Opportunities to preview Regional and National Championship courses will make it a big weekend for DII and DIII schools set to compete this weekend. Most DI teams are slated to take the weekend off.
Division II Ranks
The Lock Haven Invitational will steal the spotlight this weekend, with countless PSAC schools set to face off for the first time this season while other D2 teams such as Shippensburg, West Chester, and Jefferson opt for the low-key Dickinson Long-Short Invitational.
Lock Haven Invitational
There are a lot of things to keep in mind while looking at the Lock Haven Invitational. The most important is how the 11 PSAC schools stack up against one another and how they will fair against out-of-state Atlantic Region competition.
Lock Haven is our pick to be the top D2 team from PA. The Atlantic Region No.2 (Ranking via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) squad is led by an impressive duo, Elaina Klinger and Gwen Lloyd. Thanks to the number of other top-ranked Atlantic Region teams scheduled to attend, Lock Haven will have an excellent opportunity to see how they fair against other conference/region competitors.
Slippery Rock, Edinboro, and Bloomsburg are other top-ranked PA teams racing at the Lock Haven Invitational. Slippery Rock's tighter spread of runners will likely top Edinboro and Bloomsburg, although neither team is out of the conversation.
Individuals to watch on these three teams are Slippery Rock's Anna Igims, last week's PSAC Athlete of the Week after running 18:01.6 for 5k at the RMU Invitational, Ruthie Hughes, and Katie Plassio. Keep an eye on Bloomsburg's Kelley Selheimer and Amanda Kelly. Last but certainly not least is Edinboro's Kylie Anicic (2x D2 NCAA All-American). She's a seasoned vet who's our pick to win the invite.
Dickinson Long-Short Invitational
Meanwhile, in south central PA, Shippensburg, West Chester, and Jefferson will attend the Dickinson Long-Short Invitational, a meet in which two races are run, a 4k and 8k. The team's top three runners in each race will be counted and combined to make a six-man score.
It will be interesting to see what distances each team assigns their athletes to at this unique meet.
Who's Where in Division 2 | |
Team | Meet |
Bloomsburg | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
California (PA) | Off |
Clarion | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
East Stroudsburg | Off |
Edinboro | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
Gannon | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
Indiana (PA) | Off |
Kutztown | Off |
Lock Haven | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
Mansfield | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
Mercyhurst | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
Millersville | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
Pitt-Johnstown | Off |
Seton Hill | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
Shippensburg | Dickinson Long-Short Invitational, Big Spring, PA |
Slippery Rock | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
West Chester | Dickinson Long-Short Invitational, Big Spring, PA |
Chestnut Hill | Lock Haven Invitational, Lock Haven, PA |
Jefferson | Dickinson Long Short Invitational, Big Spring, PA |
Lincoln | Lincoln University Invitational, Lincoln, PA (Sep. 23) |
Holy Family | Penn State Brandywine Invitational, Media, PA (Sep. 23) |