Central Cambria boys claim PIAA cross country gold in 1A, Forest Hills' Dumm takes third in girls 2A race

Nov. 6—HERSHEY, Pa. — Through their string of nine straight District 6 titles, the Central Cambria boys cross country program had pushed and pushed for an elusive state championship.

Finishing as high as second in 2019, the Red Devils watched as other runners donned gold medals and celebrate on Pennsylvania's biggest stage. They watched their siblings on the Central Cambria girls program win five state titles since 2007.

Saturday, the Central Cambria boys took their turn.

Paced by three runners in the top 14, the Red Devils conquered the Class 1A field at Hershey's Parkview Course, earning the first state title in program history.

"They've seen it," Central Cambria coach Randy Wilson said. "The girls were the ones who were winning it, and the boys said, 'This is our year. We're bringing home the gold this year.'"

Aiden Lechleitner led the charge for Central Cambria with a ninth-place individual finish at 17 minutes, 30.4 seconds. Senior Cody Roberts followed by securing 11th place (17:34.6), and junior Evan George took 14th at 17:40.1. Joining them on the medal stand were Chestnut Ridge's Calan Bollman, who finished seventh in Class 1A, and Forest Hills' Delaney Dumm and Central Cambria's Annaliese Niebauer, who finished third and 21st in the Class 2A girls race on an unseasonably warm and blustery day.

"You can't really explain it," Lechleitner said. "It's just amazing. Our team pulled together, and we all just ran phenomenal. It was hot weather, so they were slow times, but overall, we got great places and just killed it."

Sophomores Dom Kuntz (52nd, 18:35.9), Jake Wilson (77th, 18:58.4) and Henry Bradley (220th, 21:00.1), and junior Ian Ray (204th, 20:50.5) also ran for the Red Devils, whose 95 team points earned them the title ahead of second-place Jenkintown (108).

"The whole race you could see who's in front of you," Roberts said, "so you can count the guys in front and know how many are there. But you don't know what's behind you, so you hope your teammates can pull through and do their best, and that's what happened today."

Tracking the results live from the edge of the course, Wilson saw his team mount a sizable lead through the first 2 miles of the 3.1-mile course.

The looks on their faces offset the nerves of locking down history.

"I didn't see that any of them really looked stressed," Wilson said. "They knew what they wanted, and they executed."

Palisades' Thomas Smigo won the Class A title in 16:33.4. Bollman, who finished fourth in last year's race, turned in his seventh-place performance at 17:22.5.

"I knew it was going to be a little harder to get fourth or better like I did last year," Bollman said. "I tried staying with (the leaders) as long as I could, but I ended up in my own little world. I was separated from the top pack and the pack behind me."

Bollman said his goal is to finish high school with 10 state medals. Saturday's performance earned him his seventh with team and individual aspirations heading into the wrestling and track seasons.

Dumm authored the top individual finish of the day, claiming her Class 2A bronze medal in 19:27.9 in a race won by Jolena Quarzo at 18:11.3 and battling the combination of heat and hills in Hershey.

"Right when we started, it was already hot," Dumm said, "and in the second mile, it just felt like lava was poured on you. It was terrible."

Like Bollman, Dumm found herself isolated on the course after Quarzo and Montour's Harley Kletz pulled away and the rest of the chase pack fell behind.

"The whole season, I didn't really have anyone to run with or to push me to get to those faster times," she said. "Having people to run with definitely helped, but then they kind of pulled away, so I was alone again."

Niebauer's 21st-place finish paced the Central Cambria girls, who finished fifth in the team standings topped by Erie Cathedral Prep.

"I'm proud of everybody and the way we raced," Niebauer said. "We stayed strong. We had an injury, and one of our girls passed out, but you can't account for that."