Above Grove City Boys battling on the Hill of Hershey - Photo by Nate Kuntz
With another stellar weekend of competition in the wings, we wanted to take a quick look at some of the top story lines from meets across the state. These were the four that we zeroed in on, with the biggest implications looming.
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Mount Lebanon Girls in Full Force versus Norwin
The Bald Eagle Invitational
We expect to see No. 20 Mount Lebanon in whole form for the first time this season. Logan St. John Kletter is scheduled to make her season debut for the team at the Bald Eagle Invitational at White Oak Park.
She'll look to shake off the rust while Caroline Adams continues to be an anchor for the squad. Adams just won the Youthtowne Clash with a new personal best of 18:14.47.
With Kletter back in the order, Mount Lebanon will have a lethal 1-2 punch.
The squad will go head-to-head with PA No. 3 Norwin. Norwin has unexpectedly been one of the best teams in 3A this year. With several invitational wins this year, Norwin will look to keep the hot streak going.
Annie Czajkowski won last week's PA MileSplit Athlete of the Week Honors and will lead a Norwin squad with boisterous depth.
Conestoga is Back on Home Soil
The William Tennent Invitational
The Conestoga programs have competed out of state on several occasions this season. The boys' and girls' teams are ranked in the state's top 20 and have delivered strong finishes. This will be the first opportunity to see how the Conestoga squads stack up against Pennsylvania competition at the William Tennent Invitational.
On the boys' side, look for Parker Warkentine, Shane Walsh, and Nathan Kluge to compete for the individual win. Nathan Kluge has been a bright spot for the team in 2023. He has improved his personal best by nearly 50 seconds this year and has become a consistent fixture at the line-up's helm. He has finished no worse than seventh at a 5K invitational.
The Girls' team has also pieced together several strong performances. The team is coming off back-to-back wins. Two weeks ago, they defeated talented NJ squads at the Six Flags Invitational and then picked up a win this week at the Salesianum Invite in Delaware. The team doesn't have a true front-runner but instead relies on an imposing pack of five girls within 30 seconds of one another.
Grove City versus Hampton
The John Sample Grove City Invite
The PA No. 3 Grove City boys and the PA No. 4 Hampton boys will go head-to-head at the John Sample Grove City Invite on Saturday. The two teams are the two favorites for the 2A state title. They've seen each other several times this year but will continue to gather intel to find a winning edge.
The two teams match up well with each other. Dale Hall (Hampton) and MJ Pottinger (Grove City) are front-runners for their respective teams. When the state meet arrives, they'll both be contenders for the state title. On Grove City's home course, we lean toward Pottinger to get the job done.
The course has some intricacies, and Pottinger won the 2022 rendition with his 15:57 effort. Dale Hall finished third with a 16:19. Then - we expect the two teams to trade positions throughout the pack. This winning team may have to score less than 35 points to win, and it could come down to a place or two between the two groups.
The DELCO Championship
Saturday, October 7th
The Delaware County Championship is scheduled for this weekend, with several state-ranked teams slated to compete.
On the Boys' Side, look for Penncrest and Episcopal to duel for the title. The two teams finished right next to each other at the Paul Short Run, as Penncrest finished fifth and Episcopal finished sixth. Based on the results from Paul Short, Penncrest certainly has an edge.
Freshman Rowan Carr has stood out for Penncrest in the first month of his rookie year. He finished seventh at Paul Short in a ridiculous 15:42.9. He is arguably the individual favorite heading into DELCOs.
On the girls' side, Haverford Township is the heavy favorite. The duo of Olivia Cieslak and Camryn McGeehan has been all-important for Haverford. The defending DELCO champs will look to score a potential 1-2 and then rely on their pack to finish the job. They were without a few starters at Paul Short but finished sixth overall and ahead of any other DELCO team.