McDowell Track and Field
McDowell Cross Country
established 1962
established 1957
2000
Led by runner of the year, Mindy Gorniak, who placed 1st in the Section 1 race for the 2nd year in a row. She also placed 94th at the state meet. The team won the Metro, Section 1, and District 10 titles. The team also won the McDowell Invitational for the first time ever. Making the All-Metro team were: Mindy Gorniak, Jenny Duncombe, Stephanie Strub, Lindsay Ross, and Rachel Bliley. Honorable Mention included: Katie Linendoll, Michelle Mussina, Michelle Raymond, and Anne Klapthor.
2001
Leading the way was Stephanie Strub, who was the Section 1 champ, and the District 10 runner-up. Earning All-Metro were Stephanie Strub, Emily Evans, Jenny Duncombe, Mandy Feltenberger, Kelly Sult, and Michelle Mussina. Stephanie led the team at states with a 42nd place finish. Freshman, Emily Evans finished 79th at the state meet, which was the highest finish ever for a freshman. The previous record was 101st from Jessica DiLoreto, in 1996.
2002
Kelly Eckert was given the award as the Runner of the Year. Her and Natalie Burns were the only runners to qualify for the state championships with their 3rd and 6th place finishes at districts. Making the All-Metro team were: Kelly Eckert, Natalie Burns, Kelly Sult, Mandy Feltenberger, Ashley Smith, and Emily Evans. The honorable mention team included: Sarah Kozloff, Jessica Rousseau, Ashley Holman, Sarah Patterson, and Kyla Mountain.
2003
The team won their 16th consecutive Metro Championship, their 14th straight Section 1 title, and the District 10 title for the 3rd time in 5 years. Erin Richard, Emily Evans, and Kelly Eckert went 1-2-3 for the Section 1 Championship. Erin Richard won the District 10 Championship, and earned Runner of the Year honors. She joined Emily Evans, Kelly Eckert, Ashley Smith, Kelly Sult, and Ashley Holman on the All-Metro team.
2004
Runner of the Year was Emily Evans and Sara Harrison was named the Freshman of the Year. Villa Maria ended McDowell's reign as the dominant cross country team in Erie as they won the Region 6 Championship with 38 points to McDowell's 56 points. This was the first time since 1986 that McDowell did not win the league title.
2005
The top runners for 2005 included Sara Harrison and Ashley Rinderle, who both qualified for states. Rinderle qualified as freshman, Sara as a sophomore. Both were 1st team All-Region. Alison Richard, Ashley Smith, and Lindie Stewart also contributed to the team's success. Richard was named 2nd team All-Region
1968
The 1968 cross country team had 19 new runners, but still managed a successful season with 9 wins and only 2 losses. The team won the Central Catholic Invitational, took 2nd at Section 1, lost districts to Strong Vincent, and placed 6th at the state meet. The team was led by All-State runner, and captain, Jon Bannister, and captain Jay Pratt, who finished 10th at districts. Bannister finished 12th at the state meet to tie the highest finish ever by a McDowell runner.
1969
2006
Even with many injuries the team managed to win back the Region 6 title over Villa Maria. The team battled hard, but came up short to Meadville in the District 10 Championship. Sara Harrison was the top runner for three races, but it was sophomore, Julie Osmanski that was the top runner near the end of the season, with a 2nd place finish at the Region 6 Championship, and finished 5th at districts to qualify for states. Joining Julie on the All-Region team were: Mary Hancock, Lindsay Dill, Leah Presnar, and Chrissy Mobilia. Julie was named the Runner of the Year, and Lindie Stewart was the team Most Valuable Runner.
2007
The 2007 Girls Cross Country team took the Region 6 title for the second straight year with a 6-0 record. They were led by First Team All-Region runners: Julie Osmanski, who finished 3rd , and Katie Sabolcik, who finished 5th . Ashley Rinderle (9th), Lindsay Dill (12th), and Leah Presnar (13th) were Honorable Mention All-Region. The team finished second to Meadville in the District 10 Championship. Julie Osmanski and Katie Sabolcik both qualified for the state championships with 5th and 7th place finishes at districts. The team also won the Bradford Invitational, the Region 6 Invitational, and finished second at the Dirty Dawg Invitational.
2008
For the third year in row, the team finished undefeated and won the Region 6 dual meet and Invitational title, but Meadville wouldn't go away without a fight as the team beat them by just 4 at the Region meet and by only 3 at the District 10 Championship. This was the team's first District title since 2003. The Runner of the Year was Katie Sabolcik, who finished 3rd at Regions, 3rd at Districts, and placed 51st at the state meet, which was the highest of all District 10 runners. Julie Osmanski finished off a brilliant career by earning First Team All-Region honors for the third straight year with her 4th place finish. First year runner Stephanie Turak also earned First Team All-Region honors with her 6th place finish at Regions. Jaclin Guthrie and Leah Presnar earned honorable mention All-Region with 8th and 13th place finishes.
2009
After losing 5 out of the top 7 runners from 2008, the 2009 squad still managed to pull off an upset against Meadville in the Region 6 Championship. It was the team's 4th straight Region Invitational Title. The team was led by Stephanie Turak, who finished 3rd at districts to Elesia Wilson and Katie Spade, who had both won the title before. Marisa Fryer missed states by one spot after finishing 10th at districts. The team lost to Meadville at districts, but they held off strong teams of Grove City, Corry, and Warren. Stephanie earned first team All-Region honors, with a 3rd place finish. Earned second team All-Region included: Marisa Fryer (8th), Gina Fulgenzio (9th), Amanda Niebauer (10th), Katie Manno (13th), and Breanna Padasak (14th).
