Freedom’s boys cross country team accomplished a one-two-three finish in the second tri-meet of the season on Sept. 19 at Freedom where the Patriots, Liberty, and host Bethlehem Catholic competed against Pleasant Valley, Pocono Mountain East, and Pocono Mountain West.

Dylan Boyle (16:56), Brayden Boyle (18:00), and Ryan Haas (18:15) were the top three finishers.

Throughout the race, Haas kept the Boyle brothers in sight and did everything possible to assure third place while achieving a personal best time on his home course.

“I was battling with the Pocono Mountain East kid, four and five, pretty much all of mile 2. I think coming down past the building in the back and going around the track, I passed him to come into third, and then I was determined to keep going and make sure I was third,” Haas said. “I could feel the Pocono Mountain East kid behind me, and I could see his coach yelling at him, ‘Gotta pick it up. Gotta get it going.’ And I knew that, since I was three, and it was gonna be one, two, three, I gathered everything up and gave it everything I had to finish strong and make it one, two, three. It felt great to know I’m moving up; I’m getting better.”

Pocono Mountain East’s Evan Seymour finished two seconds behind Haas (18:24), and Becahi’s Mekhi Britt was just two seconds behind Seymour (18:26).

Liberty’s Spencer Sabo came in sixth (18:37), Pleasant Valley’s Martin Green was seventh (18:38), and Freedom’s Ryan Parkin placed eighth (18:55).

Liberty’s Ethan Caine placed ninth (19:04), and Becahi’s Timothy “TK” Kraus was 10th (19:05).

“I tried to stay behind the Liberty kids for a little bit until the end so I could get in front of them. You need to stay behind some people so you have motivation to kick at the end,” Kraus said. “I thought about, not the whole race, but just getting in front of the next person and on and on. If I can just get the next person, then I’m gonna feel good about myself until I’m just exceeding at cross country. Even if I get a good time, I always think I can do better.”

A new mindset has done wonders for Kraus’s racing this year.

“Coach Krystyn (Fenon) has been tough in a good way. She pushes you to your limits. You don’t think you can go to that extent. This summer I started taking the sport more seriously and started running more, and I can see a total difference. I’ve lost 20 pounds since January and I think Coach Krystyn was a big help with that,” said Kraus.

Liberty’s Joshua Cazares placed 11th (19:28), and Freedom’s Eric Wu came in 12th (19:34).

In team results, the Patriots out ran Pocono Mountain East, 17-38, Pocono Mountain West, 15-48, and Pleasant Valley, 17-42.

“If we could get Eric Wu under 19:00, we could be a little more formidable. He’s closing the gap, so we’ll see,” said Coach Thear. “For Brayden (Boyle), I think gaining a lot of confidence is probably the big thing. He ran well at DeSales in the freshman race, and I think that was kind of his breakthrough, and he’s improved significantly this week on a course that I know is 5K. It’s ideal weather conditions today. With the little wind that we have, that middle stretch of the race where maybe you’re fatigued a little bit coming down the sidewalk, it’s all at your back, pushing you. A lot of people ran a lot faster times than last week.”

Liberty won against East, 22-33, West, 15-44, and Pleasant Valley, 21-38.

Becahi lost to East, 23-34, and defeated West, 21-34, and Pleasant Valley, 25-30.

“I try to have them work together, pair up in teams as we work in our practices. I run with them right up front, so we’re all pushing each other,” said Coach Fenon. “It’s a nice team. Good group. We do a lot of hill training, workouts throughout the week, weightlifting, and it’s gonna pay off in the end because I know what the DeSales course is gonna be for leagues and districts, so I’m trying to prepare them for those hills that are gonna come on that course so they’re ready to go.”