After what should be an exciting morning and early afternoon of collegiate races, the high schoolers will get their crack at the Lehigh XC course. There are 2 divisions for both girls and boys, the “Brown” and “White” Divisions.
Course Tour from PAMilesplit
https://pa.milesplit.com/videos/444130/lehigh-university-5k-course-tour
Schedule
Race Assignments
“Brown” Division (3:30PM)
Local Ranked Teams (as per PA Milesplit and CPAR):
PA #2 & D3AAA #1 – Hempfield
D3AAA #3 – Exeter Township
D3AAA #5 – Manheim Township
D3AAA #6 – Hershey
D3AAA #10 – Mechanicsburg
D3AA #4 – Kennard-Dale
Also in this race:
PA #4 – Downingtown East
PA #9 – Lewisburg
Team Race –
The boy’s Brown Race features a really nice compliment of top teams from District 3. This will be the first time we have seen Hempfield, Exeter Township, Manheim Township, and Hershey on the course at the same time together. Neither Manheim Township nor Hershey were at full strength last weekend, so I am hopeful they will be fully loaded on Friday. This will be a good opportunity to see how Exeter Township, Manheim Township, and Hershey match up with Hempfield as we creep closer to the post-season. Downingtown East, ranked 4th in the state, finished 2nd to state #1 North Allegheny at PIAA Foundation and will likely be Hempfield’s biggest test at Paul Short. Hempfield lost to state #3 ranked LaSalle College at Carlisle, but did beat state #7 ranked Carlisle.
Projected Top Individuals from Central PA (District 3 and 6) –
Aidan Hodge (jr, Hempfield) – Finished only 13-seconds back of CJ Singleton (sr, Butler & Notre Dame commit) at the Carlisle Invitational last weekend when he ran 15:40 to finish 5th. The only other competitors to run faster were from out of state. Singleton is widely regarded as the #1 runner in the state in class AAA. Hodge appears to be in great shape and the argument could be made for him being the #2 guy in class AAA at the moment.
Tyler Stevens (sr, Manheim Township) – Was pushing the pace at PIAA Foundation, in the lead, until a rolled ankle ended his day. This was a re-injury to a sprained ankle he suffered 2 weeks ago. Stevens ran 16:27 at Riverside back on August 27th. He then ran 15:56 at Hempfield on Sept 22nd. If he runs, expect to see him out front with the leaders.
Alex Holbrook (sr, Exeter Township) – Has looked great in early season invitationals, placing 6th at PTXC 12.2 on Sept. 11th in 16:06 and then 3rd at Ben Bloser the week after, crossing the finish line in 16:14. He comes into this race on rested legs, so expect a big performance out of him. This will undoubtedly be his first sub-16 minute effort on the season (and it won’t likely be his last).
Garrett Quinan (sr, Kennard-Dale) – Quinan finished 3rd at Ben Bloser in the small school division, running 16:25. Followed that effort up with a solid 16:49 at PIAA Foundation in the class AA race which was good for 4th. He could be a top 5 performer in the state (class AA) this season.
Dillan O’Shell (sr, Hershey) – O’Shell is coming off a 23rd place finish from the Carlisle Invitational when he ran 16:14. He also placed 14th earlier in the year at PTXC 12.2 running 16:30. He could go sub-16 on Friday.
Others to watch: Joe Fahrney (jr, Hempfield), Dale Winand (sr, Hempfield), Luke Hinegardner (sr, Cedar Crest), Jack Sahaida (jr, Exeter Township), Zack Zerbe (so, Governor Mifflin), Logan Strawser (jr, Juniata), Jay Khamar (jr, Wilson), Dylan Cunningham (jr, Kennard-Dale)
Other top competitors in the field –
Ryan Pajak (so, Ringgold) – Has won all 3 invitationals he has raced in this season, most recently winning the class AA division at PIAA Foundation in 16:21, the fastest time of the day. Ran 15:44 at the Red, White, and Blue Classic 3 weeks ago.
Jacob Hess (sr, Lewisburg) – Placed 3rd at PTXC 12.2 running an impressive 15:57. Did not run last weekend at the Carlisle Invitational. Hess finished 2nd to Gary Martin at last year’s class AA State XC Championships.
Andrew McGonigle (jr, Owen J. Roberts) – Finished 2nd at this past weekend’s PIAA Foundation (class AAA) in 16:33.
Brendan Flynn (sr, Downingtown East) – Finished 3rd at this past weekend’s PIAA Foundation (class AAA) in 16:35.
Caiden Leen (sr, Downingtown East) – Finished 4th at this past weekend’s PIAA Foundation (class AAA) in 16:35.
“White” Division (4:30PM)
Local Ranked Teams (as per PA Milesplit and CPAR):
D3AAA #11 – South Western
D3AA #8 – Wyomissing
D3A #4 – Kutztown
Team Race –
Look for South Western to make a run at a team top 5 finish on Friday. I will be interested to see merged race results to see how they stack up against the other District 3 class AAA schools competing in the “Brown” division. This will be our first look at Wyomissing in an invitational setting which should give us an idea of whether or not they can challenge for a top 3 spot at districts later this fall.
Projected Top Individuals from Central PA (District 3 and 6) –
Luke Seymour (sr, Schuylkill Valley) – Luke appears to be the top area athlete entered in this division. He is off to a strong senior XC campaign after turning in one of the best middle-distance performances in the state last spring. His XC endurance appears to be the best it has been and I would expect him to challenge for a top 5 finish. He placed 5th in class AA at PIAA Foundation running 17:00.
Shernel Singh (jr, South Western) – Finished 3rd at the Run for Chocolate back on August 31st in 17:05. He and his brother Shernan appeared to be doing a workout together at Ben Bloser, looking relaxed and smiling while running 17:26. Expect a fast time from them both on Friday.
Shernan Singh (jr, South Western) – Finished 4th at Run For Chocolate with his time of 17:19. See above.
Michael Singley (sr, Susquenita) – Singley is coming off of a 16:46 performance at the Carlisle Invitational. He placed 10th in the small school division at Ben Bloser running 17:06 2 weeks ago.
Others to watch: Paul Monsour (jr, Wyomissing), Jack Kornfiend (sr, Kutztown), Evan Freil (sr, South Western), Blake Hettinger (jr, Wyomissing)
Other top competitors in the field –
Gary Martin (sr, Archbishop Wood) – The UVA commit is one of the nation’s top high school distance runners. Could he break the 15-minute barrier? All eyes will be on him and the clock as he toes the line on Friday afternoon.
Brian DiCola (jr, Hatboro Horsham) – DiCola and Hempfield’s Aidan Hodge may be the top two juniors in the state. DiCola ran 15:52 at PTXC 12.2 to place 2nd overall. He won the Council Rock Invitational last weekend in 16:02.
Anthony Gargani (sr, Lansdale Catholic) – Was 19th at last weekend’s Carlisle Invitational running 16:09.