Cross Country Team Strives for Success

The Lower Moreland Cross Country team has had a very successful season led by Coach Greg Green and Coach Alana Jacaruso. Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams have performed consistently well and the team’s athletes have also achieved individual success. Multiple student athletes have achieved personal records and medaled on several occasions. 

The team is led by senior captains Jack Becker, Shea Woods, Anna Mazik, and Siri Hellenbrand. They started their season off strong at their first dual meet at Wissahickon High School on August 31. The team began their season with the boy’s team conquering Wissahickon and the girls team defeating Gwynedd Mercy and Wissahickon. At this meet, Jack Becker and Amelia Ogawa both achieved first place finishes. This was only the start to the Lions’ cross country success, as they then went on to have an undefeated season. 

Two standout student-athletes from the girls Cross Country team are Amelia Ogawa and Siri Hellenbrand. Amelia, a junior, and Siri, a senior, have consistently been top finishers. At the PTXC invitational on September 10 at Kutztown University, Amelia finished second and Siri finished ninth overall. This led the girls team to place third out of twenty teams in the Varsity race while the boys placed six out of twenty-six teams. At the Pre-State meet in Hershey, PA, Amelia placed fourteenth and Siri finished twentieth out of 233 runners. At the Briarwood Invitational, Kennedy Durand made her mark by placing first. In Junior Varsity news, Ava Devlin performed well at the PTXC Invitational and placed fifteenth, earning a medal. 

The boys Cross Country team has also achieved much success and has many standout runners. One standout student-athlete from the boys team is Lower Moreland senior Jack Becker. At the Gettysburg Invitational on October 8th, Jack placed second and achieved a personal record of 16:01. At the Pre-State meet in Hershey, Jack placed sixteenth out of 288 runners, and the boys team placed twelfth out of thirty-nine teams. The boys have many other notable athletes, including Dylan Sandler, Vincent Frankina, Trey Henry, and Shea Woods, who won the boys race against William Tenent. 

 The Cross Country team has achieved great success through their hard work and determination. Jack Becker, team captain, says, “I am so proud of all of my teammates for their hard work this season, and we are all looking forward to the upcoming meets.” The team is going to continue striving for success as the League, District, and State meets approach, and are hoping for a strong finish to the Cross Country season.