​HONESDALE — A huge crowd packed the Daniel J. O’Neill Sports Complex on the first full day of fall to cheer the Hornets as they hosted their lone cross country cluster meet of the season.Honesdale put out the proverbial welcome mat for Susquehanna, Mountain View and Forest City in head-to-head Lackawanna League action and gave local fans plenty to cheer about.The girls swept all three contests, defeating the Sabers (24-37), Eagles (24-35) and Foresters (15-50). With these wins, they improved their record to 7-2 on the season.The boys put up a valiant struggle, but dropped two of three. They downed Forest City by a score of 25-30, but lost to Mountain View (24-34) and Susquehanna (24-31).More: Sophomore Kaitlyn Kloss leads Western Wayne varsity cross country teamAlso by Kevin Edwards: Hundreds turn out to celebrate 40 years of the Perkins Race“There’s no place like home,” longtime head coach Lindsey Pender said. “Today’s challenge was to climb the mountain and enjoy the view. We literally climb mountains on this course, but it also means so much more.”Next up for Honesdale is a crucial cluster meet at Wallenpaupack Area on Sept. 29. Junior high action gets underway at 4:45 p.m. followed by the varsity race at 5:15 p.m.Home sweet homeHonesdale’s girls varsity team is right in the thick of the championship chase this year thanks to a blue-collar work ethic and unwavering dedication.Abby Kilker led the charge for the Hornets during their home meet. The freshman phenom rocketed to a third place overall finish, trailing only Grace Holderith of Delaware Valley (19:54) and Susquehanna’s Josey Kelly (21:20).Kilker’s time of 21:21 on the 3.1-mile course represents a new school record.“Abby is quiet, hard-working, disciplined and dedicated,” Pender said. “And the great thing is that she’s just a freshman, so the best is yet to come.”Rounding out the Hornets’ front five were Ardis Daskovsky (25:05), Zeta Bunnell (25:20), Kailee Mahoney (26:20) and Lillian LaTournous (27:03). Also cracking the Top 25 were Olivia Dutton (27:31), Maddie Hamilton (28:19) and Iyana Mahoney (28:42).On the boys’ side of the ledger, Honesdale was paced by Joel Flynn. The senior posted a solid time of 20:10 on his way to a 12th place finish in the overall standings.“Joel is a true senior leader,” Pender said. “He definitely sets an excellent example for his teammates. Joel is a kid that I just love to coach and to work with.”Also claiming top spots for the Hornets in front of the big home crowd were Tyler Garing (21:10), Isaac Flynn (22:17), Connor Wormuth (22:28) and Kase Krupa (27:15).Susquehanna standout Evan Beamer set a new course record with a blistering time of 17:57 to finish first. He was followed home by Paupack’s Chase Predmore (18:48), Benson Kizer (18:55) and Dan Salinas (19:19).Looking aheadAfter next week’s big meet at Paupack, Honesdale will face several more tests in the regular season and beyond.The Hornets travel to D