State College Huddle - Photo courtesy of Bill Shearn
These Power Rankings are not meant to predict the Outcome of State Meet's in November. In fact, some schools on this list aren't even in the same classification.
Because Cross Country is so unpredictable and there are so many variables at play, these power rankings are somewhat speculative. They are derived from a combination of performances, analytics, and opinions.
Girls Top 10 State Team Power Rankings - 2022 Edition #1
| RANK(PREV) | TEAM | RATIONALE |
|---|---|---|
1 | Do we really need to explain this one? The nationally ranked powerhouse lost to Morgantown (WV) in a clash of ranked opponents at Red, White and Blue, but beat the next Pennsylvanian team by 160 points. They had a 1-5 average of 19:02. | |
2 | Dallastown opened the season with an impressive win at the Hood College HS Invite. The team returns six of seven from its PIAA 3A Championship second place team. | |
3 |  | If any team can challenge the two aforementioned giants, it's Emmaus. The squad destroyed the field at the Northampton Invitational, with two girls in the 18:30's and their next three not far off, they posted a stellar 19:18 average. |
4 | The Central PA powerhouse has opened season with three straight wins. Most recently, the squad won the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational by placing five girls in the top seven. They'll get their first real test at the PIAA Foundation Invitational next week. | |
5 | After graduating three seniors, Hershey's victory at PTXC 13 came as a bit of a surprise. But perhaps it shouldn't have. Led by low-stick Brooke Preputnick, Hershey flexed some muscle on the challenging Kutztown farm course, and averaged 20:19 across their front five. | |
6 |  South Fayette | South Fayette, also known as "The Distance Factory", had a very strong week at Red White and Blue, touting a third place finish and a 1-5 average of 20:23. Although they don't have a true front-runner, they have a solid pack, which could make them a wild card down the stretch. |
7 | We haven't seen Mount Lebanon at full strength quite yet, but they dominated the Marty Uher Invitational a couple of weeks ago. South Fayette and Mount Lebanon are probably interchangeable on this list, but we gave the nod to South Fayette on a recency bias. Mount has a more talent up front, with St. John Kletter leading the way, and but their spread could be detrimental. | |
8 | Peters Township has been right in the mix with South Fayette and Mount Lebanon at both Marty Uher and Red, White, and Blue. However, they haven't come out on top just yet. That being said, they were just two points behind South Fayette at Red, White and Blue. They have Sydney Shock up front, and if she can progress it will be huge for Peters. | |
9 | Manheim Township is the only team, aside from North Allegheny, to be ranked on both the Girls' and Boys' side. Manheim looked very impressive at the Riverside Kickoff Classic with a 19:50 average. They'll have advantage of a low stick as Ava Shirk continues to impress as a cross country runner. | |
10 | 2A Central Cambria sneaks into the Power Rankings after they've chained together a couple of strong weeks, including a win at the Riverside Kickoff Classic. They came through with a 1-5 split of 1:01 and an average of 19:50 to dominate the field in Ohio. They fell to Beaver Area by just two points at Red, White and Blue, but we're going to give them the benefit of the doubt. |
