Northampton Invitational - Meet Preview
GIRLS PREVIEW
After missing her season opener last season, Oley Valley's Rebecca Snyder is exciting to get started at Northampton this weekend. Snyder told us in her Preseason Q&A that she missed the race last year because of an injury, but will be good to go this time around.
Synder was third at XC states last fall in AA and will look for a hot start to her season. The times are always flying an we should look for Snyder to put down a quick one.
The Central Bucks East duo of Cameron Billingsley and Abbey Iafolla opened up well at Northampton last season, and they'll be looking for another strong start to their XC seasons. Along with Claudia Eder, they'll also be leading an East team that sits at PA#10 in our preseason rankings.
But Easton Area beat East by just two points at this meet for the title. Easton will be led by Lauren Maddison, Skyler Danley, and Mackenzie Heitz. Look for the Rovers to not relinquish that title without a fight.
Upper Dublin's Madeline Spaulding and Sadie Gustafson will also be worth watching for on Saturday.
BOYS PREVIEW
Last year's Northampton Invite served as a breakthrough performance for CB East's David Endres. The then-sophomore went 15:49 for the victory last fall. He faded down the stretch of last season, but Endres is still worth watching for this time around.
Penncrest's Avery Lederer was second to Endres last season, but since then Lederer had made quite the impression on the state. He was 11th in District 1 last year and 31st in the state. Lederer could be considered the favorite for this weekend, and we'll see how he opens up his 2017 season.
Quakertown's Hudson Delisle, Pennridge's Matt Eissler, and Easton's Joseph Ozgar make up a group of other victroy hopefuls for this weekend.
In the team race, look for District 1 squads CB East, Penncrest, and Souderton to battle with District 11's Southern Lehigh and Easton for what should be a fairly open race for the title.