SHARON — In pursuit of a fourth consecutive District 10 championship, the Grove City boys cross country team left no doubt on Saturday at Buhl Park.

Aaron Benka paced the Eagles with an individual championship, finishing the course in 16 minutes, 23 seconds. The junior was the first of four Grove City runners to place in the top 10. All six Eagles ranked in the top 25 of the 109-runner field.

Ryan Budnik took second, as the junior crossed the finish line 24 seconds behind his teammate. Freshman Braydon Pyle was fourth at 17:06 and senior Ryan Whiteman claimed 10th at 17:14.

Grove City crushed the competition with 35 team points, while General McLane was a distant second at 93. Hickory (141), Wilmington (151) and Meadville (172) rounded out the top five.

Andrew Maxwell, a Slippery Rock junior, earned third place with a time of 16:57 and qualified for the PIAA meet on Saturday at Hershey. The Rockets finished ninth in the 15-team event with 249 points.

Grove City advanced to the state meet as the D-10 team champions, thanks in part to the depth provided by Dillon McConnell (18th, 17:35), Jordan Powell (23rd, 17:51) and John Paul Depew (25th, 18:06).

Will Henry (36th, 18:34) and ran well for the Rockets.

Grove City sophomore Catie Jaskowak and Slippery Rock freshman Tabitha Donaldson qualified for the PIAA Class AA Championships in Hershey on Saturday with stellar performances at the District 10 meet this weekend.

Jaskowak took seventh overall with a time of 20:20, while Donaldson crossed the finish line in 15th at 20:48.

Grove City grabbed sixth as a team with 163 points. Tessa Sample (32nd, 21:42), Hanna Sanford (37th, 22:17), Mary Jaskowak (39th, 22:31) were top-40 finishers in a field of 110 runners.

Slippery Rock was 10th of 16 with 284 points.

Villa Maria won the team title with 48 points, followed by Hickory (85), General McLane (101), Meadville (120) and Mercyhurst Prep (129).

D-10 Class AA Championships

Boys Top 10

1. Aaron Benka (Grove City) 16:23, 2. Ryan Budnik (Grove City) 16:47, 3. Andrew Maxwell (Slippery Rock) 16:57, 4. Braydon Pyle (Grove City) 17:06, 5. Lukas Hallett (General McLane) 17:10, 6. Calvin Gealy (Wilmington) 17:10, 7. Austin King (Oil City) 17:11, 8. Kyle Rose (Meadville) 17:12, 9. Matt Svetz (Meadville) 17:13, 10. Ryan Whiteman (Grove City) 17:14

Girls Top 10

1. Lexi Bible (Hickory) 19:37, 2. Claire Brown (Villa Maria) 19:45, 3. Jackie Abraham (Hickory) 19:53, 4. Taylor Pletz (Mercyhurst Prep) 20:14, 5. Brie Sutherland (Corry), 20:15, 6. Carlee Constable (Villa Maria) 20:21, 7. Catie Jaskowak (Grove City) 20:20, 8. Catie Cacchione (Villa Maria) 20:19, 9. Morgan Price (General McLane) 20:22, 10. Savanna Carr (Franklin) 20:32

District 9 Cross Country Championships

Karns City’s Emily Schumacher and Emily Jones, along with A-C Valley’s Shannon Quaill punched a ticket to the PIAA meet on Saturday with strong showings at the District 9 Class A girls cross country championships.

Schumacher finished fifth of 92 runners with a time of 20:48, while Jones was 11th at 21:36.

Quaill claimed 13th for the Falcons at 21:51.

Moniteau finished fifth among 10 schools in the standings. Karns City, A-C Valley and Union didn’t have enough runners to qualify as a team.

Moniteau was paced by Samantha Hall, who was 19th at 22:20. She missed the cutoff for states by just two spots.

The rest of Moniteau’s top five were composed by: Mercedes Wallace (23rd, 22:43), Allison DeMatteis (25th, 22:55), Kristin McDeavitt (44th, 24:12), Chloey Wallace (45th, 24:13)and Emily Rider (57th, 25:18).

Shannon Roberts was Union’s top finisher in 49th place with a time of 24:25.

Elk County Catholic edged North Clarion for the team title by a 54-55 margin. Both squads advance to states.

A-C Valley’s John Anderson crossed the finish line in 16th place with a time of 18:15 at the District 9 Class A boys cross country championship and advanced to the PIAA meet.

The Falcons finished 12th in the 12-team field. Karns City and Union did not have enough runners to field an official team.

Beau Rankin came in 34th for the Golden Knights, while the Gremlins’ top finisher was Grant Curdo in 61st place of 95 runners.

Northern Potter won the team title with 53 points, while Kane took second at 77.

Moniteau finished fifth among five teams at the District 9 Class AA meet.

Jake Taciuch was the Warriors’ top performer at 24th place of 33 runners.

District 9 Championships

Boys Class A Top 10

1. Chris Hunt (Kane) 16:50, 2. Gabe Trimbur (Coudersport) 16:58, 3. Spencer Cole (Oswayo Valley) 17:14, 4. Isaac Wilson (North Clarion) 17:31, 5. Tim Adams (Northern Potter) 17:33, 6. Aaron Olney (Northern Potter) 17:35, 7. Ryan Thrush (Brookville) 17:35, 8. Drew Bille (Elk County Catholic) 17:40, 9. Liam Raehsler (Clarion) 17:47, 10. Harrison Keenan (Cranberry) 17:51

Girls Class A Top 10

1. Kennedy Weisner (Elk County Catholic) 19:21, 2. Victoria Dippold (Elk County Catholic) 19:51, 3. Jill Wallace (North Clarion) 20:21, 4. Kristin Reynolds (Cranberry) 20:36, 5. Emily Schumacher (Karns City) 20:48, 6. Abbie Schmader (North Clarion), 7. Maggie Schwabenbauer (North Clarion) 21:15, 8. Abigail Steele (Clarion-Limestone) 21:17, 9. Rachel Guyer (Ridgway) 21:22, 10. Morgan Soule (Northern Potter) 21:31

Boys Class AA Top 5

1. Bo Dinger (Punxsutawney) 17:28, 2. Alec Freeman (Clearfield) 17:59, 3. Tyler Nuzzo (Bradford) 18:03, 4. Seth Burkett (Punxsutawney) 18:11, 5. Justin Keller (Bradford) 18:19