The cross country team will run no more after the end of their competition at WPIAL’s.

The WPIAL competition was held at South Fayette High School October 24.

The event is attended by every school who had a qualified team, that is to say, most of them, including ours. In all, 26 boys and 29 girls teams attended.

After a hard-fought (hard-run?) race, the boys' New Castle team and the girls' South Fayette team emerged as the clear victors. However, the Beaver Area boys' team, not to be outdone, fought its way into the top ten, coming in seventh. The girls' team emerged more in the middle of the pack, placing 14th.

However, one Beaver Area runner emerged at the front of the pack, coming in first out of every other running. Who else could that be but junior Will Lamb. Yes, hold your applause.

In a way, Lamb kind of expected this result.

"I wrote on a notecard at the beginning of the season that I wanted to come in the top-five at WPIAL’s," Lamb confessed.

Even with the inspiring performance from the boys, they were once again disappointed with their results.

"The potential was there [to place higher], but it was just a matter of putting it all together, and we just didn’t have that," Lamb said.

On the other hand, the girls had mostly come to terms with how they would probably perform.

"The girls expected that they only had a chance as individuals to qualify for states," said junior Isabella DiPietrantonio.

With this, the season is over for everybody but Lamb and sophomore Ella Andrews, who both qualified to run at state competitions. So what comes next for those who can’t stop running?

"Indoor track, probably," Lamb said.

Congratulations to the cross country team in an excellent season! And be sure to check the next issue of the ECHO to find out how Lamb and Andrews performed at states.