2015 Thundering Herd
Cross Country Results
Boys Record: 6-2
Girls Record: 4-4
Carlisle at PIAA State Championships
Monday, November 9
Please congratulate the Girls Cross-Country team on making it to States for the 3rd time in 4 years and their 16th place finish this past Saturday. The Lady Herd was led by Freshman Gracen Cabral and Maddie Kole who both placed in the top 100. Meg Lebo, Emma Bateman and Caitlyn Padgett rounded out the team scoring.
The Boys' XC came up big placing 13th as a team and nearly knocked off Hempfield as the top District 3 team. Leading the way was Matt Wisner who claimed an individual State medal and his younger brother Jack, who was the top Freshman at the State meet! Isaac Kole, Max Fiorentino, and Anthony Deltufo were the other team scorers. Great season to all!
To view pictures from the Carlisle at PIAA State Championships click here
Carlisle at District III Championships
Monday, November 2
Please congratulate the Girls Cross-Country team on their 3rd place at the District Championships this past Saturday. The Lady Herd was led by Maddie Kole who earned a medal and returns the team to States once again next week. Maddie was followed by Meg Lebo, Gracen Cabral, Sarah Frick and Caitlyn Padgett who rounded out the team scoring.
Not to be outdone the Boys' team also notched a 3rd place finish and advance to the state meet for the third year in a row. Matt Wisner led the way with a 6th place finish and Isaac Kole came through big with a 21st. The trio of Anthony Deltufo, Jack Wisner, and Max Fiorentino ensured the return trip to states with great performances of their own.
States will be in Hershey this Saturday!
To view pictures from the Carlisle at District III Championships click here
Carlisle at Mid Penn Championships
Monday, October 19
Please congratulate Matt Wisner who led the Boys Carlisle Cross Country team at Mid-Penns over the weekend and claimed his first individual title. His win paved the way for a 4th place team finish and was followed by Isaac Kole who also earned All-Conference honors. Anthony Deltufo, Jack Wisner, and Max Fiorentino all placed in the top 45 to round out the team scoring.
On the girls side the Lady Herd ran like the defending District Champions they are, placing 6 girls in the top 30. Only State College held off our girls en route to a 2nd place finish. Earning All-Conference honors were Maddie Kole, Meg Lebo, Sarah Frick, Caitlyn Padgett, Gracen Cabral, and Haily Midgley.
The Cross-Country teams will return to action on October 31st at the District 3 Championships.
To view pictures from the Carlisle at Mid Penn Championships click here
Carlisle vs State College
Wednesday, October 14
To view pictures from the Carlisle vs State College click here
Carlisle at Lower Dauphin/Northern
Wednesday, October 7
BY ANDY SANDRIK
FOR CARLISE CROSS COUNTRY
Carlisle cross country coach Ed Boardman didn't think his Thundering Herd boys would sweep their tri-meet against Lower Dauphin and Northern on Oct. 6.
He told his team as much and apparently, they took it as a challenge.
Carlisle pulled off the upset, knocking off the Falcons 27-28 while also securing a 19-43 victory over the Polar Bears. The Thundering Herd (6-1) got a second-place finish from Matt Wisner, who clocked a 16:42, to lead a pack of five Carlisle runners finishing in the Top 9. Lower Dauphin's Kyler Shea won the race in 16:31.
"I was really, really pleasantly surprised with the boys," Boardman said. "Going into this meet, I would have guessed that Lower Dauphin was the second best team in the district (to Hempfield). I gave them marching orders and told them we were trying to win this meet.
"I told them if they can't keep up with LD, I wasn't expecting them to."
The Falcons took care of business up top. Following a third-place finish from Northern's Jared Kearns (16:49), Lower Dauphin's Colton Cassel (16:50) and Jared Giannoscoli (17:27) finished ahead of Carlisle's Isaac Kole (17:23) and Jack Wisner (17:32), respectively. But the Thundering Herd was able to steal victory by claiming the next spots with strong finishes from Anthony Deltufo (17:33) and Max Fiorentino (17:33). One second behind Deltufo and Fiorentino was LD's Peter Gingrich. The Falcons' No. 5 runner, Miles Book, didn't cross the line until the 18:24 mark.
"If it was invite scoring, we would have crushed them," Boardman said. "The race came down to LD's fourth runner and our 3-4-5. They all came off within a second of each other and pulled together at the last second."
Boardman has a renewed sense of hope for his team's chances at districts. He was especially impressed with the way his boys ran after taking on a brutal uphill course at the Salesianum Invitational just three days earlier.
"To run like we did on Tuesday, as tired as we were, gave me a lot of hope," Boardman said. "I think districts is Hempfield's race to lose, but we'll be there to pick up the pieces if they leave us an opening."
Other Carlisle finishers included Caleb Padgett (13th, 18:26), Bryce Dunkelberger (16th, 18:33), CJ Berg (21st, 18:57), Drew Strickland (22nd, 19:00), Bjorn Prandtner (25th, 19:09), Caleb van Grouw (30th, 19:40), Drevan Howard (39th, 20:56), Kevin Hammer (40th, 20:59), Greg Johnson (47th, 21:59), Sam Haseman (49th, 22:09), Nate Bernheimer (50th, 22:28) and Seth Bloomquist (51st, 24:31).
GIRLS
It's not often that you'll see Boardman happy about a loss. But he was thrilled with the way his Thundering Herd outfit performed against Lower Dauphin and Northern. The Falcons defeated Carlisle 27-29, while the Herd topped the Polar Bears 18-45.
The race was won by Lower Dauphin standout Ella Breidenstine in 19:56. She was chased by Carlisle's Maddie Kole, back in the lineup with fresh legs, and Sarah Frick, each of whom clocked a 20:54.
"This is the first time Maddie's been able to run for us in a while and she's very much on the road to recovery," Boardman said. "She's not all the way back yet, but she's coming back. A week ago, I wouldn't be able to guarantee her as a Top 5 runner. Now I'm pretty positive she's in our Top 3 now."
Thanks to the efforts of Kole and Frick, not to mention Gracen Cabral (7th, 21:15), Emma Bateman (8th, 21:16) and Haily Midgley (12th, 21:32), Carlisle was able to hang with one of the better teams in the Mid-Penn, even without the services of the resting Caitlyn Padgett and Meg Lebo. That has Boardman thinking his girls should be competitive when it comes time to defend their District 3-AAA championship.
"We're a better team than last year, at least we should be when we all get on the line," Boardman said. "There are probably five teams -- Hempfield, Manheim Twp., Chambersburg and Cumberland Valley -- competing for a district title. Our path to victory will be to get our Top 6 in front of everyone else's Top 4." Boardman said his girls showed him that they are capable of running fast times, something he had doubts about following a slow showing at the Salesianum Invitational three days earlier. The goal against Lower Dauphin/Northern, Boardman said, was simple.
"I really didn't care about the meet results, I just wanted them moving much, much quicker than they were at Salesianum," Boardman said. "We ran out the first mile ridiculously fast. Then we were supposed to recover in the second mile and let LD get ahead. Then after that we would see if we could make it a race at the end and catch some of their girls.
"I'm very much encouraged by what I saw."
Other finishers for Carlisle were Julia Ledgett (13th, 21:50), Addison Jastron (17th, 22:09), Lauren Clay (18th, 22:13), Delaney Mullen (25th, 23:00), Bekah Hughes (26th, 23:00), Kaitlyn Hankard (31st, 25:09), Arianna Line (39th, 28:21) and Vera Erfle (41st, 28:56).
To view pictures from the Carlisle at Lower Dauphin/Northern click here
Carlisle at Salesianum Invitational
Monday, October 5
BY ANDY SANDRIK
FOR CARLISE CROSS COUNTRY
There is only one reason the Carlisle cross country team travels to Delaware to compete in the Salesianum Invitational each season: The course.
The Brandywine Creek State Park course rolls steadily uphill and is hard and unforgiving. Those who wish to challenge it often end up paying a price days after the race is over.
It's the hardest course the Thundering Herd will see all year, including Hershey's daunting Parkview Course, where the PIAA Championships will be held.
"We go here to make sure that any other championship course feels like a joke," Boardman said. "No other course feels challenging after you've run down here."
Carlisle's boys and girls each registered third-place team finishes.
GIRLS
With Hurricane Joaquin working its way up the east coast, Carlisle's girls had plenty of things to think about other than the Salesianum Invitational. The distractions proved to be too much for the Thundering Herd, who then became confused when meet directors condensed all of the girls races into one race. Carlisle, which placed third with 57 points behind North Penn (37) and Great Valley (45), ran slower than Boardman would have liked. The Thundering Herd's competitors were Caitlyn Padgett (8th, 21:18), Sarah Frick (10th, 21:32), Emma Bateman (12th, 21:49), Haily Midgley (13th, 22:01), Meg Lebo (14th, 22:06), Addy Jastron (21st, 23:07) and Lauren Clay (22nd, 23:10).
"I was quite disturbed by what I saw on Saturday," Boardman said. "In some cases the girls were enjoying the trip, while everyone was watching the weather to see if anything comes close.
"Luckily, the girls were able to turn it around against Lower Dauphin on Tuesday."
The race was won by North Penn's Ariana Gardizy, who clocked a 20:01.
Boardman was much happier with the effort he got from his JV girls, who took the first four spots and won the JV race with 24 points over North Penn (50), Great Valley (97), Archmere (107) and Ursuline (170), among other teams.
The JV race was won by Carlisle freshman Gracen Cabral in 22:31. Rounding out the Top 4 overall finishers was the Thundering Herd's Julia Ledgett (22:39), Bekah Hughes (23:11) and Delaney Mullen (23:31). Carlisle's other finisher was Kaitlyn Hankard (14th, 24:52).
"Gracen has been coming on all season, and we haven't ever run her much, volume-wise," Boardman said. "We're very cautious and have been easing her in, but she's there and she's coming."
BOYS
Boardman was very encouraged by what he saw from Carlisle's low-stick man Matt Wisner, so much so that the Carlisle coach believes Wisner has the goods to finish the season as a state medalist..
The senior, as Boardman described it, had the "best cross country race of his life" on Saturday.
Wisner attacked the hills and finished in third with a time of 17:04 to lead a group of Carlisle runners that included Isaac Kole (5th, 17:37), Jack Wisner (15th, 18:13), Anthony Deltufo (19th, 18:24) and Max Fiorentino (21st, 18:29).
The Thundering Herd finished third with 63 points behind Gonzaga (53) and Salesianum (57).
"For Matt to run a 17:04 here, that's without a doubt the best cross country race of his life," Boardman said. "He's young for his grade, but he's not afraid of those hills. He still has a lot of room to grow, too."
Boardman said he's never sure what to expect from the competition at this invite, but was happy with the way his boys competed. Defeating North Penn, which took fourth with 76 points, was a great thrill for the Carlisle coach.
"North Penn has three times our enrollment, so it's always nice to beat them," Boardman said. "We enjoy beating schools that are that big, who should be 'too big to fail.'"
The Thundering Herd also had runners in the Freshman and JV races.
Carlisle racked up 101 points during the JV race for a fifth-place finish and was led by Tyler Hallman (13th, 19:14), Bjorn Prandtner (14th, 19:15), Drew Strickland (15th, 19:16), CJ Berg (18th, 19:27) and Jules Harper-McCombs (41st, 20:31).
The Thundering Herd totaled 72 points in the Freshman race and finished second behind Salesianum, which had 56 points. Carlisle's top finisher was Bryce Dunkelberger (3rd, 18:55), followed by Caleb Padgett (6th, 19:19), Caleb van Grouw (14th, 19:57), Kevin Hammer (23rd, 20:41) and Nathan Fogelsonger (26th, 20:49).
To view pictures from the Carlisle at Salesianum Invitational click here
Carlisle at Carlisle Invitational
Monday, September 28
To view pictures from the Carlisle at Carlisle Invitational click here
Carlisle at CD East/Chambersburg
Wednesday, September 23
The Carlisle XC teams travelled to CD East Tuesday to face both East and Chambersburg. On both sides the Commonwealth Division title was decided between the Herd and the Trojans. Matt Wisner won the race and Isaac Kole was right behind him, but Chambersburg's depth was too much for the thin Herd to match as the meet was lost 26-32. The Trojans put 10 runners in front of the Herd's 5th.
On the girls side it was the opposite, the Lady Trojans dominated up front, but the depth of Carlisle started factoring in down the line, but it was too little too late. The girls fell by a similar score of 24-31 to the unbeaten Lady Trojans.
Both boys' and girls' teams rolled over CD East in the process. The Herd Boys winning 17-47 and the Lady Herd winning 15-43.
To view pictures from the Carlisle at CD East/Chambersburg tri meet click here
Carlisle vs Cumberland Valley
Wednesday, September 16
BY ANDY SANDRIK
FOR CARLISE CROSS COUNTRY
Carlisle senior and distance ace Matt Wisner believes that his Thundering Herd boys cross country team has what it takes to earn a spot in the season-ending PIAA Class AAA Championships.
Following Carlisle's 22-33 victory over Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division opponent Cumberland Valley on Tuesday, Wisner might just be on to something. The Thundering Herd remained undefeated at 3-0 thanks to a terrific effort from the team's top runners, which claimed five of the top seven spots. It was a wild race to the finish line for Wisner, who hustled down the stretch to finish in 17:17.58, just a hair ahead of the Eagles' Yahya Soliman (17:17.89). "It was definitely tough," Wisner said. "I was hoping to get through today without using my 800 speed, but I had to use it today." Wisner, who placed fifth in the 800 at states last spring, said he was trying to hang on for the early parts of the race. Then, Soliman let Wisner assume the lead during the third mile before making a late charge toward the end. Soliman and Wisner went back and forth down the final stretch until the Carlisle standout exerted a final burst to win the race. "I knew if I could hold on, I could outkick him," Wisner said. "We knew it was going to be close with CV today. We just tried to match up with them 1 through 5."
Mission accomplished. After Wisner and Soliman crossed the finish line, Carlisle No. 2 Isaac Kole (17:25) dispatched CV's Drew Brown (17:40) and the Herd's next three runners -- Anthony DelTufo (17:47), Jack Wisner (17:50) and Max Fiorentino (17:51) -- placed 5-6-7. Carlisle coach Ed Boardman said if his Top 5 guys can stay healthy, his team is strong enough to make a push for states. "We're definitely not deep, but those five guys have been getting the job done and taking care of themselves," Boardman said. "Having a state team is a pretty reasonable goal." Individually, Wisner's goal is to finish in the Top 10 at the District 3-AAA meet. He placed 14th last year. "Cross country is definitely a good test of your mental strength," Wisner said. "I just want to place as high as I can at districts." The Herd returns to action next Tuesday with a tri-meet against CD East and Chambersburg. A sweep there would win Carlisle the Commonwealth.
Cumberland Valley girls 27, Carlisle 29
It was a loss, but Boardman was very happy with the effort from his defending District 3-AAA champions, who were without the services of Maddie Kole, a PennLive First Teamer last season. "We didn't have our No. 1 and were still competitive," Boardman said. "We had eight girls under 22 minutes on a relatively hot day. I'd obviously be happier if we could've flipped one more spot, but I'm quite pleased with this." The race was won in 19:21 by Cumberland Valley senior hammer Mady Clahane, a three-time Mid-Penn and district champion. After that, Carlisle (2-1 Commonwealth) hung extremely tough against the defending division champions. Caitlyn Padgett took second in 20:24 to outduel CV's seasoned No. 2, Marie Rulapaugh, who clocked a 20:31. "Marie is a tough competitor," Padgett said. "In the past I've beaten her in cross country. But she's tough, so beating her is cool."
Sarah Frick, perhaps the most improved runner on Carlisle's team, registered a 20:36 to place fourth. Boardman said Frick put in the offseason work to go from the Herd's No. 7 runner to someone who can garner the points of a No. 1 or 2 athlete. Meg Lebo (6th, 20:53), Emma Bateman (8th, 21:28), Haily Midgley (9th, 21:33) and Gracien Cabral (10th, 21:35) rounded out Carlisle's top finishers. It was a competitive and hard-fought battle between the teams. It was exactly what CV coach Skip Springman was expecting. "It was a close meet and whoever wins doesn't matter as long as both sides fought hard. You can't ask for more than that," Springman said. "The bottom line is the kids in this conference are equal. It's a tough conference with tough kids and good coaches. We're just trying to do our best to get these kids strong and fast for later in the season, because they'll all be battling each other at Mid-Penns, districts and states." Where does Carlisle stand in the postseason picture? Padgett said that at this point in the season, everything is going according to plan. "It's upsetting we couldn't pull this one out today, but overall everything is coming together well," Padgett said. "I think we've come off strong so far. We're going to keep on working and getting better. "In the end, it all comes down to who wants it more."
Even with the loss, Carlisle is in contention for a share of the division crown. If the Herd can pull out a victory over Chambersburg, which beat CV last week, they would force a three-way tie for first place.
To view pictures from the Carlisle vs Cumberland Valley meet click here
Carlisle at Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational
Monday, September 14
Carlisle XC teams travelled up to Penn State Friday evening(Sept. 11th) for the Harry Groves Spike Shoe Invitational. The heat and humidity from earlier in the week made the 80 degree day and clear skies seem like almost like Fall. The Lady Herd toed the line first and was missing a quite a few varsity names in the line-up, but still forged ahead and put up some impressive performances. Sarah Frick led the way for the girls while breaking the 20 minute barrier for the first time in her career. Meg Lebo followed close behind and was the top freshman finisher in the race. Emma Bateman ran 3rd for us and then rounding out the team scoring were Julia Ledgett and another freshman Gracen Cabral. As a team we placed 5th which was surprisingly one spot higher than last year's team which finished 6th here.
The boys ran into a well rested State College team eager to prove themselves at their big "home" Invitational and they ran away with the team title. The only other team to outpace our Herd though were the defending District III Champions from Hempfield. Matt Wisner led the boys team with a top 10 finish and Isaac Kole was close behind him with a big PR over last year. The next trio rounding out our scoring all rolled into the top 30: Jack Wisner, Anthony DelTufo, and Max Fiorentino. What was exceptional about the boys race on this evening was that we crossed the line with our 5th freshman at 19:26, so the future is looking bright!
To view pictures from the Spike Shoe Invitational click here
Carlisle at Mifflin County
Wednesday, September 9
The Boys XC team travelled to Mifflin County yesterday to open up the dual meet season and came home with 2 wins against both Mifflin and Central Dauphin. The boys took the top 5 spots against the Huskies to win 15-41 over the home team, while taking down Central Dauphin as well by a similar 19-40 score. Anthony Deltufo, Isaac Kole, and Matt Wisner led the way for the Herd followed closely by Max Fiorentino and Jack Wisner.
The Lady Herd took care of both teams as well to also start off the regular season at 2-0. The girls defeated Central Dauphin 21-41 and the Lady Huskies by a score of 19-43. Leading the way for the Carlisle girls were Sarah Frick and Meg Lebo who took 1st and 2nd places in the race. Julia Ledgett and Gracen Cabral secured the wins following not far behind.
Carlisle at Enos Yeager Invitational
Monday, September 7
The Carlisle Thundering Herd opened up the XC season on Friday evening down at Falling Springs Elementary in Chambersburg. A low-key meet with predominantly only the Franklin County schools, along with Carlisle and Northern. A unique 2.35M distance made the times pretty meaningless, but gave us an idea of where our gaps are and how the team is looking as we begin what will hopefully be a fantastic season. No team score is kept officially, but had we scored it out, it was to be a great battle between the home team and our Carlisle teams, all 4 of whom figure to have their minimum sights set on State qualifying spots in a few months.
On the girls side the Lady Trojans took the top two places, but Caitlyn Padgett, Meg Lebo and Sarah Frick took the next three for the Lady Herd. Emma Bateman outkicked the 4-5 of Chambersburg. Of the top 11 places at the meet 5 were in Chambersburg uniforms and 6 wore our Carlisle jerseys. Had a team score been kept, we would have lost 26-29...so we're glad this one didn't count! Odds are we'll be looking to decide the Mid-Penn Commonwealth crown up at CD East on September 22nd where we will meet the Chambersburg teams again when it counts...on a neutral course.
Our boys exceeded all expectations and ran all over a Chambersburg boys team that, on paper, should have taken the day. Matt Wisner claimed his first ever XC Invitational win by unleashing a lethal kick overtaking an excellent runner in Gettysburg's Dan Filler(last year's District III AA runner-up). Isaac Kole flew through the field and came all the way to 3rd overall, while the pack of Anthony Deltufo, Max Fiorentino, and Jack Wisner all claimed medals by taking 9th, 10th, and 11th overall. A scored duel meet would have resulted in a 24-31 unexpected victory for our Herd, so a great first showing! Looking forward to opening up the dual meet season on Tuesday up in Mifflin County!
To view pictures from the Enos Yeager Invitational click here
Carlisle-CD at Mifflin County Results
Carlisle vs Cumberland Valley Results
Carlisle at CDE-Chambersburg Results
Carlisle at Lower Dauphin-Northern Results
Carlisle vs State College Results
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