It can be lonely on your way to the top, but the things you encounter along the way can make the race to the top much more gratifying.

“I’m honored to be district champ, and defending the crown was a must-do. The biggest problem was having no one in my heat near me. I didn’t expect the gap to be that big right away,” said Liberty’s Cole Frank after winning the District XI Class 3A Boys Cross Country Championship last Wednesday at Blue Mountain Ski Resort.

Frank, whose time was 17:31.90, raced in the second of two heats. The closest competitor to Frank at the finish was Nazareth’s Anthony Kositz who placed seventh overall in 18:35.80.

Less than a mile into the race, Frank could hear no one racing behind him, but one of the things that kept him going was teammate Zander Lynn and friends who were playing music over a speaker on the side of the course. Another was hearing the voice of his coach Adam Syty well above the others’, and another was Blue Mountain itself.

“I skied my whole life at Blue Mountain, so looking at that mountain helped me push through,” Frank said. “It was the most difficult course, but I think it’s important to have cross country like that. It shows that runners are people who are strong and will excel.”

Also competing for the Hurricanes were Emrick Leshko, Luke Daignault, Jacob Orrico, Cole Ruhf, and Hayden Shiban.

Frank advances to the PIAA State Cross Country Meet scheduled for Nov. 7 and 8 in Hershey.

“I’ll be happy with top three,” he said, “but if I’m shooting for the moon, I’m going for number one.”

Top Ten Boys Class

3A Medal Winners

1. Cole Frank (Liberty) 17:31.90; 2. Zeke Colyer (Northampton) 17:39.06; 3. Alex Heidemann (Freedom) 17:40.31; 4. Alexander Kane (Southern Lehigh) 17:40.62; 5. Dominik Lisicky (Southern Lehigh) 17:51.92 6. Owen Nahf (Northampton) 18:09.38; 7. Anthony Kositz (Nazareth) 18:35.80; 8. Ben Esquieres (Parkland) 18:39.90; 9. Jack Hollar (Pocono Mountain East) 18:42.10; 10. Alex Hume (Freedom) 18:45.26.