George School Invitational - Meet Preview
It's the 65th annual George School Invitational and while the winners at last year's meet were runaway victors, it should be a lot closer this time around in both the boys and girls races.
GIRLS PREVIEW
The girls' race figures to be a good matchup between Friends' Central's Gabrielle Wilkinson, Lawrenceville (NJ)'s Jesse Brewer, and Villa Joseph Marie's Katie Irelan. Brewer was third a year ago, while Wilkinson was fourth. Irelan is the reigning District 1 AA champion.
One to watch in this field is Scranton Prep's Mia Bellucci. She placed second at the Cliff Robbins Invite two weeks ago in Dallas. She ran a nice PR of 19:44 and she'll look to carry that momentum into the weekend.
Others in this field to watch for includes Upper Dublin's Madeline Spaulding and Sadie Gustafson, Council Rock North's Megan Coolahan and Daphne Voral, Scranton Prep's Abby Bowen, and Germantown Academy's Isabelle Goldstein and Jackie DeRusso.
The team race could be close. Scranton Prep, led by Bellucci, is coming off a strong win at Cliff Robbins. They are PA-AA#5 entering the weekend. Villa Joseph Marie, Upper Dublin, Council Rock North, Germantown Academy, and Friends' Central could all be in the mix in what should be a hotly contested race.
BOYS PREVIEW
The boys race at the George School should be interesting, too. The host team's Jeffrey Love took the win at Mill Street last week. If he races, Love will be one of the favorites as he goes for win No. 2 of the season.
Westtown's Ryan O'Donnell will look to get his season off to a good start. Independent schools rival Zach Goldberg and Colin Riley from Germantown Friends should put up a good challenge.
Sidwell Friends (DC)'s Philip Wright is another strong runner in this field. Bensalem's Zak Bacchus and Tommy Brewer will be looking to get in the mix up front as well.
Look for the Germantown Friends boys in the team race, but Sidwell Friends, Westtown, Bensalem, and the George School will be