Area standouts at the state cross-country championships, and a BEA district title: HS roundup

Centre County had several top finishers in Saturday’s boys’ and girls’ PIAA Cross Country Championships, with State College’s Kileigh Kane, St. Joseph Academy’s Serra Mazza, and Penns Valley’s Brendan Colwell all among top-six finishers.

Mazza finished third in the Class A race with a time of 20 minutes, 15 seconds. Her team finished third overall in the team standings with Mazza and senior Julia Cusatis leading the way. Cusatis finished 12th with a time of 21:19. Their team score of 145 was 49 points behind the winners, Marion Center, who finished with 96.

Penns Valley had two Lady Rams finish the Class A race, with Kelsey Hull finishing the highest at 24th with a time of 21:04.

The State College girls’ team finished third in the AAA race with a score of 132, 67 points behind the state champ, North Allegheny. The Lady Little Lions were led by Kane, who finished with a time of 18:55, good for second overall and a silver medal. She finished 13 seconds behind the race’s winner, Jenna Mulhern of West Chester Henderson High.

State College had two more runners finish in the top 60 overall on their way to its third-place finish. Jordan Reed finished 31st with a time of 20:16 and Lizzie Gilpatrick finished 55th with a time of 20:39. The Lady Little Lions had five of their seven runners finish in the top 100 out of 228 total runners who finished the race.

In the boys’ Class A race, Penns Valley finished fourth overall in the team standings with a total score of 159. The Rams finished 110 points behind the state championship winners, Jenkintown. Penns Valley was led by Brendan Colwell, who finished in sixth place with a time of 17:02. Colton Sands was the Rams’ second-best finisher, landing in 18th with a time of 17:19.

Saint Joseph’s Academy had three runners finish the race, led by Carter Kauffman who finished in 17:27, good for 23rd overall.

State College’s boys’ team finished eighth in the AAA race as a team, with Owen Isham finishing tops among the Little Lions in 17:12. He was followed close behind by teammate Ben St. Pierre (17:14). Isham and St. Pierre finished 47th and 49th , respectively.

Girls Volleyball

Bald Eagle wins the district title

Bald Eagle’s volleyball team won the District 6 AA Championship on Saturday in Altoona, defeating Central Cambria in straight sets, 25-19, 25-13, 25-18. Grace Hugar and Taylor Kilmer led the Eagles with 11 kills apiece in their dominant victory.

Elita Brown led the Eagles with three aces and also added three kills of her own. Madison Rockey led the team in blocks with three, and Katelyn Smitchko added two more. Rockey also paced the team with her 36 sets in the match.

Lexi Skripek had 19 of the team’s 61 digs in the victory. The victory kept the District 6 AA Championship in Bald Eagle for another year after they took the same title in 2017. The Eagles advance to the PIAA AA Championships where they’ll play the third-place team from District 7 on Tuesday.

Girls’ Tennis

Kelly Vanden and Catelyn Janac represented State College in the PIAA AAA Girls’ Doubles Tennis Championship Friday. They lost in the first round to Dina Nouiame and Tina Prince of Methacton, 6-0, 6-1. Nouiame and Prince went on to finish second in the tournament.