Below you will find the 2019 Pre-Season Top 25 individual performer rankings for the BCIAA. Rankings were based off of individuals 2018 XC performances at the BCIAA and PIAA District III Championships. The individual’s 2019 returning ranks from those meets are listed in columns 2 and 3. 2019 Outdoor track and field performances for distances 800m-3200m also factored into the 2019 pre-season rankings. The Central PA Runner Pre-Season Rankings are seen in column 1 and that is how the list below is sorted.
Wyomissing’s Grace Kuhn is the top returner in the BCIAA. She was runner-up to Andrea Miller in 2018 and will look win the title in 2019. She set an outdoor 3200m PR this spring running 11:27. Kuhn will also have her eyes set on finishing within the top 5 at the District III AA meet and on earning her first state medal. She is the #4 returner in District III and #24 returner at the state level in AA competition.
Wilson will have 5 and potentially even 6 girls racing for top 10 finishes this season. Of the returning runners from last season, sophomore Ella Kahn is the top returner. In fact, she is the #2 returner in BCIAA behind Kuhn. She had a strong freshman track and field season and qualified for Districts in the 800m run. Teammates Grace Mangold (so), Emily Velez (sr), and Talia Spillerman (sr) all have Top-5 potential. Velez has the fastest 5k time of the trio. Mangold’s 3200m time was the 2nd fastest amongst freshman in the BCIAA (to teammate Emily Foight who did not run XC in 2018). Spillerman’s 5:15 1600m is the fastest amongst returning county XC athletes. A welcomed newcomer to the Bulldogs in 2019 will be sophomore Caryn Rippey. Rippey was the 2017 Berks County Jr High XC runner-up, but played water polo as a freshman last season. She’s run 2:19 for 800m and was the top ranked freshman in the district in that event. Look for Rippey to fight for a top 10 finish at BCIAAs as well.
*Wilson has 3 other great distance runners unlikely to compete in XC this season. Reagan and Bryn Underwood both medaled at Outdoor states in the 3200m. Reagan finished 2nd overall and was one of three athletes to break the state meet record. Both Underwood’s are division 1 field hockey recruits. Sophomore Emily Foight ran 11:31 for 3200m this past spring as a freshman, but did not run XC.
As impressive as Wilson’s roster is, the same can be said for the Exeter Eagles. They too could put 5 runners in the top 10-15 at BCIAAs. Expect some awesome battles between these two squads throughout the season. Kat Kerchner (sr), Helene Shevick (so), and Sarah Smith (sr) could all place in the top 5 at BCIAAs. Kerchner set 800 and 3200m PRs this spring. Her 3200m time is the 2nd fastest amongst XC returnees. Shevick had a very solid freshman track season running 2:28/5:39/12:27 for 800/1600/3200. Sarah Smith also had a very good outdoor track season setting new PRs in the 800-3200m runs, hitting 2:27/5:33/11:53. Sophomore’s Kira Marr and Corinne Scherer add additional top-15 potential for Exeter. Both Wilson and Exeter should be ranked in the top 10 in the state amongst PIAA AAA schools to start the season.
Governor Mifflin’s Krystalyn Super (sr) is the #4 returner from last season. While she doesn’t have the same outdoor track performances as some others within the top 10, she seems to get stronger as the distance increases. She is the #20 returner for the Dstrict III AAA meet and is in individual state qualifying position. Vivian Kase (sr) from Daniel Boone was slowed towards the end of the XC season, but bounced back to PR at 3200m this spring, running 11:53. Look for her to significantly improve upon her 2018 finish.
While not ranked above, here is a look at a few of the top newcomers to the BCIAA in 2019:
Sydney Werner (Conrad Weiser), Laura Posh (Twin Valley), and Sarah Miller (Twin Valley) will be a few of the top freshman this season. Werner dominated the PTXC10 MS Invite and won the Berks County Jr High XC Championship. Laura Posh and Sarah Miller were 3rd and 5th at the county championship meet, but were the #2 and #3 8th graders in that race (#2 and #4 were 7th graders). Miller will likely be an even bigger factor during the 2020 track and field season. She ran a 2:19 800m and 59-point for 400m as an 8th grader.
Should be a great XC season this year in the BCIAA, led by two of the top 10 teams in the state (Wilson and Exeter) . Best luck to all athletes and coaches!