Everybody loves running in the mud, right? OK, almost everybody.
While most competitive runners don't mind a little muck on their trainers, flats or spikes, there's little doubting that Mother Nature turning fall's green to November mud DOES insert another factor into any competitive equation. Thick, brown stuff underfoot can turn even the most meek and mild course into 3.1 miles of mayhem.
And if it's a course like Parkview, race demons are ready to jump up and bite the leaders in the field if they take their mind off the course. What will Pennsylvania's best encounter Saturday for this year's PIAA championships?
Only time will tell after showers rolled through much of the state this week and dropped almost 2 inches of rain in the Hershey area less than 48 hours before the first race. The 2025 PIAA finales could turn on a turn, especially if the footfalls from three, four or five races start to muddy things up.
However, that doesn't mean the best athletes aren't just as good in the mud as they are on bone-dry, sun-baked layout, but now's time for me to take some educated (or not) guesses at the individual and team results in the 2025 season-enders for Pennsylvania's top girl distance runners.
Class A
A year ago, Cranberry Area rolled out of District 9 to claim the title over a pair of WPIAL (District 7) squads, sporting the smallest 1-5 spread of all but two teams who were near the bottom of the final standings in Class A. The Berries are back to defend after finishing second in District 9 to Central Clarion, which finished third in this year's PIAA Foundation race that was loaded at the top with the best from the west.
Winning that state meet preview and the WPIAL title last week was Shady Side Academy. Expect the Bulldogs to set the tempo in the first championship race Saturday, with first-year XCers Charlotte Barker and Josephine Lenart likely a part of any lead pack.
Our Lady of Sacred Heart and Winchester Thurston were second and third last year in Hershey and followed Shady Side at White Oak Park this fall. A wild card near the top this year could be Mercer Area, which is coming off a strong performance in winning District 10 and will have a low stick in breakout senior Maggie Jewell.
Claire Dufrene of Warrior Run and Bella Ascherl of Forest Hills are back this weekend after going 1-2 a year ago and lead the list of 13 returning medalists. The top four a year ago finished under 20:00. Others who will be near the front include Richland junior Natalia Mavridis, who was second and in the 19s at Foundation this year, and AnnaSophia Viccari of West Middlesex.
@oldschooltrack's Top 3 Teams: Shady Side Academy; Central Clarion; Mercer Area.
@oldschooltrack's Top 10 Finishers: Claire Dufrene; Charlotte Barker; Josephine Lenart; Natalie Mavridis; Maggie Jewell; Bella Ascherl; AnnaSophia Viccari; Abigail Weinstein; Beatrice Kolesar; Kendyl Weisgold.
Class AA
In 2024, Cathedral Prep added another PIAA team title to its resume, topping Lewisburg Area by 33 points and Danville by another 12. The Ramblers only graduated one from last year's squad and are led by a pair of seniors in Anne-Catherine Brown and Fina Bannister, who finished in a near dead-heat for the win at last week's District 10 meet.
The question is simple, IMO: Can Cathedral Prep win again? After seeing their impressive performance at District 10, I believe they can. Bannister and Brown were state medalists and top 20 performers in 2024, leading Therese Brown's squad to victory once again in Hershey, and their ability to run toward the front AND close together is a key for the northwest PA powerhouse.
Gwynedd-Mercy Academy was eighth a year ago and was led by Reese Miller, who was 15th overall. In winning the District 1 title last week, the Monarchs featured a lineup with five returnees from the 2024 squad that raced at Parkview in November.
A year ago, three were under 19:00 in the Class AA race, including defending champ Virginia Kraus and fellow returnee Emily Fisher of Somerset Area. At Foundation back in September, the trio of Baylee Espinosa, Reese Miller and Annie Moniz were the only ones to do the same. How low in the 18s will the winner have to go and who will emerge from this group?
Individually, this could be the race of the day as Saucon Valley's Kraus is just 5,000 meters from history. Having claimed a pair of state XC crowns at Class A Moravian Academy before lining up and winning again in Hershey last year in Class AA, the Dartmouth recruit will become Pennsylvania's first four-time PIAA XC champion by reaching the tape first.
Only two other girls have started their cross country careers with three consecutive victories in the PIAA finale - Melissa Stewart of Middletown and Marianne Abdalah of Vincentian Academy. Stewart finished fifth as a senior in 1985, while Abdalah was fourth in 2016.
Front-runners dominate this talented group. Who will be able to tap into that extra gear in the sprint for the finish and claim PIAA gold? I have a guess. It should be fun to watch.
@oldschooltrack's Top 3 Teams: Cathedral Prep; Gwynedd-Mercy Academy; North Catholic.
@oldschooltrack's Top 10 Finishers: Virginia Kraus; Reese Miller; Baylee Espinosa; Emily Fisher; Fina Bannister; Lanee Berkhimer; Anne-Catherine Brown; Lauren Kosek; Annie Moniz; Mira Moschillo.
Class AAA
The final girls race of the morning - Class AAA - will crown new individual and team champions. Those are the givens, but after that, it should be interesting.
Just a week after claiming the second WPIAL girls XC title in school history, Norwin is primed for a run at the top prize in Hershey. Brian Fleckenstein's squad ran and won convincingly at Foundation weeks ago, placing four athletes in the top 10 and accumulating just 45 points and a nearly 100-point gap on the rest of the AAA field. Senior and Pitt recruit Annie Czajkowski won the state preview and has been at the point for Norwin in almost all of its races.
On the other side of the state, Downingtown West was equally as impressive in winning District 1. Sophomore Julia Kelly is the only PIAA participant (and one of only two overall) under 17:00 this season and will lead the way for the Whippets.
Other district champions and contenders in Class AAA include State College and Manheim Township.
In the battle for individual gold, it could be another case of east battling west with a pair of sophomores leading the way in Angela Zeng of South Fayette and Downingtown West's Kelly. As we all know, you really can throw times out in XC (due to differences in courses - length!! and difficulty), but I really am looking forward to seeing how fast they run in AAA - muddy or not.
@oldschooltrack's Top 3 Teams: Norwin; Downington West; State College.
@oldschooltrack's Top 10 Finishers: Julia Kelly; Angela Zeng; Ana Bondy; Berkeley Marcelis; Sloane Smith; Annie Czajkowski; Leah Navarro; Madelyn McCartney; Alexia Tubbs; Anna Pucilowski.
Everybody loves running in the mud, right? OK, almost everybody.
While most competitive runners don't mind a little muck on their trainers, flats or spikes, there's little doubting that Mother Nature turning fall's green to November mud DOES insert another factor into any competitive equation. Thick, brown stuff underfoot can turn even the most meek and mild course into 3.1 miles of mayhem.
And if it's a course like Parkview, race demons are ready to jump up and bite the leaders in the field if they take their mind off the course. What will Pennsylvania's best encounter Saturday for this year's PIAA championships?