Red, White & Blue Classic - Meet Preview
Girls' A & AA Race Preview - VIRTUAL MEET
Haley Hamilton of Our Lady of Sacred Heart will look to start her season off well on Saturday. The junior really came on strong late last fall and showed her strength. She was 13th in this race a year ago, but expect her to move up this time around.
Vincentian Academy's Tara Lucot placed third at RWB last year, emerging onto the scene as an impact freshman. Now a sophomore, she'll look to lead Vincentian, one of the states top 1A squads. Her teammate Marissa Canzian will also be in the mix for a high finish. Marion Center Area's MacKenzie Walker was fourth last year. Now a senior, she'll be aiming for a quick start at Schenley.
Belle Vernon's Grace Henderson won last week at McKeesport, and she'll be looking to keep that momentum going this week. Northgate's Megan Wisniewski, Ambridge Area's Leuca Hanish, Avonworth's Anna Igims, and Elk County Catholic's Chelsea Hunt are among the other individuals that you should watch for.
In the team race, the #2-ranked 1A squad, Vincentian Academy, and the #3-ranked 1A squad, Marion Center Area, will go head-to-head in what should be an interesting early season matchup. The #5 1A team Our Lady of Sacred Heart and another strong 1A team in North Catholic are also entered. Central Cambria and Greensburg Salem are a pair of notable 2A teams entered. It's early, but each of these teams will be looking to get a leg up on the competition.
Girls' AAA Race Preview - VIRTUAL MEET
Red, White & Blue will feature the state's top two girls' teams (per our PA MileSplit50 rankings) in a huge early season clash in Pittsburgh. While Oakland Catholic captured the WPIAL Class AAA last season, but Fox Chapel Area avenged that loss a week later in Hershey, winning the AAA state title (Oakland took third at states).
Both teams have a bunch of returners and this season figures to be another great battle between these teams. Each won their openers last week, too. Fox Chapel jump started its state title run last year with a win over then-top-ranked Oakland at RWB, and round one will be another good one this weekend. Then there's North Allegheny (PA#4), which will look to spoil it for those two top teams. Seneca Valley, Morgantown (WV), and Villa Maria will also be strong in this deep team field.
Individually, we can expect a good race. PA#3 Hannah Schupansky of Oakland, who won the WPIAL title last year, is fresh off an 18-flat solo win at McDowell. She's already proved she's fit and ready for a big day at Schenley. She'll face a host of challengers. Quaker Valley's Annie Wicker (PA#9) was third last year and the top returner in the field. She's one of the state's top AA runners, and she'll one to watch for this season.
The other two ranked runners in the field are Fox Chapel's Sarena Seeger (PA#11) and North Allegheny's Hannah Lindgren (PA#14). Both should mix it up near the front. Seeger's teammate Annika Urban and Grace Sisson will be fighting for crucial team points as well. Teresa Davison and Katelyn Ellery will be going for high finishes for Oakland, as well.
Hampton's Katherine Fedko, Upper Saint Clair's Claire Hoffman, Seneca Valley's Lizzy White, and Mount Lebanon's Aoife-Ruby Dunne are among the others who could contend for top five spots here.
Boys' A & AA Race Preview - VIRTUAL MEET
A number of top individuals will take to the A & AA boys race at Red, White & Blue. Up front, look for the Greensburg Salem duo of Mark Brown and Cameron Binda. Brown raced aggressively last week at Cal U and placed sixth, while Binda was fourth. Those two should compete well this weekend.
Elk County Catholic's Ben Hoffman is one of 1A's top biys this season and he'll shoot for a big opening race. Freedom Area's Adam Hessler should also be in the hunt for the win.
Scott Routledge of Winchester Thurston earned a win at Marty Uher in the "Fire" race. He will aim to keep it rolling into RWB this week. Another winner from last week was Saint Joseph freshman CJ Singleton, who will look for a strong race against a bigger field this week. Belle Vernon's Brett Seich, Quaker Valley's Daniel Ford, Serra Catholic's Lukas Dunaway, Marion Center's Hunter Armstrong, and the Central Cambria duo of Ohm Vyas and Nate Kuntz are among the others to watch for in this field.
In the team race, a pair of strong WPIAL Class AA squads, Greensburg Salem and Indiana Area, will go head-to-head, looking to gain an early season confidence boost. These will be two of the top AA teams in the district and the state come late October when it all matters. Central Cambria, Winchester Thurston, and Beaver Area are among the other top teams to watch for this weekend.
Boys' AAA Race Preview - VIRTUAL MEET
The Zach Kinne era is set to begin this weekend at Schenley. The senior transferred from Illinois to North Allegheny this summer and has immediately become the one to beat in Pennsylvania (he entered the season at PA#1). Kinne, along with the top AAA returner in the state, PA#2 Daniel McGoey, makes up the top duo in PA. Those two are just 2/5 of the No. 2-ranked team in the state. The journey starts Saturday.
But the boys from Seneca Valley have snatched the last two WPIAL Class AAA titles and will look to come out hot. Led by PA#4 Seth Ketler and PA#9 Sam Owori -- a very solid duo in their own right -- the Raiders enter the weekend at PA#4 and should be in the mix for the title.
While NA and SV rested last week, PA#5 Mount Lebanon was busy taking the win at Cal U. Lebo could also challenge those teams; remember that Lebo won RWB last season. PA#7 Patrick Anderson took the individual win and will once again be a threat to earn the win this Saturday. All in all, five of the top ten ranked boys will be featured in the AAA race at RWB.
Plenty of other individuals will be worth watching for. Christian Fitch of Fox Chapel (PA#12) aims for a fast start to his junior season. Hilliard Davidson from Ohio will be strong, led by a solid pair -- Conner Johanssen and Max LeClair. They could be an out-of-state spoiler this weekend. Mars Area's Zachary Leachman and Peters Township's Zach Marmol should also be on the hunt for top ten finishes at Schenley.