Gateway cross country giving foes run for their money

By: Shawn Annarelli
Friday, September 20, 2019 | 7:52 PM

Gateway’s cross country teams are showing more cohesiveness heading into second half of the season, coach Tom LaBuff said, which has resulted in improved times.

The Gators are made up of mostly young runners on each team, and their training over the last year has started to show flashes of their potential.

“Honestly, it’s so exciting, and I’ve been waiting for this (strong of a) team since freshman year,” senior Maddie Smith said. “What’s even more exciting is that I get to help all the girls, and I get to see that improvement each week.”

Gateway’s girls recently placed third out of 20 teams and ahead of powerhouses like Fox Chapel and Oakland Catholic at the Kiski Area Invitational. The girls were the only team with four runners in the top 20, but LaBuff said their excitement was “tempered,” knowing that some teams did not enter all of their top runners.

“(During the Kiski Area meet) I heard someone say, ‘Wow, is that Gateway?’” Smith said. “So I said, ‘Yes, it is, and we’re coming up.’ It’s great being competitive at every meet. We might not be Fox Chapel, but we’re going to give everyone else a run for their money.”

Sophomore Kiyara Sawyers has been the girls’ top runner, particularly in big meets. Fellow sophomore Emma Sandor is the team’s No. 2 runner and has topped Sawyers at times in dual meets.

Freshman Marina Grado has cut time all season and placed ninth, just behind Sawyers, at the Kiska Area Invitational.

“Young runners have to learn the hard work that it takes to be competitive, and once they figured that out, they showed they were willing put in the work,” LaBuff said. “Along with Maddie, our captain and generally our No. 4 runner, there’s a lot of trust between them.”

The girls’ top goal is the section title, LaBuff said.

“There are great teams in our section, and hopefully they can beat those teams,” LaBuff said. “I tend to be optimistic, but I know what they can do. The magic two-letter word is if, so if we’re healthy and if our top five is rolling, I believe in their ability to do it.”

The boys team finished ninth out of 23 teams at the Kiski Area Invitational.

“It’s encouraging to us to have some good races and to see our times drop,” senior Riley Pritchard said. “We’re seeing better and better results every meet we have.”

The boys’ top runner is junior Luke Whisel, who will continue to improve his times if he can get out with race leaders at the start of meets.

“Luke has really bought into what we’re doing in terms of coaching him, and he showed us Friday what he can do with his best race,” LaBuff said. “If he had the same strong start at the Red, White and Blue (Classic), he would have been 45 seconds faster there.”

Sophomore Brady Sundin has consistently been the team’s second runner, and junior Joseph Storey has the same potential as Whisel, according to LaBuff.

“We hope Luke makes it to states, because he’s taking off a half-minute almost every race,” Pritchard said. “He starting to show what he can do, and it would be great to see a Gateway cross country runner go to states.”

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