Behind crew of 1st-time starters, North Allegheny cross country teams leading the pack

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, September 28, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

If North Allegheny defends its boys and girls WPIAL country titles this fall, the celebration will surely include a number of first-time champions.

Since sweeping the league titles last season, the Tigers graduated seven of the 14 runner who competed that day at White Oak Park. WPIAL runners-up Jack Bertram and Robin Kucler are seasoned seniors nowadays, but the team’s new-look lineup has quite a few first-year starters this year.

“We lost a bunch of really good runners on both sides, kids who went on to run in college,” North Allegheny coach John Neff said. “So it’s been a change over.”

Neff said what he finds intriguing about this year’s lineup — especially on the boys’ side — is that his first-time starters aren’t necessarily freshmen phenoms like Bertram, Kucler and sister Wren Kucler once were.

It’s very much the opposite.

Many newcomers aren’t actually new, but rather runners who waited their turn. Neff pointed to Greg Able, Tyler Davis, Jackson Beemer and Sebastian Klimchak as seniors who stuck it out.

“There are kids who see the value way down the road and work hard for that time,” Neff said. “I’ve got to tell you, that’s pretty admirable. In today’s day and age, it’s all about instant gratification. That’s not what happens in cross country.”

North Allegheny has swept the WPIAL boys and girls titles six years in a row. The boys team now owns a league-leading 34 titles overall and the girls have 17.

The girls also went won a sixth straight PIAA title last fall, a streak that could be extended again. Three of the seven girls who competed at states last year have graduated, but that list didn’t include Wren Kucler, who was sidelined at the time. Kucler, back for her senior season, placed sixth at states as a freshman and third as a sophomore.

Two girls on this year’s roster were among the top 15 finishers at WPIALs last year. Robin Kucler placed second and senior Camille Swirsding was 15th. Behind them were juniors Elizabeth Pizon, who was 40th, and Kendall Lucas, who was 66th.

They give the girls team five experienced runners.

“Those girls have all run at nationals, so they’re pretty difficult to rattle,” Neff said. “They show up. They know what they have to do.”

The girls won the PIAA Foundation meet Sept. 21 on the same course as the state championship. Robin Kucler was fifth, followed by Swirsding (13th), Pizon (14th), Lucas (26th) and junior Tess Pagnotto (33rd).

The boys team placed third at the meet despite having only three starters back from last year.

Bertram is a two-time WPIAL silver medalist and placed third as a freshman. The Notre Dame recruit has also finished third at states two years in a row, so he’s chasing his first gold as a senior.

“He broke the mile record at North Allegheny that had stood since the late ‘60s,” Neff said. “If you throw out a handful of names, Jack is in there among the best kids who’ve come through North Allegheny.”

Joining Betram are senior Anthony Miklos, who was 19th at WPIALs last year, and junior Andrew Peigh, who was 29th. But with only three starters back, the boys team had multiple spots to fill.

Neff said the harsh truth about cross country is that working hard for four years doesn’t guarantee anyone a starting spot. Sometimes, a teammate is just faster, whether they’re a senior or a freshman.

That’s why Neff said he can appreciate the runners who don’t start on varsity until senior year.

“I’m sure it crosses so many of their minds like, ‘This is never going to work,’” Neff said. “And that’s just the thing: You can’t guarantee. I can’t say, if you do this, this and this, give it two years and you’ll be there. That doesn’t always work.”

He praised the commitment he’d seen from Davis, Beemer, Klimchak and Abel, an 800-meter runner in outdoor track season.

“Those kids, two or three years ago, started working and captured every bit that they could,” Neff said. “Thank goodness they did, because now we could use them.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny