Despite the windy, chilly October afternoon, hundreds of Berks County high school runners showed up to compete for a Berk County Championship on Tuesday at Kutztown University.
But only two runners could come out on top in the boys and girls divisions races. Ryan Gourley, a senior from Oley Valley, and Julia Leady, a junior from Daniel Boone, claimed the BCIAA individual championships.
After finishing third at the county’s last year, Gourley returned determined and edged out the competition with a time of 16:12, averaging a 5:13 mile pace.
“It felt great. It was something I was looking forward to the entire season,” Gourley said of winning counties. “This was one of my goals, so I’m really grateful I finally was able to fulfill it in my senior year.”
It was an impressive pace that gave him just enough breathing room ahead of runner-up Seth Toal of Gov. Mifflin, who finished in 16:21. Chase Choudhry of Exeter took third with a time of 16:41.
Gourley set a home course record earlier this season and also won the Brown Race at the Paul Short Run Invitational at Lehigh University in early October.
“I knew I worked hard enough this season, and I’ve made a lot of growth through this entire year,” Gourney said. “So, I’m really grateful.”
Last season, he captured the District 3 Class 2A title.
As for Leady, the junior came just three seconds shy of the Berks County girls’ record of 18:41, finishing in 18:44.
“I was actually told right as I crossed the finish line,” Leady said about nearly breaking the record, “but I was too tired to even process it.”
But breaking the record wasn’t the goal on Tuesday; it was all about getting the win, and Leady delivered in dominant fashion. Her lead only grew after the halfway point on a course she is very familiar with.
“It felt amazing,” Leady said. “I’ve been through a lot of challenges since freshman year, so it just felt really good that all my work has finally paid off.”
Even after achieving a goal she’d set for herself long ago, Leady remained humble, waiting at the finish line to congratulate every runner who came through. She even took a moment to comfort a Twin Valley runner who was in tears, upset about not hitting her target time.
“I love to support other girls,” Leady said. “I think that’s kind of the whole point of the sport is to lift each other up. And I just love to do that, because I know that they would do the same for me.”
That’s a quality Coach Douglas Snyder has worked hard to instill in his team.
“I always tell my kids, ‘You are competitors on the course, but friends at the finish line,’ and that’s a good mindset to have, because unless you’re the fastest person in the world, there’s going to be somebody faster than you,” Snyder said. “People will remember how you make them feel. That’s kind of a mantra in life.”
Finishing second and third in the girls’ division were Melissa Sweigart of Gov. Mifflin (19:16) and Riley Servis of Twin Valley (19:22), respectively.
Leady also has her goals set high heading into Districts and States.
“She has some big goals as she should be one of the top girls at districts,” Snyder said. “She has her personal goals, and they’re reachable. But every next level gets a bit more difficult.”
On the team side, Gov. Mifflin took home both the boys and girls titles. It marked the girls third straight Berks County championship and the boys first county title since 2012.
“It feels good to get back here,” Mustangs coach Matt Carley said. “The guys worked hard. This was a total team effort, top to bottom. They believed in themselves early on in the week, and we just kind of rode the momentum and carried it through.”
Carley described his team as “focused,” led by upperclassmen Seth Toal (16:21), Sam Ulrich (16:49), and Vincent Gregro (17:06).
The team scored 63 points, beating Twin Valley (73) and Exeter (93).
“That top three today for us set the tone,” Carley said of his team’s leaders. “They led by example and did what we expect upperclassmen to do. They established the tradition of our program.”
For the Mustangs girls, winning a Berks County title is nothing new to their coach of nearly 50 years, Jack Heim.
This marked Heim’s third straight championship and his 25th overall county title.
But when asked how this one felt, Heim had just one word.
“Hard,” Heim said.
The Mustangs faced a setback when one of their runners got injured, forcing a freshman and a sophomore to step up and perform.
Nonetheless, it worked out for the Mustangs, though Heim hopes his team will be healthy by the time Districts come around.
The Mustangs’ top three runners were Melissa Sweigart (19:16), Allie Darrenkamp (19:35), and Molly Orndorf (19:44).
Twin Valley (75) and Oley Valley (89) finished just behind Gov. Mifflin, who scored 54 points.
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