CROSS COUNTRY: Undefeated Rams win PAC

Staff Photo

The Spring-Ford boys cross country team competes against Upper Perk in a match this past fall. The Rams won the meet and eventually the Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Anthony Goldsmith, Staff Writer

The Spring Ford boys cross country team completed an astonishing undefeated season that ended in a Pioneer Athletic Conference championship. The Rams dominated the season as they won every meet they participated in, and dominated the PAC even though they had to fight through many limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spring Ford opened up the season with a win against Boyertown, 25-36. While the Bears may have had their top two runners take first and second, the Rams took the rest of the eight spots in the Top 10, and finished with a team score of 25. The  Rams were led by Quinn Smith, who ran an amazing 17:08, Liam Baker (17:40), and Anthony Bamford (17:54). It was a great start to an unprecedented season.

The Rams enjoyed a fantastic win against their rival Perkiomen Valley, 24-31, in their home finale. This win was led by star runners  Smith and Baker. Smith finished in first place for the Rams, running a 16:07 to defeat Perkiomen Valley lead runner Kiburu Brown by 15 seconds. Baker finished five seconds after Brown with a time of 16:29 to take third. 

The Rams ran past Pottsgrove by scoring a perfect 15 in a 15-49 victory. Rams runner Ryan Koraleski finished in first place with a 18:26, one of the only three sub-19-minute runs of this race. Ryan Trimble finished next with a time of 18:45, and ten seconds later John Zawislak followed. While it was not the best performance by the Rams, they still scored a perfect 15 and took the win to go 3-0.

Spring Ford traveled to Warwick Park to face Owen J Roberts, just four days after their win against Pottsgrove. The Rams continued their dominance in a 26-31 win against the Cats. OJR started the meet strong, having two runners finish in first and third place. However, the Rams made a miracle comeback as the Top 10 consisted of six Spring Ford runners.

The Rams ran their second home meet this season against Upper Merion, and with homefield advantage the Rams rolled to 16-47 triumph for a 5-0 start.  Smith recorded the only sub-17 minute time with 16:34, as Baker followed with a time of 17:14. Five seconds after was Bamford with a 17:19, and fourth was Andrew Carlin with a 17:24.

Entering into the meet before PACs, Spring Ford hosted Upper Perkiomen and again scored a perfect 15 points to win 15-49. The Rams took over the meet, taking the first six spots in the race with  Smith and Baker leading the pack. 

Heebner Park is the location for the title meet for the PAC. The Rams entered with a 6-0 record against second-place Methacton (5-1). After the dust settled, the Rams won the championship thanks to a 23-32 victory over the Warriors. Smith finished in second place with a 16:57, right behind Vaughn Lackman’s 16:54 time. Following Smith was Baker, Bamford, and Carlin to help give Spring Ford another PAC title to add to the trophy case.

The Rams concluded an amazing season with a PAC title.