Photo by Bill Shearn
Council Rock Invitational - Meet Preview
While a lot of attention is on Hershey this weekend, we should see some interesting races play out at Tyler State Park in Newtown for the Council Rock Invitational on Saturday.
GIRLS PREVIEW
Up front, this race will come down to a pair of top 25-ranked girls. Oley Valley's Rebecca Snyder (PA#9) has opened her season up fantastically, winning at Northampton and then at PTXC9 in the Blue Race. Both wins were impressive, but she'll face a tough challenge from North Penn's Ariana Gardizy.
The senior won at Abington and then was sixth at Briarwood last week. The dual between these two will be one of the weekend's best matchups to keep an eye on. North Penn's Olivia Dyer and Calvary Christian's Abigail Brown are among the other girls to watch for in the individual race.
The North Penn girls will look to win the team title, but upstart Council Rock North, Twin Valley, Downingtown East, and Nazareth Academy will be worth watching for, too.
BOYS PREVIEW
The hosts and PA#2 Council Rock North boys will be hungry for their first invitational win of the season on Saturday. North was second at both Mill Street and Briarwood, but didn't have full squads at either. This should be their first meet with their whole top seven.
PA#3 Ryan Campbell of CR North will be favored to take the individual crown. He was second at Briarwood and will look to take his first title at his home invite. But the individual race should be close.
George School's Jeffrey Love has started his season with a pair of wins and will look to ride that momentum into Saturday. Mechanicsburg's Morgan Cupp (PA#10) is worth watching for making the trip from south-central PA. Both will look for the upset over Campbell.
North's Ethan Koza ran very well at Briarwood, where he placed third overall and moved up to PA#19. Along with his teammates Sam Earley and Kevin Ehrgott, the there should be a lot of navy tops fighting for spots inside the top five.
Another interesting storyline for Saturday is that of Carlos Shultz. The sophomore, who ran 15:55 at a freshman last fall, has transferred from Conestoga to Phoenixville Area. Saturday will be his invitational debut for Phoenixville. Expect Shultz to be up near the front on Saturday.
Central Bucks West's Michael Samson, fresh off a win at Souderton on Saturday evening, will be another one worth watching for on Saturday.
While North is heavily favored to defend its home turf in the team race on Saturday, a number of teams will be looking to have strong performances. Twin Valley wasn't far behind an Earley-less North at Briarwood. They're a solid team that should make a big impression once again this weekend.
Central Bucks West and Council Rock South are among the other teams that should compete for high team finishes on Saturday.