Tamaqua gets back on track

The Tamaqua girls superb cross country team had its four-year undefeated regular season streak snapped a week ago by Blue Mountain. But it didn’t take long for the Raiders to reverse the loss and gain some revenge.

Running on their own home course on Wednesday, the Raiders flipped the switch back to the win column, dusting off the Eagles 21-36. They also claimed wins over Pine Grove (15-50) and Jim Thorpe (20-41) in the process.

Jim Thorpe came out on the short end against Blue Mountain, 20-35, while shutting out Pine Grove, 15-50.

Tamaqua was paced by Grace Stegemerten, who led the pack of runners with a time of 23:11. The Raiders’ Frances Kabana hit the tape in a time of 23:24 for a runner-up finish, and Brianna Dumond had a strong run as well, taking fourth-place in a time of 23:59.

“The heat was crazy and we expected it,” said Tamaqua coach Tom Kanger. “The girls went 1, 2 and 4 which was very nice. But it’s going to be a tough next couple of weeks. North Schuylkill is undefeated, while Lehighton and Blue Mountain have just one loss.”

Jim Thorpe’s top runner, Katelyn Bos, hit the tape in a time of 23:53 to take the third spot, with teammate Megan Rosahac (25:19) finishing seventh overall.

“The heat was a big factor – there’s no shade – you are in the sun the entire race,” pointed out Jim Thorpe head coach Marie Rosahac. “We were down to five girls, because some of our girls play soccer and weren’t available and we had a few injuries as well.”

The boys side of the meet saw unbeaten Blue Mountain pull out the sweep. Tamaqua went 2-1 with victories over Jim Thorpe and Pine Grove. Jim Thorpe, which entered the meet unbeaten, went 1-2 with its only win coming against Pine Grove.

Tamaqua’s Brandon Fogarty (19:42) finished second overall behind Travis Anderson (18:09) of Pine Grove. Tamaqua’s Tait Ehrig (20:43) finished fourth.

Jim Thorpe’s James Schwartz finished 14th overall in a time of 22:12.

UP AND COMING ... Tamaqua’s Stephen Kieffer placed second in the junior high meet with a time of 9:22. Jim Thorpe’s Ethan McClure (9:41) was third, while Levi Kunkel (9:48) secured a fourth-place finish for the Raiders. Tamaqua’s Samantha Plasha was the top girl, finishing in 11:19. Jim Thorpe’s Aubrey Bonner followed with a time of 11:36.

ALSO RUNNING ... Although it doesn’t have enough runners to count in the team scoring, Panther Valley had runners in both the boys and girls meet.

GIRLS

Tamaqua 21, Blue Mountain 36

Tamaqua 15, Pine Grove 50

Tamaqua 20, Jim Thorpe 41

Jim Thorpe 15, Pine Grove 50

Blue Mountain 20, Jim Thorpe 35

1.Grace Stegemerten (T) 23:11, 2. Frances Kabana (T) 23:24, 3. Katelyn Bos (JT) 23:53, 4. Brianna Dumend (T) 23:59; 5. Olivia Hass (BM) 25:11, 6. Leah Scheidel (BM) 25:18, 7. Megan Rosahac (JT) 25:19, 8. Bethany Basile (BM) 25:27, 9. Lottie Mateyak (T) 26:46, 10. Makenna Carroll (T) 26:46, 11. Madelyn Jones (T) 26:47, 12. Laura Laughlin (BM) 27:15, 13. Nevaeh Mitchell (BM) 27:26, 14. Grace Scheidel (BM) 27:33, 15. Gabby Menchak (BM) 27:44.

BOYS

Tamaqua 21, Pine Grove 37

Tamaqua 23, Jim Thorpe 34

Blue Mountain 24, Tamaqua 37

Blue Mountain 15, Jim Thorpe 50

Jim Thorpe 21, Pine Grove 40

1.Travis Anderson (PG) 18:09, 2. Brandon Fogarty (T) 19:42, 3. Colin Phipps (BM) 20:40, 4, Tait Ehrig (T) 20:43, 5. Ian Harris (BM) 21:06, 6. Justice Scheidel (BM) 21:07, 7. Colby Petrizzo (BM) 21:10, 8. Aidan Carr (BM) 21:10, 9. Tanner Rabenstein (BM) 21:11, 10. Brian Sherry (BM) 21:11, 11. Charles Kabana (T) 21:40, 12. Ridge Snyder (JT) 21:41, 13. Christopher Osenbach (T) 21:54, 14. James Schwartz (JT) 22:12, 15. Shane DaSilva (BM) 22:30.