ‘birds’ top five runners finished in the top 20, each breaking the 19-minute mark. Freshman Elliot Puckett (18:30) crossed 11th and Nick Polidoro (18:37), a first-year junior, finished 15th. Freshman John Horgan, the last of five brothers attending Ghost, was the last runner to break 19 minutes, coming in 18th at 18:53.

HGP sophomores Killian Brennan (19:21) and Paul Watkins (19:27) finished 24th and 25th, respectively.

Calvary Christian captured the top prize in the girls race with junior Abigail Brown, of Willow Grove, and freshman Leah Angstadt, of Feasterville, finishing one-two, respectively.

Dock Mennonite freshman Sara Kennel (21:34) took third in the girls race. Lower Moreland junior Shane Cohen (17:12) finished third in the boys race.

Bicentennial Athletic League Championships
(Oct. 18 at Tyler State Park)
BOYS VARSITY

1. Jack Miller, 11 Jenkintown 16:36.00
2. Joshua Jackson, 12 Jenkintown 16:50
3. Shane Cohen, 11 Lower Moreland 17:12
4. Luke Miller, 9 Jenkintown 17:42
5. Chris Cammarata, 12 New Hope-Solebury 17:43
6. Carter Geer, 9 Jenkintown 17:52
7. Isaiah Denlinger, 12 Dock Mennonite 17:53
8. Burton Carbino, 11 Holy Ghost Prep 18:16
9. Antonio Camacho, 9 Holy Ghost Prep 18:19
10. Charlie Schaefer, 12 Delaware County Christian 18:22.00
11. Elliot Puckett, 9 Holy Ghost Prep 18:30.00
12. Connor McFadden, 11 Lower Moreland 18:36.00
13. Christopher Keach, 12 Dock Mennonite 18:36.00
14. Christian Kruse, 10 New Hope-Solebury 18:36.00
15. Nicholas Polidoro, 11 Holy Ghost Prep 18:37.00
16. Patrick Wagner, 11 Jenkintown 18:39.00
17. Charles Mangan, 12 Jenkintown 18:44.00
18. John Horgan, 9 Holy Ghost Prep 18:53.00
19. Steven Seachrist, Dock Mennonite 19:02.00
20. Travis Geer, 11 Jenkintown 19:05.00
21. John Davies, 11 Lower Moreland 19:09.00
22. Sanjay George, 11 Calvary Christian 19:13.00
23. Thomas Detlefsen, 12 New Hope-Solebury 19:15.00
24. Killian Brennan, 10 Holy Ghost Prep 19:21.00
25. Paul Watkins, 10 Holy Ghost Prep 19:27.00

GIRLS RACE

1. Abigail Brown, 11 Calvary Christian 20:27
2. Leah Angstadt, 9 Calvary Christian 21:16
3. Sara Kennel, 9 Dock Mennonite 21:34
4. Emma Pizer, 11 Jenkintown 21:38
5. Julia Mycek, 12 New Hope-Solebury 21:50
6. Sydney Rubin, 12 Lower Moreland 22:07
7. Danielle Herbert, 10 New Hope-Solebury 22:18
8. Alexandra Byler, 9 Jenkintown 22:26
9. Elise Fauske, 11 Calvary Christian 22:39
10. Isabella Byler, 11 Jenkintown 22:41
11. Erica Gunden, 12 Dock Mennoni 22:42
12. Lydia Brown, 9 Calvary Christian 22:52
13. Kirsten Howland, 11 Phil-Mont Christian 22:52
14. Alexis Lohin, 10 Lower Moreland 23:063
15. Caroline Arena, 11 Jenkintown 23:09
16. Kelli Schlussel, 11 New Hope-Solebury 23:19
17. Raegan Dubeck, 11 Calvary Christian 23:29
18. Nicole Roche, 9 Lower Moreland 23:34
19. Anna Mann, 10 Lower Moreland 23:39
20. Emily Greenup, 9 New Hope-Solebury 23:44
21. Sandy Hua, 11 Lower Moreland 23:50.00
22. Julianna Slominski, 11 New Hope-Solebury 24:03.00
23. Amy Yoon, 12 Lower Moreland 24:07.00
24. Lindsey Bernd, 12 Dock Mennonite 24:13.00
25. Emma Sirken, 10 New Hope-Solebury 24:18.00