Meet summary
At Fountain Springs
BOYS
Jim Thorpe 23, North Schuylkill 32
North Schuylkill 21, Tamaqua 36
Jim Thorpe 19, Tamaqua 38
1. Condly (JT) 17:10, 2. J. Saxon (JT) 17:52, 3. C. McCormick (NS) 18:04, 4. B. Saxon (JT) 18:10, 5. Anthony (NS) 18:12, 6. Tite (T) 18:30, 7. Sokoloski (NS) 18:32, 8. Bucior (JT) 18:33, 9. Melnick (T) 18:35, 10. Bolinsky (NS) 18:52, 11. Nortavage (T) 18:59, 12. Valdez (JT) 19:11, 13. Kessler (NS) 19:15, 14. Kinder (T) 19:21, 15. M. McCormick (NS) 19:40
GIRLS
North Schuylkill 27, Jim Thorpe 28
Tamaqua 25, North Schuylkill 34
Tamaqua 22, Jim Thorpe 36
1. Yeneskie (NS) 21:14, 2. K. Kovac (JT) 21:28, 3. Wasserleben (T) 21:38, 4. Nalesnik (PV) 21:50, 5. Carroll (T) 22:20, 6. Kane (NS) 22:39, 7. LaBar (T) 23:03, 8. Loyd (JT) 23:09, 9. Stravinski (NS) 23:23, 10. Frantz (T) 23:40, 11. Kostecky (T) 24:11, 12. Asbrock (JT) 24:23, 13. Kabana (T) 24:23, 14. Capper (JT) 24:28, 15. Ryan (T) 25:04
FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Jim Thorpe’s Jake Saxon didn’t win Wednesday’s race.
Neither did Tamaqua’s Nicole Wasserleben.
Those runners, though, proved to be difference-makers in helping the Olympian boys and Blue Raider girls sweep a Schuylkill League Division I tri-meet at North Schuylkill’s Spartan Stadium.
As expected, Johnathan Condly won the boys’ race for Jim Thorpe in 17:10. What wasn’t as expected was that Saxon placed second in 17:52.
That 1-2 punch, plus a fourth-place effort by Ben Saxon, propelled the Olympians past North Schuylkill 23-32 and Tamaqua 19-38.
“It helps to have a No. 1 runner, but one can’t win it all,’’ Jake Saxon said. “We’ve gotta have a strong top five. Today, Dylan Bucior (eighth) really stepped up.’’
North Schuylkill’s Chris McCormick (18:04) took third as the Spartans defeated Tamaqua 21-36.
On the girls’ side, North Schuylkill’s Jess Yeneskie won the race in 21:14, followed by Jim Thorpe’s Kayley Kovac in 21:28.
Tamaqua’s depth, though, made the difference, and that started with Wasserleben, who finished third in 21:38.
Kailee Carroll (fifth), Victoria LaBar (seventh), Chelsea Frantz (10th) and Melanie Kostecky (11th) also contributed as the Blue Raiders swept North Schuylkill 25-34 and Jim Thorpe 22-36.
Yeneskie’s victory made the difference as the Spartans nipped the Olympians 27-28.
“It was a really nice course, and we were excited because we knew there was going to be competition,’’ Wasserleben said. “Overall, it was a really good run.’’
Tamaqua, which doesn’t have a senior on the girls’ team, improved to 5-0 overall, 2-0 in Division I.
“The whole team’s getting faster,’’ Wasserleben said. “We’re doing really good, and we’re going to keep getting faster.’’
So are the boys, as the top 11 runners finished in less than 19 minutes.
Jim Thorpe, particularly, will need to get even faster to reach its goal of qualifying for states as a team for the second straight season.
A year ago, the Olympians (6-0, 2-0 D-I) captured the Schuylkill League team title, then placed second at districts to earn a trip to Hershey as a group.
“That was one of the best high school memories I’ve had,’’ Jake Saxon said. “That was a great experience. We had a great group of guys last year. We definitely want to (try to) repeat as a team. ... That is the No. 1 goal.’’
It won’t be easy. The competition in District 11 Class AA is fierce. Defending champion Northwestern Lehigh is loaded, while third-place Wilson and fourth-place Notre Dame-Green Pond have almost everybody back.
Meanwhile, Jim Thorpe is reloading after graduating its second, third and fifth runners.
“Every day I think about that,’’ Jake Saxon said of qualifying for states last season. “Every day at practice when I’m running with John-John, I always think that I’ve got to stay with him.
“I know he can do it, and I know I can do it, and if I’m right there with him, we’re definitely going to repeat what we did last year.’’