Conor McGinty was already looking ahead to next year.

“I think after this season, since I made a lot of improvements, as a freshman, that I have a lot to look forward to next year,” McGinty said of last week’s District 11 Cross Country Championships.

His coach was already thinking beyond that.

“And the next year, and the next year,” added Terry Bruns.

With a full season behind them, Salisbury’s cross country team has a lot to be proud of.

And with a young roster, the Falcons also have the potential to take flight in the years to come.

McGinty was the Falcons’ top finisher in 39th with a time of 19:07 in the Class 2A race last Thursday at DeSales University.

Despite a fall a week earlier at the league championship race, McGinty ran to a 40th-place finish with a time of 20:09 to pace the team in that event, which was also at DeSales.

“I thought that I was able to make up for what I didn’t have last time with the fall,” said McGinty. “And my time was pretty good.

“I think just trying to go out and run my race really helps out a lot. There were a lot of kids here, so that really helps.”

Sophomores Andrew Grejda placed 57th in 20:00, while Nolan Grejda recorded a 77th place result with a time of 20:37.

Andrew Grejda placed 53rd (20:53) at last week’s league meet.

“I think today was a lot better than last week. Everything just felt better, preparing and going into this,” said Andrew Grejda. “I think everybody does (have nerves), because it’s such a big race, to the point where everybody wants more and more.”

Nolan, Andrew’s twin, echoed those sentiments.

“I would say today felt better,” Nolan said. “I felt stronger going out, especially on the hills.

“We train as a team almost every day, and we run to the best of our abilities in practice. It definitely shows here. I PR’d by, I want to say a minute and 20 seconds, which is great. And I think we’ll just keep getting better as a team.”

Junior Stuart Carl crossed the line in 90th and recorded a time of 21:19. Sophomore Ian Young was 95th and had a time of 21:37, while fellow sophomore Thomas Lovelidge was 109th (22:55).

Salisbury finished 15th in the team standings with 348 points. The Falcons were 10th in the team standings a week earlier at the league meet.

After going 6-18 this year, the program seems primed for more individual and team success.

“I think I surprised myself with how I did this year,” said McGinty. “I didn’t think I was going to do that good.

“But I like hanging out with all the kids that are running. That’s one of the best parts about it.”

With Bruns and assistants Steve Tremblay and Janice Zellin guiding them, there’s no doubt the program is headed in the right direction, both on and off the course.

“The camaraderie that they’ve established, and they are a team, they are Salisbury’s cross country team,” said Bruns. “They like it. They want to be there, and it shows. It’s the attitude and the character. We’re a small school ... and it’s the character I care about more than the wins and losses. And they have it.

“They toe the line, they have good grades, great attitudes, a sense of humor, and they will work.”

Northwestern Lehigh won the District 11 Class 2A boys title with five runners finishing in the top six to beat Central Catholic 97-17. The Tigers’ Sam Bower won the race in 16:48.25. He was one of three individual district champions from the Colonial League.

In girls Class 2A, Blue Mountain won the team title by 10 points (71-61) over Central Catholic. The Eagles’ Olivia Haas took first place in 18:39.61, well ahead of Colonial League champ Sarah Pezzino (Pen Argyl), who ran a 19:47.17.

In Class 3A, Nazareth won the boys team title while Emmaus took the girls title 53-71 over second-place Southern Lehigh behind a first-place finish from East Penn Conference champ Hailey Reinhard (19:39.05). Freedom’s Alex Heidemann (16:20.60) also followed his EPC title with a district gold last week.

In Class A, Moravian Academy edged Weatherly (72-77) for the boys team title. Palisades’ Thomas Smigo (16:36.20) took the boys individual title. In the girls race, Notre Dame (Green Pond) cruised to the title over Tri-Valley (19-64) with the Crusaders’ Olivia Schweitzer (20:33.8).

District 11 Cross Country Championships

at DeSales University

BOYS

Class 3A

Team Scores

(and legend)

1. Nazareth (Naz) 72*, 2. Liberty (Lib) 82*, 3. Parkland (Park) 86, 4. Emmaus (Emm) 101, 5. Southern Lehigh (SL) 123, 6. Northampton (Nor) 172, 7. Freedom (F) 180, 8. Stroudsburg (S) 191, 9. Easton (Eas) 204, 10. Pleasant Valley (PV) 315, 11. Pocono Mountain East (PME) 331, 12. Whitehall (W) 339, 13. Pocono Mountain West (PMW) 405.

Top 10 Individuals plus state qualifiers

1. Alex Heidemann (F) 16:28*, 2. Dominik Lisicky (SL) 16:35*, 3. Liam Davis (ES South) 17:06*, 4. Liam McLaughlin (S) 17:11*, 5. Cameron Koch (Naz) 17:12*, 6. Alexander Kane (SL) 17:14*, 7. Adam Kollgaard (Naz) 17:17*, 8. Ethan Strzempak (Emm) 17:19*, 9. Connor Murphy (Naz) 17:19*, 10. Andrew Huntsberger (S) 17:21*, 11. Emrick Leshko (Lib) 17:30*, 12. Conor Fisher (Emm) 17:32*, 13. Evan Dempsey (Nor 17:34*, 14. Jacob Rivera (Lib) 17:36*, 15. Paul Abeln (Park) 17:45*, 18. Owen Reilly (Lib) 17:49*, 19. Jacob Orrico (Lib) 17:49*, 25. Ben Pfefer (Lib) 18:01*, 27. Jack Hasker (Naz) 18:03*, 29. Robert Pitsko (Naz) 18:04*, 30. Ross Ellis (Naz) 18:06*, 34. Sean Gorman (Naz) 18:23*, 35. Cole Ruhf (Lib) 18:26*, 36. Jack Huie (Lib) 18:32*.

Class 2A

Team Scores

(and legend)

1. Northwestern (NW) 17*, 2. Allentown Central Catholic (ACC) 97*, 3. Notre Dame Green Pond (NDGP) 139, 4. Blue Mountain (BM) 149, 5. Wilson (W) 184, 6. Tamaqua (Tam) 191, 7. Palmerton (Palm) 196, 8. Jim Thorpe (JT) 224, 9. Bethlehem Catholic (BC) 274, 10. Saucon Valley (SV) 280, 11. Lehighton (L) 288, 12. Pottsville (Pott) 322, 13. Bangor (B) 336, 14. East Stroudsburg North (ESN) 337, 15. Salisbury (Sal) 348, 16. North Schuylkill (NS) 370, 17. Catasauqua (Cat) 505.

Top 10 Individuals plus state qualifiers

1. Samuel Bower (NW) 16:48*, 2. Matthew Santana (NW) 17:05*, 3. Cole Chukoskie (NW) 17:20*, 4. Jacob Huber (SV) 17:24*, 5. Joe Chukoskie (NW) 17:27*, 6. Nathan Vincent (NW) 17:29*, 7. Justin Williams (NS) 17:47*, 8. Owen Hibell (Palm) 17:51*, 9. Duke Ebert (ACC) 17:55*, 10. Cole Schaeffer (BM) 17:56*, 11. Gavin Nelson (NW) 18:01*, 12. Jordan Smith (NDGP) 18:03*, 13. Trevor Weidman (B) 18:08*, 14. Ryan Bailor (JT) 18:09*, 15. James Freeman (ACC) 18:17*, 16. Levi Kunkel (Tam) 18:19*, 17. Chase Eller (W) 18:31*, 18. Ridge Snyder (JT) 18:35*, 23. Leon Koons (ACC) 18:43*, 25. Nathan Harris (ACC) 18:48*, 28. Brian Collins (ACC) 18:54*, 30. William Gruen (NW) 18:57*, 37. Jacob Demchak (ACC) 19:05*, 40. Gavin Grim (ACC) 19:08*.

Class 1A

Team Scores

(and legend)

1. Moravian Academy (MA) 72*, 2. Weatherly (W) 77*, 3. Minersville (Min) 80, 4. Shenandoah Valley (SV) 100, 5. Palisades (Pali) 111, 6. Lehigh Valley Academy (LVA) 140, 7. Tri Valley (TV) 194, 8. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 224, 9. Marian Catholic (MC) 228, 10. Nativity (N) 231, 11. Notre Dame East Stroudsburg (NDES) 275, 12. Mahanoy (M) 305.

Top 10 Individuals plus state qualifiers

1. Thomas Smigo (Pali) 16:36*, 2. Landon Boyle (Min) 17:14*, 3. Alexander Hume (LVA) 17:35*, 4. Mitchell Campbell (Pali) 17:35*, 5. Theo Urban (MA) 17:53*, 6. Jacob Parker (W) 17:37*, 7. Ricky Ray (W) 17:59*, 8. Alex Kurtek (Min) 18:03*, 9. Connor Stasulli (SV) 18:03*, 10. Sam Carter (MA) 18:07*, 11. Diego Olayo (SV) 18:14*, 12. Astin Daniel (SH) 18:26*, 13. Keegan Dube (Min) 18:28*, 14. Michael Berger (W) 18:32*, 15. Frankie Willis (W) 18:36*, 16. Krish Gupta (MA) 18:40*, 17. Malcolm Naughton (NDES) 18:46*, 18. Albin Petschauer (MC) 18:47*, 21. Teyton Messman (MA) 19:03*, 22. Greg Hine (MA) 19:12*, 31. Drew Mariani (MA) 19:52*, 37. Tim Maguschak (W) 20:18*, 46. Bryan Yang (MA) 20:46*.

GIRLS

Class 3A

Team Scores

(and legend)

1. Emmaus (Emm) 53*, 2. Southern Lehigh (SL) 71*, 3. Parkland (Park) 76, 4. Easton (Eas) 100, 5. Liberty (Lib) 148, 6. Northampton (Nor) 180, 7. Nazareth (Naz) 184, 8. Stroudsburg (S) 211, 9. ES South (ESS) 247, 10. Freedom (F) 248, 11. Whitehall (W) 277, 12. Bangor (B) 373.

Top 10 Individuals plus state qualifiers

1. Hailey Reinhard (Emm) 19:39*, 2. Caitlin Voloshen (Naz) 19:59*, 3. Avaline Fihlman (F) 20:03*, 4. Madeline Mumma (Lib) 20:13*, 5. Isabella Lees (Emm) 20:25*, 6. Ella Bray (PM West) 20:26*, 7. Addison McPeek (Eas) 20:30*, 8. Natalie Morgan (SL) 20:35*, 9. Payton Campbell (Emm) 20:38*, 10. Elena Wenger (Park) 20:43*, 11. Deandra Young (S) 20:43*, 12. Jessica Price (Park) 20:47*, 13. Maura Lenhart (SL) 20:49*, 14. Erin Vincent (Eas) 20:49*, 15. Gracie Trexler (Park) 20:52*, 16. Alaina Patel (SL) 20:56*, 18. Lauren Meinhold (SL) 21:08*, 19. Sophia Kovalski (Emm) 21:18*, 21. Annefloor Fooig (SL) 21:30*, 22. Madison Torretta (Emm) 21:32*, 31. Nicole Nosal (Emm) 21:55*, 33. Celia Knoedler (SL) 22:04*, 34. Isabella Scarlata (Emm) 22:08*, 42. Autumn Garges (SL) 22:25*.

Class 2A

Team Scores

1. Blue Mountain (BM) 61*, 2. Allentown Central Catholic (ACC) 71*, 3. North Schuylkill (NS) 93, 4. Northwestern (NW) 120, 5. Saucon Valley (SV) 121, 6. Pottsville (Pott), 7. Jim Thorpe (JT) 202, 8. Palisades (Pali) 219, 9. Bethlehem Catholic (BC) 236, 10. Tamaqua (Tam) 242, 11. Catasauqua (Cat) 271, 12. Lehighton (L) 311, 13. Lehigh Valley Academy (LVA) 313.

Top 10 Individuals plus state qualifiers

1. Olivia Haas (BM) 18:39*, 2. Sarah Pezzino (Pen Argyl) 19:47*, 3. Ryley Schwalm (NS) 19:50*, 4. Avery Errico (Wilson) 20:11*, 5. Katie McCormick (NS) 20:19*, 6. Skyler Szulborski (LVA) 20:31*, 7. Adra Schell (Pott) 21:07*, 8. Grace Stegemerten (Tam) 21:08*, 9. Julia Roth (ACC) 21:09*, 10. Cecilia Chipriano (BM) 21:11*, 11. Andie Hollander (BM) 21:12*, 12. Emma Szydlow (SV) 21:12*, 13. Olivia Bortz (SV) 21:17*, 14. Izzy Kehoe-Huck (ACC) 21:28*, 15. Nicole Carroll (JT) 21:39*, 18. Rosie Deisher (ACC) 22:02*, 19. O’Neill Ford (ACC) 22:03*, 20. Sophia Chipriano (BM) 22:04*, 21. Clare Coleman (ACC) 22:15*, 22. Gabby Powell-Dix (ACC) 22:20*, 26. Patsy Shak (ACC) 22:29*, 27. Leah Scheidel (BM) 22:33*.

Class 1A

Team Scores

1. Notre Dame Green Pond (NDGP) 19*, 2. Tri-Valley (TV) 64*, 3. Moravian Academy (MA) 74, 4. Marian Catholic (MC) 103, 5. Mahanoy (M) 120.

Top 10 Individuals plus state qualifiers

1. Olivia Schweitzer (NDGP) 20:33*, 2. Samantha Masser (TV) 20:34*, 3. Katherine Koones (NDGP) 20:44*, 4. Sarah Sidoro (NDGP) 21:03*, 5. Lauren Bower (NDGP) 21:28*, 6. Anna Schaeffer (Schuylkill Haven) 21:44*, 7. Serena Azzalina (NDGP) 21:46*, 8. Paige Mitchell (TV) 22:05*, 9. Jaelyn Pennypacker (TV) 22:26*, 10. Julia Burgess (Minersville) 22:29*, 11. Grace Curnow (MC) 22:31*, 12. Chloe O’Donnell (Notre Dame East Stroudsburg) 22:33*, 13. Lily Eyvazzadeh (MA) 22:34*, 14. Natalie Mosier (Palmerton) 22:51*, 15. Marissa Fridirici (Schuylkill Haven) 22:47*, 16. Cora Wentz (Palmerton) 23:04*, 17. Sophia Lee (MA) 23:28*, 18. Kaylei Wentz (Minersville) 23:31*, 24. Catherine Mahoney (NDGP) 24:30*, Raegan Cooper (NDGP) 23:33*.

* - State qualifier