Pender repeats as D-11 champion

CENTER VALLEY – Reagan Pender acknowledges the pressure because she understands the expectations.

When the stage gets bigger, the Northern Lehigh senior simply gets better.

Pender proved it again on Wednesday, winning her second straight District 11 Class 1A title at DeSales University. The triumph built on what has already been a phenomenal season.

After capturing her second consecutive Colonial League crown on the same course a week ago, Pender put on an even more impressive performance in her return, winning in 19:25 ahead of Notre Dame’s Grace Medei (20:52).

“It does mean a lot,” said Pender. “Last year it meant a lot, too. But this year, it’s kind of like, I don’t have any pressure for next year; I don’t have to defend my title. It’s what I have. It’s what I am.”

Pender’s winning time at the league meet was 19:28.

“She’s a steady runner,” said Buldogs head coach Dave Oertner. “She comes out and gives you a good effort every time. What was nice today is that she had a nice lead, so she could relax a little bit coming in. I think she has a lot left yet going into (states) next week.

“She was in control early, and it was just a solid race for her.”

Northwestern added to its legacy, winning the 2A team title for the second year in a row. The Tigers topped North Schuylkill 83-98 to secure the lone qualifying spot for 2A girls teams at states.

“With the girls, I knew it would be tough since only one team goes,” said Northwestern head coach Chris Stitzel. “I knew North Schuylkill had three good girls, but I knew it was going to take a total team effort today. And they did it.”

Cori McCormick (second), Ryley Schwalm (fourth) and Katie McCormick (eighth) gave the Spartans three runners near the front of the field. But Northwestern offset those finishes with its depth.

Angelina Klein led the Tigers with a sixth-place finish in 20:24. Kailyn Jones (16th), Molly McGorry (18th), Allison Costa (22nd), Maci Fisher (26th) all came in before North Schuylkill’s fourth runner crossed the line in 40th.

“When they told us, I started crying and getting emotional because it’s such an honor for us to have come this far as a team,” said Klein. “I had a feeling today that we were going to do well. But then I started getting nervous ... and it was kind of back-and-forth for a while, until I finished the race, and I just knew; I had a feeling that we did it. We just went out and it happened.”

Tamaqua’s Grace Stegemerten qualified for states with a third-place finish in 20:07 in the 2A race. Palmerton’s Natalie Mosier placed fourth with a time of 21:14 in the 1A race to advance to Hershey.

Pender’s execution has been nearly flawless all season. In addition to her league and district titles, she was a runner-up in all three invitationals she competed in this season, including the PIAA Foundation race in Hershey.

“I would say the main part of today was to get to states, and after that I definitely wanted to defend my title,” said Pender. “But I’m feeling good, I’m healthy and I’m excited for next week.

“I’m just trying to play it by ear. I know that based on the Foundation race, that I’ve run with these girls before. I know how to race against them, and I know which ones I need to stay up with a little bit more.”

Pender placed sixth at the state meet a year ago.

“I think there are about five or six girls who have legitimate shots at it,” said Oertner. “And then there might be one out there we don’t know about ... but there are probably five or six girls who have a shot, and she’s one of them. So you have to go in there and have your best race of the year, and hope that’s good enough.

“She has to be healthy, and right now, she is. We just have to make it through another two weeks and see how it is.”

While Pender will be looking to cap her career with another state medal, both Stegemerten and Mosier are eager to experience the event for the first time.

A sophomore, Stegemerten missed advancing to states a year ago by one place, finishing seventh.

“I’m really excited to be able to go,” said Stegemerten. “I don’t really know what to expect, but it’s just a great opportunity to go run there.”

After a 10th-place finish at the league meet, Mosier added another accomplishment to a stellar freshman campaign with a district medal.

“It means a lot,” said Mosier. “Leagues helped a lot, because I got to see what girls were stronger at what part of the course. And then I got to see where I could run faster, and what time I would have to beat. That really helped in the second mile, which is basically all hills.

“I think the first mile was a little too fast. But then by the third mile, I felt pretty good.”

DISTRICT 11 CROSS COUNTRY

At DeSales University

GIRLS

Class 3A

Team scores and legend

*1. Emmaus (Emm) 50, *2. Liberty (Lib) 72, 3. Southern Lehigh (SL) 80, 4. Parkland (Par) 103, 5. Northampton (Nor) 147, 6. Easton (Eas) 154, 7. Freedom (Fre) 216, 8. Stroudsburg (Str) 232, 9. Nazareth (Naz) 239, 10. PM East (PME) 245, 11. Whitehall (W) 283, 12. Pottsville (Pott) 341, 13. Pleasant Valley (PV) 385, 14. Bangor (Ban) 417.

Individual results

(Top-20 plus other locals in the top-50)

*1. Emily Jobes (Lib) 19:17, *2. Keerstin Augustin (Emm) 19:56, *3. Isabella Lees (Emm) 19:58, *4. Ciara Conboy (Str) 20:03, *5. Georgia Wiswesser (Nor) 20:04,* 6. Belle Weikert (Lib) 20:05, *7. Hailey Reinhard (Emm) 20:07, *8. Jenna Groeber (SL) 20:08, *9. Marianne Tassinari (ESS) 20:11, *10. Lauren Charboneau (Fre) 20:16, *11. Amber Poniktera (Nor) 20:20, *12. Caitlin Voloshen (Naz) 20:24, *13. Kera Reinhard (Emm) 20:25, *14. Ava Bendetti (Par) 20:26, *15. Brooke Labenberg (Par) 20:29, *16. Pia Mazzella (Eas) 20:47, 17. Ashley Meinhold (SL) 20:48, 18. Lauren Meinhold (SL) 20:49, *19. Jessica Farrell (Lib) 20:50, 20. Natalie Morgan (SL) 20:51, 50. Lily Mingora (PV) 22:25.

Class 2A

Team scores and legend

*1. Northwestern Lehigh (NW) 83, 2. North Schuylkill (NS) 98, 3. Central Catholic (CC) 104, 4. Tamaqua (Tam) 109, 5. Blue Mountain (BM) 133, 6. Wilson (Wil) 151, 7. Palisades (Pali) 165, 8. Lehighton (Leh) 166, 9. Jim Thorpe (JT) 184, 10. Bethlehem Catholic (BC) 227, 11. Saucon Valley (SV) 252.

Individual results

(Top-20 plus other locals in the top-50)

*1. Olivia Haas (BM) 18:18, *2. Cori McCormick (NS) 19:10, *3. Grace Stegemerten (Tam) 20:07, *4. Ryley Schwalm (NS) 20:08, *5. Isabel DeVos (CC) 20:19, *6. Angelina Klein (NW) 20:24.5, 7. Mel Love (PG) 20:24.8, 8. Katie McCormick (NS) 20:25, 9. Alyssa Errico (Wil) 20:34, 10. Margaret Burke (BC) 20:43, 11. Jillian Pote (Wil) 20:58, 12. Frances Kabana (Tam) 21:09, 13. Sara Reguera (Pali) 21:13, 14. Kelsey Gaston (Leh) 21:25, 15. Katelynn Bos (JT) 21:27, *16. Kailyn Jones (NW) 21:36, 17. Amy Farese (Pali) 21:42, *18. Molly McGorry (NW) 21:48, 19. Emma Szydlow (SV) 21:53, 20. Brianna Dumond (Tam) 21:57, *22. Allison Costa (NW) 22:12, *26. Maci Fisher (NW) 22:32, 29. Nicole Carroll (JT) 22:46, 32. Asia Ahner (Leh) 22:51, 35. Megan Rosahac (JT) 22:59, 37. Alyssa Williams (Leh) 23:01, 38. Lottie Mateyak (Tam) 23:03, 39. Madison Cressley (Leh) 23:04, 42. Makenna Carroll (Tam) 23:29, 43. Mia Jones (Tam) 23:25, *45. Alexis Vennera (NW) 23:43, *62. Nicole Landes (NW) 25:20.

Class A

Team scores and legend

*1. Notre Dame-GP (NDGP) 36, 2. Tri-Valley (TV) 72, 3. Catasauqua (Cat) 98, 4. Moravian Academy (MA) 102, 5. Marian (M) 132, 6. Northern Lehigh (NL) 135, 7. Palmerton (Palm) 142, 8. Mahanoy Area (Mah) 191.

Individual results

(Top-20 plus other locals in the top-50)

*1. Reagan Pender (NL) 19:25, *2. Grace Medei (NDGP) 20:52, *3. Samantha Masser (TV) 21:03, *4. Natalie Mosier (Palm) 21:14, *5. Serena Azzalina (NDGP) 21:16, *6. Lexi Rushatz (Cat) 21:34, *7. Lily Eyvazzadeh (MA) 21:45, *8. Katelyn Schweitzer (NDGP) 21:49, 9. Lucy Brubaker (Cat) 21:54, *10. Laura Dainauski (NDGP) 22:23, *11. Nathalia Ulsh (NDGP) 22:34, 12. Paige Mitchell (TV) 22:43, 13. Brooke Adams (TV) 22:49, 14. Krysta Nichols (MA) 22:56, *15. Rosette Shupe (NDGP) 22:59, 16. Maddison Quick (Mah) 23:17, *17. Gianna Farina (NDGP) 23:21, 18. Danielle Gordon (Wea) 23:26, 19. Isabelle Stewart (TV) 23:29, 20. Sophie Lee (MA) 23:32, 21. Alison Lorah (NL) 23:38, 22. Carolyn Mehallo (M) 23:54, 24. Grace Cumow (M) 24:04, 26. Julia Kreisl (M) 24:14, 30. Emma Martinez (Palm) 24:37, 34. Kira Houser (Palm) 25:05, 36, Lisa Napoletano (M) 25:22, 38. Carly Mikulski (NL) 25:38, 39. Isabella Genao (M) 25:43, 42. Natalie Keller (NL) 25:51, 45. Elizabeth Marshman (Wea) 26:15, 47. Samantha Perloni (Palm) 27:01.

*-Qualified for states