It must be the socks
Uniontown鈥檚 Syner sets course record in winning 1st FCCA title
CONNELLSVILLE 鈥� The Book of Judges in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible tells the story of Samson, who was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites. Samson was given superhuman powers by God in the form of extreme strength, but there was a catch: The cutting of Samson鈥檚 long hair would hinder his ability to perform such feats.
Ethan Syner doesn鈥檛 have long hair, but the Uniontown senior does have several pairs of flashy socks that provide him with an added boost when he runs.
Obviously, Syner鈥檚 ability, dedication and hard work are why he is successful, but he will continue to wear the socks, and hopes they carry him to more victories as he finishes his high school cross country career.
Syner and his special socks led him to a win in a hotly-contest race Thursday afternoon in the Fayette County Coaches Association (FCCA) Championships on the course at Connellsville Middle School.
Syner crossed the finish line in 16:39.20 to win his first county title.
鈥淚 bought Kit Kat socks my eighth-grade year when I went to Hersheypark with my family, but it wasn鈥檛 until White Oak last year when I broke out my Kit Kat socks,鈥� said Syner when asked to tell the story of his special socks. 鈥淭hose socks have really been helping me out, however, if it wasn鈥檛 for my teammates pushing me and our coach, Joe (Everhart), who is the best ever, I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to accomplish this.鈥�
Connellsville freshman Ellic Pritts was right with Syner for the majority of the race and finished second in 16:43.10. Belle Vernon junior Leonidas Soto was third in 16:45.40.
Syner, Pritts and Soto separated themselves from the main pack early in the race and it became a three-man battle. The trio broke the previous course record of 16:48, which was set by Connellsville鈥檚 Zach Bigam in 2021.
鈥淚 passed him (Pritts) going down a hill, but it wasn鈥檛 until we made it up that second rocky hill that I held my place,鈥� Syner said. 鈥淲e do a ton of hill work in practice, so I am prepared for hills. We all pushed each other really hard today.鈥�
Pritts was pleased with his performance, and although he was running on his home course, the Falcons hosted a meet for just the second time this season, as dual and tri-meets have become less prevalent in the last decade.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 run many races on this course, but we do come here for workouts, and I think it really helps us out,鈥� Pritts said. 鈥淚 ran 17:30 the other time I competed here, so today was much better.鈥�
Soto, who is originally from Connecticut, did all he could to stay with Syner and Pritts, but was pleased with his effort, and is looking forward to the WPIAL Class 2A Championships on Oct. 23 at White Oak Park in McKeesport. Belle Vernon will also run in the Tri-State Invitational on Oct. 16.
鈥淚 had raced the Uniontown kid (Syner) at Cal U (Marty Uher Invitational) earlier in the year, and he beat me by a lot,鈥� Soto said. 鈥淚 usually go out behind the pack, but today I went out and was in fifth place.
鈥淚 knew I had to keep the speed up because a few of the kids were slowing down, so I worked to catch up to them (Syner and Pritts), and at the second-mile mark, I was only about 10 yards behind the Connellsville kid. I kept pushing it and trying to use the downhill as much as I could, but I wasn鈥檛 able to pass them.鈥�
Soto was on the cusp of qualifying for the state meet last season, but is confident he can make the next step in two weeks.
鈥淚 was on pace to run a 16:40 at last year鈥檚 WPIAL meet, but with about 200 yards left, my legs gave out and 11 kids passed me, and I missed it by one spot,鈥� Soto said. 鈥淚 am excited to face him (Syner) at the next race.鈥�
Syner鈥檚 teammate, Logan Davis, was fourth overall in a time of 17:58. The Red Raiders鈥� Matthew Page took fifth in 18:01.10 and Stephen Chapley placed ninth in 18:42.30 to put four Uniontown runners on the all-county team.
Ezra Batovsky was 11th in 18:49.60 and Donte Rugola rounded out the Raiders鈥� top six with a 13th-place finish in 18:57.70.
Uniontown won the boys team championship with 30 points. The Leopards were second with 58 and the Falcons third (65).
鈥淲e did really well today as a team,鈥� Syner said. 鈥淲e are excited to see what we can do at the WPIAL championship meet. Last year, we qualified for states as a team. I believe we can do it again.鈥�
The Red Raiders will turn their attention to the Tri-State meet, which provides coaches another opportunity to select their top seven runners for the WPIAL championship meet. For a runner like Syner, he will use the meet as a gauge of what to expect for the WPIAL final.
Syner is eager to return to the course at White Oak Park, which was his de facto coming-out party last year, as he finished eighth in 16:18.60. Even though Uniontown qualified as a team, Syner鈥檚 finish would have been more than enough to advance to the state meet in Hershey as an individual.
鈥淭he course at White Oak is fast and there are not many hills, but I still believe it works for me,鈥� Syner said. 鈥淚 know I am not the fastest guy, so my kick isn鈥檛 that great, but if I get out and put myself in a good position early in the race, I should do well.
鈥淚 want to get into the 15s, but my main goal is to win WPIALs. If I am able to do that, I would go to the state meet, and my goal there would be to do the best that I can. If I do well enough at states, I would like to try for nationals, but whatever happens, I will accept it, as long as I do my best.鈥�
Unlike Belle Vernon and Uniontown, the Falcons will race in Class 3A at the WPIAL meet, which generally has a deeper field, but Pritts plans to attach himself to another runner and pass as many as he can in the final straightaway that leads to the finish line at White Oak Park. The freshman鈥檚 time of 16:40.80 at the Red, White & Blue Invitational (at White Oak Park) on Sept. 6 was close to the times that were run by the state qualifiers in last year鈥檚 WPIAL Class 3A meet.
Pritts hopes his battles with Syner will put him into the state meet. Connellsville will use the next two weeks to train for the WPIAL meet.
鈥淲e aren鈥檛 going to run at Tri-States, so the next race will be WPIALs,鈥� Pritts said. 鈥淚 want to run under 16:20 at the WPIAL championships. There is so much depth in Triple A, so I hope I can draft off those top guys and kick it in at the end. I don鈥檛 think my kick is that good, but I hope the adrenaline of the meet pushes me through to the finish line.鈥�
The Leopards鈥� Logan Metzger finished sixth at the FCCA meet to earn all-county accolades. Laurel Highlands鈥� Noah Hudock was seventh in 18:32.60. Teammate Ryan Filcheck came in eighth with a time of 18:38.50.
The Falcons鈥� Dane Pavlovich made the all-county team with a 10th-place finish in a time of 18:42.80.
Ellic Pritts鈥� younger brother, Sawyer Pritts, won the middle school race in 8:42.60. Uniontown鈥檚 Lorenzo Carei was second in 9:22.30 and the Falcons鈥� Camden Basinger took third in 9:23.80.
Connellsville won the middle school team championship with 29 points.
The Red Raiders had the first seven finishers in the junior varsity race. Zachary Fisher had a winning time of 19:22.10.