Heading into the cross country season, Salisbury head coach Doug Hensinger was unsure when Kyle Gonoude, who was battling a calf injury, would be able to start running again.

After missing the regular season's first meet, Gonoude put that injury behind him in a big way.

During last week's District 11 Cross Country Championships at Bethlehem Golf Club, Gonoude found himself at the top of the Class AA competition.

The Falcon junior Gonoude finished in first place with a time of 16:52, seven seconds ahead of second-place winner John Miller of Central Catholic. Jonathan Condly of Jim Thorpe finished in third with a time of 17:08.

Gonoude's goal was to be recognized as district champion after North Schuylkill's Brendan Shearn won it the past two seasons.

"It feels great," Gonoude said. "That's what I set out to do. I saw Brendan Shearn do that two times in a row. I wanted to do that too."

"When he came out that first day of practice, and he couldn't walk the next day, I thought, I don't know if he's going to be able to run this year or not," Hensinger said. "Then he kept trying, and it got to the point where he was running a little bit without any pain. That was very encouraging to him. We just kept taking little steps. The more he did it without pain, and then he knew he was on his way."

A week after capturing first place in the Colonial League, Gonoude continued his stellar season with Wednesday's district championship. A year ago in districts, Gonoude finished in third with a time of 17:04.

Gonoude enters the PIAA Championships on November 2 looking to build off last season's 16th-place finish.

"All the pressure is off me at states because I'm not expected to win that," Gonoude said. "I just try to sit behind everybody for the first part, then after we go up that last hill to the finish, that's when I start kicking in."

It didn't take Gonoude long to separate himself from the rest of the pack at districts. In the first mile of the race he began to make his way to the front of the competition during the hilly portion of the course.

Salisbury placed three boys runners in the top 30 and five in the top 55. Greg Fry finished 25th (18:12). Ian Carey placed 29th (18:18). Patrick Golden placed 52nd (18:56), and Sinjon Bartel placed 55th (18:58). The Falcons came in fifth place with a team score of 162 points.

The Northwestern and Jim Thorpe boys finished in first and second place, respectively, in the team championships. Both will compete in the state tournament.

In Class AA girls competition, Kelly Gonoude led the Falcons with a ninth-place finish in a time 20:40. Saucon Valley's Elizabeth Chikotas (18:26), Northwestern's Haley Yost (19:13) and Central Catholic's Colleen Daday (19:28) were the top three finishers in girls Class AA.

"I went a little bit faster in the beginning, which made me feel that I was going to have a good race to the finish line," Gonoude said.

Gonoude placed eighth in last the Colonial League championship, and her top-10 finish in districts awarded her a spot in the upcoming state meet.

"My goal for the future is to get a decent time at states," Gonoude said.

Like her twin brother Kyle, Gonoude also used the hills to her advantage in making her move during the race.

"Toward the beginning of the season," Gonoude said. "I went one pace throughout the whole race. By the end of the season, I now learned when to push at the right spots, especially at the hills."

"They're [Kelly and Kyle] out of the same mold," Hensinger said. "They don't want to be beat. They don't give anything less than 100 percent, and they keep pushing and pushing and pushing."

The Lady Falcons finished in 10th place as a team. Lindsay Bauer finished in 57th (23:11). Brooke Rogers placed 58th (23:15), and Sydney Utesch placed 61st (23:23).