Saturday's Slippery Rock University Invitational will be a good one with plenty of big names and strong teams looking to assert themselves as we reach the halfway point of the season. Here's a look at what to watch for at SRU this weekend.
GIRLS PREVIEW
Photo by Ethan Rissell
Chambersburg has replaced its normal western PA trip with the Slippery Rock Invite after the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Invite was a no-go this year. That means Abby Yourkavitch will be favored up front. She's coming off a sixth place finish at Carlisle against a very stacked field. She clocked in at 18:17 there.
Kaylee Mowery will also be near the front. Mowery was 20th at Carlisle last weekend and will loom to follow that up with another good performance out west.
With those two strong frontrunners, Chambersburg should be up there for the team title, but Central Cambria will be the favorites. Led by Carly Kaschalk and Sydney Gilkey, it will be hard to stop the Red Devils. Norwin and Mount Lebanon should also get in the mix.
BOYS PREVIEW
Photo by Phil Grove
The boys' field is an open one, both in the team battle and the individual race. For the individuals, it'll be a race between Mount Lebanon's Bryce Brandenstein, Harbor Creek's Aidan Weber and Ryan Starveggi (above), Butler's Noah Beveridge, Norwin's Matt O'Neil, and Indiana Area's Samuel Lenze. Brandenstein is coming off a 20th place finish at Hershey last weekend, while Starveggi took fourth at Sharpsville. O'Neil, Beveridge, and Weber have a pair of top ten finishes this season.
As for the team race, Harbor Creek, Central Cambria and Mount Lebanon will be in the hunt. Mount Lebo are the likely favorites after a strong fifth place finish in the Gold Race last week at Foundation. They are on the cusp of the top ten and a good performance should help their cause this weekend.