Pajak repeats as WPIAL cross country champion
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Ryan Pajak of Ringgold bolted to the front of the pack and remained there during the WPIAL Class 2A boys cross country championships. He finished in first place with a winning time of 15:43.9.
Ryan Pajak of Ringgold is all smiles as he crosses the finish line in first place after winning the WPIAL Class 2A boys cross country title with a time of 15:43.9.
Brett Kroboth of Peters Township charges down the stretch to the finish line in the WPIAL Class 3A boys cross country championship race. Krobth finished third overall and qualified for the PIAA Championships to be held Nov. 5 in Hershey.
Meagan McKenna of Peters Township checks her time of 20:02 as she crosses the finish line in 16th place during the WPIAL Class 3A girls cross country championships.
Sydney Shock of Peters Township charges to the finish line to finish in 12th place in the WPIAL Class 3A girls cross country championship race. Shock clocked in with a 19:39.2 time.
Lucas Henderson of Belle Vernon reacts as he approaches the finish line during the WPIAL Class 2A boys cross country championships. He finished eighth in 16:49.3 and qualified for the state finals set for Nov. 5 in Hershey.
Hope Bundash of McGuffey gets assistance after finishing 28th in the girls WPIAL Class 2A cross country championship. She finished in 21:10.9 and qualified for the PIAA Championships set for Nov. 5 in Hershey.
Rosalyn Perozzi of Belle Vernon reacts after she crosses the finish line during the WPIAL Class 2A girls cross country championship race. She finished 18th overall with a time of 20:48.4.
Tessa Rodriguez of Belle Vernon reaches the finish line during the WPIAL Class 2A girls cross country championship race. She clocked a 20:29.6 time to finish 13th overall and qualified for states.
Hope Bundash of McGuffey gets assistance after finishing 28th in the girls WPIAL Class AA cross country championship race. She finished in 21:10.9 and qualified for the PIAA championships set for Nov. 5 in Hershey.
CALIFORNIA – For Ryan Pajak, the plan worked.
Instead of putting up with the stress the final few regular-season meets would produce, the junior from Ringgold High School took the last week off from competition.
That meant sitting out the Washington County Coaches Meet, held at his home course at Mingo Park, and the Tri-State Meet, held at California University, site of Thursday’s WPIAL Championships.
Pajak led from start to finish over the hilly 3.1-mile course and pocketed his second straight gold medal in Class 2A with a time of 15:43.9.
The time off from competition, which lasted about 10 days, allowed him to run stress-free miles in workouts, which amounted to 50 or 60 miles per week.
“Winning it two times means a lot to me,” said Pajak. “The course was much better than last year when it was pretty muddy.”
Last year, Pajak became the first Ringgold runner since Melvin Boyd did it in 1973 to win a WPIAL Cross Country title. This year, Pajak is the first runner in school history to win back-to-back cross country titles.
Pajak said he was concerned a litle by the rain that fell overnight.
“I knew it was going to be good for (the course),” said Pajak. “But as soon as the girls race started, my coach told me it was in tip-top condition.”
Ringgold head coach Jen McMichael said Pajak winning the first title was a special thrill.
“I think the first one was the best,” she said. “But cominng back, winning the second with a faster time was special.”
Pajak advances to the PIAA Championships in Hershey on Nov. 5.
Local runnners joining Pajak in qualifying for states were Hope Bundash of McGuffey, who placed 28th overall in girls Class 2A, and Tessa Rodriguez and Rosalyn Perozzi of Belle Vernon.
In girls Class 3A, Peters Township’s Sydney Shock was 12th with a time of 19:39.2 and teammate Maegan McKenna, who was 16th with a 20:02; and Lily Colombo of South Fayette, who was a second behind McKenna and in 17th place. Grace Senneway of Peters Township (19th, 20:09.6) and Abby Poe of South Fayette (24th, 20:23.7) also qualified.
The South Fayette boys team made another move toward the top of Class 3A by finishing second behind North Allegheny in the team standings.
“Everyone performed,” said South Fayette head coach Joe Winans. “We’ve been in Triple-A for three years and finished ninth the first year, sixth the second year and now we’re second.”
For the Lions, Alaa-Eddine Guetari finished ninth overall with a time of 16:41.6; Roman Galioto was 11th (16:56.1); Tim Danzinger was 25th (17:44.2); Zack Warchol was 36th (17:59.6); and Josh O’Korn was 64th (18:26.1).
“I didn’t know what to expect because we were running without our No. 2 runner, Jacob Borgesi, who had a stress fracture.”
Brett Kroboth turned in a fine performance, finishing third in boys Class 3A with a time of 16:11, 10 seconds better than his PR for this season. Drew Griffith of Butler won the race with a time of 15:17.2, 36 seconds better than Jack Bertram of North Allegheny and 54 seconds better than Kroboth.
“I’m happy with my time,” said Kroboth. “I just tried to stay within shouting distance. I went out a little harder last week (at Tri-State) and it was a good race but it wasn’t the best I had. So I went out a little more conservative.”
Shock’s time of 19:39.2 was 1:17 off the winning time of Logan St. John Kletter of Mt. Lebanon (18:22.3).
“I wasn’t feeling well this week and I was concerned I wasn’t going to get a medal,” said Shock. “I raced here for Tri-State and got ninth.”
Running on a sprained ankle, Shock still managed to get 34th in the state meet last year.
“The ankle wasn’t fully healed,” she said. “But I was in a better mental state.”
Bundash was the last qualifier in girls Class 2A.
“I was worried before, but not today,” Bundash said. “I was counting all the teams last week leading up to this and figuring out who I needed to beat. I was worried after finishing 28th. I didn’t think I’d be in it.”
In girls Class A, Anastasia Georgagis of California, finsihed eighth with a time 21:37.7, some 2:30 behind Chelsea Hartman of Shady Side Academy. Teammate Alina McClafin also made it.
Jordan Dean of Waynesburg made it by finishing 16th with a time of 22:03.1. Ramaniah Karamchetti of Washingron qualified at 26th place (18:26.10). McGuffey’s Brady Hageman and Elihu Dale also qualified.