BARNESVILLE - Brendan Shearn arrived at Tuscarora State Park feeling a little sad.
After all, Wednesday's race was the North Schuylkill senior's last Schuylkill League Cross Country Championships - his last league meet on Tuscarora's hilly, 3.0-mile course.
In other words, it was the end of an era.
An hour or so later, Shearn left Tuscarora feeling on top of the world.
As expected, Shearn won his third straight league championship. What wasn't expected was the time: 15 minutes, 17 seconds - a course record.
Pottsville's Paige Stoner won the girls' race in 18:21 and was followed by North Schuylkill's Abby Warner in 20:22.
Not only did Shearn break the course record - he crushed it by 12 seconds. Isaac Dunkelberger, a four-time league champ and state gold medalist from Tamaqua, set the 3.0-mile Tuscarora record of 15:29 in 2005.
"I've had a great four years at this course," Shearn said. "It's sad knowing that it's over, but to go out the way I did, I couldn't ask for anything else."
Neither could the Pottsville boys, who held off Jim Thorpe 40-53 to capture their third straight Schuylkill League championship. The Tide equalled the 2000-02 Pottsville squads that also three-peated.
For Shearn, Wednesday's race was the culmination of one of the best Schuylkill League careers in history. Winning a third straight league title is difficult enough, but shattering the league record only solidifies his place among the all-time greats.
After running 15:39 last season, Shearn knew he had a chance to challenge Dunkelberger's standard.
"Yes, definitely. Isaac was a great runner,'' Shearn said. "He won states, he was always up there contending, and to break his record is a huge accomplishment for me. I'm ecstatic.
"He's a really nice person, and I was just very happy to get that.''
On a dry but slightly warm day, Shearn went out fast to break clear, then ran pretty conservatively over the first part of the race. He didn't burn himself out on the first big hill, setting a consistent pace but saving energy in reserve.
"That hill's always tough, no matter what you do,'' Shearn said. "I knew pushing there wasn't really going to make that big of a difference.
"As soon as I hit the top of the hill and you go on the downhill loop trail,'' he added, "that's where I took off and tried to hammer that as fast as I could.''
People shouted out split times during various points in the race, and Shearn said he heard 13:08 with about 800 meters to go. His time was 14:30 with just under 400 meters left.
"So I knew I'd really have to push, but I definitely had a shot at it,'' Shearn said. "Off the hill, I came up to the top and just hammered all the way to the finish.''
Now it's on to the District 11 Cross Country Championships, set for Oct. 24 at Bethlehem Municipal Golf Course. The PIAA Championships will be Nov. 3 in Hershey.
Shearn enters districts as a two-time defending champion and the reigning PIAA Class AA state champion.
"I'm definitely starting to come into my peak,'' he said. "The rest of the season I was running on strength. Now I'm starting to feel the speed come back into my legs, and I'm starting to get that kick toward the end when I can really turn (my legs) over.
"I know when it's time, I should be really ready for it.''
Schuylkill League
Cross Country Championships
At Tuscarora State Park
Course length: 3.0 miles
Wednesday's results
Varsity girls
80 finishers
Team scores: 1. Pottsville (P) 30, 2. Blue Mountain (BM) 50, 3. North Schuylkill (NS) 92, 4. Minersville (Min) 109, 5. Tamaqua (T) 140, 6. Mahanoy Area (MA) 160, 7. Jim Thorpe (JT) 164, 8. Shenandoah Valley (SV) 213, 9. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 243, 10. Weatherly (W) 273, 11. Pine Grove (PG) 297
Did not score: Col-Mon Vo-Tech (CMVT), Marian (Mar), Nativity (N)
Individual results: 1. Paige Stoner (P) 18:21, 2. Abby Warner (NS) 20:22, 3. Gabrielle DiRenzo (P) 20:36, 4. Sarah Brooks (BM) 20:37, 5. Bailey Nagle (P) 20:37, 6. Cassidy Mason (Min) 21:02, 7. Courtney Capper (JT) 21:16, 8. Courtney Dukmen (BM) 21:19, 9. Jessie Setlock (BM) 21:19, 10. Grace Casey (P) 21:19, 11. Shamyra Watkins (P) 21:32, 12. Vanessa Zimmerman (NS) 21:37, 13. Laura Hunyara (Min) 21:38, 14. Shannon Henninger (BM) 21:42, 15. Caroline Rickard (BM) 21:53, 16. Chelsea Frantz (T) 21:58, 17. Emily Daniels (SH) 22:01, 18. Catherine Condly (JT) 22:06, 19. Maria Streisel (T) 22:08, 20. Maura Gownley (NS) 22:10, 21. Jessica Kelley (BM) 22:20, 22. Brooke Ennis (NS) 22:23, 23. Amanda Conshue (Min) 22:28, 24. Jackie Boran (BM) 22:42, 25. Chelsea Slappey (SH) 22:47.
Varsity boys
93 finishers
Team scores: 1. Pottsville (P) 40, 2. Jim Thorpe (JT) 53, 3. North Schuylkill (NS) 81, 4. Blue Mountain (BM) 107, 5. Minersville (Min) 166, 6. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 171, 7. Mahanoy Area (MA) 184, 8. Tamaqua (T) 197, 9. Col-Mon Vo-Tech (CMVT) 227, 10. Marian (Mar) 258, 11. Weatherly (W) 313, 12. Nativity (N) 343, 13. Pine Grove (PG) 346, 14. Shenandoah Valley (SV) 362
Individual results: 1. Brendan Shearn (NS) 15:17, 2. Codi Wood (P) 16:48, 3. Jake Plachko (P) 16:51, 4. Christian Fields (JT) 16:58, 5. Devin Mashack (NS) 17:15, 6. Jonathan Condly (JT) 17:34, 7. Dominick DiRenzo (P) 17:40, 8. Wade Joline (CMVT) 17:50, 9. Derek Mosteller (BM) 17:50, 10. Jacob Saxon (JT) 17:58, 11. Wesley Yutko (Min) 18:00, 12. Edward Hossler (P) 18:05, 13. Phil Marzen (Mar) 18:11, 14. Brad Williams (BM) 18:12, 15. Zachary Nace (JT) 18:16, 16. Ryan Scanlan (P) 18:20, 17. Stuart Blair (BM) 18:24, 18. Jake McGeehan (JT) 18:30, 19. Evan Brouse (NS) 18:37, 20. Alex Weisbeck (NS) 18:38, 21. William Fazio (MA) 18:40, 22. Robert Taylor (JT) 18:40, 23. Justin Welkie (P) 18:42, 24. Dustin Sabol (T) 18:49, 25. Sam Brennan (SH) 18:51.