CROSS COUNTRY: Owen J. Roberts outruns Boyertown
BOYERTOWN >> Depending on which race you were watching, pandemic-inspired social distancing either was or wasn’t an issue when Boyertown and Owen J. Roberts met Friday.
It wasn’t a problem in the girls’ event, Maggie Lustig a decisive winner for Owen J. Roberts by more than a dozen seconds. It was a different story in the boys’ race, though, as Boyertown’s Eric Muthersbaugh was hotly challenged by OJR’s Andrew McGonigle near the finish line.
While Lustig outran the Bears’ Alyssa Albanese by 13 seconds (21:31-21:44), Muthersbaugh found himself in tight competitition with McGonigle. After passing the third-mile marker, the Owen J. sophomore moved in front for a brief period until Muthersbaugh made his move.
“We were neck-in-neck at the mile,” the Boyertown senior recalled, “and he sort of pulled ahead. But I got my breath back.”
Muthersbaugh crossed the finish line in 16:28, two seconds better than McGonigle’s 16:30. That would be the main highlight for Boyertown, Owen J. taking the six places from fourth to ninth for a 24-37 win.
On the girls’ side, the scoring was a bit closer. But OJR had six runners in the Top 10, good for a 24-33 triumph over the Bears.
“I’m excited for us to be competing after what felt like a long pre-season,” OJR head coach Tim Marcoe noted. ‘It’s nice to see them put their uniforms on again.”
Lustig was followed across the line by teammate Calista Van Druff, a junior who finished in the Top 10 of the 2019 Pioneer Athletic Conference championship meet. Van Druff was close on Albanese, placing just two seconds (21:46).
The girls’ pack was considerably more open from there. Rachanee Tith got fourth for the Bears at 22:15, but Grace Kratz (22:21) and Abby Norton (22:25) were a close 5-6 for Roberts, with Tamara Engler (23;28) and Gabriela Martin (23:29) an even closer 7-8 for Boyertown.
OJR then saw Grace Fennel (ninth, 23:42) and Brianna Cargo (10th, 23:59) complete the girls’ Top 10 while leading a quartet of teammates displacing the Bears’ fifth finisher. Charlotte Camp, Sarah Karaman, Kellie Mullins and Cailin Harrington finished in a 46-second span ahead of Lillian DaSilva.
For Lustig, the relatively-new Boyertown course didn’t hamper her winning run.
“It’s definitely tricky, with all the turns,” she said. “The (course) flags and arrows help. It was a little mushy around the second mile.”
During his winning run, Muthersbaugh had encouragement from graduated former standout teammate Chrisian McComb. He credited McComb’s presence with inspiring his first-place outing.
“I ran with Christian a long time,” Muthersbaugh recalled. “He’s a big supporter of mine.”
His familiarity with Boyertown’s home course also served Muthersbaugh well.
“I like the course. It seems flat but it’s deceptive,” he said. “I know a hill that starts down around the three-mile marker; I started on it and picked it up from there.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the 2019 high-school track and field season, Muthersbaugh did what he could to overcome the obstacle.
“When track stopped,” he said, “I wrote out a whole plan for myself. I worked to get higher mileage.”
Another difference this season has been the absence of invitationals on a team’s schedule. That cuts significantly into the number of opportunities for a runner to acheve a personal best.
That’s the case for Lustig, who admitted her run Friday hasn’t reached that level.
“Definitely no PRs yet,” she said.
“My focus is to keep a good mentality,” Muthersbaugh added, “and to look at each race individually.”
NOTES >> Looking ahead to the post-season, Marcoe noted there will be no PAC championship and the District 1 meet will be split over two days: Oct. 29 for the girls, and Oct. 30 for the boys.
