Senior Logan Caruso placed second at the Ridgway Cross Country Invitational on Saturday to lead the Bradford boys cross country team to a second place finish.
Caruso’s time of 16:57.8 placed him behind only Ben Hoffman of Elk Catholic (16:50.6). Sophomore Tyler Kraft also medaled with 12th place overall in a time of 17:31.7. Bradford was narrowly beaten by Elk Catholic by a scant two points, 79 to 81.
“Elk is one of the top teams in the state so this was a good surprise,” BHS coach Tom Tessena said.
Juniors Vinnie Bizzarro and Isaac Paterniti ran very well taking 16th and 21st, respectively, in 18:04 and 18:15. The four Bradford runners had their fastest times ever on the Ridgway course, the site of the District championship race on Oct. 28.
“These guys all got out pretty fast and ran solid races,” Tessena said. “I think Logan is running great and is finally back all the way from his surgery. Tyler continues to impress us with his performances and Vinnie and Isaac are showing their form at the right time.
Senior Cade Hayden returned to the lineup as did sophomore Andrew Kraft. They placed fifth and seventh at last year’s District Championship and were Bradford’s fifth and seventh men after missing a chunk of the season.
Hayden was 41st in 18:53 while Kraft was 48th in 19:07. Freshman Gabe Mitchell placed 46th in 19:02. Junior David Allen ran well taking 56th place in 19:16.
Also running for Bradford were Ryan Cottillion (68th, 19:42), Quentin Minard (84th, 20:15 personal best), Jordan Achar (97th, 20:30), Stephen Morgan (119th, 21:03), Drake Hayden (125th, 21:15), Devin Benson (140th, 21:37), Ethan Hollamby (143rd, 21:48), and Billy Naglik (146th, 21.51). There were 205 runners in the race with 31 schools represented.
“Punxsy and Clearfield had some pretty good performances today so we can’t afford to rest on past achievements,” Tessena said. “Last year’s Districts were a good example of all the schools that we beat during the season but lost to Punxsy when it counted the most. We will need seven runners that day if we are going to win this year.”
Team results
Elk Catholic 79, Bradford 81, Smethport 104, St. Joseph 130, Clarion 145
Individual results
Ben Hoffman (ECC) 16:50.6, Logan Caruso (Bradford) 16:57.8, Darion Gregory (Smethport) 16:58.5, Nick Heredero (Ridgway) 17:02.5, Isaac Wortman (ECC) 17:20
