BETHLEHEM - It was four years in the making.

On Tuesday, Pleasant Valley High School senior Seth Slavin won the East Penn Conference Boys' Cross Country Championships Meet at Bethlehem Municipal Golf Course because, as he explained it, he and his teammates raced smart."I heard my coach yelling, 'You got this. This wasn't one year, or two years, or three years. It was four years you've been dreaming of this,'" Slavin said.Pleasant Valley cross country coach George Fair could not have been more proud of Slavin, Gabe Sullivan, Billy Milburn and Lizz Eberhardt, all of whom medaled."Without a doubt, to set goals and not make excuses, they found a reason to push today," said Fair. "Seth is very goal-oriented. It started his freshman year right through the summer before senior year. It's all him."At the finish, it appeared Slavin, whose time was 16:27.94, could have run another three miles."After the first mile, I was hot, and I got up the hills, but I was breathing heavily," Slavin said. "I could hear the other coaches yelling, so I knew where I was the entire race, and I didn't feel nearly as tired at the end."Sullivan placed sixth with a time of 17:29.54, while Milburn placed 12th in 17:53.26.In the girls' race, Eberhardt placed fifth in 20:00.48."The wind was probably my biggest opponent today, and when I was racing, I told myself, you can push yourself harder and feel better in the end, or you can drop back and give in to the moment and ultimately have a worse race," Eberhardt said.Eberhardt chose the former, defeating the hills by looking past them, and kicking hard at the finish to pass an opponent."It's really rewarding working with these kids for four years," said Fair. "For all of them, the opportunity to go to states is a matter of being a week away."MOUNTIES MOUNT A SWEEP ... In girls' team results, Stroudsburg took first place with 31 points, followed by Easton with 96 points. Pleasant Valley's girls were 10th with 226 points.Stroudsburg's girls had a 1-2-3 finish, led by Allana Powlette with a time of 19:22.47, followed by Amy Conboy and Michelle Joyce.BAD SPILL ... Liberty senior Raisa Kochmaruk, who led the entire girls' race, slowed and stumbled as she approached the finish and could not complete the race.PACK OF TROJANS ... In boys' team results, Parkland took first place with 32 points, followed by Easton with 74 points. Stroudsburg was third with 111 points, and Pleasant Valley placed fourth with 126 points. Parkland's boys had four runners in the top 10. Hailemichael Geiger placed second in 17:01.62, Sam Morgan came in third in 17:14.08, Nicholas Bower was fifth in 17:27.93, and Riley Williamson placed eighth in 17:38.84.EPC CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS(at Bethlehem Municipal Golf Course)Boys1. Seth Slavin (Pleasant Valley) 16:27.94, 2. Hailmichael Geiger (Parkland) 17:01.62, 3. Sam Morgan (Parkland) 17:14.08, 4. Joseph Ozgar (Easton) 17:25.51, 5. Nicholas Bower (Parkland) 17:27.93, 6. Gabe Sullivan (Pleasant Valley) 17:29.54, 7. Del Vierling (Emmaus) 17:37.03, 8. Riley Williamson (Parkland) 17:38.84, 9. Teddy Mostellar (Stroudsburg) 17:40.21, 10. Matt Bodon (Stroudsburg) 17:45.07.Other Pleasant Valley finishers12. Billy Milburn 17:53.26, 51. Seth Kron 19:20.92, 65. Angelo Mesce 19:36.48, 77. Leo Hoppe 19:48.31, 78. Louis DiFusco 19:49.67, 79. Luke Valdevit 19:50.66.Girls1. Allana Powlette (Stroudsburg) 19:22.47, 2. Amy Conboy (Stroudsburg) 19:49.03, 3. Michelle Joyce (Stroudsburg) 19:58.92, 4. Emily Deschler (Central Catholic) 20:00.48, 5. Lizz Eberhardt (Pleasant Valley) 20:09.62, 6. Alysse Danyi (Nazareth) 20:09.94, 7. Abby Dalton (Emmaus) 20:29.63, 8. Lyndsey Gallagher (Northampton) 20:38.55, 9. Olivia George (Easton) 20:46.59, 10. Rowan Pepe (Bethlehem Catholic) 20:51.17.Other Pleasant Valley finishers53. Juliana Lopez 23:24.30, 62. Tierney Belanger 23:42.30, 63. Savannah Bauman 23:42.95, 65. Katya Slozina 23:48.17, 108. Sarah Larkin 26:38.85, 113. Samantha Segeda 27:35.88.