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The 53rd edition of the Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen Invitational brought hundreds of runners to Union Canal Tunnel Park on Saturday morning, with Lebanon County athletes competing throughout the large high school fields before the collegiate races took center stage later in the day.
Recent rain added another element to the meet. Lebanon Valley head coach James O’Brien noted that three portions of the course had still been underwater as late as Thursday. The course recovered in time for Saturday, although muddy areas remained and became more of a factor as the morning progressed.
For Lebanon County, Annville-Cleona produced the top individual finisher in both high school races. Senior Benjamin Boyd finished seventh in the boys race, while junior Lucy Stellmach matched that seventh-place finish on the girls side. The Palmyra Girls turned in the County’s highest team finish, placing third overall.
Girls Results
Boiling Springs junior Chloe Joslyn set the pace in the girls race, winning in 19:01.9. Northern York’s Lily Hayes followed in 19:19.0, while Covenant Christian Academy’s Alex Sagen was third in 19:23.1.
The first Lebanon County runner across the line was Lucy Stellmach, who finished seventh in 19:46.8. The Annville-Cleona junior came in less than a second behind Cumberland Valley’s Ava Butler for sixth.
Stellmach was only the beginning of a strong showing for the Dutchmen. Paige Stoltz placed 20th in 20:39.0, giving A-C two runners among the first 20 finishers. Bridget Funck, Emily Shearer and Anna Rotunda completed the scoring five as Annville-Cleona finished sixth in the team standings with 195 points.
Palmyra didn’t have an individual in the top 20, but the Cougars used impressive depth to earn the best Lebanon County team finish of the day. Palmyra placed third with 145 points, trailing only champion Cumberland Valley and runner-up Conestoga Valley.
The Cougars’ first five runners all finished within the top 43. Amber McCurdy led the way in 24th at 20:58.4, followed immediately by Leah Senft in 25th at 21:00.4. Chelsea Herr was 27th, Jericho Church placed 38th and Olivia Yortyfinished 43rd to complete Palmyra’s scoring five. With Helena Baker and Alyssa McCully finishing 74th and 79th, respectively, all seven members of Palmyra’s varsity lineup finished inside the top 80.
ELCO finished 20th in the team standings, led by Paityn Newswanger, who crossed the line 101st in 23:06.6. Kayleigh DiPasquale paced Northern Lebanon with a 24:03.2 to finish 134th as the Vikings placed 23rd as a team. Lebanon had two runners in the race and did not register a team score.
High School Girls Top 10
| Place | Runner | School | Grade | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chloe Joslyn | Boiling Springs | Jr. | 19:01.9 |
| 2 | Lily Hayes | Northern York | Sr. | 19:19.0 |
| 3 | Alex Sagen | Covenant Christian Academy | So. | 19:23.1 |
| 4 | Rachel Leaman | Conestoga Valley | Jr. | 19:36.0 |
| 5 | Leila Testa | Conestoga Valley | Fr. | 19:41.0 |
| 6 | Ava Butler | Cumberland Valley | Jr. | 19:46.0 |
| 7 | Lucy Stellmach | Annville-Cleona | Jr. | 19:46.8 |
| 8 | Cadence Chizmar | Northern York | Sr. | 19:52.7 |
| 9 | Ella Miller | Dover | Fr. | 20:00.6 |
| 10 | Liana Yoder | Lampeter-Strasburg | Fr. | 20:08.5 |
Boys Results
The boys race featured a tight battle at the front, with Lower Dauphin junior Daniel Dunkleberger emerging as the winner in 15:37.9. Dayspring Christian senior Noah Huxta was second in 15:43.0, followed by Veritas Academy senior Gus Seifferlein in 15:44.4.
Just over 13 seconds separated the first six runners before Benjamin Boyd came through as Lebanon County’s top finisher. The Annville-Cleona senior took seventh in 15:51.3, only 13.4 seconds behind the winning time.
Boyd’s finish helped Annville-Cleona lead the County’s boys teams with a 12th-place finish. Hunter Troxell was A-C’s second runner in 64th, followed by Oliver Brandt in 95th, Jayden Jorge in 96th and Gradyn Sanders in 128th to complete the scoring five.
Lebanon senior Samuel Hershey turned in the County’s second-fastest performance, placing 13th overall in 16:24.7. With only four runners competing, however, the Cedars did not record a team score.
Anthony Frederick led Northern Lebanon with another top-25 performance, finishing 25th in 16:52.4. The Vikings finished 21st in the team standings, one position ahead of Palmyra.
Palmyra was paced by Max Chesney, who finished 67th in 17:57.8. Finian Cummings followed in 83rd as the Cougars finished 22nd overall. ELCO placed 24th, with Sawyer Shanaman and John Gass leading the Raiders in 106th and 109th.
Lower Dauphin won the boys team championship, with Warwick finishing second and Northeastern taking third.
High School Boys Top 10
| Place | Runner | School | Grade | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Dunkleberger | Lower Dauphin | Jr. | 15:37.9 |
| 2 | Noah Huxta | Dayspring Christian | Sr. | 15:43.0 |
| 3 | Gus Seifferlein | Veritas Academy | Sr. | 15:44.4 |
| 4 | Asher Baker | Big Spring | Jr. | 15:48.6 |
| 5 | Alexander Myers | Dover | Sr. | 15:49.1 |
| 6 | William Magagna | Lampeter-Strasburg | So. | 15:50.7 |
| 7 | Benjamin Boyd | Annville-Cleona | Sr. | 15:51.3 |
| 8 | Jaxon Hobbs | Anchor Christian Academy | So. | 15:57.6 |
| 9 | Jack Schlegel | Exeter Township | Sr. | 16:09.5 |
| 10 | Hudson Vrbicek | Mount Calvary Christian School | Sr. | 16:17.9 |
LVC & College Races
The host Dutchmen made the most of their opportunity to race at home, with Lebanon Valley winning the men’s competition and finishing second in the women’s race.
On the men’s side, LVC put together an unusual display of pack running. Wyatt Leitzel, Lukas Walko, Donnie Miller, Andrew Namatka and Rory Lieberman crossed the finish line consecutively in fifth through ninth, with all five clocking times between 26:44.2 and 26:44.4 on the 8,000-meter course.
That gave Lebanon Valley 40 points and its second Dutchmen Invitational championship in the past three years. Susquehanna finished second with 72, Eastern was third with 118, and Penn State Berks took fourth with 174.
Penn State Berks also emerged as the top United East Conference men’s team in the meet. That program is coached by Lebanon High School graduate Ryan Foster, adding another local connection to Saturday’s collegiate competition.
The women’s race saw Division II Millersville take the championship with 24 points, while Lebanon Valley was the top Division III team, finishing second with 91. McDaniel was close behind in third with 94.
Caroline Borleis led LVC by placing 18th in a career-best 20:17.5. Jocelyn Saultz finished 20th in 20:22.6 in her collegiate debut, with Charlee Kurtz 24th, Nina Milosevic 25th and Christine Wagner 34th completing the Dutchmen’s scoring five.
Individually, Bailey Mullen won the college women’s race in 18:46.7, while Derick Blair was the men’s champion in 25:45.4.
Another Dutchmen Invite in the Books
From a pair of seventh-place finishes by Boyd and Stellmach to Palmyra’s third-place girls performance and Lebanon Valley’s victory in the men’s college race, the 53rd Dutchmen Invitational provided plenty of local highlights.
It also gave Lebanon County’s high school programs an early-season opportunity to see their full varsity groups in a large invitational setting. With seven runners making up a varsity lineup, Saturday offered coaches a chance to evaluate not only their front-runners, but also the depth that will become increasingly important as the season moves toward its championship meets.
Complete Lebanon County High School Results
Girls
Annville-Cleona – 6th, 195 points
- Lucy Stellmach (Jr.) – 7th, 19:46.8
- Paige Stoltz (Jr.) – 20th, 20:39.0
- Bridget Funck (So.) – 49th, 21:51.2
- Emily Shearer (Sr.) – 56th, 21:58.9
- Anna Rotunda (Fr.) – 80th, 22:40.4
- Kennedy Sanders (Fr.) – 106th, 23:13.2
- Gracie Troxell (So.) – 194th, 26:11.1
- Claire Leonard (Fr.) – 213th, 27:24.0
ELCO – 20th, 589 points
- Paityn Newswanger (Jr.) – 101st, 23:06.6
- Riley Keener (Jr.) – 148th, 24:37.3
- Cali Miller (Sr.) – 158th, 24:52.8
- Maci Wise (So.) – 195th, 26:14.9
- Allison Polynone (Jr.) – 214th, 27:27.0
- Anna Lehman (Sr.) – 226th, 28:48.5
- Kayla Edris (Jr.) – 234th, 29:24.7
- Chloe Kuhne (Fr.) – 238th, 29:36.5
Lebanon
- Herlen Rodriguez Barrera (Sr.) – 255th, 31:45.3
- Alianis Ortiz-Del Valle (So.) – 280th, 35:01.5
Northern Lebanon – 23rd, 662 points
- Kayleigh DiPasquale (Fr.) – 134th, 24:03.2
- Chloe Seyfert (Jr.) – 187th, 25:53.2
- Sophia Roye (So.) – 203rd, 26:36.8
- Taylor Cunningham (So.) – 205th, 26:39.5
- Hannah Cyphers (Fr.) – 239th, 29:37.4
- Payton Noll (Jr.) – 249th, 30:54.8
- Mollie Longenecker (Fr.) – 263rd, 32:17.5
- Gabby Citino (Jr.) – 266th, 32:35.2
Palmyra – 3rd, 145 points
- Amber McCurdy (Sr.) – 24th, 20:58.4
- Leah Senft (Sr.) – 25th, 21:00.4
- Chelsea Herr (Jr.) – 27th, 21:04.4
- Jericho Church (So.) – 38th, 21:36.4
- Olivia Yorty (Sr.) – 43rd, 21:42.9
- Helena Baker (Sr.) – 74th, 22:34.6
- Alyssa McCully (Sr.) – 79th, 22:39.1
- Madeline Dark (Fr.) – 91st, 22:53.9
- Bailey Grissinger (Sr.) – 113th, 23:27.6
- Claire Wee (Jr.) – 115th, 23:29.3
- Sophia Yorty (Fr.) – 121st, 23:39.1
- Anna Good (So.) – 130th, 23:57.2
- Caleigha Mull (Sr.) – 145th, 24:30.7
- Makyla Barr (So.) – 161st, 24:56.0
- Luci Yakum (Fr.) – 162nd, 24:56.2
- Evelyn Cox (Fr.) – 164th, 25:00.9
- Holland Peiffer (Jr.) – 165th, 25:03.8
- Brooke Wetzel (Fr.) – 181st, 25:48.0
- Sarah Mickalonis (Sr.) – 183rd, 25:49.0
- Lilyanna Derrer (Jr.) – 227th, 28:50.9
- Grace Gobel (Jr.) – 252nd, 31:15.0
- Rachel Cote (Sr.) – 257th, 31:50.2
- Leila Lancaster (So.) – 261st, 32:06.6
- Sophiya Luitel (Fr.) – 278th, 34:38.8
Boys
Annville-Cleona – 12th, 349 points
- Benjamin Boyd (Sr.) – 7th, 15:51.3
- Hunter Troxell (Sr.) – 64th, 17:56.5
- Oliver Brandt (Jr.) – 95th, 18:29.4
- Jayden Jorge (Sr.) – 96th, 18:30.8
- Gradyn Sanders (Jr.) – 128th, 19:02.8
- Abraham Weber (Fr.) – 133rd, 19:08.6
- Oskar Yakum (Jr.) – 214th, 20:10.2
- Asher Kohr (So.) – 273rd, 21:19.0
- Colin Trate (So.) – 287th, 21:34.7
- Mathew Altland (Jr.) – 390th, 25:22.9
- Wolfe Duvall (Fr.) – 426th, 32:54.6
ELCO – 24th, 609 points
- Sawyer Shanaman (So.) – 106th, 18:40.9
- John Gass (So.) – 109th, 18:43.0
- Nicholas Wolfe (Jr.) – 131st, 19:06.6
- Oliver Gettle (So.) – 194th, 19:55.1
- Joash Jalique (Fr.) – 216th, 20:12.6
- Elijah Gass (Jr.) – 219th, 20:14.9
- Josh Desteno (Sr.) – 225th, 20:20.9
- Jack Dermes (So.) – 245th, 20:51.1
- Dylan Aspril (Sr.) – 317th, 22:02.7
- Walter Blydenburgh (So.) – 321st, 22:12.3
- Alex Sidelnick (Jr.) – 327th, 22:22.9
- Thomas Simpson (Sr.) – 354th, 23:17.6
- Miles Torres (Fr.) – 359th, 23:22.9
- Ronan Gerhart (Fr.) – 384th, 24:49.6
- Thomas Simpson (Sr.) – 354th, 23:17.6
- Miles Torres (Fr.) – 359th, 23:22.9
- Ronan Gerhart (Fr.) – 384th, 24:49.6
Lebanon
- Samuel Hershey (Sr.) – 13th, 16:24.7
- Trystan Steckbeck (Sr.) – 113th, 18:49.2
- Ian Aviles (Fr.) – 155th, 19:27.7
- Angel Miranda (So.) – 331st, 22:28.6
Northern Lebanon – 21st, 520 points
- Anthony Frederick (Jr.) – 25th, 16:52.4
- Owen Kelly (Jr.) – 90th, 18:26.0
- Isaac Bruce (Grade listed as 13) – 137th, 19:13.4
- Mason Krall (So.) – 187th, 19:49.9
- Emeri Kreiser (So.) – 215th, 20:11.9
- Mason Wetzel (Fr.) – 220th, 20:15.2
- Avery Costanzo (So.) – 227th, 20:27.5
- Canon Risser (Fr.) – 247th, 20:53.8
- Alex Breiner (Jr.) – 263rd, 21:07.9
- Myles Horst (Jr.) – 299th, 21:46.2
- Jeremiah Kelly (So.) – 304th, 21:51.8
- Blake Beyler (Fr.) – 387th, 25:07.2
- Carter Acevedo (Fr.) – 425th, 32:24.0
Palmyra – 22nd, 536 points
- Max Chesney (So.) – 67th, 17:57.8
- Finian Cummings (So.) – 83rd, 18:17.8
- Landyn Rose (Sr.) – 135th, 19:11.1
- Lucas Pachuski (So.) – 162nd, 19:31.4
- Emmitt Savary (So.) – 207th, 20:03.5
- Blake Fellon (So.) – 232nd, 20:38.4
- Dalton Cole (Jr.) – 234th, 20:41.6
- Carson McDonald (So.) – 239th, 20:45.8
- Daniel Grant (Jr.) – 244th, 20:50.8
- Quinn Davis (So.) – 264th, 21:10.1
- Dylan Varney (So.) – 279th, 21:24.5
- William Dunn (Fr.) – 311th, 22:00.8
- Luke Siegert (So.) – 323rd, 22:13.8
- Albert Zaccaria (Sr.) – 324th, 22:15.7
- Nick Weidman (Sr.) – 342nd, 22:42.3
Full Results
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