Lions Invitational - Meet Preview
The Lions Invite at Moravian Academy will be a nice early season test for mostly District 11 squads.
Girls' Preview
Liberty's Belle Weikert will look to start off her season well. The D11-AAA runner-up and 27th place state finisher from last year closed out her sophomore season in a big way last year and will look to keep it rolling.
She'll have challengers, though. Freedom's Lauren Charboneau (third in D11-AAA last year), Nazareth Area's Alysse Danyi (fifth in D11-AAA last year), Northern Lehigh's Reagan Pender (third in D11-AA last year), Notre Dame-Green Pond's Grace Medei, and Northwestern Lehigh's Madeline Consuelos are among the top contenders in this strong field. Someone to watch for on Friday is Blue Mountain freshman Olivia Haas, who ran some quick times in the middle school circuit the last few years. Friday is her high school debut.
In the team race, Liberty may be the team to beat, but Northwestern Lehigh, Freedom and Abington Heights could get in the mix.
Boys' Preview
Liberty's Darlyn Fermin, fresh off a solid junior season looks to be the favorite heading into Friday. A few top names -- Jacob Martinez of Palmerton and John Koons Notre Dame-Green Pond -- are not on the list of entries.
The Bangor duo of Marino Bubba and Morgan O'Brien will pace their squad and should get in the mix near the front. Saucon Valley's Matthew Chaikowsky, Nazareth Area's Anthony Kositz, and Abington Heights' Ethan Mattox could also contend for the win.
Liberty looks to be the team to beat, but the reigning champs from Nazareth Area, Abington Heights, and Holy Ghost Preparatory will all challenge.