Falcons鈥� Lindstrom finishes first in Section 2-AAA finale
FINLEYVILLE 鈥� Connellsville senior Jonah Lindstrom closed his final Section 2-AAA meet with a first-place finish Thursday afternoon held at Mingo Creek Park.
Laurel Highlands鈥� Matthew Schwertfeger bolted from the field for the early lead and held a healthy advantage as the course hit the asphalt midway through the race. Schwertfeger was unable to hold the pace, though, and Lindstrom, along with Uniontown蘑菇视频 Cooper Gilleland and Ethan Syner, made the most of the opportunity.
Lindstrom was firmly in the lead when the course returned to the final loop around the field, and he used the momentum from the last downhill to finish first in 16:53.
鈥淚 think (Matt) went out too hard. He knew who was here. Cooper knew who was here,鈥� said Lindstrom. 鈥淢y goal was to push the second half of the course. The back side of the hill the second time was brutal going up.
鈥淭he way my coach (Pat Mullaney) and myself saw it, it would come into a hill the second time.鈥�
Syner and Gilleland battled for second place, and it came down to a final sprint with Syner edging his teammate. Both runners finished with a time of 17:25.
鈥淥ur job was to stay ahead of Ringgold,鈥� said Syner. 鈥淲hen we turned onto the asphalt, Jonah picked up the pace and Matt slowed down a little.鈥�
As for the battle down the homestretch, Syner added, 鈥淲hen Cooper sped up, I went with him. It felt good to beat him.鈥�
Syner turned his attention to the big meets scheduled in the next month, saying, 鈥淚 want to run in the mid-17s (minutes) on Saturday. My plan is getting into the 16s in the WPIAL meet and finally make it to states.鈥�
Schwertfeger managed to regain some ground and finished fourth in 17:42.
With all five teams running against one another, the battle for the section title formed after Schwertfeger crossed the finish line.
鈥淚 had trouble getting up the hills. I didn鈥檛 feel good, obviously,鈥� said Schwertfeger. 鈥淚 went lactic too fast.鈥�
Schwertfeger believes he is still on pace for the big races in the next month.
鈥淚 think I鈥檒l be ready in four weeks (for the WPIAL meet). The next four weeks I鈥檒l have hard workouts and races to get me where I want to be,鈥� said Schwertfeger.
The Falcons鈥� Jake Pritts finished fifth in 17:48. Ringgold蘑菇视频 Andrew Bruce (6, 17:58), Daniel Peterson (8, 18:28), and Ethan Rahr (9, 18:37) had top-10 finishes, but Chase King (7, 18:28), Dante Rugola (10, 18:41), and Logan Davis (13, 19:32) secured the sweep of the meet.
The Red Raiders defeated Ringgold (22-36), Albert Gallatin (15-50), Connellsville (23-35), and Laurel Highlands (19-40).
Connellsville edged Ringgold, 27-28, but lost to Laurel Highlands by the same score. The Falcons defeated Albert Gallatin, 15-50, Ringgold defeated Albert Gallatin, 15-50, and edged Laurel Highlands, 27-28. Laurel Highlands defeated Albert Gallatin, 15-50.
Uniontown finished with an 8-0 section record. Connellsville, Laurel Highlands and Ringgold all closed with 5-3 records, while Albert Gallatin was winless.
Lindstrom was proud of the effort his teammates put forth this season.
鈥淎fter last year, we lost 5-of-7 of the top runners, so we put it together and we stepped it up this year,鈥� praised Lindstrom.
Brock Mace was 11th with a time of 18:50 for Albert Gallatin蘑菇视频 top finisher.
Most of the runners return to the course Saturday for the annual A.J. Everhart Invitational at Penn State Fayette.
鈥淭hat course is tough. I had my course PR already this season, so Saturday I鈥檓 going to push myself as hard as I can,鈥� said Lindstrom.