Generation Fast: Eight Runners Who Rewrote the District 2 Record Books
By: Kevin Borrelli | SportzWire | May 30, 2026 | Photo courtesy Kevin Borrelli
I have been around distance running for the better part of the last 30 years, and I’d be hard-pressed to find a better or deeper group of District 2 senior boys than the one this year has produced.
Comparing generations is extremely difficult. In cross country, courses vary, the sport expanded from two classifications to three, training information and technology have improved drastically, and weather can always be a limiting factor. Track and field provides a fairer baseline when comparing times, but comparing placements across eras will always come with a certain level of “what if.”
Throughout Cross Country and Track, this group of 8 runners took a total of 38 trips to a state meet, and won 18 state medals. In the district they accounted for 64 medals.
Their PR’s ranged from:
800: 1:51, 1:54, 1:57, 1:59, 2:03, 2:05, 2:06, 2:34
1600: 4:13, 4:17, 4:19, 4:22, 4:22, 4:23, 4:27, 4:27
3200: 9:17, 9:30, 9:32, 9:37, 9:39, 9:41, 9:49, 10:06
5k XC: 15:13, 15:26, 15:50, 16:19, 16:29, 16:36, 16:43, 16:51
So here are the individual résumés of this generational class of distance runners, focusing primarily on district and state results. (Relays and team awards are not included.) All District Cross Country Championships were held at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds, and all PIAA State Championship races were held at Hershey Park. All PRs listed are FAT (Fully Automatic Timing) marks from invitationals.
Also, I don’t have the official statistics to confirm it, but I believe the majority of these athletes also hold at least one — if not multiple — school records, which speaks volumes about just how competitive this group has been.
Starting at the top is Elk Lake’s Kendel Jones.
High school career with PRs of
800 1:54, 1600 4:13, 3200 9:17, 5K XC 15:13 at Paul Short.
State finishes:
Cross Country (A):
Freshman 12th 17:35, Sophomore 5th 16:42, Junior 5th 16:32, Senior 2nd 16:05
3200 (AA): Sophomore 6th 9:22, Junior 6th 9:18, Senior 2nd 9:17
1600 (AA): Sophomore 8th 4:20, Junior 9th 4:18, Senior 4th 4:14
800 (AA): Senior 16th 1:59
One incredible District 2 fun fact: Kendel won a medal in every individual event he competed in throughout his high school career.
District finishes:
Cross Country (A):
Freshman 1st 17:03, Sophomore 1st 16:21, Junior 1st 16:16, Senior 1st 15:26
3200 (AA): Freshman 4th 9:50, Sophomore 2nd 9:27, Junior 1st 9:27, Senior 1st 9:25
1600 (AA): Freshman 5th 4:40, Sophomore 1st 4:28, Junior 1st 4:19, Senior 1st 4:14
800 (AA): Junior 2nd 1:59, Senior 1st 1:54
During cross country season, Kendel logged wins at the Commissioners, Bob Green, Lions, Bear Mountain River, and Wyalusing invitationals, while also producing medal-worthy performances at Foundation, Paul Short, and PTXC. During his senior season, he set course records in every cluster meet he ran, along with the District 2 course record. On the track, he was equally impressive, posting multiple wins and top-three finishes at the Selinsgrove Classic, Wyalusing, Godek, Nashaminy, and Bruce Dallas invitationals. What makes his accomplishments even more impressive is that, instead of running year-round, you could often find Kendel on the basketball court during the winter months.
Kendel made seven possible trips to the state championships throughout his career (4 in XC and 3 in track), earning nine state medals (4 XC, 5 Track). He also finished with 14 individual district medals — 10 of them being gold — including a perfect four-for-four in cross country.
Next up is Cody Adams of Elk Lake, who arguably would have been the top runner on almost any other team in the district but had to compete alongside Kendel every day. As the saying goes, iron sharpens iron, and this duo from Elk Lake proved it on a weekly basis.
High school career with PRs of
800 2:03, 1600 4:17, 3200 9:30, 5K XC 15:26 at Paul Short
*He also consistently split under 2:00 in the 4x800 relay.
State performances:
Cross Country (A):
Freshman 70th 18:50, Sophomore 8th 16:51, Junior 4th 16:31, Senior 4th 16:29
3200 (AA): Senior 9th 9:30
1600 (AA): Junior 17th 4:26, Senior 8th 4:17
District performances:
Cross Country (A):
Freshman 7th 18:11, Sophomore 4th 16:38, Junior 2nd 16:40, Senior 2nd 15:53
3200 (AA): Freshman 12th 11:05, Junior 4th 9:43, Senior 2nd 9:32
1600 (AA): Junior 2nd 4:26, Senior 2nd 4:21
800 (AA): Junior 6th 2:03
Throughout cross country and track, Cody competed in many of the same high-level invitationals as Kendel and frequently found himself on the podium with a medal around his neck, especially during his junior and senior seasons.
Cody made six trips to states (four in XC and two in track), earning four individual state medals (3 XC, 1 Track) and nine district medals (4 XC, 5 Track) — Including five silver medals, many of them behind Kendel.
Wallenpaupack’s Aiden Janowicz showed tremendous promise early in his career before injuries slightly altered his trajectory. But, like many of the other seniors from the area, he finished strong, posting some of the best PRs the area has ever seen.
High school career with PRs:
800 1:51, 1600 4:19, 3200 9:49, 5k XC 16:29 at Paul Short.
State performances:
Cross Country:
Freshman AA 150th 19:08, Sophomore AA 60th 17:37, Junior AAA 39th 16:40, Senior AAA 105th 17:24
1600 (AAA): Sophomore 32nd 4:25, Junior 29th 4:36
800 (AAA): Senior 2nd 1:51
District performances:
Cross Country:
Freshman AA 10th 17:17, Sophomore AA 3rd 16:49, Junior AAA 1st 16:29, Senior AAA 2nd 16:49
3200 (AAA): Freshman 3rd 9:49
1600 (AAA): Freshman 4th 4:33, Sophomore 1st 4:19, Junior 1st 4:27, Senior 1st 4:27
800 (AAA): Freshman 17th 2:08, Sophomore 5th 2:01, Senior 1st 1:55
Aiden frequently competed against the best runners in the state due to racing in AAA competition. He consistently placed near the top at major invitationals during cross country season, but he truly shined on the track. He earned wins at the Spagna and Godek invitationals while also posting strong performances at elite meets such as New Balance Nationals, Tracksmith, John Hay, East Coast Track Championships, and the Brooks Distance Classic.
Aiden finished his career with seven trips to states (4 in XC and 3 in track) and earned a state medal in the 800. His senior-year 1:51 in the 800 is the fastest time ever run by a District 2 athlete. He also logged 11 District medals (4 XC, 7 Track) 5 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
The depth of this class extends well beyond the top few names. Another senior who quickly rose to stardom despite battling injuries and health setbacks was Crestwood’s Mason Staude. Who when healthy, was stride-for-stride with some of the best runners in both the district and the state.
High school career with PRs:
800 1:59, 1600 4:23, 3200 9:32, 5K XC 15:50 at Paul Short
State performances:
Cross Country (AA):
Freshman 50th 17:51, Junior 29th 17:02, Senior 11th 16:55
3200 (AAA): Junior 17th 9:32
District performances:
Cross Country (AA):
Freshman 9th 17:02, Junior 1st 16:29, Senior 1st 16:10
3200 (AAA): Junior 1st 9:51
1600 (AAA): Junior 2nd 4:27
800 (AAA): Freshman 6th 2:01, Sophomore 3rd 1:59
After injuries forced him to miss his sophomore XC season, Mason exploded onto the scene during track season, earning two wins at the Godek Invitational. He also recorded numerous top-three finishes at the Wyoming Valley Conference meet, Paul Short, Cliff Robbins, and Ranger invitationals.
Even with multiple seasons cut short, Mason unquestionably deserves a seat at the table among this outstanding senior class.
Mason made four trips to states (3 XC, 1 Track) and earned one state medal in cross country. He also won a district medal every time he competed, totaling 7 district medals (3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze) during his career (3 XC, 4 Track)
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Riverside’s Mikey Schimelfenig made one of the biggest jumps from junior to senior year that this area has seen in a long time. He battled through the pack early in his career but never lost sight of how good he could become.
High school career with PRs:
800 2:05, 1600 4:22, 3200 9:39, 5K XC 16:19 at the Wyoming Valley Fairgrounds
*Mikey also split under 2:00 multiple times in the 4x800 relay.
State Performances:
Cross Country (A): Junior 20th 17:16, Senior 7th 16:38
1600 (AA): 11th 4:22
District Performances:
Cross Country (A): Freshman 69th 20:08, Sophomore 17th 17:36, Junior 10th 17:24, Senior 4th 16:19
3200 (AA): Sophomore 9th 10:20, Junior 6th 9:58, Senior 6th 9:45
1600 (AA): Junior 9th 4:35, Senior 3rd 4:22
800 (AA): Junior 13th 2:09
During Cross Country only a hand full of runners can boast that they dipped under 16:20 on the district cross country course, Mikey would be one of them. He also had several top 5 finishes at the Commissioner, Foundations, and NEPA Invitationals and followed it up on the track with many top 4 finishes at the Spagna Championships, Godek Twlight, and Lasagna Invitationals.
One of the most impressive things about Mikey’s career is that he is a total athlete, as he played late into the Basketball season as Riverside made a deep state run and he was on the soccer team (on top of Cross Country) in the Fall, that made a deep District push.
Mikey walks away with 3 trips to states (2 in XC, 1 track) and took 2 State medals home, and also finished with 5 District medals (2 XC, 3 Track).
Another late bloomer was Avery Ronchi of Lackawanna Trail, who made a massive leap between his sophomore and junior seasons and quickly established himself as one of NEPA’s top distance runners.
High school career with PRs:
800 2:34, 1600 4:27, 3200 9:37, 5K XC 16:43 at the Wyoming Valley Fairgrounds
State Performances:
Cross Country (A): Junior 33rd 17:38, Senior 17th 17:15
3200 (AA): Junior 14th 9:39, Senior 23rd 9:50
1600 (AA): Junior 32nd 4:38
District Performances:
Cross Country (A): Freshman 24th 20:07, Sophomore 9th 17:41, Junior 7th 17:07, Senior 5th 16:43
3200 (AA): Sophomore 10th 10:21, Junior 2nd 9:37, Senior 3rd 9:37
1600 (AA): Sophomore 13th 4:52, Junior 5th 4:29, Senior 10th 4:36
Avery also had medal winning finishes during cross country at Cliff Robins Invitational, and Foundations. And on the track he had multiple top 4 finishes at the Spagna Championships and Godek and Wyalusing Invitationals.
Avery took 4 trips to states (2 XC and, 2 Track) and has 1 state medal to his name to go along with his and 6 district medals (3 XC, 3 Track).
Maxx Kelly from Susquehanna Community made a big jump from his Sophomore season to his Junior one, and like Mikey finished he with a bang his Senior year. Over the past two seasons Maxx has set many if not all of Susquehanna Community’s distance records.
High school career with PRs:
800 1:57, 1600 4:22, 3200 10:06, 5k XC 16:51 at Wyoming Valley Fair Grounds.
State Performances:
Cross Country (A): Senior 14th 17:13
1600 (AA): Junior 33rd 4:39, Senior 20th 4:27
800 (AA): Senior 12th 1:57
District Performances:
Cross Country (A): Freshman 19th 19:34, Sophomore 29th 19:45, Junior 19th 18:20, Senior 7th 16:51
3200 (AA): Junior 8th 10:06
1600 (AA): Junior 6th 4:29, Senior 4th 4:22
800 (AA): Senior 5th 1:58
Maxx ran to top 10 finishes this cross country season at the PTXC and McQuaid Invitationals, but where he did most of his damage was on the track. Over the past two seasons he logged a hand full of top 6 finishes and earned some hardware at the Godek and Wyalusing Invites as well as the Spagna Championships.
Maxx took 3 trips to states (1 XC, 2 Track) and came away with 1 medal his Sr season in XC. In the district he has 4 individual medals to his name (1 XC, 3 Track).
Mid Valley’s Matthew Repecki has a name that feels like it’s been around for a long time, as even as a freshman he never shied away from the lead packs. Matthew and this group of seniors have made a long-lasting impact that will be felt for many years (miles) to come.
High school career with PRs:
800 2:06, 1600 4:27, 3200 9:41, 5k XC 16:36 at Paul Short
State Performances:
Cross Country (AA): Sophomore 130th 18:23, Junior 58th 17:33, Senior 42nd 17:32
3200 (AA): Junior 24th 10:04
1600 (AA): Junior 28th 4:31
District Performances:
Cross Country (AA): Freshman 32nd 18:14, Sophomore 4th 16:57, Junior 3rd 17:10, Senior 8th 17:15
3200 (AA): Freshman 10th 10:27, Sophomore 4th 10:08, Junior 3rd 9:41, Senior 7th 9:51
1600 (AA): Freshman 9th 4:44, Sophomore 4th 4:36. Junior 4th 4:27, Senior 6th 4:29
800 (AA): Freshman 12th 2:10, Sophomore 15th 2:12, Junior 9th 2:06
During Cross Country Matthew logged multiple medal winning performances throughout his career at the Lions, Cliff Robbins, and NEPA Invitationals. On the track Matthew had multiple top 10 finishes and medal showings at the Godek and Roddick Invitationals and always seemed to find his stride running at or near the front of the Spagna Championships.
Matthew had 4 trips to states (3 in XC and 1 for Track), and finished with 8 district medals (3 in XC, 5 in track).
Part of what makes many of the accomplishments so impressive among this group is the fact that they battled each other from many of these accolades along the way. But it was this fierce competition that led to record breaking times and long-lasting respect and friendships. Every now and then a class might get 2 or 3 runners of this quality, but to see 8 of them is beyond amazing.
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