Norwin Girls XC is running into another season and on the hunt to qualify for the state championship for the second year in a row. For the third straight year, the Knights Girls team is Section Champion with an undefeated 8-0 record and 24-0 record last three years, as well as ranked 6th in the state according to PA MileSplit, after placing 5th last year at the state championship in November in Hershey.
This season the team is led by a mix of mostly underclassmen. After losing several seniors to graduation that are now competing in college–Audra Fedor (Pitt Johnstown), Julia Walko (Case Western), and Rosemary Gaydos (St. Francis Univ). This season the Knights varsity roster is led by junior Annie Czajkowski; sophomores Addie Farrah, Emily Dansak, Jillian Ryba, Anna Dansak, and Kaelyn Lazar; as well as senior Anna Rakvic.
The Norwin GirlsXC Team has had no trouble bonding and gelling as a team this year despite losing three collegiate runners.
“Coming in this year on to varsity, I am happy as I feel like more of a contributor to the team,” said sophomore Emily Dansak. Dansak regularly finishes in the top 4 for the Knights team.
The Knights started out their first invitational race of the season by racing at the Ohio Riverside Night Race. This was a new experience for the Knights as nobody on the team has ever ran a race in the nighttime, and as a result of the night, the course was lined with Christmas lights and flood lights.
Out of the over 1000 runners that raced that evening, Norwin’s Annie Czajowski ended up placing first and winning the race running an impressive early season time of 18:31. Close behind Czajkowski were sophomores Addison Farrah and Emily Dansak in 6th and 7th overall running mere identical times of 19:28 and 19:29.
“I got ready for the Ohio Riverside Night Race by coming to practice throughout the summer to train and get better for the season,” said sophomore Addison Farrah.
The NorwinXC Girls Roster rested during the Gateway Invite to prep for a fast time at the following invitational–Red, White & Blue. The Lady Knights came back to racing on Sep. 7th at the Red White and Blue Invitational. At this meet sophomore Jillian Ryba stepped up to place third in varsity running a 19:35 giving her 17th place overall in the race. The girls finished 2nd overall to North Allegheny, the #1 ranked team in the state and the #2 ranked team in the Northeast Region (PA, NJ, MA, CT, RI, VT, NH, ME). The girls had North Allegheny beat through 2.5 miles, but the Tigers ran them down the last half mile to seal the win in the 33 team field by a score of 88-101 edging out NorwinXC.
Following RW&B, the girls kicked off the Section schedule traveling to Antiochian Village in Ligonier vs Ligonier Valley and WPIAL Top 5 team Latrobe. The Lady Knights took the win here in a huge pack with their eight fastest runners finishing with a tight time spread. The Lady Knights easily defeated Latrobe with a score of 19-41.
The Knights also displayed their power as a team on Senior Knight on Sep. 17th at their home course of Oak Hallow Park. The Lady Knights captured the top 5 spots and the seventh, leading to their dominance in the meet against Penn Trafford and Derry.
Norwin Girls XC then took their talents to Buhl Park on Sep. 21st where they took on one of the biggest meets of the year, the Blue Devil Invitational. The Lady Knights ended up taking first place in the meet led by Annie Czajkowski once again who placed 3rd overall, and Addison Farrah, Jillian Ryba, and Anna Rakvic who placed 6, 7, and 17th respectively. Norwin’s sophomore pack of twins Emily and Anna Dansak, along with Kaelyn Lazar ended up placing 22, 23, and 24.
The team ended up sweeping all the top 8 places on Sep. 24 at Hempfield, leading to another Section win in the meet. Following Sep. 24, NorwinXC battled Greensburg Salem and Yough on Oct. 1. The Girls took the top 5 places and places 8-11.
The Lady Knights wrapped up the Section Title for the third straight season and finish the last three years with a perfect 24-0 Section record and a a 31-1 Section record for the senior class.
The Knights are now gearing up for a district preview meet, the Bald Eagle Invitational on Oct. 5, and also the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Championship on Oct. 9 and hope to continue a blazing championship October run.
