The Fox Chapel cross country program should be more energized going into the indoor track season after having a strong fall.
The girls team won its first section title since 2023 and qualified for states as a team. On the boys side, the Foxes won their seventh consecutive section title and had two state qualifiers.
Fox Chapel coach Tom Moul was happy with how the season went.
“I think on the girls side, this team accomplished so much,” Moul said. “They are going to be hungry to improve on it. A few of them have already mentioned how excited they are for the indoor season.”
Fox Chapel was the third-highest placing WPIAL team at states. Norwin won the PIAA Class 3A title by finishing with 54 points. South Fayette finished seventh overall and had the second-best WPIAL finish with 217.
Fox Chapel came in with 232. Three of Fox Chapel’s top four finishers — Claire Loiudice (19th), Maeve Sherry (57th) and Sydney Kimmons (60th) — were freshmen. The other two in the top five — Bridge Hemingray (31st) and Ella Shevchuk (65th) — were sophomores.
“We were eighth at states, which was OK,” Moul said. “I was a little disappointed that we weren’t the second WPIAL team, which I thought would have been a good thing to accomplish. But I thought the girls ran well. They are young and went about their business.”
On the boys side, Fox Chapel saw a young runner emerge as a potential leader for future seasons. Freshman Asher Eckel finished in 99th at states with a time of 17:19.
He was one of two boys who qualified. Senior Michael Costello also advanced, finishing in 45th place with a time of 17:12.
“(Asher) loves the sport,” Moul said. “The kids love him and he’s a worker. The other kids can see the kind of success that can be had. There are some other talented kids in his class. There are four or five kids who can be a factor.”