Youth movement bolsters Penn-Trafford cross country

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, September 18, 2017 | 11:00 PM

When it come to good healthy competition, the Penn-Trafford boys and girls cross country team need not look very far.

With the influx of young talent to both the boys and girls teams, upperclassmen are feeling the heat.

The friendly rivalry between the boys and girls teams heated up in July when the two teams were running hills at Bushy Run Battlefield. Running hills was supposed to be a training exercise that both teams despised until the younger runners began to out-hustle their teammates.

“That was the time I thought that we were going into a good direction,” Penn-Trafford girls coach Patty Arzenti said. “(The upperclassmen) pushed themselves for the first time. They we're happy they did it, and they're actually asking for more now. That's wonderful that they realize they can do it, and they train hard and they can build from it then.”

The Warriors are indeed building. With a combined 29 runners between the boys and girls teams, the Warriors have just enough uniforms. If Penn-Trafford were to add two more runners to the roster, the would be short one uniform.

“That's a good problem to have,” said coach Paul Conrad, who's led the boys team to a 3-2 record so far.

With the unexpected surge of freshmen runners, the boys ranks have been shuffled a bit now that standout Nick Wagner has graduated. Sophomore Haydon Wolfe turned to Conrad at the beginning of the season and told him he quit soccer and planned to concentrate solely on cross country.

Wolfe has turned into the Warriors' No. 1 runner. He finished 57th out of 261 runners at the annual Red, White and Blue Classic by turning in a time of 17 minutes, 2.6 seconds at Schenley Park.

Patrick Driscoll is pulling double duty between running cross country and playing on the golf team but has been impressive enough to earn the No. 2 spot in the Warriors order. The freshman showed potential by running a 17:51.6 and placing 106th at the Red, White and Blue Classic. Junior Christopher Watson holds down the No. 3 spot in the lineup.

Freshman Joseph Whipkey, a soccer player, has nailed down the No. 4 spot, and junior Zach Conley rounds out the starting five. Senior Jacob Yant is working at getting his legs under him as he spent the summer swimming competitively and isn't quite ready for the grind of racing on land just yet. Conrad expects Yant to return in a few weeks, if not sooner.

On the girls side, Arzenti returns a balance of both youth and experience. The Warriors are 2-2 overall. A lot of her runners are young, but they were even younger last season when they started. Freshman Emily Kleinschmidt has demonstrated poise beyond her years. Sophomore Julia Vislosky has earned the No. 1 spot, followed by Quincey Reese, junior Marissa Anderton, Kleinschmidt and either senior Colette Mitchell or sophomore Corina Paszek at the No. 5 spot.

“These kids are getting faster and faster,” Arzenti said. “Julia has dropped three minutes off her time this year and keeps getting personal best at every meet. I think we're doing well.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn-Trafford