Manheim Township will look for their 4th District 3 Class AAA XC team title in a row this season. Seniors Lexie Kauffman, Kaila Atteberry, and Riley McGahren have been on each of the previous 3 championship teams and will look to finish their high school careers with a clean sweep.
Why has Manheim Township been so successful in recent years? A large part of the program’s sustained excellence can be credited to the leadership and development pipeline built by middle school XC and track coach Brian Smoker, and high school indoor and outdoor track coach Robin Shugarts.
Coach Smoker has consistently built one of the largest—and most competitive—middle school programs in District 3. The culture of commitment and competitiveness begins there, with freshmen regularly arriving ready to make meaningful contributions at the high school level.
At the varsity level, Coach Shugarts has guided impressive year-over-year development in the distance events, as seen in the steady progression of personal records across both the boys’ and girls’ teams. One standout emerging from that development is senior Georgia Ealy. With three years of high school track experience, she has become one of District 3’s top 1600m runners and a key athlete to watch this cross country season, her first.
Completing the program’s strong foundation is high school XC Coach Kevin Stover, who has consistently led the Blue Streaks to top finishes each fall, capitalizing on the momentum built throughout the program.
That said, don’t expect Manheim Township to walk away with the team title this year like they did last season. An improved Governor Mifflin squad could be nipping at their heels. Their squad also saw significant improvements on the track this spring, led by the continued development of Melissa Sweigart (jr) and Molly Orndorff (jr), under the guidance of Coach Jack Heim.
At least seven other teams are expected to fiercely compete for a top-five finish and a coveted berth to the PIAA State Championships. Among them is perennial District 3 contender Chambersburg, guided by veteran coach Chris Monheim.
How we do our rankings:
- Each individual runner is ranked based on previous year(s) performances. The top freshmen, based on middle school performances, are included in the rankings. Nearly 350 individuals are currently ranked in Class AAA for the girls. Individual rankings will be posted soon.
- The top 7 individuals per team are then scored. For teams with more than 7 runners ranked, those outside of the top 7 are not scored.
- Any team that has at least 5 individuals ranked will be scored.
- Individual and team rankings will be updated weekly.
- The 27 teams we project to qualify for Districts will be ranked.
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