NTL CROSS-COUNTRY: SULLIVAN MAKES SCHOOL HISTORY WITH FIRST GIRLS D4 TITLE, SWEIGART MAKES STATES FOR THE BOYS (2025-10-24)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
BLOOMSBURG — Cross-country teams only go as far as their fifth runner can take them, and the Sullivan County girls needed one at the beginning of the season. That’s when manager Emily Guare stepped up to be that fifth, her four other teammates did what they needed to do, and the Lady Griffins made history as the first girls’ program to bring home a district title when they won the District IV, Class A Girls Cross-country Championship Thursday.

“It was really good and just amazing,” said Sullivan’s Zoey Reese (20:41) who take home silver. “We just wanted to stay positive, and if something hurts, just keep pushing through because everyone’s running the same race in the same weather.”

For Reese, it was a chance to show the rest of the district what the Griffins could do.

“It’s really amazing,” she said. “Especially from coming off a team that was really small, and nobody really thought of us being this good. And from coming off an ACL surgery is relieving, and exciting.”

Addisyn Templin (21:01.7) missed NTL’s with an ankle injury but came back to take fourth at districts.

She knew she had to be up there to break up Warrior Run’s two and three if they were going to topple the defending district champions.

“We just sort of pushed through it,” said Templin. “We just tried our best, and had confidence in what we could do.”

As for being the first team from Sullivan to get that district title they weren’t worried.

“It was all confidence,” said Templin. “We all huddled together and we just talked about it. We knew that we were going to dominate.”

Paige Jordan (22:02.1) was 10th overall, Adilynn Thibodeault (22:27.1) took 12th, and Guare (25:48.7) came in 18th.

“I was just trying to stay up a few seconds behind Zoey Reese and Addy,” explained Jordan.

They had to battle a tough headwind on the backside of the course.

“It was a little more challenging but nothing that we weren’t ready for,” Thibodeault said. “They gave us strategies, and everybody has to go through it to keep that mindset.”

She said they treated the day like any other day.

“We wanted to act like this was a normal race, and not to put too much pressure on it,” Thibodeault said. “That way we would just do our best.”

Guare has been battling some injuries. She’s run in the past but wanted to manage this year due to injuries, but felt she couldn’t watch from the sidelines as the team needed a fifth to score in invitationals.

“It’s definitely been getting used to getting back into the shape that I need to be in because I haven’t been able to do it all summer, but it’s been an entertaining time,” she said.

They’ll now get ready for states. Reese qualified last year, and now they’ll get their chance to run the course.

“I think our focus will mainly be controlling ourselves throughout all the mile splits,” Guare said. “And keeping our pace hard.”

“We just want to keep staying positive, and have confidence,” added Jordan.

The boys weren’t quite as fortunate.

For half the Class A race they led but a furious finish from the defending district champions, Northeast Bradford, saw the Griffins take second with 45 points.

NEB won with 33.

Freshman Calen Sweigart (18:01.9) did qualify for states individually, taking fourth overall.

“It’s really exciting,” Sweigart said about making states. “We were just trying to lock in and do good.”

Him, Chase Preston (18:20.4) and Carter Blasi (18:28.1) all ran together for the first two miles ahead of NEB’s second.

“We fed off each other,” Sweigart said. 

NEB rallied and the pack broke up with Sweigart surging forward.

“Our coach told us that whoever gets in front of these three guys goes to states,” he explained. “I just went all out.”

For the second year in a row Preston was the first runner-out, taking eighth overall, while Blasi was 10th.

Isaiah Botsford (19:00.1) was 18th, and Andrew Kapec (19:44.2) came in 23rd.

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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING

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