PREVIEW: District 5/8 Championships 2023

Oct 23, 2023

MEET INFORMATION | OCTOBER 24

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It is officially Districts Week. We will keep you updated with brief previews of all of the upcoming action. These articles will include predictions, as well as quick notes on the potential contenders.

In the 1A and 2A ranks, District 5 and District 8 are combined to create a Region.

Qualifying Spots - 2 Teams out of 1A & 10 Individuals per gender. 1 Team out of 2A & 5 Individuals per gender.

The Editor's Picks and Predictions

Race	Individual Champ	Team Title
1A Boys	Garrett Page - 17:42	Meyersdale - 35 Pts
2A Boys	Joseph Pencil - 18:10	Bedford - 18 Pts
1A Girls	Savanna Hershberger - 21:18	Johnstown Christian - 34 Pts.
2A Girls	Chloe May - 18:47	Bedford - 21 Pts.

Boys' Notes and Ones to Watch

Individuals: Garrett Page of Windber finished third at last year's championship. He has the top time in District 5 1A this year, with the 17:29.9 that he ran at Ben Bloser. Teagan Ritz (Southern Fulton) ran 17:51.80 at Carlisle this year. Joseph McKelvey and Kevin Myers are amongst the potential contenders.

Teams: Chestnut Ridge (Defending Champs), Meyersdale (2022 Runner-Ups)

Individuals: Joseph Pencil won the 2022 D5 Championship and is the only boys to have run faster than 18:40 this year with his 17:57. Others to watch include Jonathan Gresh, Isaac Swope and Joseph Brallier.

Teams: Bedford -The Reigning District 5 Champs returned their entire Top 7 from 2022.

Girls' Notes and Ones to Watch

Individuals: Savanna Hershberger of Northern Bedford was the 2022 runner-up. She also has the top time in D5 1A this year, having run a minute faster than any other girl in D5 1A this year. Also watch Lydia Carnwath who finished third at last year's championship.

Teams: Chestnut Ridge, Meyersdale, Johnstown Christian (2022 Runner-ups)

Individuals: The two freshman out of District 5 have been the talk of the town all year. Bedford's Chloe May and Somerset's Emily Fisher have been lights out. May ran 18:44 to win the Big Valley Invitational earlier this year, while Fisher ran 19:13 to win the Altoona Mt. Lion Invitational. They are the lone favorites.

Teams: Bedford (Reigning Champs) and Somerset (2022 Runner-Ups) will go head-to-head again this year but Bedford has the early advantage with a team average of 21:39.