4 Ranked Teams Ready to Take The Course
The PA No. 14 Pennridge girls are the sole ranked team on the girls' side. The squad is coming off a second-place finish at the Northampton Invitational. They averaged 19:57 over the 5K course. They'll look to fight for the win on Saturday and prove that they belong inside the Top 15.
On the boys side, No. 9 Exeter, No. 11 Council Rock South, and No. 20 Cumberland Valley will all be in action.
Last year, Cumberland Valley finished as the runner-up, while Exeter finished in third, just one point back. Since then, Cumberland Valley graduated some seniors, allowing us to nod to Exeter, who retained a strong core of athletes, including sophomore standout Chase Choudhry.
Council Rock South didn't race at PTXC last year, but they could undoubtedly walk away from Saturday with a trophy. The team finished third at the Northampton Invitational with a 1:12 compression and a 16:30 average.
The flats of Northampton don't necessarily translate to the hills of Kutztown, but this is Council Rock South's first opportunity to prove its legitimacy.
Don't overlook the Chambersburg boys. Though they didn't receive a ranking in the first Team Rankings of the year, they are a capable squad and are certainly on the cusp of a Top-20 spot.
Maryland's Severna Park is also a traditionally strong team and could dominate the Blue Race.
DiCola VS Espinosa
Last year, Lillian DiCola (Hatboro Horsham) and Baylee Espinosa (Lewisburg) were in separate races, and they both found ways to win. Espinosa won the Blue Girls Race in 19:30, while DiCola ran 18:46 to claim victory in the Gold Race.
This year, they'll both be in the Gold Race - so the question arises... which defending champ wins again?
On paper, you'd lean towards DiCola, who ran 45 seconds faster last year. But not so fast. Espinosa has run 18:31 this year, while DiCola hasn't made her season debut yet. These two could be right next to each other throughout the Gold Race.
Ashley Landis (Pennridge) could run with DiCola and Espinosa.
Race Predictions
