As good as Chambersburg’s girls cross country squad was last fall – the Trojans finished second in the Mid-Penn Conference, third in District 3-3A, and 15th in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association – Coach Chris Monheim’s group has the potential to be even better this season.
Chambersburg is projected to return a lineup that features both star power and a deep stable of talented runners who will be competing for the final starting spots. With this team, the Trojans would love nothing more than to win their first district title since 2013, and 13th in program history.
Optimism has to be running high at Waynesboro, as the Tribe are projected to return every member of last year’s team. Other squads, like North Hagerstown and Smithsburg, will be aiming to rebuild their lineups as the schools graduated some of the area’s best runners last year.
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 month.
Below are team-by-team preview capsules for the seven girls cross country squads in the Local.News1 coverage area:
Waynesboro Tribe
Coach: Jennifer Atkinson
Division: Mid-Penn Colonial
Top projected returners: Ella Swart (Sr.), Morgan Price (Sr.), Ariabella Dimino (So.), Katie Behnke (Jr.), Allison McCallum (Sr.), Braelyn Thompson (Jr.), Leah Bryan (So.), Naomi Alvarez Castillo (So.)
Notable: Look for Waynesboro to be a force in the Colonial Division and beyond as the Tribe are projected to return every starter from last fall’s squad, a group which took 15th at the Mid-Penn Championships … Waynesboro returns four District 3-3A qualifiers, including seniors Ella Swart and Morgan Price, who both broke 21 minutes at the meet and finished 65th and 83rd, respectively … Ariabella Dimino (21:25) and Katie Behnke (22:21) also ran at districts and are projected to return this season … Look for Mid-Penn qualifiers Allison McCallum, Braelyn Thompson, and Leah Bryan to challenge for starting spots and provide depth.
Opener: Friday, Aug. 29, at Chambersburg Enos Yeager Invitational
Greencastle-Antrim Blue Devils
Coach: Rich Secrest
Division: Mid-Penn Colonial
Top projected returners: Monica Schemel (So.), Sophia Denlinger (Jr.), Rachael Graham (So.)
Notable: The biggest thing to watch for Greencastle-Antrim this season will be if the Blue Devils can find the athletes to field a team around returning starters Monica Schemel and Sophia Denlinger … Those two runners were both Mid-Penn qualifiers, with Schemel finishing 135th in 25:36 and Denlinger placing 137th in 25:42 … Shalini Maharah, who also competed at the conference meet, has been lost to graduation … Sophomore Rachael Graham could give the Blue Devils a boost after competing in JV last season.
Opener: Friday, Aug. 29, at Chambersburg Enos Yeager Invitational
Chambersburg Trojans
Coach: Chris Monheim
Division: Mid-Penn Commonwealth
Top projected returners: Brook Boone (Jr.), Madelyn Koons (Sr.), Natalie Quinn (Jr.), Kaylie Savage (So.), Annamarie West (Jr.), Raegen Hepner (Sr.), Zara Ward (Jr.), Maggie Holtry (Jr.), Marlee Jackson (Sr.), Addi Williams (Sr.), Kylie Savage (So.), Ella Beynon (Sr.), Olivia Coy (Sr.), Tara Brown (Sr.), Molly Yardley Gontz (Jr.).
Notable: Chambersburg returns the bulk of a roster that made waves last season with high team finishes at the Mid-Penn (2nd), District 3-3A (3rd), and PIAA (15th) championship meets … Spearheading the Trojans’ attack this fall will be a trio of upperclassmen in Brook Boone, Mady Koons, and Natalie Quinn … Boone and Koons both logged Top 10 finishes at the Mid-Penn meet, while Koons posted a 19:19 for an 18th-place finish at districts … Quinn clocked a 20:34 to take 57th at districts last year … Chambersburg graduated a key runner in Dana Rosenberry, but the Trojans are projected to return three starters in Kaylie Savage, Annamarie West, and Raegen Hepner … Chambersburg is well stocked with runners who could compete for spots in the lineup, including but not limited to Zara Ward, Maggie Holtry, Marlee Jackson, Addi Williams, Kylie Savage, and Ella Beynon.
Opener: Friday, Aug. 29, at home for Enos Yeager Invitational
Fairfield Knights
Coach: Sarah Skoczen
Division: YAIAA III
Last season: 1-16 overall, 0-4 division
Top projected returners: Amber Skoczen (Jr.), Haley Best (Sr.), Sara Turner (Sr.), Emma Haines (Sr.)
Notable: Fairfield will be putting its chips behind three runners who competed in the postseason last year … Junior Amber Skoczen and senior Haley Best were both District 3-1A qualifiers last season … Skoczen took 51st at districts in 29:39, while Best posted a 32:56 for 56th place … The Knights also return senior Sara Turner, who ran for a 33:49 for 106th place at last season’s YAIAA 1A Meet.
Opener: Thursday, Sept. 4, at Northeastern
North Hagerstown Hubs
Coach: N/A
Division: CMC Spires
Top projected returners: Anna Chamberlin (Sr.), Anna Ramanan (So.), Anabelle Myers (Jr.), Emma Robinson (So.), Ana Alesson Fernandez (Sr.).
Notable: New leaders will need to emerge for North Hagerstown, which graduated perhaps the best 1-2 combination in the state in the form of Lauren Stine and Rian Johnson … Stine, now competing for Penn State, won the MPSSAA 3A state title in 18:23 after marching through the postseason with victories at the West Region Meet (18:24), Washington County Meet (17:57), and CMC Meet (17:19) … Johnson finished 14th at states and landed Top 4 finishes at all three of the other postseason meets … Those two girls, along with No. 3 runner Ella Hajel, guided the Hubs to a Washington County team championship, to go along with top finishes in the CMC (3rd), region (2nd), and states (6th) … The good news for North Hagerstown is the team is projected to return several runners with postseason experience, including Anna Chamberlin, Anna Ramanan, Anabelle Myers, Emma Robinson, and Ana Alesson Fernandez … Chamberlin, a senior, is the fastest returner among the bunch. She recorded a 22:10 for 64th at states and finished 10th in the county meet in 22:57 … As of July 17, North Hagerstown was still accepting applications to fill the cross county head coaching vacancy.
Opener: Saturday, Sept. 6, at Brunswick Zumbach Invitational
South Hagerstown Rebels
Coach: Mady Welsh
Division: CMC Spires
Top projected returners: Jupiter Schellhase (Sr.), Brianna Price (Sr.), Aniyah Lubin (So.)
Notable: South Hagerstown will once again have a small roster this fall, but senior Jupiter Schellhase will do everything in her power to keep the Rebels relevant on the cross country scene … Schellhase had a standout postseason last year, taking 23rd at the CMC Meet (20:14), fourth at the Washington County Meet (21:07), 16th at the 3A West Region Meet (21:55), and 36th at states (21:02) … Senior Brianna Price and sophomore Aniyah Lubin also return valuable experience for South Hagerstown … Price took 29th in the county (32:02) last fall, while Lubin placed 34th in 41:23.
Opener: Saturday, Sept. 6, at Clear Spring Rebel Invitational
Smithsburg Leopards
Coach: Adam Rudy
Division: CMC Gambrill
Top projected returners: Jordyn Davidson (Jr.), Melyssa Bard (Jr.), Maru Weidmyer (Jr.), Estella Henkell (Sr.), Jazmina Demar (Sr.), Nafi Sallah (Jr.), Miya Lewis (Jr.), Jez Unger (Jr.)
Notable: After one of the biggest seasons in school history — which saw the Leopards take second at MPSSAA 1A states and win the West Region crown — Smithsburg finds itself in a rebuilding campaign after graduating eight seniors, including all seven runners in the starting lineup … The biggest loss is that of Cora Gentzel, a runner now competing for Radford University. Gentzel won the region (20:13) and CMC Meet (18:47), took second at states (19:51), and third at the Washington County Championships (20:14) last season … In addition to Gentzel, Smithsburg will need to find a way to fill the shoes of graduated runners Grace Ellis, Ella Fisher, Kayla Hawbecker, Taylor King, Jenna Howe, Maritza Oliva, and Alaina Pate … Junior Jordyn Davidson is projected to be the top returning runner for the Leopards after posting a 26:51 for 19th place at last fall’s county meet … Melyssa Bard, Maru Weidmyer, and Estella Henkell also landed Top 25 finishes at the county meet and are expected to return this season … Look for Jazmina Demar, Nafi Sallah, Miya Lewis, and Jez Unger to also compete for varsity spots … Adam Rudy, the head coach for Smithsburg’s track squad, takes over the cross country program following the retirement of Ray Shriver … Shriver, a Washington County Hall of Fame inductee in 2022, led the Leopards for 24 years and guided his teams to four state title and five runner-up finishes.
Opener: Saturday, Sept. 6, at Brunswick Zumbach Invitational
