Hatboro-Horsham’s DiCola is Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Brian DiCola strove to be his best and wound up catching a little piece of history.
The Hatboro-Horsham junior raced to a District 1-3A Title this past fall, becoming the first Hatter runner to do so since Russel Coleman pulled off the feat back in 1994.
“The District One title was definitely the peak of my season,” DiCola said. “Going into the race, I knew I would have some tough competition, but I thought I had a good chance of taking home the gold. It was also a windy day, which I used to my benefit. My finishing kick was on full blast and I legitimately felt sick after I ran, something that has never happened.”
Selected Athlete of the Year for Boys Cross Country, DiCola reached new highs in 2021, capturing a district title and battling his way to a ninth-place finish in the state.
“Coming into this season, my goal was to win as many races as I could, and I could not be happier as to how I did,” he said. “I got off to a strong start at PTXC and didn’t slow down from there. It felt like each week, I was making so much progress and that culminated in my Paul Short performance (placing second out of 339 runners), where I felt so strong.
“I left that race with a ton of confidence because I knew I could run significantly faster than I did that day. I carried that confidence for the rest of the season. I was first or second in every race except states and regionals, so I’m very proud of how I did.”
After capturing the Suburban One League American Conference Championship, DiCola powered to a winning time of 15 minutes, 28.40 seconds at districts, winning the gold. He was the first Hatter in 27 years to take top honors, “so,” DiCola said, “I was especially honored to be the one to take the gold back for my team.”
Moving onto PIAA’s, DiCola raced to a ninth-place finish and state medal in 16:22.9. Senior Ethan Fingerhut of Haverford Township (fourth) and senior Caiden Leen of Downingtown East (sixth) were the only District One runners to finish higher.
“My states performance was not my best, simply because my strategy going into the race was flawed,” DiCola shared. “I was able to hang with the leaders for more than half the race, but I fell apart towards the end. Seeing some of my District One competitors pass me while I could do nothing was especially disheartening. In the end, I got ninth, which was not my goal, but I am still happy with a top-10 finish.”
“That’s quite an accomplishment,” coach D.J. Fromal said of DiCola placing ninth in the state. “Brian will tell you that his race at states was not his best. The first mile went out too fast and he never felt comfortable. I look at his race and say that it is his third year running in the state meet and he has improved his place each time. He has now won two state cross country medals and has a chance to win one more before he graduates.”
The district title is already his.
“Brian ran his best race of the year at districts,” Fromal said. “He is very comfortable running on Lehigh’s course and he knew the right times to make moves on the other lead runners. With less than 400 meters to go, he sprinted past the leader to win a very close race. Truly a wonderful race.”
Efforts to win in October and November began back in June.
“Brian has been working hard since the summer,” Fromal said. “His mileage and workout intensity was tops on the team. He competed hard in all of his races and never backed down from a challenge. Brian is smart, driven and in excellent condition.”
His junior season is far from over.
“I am really looking forward to a great spring track season,” DiCola said. “Many of the guys I raced at the state meet have very fast miles, and to hang with them proves I can chip a lot of time off my track bests. Especially my 3,200 time, which is unofficially 9:35 from my freshman year indoors. I am just looking forward to getting some fast times and racing more good competition.”
