Spartans slide through season, gear up for championships

The rain-swollen course turned into a mudbath, for competitors and spectators alike this past Saturday at the Centerville Stampede.  Times were expectedly slow, but the Spartans fought to stay competitive... and upright.  Nicholas El-Khoury and Antony Parnigoni delivered the 1-2 punch on the boy's side, with Jon Risher, Dave Rodriguez, and a shoe-less Joe Murray not far behind, good for a 3rd place team finish.  Spencer Lloyd, Paul Rodriguez, Jake Tracy, and Sean Kennedy placed in the top 25 for the Freshmen/Sophomore open race and Ian Bentley finished in the top 20 for the Junior/Senior open race.

Adrienne Grogan, Cassie Bacon, and Caroline Muth led the charge for Turpin in the girl's race for a 7th place team finish.  Not to be outdone by her brother, Rachel Bentley took 17th in the Junior/Senior open race with Katie Molloy and Emily Miller rounding out the top 3 Turpin finishers.  Michelle Mazzeo, Kaley Greenwood, and Caitlin Whitacre finished in the top 50 in the Freshmen/Sophomore open race.

This past weekend marked the end of the regular season, as the Spartans look ahead to the upcoming League and District Championships as well as what could lay beyond.  All three divisions of the Fort Ancient Valley Conference will converge upon William Henry Harrison High School on Saturday, October 17th to determine who will take home the league crown.

The District Championships will be hosted the following weekend on October 24th at Voice of America Park in West Chester.  Two races will be held to decide the top 8 teams (4 from each race) that will make the trip up to Troy for the Regional Championships on October 31st.

(Photo Credit -- A.Steible, Centerville)