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NEWVILLE -- The Mifflin County Huskies know the Mid-Penn Conference is considered to be one of the top high school cross country leagues in the state.
With State College, Hershey and Chambersburg ranked in the state polls, the Husky boys were certainly pleased to come away with a top-10 finish at the 28-team Mid-Penn Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday at Big Springs High School.
"During our prerace course walk, we talked about the course being soft and slick from all the rain," Huskies head coach Greg Loht said. "There were mud and puddle hazards that needed focused attention. This was not a day to worry about times, but it was about going out and competing. Run hard, do your best and the times and places take care of themselves.
"The Mid Penn is a premier league in the state," he added. "We're happy the kids were top 10."
Caden Bell led Mifflin County, placing 35th overall with a time of 17:24 on a soggy 5,000-meter course. Reese Cubbison was three seconds behind in 37th at 17:27.
With a third personal record in his last three races, Aidan Scavitti followed in 69th in 18:15. That was just ahead of Cody Fultz in 70th at 18:16.
Bell summed up the experience perfectly stating, "Today's race was definitely an example of true cross country racing. On days you like today, you have to put aside the finish time, and focus on having fun and enjoying the sport for what it really is."
Rounding out the Husky harriers were Styers Oden in 98th in 18:42, Wyatt Kauffman in 100th in 18:50 and Koy Aurand in 107th in 18:54.
"Caden and Reese have been pushing and pulling each other all season," Loht said. "It's nice to have them working together to achieve faster race times. Aidan has been really putting things together the last few weeks and dropping time. Cody is keeping our middle tight and Styers is doing the job. Wyatt and Koy are freshmen getting varsity experience."
Hershey's Viney Raman won the boys individual title in 15:54, while the Little Lions won the team title.
In the JV race, Hart Oden took 13th place in 18:36 and Hoyt Rodenbaugh 24th in 18:54 to finish on the medal stand. Camryn Treaster was 91st in 20:55 with Logan Breneman 102nd in 21:05, David Snyder 153rd in 23:14 and Nathan Goss in 186th in 25:57.