Runners are a different breed

A cross country coach today saw a runner cross the finish line, who was obviously suffering from the exhaustive pain of pushing oneself physically passed the point their mind thought was acceptable. "Are you ok?" the coach asked.  "No," the young runner replied.
Laughter. The coach didn't say a word at first, just laughed. A few seconds later, "good job."

​That's cross country.

The gifted runners end with perhaps a little "runner's high" but look like they could run another one in a little while. The middle of the pack is where you see the extreme efforts to fight the mind's desire to stop.
They finish and some are not even sure what their names are anymore. The neurons in the brain and the muscles in the legs are no longer on speaking terms.

Runners are not constructed the same as everyone else - they are a different breed. When the toe hurts it sends a message to the brain and the brain negotiates more time to assess. When the thigh screams bloody murder, the brain tells it that we only have a few more steps, then a few more steps later the thighs realize the brain lied to them. 

​The brain is evil -  at least in the body of a runner.

There were a lot of brains battling bodies Saturday at Two Mile Run County Park during the annual Rocky Grove Invitational. The individual and team event drew over 40 schools and almost 1,000 runners taking on the difficult Rocky Grove home course.

​There were individual champions crowned, including a new junior high course record set by Carter French of Knoch. His 10:36 becomes the new standard for the around two-mile race. 

Rocky Grove boys varsity took the overall team championship with Ethan Knapp leading the team with a fourth-place finish. When Schiffer Anderson, Easton Adamczyk and Evan Wolfgong came in bunched up at 12, 14 and 15th places, they set up a good shot of a team championship. Freshman Gauge Gierlach sealed the deal crossing the finish line in 31st place.

This was the first time the Orioles have won their own invite in a while and first time under Coach Josh Beightol.

The Oil City boys were right on the heels of the Orioles, coming in second overall without their top runner. Leading the Oilers was freshman Keegan Kirkwood, who edged out teammate sophomore Elijah Brosius to finish 10th and 11th respectively. Sophomore Eli Collins was 20th followed by senior Andrew McGarvie at 25th and junior Colin Liederbach at 30th. 

Other top Venango boys runners to finish in the top fourth of the 217 racers were Franklin's Caleb Prettyman in fifth and Jay Prettyman in 16th. Cranberry runners Kaleb Heath finished 45th with teammates Mariner Perry in 53rd place and Dane Wenner in 54th. 

The Titusville Rockets took home top honors in the varsity girls race with Cranberry coming in second. The Berries Kelsey Hanna came in eighth, Karleigh Shaffer, 13th; Kayla Hanna, 26th; Ashlyn Shultz, 55th; and Jordan Montgomery, 58th. 

Franklin junior Nadalie Latchaw placed third and was the top Venango runner in the girls varsity race, which had 187 competitors. Other top 40 local runners were Kennedy Liederbach, Oil City, 16th; Isabel Griffin, Rocky Grove, 31st; and Ella Speece, Oil City, 37th.  ​

Oil City eighth grader Corabel Shiley came in second place in the girls junior high race. Cranberry teammates Darien Wenner and Gracee Hess came in 9th and 11th respectively. Kaylin Adamczyk was the top Rocky Grove finisher at 33rd place and Justeyn Winner was the top finisher for Franklin at 36th. 

Jayden Miller of Rocky Grove was the top Venango runner in the boys junior high race, placing 23rd. His teammate Miles Baker was only shortly behind him at 26th place. Elias Fox of Cranberry was the top Berry at 25th place. Owen James was the top placing Oiler at 52th. Finishing first for Franklin was Jackson Wilson at 61st. 

Please see story about Rocky Grove boys as they prepare to defend their district title and shoot for a three-peat.