The road to Hershey, I mean Big Spring, starts to become a little clearer this weekend.
The 20th PIAA Foundation Cross Country Invitational will take place Saturday, September 26, at Big Spring High School in Newville. With 131 teams scheduled to attend, Foundation once again brings together programs from across the PIAA, giving athletes an opportunity to see where they stand against competition from across Pennsylvania.
For Western Pennsylvania, the meet will provide a good look at several WPIAL programs as they match up against teams from across the state. Of the 131 teams scheduled to attend, 36 are from the WPIAL, making up more than a quarter of the field.
The day begins with the Class A girls at 9:00 a.m., followed by the AA girls at 9:45 and AAA girls at 10:30. The boys take over with Class A at 11:15, AA at noon, and AAA at 12:45 p.m. The JV races will close out the day beginning at 1:30 p.m.
This preview highlights six teams and 20 individuals to watch in each classification. The lists are based primarily on submitted seed times and the depth shown throughout the entry lists. These are not predictions of the final results, but simply a look at some of the teams and athletes to keep an eye on throughout the day.
All teams and athletes included in this preview were pulled from the PIAA Foundation entry lists on Sunday, September 20.
Class A Girls Teams to Watch
Our Lady of Sacred Heart
Elk Lake
Winchester Thurston
Mercer Area
Cranberry
Lakeview
20 Runners to Watch
Kendyl Weisgold — Elk Lake
Currence Bigham — Winchester Thurston
Beatrice Kolesar — Cranberry
Jules Goshen — Our Lady of Sacred Heart
Addie Mausser — Mercer Area
Hannah Hayes — Our Lady of Sacred Heart
Ali Elliott — Reynolds
Natalie Yonker — Cowanesque Valley
Mira Mosca — Our Lady of Sacred Heart
Hannah Love — Central Clarion
Indie Pascal — Winchester Thurston
Reese Digiacomo — Saegertown
Anna Alexander — Lakeview
Myla Bland — Saegertown
Eva Crofford — Our Lady of Sacred Heart
Hope Stiteler — Northgate
Abbie Hastings — North Clarion
Ava Pablic — Bishop Carroll
Madison Kerr — Elk Lake
Emily Blough — Mercer Area
Class A Boys Teams to Watch
Winchester Thurston
Riverside
Lakeview
Union City
South Side
Oswayo Valley
Neshannock
20 Runners to Watch
Zachary Sharara — Sewickley Academy
Parker Upright — Elk Lake
Reeve Flotta — Winchester Thurston
Josh Mitcham — Union City Area
Jack Iyer — Winchester Thurston
Malachi Phillips — Lakeview
Atticus Mingo — Winchester Thurston
Silas Mayne — Commodore Perry
Thomas Gavin — Holy Cross
Ayan Ganesh — Winchester Thurston
Evan Beamer — Susquehanna Community
Jack Davies — Riverside
Noah Knobloch — Bishop Carroll
Travis Coriaty — Oswayo Valley
Ian Dilts — South Side
Lucas Savolskis — Lakeview
Andrew Connor — Riverside
Zaiden George — Northgate
Tyler Cooke — South Side
Isaac Vangura — Aquinas Academy
Class AA Girls Teams to Watch
Cathedral Prep
Danville Area
Central Cambria
North Catholic
Hickory
Springfield Township
Blue Mountain
20 Runners to Watch
Lauren Kosek — Wellsboro Area
Emily Fisher — Somerset Area
Libby Marteeny — Somerset Area
Mira Moschillo — Hickory
Charlotte Barker — Shady Side Academy
Alissa Kyte-Yech — Bellefonte Area
Bella Ascherl — Forest Hills
Paige Alexander — Central Cambria
Odin Ryer — Danville Area
Sophie Becker — Cathedral Prep
Makayla Stutts — Cathedral Prep
Annabelle Whelan — Springfield Township
Janie Cotner — Danville Area
Delaney Snyder — Central Cambria
Emma Peterson — Warren Area
Anna Morris — North Catholic
Lake Dent — Selinsgrove
Brooklyn Steeber — Belle Vernon
Zita Schiedel — Cathedral Prep
Isabelle Gabrielsen — Danville Area
Class AA Boys Teams to Watch
Bellefonte Area
North Catholic
Central Cambria
North East
Bishop Shanahan
Danville Area
Warren Area
20 Runners to Watch
Jonah Montagnese — Quaker Valley
Jack Steineman — North Catholic
Asher Baker — Big Spring
Jonathan Gasper — Bellefonte Area
Cody Lusby — Octorara
Bowen Williams — Bellefonte Area
Luca Flitcraft — Hopewell
Reed Takacs — Central Cambria
Cole Fitzgerald — Warren Area
Brody Graham — Blackhawk
Kaiden Branan — Indiana Area
Harlan Cooper — Shady Side Academy
Leyton Salvatore — Warren Area
Wesley Oldfield — Danville Area
Leonidas Soto — Belle Vernon
Gavin Wenger — Big Spring
David Kristine — Freeport Area
Daniel Zimmermann — Bishop Shanahan
Ebin Hine — Mount Carmel Area
Miles Doyle — Central Cambria
Class AAA Girls Teams to Watch
Norwin
Fox Chapel
North Allegheny
State College
Williamsport Area
Altoona Area
Downingtown East
20 Runners to Watch
Kathryn Froelich — Peters Township
Angela Zeng — South Fayette
Isabelle Sanders — Williamsport Area
Hailey Long — Mars Area
Samantha Strelick — North Allegheny
Ashlyn Noce — Altoona Area
Evelyn Younkin — State College
Madeline Sanders — Williamsport Area
Emily Dansak — Norwin
Jillian Ryba — Norwin
Olivia Greeley — Gwynedd-Mercy Academy
Anna Dansak — Norwin
Claire Loiudice — Fox Chapel
Addison Farrah — Norwin
Ashley Dougherty — Downingtown East
Bridget Hemingray — Fox Chapel
Sofia Weimer — Hempfield Area
Emma Etters — Altoona Area
Paige Damico — Seneca Valley
Ella Shevchuk — Fox Chapel
Class AAA Boys
Class AAA Boys Teams to Watch
La Salle College
Norwin
State College
North Allegheny
Pennsbury
Manheim Township
20 Runners to Watch
Luke Bradbury — State College
Benjamin McBride — Norwin
Finn Malone — Council Rock South
Ben Doumaux — Manheim Township
Casey Aaron — Pennsbury
Bobby Franklin — La Salle College
Gatik Hirwani — North Allegheny
Wyatt Case — North Allegheny
Charlie Kapanowski — Pine-Richland
Alexander Barrett — Norwin
Kyle Fritzsche — State College
Stephen Atteberry — Manheim Township
Declan Odonnell — Norwin
Ben DiCola — La Salle College
Asher Eckel — Fox Chapel
Griffin Martin — South Fayette
Dexter Walker — State College
Thomas Ruffing — State College
Gregory Hock — La Salle College
Max Hulays — Hershey
A Look Back at 2025
Last year’s Foundation meet produced several performances that set the stage for the rest of the season. Josephine Lenart of Shady Side Academy won the Class A girls race, while Shady Side Academy also captured the team title. Baylee Espinosa of Lewisburg won the AA girls race, with Gwynedd-Mercy Academy taking the team championship. In AAA, Annie Czajkowski led Norwin to a sweep of the individual and team titles.
On the boys’ side, Gabe Simkiss won Class A, Jonah Montagnese captured the AA individual title, and Carter Smith won AAA. Lakeview, Hughesville, and North Penn took home the respective team championships.
Final Thoughts
Which athletes and teams will make the return trip to Hershey, I mean Big Spring, on Saturday, November 7, to compete for PIAA medals, individual state championships, and team titles?
For several athletes who aren’t familiar with Big Spring, Saturday will also be an opportunity to learn a new course, understand where they can make their moves, and get a feel for what could be waiting for them in November.
Foundation will not decide what happens when everyone returns for the postseason, but it will give us one of the best opportunities so far this season to see many of Pennsylvania’s top teams and individuals competing on the same course on the same day.
For the WPIAL, 36 programs will make the trip east with an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best competition from across Pennsylvania. With six varsity races, nearly 1,900 runners, 131 teams, and plenty of talent throughout every classification, Saturday should give us a much better picture of where things stand as September comes to a close.
The road to Hershey, I mean Big Spring, starts Saturday.
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