Despite the rainy, cold weather, the Latrobe Cross Country boys team came out victorious against the Norwin Knights after 12 years of defeat. On September 29, 2020, the team hosted both Norwin and Hempfield. Having home course advantage was a plus, although the course is said to be one of the most challenging. 

 Going into this race, the boys were feeling the pressure knowing that they had to beat both teams in order to have a chance at tying the section. Prior to the upcoming race day,coach Todd Simpson and the boys team strategized how they would need to run in order to come out on top. Looking at Norwin’s stats, the boys knew they had their work cut out for them. Everyone had to be at their best. It would be hard to beat Norwin’s top runner, Alex Jubert. Fortunately for the boys, beating Jubert would not make or break the race results. The rough terrain and endless hills throughout the course would equate to slower times than Norwin’s previous race times, as the course is not PR (Personal Record) material. 

Once the race started, the boys looked strong. The crowd of parents were cheering up and down the main stretch. Coming up on a mile, Dante Frescura, was hanging right with Jubert, but not long after, Jubert pulled away and ended up winning the race as well as setting a new course record with a time of 16:58. Dante came in 30 seconds after with the rest of the boys following. The top five consisted of senior, Dante Frescura, sophomore, Drew Kozuch, senior, Joseph Hill, senior, David An, and freshman, Matthew McCreery. 

As a group, the runners said they had a good feeling that they’d come out with the win. Everyone ran how they needed to for this dream to become a reality. The boys waited anxiously for the results and when it was all said and done, the boys crushed with a score of 24-33. High fives and smiles filled the air as the team celebrated their long awaited victory. 

Joseph Hill knew something was different about this year. He said, “We came into this race with a different mindset. Years prior, we just joked around about beating Norwin, but this year we got serious.” Joe reflected on his coach’s advice. “Coach told us to run like we know how,” said Joe. That was their strategy. Lastly, Joe responded to the big win by saying, “ It felt pretty good, like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, wanting to beat them for so long and finally doing it.”

Some of the boys have been facing injuries and are not where they would like to be, but having Drew back after last years injury, David, who started to take cross country seriously and put in lots of work, and our new freshman, Matt, made this victory possible.They were now one step closer to tying the section title with Greensburg Salem. Coach Simpson said they could not slow down yet. They had to keep working hard at practice to prepare for the upcoming race. The boys beating Norwin was a huge milestone and one they will never forget.