Bumgarner takes second place
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Waynesburg’s Ben Bumgarner won by 12 seconds over runner-up Zach Skolnekovich of Quaker Valley to gain the gold medal at the PIAA Championships in 2016.
Maria DeCello checks her time after finishing her race in the WPIAL Class AA girls’ cross country championships. The junior helped South Fayette place third in the team standings. She also qualified for the PIAA championships set for Nov. 5 in Hershey.
Aaron Pfeil of South Fayette finished third in the WPIAL Class AA boys’ cross country race. The senior clocked in with a 16:49 pace and qualified for the PIAA championships to be held Nov. 5 in Hershey.
Sydney Wehn of Peters Township finished 31st overall in the WPIAL Class AAA cross country race and just missed qualifying for the PIAA state championships.
McKenna and Madison Lampe both qualified for the PIAA championships. The West Greene sophomores finished ninth and 18th overall at the WPIAL Class A championships. The twins finished with personal best times of 21:03 and 21:30.
SLIPPERY ROCK – When Ben Bumgarner entered Waynesburg High School, he ran cross country for fun. But by the end of his freshman season, he knew he wanted to be the best.
Four years later, few have proved better than Bumgarner.
During the WPIAL Class AA boys championship race Thursday at Coopers Lake Campground, Bumgarner finished second to Quaker Valley’s Zach Skolnekovich, who successfully defended his WPIAL title by a mere three seconds. The senior won in 16:15 while Bumgarner clocked a 16:18 time.
“I came in just wanting to do cross country as a hobby, but I knew I wanted to be good and I was willing to do whatever I could to be as good as I wanted,” Bumgarner said. “So this is just a culmination of four years of work.”
By increasing his mileage and training consistently, Bumgarner went from placing 200th with a time of 20:50 his first year at the WPIAL tournament to nearly knocking off the defending champion. Injured his sophomore season, he did not run, but last year, he finished seventh in 17:20.
Despite windy and muddy conditions, Bumgarner ran his best race.
“It was a little windy for me and I don’t really like that because I know last year it was really windy and I had a bad race but I felt very good with the race that I had and how I handled the conditions.
“I was very happy with my finish. I’ve never run this course well before I did this year.”
Over the first two miles, even at the 2.5-mile mark, Bumgarner led the field, which also included South Fayette’s duo of Aaron Pfeil (third overall) and Sam Snodgrass, (fifth). Bumgarner dictated the pace.
“I felt comfortable,” said Bumgarner, who is considering Penn State or Pitt as his college choices. “I felt like my strength is my strength and my endurance because of all the work that I have done. If it is not fast enough the first mile, then I will take it and I will put it at a pace that I need.”
All Bumgarner needed was a better kick down the stretch to unseat Skolnekovich. Skolnekovich overtook him late in the race.
“I really tried to put in another surge to try to break him right on the home stretch but right around the corner for the castle, he passed me back and I just tried to stick with him at that point. We both started our kicks and I just didn’t have anything left. I couldn’t fight him off. He just got me by a couple of seconds.”
Bumgarner gets a second chance at Skolnekovich at the PIAA championships Nov. 5 in Hershey. Bumgarner finished seventh last year and Skolnekovich took second.
“We are the two fastest returners,” said Bumgarner, noting Skolnekovich beat him by over one minute in last year’s WPIAL finals and by 30 seconds at the state tournament.
“I really want to go out to states and do well,” Bumgarner continued. “That’s going to be a big showdown. That’s what I really have my eyes on. Winning is definitely the goal. Zach is definitely my toughest competition in the state but I feel like I’m gaining on him.”
South Fayette is also gaining on the competition. The Lions finished tied for third as a team with New Castle (120 points) but qualified for the PIAA championships. Greensburg Salem won the team title with a 67 score and Quaker Valley followed with 81 points.
Pfeil and Snodgrass finished third and fourth overall at 16:49 and 17:00, respectively. Early in the race, the duo kept close to Skolnekovich and Bumgarner.
Joining Pfeil and Snodgrass will be teammates Silas Mays, Michael Cusick, Colin Dunn, Joey Cavanaugh and Ryan Hayes.
Waynesburg’s Cade Rush, a junior who finished 15th with a 17:46 time, joins Bumgarner.
West Greene twin sisters McKenna and Madison Lampe placed ninth and 18th, respectively, in the Class A competition. Both ran personal-best times of 21:03 and 21:30 and qualified for the PIAA championships.
They are the first state qualifiers from West Greene since Mikayla Sonneborn earned a berth in 2011. It is the first time the Pionneers will send two cross country runners to the PIAA finals.
“It’s kind of cool,” said McKenna, “because nobody really knows about West Greene. So doing something like this gets the word out that we are here.”
“It puts us on the map,” added Madison.
The sisters have each other to thank for their progress and achievements. They are running partners.
“We push each other. A lot,” said Madison.
“As twins, you always have someone to be there with you. Push you to be better,” McKenna said. “Everything is competition.”
South Faytte’s Maria DeCello also qualified on the girls side. The junior finished 18th overall, four seconds ahead of Ringgold’s Sarah Lucas, who also qualified with a time of 21:19.
In Class A boys tournament, Winchester Thurston took the three slots with Ben Littmann, Tristan Forsythe and Shaun Hay of McMurray and secured the team championship title with 20 points. With 121 and 162 points respectively, Riverview and Sewickley Academy finished second and third in the team competition.
In Class AAA, Seneca Valley ended North Allegheny’s dominance in boys’ cross country. The Tigers had won 11 straight team titles but the Raiders won this year’s crown with 55 points to NA’s 62. Canon-McMillan edged out Mt. Lebanon, 209-211, for fifth place. While the Big Macs did not qualify a runner for states.