Gateway runners well-prepared for WPIAL championship meet

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 19, 2018 | 7:33 PM

After holding its cross country championships at Cooper’s Lake Campground for numerous seasons through last fall, the WPIAL moved the event to Cal (Pa.).

Teams and individuals had to switch their preparation for the new course at Cal’s Roadman Park.

The Gateway teams got a good look at the course last week at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association Championships, and coach Tom LaBuff said the teams should be well prepared to give it their best Thursday afternoon.

“(The TSTCA meet) is a good opportunity to work out any problems that come up,” LaBuff said. “Familiarity is always good.”

LaBuff said the Cal course poses a different challenge than its Slippery Rock counterpart.

“The first and last mile are fine,” he said. “There’s a big hill in the second mile, but it also has some rough spots and gets narrow. But you can run a pretty good race if you prepare well. It’s about running a good first mile and putting yourself in position, holding yourself together on that hill, taking advantage of the downhill coming back and then having a good last mile.”

Five Gateway runners have experience at the WPIAL championships, and every Gators participant this year is an underclassman.

“That’s a promising thing, even after this season,” LaBuff said.

On the girls side, juniors Maddie Smith and Sydney Brown and sophomore Maria Subotich ran at WPIALs last year. LaBuff is interested to see how they fare in their return, and he also hopes for good things from freshmen upstarts Emma Sandor and Kiyara Sawyers.

“The team is small in number, but they are healthy and ready to go,” LaBuff said.

Sandor and Sawyers posted medal-winning finishes, 11th and 14th, respectively, at the Mingo Classic on Oct. 11.

“(Emma and Kiyara) have made progress all season, and I think they are ready to make a big jump,” LaBuff said. “Their biggest thing has been the transition to 5K races and the amount of mileage they’ve put in. Their confidence is growing, and their work ethic is unquestioned.”

The six WPIAL races from Class A to AAA will begin with the Class A girls at 12:45 p.m. and run every 45 minutes to the Class AAA boys race at 4:30.

Each team is permitted to enter eight runners. Seven will compete, and five will be counted toward the team score.

Gateway will be in contention for the three automatic team qualifier spots to states. Individually, the top 15 finishers not on one of the three team qualifiers also earn berths to the state meet, set for Nov. 3 in Hershey.

Sophomore Luke Whisel and junior Riley Pritchard represented the Gateway boys at WPIALs last year, and they’ve shared the No. 1 spot in races this season.

Joseph Story, a sophomore, has been recovering from an ankle injury the past couple of weeks, but LaBuff said he’s “making a pretty good recovery.”

“We’ve been closely watching his workouts,” LaBuff said. “It’s just one of those things that’s lingering.”

Also hoping for good things Thursday at WPIALs are freshman Brady Sundin, junior Bryce Machi and sophomore Liam Brown.

“The kids have made nice progress throughout the year. I’ve been really happy with their work ethic. We’ll see how things go Thursday,” LaBuff said.

“We set a goal for the teams to be in the top half. That’s achievable, but to do that, because of our lack of depth, no one can have an off day. The chances are there for individuals to qualify for states, too. It’s a strong field. I just want them to go in there and run relaxed, without pressure and to the best of their abilities.”

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.

Tags: Gateway