Seven Juniata cross country athletes competed in the Pennsylvania Middle School Cross Country Championships at Lock Haven University Saturday, October 19.

The first race of the day was the boys 7th and 8th grade two mile race.  7th grader Elliott Miller led the Indians with a 115th place finish with a personal best time of 12:45.7.  8th grader Zebadiah Ehrisman ran a personal best time of 14:35.5 to place do 162nd.  7th grader Andrew Rutherford was 172nd with a new personal best time of 15:46.4.  Juniata did not have enough runners to compete in the team competition.

Shortly after the boys race, 4 Juniata girls competed in the two mile race.  Leading the Indians was 8th grader Ella Zimmerman running a personal best time of 13:54.5 to take 79th place.  7th grader Moira Doydora ran a personal best time of 14:43 to place 108th.  7th grader Sophia Laub also ran a personal best time of 14:50.2 to get 114th place.  7th grader Juliet Heidenreich was 128th place with a new personal best time of 15:25.6.  Juniata was one girl shy of competing in the girls team competition.

“It was a beautiful day for a cross country race.  We had 7 athletes competing in this high level cross country race for the first time and they all ran competitively to come away with huge personal best times.  For most, this was their first year of running cross country and they all improved so much from the start of the season,” said Juniata coach Jeff Miller. “This was a great experience they will never forget.  My main goal coming into the season was to make cross country a great experience for them and show how hard work and consistency with training will make them better than they thought they could be.  Shari and I are super proud of how they performed today.”

Coach Jeff Miller, Manager Evan Yackey, Elliott Miller, Andrew Rutherford, Ella Zimmerman, Moira Doydora, Juliet Heidenreich, Sophia Laub, Zebadiah Ehrisman