BARNESVILLE — A year ago, Jim Thorpe’s Dylan Bucior was second-best at the Schuylkill League Cross Country Championships.
He was also second-best on his own team.
Bucior spent his first season as a cross country runner learning the sport and chasing after two-time league champion and state placewinner Johnathan Condly.
North Schuylkill’s boys could relate. The Spartans finished second to Jim Thorpe in the Division I standings and second to the Olympians at the league meet.
Twelve months later, Bucior and the Spartans entered Wednesday’s league championships as the hunted rather than the hunters.
Strong favorites to capture individual and team honors, they didn’t disappoint, sweeping the gold medals and big trophies on an unseasonably warm day at Tuscarora State Park.
Using the past year to properly train, Bucior has taken his game to another level. The senior won easily in 16:27, chopping 17 seconds off last year’s time.
“It’s really exciting. It feels great to finally get it,’’ Bucior said. “Last year I was so close to it right behind John (Condly) all season.
“I tried to shoot for a lower time, but I couldn’t do it,’’ he added. “It’s a tough course.’’
Meanwhile, North Schuylkill used a tight grouping to dethrone two-time defending team champion Jim Thorpe. The Spartans followed their first division
championship since 1991 by holding off Lehighton 54-62 in the team race.
A second-place finish by North Schuylkill junior Chris McCormick in 17:05 led the Spartans to victory. McCormick finished eighth in 17:31 at last season’s league meet.
Blue Mountain finished third, with Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua rounding out the top five. All three teams amassed 92 points. The placement of their sixth runners served as the tiebreaker.
“It was our goal. ... We wanted to beat them this year,’’ McCormick said of Jim Thorpe. “We knew they lost some people (to graduation), so we thought this is our year. Let’s go and do it.’’
In the preliminary races, a pair of Mahanoy Area eighth-graders took top honors in the 1.8-mile junior high event. Cole Streisel won in 11:01, with Adam Soriano second in 11:18.
Blue Mountain won the team title with 28 points.
Lehighton freshman Gavin Sherer broke the tape in the JV race, clocking a 19:17 on the 3.0-mile course. The Indians also took the team crown, 52-61 over Blue Mountain.
Individually, the boys’ race had little of the drama the girls’ race featured.
The top runners performed to their ability, with Bucior taking command early and winning by 38 seconds.
“I felt like once we got out into the woods on the first mile and we started doing the hill ... I didn’t look back at all, but the footsteps (of others) got fainter and fainter,’’ Bucior said. “In the first mile I really took control.’’
After McCormick, Lehighton’s Michael Blacketter (17:11) and Trent Frey (17:21) finished 3-4. Blue Mountain’s Thomas Levkulic (17:25) rounded out the top five.
Still, seeking his first league championship in his final attempt churned up some butterflies in Bucior’s stomach.
“Yeah, I was really nervous today coming into this race,’’ Bucior said. “It’s going to be another stressful two weeks, probably (with districts and states).’’
Likewise, North Schuylkill entered the meet as the top dog, especially after thumping Lehighton 19-41 last week in a dual meet.
The Indians, though, put up a much tougher fight at leagues and led 19-23 with three runners apiece in.
North Schuylkill’s depth took over from there as the Spartans grabbed places 10, 11, 13, 18, 19 and 22.
That produced a 63-second packing between North Schuylkill’s first and fifth runners and a small 1:16 gap from 1-7.
“It means a lot to these kids. They work together every single day,’’ North Schuylkill coach Frank Briggs said. “They’re a strong team. They hang out during practice, after practice. They’re a close group.
“Teamwork, all the way,’’ he added. “Packing. It was because of packing that we won. From top to bottom, our seven runners were close enough to get the job done.’’
Behind Chris McCormick, junior Austin Roseberry (17:44) placed 10th; sophomore Matt McCormick (17:45) took 11th; junior Lenny Bolinsky (17:51) finished 13th and freshman Sean McCabe (18:08) placed 18th.
Junior Colin Ahrensfield (18:11) finished 19th, and junior George Anthony (18:21) placed 22nd.
That makes five juniors, one sophomore and one freshman in the Spartans’ top seven.
According to available records, North Schuylkill won its first league title since the early 1980s. The Spartans will be the favorites to repeat entering next season.
“In my five years (as coach), there’s never been one kid who’s been referred to me for an academic failure,’’ Briggs said. “They’ve always been doing well in class, and to me, that’s the biggest thing.
“This is just as big,’’ he added. “I’m proud of them for winning the title, but to have that (academics) to go along with it means so much more.’’