HERSHEY - It wasn’t long ago that Kelsey Gaston couldn’t imagine being in this position.

Standing in front of the Giant Center, the Lehighton senior clutched her medal.

In a season filled with milestone moments, Gaston celebrated her biggest with an 11th-place finish at the PIAA Cross Country Championships.

“It means a lot,” said Gaston, who will be going into the Marines after high school. “If you would have told me this sophomore or freshman year, I would have been like, ‘What?! Eleventh? No.’ And coming into this race I was ranked 27th and knew that it was going to be close and that it was going to be a race, and that it was going to be really humid, so I made sure I drank a lot of water to get everything down.

“I definitely was not expecting this. … It definitely was a great experience. It feels amazing.”

Gaston placed third at the district meet to make it to states, where the top-25 in each classification medaled.

The format for this year’s state meet was modified, with each class running in four heats, 15 minutes apart.

“The nerves weren’t as bad as districts of course, because my biggest goal coming into this season was states; that’s what I wanted,” said Gaston. “The heats did factor into it, because you don’t know what place you’re in while you’re running and it’s nerve-racking. I was counting the places and trying to do the math in my head.

“In the first mile, I was very stressed because I was actually last at one point in the beginning because I take off very slow but I pushed through and made the best out of it.”

Gaston, who ran in the fourth and final heat, finished strong to cross the line in 20:29 for her first state medal.

“Ever since she was a freshman, she wanted to just make states,” said Lehighton head coach Erica Pagotto. “Now to be here, and medal, is absolutely incredible. Even when they changed the qualifications from the top 10 individuals down to five (from District 11), we knew it was going to be tough.

“And now look at her. I told her, ‘Kelsey, could you imagine if we went back in time and I told you as a freshman you’re going to finish 11th in the state of Pennsylvania in AA girls, would you believe it?’”

Gaston’s drive made it a reality.

“Freshman year, you look back at districts and I think she was in the 20s,” said Pagotto. “But instead of giving up or thinking, ‘Oh, I’ll never make top-five,’ she kept working for it. She didn’t give up. She kept running.

“Even through COVID and losing the spring track season, she ran on her own. She just has that self determination and discipline. And she’s a smart runner, too. She has a plan, and she stuck with it. I’m just so proud of her.”

Gaston was the only runner from the Times News area to medal on Saturday.

Palmerton sophomore Natalie Mosier was 31st in the Class A race with a time of 21:57.

Mosier has enjoyed a strong season. She placed first at the Colonial League Cross Country Championships and was a runner-up at districts.

Despite hoping for a better result Saturday, Mosier was just thankful for the opportunity to run at the state meet, something that wasn’t guaranteed with the coronavirus causing a great deal of uncertainty this season.

“You really look forward to this at the end,” said Mosier. “It’s just so special to be able to have this.”

The sophomore finished the regular season on a tear, winning her last three meets.

“She’s grown so much,” said Bombers’ head coach Bill Zeky. “Last year, it was kind of like we were just happy to be invited to the party. And this year, we never thought that we weren’t going to go to states.

“(I) thought about it every day at practice, and she was obviously thinking about it every day at practice. So it was definitely a different mindset.”

After placing 74th as a freshman, Mosier is trending in the right direction.

The Northwestern boys claimed their second straight district crown over a week ago, winning the Class 2A title, to advance to states again.

Matt Santana’s 31st-place finish (17:44) paced the Tigers to a sixth-place result in the team standings. Sam Bower (18:02) was 49th.

Also running in Hershey for Northwestern was Angelina Klein, who placed 36th in the Class 2A race with a time of 21:29.

Klein placed sixth in the Class 2A race at districts to advance to states for the second time. The sophomore finished 115th a year ago.

“It was definitely better than last year,” said Klein. “I’ve definitely done more training this year, and it’s been hard adjusting to the new rules and everything and all the regulations.

“I’ve definitely been putting a lot on my body so I’m definitely ready to rest up and then start training again for track. Overall, I’m happy I got to come here and experience it again because not everyone gets to come here during their high school career and I’m so thankful that I get to have this experience.”

Klein hopes to have a few more Tigers with her next season.

“I’m hoping to come back with my whole team,” she said. “I want to have that experience if I come back again.”

What has been a historic season for the Weatherly cross country team ended in Hershey.

The Wreckers placed eighth in the Class 1A team standings, and were led by senior Scotty Zoscin’s 39th place finish (18:14).

Weatherly has won Schuylkill League and District 11 titles for the first time in school history over the past two weeks.

“I told them, no matter what the outcome is, just think of this as a victory lap,” said Zoscin, who was running at states for the fourth time in his career. “We did things the school’s never done before. We won leagues, we won districts as a team and we went undefeated.

“No matter the outcome, after the race, just feel it. Not many people from around Weatherly get to do this. Just feel blessed and enjoy every moment of it.”

The Wreckers went 13-0 in the regular season and stood atop the Division 2 standings in the Schuylkill League in head coach Ryan Kately’s first season at the helm.

Of the seven runners who competed for Weatherly in Hershey, Zoscin was the only senior.

Being able to spend another moment with his runners was one Kately won’t soon forget.

“I couldn’t be any prouder of these guys,” said Kately. “It’s pretty much been a dream season for this cross country team. We started in the summer, and these guys worked hard all summer, and they met every challenge that came their way.

“To get an experience like this for them under their belt as a team, hopefully it’s a moment they’ll remember for a while.”

CHAMPION

... Blue Mountain’s Olivia Haas won the Class 2A race in 18:56. The junior had already logged two top-five finishes at states, placing fifth as a freshman and fourth a year ago. She joined her father, Randy, as the school’s only state champion. The elder Haas won the 2A title in 1979.

DIFFICULT DAY

... Temperatures hovered around the mid to upper 70s most of the day Saturday, and the heat seemed to affect some runners. Saucon Valley senior and District 11 champ Matthew Chaikowsky was in front late in his Class 2A heat but was unable to finish. North Schuylkill’s Cori McCormick, who defeated Haas for the District 11 Class 2A title a week ago, ran in the final Class 2A heat while Haas ran in the second. McCormick, a three-time state medalist who was fifth a year ago and seventh in 2018 after placing 20th as a freshman, figured to be one of Haas’ biggest threats again this season. But the senior was unable to finish the race.

PIAA CROSS COUNTRY

CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Top 25 in each class medal)

GIRLS

CLASS 3A

TEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)

1. North Allegheny 59, 2. State College 73, 3. WC Henderson 75, 4. Northeastern 80, 5. Emmaus 82.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

TOP 5

1. Mia Cochran (Moon Area) 18:28, 2. Caryn Rippey (Wilson) 18:46, 3. Margaret Carroll (Northeastern) 19:01, 4. Claire Paci (Greencastle-Antrim) 19:08, 5. Kelsey Misutka (North Allegheny) 19:10.

CLASS 2A

TEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)

1. Warrior Run 40, 2. Central Cambria 77, 3. North Catholic 117, 4. Blue Mountain 126, 5. St. Marys Area 148.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

TOP FIVE (PLUS LOCALS)

1. Olivia Haas (Blue Mountain) 18:56, 2. Jolena Quarzo (Brownsville Area) 19:38, 3. Meaera Shannon (Conneaut) 19:45, 4. Korie Dixon (Bradford) 19:49, 5. Lauren Trapani (Warrior Run) 20:04, 11. Kelsey Gaston (Lehighton) 20:29, 36. Angelina Klein (Northwestern) 21:29.

CLASS 1A

TEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)

1. Penns Valley 37, 2. Mohawk 63, 3. Wilmington 90, 4. North Clarion 104, 5. Montrose 127.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

TOP FIVE (PLUS LOCALS)

1. Carmen Medvit (Shenango) 20:16, 2. Hannah Wagner (Reynolds) 20:22, 3. Grace Mason (Wilmington) 20:25, 4. Carissa Flynn (Mountain View) 20:30, 5. Ashley Post (Seneca) 20:38. 31. Natalie Mosier (Palmerton) 21:57.

BOYS

CLASS 3A

TEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)

1. North Allegheny 49, 2. La Salle College 76, 3. Downingtown West 76, 4. Hempfield 85, 5. State College 95.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

TOP 5

1. Brady Bigger (State College) 16:07, 2. Devon Comber (Hatboro Horsham) 16:10, 3. Graham Thomas (Penn Manor) 16:14, 4. Aiden Barnhill (Downingtown West) 16:19, 5. J. Henry Lyon (Williamsport Area) 16:24.

CLASS 2A

TEAM SCORES

TOP FIVE (PLUS LOCALS)

1. Lewisburg 57, 2. Central Cambria 71, 3. Kennard-Dale 81, 4. Grove City 94, 5. Greensburg Salem 142, 6. Northwestern 168.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

TOP FIVE (PLUS LOCALS)

1. Gary Martin (Archbishop Wood) 16:12, 2. Jacob Hess (Lewisburg) 16:37, 3. Weber Long (Greencastle-Antrim) 16:47, 4. Joel Beckwith (Indiana Area) 16:50, 5. Chris Hine (Holy Redeemer) 16:54, 31. Matt Santana (Northwestern) 17:44, 49. Sam Bower (Northwestern) 18:02, 65. Cole Chukoskie (Northwestern) 18:21, 79. Nate Vincent (Northwestern) 18:41, 109. RJ Zack (Northwestern) 19:32, 112. Joe Chukoskie (Northwestern) 19:50, 123. Will Gruen (Northwestern) 20:40.

CLASS 1A

TEAM SCORES

(TOP FIVE PLUS LOCALS)

1. Jenkintown 44, 2. Penns Valley 84, 3. Winchester Thurston 89, 4. Hughesville 128, 5. Holy Cross 134, 8. Weatherly 159.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

TOP FIVE (PLUS LOCALS)

1. Colton Sands (Penns Valley) 16:42, 2. Kevin Jumper (Holy Cross) 16:54, 3. Thomas Smigo (Palisades) 17:01, 4. Luke Miller (Jenkintown) 17:04, 5. Carter Geer (Jenkintown) 17:05, 39. Scotty Zoscin (Weatherly) 18:14, 66. Frankie Willis (Weatherly) 19:00, 69. Ricky Ray (Weatherly) 19:02, 77. Michael Berger (Weatherly) 19:12, 82. Jacob Parker (Weatherly) 19:18, 124. Brady Walters (Weatherly) 22:11, 125. Nathan Tripp (Weatherly) 22:13.