SCOTT TWP. – Mia Bellucci and her Scranton Prep teammates made it evident early in Wednesday’s Class 2A girls race that there would be no championships available for others.

The Dallas and Lake-Lehman teams still found a way to turn the District 2 Cross Country Championships into a success.

Dallas finished second to claim the district’s other berth in the Nov. 4 state meet and Lake-Lehman grabbed the most individual spots, sending three runners to Hershey for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships.

Dallas sophomore Megan Borton ran the 3.1-mile Lakeland High School course in 20:17.44 to finish third behind Bellucci and 2016 champion Lindsey Williams from Holy Redeemer.

“Megan Borton had a phenomenal race,” Dallas coach Matt Samuel said. “She is really just stepping her game up here in the last couple races.”

Borton led Dallas to a team score of 80, well behind Scranton Prep’s 38, but better than Honesdale (94), Lake-Lehman (105) and Holy Redeemer (113) in the hotly contested race for a second state spot.

The effort represented a return to the state meet for Dallas, which had a six-year streak of Hershey appearances, including the 2013 state title, come to an end with a third-place finish last season.

“They’ve worked hard all year and they’ve been tremendously together to bounce back from the way we finished up here last year,” Samuel said.

Dallas had the deepest team in the meet, but tracking the placement of multiple opponents made for some nervous moments as Samuel tried to monitor the likely team score.

“It’s never a certainty that things are going to work out the way you want,” he said.

Kaitlyn Hodakowski and Madison Baloga earned district medals by placing 10th and 19th.

Abby Zolner was one place out of a medal in 21st.

Grace Jarden completed the team score with her 31st-place finish. Teammates Emily Finnegan and Rebecca Balara came in right behind her in 32nd and 33rd, making the Mountaineers the only team to place all seven in the top third of the 105-runner field.

Lake-Lehman joined Scranton Prep as the only teams with three runners in the top 18.

Jade Fry led the way, locking down her fourth straight state appearance by placing seventh. Jace Garnick and Abby Paczewski joined her as medalists and state qualifiers by finishing 11th and 13th.

“I’m proud of my girls for their performance today,” Lake-Lehman coach John Sobocinski said. “We didn’t get our team to states, but we were still able to advance three young ladies to the state meet.

“We worked hard all summer and those summer miles pay huge dividends in late fall.”

Tunkhannock did not have enough entries for a team. Madelyn Franko was the school’s top finisher in 49th place.

Dallas’ Megan Borton finishes in third place in the District 2 Class 2A girls cross country championship at Lakeland High School in Scott Township Wednesday.
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TDP102917XC-Districts_2.jpg.optimal.jpgDallas’ Megan Borton finishes in third place in the District 2 Class 2A girls cross country championship at Lakeland High School in Scott Township Wednesday. Bill Tarutis | For Dallas Post

By Tom Robinson

For Dallas Post

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