The Oranger the Bury

For much of my 4 years in high school Pennsbury was a fairly irrelevant team. They were sending individuals or teams to states and they certainly weren't competing for state titles.

In the fall of 2010, Connor Harriman became the first Pennsbury runner to qualify for the state championships in years and made the boys in orange a bit more relevant. As a sophomore, it was clear Harriman was talented, but Pennsbury didn't simply need an influx in talent, they needed a program changer.

As a Junior in 2011, Harriman began to grow into that role. The young Pennsbury squad was rapidly improving and freshman Sam Webb developed into a state qualifier in his own right. Harriman ran excellent during the stretch run of cross country, finishing top 10 at both districts and states and leading Pennsbury to one of their best finishes in recent history in the loaded district one. When the 2012 track season ended, with Harriman pulling out an absurd final lap of the state 3200m to break 9:20, Pennsbury was suddenly a threat to qualify for states as a team in the upcoming cross country season.

PB rolled quickly out the gates in the fall of 2012, throwing down a dominate showing at Viking. They had league rival CRN seemingly on the ropes, especially after Harriman won gold at Pre States. But it's a long season and district one is no joke. In arguably one of the best years in District One history, Pennsbury finished 6th at Lehigh and was left off the state qualifying list. Although Harriman and Webb, now a sophomore, would go on to finish in the top 14 at the state championships, there were doubts about the Pennsbury team. Perhaps they weren't a great team, they just merely had two good runners. 

But Pennsbury changed that mindset quickly. The following indoors, Pennsbury attacked the relays full force. They finished a hard fought third indoors in the 4x8 despite the fact that Harriman was on the triple. The teams they lost to were Bensalem and Henderson, i.e. the XC state champions and the team that would have finish the year with two guys at 1:52 or faster. 

Pennsbury followed it up with a 3rd place outdoors, proving their bronze was no fluke. They finished only behind Bensalem and Cumberland Valley, a few championship of America type teams with 1:51 anchors and state gold around their necks. Pennsbury was for real, capping one of the best all around seasons by any team in the state including a pair of 3rd place relays, an excellent DMR and two top 14 XC runners.

But Harriman graduated that Summer, leaving the team without their first transformative piece, their first star and a gutsy racer who capped off his career by going head to head with 1:52 man Brad Rivera and beating him on the lead off leg of a windy day at the state championship. Harriman's graduation could be the first domino and in a breakdown of the Pennsbury team.

But the men in orange were a resilient bunch. Liam O'Connell and Alek Sauer, a pair of runners who had excellent track seasons on the 4x8, proved they were not limited pieces and excelled in cross country with Sauer breaking 16 in the fall. These two paired with Sam Webb created a top 3 that peaked well and qualified as a team for the state championships just a few months after Harriman graduated. 

Webb injury trouble limited Pennsbury during indoors and most forgot about PB (even though they had two 800m runners in the top 15 or so at indoor states). But by outdoors, the team was back to clicking. Webb came back with a bang, making massive improvements from week to week and culminating his year with a jaw dropping 9:08 PR in the 3200m (which he followed moments later with a key leg on Pennsbury's state medaling 4x8). O'Connell became a consistent 1:56 runner and Alek Sauer made the jump from strong runner to elite runner, with the final exclamation coming during a 1:52.9/1:54.3 double that earned him some state hardware. 

Sauer and Webb had risen to an impressive level and Pennsbury had developed two of their young stars into bona fide stars. After a rocky XC season that included another close call at the district championships, Pennsbury came out firing. Sauer dropped one of the state's best 1ks and followed it with a massive meet record at Burdette (breaking a mark close to my heart, previously held by Mike Palmisano of UD). PB followed with one of the top 4x8 teams in the state: without their stud anchor Sauer. By the time the Orangemen (seriously anyway we can change the team name to Orangemen instead of Falcons?) hit the stride of Armory season, things were clicking like never before. Sauer added a 1:52.61 split and Webb lowered his PR down to 1:55. Other legs like Mulvaney, Yeger and Kersten were growing into sub 2 minute legs to help bolster a deep roster. 

As the season wound down, Pennsbury looked to be significant favorites for the state championship. The ultimate test for their team was looming on March 1st. There had been many programs that produced strong teams in cross and the 4x8, but very few programs could boast state gold. It was the ultimate sign of talent, hard work, and the ability to perform under pressure. A state gold transforms the legacy of an athlete and a program.

But there were doubts going into the meet. For starters, Pennsbury was outlasted by CB West at the Meet of Champions at Lehigh the previous week, thanks in part to tired legs. At states those tired legs were going to be an even more significant factor. Webb ran a massive PR in the mile (4:13) and Sauer added a lifetime best in the open 800m by nearly 2 seconds. With fresh completely fresh squads from CB West, LaSalle, Penncrest and State College waiting, Pennsbury's gold in the 4x8 seemed questionable at best.

But this team is a group of champions. They run really tough races, beginning with Harriman's gutsy kicks and perhaps culminating with a pair of sick doubles and a few newbies having breakthrough races on the biggest stage. Sophomore Eric Kersten was not afraid of the big moment at all on Sunday as he stepped into the lead off roll and handed off in 1st place. Webb and Mulvaney continued the trend and got the stick around to Sauer in position. 

Sauer, in the midst of one of the hardest and most important doubles of his career, ran one of his gutsiest races, holding off the fresh legs of the talented Evan Emmanuel of Penncrest, another team incredibly hungry for Gold.

As Sauer crossed the line, cementing gold for PB, it was a win for more than just the 4 runners that touched the baton that day. It was a win for Harriman and O'Connell and the other recent graduates who helped grow the program to what it became. And perhaps most importantly, it was a long awaited gold for Pennsbury: the program and the school. 

In about 4 years the Orangemen went from completely off the radar to State Gold and #1 mid distance team in the state. You can't win with talent alone, it takes game changers. It takes heart and courage. And this program and these athletes have it.

Congrats to the Falcons and good luck this outdoors.