Schuylkill League Cross Country Championships: Minersville’s Long captures boys’ gold
Shenandoah Valley's Robert Espinal, Minersville's Kolin Long and Blue Mountain's Francesco Carr, from left, compete in the boys' race Wednesday at the Schuylkill League Cross Country Championships at White Birch Golf Course. Long won the race in 16:19. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
BARNESVILLE — The streak continues.
For the 11th straight season, a different boy captured gold at the Schuylkill League Cross Country Championships.
Minersville senior Kolin Long made his move just before the long uphill to the finish Wednesday and broke the tape in 16:19 on the winding, 3.1-mile layout at White Birch Golf Course. Shenandoah Valley junior Robert Espinal finished second in 16:27, and 2023 champion Francesco Carr of Blue Mountain took third in 16:33 on a sunny, 53-degree day in the mountains.
Tamaqua earned the team title, defeating Blue Mountain 26-31 in a Division I run-off and topping the Eagles 52-57 in the overall race. Minersville (114) placed third.
Not since Jim Thorpe’s Jonathan Condly went back-to-back in 2013-14 has a Schuylkill League boy won multiple league titles. Long is the first Minersville champion since Landon Boyle took the 2021 gold.
“I’m proud of it. Coming into the race, I had no idea what was going to happen,” Long said. “I knew Frankie (Carr) did great last year. Robert (Espinal) had a great race. I knew he was pretty good from other meets throughout the season, but it was back and forth the entire time. It was a great race.”
And the key?
“Just staying focused and staying on his hips and knowing when to try and take over and sprint toward the finish,” Long said. “Right off the turn, I gunned it. (Robert) gunned it, too. It was a great uphill finish.”
A pack of five runners ran in a tight grouping and jockeyed for position most of the way, with Long, Espinal and Carr pulling away late. Tamaqua seniors Tony Marchetti (16:40) and Levi Kunkel (16:56) finished 4-5, as everyone in the top five broke 17:00.
Joining them for the Blue Raiders: freshman Aidan Elston (15th place in 17:52), senior Adam Schock (20th place in 18:11) and freshman Parker Steencken (21st in 18:20).
For Blue Mountain, senior Jude Scheidel took seventh in 17:14, and sophomore Grayson Meck placed 10th in 17:38, but Tamaqua had just enough to turn back the Eagles.
“All the training that we put into the season, all the workouts, all the runs came out today,” Marchetti said. “We know it’s competitive between us and Blue Mountain, but we got the job done. We know what we need to do, and we did it.
“Run this course like we ran any other course,” Marchetti added. “Don’t focus on what’s on the line, just focus on your run. Don’t get too ahead of yourself. Be competitive, but just do what we’ve been doing all season. Just run. Just run your best time. Just run as fast as you can. … It’s a great accomplishment for the team.”
Next up is the District 11 Cross Country Championships, set for Oct. 23 at DeSales University. The top two teams and 10 individuals not on those teams in each classification will qualify for the PIAA Championships, to be held Nov. 2 at the Parkview Cross Country Course in Hershey.
