The Dock boys cross country team made a strong impression at the Paul Short Run on Friday at Lehigh University. The Pioneers placed 28th in the team standings of the Boys White Race that featured more than 360 individual finishers. Dock finished with 778 points, just ahead of a pair of Bicentennial Athletic League teams, edging both Collegium Charter and Delaware County Christian. Delco won the first BAL boys meet of the season.

Aaron Sensenig led the way for the Pioneers. The senior captain had a fairly conservative start, going through the first mile in 6:03. He moved up more than 70 places though in the second mile and another 23 spots in the final mile plus to claim 73rd place in 18:37.3, a personal best on the Lehigh course that also serves as host to the District 1 championship. Another senior, James Steinmetz, was just ahead of Sensenig at the mile mark. His second mile showed a big jump as he passed 34 people and he continued to pass runners in the final mile to place 121st in 19:08.8. It was his first race on the Lehigh course. Xander Morsby continued his strong season with a personal record. The sophomore also took the first mile at a steady pace of 6:32, then picked up his efforts over the second mile as he passed 47 people. He passed another 21 people over the final mile to come in 212th in 20:19.8, a drop of 19 seconds off his previous best ever. Ryan Ykoruk also lowered his PR. The freshman has consistently been able to drop time. He took another seven seconds off his prior best to run 20:33.6. Ykoruk just a step ahead of Morsby at the mile, and he too had a strong second mile in which he passed 34 other runners. He sped by 16 more in the final mile to place 225th. Josh Frederick continued his strong return from injury. The junior was just over 35 seconds better than his first race back. Frederick was right with his teammates at the mile and over the final 2.1 miles he surpassed 10 runners to place 260th in 21:09.2.

The Pioneers look to build on their strong team showing at Paul Short when they run their final home race of the season. They are scheduled to host 16 teams for the Dock Invitational on Tuesday afternoon. Afterwards, they will honor Sensenig and Steinmetz for Senior Night.