Top 10 Meets to Watch for!

So as the season approaches, I am really excited to see how a lot of things go. So I took a little time in my brief period in between classes to construct a little top 10 list in order of when the meets occur. Here we go:

John Sharp Viking Invitational 8/30

The Viking Course has changed this year to finally be 3.1 miles, but it’s basically a road race. Unless the race is smaller than in past year it seems as though not all the teams have signed up. From the list we’ve get to see some early team talent like Penncrest and CRNorth who both will be looking to make top 5 at districts later this season. Even though they’re not on the list, I’m hoping to see Pennsbury and Holy Ghost Prep at the meet as well, if that were the case then this race will be big. Up top we’ll have Ross Wilson along with the Kazanjian twins hoping to help their teams win this early invite; this should be Jake Brophy’s first meet and we’ll get to see where the young man is at. Hopefully we’ll see Webb along with Kardish from PB and HGP respectively in that front pack. It’s early in the season and CRNorth usually gets out to a slow start due to the tough three weeks of camp that they have leading up to the meet, but they did have 5 guys break 18 at their Friends Alumni Race which is quite hilly. Another two guys to watch for are the 800m standouts Kyle Francis from Bensalem and Joey Logue of Pennridge who placed 15^th and 18^th respectively last season. They may get out to slow starts, but we’ll see where they’re at, I’d put them both in the top 10 this season.

Red White and Blue Invitational 9/7

WPIAL guns will be brought out this year once again at the RWB Invite. Last season we got to see a taste of NA’s spread along with some great performances out front and it looks to be the same again this year. NA should have no issue winning this meet and we’ll get to see just how well they can do, I think they can score under 60 points this time around (76 last season). We’ll also get to find out where teams like Fox Chapel, Hampton, and Moon Area are this season. Last year Colin Martin was beat by his brother by 45 seconds, don’t expect to see that again. I’m excited to see how low the Martin twins and Kennedy can push themselves after a sub 15:30 effort from Brent last season, I bet all of them break 15:15 if the conditions are right. The NA boys look to follow up the trio putting at least 3 within the top 7-10 spots in the race. Aaron Benka and Nathan Sloan are two other names to look out for in the top 10.

PTXC 9/7

PTXC brought us some awesome results last year with some of the state’s best and this year it has attracted a similar top notch crowd. There should be a strong front pack consisting of the LD combo of Groh and Nissley who will look to place in the top 5 and help LD to a really good invite win. We’ve also got Colin Abert, Dominic Deluca, Sam Webb, and Aiden Demko to name a few. Lower Dauphin won the team title last season and I don’t see why they can’t grab it again. This was arguably Groh’s top race of the XC season and he will look to repeat the performance. Hershey should be a solid team again this season with a few low sticks. I’ll be looking for big team improvements from Altoona Area (12^th last season) and Dallas (8^th) both of which are developing teams that have a good shot at making states and should be followed closely. There are also some good freshman to watch out for in Levi Upham from NEB who’s hoping to carry on the mantel of Sam Williams and Curt Jewett along with Brian Delany from Manheim Township, a team who was once a dominant force in PA.

Briarwood Invitational 9/15

Once again Briarwood seems to be one of the top invites of the year. Right now Henderson is not on the list, but I’d be shocked if they didn’t attend the meet once again this season. Tony Russell had a very tight battle last season and I think he’ll have one again this year with Ross Wilson of CRNorth, Kevin James of O’Hara and his teammate Reiny Barchet. Not only will these boys be pushing the pace up front, and I think we see at least sub 15:30, but their teams will be pushing each other as well. Last season O’Hara got the best of Henderson, but I think it’ll be much closer this season with both teams around 70 to 80 points. CRNorth looks to prove they can be a top 5 team in the state once again after losing two big seniors in Zingarini and Emery. I’m also looking forward to seeing where North Penn, DTE, and La Salle stack up. Other guys to look for are Ben Szuhaj of Penn Charter and Billy Caldwell of DTE.

Pre States 9/22

This meet should be the class invitational of the year as many top teams will be making the trip out to the states course. Right now NA isn’t on the list to go, but I think they’ll make the trip again this season. We’ve got some great individual talent in the AAA meet including guys like Individuals: Aaron Gebhart (New Oxford), Kyle Francis (Bensalem) Jake Brophy (CBE), Jeff Groh and Cole Nissley (LD), Billy Dougherty (Mt Leb), Sam Webb (PB), Kevin James and Jim Belfatto (O’Hara), Louco and McGoey (NA), and Will Cather (SC). I think Kevin James wins this race over Sam Webb and Jake Brophy. Then in a second pack about 10 seconds back will be Groh, Nissley, Gebhart, Cather and Belfatto along with a couple NA boys. O’Hara seems to do well in the early going, but I think this season they’ll be figuring out more about their team and NA takes the title by less than 5 points. Behind that LD will look to prove their worth finishing about 30 points behind those two teams. In 4^th I think we’ll see State College who will be attending this meet for the first time. They’ve got a lot to prove and I think they challenge LD for that 3^rd spot. Methacton finished 6^th last season and have a lot of returners despite their lack of a front runner. I’ll also be watching to see how much Moon Area and Abington Heights improve from last season as both teams have over 5 returning varsity athletes. Pennsbury should be another team to watch for; I’m interested to see how their varsity plays out this season.

In AA you’ve got Dallas with a great front runner in Dominic Deluca who will be challenged by young guns Aaron Benka (GC) and Dominic Hockenburry (Lake Lehman). Pottsgrove have 4 of 7 returning from varsity and will be looking to maintain their title, but will have to hold off 2^nd place finishers from last year Scranton Prep who have 5 Jr’s looking to do big things along with Dallas who have the low stick in Deluca who should win this race.

Carlisle 9/28

We saw some interesting appearances at Carlisle last season and the competition will be even better this season. After looking at the line-up I think this will actually be the best invitational in PA al year.

West Chester Henderson went last season, and Tony Russell had a bad race placing 8^th, I don’t expect that to happen again. This race we’ll get to see Russell, Barchet, Kevin James, Kennedy, and Zach Brehm go head to head with Kyle Levermore (NJ/Don Bosco) who ran 8:55 for 3200 last season. This should be a fantastic race up front. Kennedy was 2^nd last season, Russell looks for redemption after placing 8^th, Barchet was 3^rd, and Brehm looks to win at home. Cardinal O’Hara usually goes to the Great American Festival in NC, but the competition at this race last season may have convinced them to go here instead. The winner last year, Vinny Todaro, went on to win states, let’s see if that trend repeats.

 If WCH runs half of their varsity like they did last season they should easily get the victory unless O’Hara decides to come, in which case we’ll see a rematch from Briarwood. DTW and State College will be making the trip as well to mix it up for the championship. I think SC will do quite well in this meet and I think they beat out Don Bosco for 3^rd place.

 Also look out for Will Cather (#34) Aaron Lauer (Red Lion #44), Patrick Reilly (#26), Christian Kardish (#20), Brady Wilt (#40) along with any guys WCH decided to run in the varsity race. Altoona Area looks to improve on their placement from last season as well.

Paul Short 10/5 (the # are where they are on my top 50 list)

Last season this meet (Gold) had some great competitors and many will be back this season. At the front of this race we’ll get to see some of the state’s top juniors: Colin Abert (12th), Sam Ritz (14^th), Aiden Demko (23^rd), Eric Diestelow (33^rd). Up front we’ll also see Matt Willig (19^th) Christian Kardish (20^th), Chris Cummings (35^th). This race if played out right could see a sub 15:30 result which would be awesome to see. There are some big AA teams like Scranton Prep, HGP, and Pottstown who will all be trying to prove their prowess on the AA scene. I’m excited to see how improved Easton Area is from last season as they have many returners and are looking to be the D11 champions. WCE won this meet last season and they should have 3 low sticks. This will give a great indication on who their 4-7 guys are and a preview on whether or not they’ll be able to hang at districts for a spot to states. They’ll be competing for the top spot with GV who placed 7^th last season but came on well by the end of the season. They’re a big team to watch out for as the season progresses.

For the Blue Division we will get to see Ben Szuhaj (22^nd) and the Penn Charter Squad, who I hope will move up to the Gold Division this season. If not he’ll be challenged by Kyle Francis (38^th) and the up and coming Kyle Gonoude.

I’ll be at this race to provide in depth analysis afterwards. Look to see me there if you’re attending!

Pittsburg Central Catholic Invitational (10/5)

Last season we saw a 14 second spread from NA and this race will be another good test to see just how fit this team is getting close to the state meet. Fox Chapel was their last season and Colin Martin looks to improve on this 8^th place finish from last season. I think he and his brother go 1-2 while leading a group of NA guys to the finish. Also look out to see Nathan Sloan (#39) mixing it up with the top group as well. This isn’t a huge meet, but it’ll help tell us how improved all of the guys in the WPIAL are.

Salesianum Invitational 10/5

This meet is in Delaware, but some top tier PA teams show up every year. Last season Jack Macauley showed just how much of a threat he would be at the state meet here. This season we’ll get to see HGP lead by Christian Kardish who is looking to mix it up at the top of the AA scene and should be rounding into shape. Penncrest will be attending as well who have the Kazanjian twins both of whom are looking to medal at AAA states this season. Great Valley will also be attending putting Matt Willig in that top pack. We’ll get to see just where GV is as a squad going into Ches-Monts along with teams like NP who are looking to regain their XC prowess after looking some top guys these past few years. I personally think Great Valley can win this meet, they were 3^rd a year ago and have 5 returners on their varsity squad. Teams that are in PennTrack’s top 10 like Conestoga and William Tennent will also be attending and we’ll get to see where they match up against the top tier District 1 teams like GV.

Manhattan Invitational 10/12

I like discussing meets with a lot of PA teams, but the Manhattan Invite will be great to watch as a fan of running, as the top 2 teams in the nation will meet for the first time in a preview of NXN North East Regionals between #1CBA and #2 WCH. Tony Russell took 4^th in the meet last year and Reiny was 31^st, they were beat 94 to 200, but this season I think they’ll be about 75 points behind. That may seem like a worrisome score, but Coach Kelly knows exactly how to get his guys peaking at the right time and I think they’ll really challenge CBA come Regionals and Nationals. But it should be an awesome race overall. 

That's all for now Folks!

--ForrestCRN