Gateway runners tune up for WPIALs at Section 4 championships

By: Michael Love
Sunday, October 9, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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Members of the Gateway girls cross country team tested their mettle at the Division I, Section 4 championships Oct. 5 at Northmoreland Park, and the Gators took fourth in the team standings as a pair of runners earned medals for top-15 performances.

Under sunny skies and warm temperatures in the mid 60s, Gateway fashioned a 4-3 record. Fox Chapel, Kiski Area and Franklin Regional all were too much for the Gators. But Gateway was able to score three close victories against Armstrong (28-30), Plum (26-30) and Woodland Hills (27-29) and pick up a forfeit win over Penn Hills as the Indians didn’t have the necessary five runners needed for a team score.

Freshman Gianna Laurenti posted the best finish for Gateway as she took ninth individually with a time of 23:01.6.

“When I started out, I kind of felt tired,” Laurenti said.

“The hills felt pretty good compared to the last time I was here. I raced pretty well in the middle section. At the end, I kind of got stuck with a girl, and it was kind of hard to pass her. It felt like it slowed me down a little bit. But I was pretty happy with how I finished and where I finished.

“Overall, I am happy with how the whole team ran. It was a good test for everyone. We had two girls who came back from injuries who hadn’t run in a while (sophomores Grace Byrne and Madison Lu), and (sophomore) Zylan (Sims) wasn’t supposed to run today, but we needed the fifth girl to score in the team standings. She was supposed to have physical therapy, but she was here and helped the team. She wasn’t running too fast, but she gutted it out. It was nice to have her there running with us.”

Laurenti dropped more than a minute from her 24:08 on the same course at the Kiski Invitational on Sept. 16.

“Gianna is making big strides. She’s finally racing the way that she trains,” coach Tom LaBuff said.

“It’s all about confidence with her and all of these younger kids.”

Byrne took 12th in a time of 23:30.1, while Lu was 24th (24:46.4).

“Both Grace and Madison hadn’t run since Red, White & Blue,” LaBuff said.

“They did a really nice job. They’ve trained the right way in getting back. I was really pleased with them.”

On the boys side, Gateway finished 3-4 and in fifth place. The Gators topped Penn Hills, 24-32, and picked up forfeit wins over Armstrong and Woodland Hills.

Gateway’s closest losses were to Franklin Regional (24-31) and Plum (23-34).

Junior Kefimba Cisse, one of the top runners in boys Class 3A, placed second individually with a time of 17:01.1. It was the first time he ran the Northmoreland Course this season as he didn’t compete at the Kiski Invitational.

Fox Chapel junior Rowan Gwin took the top spot at 16:53.9 as he led his team to a fourth straight section title. The top five Foxes runners placed in the top 15.

The 1-2 finish was a change from Sept. 3’s Gateway Invitational at Boyce Park where Cisse bested Gwin by 15 seconds.

“I felt I ran well the first and second miles. But that third mile, my pace died after the hill,” Cisse said.

“I should have picked up more, but I was struggling a little bit. It was hot out there, and I was getting a little tired. I compare the Northmoreland course to Cal U, so I was kind of using today as practice for that. So, that helped me there to know what kind of race I will need to run in a few weeks.”

Sophomore Kairell McCoy was the second runner for Gateway as he took 20th in a time of 18:52.9.

Gateway girls soccer

Despite a tough 2-1 loss to Penn-Trafford last Wednesday (Oct. 5), the Gateway girls soccer team remained alive in the race for the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.

The setback put the Gators, who own victories over Penn Hills (twice) and Greensburg Salem and a scoreless tie in the first meeting with Penn-Trafford, at 3-6-1 in the section (10 points) with two games left.

The Warriors improved to 4-2-3 (15 points) and remained in fourth place ahead of Gateway with three games remaining.

Gateway’s remaining section games are at home against Greensburg Salem on Wednesday and at Latrobe on Oct. 18.

Penn-Trafford scored first in last Wednesday’s matchup, but Gateway came back at 29:06 of the first half. Senior Emily Mannion took advantage of a misplayed ball by the Penn-Trafford goalkeeper and buried the ball in the back of the net.

The Warriors kept the Gators from adding on and then tallied the game-winner.

Junior Jada Settles made five saves in the loss.

“It was a great match with back-and-forth play, strong keeping from both goalkeepers, and a battle through the midfield,” Gateway coach Caleb Kyper said.

Through 12 games — Gateway fell to 5-3-4 overall with the Penn-Trafford loss — Mannion led the team with seven goals, and senior Daniella Garner had five.

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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