2023 PIAA Cross Country State Championships: Annville-Cleona Captures Crown; Full LebCo Results

On Saturday, Pennsylvania’s top runners gathered to compete in the shadows of Hershey Park.  Among them were twenty-seven runners from LebCo, with at least one athlete representing each of the county’s six public high schools.  This was an increase from nineteen runners last year.  The 2023 representatives also included three teams, as opposed to just one last season.

While there were several individual highlights, the major headline was the 1A State Championship won by the Annville-Cleona Boys.  See the recap below for more details on how they pulled off the impressive accomplishment to claim the school’s first Cross Country title since 1977.

For more on how the runners qualified for the State Championship Meet, check out our previous coverage that can be found here (Boys / Girls). Keep in mind, just making it to States is a huge accomplishment for any runner and they should be commended regardless of any results they put forth in this race.

Below you will find a quick recap of each team’s day, along with results for each runner.  Further down, you will find combined results from all of Lebanon County’s runners.

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     Annville-Cleona Dutchmen 

Boys Recap

Following States last year, we published this as part of our recap: “Hostetter was the top underclassman finisher in the race.  With one of the top young runners in the state on their team, sophomore Matt Clemson and freshman Oliver Funck picked up valuable experience on this big stage that will help their team reach greater heights next year.”  Earlier this season, the Dutchmen won the 1A team title at the PIAA Foundation Race, which led us to title our coverage “Annville-Cleona Boys Announce Arrival”.  When they won the District 3 Championship last week, they clearly established themselves as a favorite for the PIAA State Championship.

Following the victory at Districts, the members of the team made it quite clear that their goal was to win this week.  On their way to achieving that goal, they attacked the course with a wire-to-wire team victory.  It was a dominant performance, as Annville’s 91 points was well ahead of 2^nd place Riverview’s 137 points and Eden Christian’s 156 points.  The Dutchmen were aided by a spread of just 1:05 between their top five runners.  The team was led by junior Landon Hostetter (11^th) and Oliver Funck (21^st), who both medaled for their individual performances.

The victory was Annville-Cleona Cross Country’s 4^th all-time State Championship and their first since the legendary George Gerber coached his team to victory in 1977.  The last LebCo team of either gender to win the state title was the Palmyra Girls Cross Country Team who won the AAA crown in 2012.  With only one senior from this Annville-Cleona group, they will automatically be the favorite heading into 2024.

Girls Recap

The Annville Girls had a tremendous race at Districts to grab the 3^rd and final spot for States.  They entered this race and battled hard.  As a team, they were in 17^th position after the 1^st mile, but continued to move up throughout the rest of the race, eventually finished 14th.  MacKenzie Stellmach led the way with her 38^th place finish.  The sophomore Stellmach improved by over 2:30 from her experience as a freshman.  Emily Maag also improved over 1:20 from last year’s race.

Annville-Cleona Boys Results (Class A)

Team Finish – 1st – State Champions

          Mile 1 /  Mile 2 / Total

11th:   Landon Hostetter (11)     5:03 / 10:40 / 16:57.0

21st:   Oliver Funck (10)             5:08 / 10:54 / 17:16.0

34th:  David Moran (10)              5:17/ 11:04 / 17:34.0

48th:  Matt Clemson (11)            5:08 / 11:06 / 17:54.0

55th:   Samuel Domencic (12)    5:14 / 11:23 / 18:02.0

91st:    Z Moyer (10)                        5:22 / 11:28 / 18:25.0

129th: Luke Tshudy (10)              5:45 / 11:59 / 18:52.0

Annville-Cleona Girls Results (Class AA)

Team Finish – 14th 

                            Mile 1 /  Mile 2 / Total

38th:     Mackenzie Stellmach (10) 6:02 / 12:53 / 20:27.0

74th:     Emily Maag (12)                    6:38 / 13:30 /  21:06.0

174th:   Leah Tshudy (10)                 6:48 / 14:29 / 22:52.0

198th:   Anna Lezon (10)                  6:50 / 14:30 / 23:23.0

205th:   Emilie Stefanchik (11)      6:48 / 14:56 /  23:27.0

241st:   Megan Brophy (12)             7:18 / 15:54 / 25:24.0

242nd:  Nadia Lezon (11)                7:18 / 15:57 / 25:32.0

Annville’s Oliver Funk loads up on all kinds of state swag, including Kayo the duck, following the Dutchman’s PIAA state championship! @AnnvilleCleona @LancLebLeague pic.twitter.com/AY4Vs5T0MQ

— Matt Pawlikowski (@MattPawlik5) November 5, 2023

    Cedar Crest Falcons 

Recap

The Falcons sent three individuals to Hershey.  On the female side was sophomore Eliana Schneider, making her 2^ndappearance straight at the State Championships.  Her time of 21:06.0 was :42 faster than her 2022 performance.  On the boys side, Travis Furmaski and Viseth Meng were making their first appearances at the State Championship Meet.  The sophomore Furmanski went cautiously, but made a strong move throughout the race, including moving up 31 spots in the final mile.  The junior Meng, known mostly for Tennis, has now competed at States in two sports.  Like his teammate, he had a strong finish and passed 15 runners in the final mile.

Cedar Crest Girls Results (Class AAA)

          Mile 1 /  Mile 2 / Total

132nd:  Eliana Schneider (10)      6:19 / 12:55 / 21:06.0

Cedar Crest Boys Results (Class AAA)

Mile 1 /  Mile 2 / Total

131st: Travis Furmanski (10)      5:23 / 11:13 /17:38.0           

          167th: Viseth Meng (11)                 5:25 / 11:23 /18:04.0

Congratulations to Ellie, Travis & Viseth for conquering the challenging Parkview Course & representing the CCXC Program in the AAA State Meet! Way to finish the season STRONG! #FalconPride pic.twitter.com/CP1rQHx67Q

— Brandon Risser (@CoachRiss112) November 4, 2023

 ELCO Raiders  

Recap

For the Raiders, Chad Keller was the lone representative.  The junior was making his second appearance, having gained experience in last year’s race.  Unfortunately, Keller got stuck early on and was sitting at 174^th through the 1^st mile. However, he battled back and passed by nearly 50 runners over the course of the next two miles.

ELCO Boys Results (Class AA)

Mile 1 /  Mile 2 / Total

125th: Chad Keller (11)       5:35 / 11:42 / 18:20.0 

Congratulations to Raider junior XC member Chad Keller for qualifying for the 2A PIAA Championship race today! Chad placed 125th overall with a time of 18:20. Great season Chad! #ElcoExcellence #ElcoProud 🔵🟡 @LebCoSports1 pic.twitter.com/Wqqs3mw1dg

— ELCO Athletics (@ELCOAthletics) November 4, 2023

    Lebanon Cedars

Recap

Ramon Urena Batista has been a powerful force in the local running community since bursting onto the scene after taking up the sport during his junior year following a hand injury that caused him to take a break from the boxing ring.  Last year, Urena Batista qualified for States and finished 93^rd overall.  With an additional year of training and experience, he avoided last year’s mistake of going out too slow and raced out to a 4:54 1^st mile.  This allowed him to run his race, leaving it all out of the course with a 38^th place finish.  This marked the highest finish for a Lebanon High School runner since 2000. His time of 16:46.0 was also the fastest of the Lebanon County contingent.

Lebanon Boys Results  (Class AAA)

       Mile 1 /  Mile 2 / Total

38th place for Ramon Urena at today’s State Championship ending his hs XC career putting his name in the hat as one of the best to ever run for LHS! One of the hardest working and toughest kids I’ve ever coached at Leb. Highest State finish for a Cedar since 2000. Go Cedars!!! 🌲 pic.twitter.com/dDME0yiuRK

— Cedars XC (@cedarsxc) November 4, 2023

Northern Lebanon Vikings

Recap

After wowing with a 2^nd place finish at the District 3 Championships, the Vikings continued with some nice running at Hershey.  They were led by senior Tyler Shunk who was making his second appearance at the States.  Last year he finished 119^th and had a massive improvement by finishing 35^th this time around. Sophomore Luke Hentz checked in with a 75^th place performance and will be one to watch going forward.  As a team, the Vikings finished 12^th among the State’s mid-sized schools.

Northern Lebanon Boys Results (Class AA)

Team Finish – 12th 

Mile 1 /  Mile 2 / Total

35th: Tyler Shunk (12)       5:04 / 10:35 / 17:10.0

75th: Luke Hentz (10)        5:21 / 11:09 / 17:46.0

171st:   Caleb Sanders (12)  5:25 / 11:38 / 18:52.0

177th:  David Boyer (11)      5:42 / 11:57 / 18:54.0

190th:  Joseph Escobales (12)   5:35 / 11:57 / 19:09.0

212th:  Josiah Kelly (10)      5:51 / 12:16 / 19:32.0

215th:  Tucker Reiber (10)  5:52 / 12:26 / 19:40.0

 Palmyra Cougars

Recap

Cornelius Cummings proved himself on the track during last spring season, so it was not a shock that he worked his way to the PIAA Cross Country State Championships in the Fall.  The sophomore finished 106^th in the race, picking up valuable experience that should translate into future success.

Palmyra Boys Results (Class AAA)

          Mile 1 /  Mile 2 / Total

106th: Cornelius Cummings (10)            5:05 / 10:50 / 17:25.0

Lebanon County Combined Results

Below are the combined results for all of Lebanon County’s runners, regardless of whether they ran in the A, AA, or AAA race.  Keep in mind that while the course is the same, the conditions can change throughout the day.

Girls

1. Mackenzie Stellmach (Annville-Cleona) – 20:27.0
2. Emily Maag (Annville-Cleona) – 21:06.0
3. Eliana Schneider (Cedar Crest) – 21:06.0
4. Leah Tshudy (Annville-Cleona) – 22:52.0
5. Anna Lezon (Annville-Cleona) – 23:23.0
6. Emilie Stefanchik (Annville-Cleona) – 23:27.0
7. Megan Brophy (Annville-Cleona) – 25:24.0
8. Nadia Lezon (Annville-Cleona) – 25:32.0

Boys

1. Ramon Urena Batista  (Lebanon)  –  16:46.0
2. Landon Hostetter  (Annville-Cleona)  – 16:57.0
3. Tyler Shunk (Northern Lebanon) –  17:10.0
4. Oliver Funck (Annville-Cleona)  – 17:16.0
5. Cornelius Cummings  (Palmyra) – 17:25.0
6. David Moran   (Annville-Cleona)  – 17:34.0
7. Travis Furmanski  (Cedar Crest)  – 17:38.0
8. Luke Hentz  (Northern Lebanon)  – 17:46.0
9. Matt Clemson  (Annville-Cleona) – 17:54.0
10. Samuel Domencic (Annville-Cleona) – 18:02.0
11. Viseth Meng (Cedar Crest) – 18:04.0
12. Chad Keller  (ELCO)  – 18:20.0
13. Z Moyer (Annville-Cleona) – 18:25.0
14. Caleb Sanders (Northern Lebanon) – 18:52.0
15. Luke Tshudy (Annville-Cleona) – 18:52.0
16. David Boyer (Northern Lebanon) – 18:54.0
17. Joseph Escobales  (Northern Lebanon) – 19:09.0
18. Josiah Kelly  (Northern Lebanon) – 19:32.0
19. Tucker Reiber  (Northern Lebanon) – 19:40.0

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