The girls race will feature an interesting team battle. Several teams that are normally not in the conversation for a team title could sneak up and win. Leonardtown is returning with five of seven girls that placed sixth at the state championship last year so I believe that the southern Marylanders may be the favorites. Sherwood looked strong in finishing second at the Woodward Relays, but it is difficult to tell how that will translate to a 5k race. Wootton and B-CC will make season debuts and should be among the top five teams in this meet. We will find out just how legit the Blair girls are after a surprising sixth place finish at the Peter Geraghty Invitational.

Top five predictions:

1. Leonardtown
2. Sherwood
3. B-CC
4. Wootton
5. Blair

This could be a big day for Clarksburg's Abbey Daley who finished fourth at Mount St. Mary's last week. Stephanie Crane of Broadneck finished one place ahead of Ava Farrell at last year's state championship so we will see who worked the hardest over the summer. Crane has a 5:09 1600m to her credit while Farrell clocked 11:38 in the 3200 last spring.

Top ten predictions:

1. Abbey Daley, Clarksburg
2. Stephanie Crane, Broadneck
3. Ava Farell, B-CC
4. Morgana D'Ottavi, Blair
5. Charlotte Bourg, Churchill
6. Katie Nagiel, Rockville
7. Jackie Weiss, Sherwood
8. Madeline Rico, Wootton
9. Karen Cohen, Wootton
10. Jacqui Young, Clarksburg

The boys race is loaded with top teams starting with rivals Gonzaga and Good Counsel. Both teams could potentially get five guys in the top twenty or thirty. Gonzaga looked good in winning the Great Meadow Invitational while Good Counsel was not quite where they wanted to be at Mount St. Mary's. Had their usual fifth man finished, Good Counsel certainly could have won. Where Churchill falls into the mix depends heavily on the health of Will Conway. If his ankle is ready to go and he hasn't lost much fitness, they should also contend for the team title. Sherwood, who took down Churchill at the Woodward Relays, should be a top five team. Battling it out for a top five spot should be 3A opponents Quince Orchard and Einstein. Quince Orchard had a great debut at Mount St. Mary's and everyone is looking forward to seeing what those Einstein boys can do out of the gates. I think those Broadneck and Wootton boys could be pretty good, too, but I'm not sure if they can run with some of these powerhouses yet.

Top five predictions:

1. Good Counsel
2. Gonzaga
3. Churchill
4. Quince Orchard
5. Sherwood

Colin Leibold had an impressive victory in his season debut at Great Meadow and must be considered the favorite here. This was a breakout race for Jackson Reams last year when he placed fourth ahead of Leibold and there's no reason to believe he can't be right back at the front. I think Zach Weinstein of Churchill is another good bet to make a run for the win while Will Conway is a wildcard at the moment. Conor Spaulding, Mike Fitzgerald, and Evan Laratta looked really good last week at Mount St. Mary's.

Top ten predictions:

1. Colin Leibold, Gonzaga
2. Jackson Reams, Sherwood
3. Zach Weinstein, Churchill
4. Conor Spaulding, Quince Orchard
5. Mike Fitzgerald, Good Counsel
6. Evan Laratta, Quince Orchard
7. Jack Reily, Good Counsel
8. Mike Crozier, Gonzaga
9. Kyle Tockman, Sherwood
10. Andrew Ceruzzi, Einstein