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Close Team Battles Highlight L-L Cross Country Championships as LebCo Runners Shine
The Lancaster-Lebanon League’s top cross country runners gathered at South Hills Park on Tuesday afternoon for the 2026 L-L League Cross Country Championships, with individual titles, team championships, and postseason opportunities on the line.
Both team championships came down to razor-thin margins. Manheim Township edged Cedar Crest by just three points for the boys title, while J.P. McCaskey held off Manheim Township by a single point in the girls competition.
Lebanon County runners made their presence felt throughout the afternoon. Annville-Cleona’s Benjamin Boyd came within three seconds of winning the boys individual championship, Cedar Crest placed five boys among the top 24 finishers, and the Annville-Cleona girls claimed fourth place in the team standings.
The meet also served as an important step toward determining the field for the upcoming District 3 Championships, with team and individual qualifiers to be finalized. The District 3 Championships will be held at Big Spring High School on Saturday, October 31st.
Boys Results
Manheim Township Edges Cedar Crest for League Title
The boys championship featured an outstanding battle at the front, with Manheim Township junior Stephen Atteberrytaking the individual crown in 16:02.2, just 2.7 seconds ahead of Annville-Cleona junior Benjamin Boyd, who finished second in 16:04.9.
Hempfield senior Liam Hodge was right behind them in third at 16:06.1, followed by Ephrata’s Xavier Prinzivalli in fourth at 16:10.1 and McCaskey’s Lance Engle in fifth at 16:14.4.
The team competition was just as exciting, especially for Cedar Crest, which was looking to defend its 2025 league championship.
The Falcons placed all five of their scoring runners among the top 24 overall finishers, with just 33.2 seconds separating their first and fifth runners.
Zachary Margut led Cedar Crest with an eighth-place finish in 16:20.8, followed closely by Wyatt Wolfe, who took 10th in 16:23.3. James Engle placed 19th in 16:43.6, Henry Wengert was 21st in 16:45.7, and Avery Gatto completed the scoring five with a 24th-place finish in 16:54.0.
Interestingly, Cedar Crest’s five scoring runners averaged 16:37.5, slightly faster than Manheim Township’s 16:40.7. However, with cross country team scoring based on finishing places rather than times, the Blue Streaks claimed the championship by a 79-82 margin.
McCaskey finished third with 131 points, followed by Hempfield with 137 and Lampeter-Strasburg with 186.
More Lebanon County Boys Highlights
ELCO claimed 10th place in the team standings with 302 points, led by a strong one-two showing from Cru Frederickand Max Frederick. Cru finished 17th overall in 16:41.7, with Max immediately behind him in 18th at 16:42.7. Sawyer Shanaman added an 86th-place finish in 18:32.8, while John Gass was 88th in 18:33.7.
Annville-Cleona finished 13th as a team with 346 points, highlighted by Boyd’s runner-up performance. Hunter Troxellwas the Little Dutchmen’s second runner in 52nd place at 17:48.3, while Oliver Brandt finished 87th in 18:33.1 and Jayden Jorge took 104th in 18:54.1.
Northern Lebanon placed 17th with 449 points. Anthony Frederick III paced the Vikings, finishing 35th overall in 17:22.0. Owen Kelly followed in 66th with a personal-best time of 18:03.6, while Isaac Bruce was 111th in 19:17.9.
Lebanon finished 18th with 474 points. Senior Samuel Hershey led the Cedars with a 26th-place finish in 17:05.6, followed by Trystan Steckbeck, who finished 77th in 18:28.1. Freshman Jowmi Torres Nieves placed 113th in 19:19.9, while fellow freshman Ian Aviles finished 134th in 20:01.7.
Boys Top 10
| Place | Runner | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Atteberry | Manheim Township | 16:02.2 |
| 2 | Benjamin Boyd | Annville-Cleona | 16:04.9 |
| 3 | Liam Hodge | Hempfield | 16:06.1 |
| 4 | Xavier Prinzivalli | Ephrata | 16:10.1 |
| 5 | Lance Engle | J.P. McCaskey | 16:14.4 |
| 6 | William Magagna | Lampeter-Strasburg | 16:15.9 |
| 7 | Ben Doumaux | Manheim Township | 16:16.8 |
| 8 | Zachary Margut | Cedar Crest | 16:20.8 |
| 9 | Isaac Hoover | J.P. McCaskey | 16:22.7 |
| 10 | Wyatt Wolfe | Cedar Crest | 16:23.3 |
Boys Team Standings: Top Five
| Place | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manheim Township | 79 |
| 2 | Cedar Crest | 82 |
| 3 | J.P. McCaskey | 131 |
| 4 | Hempfield | 137 |
| 5 | Lampeter-Strasburg | 186 |
Girls Results
McCaskey Wins by One, Annville-Cleona Takes Fourth
The girls competition produced an even closer team championship, as J.P. McCaskey narrowly defeated Manheim Township, 99-100, to claim the league crown.
McCaskey senior Ruby Garner-Valle led the way with an individual victory in 18:24.2. Pequea Valley sophomore Reagan Gates finished second in 18:30.9, followed by McCaskey junior Carolynn Main in third at 18:45.2.
Elizabethtown’s Gabriella Grifone took fourth in 18:58.9, while Conestoga Valley’s Rachel Leaman completed the top five in 19:09.7.
McCaskey placed three runners among the first seven, including Vivian Salerno in seventh at 19:31.1, helping the Red Tornado secure the one-point victory.
Elizabethtown finished third with 124 points, followed by Annville-Cleona in fourth with 170 and Lampeter-Strasburg in fifth with 172.
Annville-Cleona Girls Lead County Teams
Annville-Cleona turned in the top girls team performance among Lebanon County schools, placing fourth overall with 170 points.
Junior Lucy Stellmach led the Little Dutchmen, finishing 14th in 20:00.4. Paige Stoltz followed in 37th at 20:55.0, while Leah Rotunda took 40th in a personal-best 21:04.2.
Emily Shearer was 43rd in 21:11.9, also recording a personal best, while Bridget Funck completed the scoring five with a 54th-place finish in 21:23.9.
The Little Dutchmen finished just two points ahead of fifth-place Lampeter-Strasburg, adding another close result to an afternoon filled with tight team battles.
More Lebanon County Girls Highlights
Cedar Crest placed 12th overall with 282 points, led by Clara Schneider, who finished 38th in a season-best 21:00.3.
Freshman Madisyn Willis followed in 59th place with a personal-best 21:33.4, while J’Liana Reyes was 62nd in 21:40.2. Sophie Meli placed 67th in 21:51.8, with Sage Henery finishing 82nd in 22:35.8.
Northern Lebanon’s girls finished 17th with 513 points. Freshman Kayleigh DiPasquale was the Vikings’ top finisher, placing 72nd in a personal-best 22:10.8. Chloe Seyfert and Taylor Cunningham finished consecutively in 123rd and 124th, recording times of 25:33.9 and 25:34.5.
ELCO finished 16th with 489 points. Paityn Newswanger led the Raiders in 96th place with a time of 23:23.4. Sarah Badolato was 103rd in 24:01.8, while Riley Keener and Cali Miller finished 115th and 116th in 25:04.3 and 25:06.5.
Girls Top 10
| Place | Runner | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruby Garner-Valle | J.P. McCaskey | 18:24.2 |
| 2 | Reagan Gates | Pequea Valley | 18:30.9 |
| 3 | Carolynn Main | J.P. McCaskey | 18:45.2 |
| 4 | Gabriella Grifone | Elizabethtown | 18:58.9 |
| 5 | Rachel Leaman | Conestoga Valley | 19:09.7 |
| 6 | Caitlin Reynolds | Lancaster Catholic | 19:30.5 |
| 7 | Vivian Salerno | J.P. McCaskey | 19:31.1 |
| 8 | Abigail Buckbee | Hempfield | 19:41.7 |
| 9 | Alyssa Grifone | Elizabethtown | 19:46.7 |
| 10 | Liana Yoder | Lampeter-Strasburg | 19:48.8 |
Girls Team Standings: Top Five
| Place | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | J.P. McCaskey | 99 |
| 2 | Manheim Township | 100 |
| 3 | Elizabethtown | 124 |
| 4 | Annville-Cleona | 170 |
| 5 | Lampeter-Strasburg | 172 |
Lebanon County Team Results
| School | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| Annville-Cleona | 13th, 346 pts | 4th, 170 pts |
| Cedar Crest | 2nd, 82 pts | 12th, 282 pts |
| ELCO | 10th, 302 pts | 16th, 489 pts |
| Lebanon | 18th, 474 pts | No team score |
| Northern Lebanon | 17th, 449 pts | 17th, 513 pts |
Full Results
District 3 Qualifiers to Be Finalized
With the Lancaster-Lebanon League Championships now complete, attention turns toward the District 3 Cross Country Championships at Big Spring High School in Newville.
Tuesday’s meet helped determine the teams and individual runners who will advance, but the official list of qualifiers has not yet been finalized for publication.
LebCoSports.com will continue working to confirm which Lebanon County teams and individual runners have earned places in the District 3 Championships. Once those selections are verified, we will update this article with the complete list of County qualifiers.
For the runners moving on, the next step will bring another opportunity to compete against the area’s best, with a chance to continue their seasons deeper into the postseason.
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