MESHOPPEN – Gianna Altavilla already knew success in shorter races in track and field.

Wednesday, she proved one more time that she can go the distance.

The Holy Redeemer sophomore captured a Class A girls title at the District 2 Cross Country Championships while helping the Royals claim the second available state berth from the meet.

Altavilla earned a district sixth-place medal at 800 meters and excelled as a member of a quality 4×400 relay team in the spring as a freshman. She followed the suggestion that she try cross country and has climbed to the top of the sport in her first season.

“I surprised myself when I saw that I was in first,” said Altavilla, who got a hint of her potential this postseason when she finished 18th out of 169 Class A runners from around the state in the PIAA Foundation Meet. “It was an amazing feeling and I’m just so proud of myself and all the hard work I put in and I’m just glad it paid off.”

Altavilla was the Wyoming Valley Conference’s only individual winner in the day’s six races. She finished the 3.1-mile course at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds in 20:26.9.

Teammate Leah Smith followed her in second place in 20:37.7.

“Leah and I do all our training together and really push each other,” Altavilla said. “It felt really good to turn around and see her come through the finish line.”

The Altavilla-Smith combination helped send the entire Royals team to Big Spring High School, the same site as the Foundation Meet, Nov. 7 for the PIAA Championships.

For Altavilla, that is where her first season in the sport will conclude.

“I’ve had people constantly telling me that this was something I might be good at it,” she said. “I started to give it consideration and realized it might be the place to really help me achieve my goals.”

Smith was one of two silver medalists from the WVC.

Lake-Lehman’s Bodhi Cronin, the conference meet champion a week ago on the same course, edged Chase Comiskey from Dallas by less than a second for second place in Class 2A boys.

Although the wins were dominated by the Lackawanna League, the medal-winning and state qualifying efforts from the WVC were plentiful.

Mid Valley’s Jacob Borrelli took 96 seconds off his second-place time of a year ago to beat out Cronin and Comiskey and lead the Spartans to the team title.

The WVC had five of the top seven finishers in the race, which was the first of the day.

Freshman Daniel Houssock, one of only two Nanticoke Area runners entered, was fifth.

Berwick sophomore Myles DiPippa also made it despite being from a school that did not have the necessary five runners for a team score. He was seventh.

Rowan Dietrich, from WVC champion Crestwood, finished between them.

Lake-Lehman’s Finn Cronin, Bodhi’s twin, joined that group as both medalists and state qualifiers.

Hanover Area’s Joseph Bly missed a state spot by one place but claimed the last of the 15 available medals.

Crestwood’s championship team included three medalists in Class 2A girls.

Lake-Lehman’s Ava Jones and Betsy DiGiovanni and Nanticoke Area’s Matilda Serrano were both medalists and state individual qualifiers.

Wyoming Area’s Isabella Costa claimed the last state spot by placing 16th.

In Classes 2A and A, 10 individuals advanced other than runners from the two qualifying teams.

Caden Moreck from Holy Redeemer was the top WVC finisher in Class A boys, taking seventh. Teammate Frank Pocelli was 10th to also claim the combination of a medal and state berth.

Tommy Elick, the Royals’ third finisher, was 16th to make it to Big Spring.

Wyoming Seminary’s Celia Ludka, who was fifth, and MMI Prep’s Anna Zaroda earned medals and state chances.

Adele Deemer from Holy Redeemer was 15th for a medal, but missed states by one spot.

In Class 3A, only five individuals other than the championship team make it to states.

Gavin Adams from Hazleton Area, Ben Delgado from Wilkes-Barre Area and Cash Radle from Pittston Area were 3-4-5 in Class 3A boys.

Hazleton Area’s Damian Vargas took the last state spot by placing seventh.

Hudson Bottley from Hazleton Area, Sam Augustine from Pittston Area and Cameron Grahowski from Wilkes-Barre Area joined them as medalists.

Wilkes-Barre Area’s Alexa Prushinski is headed to the state meet after placing third in Class 3A girls.

Hazleton Area’s Ainslie Leib and Ava Hinkle and Pittston Area freshman Quinnie Jones earned medals.