Ever since the days of Bobby Lincoln and Madeline Schmiedeknecht, the Winchester Thurston cross country team has been a step ahead of its competition, but this year’s squad has pushed its success to new and unprecedented levels. On October 27, the Bears migrated north to Cooper’s Lake, Pennsylvania to compete at the 2016 WPIAL Championships. Ben Littman, Tristan Forsythe, and Sean Hay took home the top three individual finishes and were supported by strong performances from Gordon Pollack, Sean Heintzleman, Scott Routledge, and Danny Sentner, who finished 6th, 11th, 17th, and 63rd respectively. This all around extraordinary team effort earned the Bears the 1A WPIAL Team Championship with a score of just 20 points (in cross country, lower scores are better), the first team in all of WPIALs to earn a score that low in over twenty years. “For a team to score 20 points at the WPIAL meet is unheard of at any level,” head coach Bruce Frey explained. “And, no matter what level it is, 1-2-3 does not come easy” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

For the first time in recent school history, Winchester Thurston was able to enter a girls team in the WPIAL Championships. Led by 15th place finisher and state-qualifier Daniela Schafer, the Winchester’s girls team performed valiantly at the WPIAL Finals, earning an 11th place finish out the 24 represented teams, a jaw-dropping feat for a team in just its first year of existence. Katherine Chaillet, Hannah Woo, Evanna Jin, Rachel Sadeh, and Margaret Balich finished with impressive times, providing the all-around team contribution that was needed to succeed at such a high level. With all six members of the girls team returning next year, the up and coming girls team is in good shape to build off of a successful finish to its inaugural season.

Fueled by their success at the WPIAL Finals, the Bears headed to Hershey, Pennsylvania for the 2016 State Championships. Sophomore Daniela Schafer ran her way to an impressive 65th place finish, a promising sign for her running career as she continues to train during her junior and senior years. Forsythe, Littmann, and Hay took home the 3rd, 6th, and 16th place respectively in the boys race, pushing Winchester to a dominating 48 point victory over Elk County Catholic for a first place team finish, marking the team’s second title in the past three years and making them the only team to win multiple state championships since Class 1A was introduced to WPIALs.

Mirroring the sport itself, cross country championships are won not by last minute sprints of training just before the race but by constant effort and endurance throughout the entire year. Since Day 1, these runners have worked longer and harder than any other team could have ever imagined possible. From frigid runs through the sloshing snow of winter to grueling hill training on scorching summer days, they have put in the work to earn every single one of the exhilarating moments that they were rewarded with on race day. They may have run their way from local races to WPIALs to the State Championship, but they walk away with a new and unprecedented title: dynasty.