Elk Lake’s Kendel Jones runs during the PIAA D2 cross county championships at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Mid Valley’s Jacob Borrelli maintains a short lead over Crestwood’s Mason Staude during the PIAA D2 cross county championships at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
West Scranton’s Seamus Wallace, left, and Wallenpaupack’s Aiden Janowicz fight for first place during the PIAA D2 cross county championships at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Delaware Valley’s Grace Holderith runs during the PIAA D2 cross county championships at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Elk Lake’s Kendel Jones runs during the PIAA D2 cross county championships at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights coach Frank Passetti gave Anna Pucilowski a picture from last year’s PIAA Cross Country Championships.
It is of the photo finish between Pucilowski and North Allegheny’s Robin Kucler for 25th place. Initially, Pucilowski was credited with the spot, which would have given her a state medal. But upon further review, the photo showed Kucler edged her out. Pucilowski had to settle for 26th and miss out on a medal.
She admits she has the picture, but doesn’t use it as motivation.
“Honestly, I try to keep things like that behind me,” she said. “Not to focus too much on them, just better myself for the future.
“This year, I just won’t make it a close call. I want a medal.”
Pucilowski and the rest of qualifiers from District 2 will chase that goal Saturday at the Hershey Parkview Course. First of six races is at 9:30 a.m. Saturday’s weather forecast calls for intervals of clouds and sunshine with a high of 58 degrees and wind out of the west at 13 mph.
Not only will Pucilowski try to earn her first state medal, but she will lead the Lackawanna League and District 2 champion Lady Comets in the ultra-competitive Class 3A girls field. Two years ago, Abington Heights finished second in the state.
“I’m excited. I think we can do great things at the state championships,” Pucilowski said. “Obviously anything can happen, but I have a lot of confidence in our team.”
Three other girls besides Pucilowski are making their fourth trip to states: Corinne Flynn of Mountain View, Riley Mackrell from Valley View and Crestwood’s Katie Kozich.
Shooting for the top
Kendel Jones earned bragging rights at the family dinner table when he captured his fourth District 2 Class 1A title last week. His brother Luke (2010-12) and his sister Krista (2018-19, 2021) each won three.
“I’m happy that my whole family is a legacy of runners and that my siblings Luke and Krista set the mark with three district titles,” Jones said. “I’m happy to one-up them. It means a lot.”
Now, Jones will try to earn his fourth state medal. He finished 12th as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore and a junior.
This year, the medal could be gold. Jones is considered one of the favorites in the Class 1A boys race along with teammate Cody Adams and District 4 champion Michael Fritz of Northwest, which runs in the Wyoming Valley Conference during the regular season. Adams is a four-time state qualifier who placed eighth as a sophomore and fourth as a junior.
Also, the Warriors, who finished third in the state last year, are considered one of the top contenders for the Class 1A team title with the top three of Jones, Adams and Parker Upright leading the way. Upright was 15th at states last year.
It will come down to how their Nos. 4 and 5 runners, Trevor Upright and Whalen Kinney, fare. Jones has confidence in his teammates.
“In the beginning of the season, we weren’t as close. But they’ve really tightened up the gap of time,” Jones said. “They’ve really been working hard all season and don’t receive as much credit. They deserve all the credit. They’re the reason we’re district champions.”
Riverside is another team that could be in the mix in Class 1A boys. The District 2 runner-up is led by Mikey Schimelfenig, who finished 20th last year to earn a state medal.
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Besides Jones and Adams, two other District 2 boys runners are four-time state qualifiers: Aiden Janowicz of Wallenpaupack and two-time District 2 Class 2A champion Mason Staude from Crestwood.
However, Staude did not run as a sophomore because of an injury.
“I want to get a top-10 finish,” Staude said. “I’ve never medaled there, but I definitely think I have the fitness to go out there and finish strong one last year on the grass.”
Two other runners from the district are also returning state medalists. District 2 Class 1A girls champ Kendyl Weisgold of Elk Lake was 11th last year, while Lakeland’s Henry Decker placed 24th in Class 1A boys.
Decker is one of five District 2 boys who are three-time state qualifiers. The others are Elk Lake’s Kinney, Matthew Repecki of Mid Valley, Vincent O’Malley from Scranton Prep and Wallenpaupack’s Chase Predmore.
Girls from District 2 who are three-time state qualifiers are Sadie Loftus of Valley View, the District 2 Class 2A champ; Wallenpaupack’s June Brown and Kelcie Fillebrown; Marley Gilboy and Morgan Kresge from Abington Heights; Lake-Lehman’s OIivia Corcoran; Sarah O’Donnell from North Pocono and Isabella Dessoye of Pittston Area.
Learning experience
West Scranton’s Seamus Wallace finished 154th last year in the Class 3A boys race in 17:44. He said he learned a lot his first time that he hopes to apply going back Saturday.
“I learned the course is like nothing else,” said Wallace, the District 2 Class 3A champion. “You have to get out as hard as possible or you get stuck and can’t move. That’s the mistake I made last year.
“The ultimate goal is to get a medal, but that’s going to be really hard. I just want to kind of be top 50ish this year. Last year, I came in over 100th, so I just want to move up and have a better time than I did.”
Mid Valley’s Jacob Borrelli also learned about the Parkview Course the hard way in his first trip to states. He was 199th in Class 2A boys in 19:19.
“I panicked last year, honestly. Just the sheer amount of kids and all that. Everybody was passing me and I got it in me mentally and it got to me,” Borrelli said. “I’m hoping to come back this year a lot stronger. Going for a top 10, but I’ll be happy with a medal.”
Among the first-time qualifiers is Grace Holderith from Delaware Valley. She made it by finishing second at the District 2 Championships in Class 3A girls. That effort enabled her to erase the memory of the year before when she was in position to make it to states, but had to drop out of the race at Mile 2.
“That was a big disappointment,” Holderith said. “I ended up training super hard over the summer, doing about 500 miles. (At districts), I just went out there and didn’t let nerves get the best of me. I knew (Crestwood’s) Katie (Kozich) was going to be right with me the whole time. It was a very strong race and I’m very proud of it.”
Holderith simply plans to run her best time while learning what states is about.
“I know that Triple-A is pretty competitive,” she said. “I’m just going to go out there, see what I can do, maybe hope for a high-19 or somewhere in the mid-20s if I can.”