The 2021 Emmaus girls cross country team owns the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

Last Tuesday the Hornets claimed their second-straight girls EPC cross country championship by nine points over second-place Parkland 51-60 at DeSales University. Emmaus finished with a 21:04 team average, 17 seconds ahead of the Trojans.

Junior Hailey Reinhard, a consistently outstanding runner, claimed individual gold to add to the Hornets’ glory. She was the only girl to finish the race in under 20 minutes (19:53), 20 seconds ahead of Nazareth’s Caitlin Voloshen.

“I didn’t really have an expectation going into today,” said Reinhard. “I just wanted to come out here and see what would happen.”

Success is what happened for Reinhard, who ran a smart race and gained momentum when it most counted. The DeSales course itself was not easy.

“It’s a challenging course because of the hills and grass,” she said. “Overall, it’s a nice course.”

Reinhard said running as a sport and being a member of the Emmaus cross country team means a great deal.

“I love running. You get outside and just run,” she said. “As a team we are just so close.”

Senior Isabella Lees was the next Hornet finisher at 20:29, good overall for sixth place. The next two Emmaus finishers - Payton Campbell and Isabella Scarlata - showcase the team’s superior depth for coach Kami Reinhard. Both girls are ninth graders and it appears their best running is ahead. Campbell finished in 21:07, good for 10th place overall, while Scarlata took 18th place at 21:54.

Sophia Kovalski, Madison Torretta and Ava Palamara were the next Emmaus finishers, claiming 19th, 26th and 27th place overall. Palamara, a freshman, was 1.3 second behind Torretta. Addison Shank, Nicole Nosal and Bethany Brown completed the Emmaus championship cause, finishing 30th, 42nd, and 66th overall.

The District 11 Class 3A championship is scheduled for Oct. 27 at DeSales.