Plum runners prepare for WPIAL cross country championships

By: Michael Love
Saturday, October 14, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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Gabriel Powell has the PIAA cross country championships on his mind as the days become fewer and fewer before the WPIAL’s top races of the year take center stage Oct. 26 at White Oak Park.

The Plum senior finished 32nd at last year’s WPIAL Class 3A meet at Cal (Pa.), 13 places from earning a state-qualifying mark.

“I am feeling pretty good right now,” Powell said.

“We ran the White Oak course for the Red, White & Blue. I wasn’t feeling that great that day, but I was still able to get a top-25 finish. I am hoping that if I am at my peak and with optimal conditions, I am really thinking that I have a decent shot at states.”

Qualifying for boys in Class 3A again is stingy as the PIAA set the numbers to earn a berth from WPIALs at the top two teams and the top 10 individuals not on one of those two teams.

Powell saw another strong finish at the Division I, Section 4 meet Oct. 4 at Northmoreland Park.

He placed fifth overall among a solid leaderboard of Class 3A runners he also will see at the WPIAL championships.

Powell’s time of 16:53.6 was just a second away from Kiski Area’s Sam Plazio in fourth. Fox Chapel’s Rowan Gwin took the top spot (16:34.1), followed by Franklin Regional’s Nathan Kociela (16:43.9) and Gateway’s Kefimba Cisse (16:45.0).

“I was slightly slower at sections than I was at the Kiski Invite (Sept. 15 at Northmoreland Park),” Powell said.

“I also was feeling a little sick, run down, and injured there, but knowing that I was not too far off from the first time there, it showed that I am in much better shape than I was earlier in the season.”

The six WPIAL championship races at White Oak on Oct. 26 begin with the Class 3A girls at 11 a.m. and run through to the Class A boys at 3:35 p.m.

Plum coach Steph Kennedy said she’s optimistic Powell will make his mark at WPIALs.

“I think states definitely is within reach for him,” Kennedy said.

“He started out really strong at the (season opening) Gateway Invite and really surprised himself with that performance. He has built on it each time out. We are making sure he is running strong and healthy by time WPIALs gets here. He is ready to execute his best race to where he can put himself in the best position to qualify.”

Powell was the third Plum runner at WPIALs last year behind graduate and state qualifier Connor Pivirotto and fellow graduate Nate Mienke.

Senior Aiden Steinagle hopes to make a move up from 84th (Plum fourth) at last year’s WPIAL meet. He was 10th overall at the section meet with a time of 17:51.6.

Freshman Brady Sciullo also cracked the top 20 at the section meet, placing 18th (19:05.8).

Brooke Price made her WPIAL debut last year and paced the Plum girls team. The sophomore has pulled double-duty with the cross country and girls volleyball teams this fall.

“We’ve had a few injuries on the girls side, so we’re making sure we’re taking rest and getting healthy so we’re ready Tri-States and also WPIALs,” Kennedy said.

“We had a lot of those girls come in and work hard over the summer. They are seeing the benefits of that.”

Freshman Maura Smith also fronts a fairly youthful Mustangs squad.

She led the Plum girls at the section championships with a 10th-place finish in a time of 22:10.5.

Mayah Torres followed Smith for the Mustangs in 19th (23:21.8), while Olivia Baleno took 22nd (24:08).

“The section meet is a cool feeling for the kids,” Kennedy said.

“It’s kind of like the start of the championship part of the season for us, but we’re also able to take everyone, even our newer or younger runners. They are able to have that championship feel and be on that bigger start line.

“The kids got a pulse of where they were at that point and how they measured up against a lot of those teams. We honed in on teams scores and where we could be better. Northmoreland Park is a pretty challenging course. We had a really good day and had some strong performances. It was a really warm day. We saw some time drops, but a few kids did add some time. Our girls finished fourth, and our boys finished third. We were pleased with that.”

Plum runners return to White Oak on Thursday when they go up against some of the top teams in the WPIAL at the Tri-State championships.

“Like with Northmoreland, the kids will run White Oak again and get a chance to compare their times and other things with the first time at Red, White & Blue,” Kennedy said.

“It will be good motivation and a good check where they can see their hard work pay off from the season. Training on hills and working on a good home course at Boyce really gets the kids prepared for any course we run. We want to instill confidence in them that they have done the work and have prepared.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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