North Schuylkill's Genevieve Dando breaks the tape to win the girls' race at the Schuylkill League Cross Country Championships on Wednesday at White Birch Golf Course. Dando clocked a 19:50. (Photo courtesy of North Schuylkill Athletics)

BARNESVILLE — Genevieve Dando has been chasing the 20-minute mark all season.

At the Schuylkill League Cross Country Championships, the North Schuylkill freshman broke through. Dando clocked a 19:50 to take the gold on a sunny, breezy, 60-degree Wednesday afternoon at White Birch Golf Course’s winding 3.1-mile layout. Dando wanted to run faster, but she had no one to push her. Breaking away from the pack in the first 30 seconds of the race, Dando opened a huge lead by the 1-mile mark and extended that advantage through the finish line.

“No, but I’m pretty happy with what I did,” Dando said when asked if she reached her goal. “It’s pretty difficult (running alone out front), but as the season went on I kind of learned to try to push myself and pretend they’re right there with me. It feels great.

“I’ve met amazing girls, and it’s just a nice sport all-around,” Dando added. “I always liked running. I hope my time drops even more (at districts) and I make it to states.”

Minersville senior Marley Zimmerman placed second in 20:35, 45 seconds behind Dando. Tamaqua freshman Shaylee Gormley finished third in 20:39, with Blue Mountain juniors Vanessa Frasnelli (20:55) and Victoria Frasnelli (21:14) rounding out the top five.

Dando is North Schuylkill’s first girls’ winner at the Schuylkill’s League Cross Country Championships since Cori McCormick won her third straight league title in 2020.

The Frasnelli sisters led Blue Mountain to its third straight girls’ team title at the Schuylkill League Cross Country Championships. Sophomore Sarah Satterfield placed ninth in 22:00, followed by sophomore Hope Scheidel (11th in 22:10), senior Hannah Wildermuth (13th in 23:39) and freshman Anna Kaplafka (14th in 22:40). That gave Blue Mountain six runners among the top 14.

“The girls did excellent,” Blue Mountain coach Tom Kanger said. “They really worked strong as a team this year. About halfway through the season, it really started to come together. They started to run for each other, and that’s so important.”

Blue Mountain’s boys also won the team title, marking the first time in school history that the Eagles have swept the Schuylkill League Cross Country team championships in the same year.

Next up is the District 11 Cross Country Championships, set for Oct. 22 at DeSales University. The top two teams and 10 individuals not on those teams in each classification will qualify for the PIAA Championships, to be held Nov. 1 at the Parkview Cross Country Course in Hershey.

Schuylkill League Cross Country Championships

At White Birch Golf Course

Course length: 3.1 miles

Wednesday’s results

Varsity girls

54 finishers

Team scores: 1. Blue Mountain (BM) 31, 2. Tamaqua (Tam) 73, 3. Minersville (Min) 82, 4. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 106, 5. Shenandoah Valley (SV) 111, 6. Marian (Mar) 124

Did not score: Mahanoy Area (Mah), North Schuylkill (NS), Pine Grove (PG), Tri-Valley (TV), Weatherly (Wea)

Individual results: 1. Genevieve Dando (NS) 19:50, 2. Marley Zimmerman (Min) 20:35, 3. Shaylee Gormley (Tam) 20:30, 4. Vanessa Frasnelli (BM) 20:55, 5. Victoria Frasnelli (BM) 21:14, 6. Anna Cook (TV) 21:35, 7. Felicia Bro (Mah) 21:43, 8. Teaghan Biros (Mar) 21:58, 9. Sarah Satterfield (BM) 22:00, 10. Ava Bosack (Min) 22:03, 11. Hope Scheidel (BM) 22:10, 12. Ava Jones (Tam) 22:34, 13. Hannah Wildermuth (BM) 22:39, 14. Anna Kaplafka (BM) 22:40, 15. Anna Keer (Mar) 22:53, 16. Ayla Essler-Kiryaman (SH) 22:59, 17. Valeria Hernandez (SV) 23:07, 18. Madeline Dalkner (BM) 23:20, 19. Alexia Kehler (Wea) 23:27, 20. Carla Firestone (PG) 23:35

JV Girls

22 finishers

Individual results: 1. Millie Black (Tam) 24:30, 2. Abigail Phillips (BM) 25:04, 3. Mikayah Steigerwalt (Tam) 25:25, 4. Stella Baran (BM) 26:00, 5. Lyla Clemson (Tam) 26:43