Courtesy of Shari Miller 

The 2024 PIAA State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 2 in Hershey was one to remember for the Juniata Cross Country team as they had outstanding performances and took home 3 individual medals.  Starting the day for the Indians was sophomore Sylvia Brubaker in the girls AA race.  She had placed 25th last year in this race, but is much stronger and confident this year.  She got out well from the gun and was positioned in the top 10 by the first mile mark.  She dropped to 16th by the 2 mile mark, but moved back up in the top 10 with 1k to go.  She was able to hold that position finishing in 10th place with a time of 19:22.  This was a 0:43 improvement from the 2023 State Championships.  Virginia Kraus from Saucon Valley won the girls AA race in a time of 18:18.  250 runners competed in the race.  “Sylvia came into this State Championship more relaxed and confident from last year.  She knew she was capable of competing with some of the best girls in the state.  She got out great and was never out of the top group throughout the race.  She puts in the work and is gaining confidence every season.  This season was a great step in her progression as a distance runner” Coach Jeff Miller said.

The next race for the Juniata Cross Country team was the boys AA race.  Juniata had placed 8th as a team in the State Championships in 2023 and 10th in 2022.  This year the boys moved up two spots to finish 6th in the state as a team and take home two individual medals.  Senior Wyatt Stroup improved his 25th place finish in 2023 to 12th place this year to medal and make the podium for the second year in a row with a course best time of 16:35.  Senior Joey Bomberger just missed a medal in 2023 placing 29th, but was able to make the podium this year placing 24th with a time of 16:48.  Senior Wesley Ehrisman ran a course best time to place 84th with a time of 17:47.  Sophomore Coy Kerstetter also ran a course best time placing 167th with a time of 18:43.  Senior Teagan Trout came in shortly behind in 183rd with a course best time of 18:55.  Junior Kade Wagner placed 210th with a course best time of 19:37 and freshman Josiah Barner was 216th with a time of 19:51.  This was Josiah’s first time running this course.  Jonathan Hess from Lewisburg won the boys AA race with a time of 15:57.  Grove City won the boys AA team competition with 85 points while Juniata was 6th with 238 points just missing 5th place by 8 points.  249 runners took part in the race.  “The boys ran great today.  This was Wyatt, Joey, Wesley, and Teagan’s last high school cross country race and they gave it their all.  Everyone of them ran their best time on this course and Shari and I couldn’t be more proud of all of them this season.  I was very happy to see Joey medal this year after just missing the podium last year.  Joey and Wyatt ran their own race today and didn’t panic when they weren’t in medal contention early on.  They both ran with confidence and moved up as the race went on to take home medals.  Joey and Wyatt have been running cross country since their freshmen year and have made each other better with their dedication to the sport.  These medals didn’t come easy.  They have put in nearly 5,000 miles of running since their freshman year and always give it their all.  Wesley has been part of our 3 District Championship and state teams.  He is a very good runner that you can count on when it comes to championship races.  He works hard and it has been an honor to coach him.  Teagan has been on our last two District Championship and state teams.  He works hard and has been such a positive addition to our team.  You can count on him when it counts.  Coy is doing great for a sophomore and will continue to get better as he puts in more time in the sport.  I am looking forward to working with him for the next two years.  Coy was also a part of of our last two District Championship and state teams.  Kade has been a big help to the team in his first year of cross country.  He had a great first season and has what it takes to continue to get better in this sport.  Josiah did great as a freshman juggling soccer and cross country.  He is a very reliable and a hard working kid that has the tools to accomplish things he never thought possible in this sport,” Coach Jeff Miller said.