Herald notebook: Hartman leads Shady Side Academy runners to PIAA meet

By: George Guido
Saturday, November 5, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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Chelsea Hartman has been through a lot in her first three cross country seasons with health concerns prior to her freshman year and stress fractures in her feet last year.

But the Shady Side Academy junior battled through all that was thrown her way, and she stood tall as a WPIAL cross country champion Oct. 27 at Cal (Pa.)’s Roadman Park course.

Hartman bested the Class A girls field in a time of 19 minutes, 29.1 seconds, nearly 30 seconds faster than Riverside junior Lexi Fluharty (19:59.4).

“This is amazing,” Hartman said. “I came out here and (a WPIAL title) was my goal. Nothing is ever set in stone, and I realized that coming in. It was really important not to doubt my opponents because they raced a really good race today, too. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I wanted to give it my all.”

The top four teams and top 20 individual finishers not on one of the top four teams qualified for the PIAA championships in Hershey. That equated to the top 30 overall finishers punching tickets to states.

Hartman led an eight-member Shady Side Academy contingent at the PIAA championship meet at Hershey.

A junior, Hartman won the WPIAL crown with a time of 19:29 at the WPIAL meet at Cal (Pa.). The Bulldogs team took fourth place at the meet.

Freshman Rhyley Bendel finished seventh with a time of 21:30.

Other Shady Side athletes who competed at the course near Giant Center and Chocolate World are seniors Ella and Emma Gardner; and sophomores Avery Litman, Maggie Marquette, Amanda Minutolo and Reese Ruttenberg.

Field hockey teams lose in playoffs

Shady Side Academy’s four-year reign in Class A field hockey is over.

The Bulldogs dropped a 2-1 decision to The Ellis School in the semifinals Oct. 27.

Shady Side, beset by graduation losses and injuries, scored just 12 goals. The program was chasing its 19th WPIAL title.

Ellis won the WPIAL title, 3-1, over Aquinas Academy.

• Fox Chapel fell, 2-1, against Latrobe in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals.

The Foxes, seeking their sixth WPIAL title, finished the season with a 10-7-1 mark, splitting the regular season series with the Wildcats.

Soccer teams fall short

Fox Chapel’s quest for a WPIAL Class 4A boys soccer title fell short in the semifinals, losing 3-2 to Seneca Valley.

The defending-champion Raiders took a 3-0 lead before the Foxes fought back.

Fox Chapel, in the playoffs for the 23rd consecutive season, defeated Canon-McMillan, 5-0, in the quarterfinal round at James Burk Complex.

The Foxes finished at 13-4-2, with three of the four losses coming against Seneca Valley.

• Shady Side Academy’s boys finished at 14-4 overall. The Bulldogs defeated Keystone Oaks, 6-1, in the opening round before dropping a 2-1 decision to Beaver in the quarterfinals.

• The Bulldogs’ girls also made it to the quarterfinals, defeating Yough, 6-1, in the opening round before losing to South Park, 5-0, to finish 10-6 on the season.

Staff writer Michael Love contributed.

Tags: Fox Chapel, Shady Side Academy