Presenting DLN All-Area 2022 Boys Cross Country teams
FIRST TEAM
CONNOR BRITTON, Jr., Avon Grove – Junior finished 13th at the PIAA 3A cross country championships (16:36.50), and was in the top 15 at districts. A first team All-Ches-Mont cross country runner, and a repeat selection on the Daily Local News All-Area boys cross country first team, he finished third at the Ches-Mont Championships (16:15.20).
PARKER WARKENTINE, Fr., Conestoga – Freshman had a strong regular season, including a fourth-place finish at the Central League Championships; then really sparkled in the post-season, placing seventh at the PIAA District 1 3A meet with a time of 15:40.20 then finishing 30th at the PIAA cross country championships with a clocking of 17:07.10.
SIMEON SHAPPELL SMITH, Sr., West Chester Henderson – Senior finished in second place at the Ches-Mont Championships (16:06.40), competing in only the third 5K run of his high school cross country career. A first team All-Ches-Mont cross country runner, he won the Whippet Invitational, paced Chester County runners with a top 30 finish at the Carlisle Invitational and finished 20th at the District 1 3A championships, clocking 15:59.30.
NICK STEINFELDT, Jr., Downingtown East – Junior finished a close fourth at the Ches-Mont Cross Country Championships (16.15.50), then had a fine post-season, placing 26th at Districts (16:03.20) and 63rd at the PIAA 3A championships with a time of 17:27.60. Was a first team All-ChesMont cross country runner.
GAVIN HEFFERAN, Sr., West Chester East – Senior finished ninth at the Ches-Mont Cross Country Championships (16:26.2), then followed it up with a 41st place finish at Districts, and placed 56th at the PIAA 3A state championship with a clocking of 17:23.10. Was a first team All-Ches-Mont cross country runner
SECOND TEAM
Lucca DiMario, Jr., Unionville
Ryan Pepperman, Soph., Great Valley
Joshua Miller, Sr., Coatesville
Richard Planck, Jr., Downingtown West
David Whitford, Jr., Downingtown West
Carson Myers, Sr., Malvern Prep
Jake Marrone, Sr., Malvern Prep
HONORABLE MENTION
Avon Grove – Gavin McGinn, Benjamin Weaver, Timothy Oakes; Bishop Shanahan – Jameson Todd, Stephen Todd, Owen Whitaker, Will Kolimago; Coatesville – Tommy Silvester; Conestoga – Shane Walsh, Miles Warkentine; Devon Prep – Patrick Rullo; Downingtown West – Sam Leisenring, Riley Trigo; Downingtown East – Ryan Christman, Ash Anand, Ben Fatone; Great Valley – Trip Gomez, Jack Thomas; Kennett – Matt Pollard; Malvern Prep – Dylan Regan, Jack McEvoy, Rylan Arata; Oxford – Owen Oliver; Unionville – Lucas Siepser, Jonathon Stancik, Eric Steuber, James McGlynn; West Chester East – Jefferson Cooper; West Chester Henderson – Ben Pentz, Ryan Kress; West Chester Rustin – Liam Stigora.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Mark Lacianca, Unionville
Under the coaching of Mark Lacianca, the Longhorn boys had a very strong cross country team this fall. Unionville was the top Chester County team at the PIAA District 1 3A cross championships, with four runners in the top 50. At the Ches-Mont Cross Country Championships, the Longhorns finished first, beating out deep and talented squads in Downingtown East and Downingtown West. At the PIAA 3A cross country championships, the Longhorns were the sole Chester County team in the top 20, placing five runners in the top 100 and finishing 12th overall.
Unionville’s Aryan Abbaraju, the Daily Local News 2022 Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year, said, “Without a doubt, Coach Lacianca has been the biggest factor in getting me to where I am. He has a consistent coaching strategy that makes it easy to track my progress through workouts. His presence makes it easy to stay motivated during any practice, rain or shine. Lac taught me the value of consistent effort, which is something I’ve been working on to this day.”
