Two Youngsville runners made progress in cementing their legacies for the Eagles cross country team while one Warren Dragon brought to a close one of the most storied cross country careers in county history.

Youngsville's Abel Robinault and Devon Gruver represented the Eagles while Warren's Katie Spade made her fourth and final appearence in the PIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday in Hershey.

Gruver was 122nd with a run of 21:47 in the girls Class AA run while Robinault was 120th in the boys Class AA event with a run of 18:17. A senior, Spade was 200th in the 285-runner field with a finishing time of 21:33.

"While neither runner reached their objective (finishing top 50), they both executed pretty solid races," said Youngsville coach Ray Bennett of his pair of runners. "The states course is tough and very unique in its composition. They both started well, they both moved up some from the beginning to the end of the race and they looked solid at every place I could see them on the course."

Gruver attended the 2008 event as a spectator and claimed a 13th-place finish at the District 10 meet a week ago to earn her first trip as a competitor to largest stage in Pennsylvania cross country. 2009 was Robinault's second trip to Hershey and the improvement is not difficult to see.

Robinault shaved over a minute off his 2008 time and improved 119 positions - literally half the field - from his 239th-place showing a year ago.

"Although they both put pressure on themselves to perform well, they've found within themselves the ability to handle the pressure of a big race," added Bennett. "This has taken some time and work for both of them, but I'd say they've matured to the point where their next trip to Hershey takes on a whole different meaning."

Spade had a difficult final day on the course for the Dragons, getting boxed in early and not getting to fully run the race the way she had hoped.

"It was just tough circumstances where she got boxed in and never fully had a chance to recover," said Warren coach Justin Norris. "That being said, when it was all over, she was happy to have a chance to sit back and reflect on the amazing job she did in making it to this level in all four years she competed."

In her career, Spade won a pair of District 10 championships and never finished worse than third in the annual D-10 meet at Sharon's Buhl Park. She finished a career-best 84th in Hershey in 2007 and was also a four-time region all-star, including three appearences on the first team.

"You can't replace someone like Katie," added Norris. "Not only does she have tremendous talent, but is also a natural leader who does a great job of pushing her teammates and helping to keep the team together. She is certainly something special."