2014 Results

Carlisle traveled to Brandywine Creek State Park in Wimington, Del. for the invitational and it was by far the most demanding course the Herd have faced this season.

"It's a course like none other," Boardman said. "It has a net elevation gain because the start line is underneath the finish line. There is a significant rise. It's not a rolling course. You start down and then go up, up, up. The reason we go is to make sure the district and states course seems easy."

The Thundering Herd boys won the Championship Race, the highest level of three varsity races at the invitational. Carlisle, led by first-place finisher Zach Brehm (16:38), won the team title with 51 points and was chased by Salesianum (62) and North Penn (72).

Carlisle's girls, also running in the Championship Race, fell just short of a team title, but Thundering Herd junior Maddie Kole won the race in 20:12. Carlisle scored 39 points, in between champion North Penn (34) and third-place Caeasar Rodney (49).

The Salesianum Invitational was just another training step for Carlisle as it prepares for the postseason.

"We're still training and still focusing on districts," Boardman said. "Everything is building toward that."

BOYS

The fact that Brehm won the race should come as no surprise. Carlisle's super senior has been winning races all year.

What caught Boardman by surprise, however, was the emergence of sophomore Isaac Kole, who finished 22nd in 18:20 and cracked into Carlisle's Top 5 for the first time this season.

Other finishers for the Herd were Joe DeAngelo (fifth, 17:22), Matt Wisner (ninth, 17:31), Brandin Dyche (14th, 17:55), Max Fiorintino (23rd, 18:21) and Ben Hietsch (37th, 19:15).

"Our biggest and best surprise was Isaac Kole," Boardman said. "He started training in July and his older sister (Maddie) is a good runner. We convinced him to try running over the last year and he was finally hooked in July. He's really come a long way."

Carlisle's JV boys placed eighth in the JV 'A' race and were led by sophomore Jack Newton, who placed 19th in 19:23.

GIRLS

It was a confidence-building race for Kole, who has emerged as Carlisle's No. 1 runner this season.

She took the top spot in the race, narrowly finishing ahead of Caesar Rodney's Rebekah Mills (20:14) and North Penn's Phoebe Clowser (20:16).

"Two girls on that North Penn team are sub-5:10 milers," Boardman said. "Maddie did a nice job of walking them down and putting them away."

Even without the services of Caitlyn Padgett, who was nursing a nagging injury, Carlisle nearly claimed the team title.

Other finishers for the Herd were Leanza Lopez (sixth, 20:57), Haily Midgley (ninth, 21:25), Lauren Clay (10th, 21:27) and Sarah Frick (13th, 22:06).

Boardman is happy where his team stands and believes they have a good shot at qualifying for states. It will be difficult against an ultra-competitive District 3 field that only sends four teams to states.

"I could envision us getting to states," Boardman said. "We really, really should go to states. It's just a matter of can we win districts?"

Carlisle's girls won the JV 'A' race with a dominating victory. The Herd placed five girls in the Top 6, including winner junior Emma Bateman (22:35), to win with 16 points and easily defeat runner-up North Penn, which finished with 58.

"Emma was my MVP last year. She was a state qualifier," Boardman said. "She's had all sorts of different ailments, but she's coming around. I'm hoping to see a much better version of her moving forward."

To view pictures from the Carlisle at Salesianum Invitational

Carlisle at State College

Wednesday, September 24

BY ANDY SANDRIK

BOYS

Last year, Carlisle's boys cross country squad won the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division and then fell short of a team title at the District 3-AAA Championships.

Ed Boardman and his Thundering Herd would be more than happy for the opposite to happen this season.

The Commonwealth slipped out of Carlisle's hands Tuesday with a 28-29 loss to perennial running power State College. Herd senior and district contender Zach Brehm won the race in 16:31, but the Little Lions stole a win at home by taking the 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9 spots.

With Carlisle still in the midst of high-mileage training, it's a loss the Herd are willing to take if it means a district title is within reach.

"We might have won if we would have turned the mileage down on Thursday and Friday," Boardman said. "But we'll trade a dual-meet loss for a bigger finish in the championship season."

In a coin-flip of a matchup against State College, the odds were slightly in the Little Lions' favor. Carlisle, after a two-hour bus ride, had to compete on a State College course it had never ran before.

The Herd came tantalizingly close to pulling it off, but the Little Lions were able to sneak by thanks to the efforts of guys like Alex Milligan (2nd, 16:42), Matt Beyerle (3rd, 16:48) and Nick Feffer (6th, 17:04).

Brehm said there's nothing wrong with the way his team ran against the Little Lions. Carlisle also got points from Joe DeAngelo (4th, 16:54), Matt Wisner (5th, 17:02), Brandin Dyche (7th, 17:08) and Max Fiorintino (12th, 17:42).

"We weren't exactly excited about losing, but State College is a good team that ran really well," Brehm said. "We ran well, too. This race was kind of like last year, when they came to Carlisle and we won in the same manner."

The good news for the Herd is this: State College is a District 6 team and Carlisle won't have to worry about the Little Lions until states, that is if both teams are fortunate enough to make it that far.

The Herd (5-1, 5-1 Commonwealth) have one more meet, a tri-meet at home against Lower Dauphin and Northern on Tuesday, before the focus shifts to the postseason.

That's when running fans get to find out if Carlisle's season strategy of putting in more miles than ever before will pay off.

"We're going to start dropping miles at the end of the season," Brehm said. "The endurance will be there for us. At that point, we'll be working on our speed. "We may have lost the division, but we're looking for a good performance at districts."

State College finishes its run through the Commonwealth with a 6-0 record.

GIRLS

If Carlisle has any hope of competing for a spot in states, it's going to require more than production from top runners Maddie Kole and Caitlyn Padgett.

The Herd are also going to need big postseason contributions from ladies like Leanza Lopez and Haily Midgley.

Lopez, a seasoned senior veteran, and Midgley, an up-and-coming freshman, seem to be ready for the challenge.

Carlisle clicked as a unit on the road Tuesday, improving to 4-2 with a 21-43 victory over State College. Kole (20:12) and Padgett (20:24) did their thing, taking second and third, while Lopez (4th, 20:25) and Midgely (5th, 20:41) weren't far behind. The race was won by the Little Lions' Natasha Fedkina in 19:52.

States is something Lopez wants badly. She can almost taste it.

"I remember sophomore year wanting to run at states, but I didn't compete," Lopez said. "I want to be able to enjoy that this year."

Midgley, the top prospect coming from Carlisle's middle school program, has battled the injury bug while competing with the best runners the high school has to offer. Through it all, she now seems ready to shine with the postseason rapidly approaching.

"Coming to this team was kind of intimidating," Midgley admitted. "They push me because this team is held to a high standard. Being a freshman, I'm glad this is the team I'm coming into."

Of course, the dreams of Lopez and the hopes of Midgley can only be fulfilled if the Herd can place in the Top 4 at the District 3-AAA meet. With one of the toughest district fields in years, which includes two teams Carlisle has lost to in dual meets, there is no guarantee of states for the Herd.

With all of his team's training focused on districts as opposed to the Commonwealth Division, Boardman seems convinced his team can get the job done.

"I like our chances. We ran our best race of the season at districts last year," Boardman said. "That's our goal for this year. We were behind some teams in early September, but I think we'll catch up to them a bit."

Rounding out Carlisle's scoring against State College was Sarah Frick, who placed seventh in 20:57.

The Little Lions fell to 3-3.

Carlisle vs. Chambersburg/CD East Tri Meet

Wednesday, September 17

BY ANDY SANDRIK

GIRLS

Last week it was a one-point loss to Cumberland Valley. This time, six days later, it was a two-point loss to Chambersburg.

There was plenty to be frustrated about for the Carlisle girls cross country team following Tuesday's 27-29 home loss to Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division opponent and defending District 3-AAA champion Chambersburg. But for the Herd, also a 15-55 winner over CD East on Tuesday, there is also plenty to be excited about.

Although any chance of a division title is gone for Carlisle (3-2, 3-2 Commonwealth), the ultimate goal for the season -- qualifying as a team for the PIAA race -- seems within grasp.

Carlisle has more than a month to improve before districts and the Herd will need to maximize every minute. The top four teams in the district advance to states and at the moment, it appears six or more teams are qualified to fill those spots.

In addition to Carlisle, Cumberland Valley and Chambersburg, Governor Mifflin, Wilson, Daniel Boone and Palmyra look to be big players in the quest for states.

Perhaps Chambersburg girls coach Chris Monheim summed it up best when talking about the teams' postseason chances.

"We've all got good teams," Monheim said. "Any one of these teams could be district champions and any one of them could finish outside of the Top 4."

If Tuesday's meet was any indication, Carlisle has some work to do to ensure its place in the state race.

As expected, Chambersburg standout freshman Abby Yourkavitch won in 19:39. She was followed by Carlisle's Maddie Kole (19:58), Caitlyn Padgett (20:15) and Leanza Lopez (20:21).

Yourkavitch is aiming for an individual state medal and knows that her team will be in quite a dogfight with the Herd, among others, for a spot in states.

"We're all friends with Carlisle's runners, but they're some of the biggest competition in the district," Yourkavitch said. "Now we've seen them and know we can keep up with them. Our coach said this is going to be one of the most competitive district meets in a long time."

Usually when a team takes the 2-3-4 spots, it's a recipe for victory, but that wasn't the case for Carlisle.

Chambersburg took the next four spots with Jenn Maxwell (20:36), Kaylee Mowery (20:38), Cassandra Essis (20:39) and Cadie Kiser (20:39) before Carlisle slid a runner into ninth with Haily Midgley (20:42). It all added up to a tightly-contested victory for the Trojans.

"If you told me Midgley, who was our No. 7 on Saturday (for Spiked Shoe Invitational), would finish six seconds behind Chambersburg's No. 2, I would've thought we not only won, but won handily," Carlisle coach Ed Boardman said. "We had some things go not so great. We had a girl who couldn't finish and another girl with the flu. Chambersburg is the defending district champion. They've come a long way and were definitely up for coming to Carlisle and running fast."

Boardman thinks that if his team can get completely healthy, it will be among those in district contention. That includes the 1-2 punch from Kole-Padgett, who worked together to snare some big points for the Herd on Tuesday.

"It was a hard race, but I have my team to push me through races, especially my friend Caitlyn," Kole said. "We were following Chambersburg's No. 2 runner through a mile and a half and then went to catch the lead runner. We couldn't do it, but I still broke 20 for the second time in my life."

"Even though we've had some tough losses, we just have to dust ourselves off and keep going," Padgett said. "We're going to get much better in the postseason. That's what we've been training for all year."

Monheim said he was thrilled with the effort he got out of his girls, who have responded brilliantly after the graduation of stars Natalie Holder and Courtney Group. "I kept telling the girls they had to be on top of their game to win and was pleading with them to believe in themselves," Monheim said. "Today they did believe it."

"I'll take a competitive dual meet like this over an invitational any day."

BOYS

Carlisle took one more step in the right direction toward a Commonwealth Division title, defeating Chambersburg 21-34 and also taking out CD East 15-55 in Tuesday's meet at Carlisle.

It served as a warmup for the Herd (5-0, 5-0 Commonwealth), who claimed four of the Top 5 spots with Zach Brehm (16:25), Matt Wisner (16:45), Joe DeAngelo (16:50) and Brandin Dyche (16:58). Chambersburg's Chris Wurtz took fourth in 16:54.

The real test, and the division, comes down to next week when Carlisle travels to unbeaten State College (5-0, 5-0 Commonwealth).

For now, though, the Herd were happy to execute their game plan and come out with a comfortable victory at home.

"I wanted them to hang back a little bit for the first two miles and focus on getting a fast time on the last 1.1 miles," Boardman said. "Chambersburg's guys are actually pretty good. They told me their top guy is the second-fastest junior in program history, but our top guys are just a force to be reckoned with."

Brehm, a two-time PIAA champion in track, breezed to victory over the field. His fleet-footed teammates, Wisner and DeAngelo, made Tuesday's victory look easier than it actually was. "This is probably the best race day we've had. The last few have been in pouring rain and 90 degree weather," Brehm said. "We did what we needed to do."

"I think this Top 3 has a really good chance," DeAngelo said. "I've been training with Zach since freshman year and I set the record on the middle school course that Matt was trying to chase down. We have a lot of unity on this team and confidence in each other."

Wisner said there is more pressure on Carlisle than last year because although the team is very top heavy, the depth it had last year is gone.

"We had more depth last year, so it's been a different kind of running this year," Wisner said. "None of us can mess up or we'll lose. I think the added pressure makes me perform better. It's a different kind of feeling."

Boardman likes what he's seeing from his Top 4 runners, but said the key to beating State College, as well as competing for a district title, will be finding a No. 5 runner to step up and rack up some points.

Boardman has a couple of boys in mind for that 5 spot.

"I'm working on a couple of sophomores, Isaac Kole and Max Fiorentino," Boardman said. "There are a couple of other wild cards that might get the job done, too. But we've just got to pull up a 5."

Can Carlisle get the job done against State College? The running joke, perhaps with some truth to it, was that the Herd will have a harder time beating the Little Lions in a dual meet than they will competing for a district title.

"Those State College guys are fantastic at putting in work. They killed it with their training over the summer," Brehm said. "I'm excited for next week. It should be the best dual meet of the season."

Boardman said he calculated the Carlisle and State College times from last weekend's Spiked Shoe Invitational and said in a dual meet, the Herd would've won 28-29 with one second being the difference. In other words, expect a tooth-and-nail battle when the teams lock Horns in State College next week.

"It's a coin toss," Boardman said of his team's chances. "We're going up to their place where we've never been. That's not an advantage to us, that's for sure. We've got to go up, be ready to roll and hit them hard up front."

Chambersburg took the 6-9 spots in Tuesday's race, while Carlisle's Fiorentino (17:36) and Kole (17:44) took 10th and 11th.

To view pictures from the Carlisle vs Chambersburg/CD East tri-meet click here.

Carlisle at Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational

Monday, September 15

Carlisle XC teams travelled to Penn State University on Saturday for the Spiked Shoe Invitational. The girls placed 6th with 154 points without our #3 who was taking college tests that day. Leading the way for the Lady Herd were Maddie Kole and Caitlyn Padgett, both going under the 20minute mark. The next pack of Lauren Clay, Emma Bateman, Hailey West and Haily Midgley were all under 21 minutes to wrap up the team scoring.

The boys' team won the meet that came down to the 6th man tie breaker at 81 points! The 6 boys that got it done up front were Zach Brehm, Joe DeAngelo, Matt Wisner, Brandin Dyche, Max Fiorentino, and Isaac Kole. The boys continue to be ranked #6 in the State and are proving to be worthy of the ranking thus far!

Carlisle at Cumberland Valley

Wednesday, September 10

The Herd knocked off the Eagles at Cumberland Valley High school in convincing fashion 22-33, behind a 1-2 finish from Zach Brehm and Joe DeAngelo. Matt Wisner placed 4th, followed by Brandin Dyche and Max Fiorentino in 7th and 8th to clinch the win. Noteworthy performances were had by many, but two really stood out. Isaac Kole, a new sophomore dropped his PR from 19:56 all the way down to 18:26 in one week's time and finished as our #6 man! Also, Weston Shaeffer, who ran 38min. last week, finished over 8 full minutes faster breaking the 30min mark!

The Lady Herd ran into one of the top teams in the State on their own home course and nearly pulled off a Titanic upset, falling by the norrowest of possible margins 27-28. CV's National Elite Mady Clahane won the race, but then our girls took 3 of the next 4 places: Caitlyn Padgett, Maddie Kole and Leanza Lopez were 2nd, 3rd and 5th respectively. Hailey West placed 8th and Emma Bateman 10th for Carlisle, but it wasn't quite enough on this day. It is however a great place to be in early September and the depth our girls have behind this is incredibly promising for the weeks ahead!

The Boys remain undefeated and this will set up a Sept. 23rd showdown in State College for the Commonwealth Crown against the Little Lions. The Girls division was decided yesterday so we will prepare for the October push at Districts and States from here on out.

To view pictures from the Carlisle at Cumberland Valley away meet click here

Carlisle vs. Central Dauphin/Mifflin County

Wednesday, September 3

The Thundering Herd Cross Country teams opened up their season yesterday at home hosting Mifflin County and Central Dauphin. The boys' race was dominated by the Herd as they crushed both teams be nearly identical scores, the Rams by a score of 18-39 and the Huskies 17-38. Zach Brehm won the meet and was followed closely by Joe DeAngelo, Matt Wisner, Brandin Dyche, and Max Fiorentino who all came in before any other team's #3 man.

The Lady Herd also hammered their competition beating the Lady Rams by a score of 22-41 and against Mifflin County took the top 5 places in a 15-49 win. Caitlyn Padgett led the way for the girls, followed closely by Maddie Kole and Leanza Lopez. Our second trio of girls: Hailey West, Emma Bateman, and Lauren Clay grabbed 6th, 7th and 8th places to wrap up the scoring.

Both Carlisle Cross Country teams now open the season at 2-0.

To view pictures from the Carlisle-Mifflin County-Central Dauphin home tri-meet click here

Carlisle at Enos Yeager Invitational

Tuesday, September 2

On Friday, August 29th the Thundering Herd travelled to Chambersburg for the Enos Yeager Invitational which is a 1200 meter loop short of a 5K. No team scores were kept at this pre-season Invite, but Herd runners turned in their best ever performances at this early invite in team history. On the girls side the Lady Herd medaled all top-5 runners with Caitlyn Padgett leading the way in 15:19, which is the fastest a Carlisle girl has ever gone at this meet. Maddie Kole followed closely behind in 15:40 to match the previous best Carlisle time from McCall Ledgett in 2012. Leanza Lopez was the THIRD Carlisle girl to go under the 16 minute mark good for a 6th place finish. Lauren Clay and Hailey West rounded out our top-5 claiming medals in 13th and 14th places respectively.

The Boys were led by Zach Brehm who set a new course record of 12:12, smashing the old time from Big Spring's Vinny Todaro by 18 seconds. The boys' team also managed to place their entire top-5 in the medals with Matt Wisner and Joe DeAngelo nabbing 3rd and 4th place in the meet. Then Brandin Dyche and Max Fiorentino were the next pair of Herd runners across the line taking 11th and 12th places. A fantastic start for both teams!

To view pictures from the Enos Yeager Invitational click here

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Carlisle Area School District
Empowering Every Learner

2014 Results

Carlisle Area School District

Carlisle Area School DistrictEmpowering Every Learner

2014 Results

Carlisle Area School District

Carlisle Area School District
Empowering Every Learner