On Saturday, Pennsylvania’s top runners gathered to compete on the old Parkview Golf Course at Hershey Park. Among the competitors from across the Commonwealth were nineteen runners from LebCo, with at least one athlete representing four of the county’s high schools. The representation included both teams from Annville-Cleona.
While there were several individual highlights, the biggest headlines came in the form of two Annville juniors and a senior capturing medals in the AA race. Mackenzie Stellmach ran a fantastic race to finish 14th overall, while Oliver Funck took 17th in the boys’ race. Funck’s finish, along with a 21st place medal-winning finish by senior Landon Hostetter, helped the Dutchmen claim 3rd place in the team standings.
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 LebCo’s runners.
In other cross country news, the Lebanon Valley College Men’s Cross Country team won the MAC Championship on Saturday with a dominant performance led by 1st place winner Rory Lieberman and bronze medalist Matthew Santana. LVC’s 34 points far outpaced the 71 points gained by runner-up Misericordia. This marked the first MAC Championship in program history. Lieberman’s win also marked only the second time a Dutchman finished in first place, with the last one being Jeff Koegel in 1994.
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Boys Recap
In 2023, the Dutchmen won the 1A State Championship. After they made the leap to 2A for 2024, there was some uncertainty as to how they would stack up against larger schools. After winning the District 3 Championship, the strong contingent from Annville proved that they could hold their own. On Saturday, they finished 3rd, just 2 points behind runner-up Lewisburg, with Grove City claiming the top spot.
The Dutchmen were led by junior Oliver Funck, who claimed 18th place for a medal. His time of 16:42 was a thirty-five second improvement over his time at States a year ago. Senior Landon Hostetter was also outstanding, claiming his third career State medal with an impressive 21st place finish and a thirteen second improvement since last season. Ironically, David Moran also crossed the line with a thirteen-second improvement to finish 46th overall.
Girls Recap
Junior Mackenzie Stellmach improved her time at States by forty-second seconds to finish 14th and become a State medalist. Freshman Lucy Stellmach finished 49th in her first appearance at States. With a line-up that did not include any seniors, look for the Dutchmen next to continue to improve from their 13th place team.
Annville-Cleona Boys Results (Class AA)
Team Finish – 3rd
Mile 1 / Mile 2 / Total
18th: Oliver Funck (Jr.) 4:47 / 10:19 / 16:42
21st: Landon Hostetter (Sr.) 5:00 / 10:33 / 16:44
46th: David Moran (Jr.) 5:01 / 10:52 / 17:21
87th: Matt Clemson (Sr.) 5:08 / 11:06 / 17:48
95th: Luke Tshudy (Jr.) 5:18 / 11:16 / 17:53
124th: Benjamin Boyd (So.) 5:18 / 11:25 / 18:15
192nd: Oliver Brandt (Fr.) 5:31 / 11:58 / 19:09
Annville-Cleona Girls Results (Class AA)
Team Finish – 13th
Mile 1 / Mile 2 / Total
14th: Mackenzie Stellmach (Jr.) 5:41 / 12:16 / 19:40
49th: Lucy Stellmach (Fr.) 6:03 / 13:04 / 20:52
136th: Caitlin Shay (Jr.) 6:20 / 13:49 / 21:59
183rd: Anna Lezon (Jr.) 6:30 / 14:10 / 22:57
200th: Emily Shearer (So.) 6:31 / 14:25 / 23:23
202nd: Madison Long (Jr.) 6:47 / 14:39 / 23:25
225th: Paige Stoltz (Fr.) 6:54 / 15:11 / 24:32
What a beautiful day to end our XC Season! Mackenzie Stellmach earns her first Ind’l State Medal with a 14th Place Finish, Oliver Funck earns his second Ind’l State Medal with an 18th Place Finish, and Landon Hostetter earns his THIRD Ind’l State Medal with a 21st Place Finish!! pic.twitter.com/aCWcTSjZ1o
— ACXC (@acxcdutchmen) November 2, 2024
Recap
The two representatives for the Falcons showed improved times from 2023. Eliana Schneider, making her third appearance, was four seconds faster on her way to finishing 133rd. Fellow junior Travis Furmanski cut thirty-six seconds off of his time, which translated into a 63rd place finish, an improvement over his 131st place finish last year.
Cedar Crest Girls Results (Class AAA)
Mile 1 / Mile 2 / Total
133rd: Eliana Schneider (Jr.) 6:04 / 13:00 / 21:02
Cedar Crest Boys Results (Class AAA)
Mile 1 / Mile 2 / Total
63rd: Travis Furmanski (Jr.) 4:57 / 10:40 /17:02
Recap
Luke Hentz made his second appearance at States and ran a respectable race as he improved on his one-mile time in the highly competitive race. Newcomer Thaddeus Raub was not far behind his teammate. With both of these young men being juniors, look for them to make a return to Hershey in 2025.
Northern Lebanon Boys Results (Class AA)
Mile 1 / Mile 2 / Total
100th: Luke Hentz (Jr.) 5:14 / 11:05 / 17:54
132nd: Thaddeus Raub (Jr.) 5:23 / 11:23 / 18:20
Recap
Cornelius Cummings continues to quietly ascend as one of the best runners in the area. On Saturday, he finished 71st in the 3A race, an improvement on his 106th finish in 2023. In fact, the junior’s time was eighteen seconds faster as he got out early by running a 4:55 for his first mile.
Palmyra Boys Results (Class AAA)
Mile 1 / Mile 2 / Total
71st: Cornelius Cummings (Jr.) 4:55 / 10:35 / 17:07
LebCo Combined Results
Below are the combined results for all of LebCo’s runners, regardless of whether they ran in the 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) – 19:40
2) Lucy Stellmach (Annville-Cleona) – 20:52.0
3) Eliana Schneider (Cedar Crest) – 21:02
4) Caitlin Shay (Annville-Cleona) – 21:59
5) Anna Lezon (Annville-Cleona) – 22:57
6) Emily Shearer (Annville-Cleona) – 23:23
7) Madison Long (Annville-Cleona) – 23:25
8) Paige Stoltz (Annville-Cleona) – 24:32
Boys
1) Oliver Funck (Annville-Cleona) – 16:42
2) Landon Hostetter (Annville-Cleona) – 16:44
3) Travis Furmanski (Cedar Crest) – 17:02
4) Cornelius Cummings (Palmyra) – 17:07
5) David Moran (Annville-Cleona) – 17:21
6) Matt Clemson (Annville-Cleona) – 17:48
7) Luke Tshudy (Annville-Cleona) – 17:53
8) Luke Hentz (Northern Lebanon) – 17:54
9) Benjamin Boyd (Annville-Cleona) – 18:15
10) Thaddeus Raub (Northern Lebanon) – 18:20
11) Oliver Brandt (Annville-Cleona) – 19:09
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