October 14, 2018
Team Race
Wyomissing and Twin Valley went 1-2 at the Berks County Championship last year and will likely battle each other again this year. Also challenging for a podium spot in 2018 will be the squads from Exeter, Wilson, and Governor Mifflin.
Twin Valley has had the most invitational success so far in 2018. On September 22, they finished 2nd to Council Rock South at the Council Rock Invitational. 2 weeks later they reversed their fortune winning the William Tennent Invitational over Council Rock South. They have 6 runners who have gone sub 17 min so far this season, led by sr Dylan Servis who has run 16:14. They could put as many as 6 runners inside the top 10 and are the heavy favorites to win the County Championship. Twin Valley is the number 1 ranked team in District III AAA.
Wyomissing is the number 1 ranked team in District III AA. Their top performance at an invitational occurred on September 29 when they finished 5th in the “White” Race at the Paul Short Invitational. Wyomissing has had 2 runners go sub 17 min so far this year and are led by jr Ben Kuhn. Kuhn has run 16:31 for 5k. The Spartans could put 4 runners inside the top 20, but will be challenged to compete with the likes of Twin Valley up front.
Exeter has great team depth. All 7 of their top runners have season best times that could place them in the top 40. They are led by jr Jason Fisher who has run 17:02 and fr Alex Holbrook who has run 17:07. Holbrook has been the County’s top freshman so far in 2018. The Eagles will be looking for some season bests at Kutztown as many of their best times come from an early season invitational. Look for Exeter to compete with Wyomissing for 2nd place.
Governor Mifflin has one of the favorites to win the individual title in sr Alexander Ermold. Ermold ran 16:15 early in the season at PTXC10 on September 8 and will look to improve upon that time when he returns to the Kutztown course on Tuesday. Wilson jr Christian Gagliardi will lead the Bulldogs. He has a season best time of 16:40. Kutztown is the number 3 ranked team in District III A, but lacks the team depth to compete against the larger schools within the county.
Team Race Predictions:
1. Twin Valley
2. Wyomissing
3. Exeter
4. Wilson
5. Governor Mifflin
Individual Race
Top 10 based on Season Best times:
1. Dylan Servis, sr Twin Valley 16:14
2. Alexander Ermold, sr Governor Mifflin 16:15
3. Ben Kuhn, jr Wyomissing 16:31
4. Griffin Schlegel, jr Twin Valley 16:38
5. Christian Gagliardi, jr Wilson 16:40
6. Noah Taylor, so Twin Valley 16:41
7. Jonathan Thrush, jr Muhlenberg 16:42
8. Nick Manidis, jr Twin Valley 16:47
9. Alex Pingitore, jr Daniel Boone 16:47
10. Trey Hill, sr Twin Valley 16:49
Servis, Ermold, and Kuhn are the top 3 returners from last year’s race. Look for them to do battle again this year for the individual title.