PIAA Cross Country: Notre Dame GP Girls Secure Silver at States

Notre Dame-Green Pond's cross country team settles for second place at the PIAA Cross Country Championships.

Art Corrigan, a seasoned cross country coach in his fifth decade, maintains a strong competitive spirit and a desire to win. However, his experience and longevity have granted him the wisdom to maintain a balanced perspective. The coaching institution at Notre Dame-Green Pond recognizes and appreciates exceptional performances, and they witnessed one at the PIAA Cross Country Championships in Hershey.

The Crusaders, who were the Colonial League and District 11 champions, fell short in their pursuit of a third consecutive Class 1A girls team championship. They ultimately settled for second place overall, with Elk County Catholic of District 9 taking the top spot. Elk County Catholic accumulated 63 points, while Notre Dame finished with 71.

Despite not achieving their goal of a three-peat, Corrigan regarded this year's performance as the program's finest. He expressed pride in the team's effort and acknowledged that they were outperformed by a formidable opponent on that particular day. Corrigan emphasized his immense pride in the girls' performance and their ability to run their best at the state championships.

Leading the pack for Notre Dame were the Schweitzer sisters, Olivia and Ella. Both achieved top-25 finishes in the race. Ella Schweitzer secured the 18th position overall, completing the course in 20:35, while Olivia finished 24th with a time of 20:51. Ella had previously earned a 17th-place medal in her freshman year, while Olivia collected her first state medal.

Olivia Schweitzer expressed her satisfaction with earning a state medal in her senior year, emphasizing the significance of this achievement. Ella Schweitzer echoed her sister's sentiments, stating that despite not winning, she was proud of the team's collective effort and recognized that they had given their best.

The Schweitzer sisters also mentioned their preference for warmer weather during the race. They noted that the starting conditions were challenging, with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees at the 9:30 a.m. start time. The temperatures later rose to the mid-50s for the afternoon races. Olivia Schweitzer recalled a particularly cold race in her sophomore year, where she experienced extreme discomfort. Despite the less-than-ideal weather conditions, the team persevered and gave their all.

In addition to the Schweitzer sisters, sophomore Brenna Hammerstone finished 28th with a time of 21:06, and senior Katherine Koons took 30th with a time of 21:08. Elk County Catholic showcased their strength with three runners finishing among the top six.

Notre Dame-Green Pond aimed to become the second team from District 11 to secure three consecutive state titles. Emmaus had previously achieved this feat in the 3A girls classification from 2007-2009. Parkland's girls in 2000 and Central Catholic's girls in 2001 are the other District 11 teams to have won PIAA titles.

Among the other teams from the Colonial League and Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, no other team placed within the top 13 at the state championships. Parkland's boys, who achieved their program's best eighth-place finish in Class 3A last season, secured a 14th-place finish this year. Senior Paul Abeln led the team with a 29th-place individual finish.

Easton was the only District 11 school to qualify both their boys and girls teams. Coach Bobbi Jo Powell's boys finished 18th, while the Red Rover girls finished 15th in Class 3A.

The EPC champions, the Emmaus girls, placed 14th among the 20 Class 3A teams. Saucon Valley's girls in 2A finished 17th out of 21 qualifiers, and the Moravian Academy girls were 19th out of 23 teams in 1A.

In the 2A race, Central Catholic's boys secured a 15th-place finish out of 21 teams. Despite the varying outcomes for the different teams, the dedication and effort displayed by all the athletes were commendable.