18 of the 25 Montgomery County public schools will be on hand for the 2nd annual Magruder Invitational, making this a crystal clear view into where nearly all the county teams stack up against one another. With Damascus, Walter Johnson, Richard Montgomery and Whitman (among others) competing elsewhere, there will still be some mystery left for championship meets at the end of the season.

This year's Magruder Invitational will not simply be a meet dominated by county public schools with a few others sprinkled in towards the back. Last week's Peter Geraghty Invitational showed that the local private schools are actually a step ahead of many of the top MoCo public schools early on, especially on the boys side. The Gonzaga boys dominated last week with Good Counsel being the only team within striking distance.

DeMatha's Cory Puffett will try to stay undefeated for the season while Gonzaga's Billy Ledder and Good Counsel's Kyle Graves and Jack Riely will be hot in pursuit. We will see the 5k season debut of several of the top returning area runners including Magruder's Nicolas Escobar, Sidwell's John McGowan, and Northwest's Chris Miller.

The girls' competition will feature the season debut of Jessie Rubin and the Wootton girls. Rubin knows she has a target on her back after being voted the preseason top runner in Montgomery County by mocorunning fans. There will be plenty of challengers including Gaithersburg's Abby Spitler who outkicked Rubin at the Magruder Invitational last year and was the top county finisher at the Peter Geraghty Invitational last week. Sidwell's Marissa Repka, Quince Orchard's Stephanie Joson, Good Counsel's Katie Koenig, and Northwest's Alyssa Henshaw will all run with the leaders. The wildcard could be if Marissa Centrowitz shows up stronger than last year with Broadneck's team.

Northwest is the team to beat. Although Britt Eckerstrom is not expected to run, Northwest is still probably strong enough to take on all challengers.

Predictions For Your Entertainment:

Boys Teams:
1. Gonzaga
2. Good Counsel
3. Northwest
4. Churchill
5. Wootton

Boys Individuals:
1. Cory Puffett, DeMatha
2. Billy Ledder, Gonzaga
3. John McGowan, Sidwell Friends
4. Kyle Graves, Good Counsel
5. Jack Riely, Good Counsel
6. Nicolas Escobar, Magruder
7. Collin Liebold, Gonzaga
8. Chris Miller, Northwest
9. Luke Gilman, Broadneck
10. Jack Strabo, Landon

Girls Teams:
1. Northwest
2. Wootton
3. Churchill
4. Quince Orchard
5. Sidwell Friends

Girls Individuals:
1. Jessie Rubin, Wootton
2. Abby Spitler, Gaithersburg
3. Alyssa Henshaw, Northwest
4. Marissa Repka, Sidwell Friends
5. Stephanie Joson, Quince Orchard
6. Katie Koenig, Good Counsel
7. Alex Giedd, Churchill
8. Maryam Fikri, Churchill
9. Andrea Maxwell, Wootton
10. Sarah Sekscienski, Northwest

Teams Signed up as of September 8:

Blair
Bishop McNamara
Bethesda-Chevy Chase
Broadneck
Churchill
Clarksburg
Dematha
Einstein
Elizabeth Seton
Gaithersburg
Good Counsel
Gonzaga
Holy Cross
Kennedy
Landon
Magruder
North Hagerstown
Northwest
Northwood
Quince Orchard
Rockville
Sherwood
Sidwell Friends
Seneca Valley
Springbrook
Stone Ridge
St. John's
Washington Latin
Watkins Mill
Wheaton
Wootton