South cross-country has had an eventful season so far. This is the first year the boys and girls teams are training together. Senior Kaitlin Poiesz said of the change, “It is more fun training together because we have become closer as a team, and we also push each other.”

Senior captains Tommy Quinn, James Chappell, Kaitlin Poiesz, and Tina Hilferty lead the teams.

Here are some highlights from their season.

Girls’ ended 4-3 in the Suburban One League. In cross-country, the places of the first five finishers from each school are added up for a total score, and the school with the least amount of points wins. The girls won meets against Quakertown, Hatboro-Horsham, Pennridge, and Souderton and lost to East, West, and North Penn.

The boys ended 3-2 in the league, with wins against Quakertown, Hatboro-Horsham, and Soudertown and losses against East and Pennridge.

On September 7, South hosted the Quad X meet, which included 24 schools. Girls’ varsity won first place in the eight-mile relay with seniors Kaitlin Poiesz, Lauren Brauckmann, Alexa Kwapinski and junior Brynne Mulloy. Boys’ varsity won tenth place in the eight-mile with seniors Tommy Quinn, Connor Kienzle, Tim Boyle, and freshman Matt Scarpill.

September 21^st was the PIAA Invitational at Hershey, where 95 schools participated. The girls’ cross-country team received ninth place as a team. Kaitlin Poiesz won 11^th place in the 5K, running a time of 20:12. The boys’ team earned 13^th place.

October 18^th was the SOL Championships. Girls’ Varsity received fourth place in the Continental Conference. Overall, Kaitlin Poiesz placed second in the 5K and Brynne Mulloy placed 14^th. The boys placed seventh in the Continental Conference. However, freshman Matt Scarpill placed seventh overall and Tommy Quinn placed 18^th.

Districts, at Lehigh, were October 25^th. At districts, everyone runs. The first five finishers score points. The first five teams make states. The top twenty-five individuals not a part of the top five teams also qualify for states. “We are hoping to get in the top ten,” said Kaitlin before the meet. “The team has been working hard at practice, and I think we will be able to set personal bests.” As a team the girls finished 13^th. Kaitlin Poiesz took 13^th place with a time of 18:35, and Brynne Mulloy got 29^th with a time of 18:55; both girls qualified for states. The boys’ team finished in 21^st place.

States were the following week. “We are hoping to qualify a couple of people,” said Kaitlin previously. After being the number one runner for South, Kaitlin unfortunately was unable to finish because she pulled her hamstring just before the two-mile mark. Brynne Mulloy, however, had a great race and finished 38^th place.