BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
The name Bellinger has been on Troy cross-country results dating back to the 90’s. First it was brothers Ron and Bryan Bellinger, then came Ron’s daughter Mckenzi Bellinger, and now it’s her brother, RJ Bellinger, to take his moment on the course.
The sophomore has had a strong start to the season, leading the Trojans at the River Run Invitational.
“I feel like I’ve improved a ton,” Bellinger said about this season. “It’s very fun being able to know I can compete with some of the bigger guys in the league.”
He went into the summer plenty motivated to improve this year.
“I pretty much used the idea of ‘I want to be one of the top dogs in the league’ as an advantage,” he said. “Just to get up in the morning and keep working hard.”
He ran 528 miles over the summer, giving him a strong base going into the Fall.
“I’m a really strong believer of whatever happens, happens, but obviously the goal is states,” remarked Bellinger.
He knows it’s going to be tough in the always competitive Class AA field at District IV.
“It’s going to be hard but you’ve got to be able to embrace the suck,” Bellinger said. “So it’s a real good mental key knowing that I’m going to have to earn my spot.”
HIs uncle and father were state medalists while his sister ran at states as part of a strong Troy team in the late 2010’s.
It’s a very good motivator because I really want to be like them,” Bellinger remarked. “We have this wall in our school that has all the All-state guys, and every day I look at that wall and just say ‘I want to be one of them.’ It’s really cool.”
NTL HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS
The NTL Cross-country Hall of Fame is accepting new nominations for the Class of 2025.
Nominees include runners, coaches, and teams, and send them by email to cman0478@gmail.com.
NTL DUAL MEETS WEEK 2
At Mt. Pisgah
BOYS
NEB 24, TROY 31; NEB 19, WYALUSING 40; TROY 19, WYALUSING 44
1. Jackson Martin (N) 18:36
2. RJ Bellinger (T) 18:45
3. Aiden Neiley (W) 18:51
4. Frank Harper (T) 19:30
5. Russell Martin (N) 19:59
6. Levi Dewing (N) 20:17
7. Xavier Lockwood (N) 20:40
8. Brody Campbell (T) 20:45
9. Josiah Russell (N) 20:47
10. Owen Campbell (T) 20:55
11. Ben Osgood (T) 20:56
12. Kegan Netherton (N) 20:57
13. Isaac Gates (T) 21:12
14. Cooper Kellogg (T) 21:35
15. Kody Tuttle (W) 22:00
16. Parker Cunningham (W) 22:12
17. Tyler Caplan (W) 22:12.5
18. Draden Keltz (T) 22:25
19. Garret Parks (T) 22:35
20. Griffin Sheldon (W) 23:14
GIRLS
WYALUSING 24, NEB 33; WYALUSING 19, TROY 38; NEB 16, TROY 20
1. Sophie Bennett (N) 22:39
2. Megan King (W) 24:15
3. Ruth Laudermilch (N) 24:42
4. Riley Porter (W) 25:38
5. Camryn Gesford (W) 26:43
6. Alyssa Rinebold (T) 27:35
7. Marci Gowin (W) 27:56
8. Kalynn Keltz (T) 29:27
9. Sheridan Wilcox (T) 29:33
10. Ireland Coats (N) 29:34
JH
GIRLS
TROY 25, NEB 30; NEB 15, WYALUSING 50; TROY 15, WYALUSING 50
1. Julia Laudermilch (N) 10:38
2. Christine Ward (T) 11:05
3. Reese Patrick (W) 11:07
4. Anni White (T) 11:23
5. Adelaide Russell (N) 12:59
BOYS
NEB 17, TROY 19; TROY 17, WYALUSING 19; NEB 16, WYALUSING 20
1. Kyle Kibbe (T) 9:52
2. Caleb King (W) 10:13
3. Jesse Dewing (N) 10:30
4. Cameron Lockwood (N) 10:35
5. Garrett Gowin (W) 11:05
At Smythe Park
BOYS
TOWANDA 21, NPM 34; TOWANDA 20, SULLIVAN 35; SULLIVAN 23, NPM 32
1. Michael Knefley (N) 17:12
2. Boom Thompson (T) 17:18
3. Emmett Klees (T) 17:38
4. Hagen Jones (T) 18:19
5. Phillip Spinney (T) 18:23
6. Calen Sweigart (S) 18:45
7. Carter Blasi (S) 18:58
8. Braden VanLoon (N) 19:04
9. Chase Preston (S) 19:26
10. Isaiah Botsford (S) 20:28
11. Brayden Fitzgerald (S) 20:29
12. Nathaniel Little (T) 20:36
13. Isaiah VanLoon (N) 20:57
14. Nolan Palmatier (N) 22:49
15. Dylan Kolb (N) 23:15
GIRLS
TOWANDA 19, NPM 40; TOWANDA 18, SULLIVAN 39; SULLIVAN 26, NPM 29
1. Izzy Larson (T) 19:29
2. Maris Cobb (T) 19:30
3. Jaci Fairchild (N) 21:09
4. Kenzie Brown (T) 21:17
5. Zoey Reese (S) 21:34
6. Mary-Kate Eberlin (T) 22:22
7. Addison Templen (S) 22:23
8. Leila Garverick (N) 22:25
9. Lila Larson (T) 23:09
10. Paige Jordan (S) 23:25
11. Addi Thibodeault (S) 23:45
12. Kara Barrett (N) 23:56
13. Leila Cobb (T) 24:03
14. Angie Tavani (T) 25:00
15. Moira Weller (N) 25:30
JH
GIRLS
TOWANDA 27, NPM 28; SULLIVAN 24, TOWANDA 35; SULLIVAN 27, NPM 39
1. Tallie Dzurinko (T) 10:34
2. Lydia Lentz (S) 11:05
3. Kyleigh Mosier (T) 11:32
4. Connie Bogart (S) 11:39
5. Emma Cote (N) 11:42
BOYS
TOWANDA 17, NPM 43; TOWANDA 22, SULLIVAN 33; SULLIVAN 17, NPM 46
1. Brayden Cox (T) 9:06
2. Wyatt Jones (T) 9:19
3. Seth Sweigart (S) 9:37
4. Owen Brown (T) 9:52
5. Cameron Murray (S) 10:21
At Round Top
GIRLS
ATHENS 25, WELLSBORO 35
1. Lauren Kosek (W) 20:11
2. Allyssa Vough (A) 21:14
3. Kaci Kosek (W) 23:16
4. Ava Hughes (A) 24:42
5. Marlene Roelle (A) 25:21
6. Carolyn Roelle (A) 25:55
7. Sophia Yoder (W) 26:34
8. Hailey Horton (A) 27:05
9. Addy Burnett (A) 23:45
10. Tatiana Nasser (A) 28:13
BOYS
WELLSBORO 21, ATHENS 35
1. Max Macias (W) 17:39
2. Henry Whitney (W) 17:50
3. Jacob Shores (A) 18:18
4. Matthew Rosetti (A) 19:22
5. Taitt Webster (W) 21:15
6. Ethan Geneski (W) 21:38
7. Henry Nowak (W) 22:03
8. Corbin Smith (A) 22:53
9. Andrew DeForest (A) 22:57
10. Jack Hammerton (W) 23:41
JH
GIRLS
ATHENS 10, WELLSBORO 26
1. Evelyn Owen (A) 12:58
2. Allie Lyon (A) 13:10
3. Sadie Wanck (A) 13:13
4. Paisley Smith (A) 14:07
5. Summer Boder (W) 14:23
BOYS
WELLSBORO 22, ATHENS 33
1. Rowan Morales (A) 11:12
2. William Rudy (W) 11:42
3. Wiley Sargent (W) 11:49
4. Lucas Crowl (W) 12:04
5. Nico Rossetti (A) 12:22
At Sayre
BOYS
CANTON 20, CV 32; CANTON 15, SAYRE 50; CV 15, SAYRE 50
1. Lawerence Halbfoerster (C) 13:36
2. Hunter Simonds (CV) 14:14
3. Manuel Halbfoerster (C) 14:35
4. Landon Lake (C) 15:27
5. Glenn VanBenthuysen (S) 15:42
6. Gabriel Crance (CV) 15:43
7. Judah Mummert (CV) 16:18
8. Nicholas Weaver (C) 16:26
9. Chase Petrowski (C)
10. Isaiah Fuhrer (CV) 16:46
11. Carson Kemp (CV) 17;30
12. Elton Weingarten (C) 18:54
GIRLS
CV 15, CANTON 50
1. Natalie Yonker (CV) 16:13
2. Lanie Hackett (CV) 16:52
3. Maddison Fae (CV) 17:49
4. Katherine Wile (C) 21:01
5. Kendra Miles (CV) 21:59
JH
GIRLS
1. Giana Gonzalas (CV) 8:14
2. Lakea Hackett (CV) 8:15
3. Lily Wagner (CV) 9:09
4. Sarina Hess (C) 9:14
5. Elizabeth Halbfoerster (C) 9:15
BOYS
1. Josiah Hampton (C) 8:25
2. Peter Menio (S) 8:58
3. Ben Wile (C) 9:09
4. Parker Bellows (CV) 10:36
5. Jake Johnson (S) 10:44
