The Gilmour girls cross country team won their second invitational of the season as both Lancer programs, along with the entire GA school community, hosted the 62nd annual Paul Primeau Invitational on a gorgeous fall evening this past weekend.
After a much smaller field due to COVID-19 restrictions last season, the Primeau meet was back at its typical size this season, a welcome sight for the running community. Twenty girls teams and 19 boys teams competed in varsity races, not to mention additional schools that only competed in the JV races, as over 600 runners completed the course that traverses Gilmour's 144-acre campus.
The Gilmour girls cruised to the team title, finishing first of nine teams with 28 points. This success came despite the fact that the Lancers, a Division III team, ran up in the Division I race.
Three Gilmour girls finished among the top four in the race. Amy Weybrecht '24 (19:03.9), Mary Lombardo '22 (19:47.6) and Clare Valenza '23 (19:47.7) took second, third and fourth place, respectively.
Mia Polisena '22 gave Gilmour a fourth runner in the top 10 as her time of 20:46.7 put her in 10th place overall.
Kaitlin Rulison '23 rounded out the Lancers' scoring contingent by placing 16th in 21:19.5.
Anna Grossner '24 (21:38.0) and Gia Rosko '24 (21:49.6) tallied top-30 finishes for Gilmour.
Ava Moe '22 (22:29.4) and Kaleigh McNamara '22 (24:29.5) also competed in their home event for GA.
Gilmour's boys team placed among the top half of the field in its race, taking fifth out of 10 teams with 122 points.
Michael Piccirillo '24 led the way for the Gilmour boys, finishing 16th in 18:05.6.
Joey Salerno '25 (18:15.5) and Scott Vergilii '23 (18:17.4) followed right behind with 19th and 21st place showings.
Tim Papczun '24 (18:54.2) and Andrew Lewis '23 (19:23.2) were the final two scoring Lancers, as both finished in the top half of the field.
Jordan Shininger '25 (20:25.2), Bryce Beard '25 (21:16.2) and Liam Flynn '25 (21:25.5) also competed for Gilmour.
Prior to the Primeau races, Gilmour cross country honored its senior class with a ceremony close to the finish line in Weber Stadium.
The following Lancer seniors were honored as their parents and school administrators joined to celebrate their achievements: Mary Lombardo '22, Kaleigh McNamara '22, Ava Moe '22, Aidan Priestley '22 and Mia Polisena '22.
Both Gilmour programs will close their regular seasons this coming weekend as they travel to the Legends Meet at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds.