District 2 meet pushed to Saturday

Times-Shamrock staff report

With the remnants of Hurricane Patricia expected to hit the area Wednesday, District 2 officials decided Monday to postpone the cross country championship meet scheduled that day at Elk Lake High School.
It is rescheduled for Saturday.

AccuWeather.com predicts a high of 61 degrees for Wednesday with a 90 percent chance of precipitation, heavy at times. It also calls for winds of 22 mph with gusts of 51 mph.

“The problem obviously is the rain, but the wind is also a problem. That can really impact the race,” race director Dave Grecco said.

“I spoke with (District 2 cross country chairperson) Bill King several times (Monday) and he was in touch with (District 2 chairman) Frank Majikes. They came to the decision that it would be best all around if we went to Saturday, which looks to be a little colder but the other conditions will be better.”

Saturday’s forecast is for a high of 51 degrees with periods of clouds and sun, little to no chance of precipitation and winds of 6 mph.

“It’s going to be a much better day,” Grecco said. “We want the kids to have the best opportunity possible to qualify for the state championships on the 7th of November (in Hershey).”

Lackawanna League cross country president Rick Bresser said he believes the district made a wise decision in moving the race date.

“The rain is supposed to be a torrential downpour,” Bresser said. “Plus, it’s a very wide-open area at Elk Lake. There are no places for the runners or fans to go if there is lightning.”

Scheduled start times for the meet Saturday will remain the same they were for Wednesday.

Class A girls begin at 11:20 a.m. with Class A boys going off at noon. Class AA girls are next at 12:40 p.m., followed by Class AA boys at 1:20 p.m. Class AAA girls start at 2 p.m. with Class AAA boys getting the gun at 2:40 p.m. The “B” Division race takes place at 3:20 p.m.

Awards ceremonies are 12:50 p.m. for Class A, 2:10 p.m. for Class AA and 4 p.m. for Class AAA.