Penn Hills runners train to improve as season progresses

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 9, 2017 | 1:24 AM

The Penn Hills boys cross country team will look to replace the production lost from the graduation of its top two runners.

The Indians, who finished 19th at WPIALs last season, will miss Isaiah Bailey and Cole Bishop. Bailey finished 63rd in 18 minutes, 7 seconds, while Bishop was 66th in 18:08.

Bailey has moved on to run at Mt. Union, while Bishop will take a year off before running at Bowdoin College in Maine.

“There is no replacing those two guys. That is a big loss for us,” coach Lee Zelkowitz said.

Senior Micah Silverman, who finished 170th in 19:46, is the top returning runner for the Indians.

“He has had a really good summer of training so I'm expecting big things from him. It's nice to have a team leader like that,” Zelkowitz said.

Silverman will be joined by senior Wesley Trower, junior Kaleb Lester and sophomore Darien Mallory. Trower, who transferred from Central Catholic, will be participating in his first cross country season. Trower will run the 400-meter and 800-meter events in track and field this season.

“Running cross country really sets a base for the whole season. It's just a great way to add strength to your program. It really allows you, as the season goes along for indoor and outdoor, to have some harder workouts because they have that base with cross country,” Zelkowitz said.

“It adds to what you are doing with the hills, with the grass and the drills. You are really developing different muscles, which really can help you later on when you get on a flat surface like the track.”

With the younger team, Zelkowitz believes in looking at the day-to-day improvement of his runners as a mark of a successful season.

“They are great kids, and they are young. You have to reset your goals and look for steady improvement. I think we could surprise some people if we have steady improvement,” Zelkowitz said.

“We hope to build upon it for the next few years for these kids since they are young. If we get some better numbers in the coming years, we might be able to build something here.”

On the girls side, the Indians will be led by senior Kaylee Ellsler, juniors Caroline Webb and Kristina Hilko, sophomore Ruthie Ressler and freshman Irene Bowser.

“They are a little bit stronger because they are a little bit more seasoned than the guys,” Zelkowitz said.

The Indians took part in the Gateway Invitational on Sept. 2, albeit without a few runners.

On the boys side, Silverman finished 23rd in 19:48.5 at Boyce Park.

The girls team had three runners finish in the top 51; Webb was the highest finisher in 47th with a time of 25:51. Senior Renee Bowman (50th) and Ressler (51st) were the other Indians' top finishers.

“They are going to take their lumps early on. We want to be a team that comes on later in the season. It's just the way we train,” Zelkowitz said.

“I'm looking for steady improvement and for them to realize what this whole thing is about and how they can make themselves as a runner. I think they are going to start surprising themselves as the weeks go on.”

The Indians will look to continue their progression on the course at the Kiski Invitational on Sept. 16 at Northmoreland Park.

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn Hills