HERSHEY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — It didn’t really hit Grace Neubert until the team bus rolled into St. Marys and joined a makeshift parade of other cars and emergency vehicles.
It was a big welcome home for the Elk County Catholic girls cross country team and Neubert finally realized what all that fuss was about.
The Crusaders were state champions.
(Pictured above, the Elk County Catholic girls cross country team won a PIAA Class A championship on Saturday in Hershey/submitted photo)
ECC, led by top 10 finishes from seniors Neubert, Sophia Bille and Sami Straub, won the PIAA Class A girls title, edging second-place Notre Dame Green Pond, 63-71, on Saturday in Hershey.
“I mean, I don’t know if it has really sunk in yet,” Neubert said. “We got back into town and there was a parade and we were just sitting on the bus and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we just won states. What the heck?’”
Neubert finished second overall in the race with a time of 19 minutes, 14 seconds.
Bille was fourth at 19:42 and Straub sixth, coming in at 19:56.
Gianna Bille, Katie Straub, Andrea Baron and Isabella Macer also raced for ECC.
Gianna Bille was 26th, crossing the finish line with a time of 20:52.
“We knew it was close,” Neubert said. “We knew we were in it and we were in the top few, but we weren’t sure how it would go. That was really exciting.”
Neubert and her teammates had to wait a bit before they were informed they had officially won.
“We actually had no idea because it was very close,” Neubert said. “We were one point ahead of Notre Dame at the second mile. It was about 10, 15 minutes after before they told us and everyone celebrated. There were many tears of joy.”
It was a bit of redemption for the Crusaders.
Last year, ECC finished a disappointing fifth at the state meet on an unseasonably warm early November day in Hershey.
It was a factor.
But the weather was not on Saturday with temperatures about 35 degrees cooler than last season.
“We probably should have placed a little higher but we didn’t because it was so hot,” Neubert said. “Not all of us had great days — it was 75 and humid. Today was perfect; it was about 40 degrees. Some people might say that 40 degrees is not perfect, but we like 40 degrees.”
Neubert said the win is even more fulfilling because it was her last chance at a team gold.
“This year we were really just trying to finish it out strong,” she said. “A lot of us are seniors on the team, so we wanted to see what we could do and just go out with a bang. We just wanted to run it together and for each other.”
Neubert was also gunning for an individual state title, but faced a daunting challenge with Virginia Krause of Moravian Academy in the field.
Krause was the heavy favorite to win after putting up a stellar season as a sophomore.
Things didn’t begin well for her, however.
“She fell at the start,” Neubert said.
Krause recovered and won with a time of 18:50.
“I knew it was going to be tough getting first because Virginia is amazing,” Neubert said.
Getting the state title to go with the District 9 crown last weekend certainly softened that runner-up individual finish for Neubert.
“It means a lot. I think it’s extra special because it’s a reward for all the hard work we put in,” Neubert said. “We put in so much work and we just went out there and did our best. It make us very proud of each other and proud of ourselves and what we’ve accomplished this season. We’ve grown together as a team.”
It was a good day for other D9 runners.
(Adisen Jackson/photo by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography)
Clarion-Limestone freshman Adisen Jackson placed 20th in the Class A girls race and earned a medal. She finished with a time of 20:37.
She was also welcomed home to Strattanville with a parade.
Cranberry was sixth as a team, led by Kelsey Hanna, Kayla Hanna and Karleigh Shaffer, who finished 17th, 21st and 22nd respectively. Kelsey finished with a time of 21:09, Kayla came in at 21:24 and Shaffer at 21:25
In Class 2A girls, St. Marys was third as a team with 126 points. Danville was first (82), followed by Cathedral Prep (118).
Gabby Pistner, a junior, placed fifth with a time of 19:22.
In Class A boys, Coudersport senior Kevin Sherry placed third, crossing the finish line in 16:22.
Ridgway senior Eli Schrieber also earned a medal with a 15th-place finish with a time of 17:12.
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