Modern technology can do wonderful things. With that in mind, Red, White & Blue meet director Rich Wright decided to run boys' and girls' varsity races at Schenley Park 12 days ago, but separate the results into A and B Divisions.

That was fine with Avonworth High School cross country coach Brian Hoffman. His team easily won the B Division title. But he was curious to see where the Antelopes placed overall.

He had to be pleasantly surprised with an 11th-place finish.

That might not seem like a big deal, but the 10 teams ahead of Avonworth all came from Class AAA schools and included cross country powers such as North Allegheny, Mt. Lebanon, Central Catholic, North Hills and Seneca Valley. There wasn't another Class AA school until Greensburg Central Catholic in 22nd place.

All of which proves that Avonworth is the Class AA boys' team to beat in the WPIAL this fall.

"Our goal is to win the WPIAL title this year," Hoffman said. "We've been third the last two years and we have everybody back from last year.

"Two years ago, we were 10th in the [PIAA] and my core group of guys -- four of them were on that team. We tied for 15th last year. If we are ever going to do it, this is the year."

Avonworth also has, arguably, the top runner in Western Pennsylvania in senior Lucas Zarzeczny, who finished first at the Red, White & Blue meet, beating Central Catholic's Scott Van Kooten.

Zarzeczny followed that with an impressive showing Saturday in the Class AA race at the Slippery Rock Invitational at Cooper's Lake Campground. He cruised to victory on the muddy 3.1-mile course in a time of 15 minutes, 54 seconds. Mercyhurst Prep's Michael Stolar, who was expected to push Zarzeczny, was second more than a minute behind.

Avonworth was second in the Class AA team standings at the Slippery Rock Invitational, five points behind General McLane. While disappointed in the runner-up spot, Hoffman figured to use it as motivation.

"They're upset that we didn't win, and that's a good thing," he said of his runners. "We'll use this to work a little harder."

While it doesn't appear there is a Class AA runner in the WPIAL who can stay with Zarzeczny, there are some solid teams who will challenge Avonworth. Quaker Valley, Mars and Greensburg Central Catholic were fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, at Slippery Rock nd figure to improve.

Mike Zakor, a junior, was the second Avonworth runner to cross the line at Cooper's Lake. He was 24th overall in 18:14 and was followed closely by teammate Jarryd Lambert, a senior, who was 28th in 18:19. Rounding out the top five for the Antelopes were senior Brian Beatty and sophomore Nick Zarzeczny. They were all in the top 45.

"I've been telling the guys that nobody is going to hand them anything," Hoffman said. "We aren't going to sneak up on anybody this year."

What's interesting is that Avonworth has just 10 runners on its boys' team and 10 on the girls' squad. The girls placed fifth at the Slippery Rock Invitational and are led by junior Hannah Hunt, who placed 18th in 21:54.

Hoffman hopes this season will lure more potential runners to join the squads next year, but points out he has to compete with soccer and girls volleyball for athletes.

"We're a small team and my job is to try and get the five fastest distance people out of the school on the teams," he said.

Having Lucas Zarzeczny as a leader is a big help. Like Jake Walker did last year for Ellwood City, Zarzeczny helps make everybody else on the squad better. Walker, who is now running for Notre Dame, won the WPIAL Class AA title and paced Ellwood City to the boys' team championship.

"We design all the workouts with Lucas in mind and then have things filter down to the other guys and girls," Hoffman said. "So far, that's worked well. Everybody has improved their times."

Zarzeczny is also very team oriented. After winning at the Red, White & Blue, he turned his attention to encouraging his teammates.

"He gets it going. He's the straw that stirs the drink," Hoffman said. "I think we're in for an exciting ride. We just need to keep everybody healthy."

Around the course

North Allegheny closed the gap on Mt. Lebanon in the girls' Class AAA race at Slippery Rock. Mt. Lebanon had 101 points, while North Allegheny was right behind with 108. North Hills was fourth with 198. ... As expected, North Allegheny blew away the field in the Class AAA boys' race, finishing with 48 points. Mt. Lebanon was a distant second at 135. North Allegheny's Justin Taylor led the charge and finished fifth in 17:20 and teammate Chase Broussard was right behind in 17:22. North Allegheny had four runners in the top 10. ... Seneca Valley's Chris Cipro ran well, placing third in the Class AAA race in 17:05. ... In boys' Class AA at Slippery Rock, Mars' Cody Kier was fifth in 17:28.