Clarion Junior High harriers complete unbeaten season

The Clarion Area Junior High Girls Cross Country team has achieved an accomplishment never seen in Clarion, an undefeated regular season.

Under the direction of Head Cross Country Coach Keith Murtha and Assistant Coaches Bill Grove and Tammy Lerch, this group of girls set out to upset the teams of the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference (KSAC) and set the stage for a dominating second year as they are all 7th graders.

The schools that faced defeat by the 13 seventh grade Clarion Area girls were Karns City, Moniteau, Cranberry, Clarion Limestone, AC Valley, Keystone and North Clarion. Scoring is tabulated by the first 5 runners for each team to cross the finish line of the 1.8 mile courses. With Clarion’s depth on the roster every runner was important to make this milestone come to fruition, as many other teams’ runners were displaced by the sheer number of Clarion runners. Team Captain Joyce Kim helped to lead the team through the season. Evelyn Lerch maintained her undefeated race status throughout the regular season by upsetting the 2015 KSAC winner.

The team also competed during the regular season at The Big Red Invitational and Ridgway Invitational putting Clarion on the map in Junior High racing circles in western Pennsylvania.

The Clarion girls look to defend their undefeated season at the KSAC Championship this Thursday, Oct. 20, at Cranberry High School.

Story submitted by Matthew Lerch