Carlisle's Heberlig, Northern's Heltzel embrace lessons in the art of racing at Carlisle Invitational
If Kolbin Heberlig needed a reference point for measuring his progress as a cross country runner, he could have looked at the data points from his previous performances at the Carlisle Invitational.
Heberlig finished eighth in the 2022 freshman boys race in 18 minutes, four seconds. A year later, he graduated to the challenge race, taking 44th place in 16:49.2. Saturday, at the Invitational's 31st installment, the Carlisle junior improved on both his time (16:05.8) and his placement (16th). He joined Northern junior Burke Heltzel – who finished 11th in the small-school boys champion race – on the invitational's medal stand to lead the local performances at the premier late-September meet.
Beyond the data points, though, is the art of racing, and both runners used a rainy, muddy Travis Trail track as a canvas to practice and sharpen the quality of their craft.
"Every year, I make such a big jump that I have to re-learn how to race," Heberlig said. "I have to figure out when to push, when to pass people, when to do what. I'm learning it all again, and I'll have it figured out by districts."
Saturday's challenge race featured faces familiar to Heberlig, the fellow artists figured to contend in the Mid-Penn and District 3 championship meets scheduled for Oct. 12 and 26 at Big Spring High School. They included State College's Theo Oppermann, who finished fourth in Saturday's challenge race at 15:38.0, and Chambersburg's Liam Kirkpatrick (14th, 15:59.4).
Saturday's race also drew artists from afar, including Tyler Umbright of University High in Morgantown, West Virginia, who won the race in 15:22.5. Lewisburg senior Jonathan Hess (15:34.3) and Ben Pizarro of team-champion Tatnall in Delaware (15:37.5) also authored top three performances on the course soaked by continual rain showers in the days leading up to the race.
"The course was very slippery," Heberlig said. "It was muddy. It was soft. Four kids fell, like, right in front of me. I had to hurdle them. It was rough."
Heberlig had run and developed his artist's tools on his home course countless times. The quantity of runners – 372 competed in the challenge race alone – and the quality of competition provided a potent dose of an artist's inspiration.
"It gives me more motivation to train for the races that matter – districts and states," Heblerig said. "Hopefully I can show up big there."
Heltzel has won his dual-meet races by an average margin of more than one minute. Saturday, he found himself in a battle for positioning that went all the way to the finish line. It was a chance for am artist to dust off his tools.
"Usually, I never have a kick," Heltzel said, "and I honestly didn't think I had a kick, but after that last hill, I felt a little momentum, so I was able to push through, and I ended up passing some people."
Heltzel slipped past James Buchanan's Tristen Hall (12th, 17:00.0) and Odessa's (Delaware) Ethan Barnett (13th, 17:01.1). The Polar Bear's time of 16:59.8 was slower than the 16:49.3 that earned him seventh place in last year's race.
"I ran a little slower than last year," he said, "but with the course conditions, and I'm just coming off a cold, I'm satisfied with how I did overall."
West Chester East's Jack Brannon won the small-school champion race at 16:17.4, and Calvert Hall College took the team title back to Maryland with 108 points.
Both Heberlig and Heltzel have a chance to practice the art of racing again when Northern participates in Friday's Paul Short Run at Lehigh University and Carlisle travels to Delaware for Saturday's Salesianum Invitational.
Tim Gross is the sports editor at The Sentinel and cumberlink.com . Love
