NTF Alum Update  - Fall 2024 - Weeks 4 & 5

Weeks 4 & 5 didn't disappoint! Let's get straight to the Action!

Coaches
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Coach Garrison Famiglio was busy the weekend of September 14 and 15 as he competed in the USA Triathlon Sprint & Olympic Distance National Championships in Atlantic City, NJ.  On Saturday, he raced the Olympic distance and finished 26th overall and 4th in his age group. Then on Sunday, he finished 12th overall and 3rd in his age group for the Sprint distance. Based on his performances, he qualified for the 2025 World Triathlon Age Group World Championships in Wollongong, Australia.

College
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Colton Sands (Penns Valley) helped UNC finish fourth in the loaded field at the Nuttycombe Invitational. Colton finished 24th in 23:58 as the third runner for the team. The Tar Heels are currently ranked #10 in the country. They will be in action again on Oct. 18 at the Princeton Invitational.

Charles Endres (State College HS) and Yeomen of Oberlin faced tough competition at the John McNicholas Invitational. Charles helped the team finish in 21st place as he crossed the finish line in 28:20.3 to earn 293rd place. Next up for Oberlin is the Ohio Wesleyan University Invitational, Friday, Oct. 4.

On September 21, Sam Viglione (State College HS) finished in 125th place (28:57.8) as SUNY Geneseo earned fourth place as a team against several D-1 squads at the Rochester Yellowjacket XC Invite. Then last Saturday, September 28, SUNY Geneso earned runner-up honors, the top Division III school, at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational. Sam crossed the line in 26.40.2 which was good for 61st place. SUNY Geneseo is currently ranked second in the D-3 Niagara Region. SUNY Geneseo is splitting their squad this weekend as they send athletes to the Paul Short Invite in Lehigh and the Kara Hall Memorial Invitational in Fredonia, NY.

Marlee Kwansnica (State College HS) and her San Francisco teammates finished third at the Pacific Invitational which serves as the West Coast Conference preview. Marlee crossed the line in 24:26.1 to finish 56th. Next up for Marlee is a trip east to the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh where we have several additional NTF Alums competing.

Grace Morningstar (State College HS) and Misericordia Cougars are ranked third in the D-3 Mid Atlantic Region after the strong start to their season. Next up for Grace and her teammates is the Paul Short Invitational.

Caden Bell (Mifflin County HS) and the Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley College finished third at the Long/Short Invitational. Caden ran 13:39 for 4k which earned him 44th in the final tally. The Paul Short Invite is up next for Caden and his teammates.

Natalie Koncoski (State College HS) and the Pitt Panthers will join Nittany Lions Nick Sloff (State College HS) & Tyler Rader (Huntingdon Area) as they travel to Bethlehem, PA for the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh on Saturday, October 5.

Karsyn Kane (State College HS) and the Mountaineers will be in action this Friday, Oct. 4 in South Bend, Indiana for the Joe Piane Invitational. 

Sam Endres (State College HS), Eli Barabas (State College HS), Karim Eldawody (State College HS), and Neil Maguire (State College HS) competed at the LHU XC Invitational. Sam finished 67th (26:13) in the Crimson 8k to lead the Penn State Club XC team to a 12th place finish. In the Men's White 8k, Neil (59th, 28:41) and Eli (67th, 28:58) were a part of the scoring five for the Penn State XC Club, and Karim (143rd, 32:00) produced another strong performance, which helped the Penn State Club XC team earn 8th.

High School

Altoona Mt. Lion Invite
Bella Ascherl (Forest Hills HS) continued her strong start to her freshman campaign with a fourth place finish (19:39) at the Altoona Mt. Lion Invite. Her performance led the way for the Rangers as they finished third overall and top Class A team in the field. Next up for Bella is the Laurel Highlands Conference Championship.

PIAA Foundation XC Invitational
Class AA
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In the Class AA girls race, Lilly Smith (Penns Valley HS) turned in a top-100 performance as she crossed the line in 23:27 to earn 70th. In the Class AA boys race, Jonathan Gasper (Bellefonte HS) cracked the top 50 by running 18:29 which was good for 49th place. Next up for Lilly and Jonathan is the Laurel Highlands Conference Championship.

Class AAA
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The State College girls turned in a strong performance to finish third in the team standings and knock off several ranked teams in the process. Devon Jackson (19:14) led the way with a runner-up finish. She was followed to the line by the tight pack of Devyani Wadhia (23rd, 20:30), Julia Bigger (31st, 20:42), and Evelyn Younkin (36th, 20:53). Lacey Sheaffer closed out the scoring by finishing (65th, 21:36). Carolyn Frank (88th, 22:05) and Molly Dell (107th, 22:28) did the all important job of displacing other runners. 

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The State College boys returned to the top of the podium for the second year in a row with a dominating performance that saw Issac Opperman (2nd, 16:01), Theo Opperman (5th, 16:09), and Stephen Fowler (20th, 16:50) earn medals on the day. The trio of Griffin Selber (21st, 16:56), Luke Bradbury (25th, 16:58), and Owen Coughlin (28th, 17:05) finished within 10 seconds of each other to close out the scoring and begin displacing the field. Kyle Fritzsche (57th, 17:34) continued the displacement as the top 7th runner in the field.

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The JV Girls turned in another strong performance and made it three for three for podium stops on the day. Silvia Hutchinson (4th, 21:54), Autumn Swisher (12th, 22:32), and Alexa Petersen (17th, 22:57) all made trips to the risers to receive their awards. Kaitlyn Baylis (23rd, 23:17), Emma Raish (28th, 23:32) turned in top-30 performances to stop the scoring for the team. Erin Ruth (31st, 23:43) and Libby Peachey (26th, 23:55) closed out the top seven for the girls.

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The JV Boys made it a perfect four for four with a final trip to the podium for State College. Owen Viglione used a strong kick to break the tape in 18:01 and start the scoring with a single point. Vinnie LaFrazza-Schwartz (7th, 18:22) and Thomas Ruffing (9th, 18:23) contributed top-10 performances. They were joined on the podium by Ryan Caldwell (15th, 18:40) and Avery Selber (20th, 18:53). Ben Alexander (31st, 19:15) and Dexter Walker (32nd, 19:16) completed the top seven on the day. 

Carlisle Invite
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The State College JV Girls got the day started with a winning performance as they scored 41 points on the day, outdistancing runner-up Padua Academy by 79. Autumn Swisher (4th, 21:26), Emma Raish (5th, 21:43), Kristin Schellberg (6th, 21:45), and Alexa Petersen (10th, 22:07) raced to top ten performances to set the tone for the day. Kaitlyn Baylis (22nd) crossed the line in 22:32 to deliver 66-second compression and put a stamp on the day. Makayla Raptosh (24th, 22:38) and Taylor Kirkwood (34th, 23:00) displaced the field to complete the strong showing.

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The State College ninth grade boys picked up where the girls left off as Thomas Ruffing (7th, 17:56) and Dexter Walker (14th, 18:09) earned awards for their efforts. With the help of Cole Hutchinson (90th, 21:03), Kale Cunnigham (107th, 21:31), Scott Isbell (124th, 21:59) and Cooper Wilson (134th, 22:26) they finished 10th as a team.

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The State College JV boys finished sixth on the day behind a tight 38-second compression. Vinne LaFrazza-Schwartz (22nd, 17:47) and Ben Alexander (23rd, 17:48) started the scoring with a back-to-back finish and were followed quickly to the line by Ryan Caldwell (32nd, 18:00) Adrian Doran (48th, 18:11), and Avery Selber (58th, 18:25). Miles Ballard (74th, 18:38) and Eamon Drohan (98th, 18:54) completed the top 7 on the day. 

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The Varsity Girls didn't let the slick, muddy course slow them down in the Challenge Race which featured several top-ranked teams from PA, Delaware, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia. They moved up throughout the race to make the podium by finishing fifth overall and the top PA team. Devon Jackson (7th, 18:16) provided a low stick to get the scoring started. And the dynamic trio of Devyani Wadhia (32nd, 19:35), Julia Bigger (38th, 19:45), and Evelyn Younkin (61st, 20:08) continued to pack a strong punch. Carolyn Frank (88th) stopped the scoring when she crossed the line in 20:32. Then Sylvia Hutchinson (105th, 20:47) and Molly Dell (112th, 20:54) began displacing runners in the 300+ person field. 

In the final race of the day, the Boys Challenge Race, State College finished 3rd against a strong field that featured some of the best the Mid-Atlantic had to offer to earn their place on the podium. Theo Opperman led the charge with a fourth place finish as he crossed the line in 15:38. Owen Coughlin (21st, 16:12) and Stephen Fowler (27th, 16:19) joined Theo at the award ceremony. Luke Bradbury (35th, 16:23) turned in another top-40 finish, while Kyle Fritzsche (58th, 16:41) halted the scoring on the day. Griffin Selber (85th, 16:56) was the second-best sixth runner on the day and displaced all teams except three. Owen Viglione (179th, 17:39) closed out the top seven on the day. 

State College will be back in action on Monday, October 7 for Senior Night and then on Saturday, October 12 for the Mid-Penn Conference Championship at Big Springs HS.

Be well,

Jayson