Wissahickon boys, Upper Dublin girls race to victory

LOWER GWYNEDD >> If there’s a bigger word for “pack,” Wissahickon had it on Wednesday.

The Trojans’ entire starting five ran as one against rival Upper Dublin, the Trojans’ first and fifth runner separated by just 11 seconds.

“It was pretty insane. We just ran really well as a team throughout the entire race, beginning to finish,” said Wiss’ Doug Hoyer. “We were just all together. And we had a spectacular race, best race of the season.”

Placing third through seventh, Wissahickon raced to a 25-30 victory over the Cardinals on a cool, breezy afternoon on the course at Wissahickon. The win ensured the Trojans stayed perfect in Suburban One League Liberty Division races, raising their record to 3-0.

“It was a really good step for leagues,” said Hoyer. “(The 3-0 division record) means a lot to us. We beat the two teams we were looking to beat — Hatboro-Horsham and Upper Dublin — so we’re gearing up for leagues. We’re in a good spot and we’re really looking forward to it.”

Brendan Tatko (17:29), Jake Licata (17:29), Hoyer (17:31), Grayson Ruffner (17:39) and Dean DiGiovanni (17:40) comprised the Wissahickon pack.

“They ran the way they had to,” Wiss coach Bill Gallagher said. “An 11-second pack time – we haven’t had that in a long time. They knew that they had to stay together. We’re missing our top runner (Matt Winkowski), who was 11th at The Council Rock Invite). He came in Monday and was injured. So the guys knew they had to do it.

“We knew Upper Dublin had two of the best runners in the district and they would go one and two. But we had to figure out how we were gonna do it, and they did it the best we could – five in a row.”

Gus Platt (16:19) and Matt Castronuovo (16:29) ran outstanding races for the Cards, finishing one and two. That left the Trojans little margin — or time — for error.

“I was very proud of them today,” Gallagher said. “They really stepped up.”

Solomon Pak (18:02), Ryan O’Hara (18:06) and Max Kulla (18:48) crossed in eighth, ninth and 10th for the Cardinals.

Lena Shaddinger (21:11) set the pace for the Upper Dublin girls, and it was a winning pace, as the Cardinals took places three through seven to earn a 25-34 win over the rival Trojans.

“It was awesome seeing all the girls out there compete really hard,” said Shaddinger, a senior. “I ran this course my freshman year so I was familiar with it. It was great getting back to it. This is a big confidence booster for all the girls. We were nervous coming into this and now really confident afterwards.”

Emily Kulak (21:13), Amelia Pastore (21:53), Brooke Reardon (21:55) and Amanda Kulak (22:15) all got it done for Upper Dublin.

Wissahickon’s Leah Dubin (20:32) and Mila Jovanovic (20:33) were out front for the Trojans, racing to first and second. Sophia Furman (22:38), Emma Reilly (23:46) and Chloe Herron (23:58) all ran well for the Trojans on their home course.

“Winning leagues would be great,” Shaddinger said of her squad’s focus for the season. “For myself, I just wanna P.R. this year, come out better than I did last year. Last year was kind of a rough season, coming after the pandemic and everything, but I was sub-21, so I’m looking to improve on that.”

The Wiss boys also came out of Wednesday with plenty to look forward to.

“For all five guys to be down in the 17’s, I didn’t even think they’d be able to do that today,” Gallagher said of his squad. “With those kinds of times, and getting Matt back, who knows what could happen at the district meet?”