District 1 boys cross country: At first, there’s no consoling runner-up Ethan Fingerhut

BETHLEHEM — Haverford’s Ethan Fingerhut collapsed to the ground after he finished second in the District 1 boys Class 3A championship race at Lehigh University.

After a few seconds he got up, moved a little farther away from the finished line and hit the ground again. He would do that a third time only the last time he stayed on the ground a little longer. Several athletes came up to Fingerhut to make sure he was OK.

“I’m fine,” Fingerhut said to anyone who came up to him. “I’m not tired. I’m mad.”

Fingerhut had the lead with about 20 meters to go in the 5,000-meter race only to see Hatboro-Horsham’s Brian DiCola sprint past him to win the individual title by four-tenths of a second. DiCola crossed the finish line in 15:28.4. Fingerhut’s time was 15:28.8.

“I can beat him nine times out of 10 but I didn’t go hard enough,” Fingerhut said. “It’s my fault. I guess he out-sprinted me. It’s all on me.”

Fingerhut decided to take the lead after the first mile because he thought the pace was too slow and held that advantage until DiCola nipped him at the wire.

“I felt good, but my calves were getting tired,” Fingerhut said. “I have too much lactic acid and that was why I couldn’t sprint at the end. I should have not led the race for most of it. I should have just sat behind.”

Fingerhut’s runnerup finish earned him an individual medal, a trip to next week’s PIAA championships and helped the Fords qualify as a group with a fifth-place finish in the team competition. Yet that was of little consolation immediately after the race.

“I want to win every race,” Fingerhut said. “That’s how I am.”

Fingerhut will get another crack at it next Saturday in Hershey and he won’t be going alone. Teammates Patrick Lawson (seventh) and Quentin Ryan (15th) also came home with individual medals. Chris Topper (82nd) and Gabriel Twilling (120th) rounded out the scoring to send the Fords to the state championships as a team.

Overall, it was a good showing for Delco and the Central League. Lower Merion won the team title in Class 3A, and Penncrest’s Gavin Mogck, Radnor’s Jimmy Kurtz and Luke Rodden and Strath Haven’s Benjamin Ent qualified for the PIAA championships as individuals.

Gavin Mogck placed 12th to earn a medal. Kurtz was 44th, Ent 47th and Rodden 49th.