The Emmaus cross country teams opened their 2022 seasons with strong performances last Saturday at the Northampton Cross Country Invitational.

The girls squad picked up where it left off last year, winning the 14-school Class 3A division at the meet. Leading the way for the Green Hornets was freshman Madelyn McCartney with in 18:30, good overall for third. Another underclassman, Payton Campbell, finished second for Emmaus, seven seconds behind McCartney and fourth in the field.

Next up was senior Hailey Reinhard, who ran the 5K in a 19:19 time, good for 11th place. Sophomore Addison Johnson was the fourth Hornet finisher, while Sophia Kovalski and Nicole Nosal were respectively fifth and sixth. Isabella Scarlata took seventh on the Emmaus roster and 35th out of 218 runners overall.

“There is more depth this year compared to last year, and there are a number of athletes who have the ability to make a big difference for the girls team,” Emmaus coach Kami Reinhard said. “I feel these girls display top notch character, and hold very high standards.”

The boys had a good race also, taking fourth place. Topping the Emmaus boys was sophomore Conor Fisher who ran a 16:38.80 race, good for 20th place overall. Another sophomore, Richard Will, ran a fine race, finishing second on the squad in 17:05. Jared Petre was the third Hornet to cross the finish line, while teammate Oscar Felegy, a senior, was fourth on the roster.

Sam Dalton, another 12th grader, was the fifth Emmaus finisher followed by Dominic Nunez and Dahlin Allport, who claimed 138th place in a 263 field.

“Everyone on our boys team needs to push each other to be their very best, while training ‘smart,’” Reinhard said. “There is a large freshmen class, which will be so exciting to watch their progress unfold for our future.”