Frankovich breaks tape in County Coaches meet on last try
Trinity sophomore Junko wins boys race
FINLEYVILLE — Fort Cherry’s Emily Frankovich made sure she left Mingo Creek Park’s cross country course with the gold medal hanging around her neck Tuesday afternoon following the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Championships.
The senior was fourth a year ago and 18th as a sophomore but her last race on Ringgold’s home course was her best in topping the field in the girls varsity race in 19:36.30.
Frankovich’s victory led the Rangers to the Class 2A-A team championship with 28 points. The Rams were second (40) and McGuffey placed third (60).
“It is definitely a good feeling to win this meet since it is my senior year,” Frankovich said. “I am looking forward to the WPIAL Championships next Thursday. I qualified for states last year, and I definitely want to do it again this season.”
Trinity sophomore Devin Junko won the boys varsity race in a personal best time of 16:37.12. Junko was second in the county meet last year and looks forward to seeing how he fares in the WPIAL Championships next Thursday at White Oak Park.
Canon-McMillan won the team titles in Class 3A boys and girls, while the host team won the Class 2A-A boys team championship.
Frankovich said she started to pull away from the lead pack on one of the many hills on the Mingo Creek Park course and cruised to the finish line. Ringgold’s Lily Brenneman was second in 20:34.87 and Canon-McMillan’s Taylor Dubois was third in 20:44.02.
Frankovich didn’t break her personal record of 19:14, which she did at Mingo Creek Park last Thursday.
Junko also pulled away from the lead pack on a hill to finish ahead of Canon-McMillan’s Dane Hanley (17:04.29) and Ringgold’s Daniel Petersen (17:11.36).
“I feel like hills are one of the best parts of my races,” Junko said. “I did a lot of training in the offseason and my coach really pushed me, and it has paid off. I am looking forward to next Thursday at the WPIAL Championships.”
Big Macs coach Matt Mansfield knows the importance of the county meet from first-hand experience, and he was pleased with the effort from both teams as the season winds down.
“Both teams ran really well, and the girls did a great job packing it in,” Mansfield said. “The guys gap has gotten a little bigger as the season has progressed, but that’s because our top two guys have really stepped it up and gotten closer to the lower 17s.”
Canon-McMillan edged Trinity, 30-32, to earn the championship.
“We lost a couple of seniors, but the guys have said that one of the goals this year was to come back and try to win the county after finishing second to Trinity last season,” Mansfield said. “Carter Hawthorne had a 30-second PR as a freshman, which was really big. We had four freshmen run varsity today, and they did their jobs and got it done.”
Canon-McMillan’s girls team had a much easier time winning the championship than the boys, outscoring Peters Township, 24-45, and Trinity, 24-59, in Class 3A.
The Rams have proven that life will go on without Ryan Pajak, and coach Jen McMichael was pleased with the effort from both teams.
Ringgold’s boys scored 26 points to defeat McGuffey (47) and California (84) for the team title in Class 2A-A.
“I had four in the top 20 in the boys race, and I’m really proud of that,” McMichael said. “We will compete in Class 2A at the WPIAL Championships, so we hope that running against these bigger schools in this meet will help us moving forward.”