PHOTO PROVIDED Hughesville’s boys and girls cross country teams pose after the District 4 Class AA cross country championships at Bloomsburg. Seven boys runners and four girls runners qualified for today’s state meet in Hershey, as the boys team won the District 4 Class AA team titel.

The Hughesville cross country team had a simple goal when summer training began: compete for a state championship.

It’s a lofty goal for any program, but coach Griffin Molino and the Spartans knew they had the ability on their team with runners to do just that. And after an outstanding district performance, that goal is within reach for Hughesville.

“I would say we weren’t quite sure how close we would be to that goal or if it was realistic, but the guys wanted to put in the work required to at least be in the conversation,” Molino said. “Before this year we had never beaten Lewisburg in any capacity. They have an amazing program and amazing coaches, so we knew districts would be difficult as they always seem to produce great runners and run their best races at the end of the year when it matters most.”

Hughesville saw three runs place in the top-15 in Tyce Shaner (district champion), Wyatt Laubacher (fourth) and Carter Sherwood (14th). They ran times of 15:58.00, 16:35:00 and 17:12:00, respectively, as Hughesville won the Class AA team title.

“I think this will be a difficult task (to win a team title at states) as there are a lot of really good teams, and anything can happen on the day. The guys are focused on doing whatever they can to get themselves ready to have their best day on November 1,” Molino said. “It has been a real joy for us coaches to be apart of this group this year. Both the boys and girls have done a great job of supporting each other, encouraging each other and pushing each other to be the best they can be.

“No matter the result on Saturday the coaches will be very proud of what the athletes have done this year,” Molino continued.

On the boys side, Hughesville has an impressive seven athletes competing at the state meet on Saturday in Kirk Corbin, Tristan Kurzawa, Joseph Laubacher, Wyatt Laubacher, Everett Shaner, Tyce Shaner, Carter Sherwood and Finn Styron. The girls program has three runners at states in freshman Emelia Wolfe, senior Grace Fortin and sophomore Evey Meckbach.

Molino noted that one of the biggest reasons the boys team has had success is due to Kurzawa and Sherwood coming out. This is their first year competing in varsity cross country as both were soccer players from freshmen through junior years.

“Both have been very successful on the track, but we weren’t sure how that would translate onto the cross country course,” Molino said. “I would definitely say that the boys from 2021 inspired these three to carve out their own spot in history this year. The guys from 2021 are constantly sending encouragement to the team, and urging the guys to continue to work hard and compete to the best of their abilities.”

That 2021 team won a state championship in cross country and this group of runners were eighth graders when they saw those Spartans claim gold.

“It has been really cool for them to be super supportive as the guys chase their own history,” Molino said. “I think it speaks to the culture we are trying to create with the Hughesville distance kids, as well as the greater community of distance runners, we all try to encourage and support each other as much as possible.”

Tyce Shaner ran an outstanding District 4 Class AA championship race as he finished with a time of 15:58, more than 30 seconds faster than second-place finisher Justin Nolt of Lewisburg.

For Molino, he sees how much the senior has put things together this final year as a runner.

“Tyce has always had immense talent, it just took him a little to put all the pieces together. For me as a coach, it has been super cool to see him realize his talent and take off and compete at the level that I always knew he was capable of,” Molino said. “There hasn’t been a lot of times that I have been surprised by my athletes but Tyce has been able to surprise me on a couple of occasions this year.”

That includes seeing Shaner break former Lewisburg standout Chris Spooner’s PHAC record this year. Spooner went on to run at Duke.

“Tyce is a great kid and definitely deserves the success he’s seeing as he has been a great example for the younger guys, especially in terms of how to take care of your body outside of practice and doing the small things that can make you a great runner,” Molino said.

All in all, this year has been a remarkable one for the Spartans’ cross country team, especially given the fact the program is sending a total of 11 athletes to Hershey on Saturday.

“This year has truly been a special year for Hughesville cross country. To see the amount of success both the girls and the boys have had this year, proves that we are on the right track. For the boys it has felt like a long road back to this point, winning the title in 2021 and then graduating five seniors, as well as getting bumped up to Class AA has been a difficult adjustment,” Molino said. “The boys persisted and continued to grow and work and have earned all the success they have seen this year.

“For the girls it had been a struggle to field a team five years ago, so to now send three girls to states is unbelievable,” Molino continued. “The senior girls that we have this year have really transformed the program and really paved the way for younger girls to have the success that we are seeing now. We’ll miss the senior class on both the boys and girls side a lot next year, but for now we have one last ride on November 1 in Hershey.”