He may have questioned it to start the season, but Quaker Valley cross country coach David Noyes is ready to assert his team as WPIAL contenders once again.

With both the guys and girls teams being led by young runners in sophomore Zach Skolnekovich and freshman Lucie Kubinski, it was hard to tell how the team would come together. But it hasn't taken long for some of the more seasoned runners to hit their stride, giving Noyes reason for confidence.

“I really like what they're doing right now, especially the girls,” Noyes said. “They've got not just Lucie coming up, but Hannah (Bablak) as well. At an invite last week, they were the first two girls ever to crack 19 minutes in a 5k for us, and they both did. We've never had one and we had two in the same meet. Those two are very strong.”

At the Sharpsville Blue Devil Invite on Sept. 20 at Buhl Park, Kunbinski turned in a school record time of 18:50.7, followed by Bablak, a junior, at 18:59.6.

Sophomore Bearett Tarris has also shown steady improvement this season, finishing third on the team in its meet Sept. 23 at Ohio Township Park, up from her fifth spot to start the season.

“They're really starting to pack it up now,” Noyes said. “If they continue to improve, which there's no reason to think they shouldn't, I like their chances at WPIALS and beyond.”

At the start of the season, the boys team gave Noyes more reason to doubt its chances at a WPIAL title than the girls, but it's starting to close that gap, he said.

Skolnekovich has been a consistently dominant performer all season, finishing more than a minute ahead of the Quakers' second runner, senior Xavier Lang, at the Sept. 23 meet.

But it's Lang's progress that has convinced Noyes of the team's potential this year. Much like Tarris, Lang started the season as the Quakers' fifth runner, but has since put himself consistently in second behind Skolnekovich.

“It was a tough summer for (Lang), but he's come to run now,” Noyes said. “He's not only telling the guys this is what they have to do, but he's showing them. He's really the key to this team I think. If he can stay with it and work hard and show the guys the way, we're going to be alright.”

Lang knows how important it is for the team to continue to improve.

“We definitely had a slow start in the beginning of the season,” Lang said. “But as we've had more time to work together during the school year, and really after Red White and Blue, we started working together more, thinking as a pack, less individually, letting Zach get out there and then thinking as a unit trying to take on full teams with our last six guys.”

Lang has contributed on a daily basis by setting the team's culture. In a highly individualized sport, the team has found ways to build a healthy group environment.

The work has clearly been translating to race day. Nine Quakers finished in the top 13 runners in last week's meet against OLSH, Eden Christian and Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.

“The pack dynamic has been big this year,” Lang said. “You have a group that you run with in practice, and in races you run with that group and try to get ahead of that group. We push each other and it ends up working out really well.”

Gary Horvath is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at ghorvath@tribweb.com or via Twitter @GHorvath_Trib.

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