2019 Joe O'Neill Invitational

This past Friday, October 18th, was the Joe O'Neill Invitational, held at Bellvue State Park. The flat, fast course starts on the gravel loop, goes through the woods and across some fields, then crosses the gravel track to finish on the grass. Between five different races, about 1400 runners from over thirty teams competed that day. The crisp fall air, slight breeze, and plenty of competition made for a wonderful race for many of our runners. 

The varsity boys' race happened first, with a total of 249 runners. There was a false start, but things got back on track pretty quickly. Kai Schmeidel ('23) finished first for the Titans and 167th overall, with a time of 19:46. Alternate Captain Bryce Pope ('23) followed in 191st, running 20:22. Judah Deitrich ('21) crossed the line in 21:53, placing 220th overall. Josiah Deitrich ('24) came in eight places behind him in 22:13. Captain Marc Sherman ('20) finished in 23:43. Edward Scott ('24) and Anthony Dorno ('24) rounded out our guys with times of 25:09 and 27:05, respectively. 

The varsity girls' race happened soon after, with 213 runners. Celia Pope ('24) sprinted ahead at the last second and came in first for our girls, finishing in 138th place overall in 23:44. Fiona Fawcett ('22) came in just behind her in 23:45. Captain Katie Rippon ('20) came in 145th overall with a time of 24:02. Despite tripping and falling in the middle of the race, Alternate Captain Faith Hollister ('22) still finished strong in 24:14 and 153rd place. All four girls finished within 15 places and 30 seconds of each other. 

This invitational was a great opportunity to get out there and run a fast and fun course. Many of our runners got new personal bests or ran their best times so far this season, and all of us had a strong run. We still have some work to do this season, but we have seen some great improvement. Tomorrow is our second to last race at Avon Grove Charter. That will be a new course to our runners, but we will do our best and see what happens.