Fox Chapel girls cross country coach Tom Moul hoped the Foxes would make steady improvement throughout the season. Had you asked him if the team would reach the PIAA Class 3A championships as a team, Moul wouldn’t have necessarily anticipated that.

During the WPIAL Class 3A championships at White Oak Park, four Foxes finished in the top 20 to help Fox Chapel place second as a team and punch its ticket to Hershey.

Freshman Claire Loiudice was the Foxes’ top finisher, placing 15th with a time of 19 minutes, 6.6 seconds.

Junior Cecilia Ressler (17th) and sophomores Bridget Hemingray (18th) and Ella Shevchuk (20th) also placed in the top 20 for Fox Chapel.

“It would have been hard to say because we are so young,” Moul said. “Bridget Hemingray wasn’t a varsity runner last year, and she made enormous strides. We also had three freshmen that we hadn’t seen before and weren’t sure what to expect.”

On the boys side, Fox Chapel had two PIAA qualifiers. Senior Michael Costello placed 14th with a time of 16:07.12 to advance to states.

Freshman Asher Eckel also qualified for states by placing 26th. Moul said he was proud of how Eckel ran.

“He wasn’t happy with the race he ran,” Moul said. “I was happy with the race he ran.”

The Shady Side Academy cross country team ran away with the team title in the Class A race. Charlotte Barker became the Bulldogs’ first WPIAL champion since 2022 when she placed first by running a 18:38.50. Barker’s freshman teammate, Josephine Lenart, finished in second place, just behind Barker.

Barker and Lenart have battled each other for the top spot all season. Notably, Lenart won at the Foundation Meet earlier this season. The Foundation Meet is held at the same course where the PIAA holds the cross country championships.

Shady Side Academy finished with 35 points, which gave the school its first team title since 2008. Ella Van Norman (ninth) and Rhyley Bendel (10th) also finished in the top 10 for the Bulldogs.

On the boys side, Shady Side Academy finished in second place. Harlan Cooper (sixth) and Willy Nury (ninth) finished in the top 10 for the Bulldogs.