Tatnall sophomores Brendan Balthis and Keelin Hays both enjoyed victories on a steamy Saturday at the Cherokee Challenge in New Jersey.
Balthis was able to edge out two other sophomores from Delaware actually in the boys race between the Salesianum pair of Sean Banko (2nd, 10:15) and Michael Keehan (3rd, 10:18) with a winning time of 10:14. Should see this trio push each other for several more years of high school racing.
Meanwhile, Hays had no close threats to her in the sophomore girls race as she won by a margin of 45 seconds with her finishing time of 11:48. The time ranked Hays among the 4th fastest overall on the day when combining all the class races.
The Salesianum School boys had an impressive number of 7 guys under 11 minutes on the two mile course at Cherokee High School including their sophomore tandem Banko and Keehan as well as two upperclassmen with high finishes. A fourth place effort of 10:12 by George Steinhoff of Salesianum in the senior boys race was matched by teammate Lucien Peach also finishing fourth in the junior race with a time of 10:22.
St. Mark's freshmen Sarah Donaldson led all Delaware runners in the 9th grade race placing 5th in a time of 12:46.
Cherokee Challenge: