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Projected top 5 Teams and top 10 Individuals
Here is a look at our top 5 team and top 10 individual projections. We also include projected finishes for Central PA Teams. Central PA state medal contenders are outlined below.
Team Top 5 Projections
North Allegheny is the heavy favorite but as many as 6 or 7 teams could battle it out for the 2nd podium position, including District 3 Champion Manheim Township.
Individual Top 10 Projections
Logan St. John Kletter only began her senior season on October 7th. She’s run 17:19-17:47 in each of the 4 races shes competed in so far this season. She won the District 7 title in 17:47 which was 6 seconds faster than Robin Kucler and 9 seconds faster than Eva Kynaston, both of North Allegheny. While this is a deep field we’d expect Olivia Cieslak to be the biggest challenger to St. John Kletter. Cieslak won the District 1 title in 17.35. Don’t count out District 3 Champion Ella Wolfe who has looked unstoppable in her last two outings winning both the District 3 and LL League titles with ease.
College Notes:
- St. John Kletter is committed to the University of North Carolina
- Wolfe is committed to the University of Arizona (triathlon)
- Woehlcke is committed to the University of Virginia
- Paci is committed to UConn
- Kynaston is committed to Penn State
- Miller is committed to Duquesne (triathlon)
Central PA State Medal Hopefuls (with recent performances):
Ella Wolfe, sr Hempfield – Has been outstanding over the past three weeks. She dominated the LL League Championship taking the lead from the beginning and she never looked back. She won in 18:12 which was 25 seconds faster than 2nd place finisher Elena Barrall (jr, Manheim Township). Her performance at District 3 was even more impressive. Running with the leaders through the first 2 miles she took control with a mile to go and won by 23 seconds over a very strong field that included Claire Paci, Kaitlyn Highduch, Gabby Keith, and Lydia Drago.
Claire Paci, sr Greencastle-Antrim – Paci has already won 3 state XC medals, finishing 4th-7th-7th over her first 3 seasons. She’ll look to win a 4th on Saturday and should contend for a top 5 finish. She was runner-up to Wolfe at District 3 running 18:23. She won the Mid-Penn title running 18:35 and was 3rd at Carlisle finishing in 18:15. She ran 17:54 to win the Ben Bloser Invite early in the season.
Kaitlyn Highduch, sr Governor Mifflin – Highduch placed 16th in the state as a freshman in 2020 but injuries over the next 2 seasons prevented her from competing at states. If not for injury she would likely be looking for her 4th state XC medal. She placed 3rd at District 3 in 18:31 and won the BCIAA title in 19:02. She finished 2nd at the Carlisle Invitational running a time of 18:06.
Gabby Keith, sr Exeter Township – Has finished no worse than 6th in major invitationals this season. She placed 4th at District 3 with a time of 18:35. She was 2nd at the Gettysburg Invitational (18:47), 5th at the Lehigh University Paul Short Run (18:26), and 6th at Ben Bloser (19:06). She’ll look to win her first PIAA medal this weekend.
Lydia Drago, jr Governor Mifflin – Drago continues to improve and seems ready to challenge for a top 15 finish at states this Saturday. She placed 5th at District 3 running 18:51. She was runner-up to teammate Kaitlyn Highduch at BCIAAs (19:02). She ran her 5k PR when she placed 4th at the Carlisle Invitational in 18:19.
Ana Bondy, so Carlisle – Has been getting stronger as the season has progressed. She has looked controlled in each race and always seem to have a strong finish to her races. She was 6th at District 3 with a time of 18:55. She was runner-up to Claire Paci at Mid Penns (18:51), placed 2nd at the William Tennent Invitational (18:25), and finished 10th at the Carlisle Invitational (18:51). Projection: top 20
Neila Granger, fr Dallastown – Granger has been one of the top freshman in the state this season. She placed 7th at District 3 (19:01) after winning the YAIAA title (19:12) a week and a half earlier. She was also 4th at the Gettysburg Invitational (19:17) and 7th at Lehigh University’s Paul Short Run (18:32). Projection: top 25
Ruby Garner-Valle, fr JP McCaskey – Battling Granger for CPAR Freshman of the Year honors is McCaskey’s Garner-Valle. She finished 6 seconds back of Granger at Districts to place 8th overall (19:07). She was 5th at the LL League Championships (19:09) and 10th at the PIAA Foundation Invitational (19:50). Projection: top 30
In a field with this much talent a lot of different individuals could finish within the top 25. Here are a few more state medal contenders from Central PA:
- Sophia Kim, so Hershey
- Isabella Shertzer, sr JP McCaskey – committed to Columbia University
- Devon Jackson, so State College
- Elena Barrall, jr Manheim Township
- Gabby Thiry, sr JP McCaskey – committed to Gettysburg College
- Chloe Poindexter, sr State College – committed to Howard University
Chloe Poindexter had a season breakout performance at the District 6 Championships winning in 18:44. Her time was 39 seconds faster than runner-up and teammate Devon Jackson. If she repeats that type of performance on Saturday she should win a state medal.