Walker Mason and Michael Wynkoop have accomplished just about everything a runner can on the cross country racepaths.
There is one thing, however, that has eluded the seniors: State gold.
North Hagerstown’s Mason and Smithsburg’s Wynkoop came close to standing atop the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association podium last fall, but fell just short. Mason took second at 3A states in 16:04, while Wynkoop posted a 16:29 to finish as runner-up in the 1A meet.
The champions of both races have graduated, meaning that the door is wide open for Mason and Wynkoop to pursue a golden finish to their careers.
Another strong squad seems to be brewing in Chambersburg, where the Trojans have a full stable of talented runners who are more than capable of duplicating the team’s Top 3 finishes at the Mid-Penn Conference and District 3-3A Championships last season. Waynesboro and Greencastle-Antrim return several strong runners, and will be aiming to compete for supremacy in the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division.
Stick with Local.News1 in the days and weeks to come as we continue to preview the fall sports season before it kicks off later this month.
Below are team-by-team preview capsules for the seven boys cross country squads in the Local.News1 coverage area:
Waynesboro Tribe
Coach: Jennifer Atkinson
Division: Mid-Penn Colonial
Top projected returners: Devin Barger (Sr.), Nate Snyder (So.), Noah Hoxie (Jr.), Samuel Rea (Sr.), Mason Sensenbaugh (Jr.), Ethan McDonald (Sr.), Gavin Miller (Sr.), Isaac Pappas (So.), Noah Hanegraaf (So.), Jason Imwald (Jr.), Julian Cook (So.)
Notable: Two District 3-3A qualifiers — senior Devin Barger and sophomore Nate Snyder — are projected to return for a Waynesboro squad that took 21st at Mid-Penns last season … Barger took 119th at districts in 17:29, while Snyder posted an 18:20 for 195th place … Jonathan Helman, a district qualifier, and Samuel Wagerman, a Mid-Penn qualifier, have both been lost to graduation, but the Tribe return plenty of others with varsity experience … Noah Hoxie will assume a more key role for Waynesboro following a sophomore season that saw him run a 20:07 at the Mid-Penn meet … Look for Mason Sensenbaugh, Ethan McDonald, Gavin Miller, and Isaac Pappas to provide depth for the Tribe and contend for starting spots.
Opener: Friday, Aug. 29, at Chambersburg Enos Yeager Invitational
Greencastle-Antrim Blue Devils
Coach: Rich Secrest
Division: Mid-Penn Colonial
Top projected returners: Logan Bohrer (Sr.), Abric Coy (Sr.), Billy Bender (Jr.), Ryan Gearhart (Jr.), Noah Parks (Sr.), Conner Hurley (Jr.), John Rowan (Jr.)
Notable: With the exception of their No. 1 runner, the Blue Devils are projected to return all of the pieces from a 2024 squad that took 10th at the Mid-Penn meet and 27th at the District 3-3A Championships … The graduation of Joel Amstutz, now running collegiately for Roberts Wesleyan, is a key loss for Greencastle, but the Blue Devils have enough talent to once again make an impact on the racepaths this fall … Senior Noah Parks ran a 16:56 at Mid-Penns last season and will be expected to be a low-stick runner for a Greencastle team that also returns quality runners in Logan Bohrer, Abric Coy, Billy Bender, and Ryan Gearhart.
Opener: Friday, Aug. 29, at Chambersburg Enos Yeager Invitational
Chambersburg Trojans
Coach: Jim Boyer
Division: Mid-Penn Commonwealth
Top projected returners: Julian Clark (Sr.), Aiden Alleman (Sr.), Boston Vincenti (Jr.), Cole Lehman (So.), Aden Goshorn (Sr.), Aaron Goshorn (So.), Isaac Stepan (Sr.), Brian Morales (Sr.), Joseph Moon (Sr.), Owen Keath (Sr.), Noah Jacobs (So.), Jonathan Dawe (Sr.), Tobias Willson (Jr.), Blake Hitchens (Sr.), Hayden Pereschuk (So.), Gavin Wenger (Jr.), William Price (So.), Andrew Bankert (So.), Gabriel Cieza (Sr.).
Notable: Will it be a season of rebuilding or reloading for the Trojans? … On one hand, Chambersburg graduated some serious talent in state medalist Liam Kirkpatrick and fellow starters Kaden Rife and Dominick Onomastico … But on the other hand, the Trojans bring back a solid group of returners, including an excess of talented reserves who will be battling for starting spots in the lineup … Julian Clark is Chambersburg’s top returner, and the senior will be tasked with leading a Trojans program that logged strong team finishes at Mid-Penns (2nd), districts (3rd), and states (9th) last fall … Individually, Clark will be aiming to improve upon a junior season that saw him take 62nd at states (17:01), 25th at districts (16:17), and 13th at Mid-Penns (16:30) … Fellow starters Aiden Alleman, Boston Vincenti, and Cole Lehman are also projected to return after garnering some valuable postseason experience at states last season … Depth will be a strength for the Trojans, who bring back five other runners in Aden Goshorn, Aaron Goshorn, Isaac Stepan, Brian Morales, and Joseph Moon, all of whom broke 20 minutes in 2024.
Opener: Friday, Aug. 29, at home for Enos Yeager Invitational
Fairfield Knights
Coach: Sarah Skoczen
Division: YAIAA III
Last season: 0-18 overall, 0-5 division
Top projected returners: Wyatt Murphy (Sr.)
Notable: It could be a lonely season for Wyatt Murphy, the only runner projected to return for Fairfield this fall … Unless the Knights can recruit some more talent this season, Murphy will be the last man standing for a program that graduated District 3-1A qualifier Tristin Barnhart, as well as YAIAA qualifier Eddie Gaskin … Murphy also qualified for the district championships, taking 69th in 24:38, an effort that was prefaced by a 124th-place finish in 30:26 at the YAIAA Championships.
Opener: Thursday, Sept. 4, at Northeastern
North Hagerstown Hubs
Coach: N/A
Division: CMC Spires
Top projected returners: Walker Mason (Sr.), Carson Wilt (Sr.), Landon Call (Sr.), Allen Anderson (Sr.), Landon Kelly (Sr.), Lucas Moore (Jr.), Nolan Kocher (Jr.), Gabriel Cassesa (Sr.), Gideon Williams (Jr.), Avi Patel (Jr.), Vibhas Bhat (So.), Bennett Duggan (Sr.)
Notable: North Hagerstown had a phenomenal campaign last fall, and if the deep-rostered Hubs can shake off the graduation of No. 2 and 3 runners Bradley Helman and Rishi Bhat, they’ll be in a great position to compete for more hardware, especially with the return of state contender Walker Mason … As a junior last season Mason conquered the CMC Meet in 15:08 and won the Washington County race in 15:59, before securing runner-up finishes at the 2A/3A West Region Meet (16:24) and MPSSAA 3A State Championships (16:04) … Mason is the preseason favorite to win states following the graduation of Old Mill’s Tsedeke Jakovics, who won the 2024 title in 15:52 … With Mason leading the way as a low-stick runner, North Hagerstown surged to team championships at the CMC and county meets, a runner-up finish at regions, and a third-place showing at states … Four seniors — Carson Wilt, Landon Call, Allen Anderson, and Landon Kelly — return valuable experience from the state meet and will be depended upon to fill the shoes of Helman and Bhat … Lucas Moore and Nolan Kocher are both capable of sub-20 efforts and have the potential to go even lower as juniors this season … As of July 17, North Hagerstown was still accepting applications to fill cross country head coaching vacancy.
Opener: Saturday, Sept. 6, at Brunswick Zumbach Invitational
South Hagerstown Rebels
Coach: Mady Welsh
Division: CMC Spires
Top projected returners: Caleb Rodriguez-Dunkle (So.), Semaj Redman (So.), Daniel Vega (Sr.), Kaleb Rodriguez (So.)
Notable: The Rebels have a small roster, but possess quality over quantity in the form of Caleb Rodriguez-Dunkle and Semaj Redman, two runners who qualified for the 2A/3A West Region meet as freshmen last fall … Rodriguez-Dunkle took 73rd in 23:52, while Redman finished 78th in 26:58 … Senior Daniel Vega is projected to return after posting a 60th-place finish in 30:13 at the Washington County Meet.
Opener: Saturday, Sept. 6, at Clear Spring Rebel Invitational
Smithsburg Leopards
Coach: Adam Rudy
Division: CMC Gambrill
Top projected returners: Michael Wynkoop (Sr.), Dylan Herbst (Jr.), Camilo Mellott (Sr.), Luke Gentzel (Jr.), Charles Higgins (Sr.), Braden Hunt (Jr.), Kyrian Wassell (Jr.), Drake Cool (So.)
Notable: The 2024 cross country campaign was a brilliant one for Smithsburg, but forgive senior Michael Wynkoop and the Leopards if they’re tired of settling for second place … Smithsburg’s postseason was chock full of runner-up team finishes at the Washington County, 1A West Region, and MPSSAA meets … Wynkoop led the way with wins at the CMC Meet (15:11) and over the West Region (16:32), but finished about 10 seconds shy of winning a state title with his second-place time of 16:29 … The Leopards’ No. 2 runner, junior Dylan Herbst, would be the big man on campus at most other programs. He took third at states in 16:34 and recorded a 16:10 at the CMC Meet for fourth place … Senior Camilo Mellott was a state medalist last fall after clcoking a 17:44 for 25th place … Smithsburg graduated a couple of varsity starters in Tyler Younker and Benjamin Jones, but look for the Leopards to overcome those losses with the projected return of Luke Gentzel, Charles Higgins, and Braden Hunt.
Opener: Saturday, Sept. 6, at Brunswick Zumbach Invitational
