CHAMBERSBURG – The Enos Yeager Invitational is commonly known as the “warm up” meet for the high school cross country season.
But try telling that to the runners – a group that includes district and state qualifiers – who will be feeling that competitive itch when they charge up the hills of the Tim Cook Memorial Course at Falling Springs Elementary.
By the time the runners cross the finish line of the 2.33-mile race on Friday evening, they’ll be more than “warmed up” for the Mid-Penn Conference dual season, which kicks off next week.
Invite host Chambersburg will be aiming to wow the home crowd with a potent group of athletes that made plenty of noise in the district postseason last fall, while talented Commonwealth Division rival Carlisle will be gunning to steal the spotlight from the Trojans.
Throw in Franklin County squads Waynesboro and Greencastle-Antrim, along with seven other teams, and it’s easy to see how this friendly trail run could get heated in a hurry.
We’ve selected the Yeager Invite as our Meet of the Week.
In the weeks and months to come throughout the high school sports season, we plan on spotlighting mulitple teams and sports with our Game or Meet of the Week. Any big upcoming events we should know about? Send suggestions to Andy Sandrik via email at [email protected].
Enos Yeager Invitational
Start time: Friday, 5:15 p.m., at Falling Springs Elementary
Race distance: 2.33 miles
Teams: Chambersburg, Waynesboro, Greencastle-Antrim, Carlisle, Big Spring, Gettysburg, Northern, James Buchanan, Shippensburg, Shalom Christian, Forbes Road
Meet the Trojans: Chambersburg is loaded with top-shelf talent, coupled with depth for days, on both the girls and boys squads … Even without the services of top runner Mady Koons, who chose to play soccer this fall, expect the Trojan girls to dominate the Top 15 … Natalie Quinn and Brook Boone — a pair of Top 10 runners at the Mid-Penn meet last season — will be looking to carve out top finishes at the Yeager Invite .. Boone took sixth at this meet last season in 16:08, while Quinn was 11th in 16:39 … Several other talented runners are projected to return on Friday eager to improve upon their placement from 2024: Kaylie Savage (12th), Raegen Hepner (15th), Addisyn Williams (26th), Annnamarie West (28th), Ellianna Rife (30th), Zara Ward (34th), and Maggie Holtry (35th) … Don’t be surprised if Chambersburg’s ninth-grade girls leave an impression in their debut race. A number of these freshmen showcased their potential in a preseason scrimmage with Greencastle, including Lillian Spohn, Arrabella Rife, Isabel Clark, Taliya Raber, Payton Loraw, and Atlea Pereschuk … Senior Julian Clark, a district medalist and state qualifier in 2024, will be aiming for victory in the boys race after taking fourth in 12:49 last season … Clark will be pushed by fellow senior Aiden Alleman, who placed third in the Yeager Invite in 12:48 last fall … Boston Vincenti and Brian Morales will be seeking Top 25 finishes after taking 28th and 31st, respectively, last year … Chambersburg has several freshman runners who could make a splash in their varsity debut: Liam Coy, Ben Lin, Hunter Boone, Liam Gillman, Logan Bert, and Archer Dice.
Meet the Tribe: Junior Morgan Price will be gunning for another solid showing at the Yeager Invite after she placed seventh in 16:20 last fall … District qualifiers Ella Swart and Katie Behnke are projected to run the Yeager after placing 19th and 40th, respectively, last season … The course at Falling Springs Elementary will be familiar to five other girls who competed in this race a year ago: Leah Bryan, Braelyn Thompson, Allison McCallum, Naomi Alvarez Castillo, and Maddie Ruefle … The Tribe boys will be marching out a couple of district qualifiers of their own in Devin Barger and Nate Snyder. While Snyder didn’t run the Yeager Invite last season, Barger landed an 18th-place finish in 13:31 … Noah Hoxie has the potential for a Top 25 finish after taking 32nd in 14:05 in 2024 … Samuel Rae (58th), Gavin Miller (66th), Jason Imwald (75th), and Mason Sensenbaugh (79th) could also be on the race paths after competing in this invite last year.
Meet the Blue Devils: With senior Noah Parks in the boys lineup, Greencastle-Antrim has to feel like it has a chance to claim a podium spot. Parks didn’t run in the Yeager Invite last season, but he is the Blue Devils’ top returner this fall after running a 16:54 at the Mid-Penn meet in 2024 … Senior Logan Bohrer will be aiming for a Top 25 finish on Friday after taking 26th in 13:56 last year … Billy Bender (52nd in 15:23) and Abric Coy (54th in 15:41) will be aiming to improve upon last season’s performance, as will Ryan Gearhart (61st in 16:29) … Four boys competed for Greencastle in its preseason scrimmage and could make a return for the Blue Devils in this race: Ace Monn, Bradley Wolter, Colin Thomas, and John Rowan … Greencastle’s girls won’t be able to keep freshman Avery Russell a secret for long. Her varsity debut in a preseason scrimmage against Chambersburg was a successful one, as she posted a 5K time of 21:26 to take third place in a Top 10 that was otherwise filled with Trojan runners … Sophia Denlinger took 44th in 19:15 at the Yeager Invite last season and is expected to compete again this season, as is Monica Schemel, who posted a 56th-place finish in 19:53 … Senior Shalini Maharaj got some miles under belt at the Chambersburg scrimmage and could once again be on the course on Friday.
Meet the invaders: Team scores aren’t kept for this invitational, but if they were, Carlisle would be in contention for the championship as the Herd bring back several talented runners, including both Yeager Invite champions … The biggest star on the course just might be Carlisle senior Ana Bondy, who won last year’s invite in 14:32 and went on to win Mid-Penns, before placing fourth at districts and second at states … Bondy is backed by three girls who all landed Top 20 finishes at the Yeager Invite last fall: Greta Shepard, Elisabeth Bordner, and Natalya Kennedy … Northern’s girls bring back junior Lily Hayes, who took second last year in 15:15, while Gettysburg’s Sammy Campbell also returns after taking third in 15:25 … Two Shippensburg girls that ran this race last season, River Burrows (13th) and Madalyn Kauffman (23rd), are projected to return … On the boys side, Carlisle’s Kolbin Heberlig will be among the favorites to win. Heberlig — a Top 10 finisher at Mid-Penns, district medalist, and state qualifier — won last season’s meet in 12:35 … Heberlig’s expected to be flanked by three others who finished in the Top 20: Seth Reichenbach, Hudson Focht, and Denny Shank … Northern’s Burke Heltzel finished seventh in 12:59 last year, and will be looking to place even higher this season … Gettysburg’s boys will try to make an impact with the sharp running of Nico Oshunrinade and Brody Hebert, runners who took 11th and 16th last season, respectively … Shippensburg’s Rylan Asper (14th) and Collin Hackl (21st) should both be in attendace after landing Top 25 finishes last season.
