2019 BOYS CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW: Weatherly, Northwestern return top runners

A number of area boys cross country teams were hit hard by graduation, but two teams that return a majority of their talent and should be contenders this season are Weatherly and Northwestern.

JIM THORPE

TAKING THE REINS ... Marie Rosahac will be the Olympians’ head coach this season after longtime mentor Drew Benyo retired following last season. Rosahac had been Benyo’s assistant for 12 years. Chelsey Cosslett will be the team’s assistant.

RUNNING BACK ... Look for James Schwartz (senior), Paul Onuskanich (senior), Sean Soden (senior), Ian Susko (senior), Bradyn Thompson (junior), Logan Pachulski (junior), John O’Toole (junior), Ben Seachrist (sophomore) and George Sakharov (sophomore) to lead the varsity squad this season.

KEEP AN EYE ON ... Underclassmen such as Christian Bradley (sophomore), Ryan Bailor (freshman), Nikolas Cinicola (freshman), Jasper Disanto (freshman), Tanner Lux (freshman), Ridge Snyder (freshman) and Jordan Remmel (freshman) will also be in the mix with the varsity squad this year. “We lost some of our strong runners due to graduation, but we do have four seniors who have been invested in this team throughout the years. We also have a good nucleus of experienced runners returning and a strong group of freshmen runners who had a successful junior high season last year. If these freshmen can make a smooth transition to the increased 5k distance course, I am hoping with the mix of our strong youth and the experience of our returnees it will lead to a competitive season,” said Rosahac.

OUTLOOK ... Rosahac is hopeful that the team’s upperclassmen and newcomers will form a nucleus that will lead to success this season and in the future. “James Schwartz, Ben Seachrist, and Bradyn Thompson should be some of our front runners. I also expect freshman Ryan Bailor to have a strong season, as he has a tremendous work ethic. I am also anticipating a lot of our other runners to be competitive this season. These boys are a great group of student athletes who are dedicated and goal-oriented. If they continue to challenge one another in practice throughout the season, their growth throughout the season can be significant,” she said.

COMING TOGETHER ... Panther Valley junior Matt Kokinda will also be following Jim Thorpe’s schedule this season, and will compete as independents. It is his first season participating in cross country.

LEHIGHTON

LEADING THE CHARGE ... Erica Pagotto is entering her seventh year as the team’s head coach. The Indians were 6-8 last season, and will have to replace top runners Evan Beers, Addison Howland, Alex Schwab, Gavin Sherer, Cameron Zerbe and Ben Mathisen. “The leadership on the team changed after so many seniors graduated last year, and the guys are stepping up to the plate to lead the team. We had a lot of key runners graduate last year,” she said.

WHO’S BACK? ... Logan Lichtenwalner (senior), Michael Rodriguez (junior) and Joe Adamcik (senior) all return after gaining varsity experience.

WHO TO WATCH ... Pagotto also will be counting on Dylan Ahner (junior), Matt Smith (senior), Maximus Hoffman (junior), Darian Johnson (sophomore), Byron DePaz (sophoore), Brandon Hall (sophomore), Mitch Nailor (sophomore), Collin Wentz (sophomore), Levi Monk (freshman) and Nicholas Zeigenfuss (freshman) to contribute this season. “We have new runners who have joined the team, and our veteran runners have really been training hard. I am excited to see how they run this season,” said Pagotto.

COMING OF AGE ... While Pagotto is hoping for solid results on the course this season, she is already proud of how far the team has come off it. “I have worked with most of these guys since they were in middle school. It is a treasure to watch them mature as runners and young men,” the coach said.

INVITE ONLY ... Lehighton’s three invitationals this season will be the Northampton Invitational (Aug. 31), the ‘Canes Invitational (Sept. 7) and the Centaur Invitational at DeSales University (Sept. 14).

MARIAN

NEW HAND ON DECK ... Justin Huegel takes over the Colts’ ship. The new skip isn’t a stranger, but a well-known figure in the world of high school running. Huegel has been a big part of the successful Marian track and field team in the spring.

WHO’S ON DECK ... The Colts lost three runners via graduation ­— Joseph McGinley, Zachary Mauro. But Huegel has a squadron of seven with experience including Justen Arriaga (Jr.), Ean Chelak (Jr.) , Kevin Earley (Jr.), Daniel Holincheck (Jr.), Robert Jones (Soph), Maxwell Schwabe (Jr.) and Gavin Vercusky (Jr.)

NEW TO THE SCENE ... Four newcomers dot the roster, and include a senior in Johnathan Bonomo, and three freshmen Ryan Berube, Ethan Risteter and Liam Sanphy.

WHERE DO WE STAND ... “Although it is my first year as the head cross country coach, I have had the privilege to coach many of these athletes during track season,” said Huegel. “Since that season ended, our cross athletes have got to work immediately and set goals for our team. They are hungry to take a step forward to being contenders at all levels and establish themselves as a force within the league and district.

“Our major strength is the experience. We return with our junior class, as well as the enthusiasm and drive to achieve the goals we set. They want nothing less than gold every opportunity. We believe we can put our men in a position to compete for places on the podium at all levels.”

NORTHWESTERN

YOUTH IS SERVED ... The Northwestern boys cross country team finished fourth in the Colonial League last season without a senior in its top 10. With all of the key runners from that team returning this year — and some young talent added to the lineup — the Tigers are planning to pick up where they left off last season. “They’re hungry,” said Northwestern head coach Chris Stitzel, who is entering his 21st season as head coach. “I think we can make some noise in leagues and districts.”

COMING BACK ... Junior RJ Zack returns after leading the team with his top 20 finishes at leagues and districts last year. Returning senior Joe Pleban and junior Cole Chukoskie both finished in the top 30 at districts last year, helping their team to a fourth-place finish in District 11 Class 2A, where they were only one point behind Jim Thorpe and five points behind second-place Notre Dame (Green Pond).

FRESH LEGS ... The Tigers also have some freshmen who were among the top runners in preseason time trials. Ninth-graders Matt Santana and Sam Bower could be two of the team’s top runners this year, along with classmates Zack Santana and Will Gruen. Returning senior Matt Boushell and junior Joseph Chukoskie are also likely to be part of the team’s top seven this season. “This year, it’s the boy’s side that’s deep,” said Stitzel. “I had four guys within 20 seconds of each other [at the preseason time trial]. I can go 8, 9 or 10 deep on the boy’s side this year. And we’re pretty young. A lot of the freshmen are stepping up. I’m really excited. I think we’ll be solid for the next couple years.”

FILLING OUT THE LINEUP ... The rest of the roster includes seniors Tom Bell, Jaden Derr, Rhys Fenstermaker, Scott Dillon and Tate Emmanuel; junior Jared Stitzel; sophomores Joshua Heilman, Nathan Peters, Zachary Leith, Nathan Peters, Carter Smith and Nathan Vincent; and freshmen Owen Leibovitz, Carson Mesics and Matthew Shuhay.

TAMAQUA

ALWAYS IN THE HUNT ... Coach Tom Kanger cranks out quality runners at Tamaqua the way Morgan Knitting Mills once churned out fabrics when it was a thriving industry. Kanger’s runners should be in the thick of the Schuylkill Cross Country title hunt because of seven veterans back on the scene.

TOUCH LOSSES ... Four Blue Raiders departed the program after the spring cap and gown ceremonies ­— Danny Chinchar, Derian Stianche, Detrick Borden and John Buchala. The most notable being Stianche, a three-sport star athlete. But the Raiders should still be strong on the legs of some potential veteran standouts including: Alec Humes, Andrew Fiorilla, Bradnon Fogerty, Brandon Long, Christopher Osenbach, Nathaniel Kovalchick, Phoenix Ritchie and Tiait Ehrig.

THE NEW FACES ON THE SCENE ... The newest runners to check in are Brandon Long, Barron Stuaffenburg, Sean Wall, Chrales Kabana and Jackson Ediem.

WHAT TO EXPECT ... “We have a good mix of new and old athletes that could make some noise,” said Kanger. “Brandon Fogarty and Chris Osenbach bring some needed experience to the team.”

WEATHERLY

THE GANG ... A stockpile full of veteran runners — athletic ones at that — will bolster the Wreckers hopes for another superb season. There are six veteran runners and a four-pack of newbies, three freshmen and a junior.

THE LEADERS OF THE PACK ... Coach Paul Schertrumpf is smiling, and rightfully so when he surveys the roster which includes junior Scotty Zoscin and sophomore Frankie Willis — both state qualifiers in 2018. Toss in the names of sophomores Brady Walters, Jordan Mitchell and John Walton makes this pack a good vibration.

HOPING TO MESH INTO THE RUNS ... The three frosh runners who will add depth along with junior Yasin Zuberi make for a nice mixture of potential stardoms. The trio of freshmen is Jacob Parker, Nathan Tripp and Michael Berger.

LET’S DO IT AGAIN ... Losing three standouts in Anthon Maguschak, Derek Houser and Nick Berger is going to be a tough way to try and defend the Wreckers Schuylkill League Division 2 title. Should that happen, it will be the first time in school history that a Weatherly cross country team has won back-to-back championships.

YES WE CAN, YES WE CAN ... Schertrumpf, now in his fourth season, says why not us. “Coming off our first Schuylkill League division title in 29 years, this year’s goal is to shoot for the District 11 title. I feel we are slightly improved over last year’s team, and the boys have worked hard in the summer and are ready for the challenge. With state qualifiers Scotty Zoscin and Frankie Willis leading the way, we are excited to get the season started.”

NORTHERN LEHIGH

DECIMATED ‘DAWG POUND ... Due to graduation, leading runner Preston Kemery has left behind the Northern Lehigh cross country scene. Several other key contributors are gone from the roster as well, leaving coach Dave Oertner with four varsity runners to compete.

NOTHING NEW ... Typically, high school programs depend on the incoming freshmen class to bolster their lineups. However, Nolehi had zero freshmen turn out for the program this season, leaving the program’s numbers low.

STILL REPPING ... Despite not having enough boys on the roster in order to compete, Oertner is still happy with the guys that have shown up. Jared Thomason should be the team’s top performer, with Hunter Zehner close behind in their preseason runs thus far.

OPTIMISM APLENTY ... Even with 10 runners on the combined boys’ and girls’ teams for Northern Lehigh this year, Oertner is looking forward to working with his athletes and maintaining a high level of development as the season progresses. Early on, the competition among teammates has been strong and should help with their experience down the road.

PLEASANT VALLEY

THE WELL IS FULL ... Head coach George Fair has plenty of reason to be excited for the 2019 season. “The boys are returning seven of our top eight runners from last season, so hopefully that works in our favor,” Fair said.

BYE BYE BEARS ... From last year’s squad, which finished a respectable 7-10 on the year, Nathan Borger graduated and moved on to the next phase of his life. With half of the boys’ roster being made up of ninth-graders, Fair is hoping that some of this new talent will be able to make a difference that Borger’s absence left.

GUESS WHO’S BACK ... Leading the wealth of experience for the Bear boys is Evan Fisher-Perez. Also returning are Kyle Murphy, Vignesh Ramachandran, Mark Edgar, Owen James, Cody Coman and Jon Weichand.

NEW AND IMPROVED ... Fair sees a group of five other runners able to make their impact known, including Eddie Lauritsen, Josh Gosselin, Logan Burney, Ethan Conklin and Gavin Bauman.

LOOKING OUT ... As for competition on the schedule for the Bears, Fair is aware that each team has its strong points to consider. “Each race this season will be challenging, whether it’s a Monroe County school or a Lehigh Valley school,” he said. “This tough competition will allow for tremendous growth as the season progresses.”

PALMERTON

THE DEPARTED ... For the boys’ program, it’s difficult to imagine a Palmerton running squad without Jake Martinez. However, the talented racer moved on to Lehigh University to take on challenges at the next level. As a consistent top performer in leagues, districts, and states, coach Bill Zeky is hoping the example Martinez set left its mark.

WHO’S NEXT? ... The group of remaining runners for Palmerton is led by the duo of Trent Geist and Mike Noyola, who are hoping to take some of the limelight that Martinez had the past four years. Also, Zeky sees Owen Hibell and Trey Sterling as potential top performers for the Blue Bombers this season.

OUTLOOK OPTIMAL ... The boys’ team has been conducting rigorous training sessions over the summer, and hopefully that pays dividends. “We have a nice, young core that have been dedicating themselves to running hard six to seven days a week, and it really feels like a family dynamic has developed,” Zeky said.

READY, SET, GO ... With the start of the Colonial League season looming, look for the Bombers to be in the mix as their runners are pushing each other to improve every day. “I hope that our hard work results in ‘PRs’ for our returning runners and great foundations for our freshmen class to build on, as well,” Zeky said. “I know my whole group is anxious to compete and ready to get started.”

Sam Matta, Andy Steinmetz and Mike Haines contributed to this report.