District 2
Boys
Class AAA
Wallenpaupack will look to get back to the state meet at the expense of Hazleton Area. Jake Wacker will lead the team as the individual title favorite, while Hazleton will be led by Matt Houser. Battling with them for the individual gold will be Hamyre Cannon of Williamsport Area. Expect a close meet all around.
Class AA
Dominic Hockenbury of Lake Lehman will look to make a big statement in defending his district title against Matt Kravitz of North Pocono. The two runners have been in top form all season long, but Kravitz has yet to get the best of Hockenbury. Perhaps Saturday will be his day. Jacob Toczko of Tunkhannock will also be in the mix for a big performance. This could be the first of two tough battles between the trio for district and state gold.
The team title race should not be as close, as state title contenders Dallas will look to keep their sensational season on track. Jack Zardecki will lead the way for the defending district champions. Montrose, Berwick and North Pocono will battle for the 2nd spot. North Pocono could have two top five finishers and could give them a crucial edge. Berwick will have a strong pack that will help them out in their quest for a trip to Hershey.
Class A
Elk Lake and Holy Cross will be favored for state qualification on Saturday, in a race where the winner will be the team who has the best spread on the day. The individual favorite will be Matt Murray of Dunmore, the only sub 17 minute runner in the field.
Girls
Class AAA
Four teams will feel they have a chance to win the team championship and make it to states. Wallenpaupack will be led by the individual favorite Alyssa Lafave, Williamsport will have Nazirah Purnell leading their charges, Pittston will hope that having the best top three will guide them to the win, and Hazleton will hope that having the best 1-5 spread will do the trick. Tara Johnson of Pittston will aim to challenge Lafave for the individual gold
Class AA
State champion Ally Rome of Dallas will look to continue her reign over the AA division with a victory. She will be challenged by a pair of runners who had hot starts to the season and will hope that early form will return on Saturday. Maggie Toczko of Tunkhannock won the Spiked Shoe Invite in early September in 18:38. Erin Feeney of Scranton Prep was top of the state after the first weekend. Also in the mix will be Katie Dammer of Abington Heights, who won the PIAA Foundation Blue race in late September. They won the team title at that meet, but this time they will face off with Scranton Prep, who have had a pair of top three finishes this season. Dallas will be a sleeper for one of the two state spots.
Class A
Saturday will be the latest edition of the Holy Cross and Elk Lake rivalry. Holy Cross will be favored but not without a fight from Elk Lake. Each team has a solid front three, with Lexi Walsh and Mackenzie Greenfield of Holy Cross favored to win the meet. Justine Johns will lead Elk Lake in hopes of pulling off an upset.
District 3
Boys
Class AAA
One thing is a virtual lock in this race. Hempfield should win the team title based on their phenomenal season that featured a Paul Short victory. What could be a lock is Nathan Henderson of JP McCaskey winning the race, but after last season's upsets, anything can happen. Ephrata's Zach Lefever ran 15:46 this season and will be the biggest threat to Henderson. Matt Wisner of Carlisle is a sleeper to sneak in a gold medal performance.
His team will be battling for one of the four state qualifying berths. They will have to chase down Cumberland Valley, Hershey, Chambersburg, and Cedar Crest for one of those spots. Hershey has had some strong performances, while Cumberland Valley have been good along with Cedar Crest. The margins for error will be very slim, and if a team makes a mistake, they may ultimately pay.
Class AA
In what could be one of the head to head battles of the weekend, Jack DiCintio of Wyomissing will face off with the in-form Dan Filler of Gettysburg Area. Filler has won his last two meets, while DiCintio entered the season as one of the AA state contenders. These two should give us a great race!
State champions York Suburban will be favored to win on Saturday and continue their successful title defense. Trinity, Milton Hershey, Wyomissing, and Palmyra will be in contention for the other two state qualifying berths.
Class A
Camp Hill will be the big favorites to repeat as champions, with the group of Cooper Leslie, Blake Behney, and Ian Gabig leading the charge. William Green of Delone Catholic will look to break up the Camp Hill monopoly up front by winning gold.
Girls
Class AAA
Mady Clahane of Cumberland Valley will be going for her 4th straight district title, and should be favored to do so. The real action may be what takes place behind her. Rising stars Alison Willingmyre of Wilson has been on a tear in the past few weeks, and Abby Yourkavitch of Chambersburg has been one of the top runners in state since day 1.
A lucky seven teams will be vying for four state qualifying berths. Cumberland Valley will be slight favorites after winning the Carlisle Invite last month. Carlisle was close behind them in that meet and will be in the mix once again. Palmyra will have experienced runners help their cause to make the state meet. Manheim Township, Governor Mifflin, Hempfield, and Chambersburg will all need to make a big breakthrough in order to make it to states.
Class AA
Donegal will be favorites for the team title, while five other teams will fight for the other two state qualifying berths. York Suburban, Boiling Springs, Northern, Wyomissing, and Bishop McDevitt will look to have their biggest races of the season to earn a trip to states. Individual favorites include Maddie McLain of Eastern York and Maddie Ferner of Kennard-Dale.
Class A
Erika Echternach of Veritas Academy and Jordan Haberstroh of Columbia will battle for the individual title, with defending champion Leigha Martin of Veritas Academy looking to make a big push to keep her title. Veritas will be the team favorites against Delone Catholic to qualify for states.
District 6
Boys
Class AAA
State College and Altoona will square off for district bragging rights on Saturday, with State College favored for the win. They will be led by Alex Milligan, while Altoona will be led by Joe Uliano.
Class AA
Will Kachman of Bedford will be favored to defend his title against Bryce Descavish of Central Cambria and Zane Baker of Bedford. Central Cambria will be favored to make a return to the state meet with a solid top five. Somerset and Bedford will look to give the Red Devils a run for their money.
Class A
Sam Cunkleman of Homer Center and Eli Urban of St Joseph's Catholic Academy will do battle for the district title, with Cunkleman being a slight favorite. Urban's team will be battling a good Penns Valley team for the team title, and Westmont Hilltop and Purchase Line for a state qualifying berth.
Girls
Class AAA
Natasha Fedkina and her State College team should sweep through their district meet and make a comfortable trip to states. Fedkina has run 18:57 this season.
Class AA
Jane Woy of Somerset will look to continue her good month of October with a district title. She will have to fight off freshman Emily Montag of Forest Hills to win that title. The two teams will also be involved in a heated match up for the lone state qualifying spot. Best 1-5 spread may win the state qualifying berth that's at stake.
Class A
State champions Central Cambria will look to put together an all around performance before they go to Hershey to defend their title. Sydney Gilkey will lead the charge, but she will have company for the individual title, as Lucia Person of St Joseph's Catholic Academy and Tori Kocsis of Richland will look to win the gold. St Joseph's Catholic Academy will also look to give Central Cambria a real challenge while fighting off Marion Center for one of the two state spots.
District 10
Boys
Class AAA
McDowell and favorites Cathedral Prep will do battle for the lone state qualifying berth. Cathedral Prep will have a good pack. Can McDowell overcome it? Ryan Zimmerman will look to lead McDowell to the state meet by winning the gold medal, while Evan Fritzke will hope to lead Cathedral Prep to glory.
Class AA
Grove City will have to
complete the district meet hurdle to earn their opportunity at redemption that
they have been waiting 12 months to gain. They will be the favorites against
state berth contenders Harbor Creek. Pack running will be Grove City's key to
victory on Saturday and at states next week. Harbor Creek will have the two
gold medal favorites in freshmen Ryan Starvaggi and Aiden Weber.
Class A
Seneca will be favored to win the team title and return to states where they've had good success in recent seasons. Saegertown, Mercyhurst Prep, and West Middlesex will battle for the 2nd spot. Connor Walsh of Cambridge Springs will have to fight off the Myers brothers Donovan and Phoenix of Seneca, Noah Curtin of Mercyhurst Prep, and Brad Amy of Saegertown for individual gold.
Girls
Class AAA
McDowell will be big favorites to win the lone state qualifying berths, with Haile Martin and Maddie Petersen leading the charge. Freshmen Aidan Mulvihil will look to cause an upset up front.
Class AA
State champions Villa Maria Academy have been dominant all season long. They have won all but the Tri State championship and will be heavy favorites to repeat as district champions. Claire Brown will lead her team, and she will also battle Jordan Williams of Sharon for the individual gold medal. Hickory and Grove City will battle for the 2nd state berth, with Hickory having a slight advantage thanks to a strong top two featuring Lexi Bible.
Class A
North East, Union City, and Commodore Perry will battle for the district title and the two state qualifying berths up for grabs. North East will be led by Taylor Van Tassel, while favorite Alyssa Boyd will lead Union City. Shae Grinnell will lead Commodore Perry.
District 9
Boys
Class AA
Clearfield and Bradford Area will have a tense battle for the district title and the lone state qualifying berth. Clearfield will have the better back, but Bradford Area will counter with Logan Caruso and Tyler Nuzzo up front. Defeating favorite Ryan Thrush of Brookville could go a long way to determining who wins the team title.
Class A
Isaac Wilson of North Clarion will be a big favorite for the district title against Cranberry's Harrison Keenan and Ridgway's Luke Guyer. Cranberry will be battling for one of the two state qualifying spots with Elk County Catholic and Kane Area.
Girls
Class AA
Michelle Bauer of St Mary's will be a huge favorite to win the district title. She has a personal best of 18:52. Bradford Area will be big team title favorites with their strong front pack.
Class A
Freshman Samantha Woolcock of Cranberry will look to hold off senior Abbie Schmader of North Clarion for the individual gold medal. Cranberry's strong front group will make them big favorites for the team title, while North Clarion, Clarion Limestone, Smethport, and Moniteau will all scrap for the 2nd state berth.