ATHENS BOYS, GIRLS, JUNIOR HIGH TEAMS SWEEP WELLSBORO, NP-MANSFIELD

By: Tim Birney  /  September 28, 2021  /  Photo: Amanda Conklin

ATHENS — The Bronson sisters — junior Emma and freshman Sara — finished 1-2, and the Athens boys once again flashed their depth as both teams logged wins over Wellsboro and North Penn-Mansfield here Tuesday afternoon in NTL cross country action at Round Top Park.

BOYS
Athens 20, NP-Mansfield 41
Athens 17, Wellsboro 43
North Penn-Mansfield’s Noah Sheddon earned the victory, but Athens, still without its top runner — senior Kyle Anthony, had five of the next seven runners to cross the finish line to post bigs wins over Wellsboro and NP-M.

Sheldon clocked in at 16:51, with Athens senior Matt Gorsline second in 17:55, junior Ethan Denlinger third in 18:08, and freshman Carter Lewis was fourth in 19:41.

Junior Nate Prickitt was sixth in 20:03, senior Isaak Hobday was seventh in 20:18. senior Sander Bertsch was ninth in 21:06, and freshman Lohith Kinthala was 13th in 32:40.

“Today was a good day for the boys,” said Athens boys coach Mike Bronson.  

“The junior high boys had a really nice team race with five of the first six finishers,” he noted. “The varsity guys put in a solid, workmanlike effort.  

“As they have all season, Matt (Gorsline) and Ethan (Denlinger) led the team up front and then our pack of guys filled in,” he added. “We got some good work in today and are looking forward to racing at the McQuaid Invitational this weekend.”

GIRLS
Athens 20, Wellsboro 35
Athens 26, NP-Mansfield 29
Emma Bronson and Sara Bronson finished 1-2 with identical times of 22:26 to lead the Lady Wildcats to a pair of wins.

Sophomore Thea Bentley was fourth in 24:43, while sophomore Cailyn Conklin was 11th in 27:37, sophomore Emily Hendershot was 12th in 27:52, and Ruby Kinsman was 20th in 32:43.

“The girls teams all picked up big wins today,” said Athens girls coach Scott Riley.

“The junior high was led by Addison Bruns and Olivia Cheresnowsky, with Victoria (Gao) and Kayla (Marshall) we close behind to create a close pack.

For the varsity, Emma and Sara Bronson led the way,” noted Riley. “Thea Bentley had a big race today to help scoring.

“Cailyn (Conklin) and Emily (Hendershot) ran together to close out the top five, and put the team in a good position,” he added. “Ruby Kinsman ran a great first race of the season on a tough course.”

JUNIOR HIGH BOYS
Athens 15, NP-Mansfield 50
Athens 17, Wellsboro 40
Graham Wanck won the junior high boys race, and four of his Athens teammates finished third through sixth, respectively, to lead the junior Wildcats to a pair of big wins.

Wanck clocked in at 10:28, while Eli Hicks finished third in 11:00, Ty Lezak was fourth in 12:19, Zach Fisher was fifth in 12:41, and Charan Venkataswamy was sixth in 13:09.

Isaac Roy (14:56), Andrew DeForrest (15:30), and Arayan Guar (19:15) finished 10th through 12th, respectively, for Athens.

JUNIOR HIGH GIRLS
Athens 23, NP-Mansfield 32
Athens 14, Wellsboro 22
Athens had four runners in the top six, led by second-place finisher Addison Bruns, to pull out wins in modified scoring.

Bruns clocked in at 12:35, while Olivia Cheresnowsky was fourth in 14:29, Victoria Gao was fifth in 15:14, and Kayla Marshall was sixth in 15:30.

Athens returns to action Saturday at the prestigious McQuaid Invitational in Rochester.