The newly formed Metro region saw its first championship contested at Rowan’s Dream Park last year. This year each team will compete alongside one another on the rolling hills of DeSales. Transfers, incoming freshmen, returning stars, and breakout performers will all spike up to toe the line in the hunt for a bid to the national meet. Only one team is guaranteed to go, so expect the race upfront to be fierce. Will another team prove themselves worthy throughout the regular season to make that second-place finish enough? Only time will tell, but I have compiled some insight into how things might shake out. At the end of the day, though, anything can happen.

Men’s Preview

On the men’s side, the team title appears to be a race for second, as distance monolith Haverford returns a strong contingent of harriers. The Haverford men boast immense depth in the outdoor 5000m, with six returning runners under 15 minutes. At the top end of that pack are Ryan Kredell and Max Brelig. Both finished within the top four in the 2021 Metro Regional Meet, being bested only by Ramapo’s Chris Andersen and Steve Fiumefreddo. With the pair having graduated, Kredell and Brelig are in a great position to start Haverford’s scoring off with some very low placements. Another likely lowstick for Haverford is Jamie Moreland, one of the country's strongest 1500m runners. With low-four-minute mile speed, 14:54 5k strength, and experience on the national stage, look for Moreland to be mixing it up in the front of the race come November. Another fierce piece in their arsenal will be Peter LaRochelle. LaRochelle ran 14:48 in the 5k in his freshman campaign. With another year of strength and mileage, he could do some serious damage. The remaining scorers for the Haverford men are nearly impossible to predict as their incredible depth runs far more than seven deep. Aaron Bratt, Peter Buckley, Reza Eshghi, Nico Tripeny, Miles Colescott, and Nathaniel Leighninger surely have those positions in mind. So many men gunning for those crucial scoring spots always creates a heightened intensity in training and should bode well for these men come the championship season.

While Haverford looks poised to defend their Metro Region title, they will be met with opposition. The massive target on the Goat’s backs has probably inspired some ferocious summer miles from their competitors. In 2021, the closest team to challenging the champions was the men of TCNJ. They return five of their top seven runners and have enjoyed some breakout successes on the track that they’ll hope to carry onto the course at DeSales. Senior Kevin Christensen managed to rally from a tough regional cross country race to a bid to the outdoor national meet in the steeplechase. His impressive 9:07 in the event establishes him as one of the favorites in the field. He’s joined up front by teammates Michael Rodriguez, who ran 3:55 in the 1500m as a freshman, and Michael Bond and Chase Miller, who have run 15:00 and 15:01, respectively. The Lion’s scoring looks like it will be rounded out by Ben Fanta, Gabriel Calandri, and potentially Brandon Chen, a freshman who finished 11th at the NJ Meet of Champions. To take down Haverford, they will need strong running up front by Christensen backed up by a tight pack of their next four.

While TCNJ outperformed them on the cross country course in 2021, the Profs of Rowan handed it back to them on the track. Young stars will join promising transfers and a host of veterans to form a deep and well-rounded team. Leading the charge looks to be senior Justin Kelly. In his first race donning a Rowan uniform after transferring from Stony Brook, Kelly posted a 25:07 and took down a field of runners from multiple divisions. The remainder of the season saw him sidelined with sickness, but if he’s in peak form, he’ll be tough to take down upfront. Another runner that could shake things up for the Profs is a recent transfer, Ben Woodward. As the 5000m record holder at Rider University, he will be a force to be reckoned with on the course. Joining these transfer students is a large cast of talented young runners. Jake Riley, Shane Vostanek, and Giancarlo Vega have already posted impressive times in their freshman years. If the trio can continue to rise and improve, Rowan will be a contender for that second-place spot and perhaps even a team title.

The last team that looks ready to make a run is Swarthmore. Led up front by their two stars, Aiden Cantine and Atticus Hempel, they’ll rely on the duo to score low and hope that a string of other talented runners can fill in the gaps. Expect Harrison Kim, a strong 10k runner, and Colin DeLaney, a steeple runner, to show up on the day and help the team. That fifth spot will be essential for the men of Swarthmore, and it appears it may belong to Sam Brody or Ethan Rothenburg. While TCNJ and Rowan seem to have the best shot of taking down Haverford, don't be surprised if the men of Swarthmore put it together on the day to snag a potential top-three finish. 

The individual title for the men is shaping up to be a tight battle. The top teams all have athletes with a shot. With so much on the line, it will be a matter of who can rise to the occasion that day. A kicker’s race favors Christensen, Cantine, Moreland, and Riley as they all have 4:10 or faster speed in the mile, but it’s doubtful that Kredell, Brelig, and Kelly will neglect to use their strength to make it an honest pace. Any of those guys could take it home, and the only sure thing is that it’s going to be close. 

Women’s Preview

While the men’s race might play out similarly to last year, the women’s side appears to be a completely different landscape. Eight of last year's top-ten finishers were seniors and have thus left the door wide open for new talent to shine. Defending champions Haverford and runners-up Swarthmore do not appear to be returning the same firepower that saw them leading the field last year. To count either program out would be foolish, but it looks like some former underdogs are ready to pounce on this opportunity.

After a massive statement in both indoor and outdoor track, the women of Widener have cemented themselves as the team to beat for this upcoming season. They finished third in 2021 and returned all seven runners who competed on that team. At the front of the pack are Carly Gable and Grace Murphy. The pair have both run sub-18 in the 5k and are only 2 seconds apart, boasting personal bests of 17:52 and 17:54, respectively. They finished 11th and 12th in last year’s race, but with so many of the girls ahead of them being seniors, they are returning as the third and fourth highest finishers. Expect both to be gunning for the individual title and leading the charge for the rest of their team. Following that pair up front is another duo with impressive 5k bests within seconds of one another. Sarah Groetz and Emily Cooney have posted times of 18:33 and 18:34. The two ran those times as freshmen, and with another year of training together and pushing each other, do not be surprised if they find themselves near the front of the pack. Rounding out the scoring for these ladies could be one of many talented runners. Katelyn Bernotas has run 4:48 in the 1500m, and Jaden Sweeley has gone 4:57. Liz Egan has run 19:05 in the 5k. In addition to those three, Gabriella Nye was the team’s third runner at regionals last year but has not competed since that race. She could be right up there with either duo if she is healthy and ready to go. With so many strong runners, especially with multiple runners so close to one another, it would take an insane performance to bring down Widener at this year’s championship.

The next team that absolutely can not be overlooked is the women of Ursinus. They finished a modest 8th place last year, but the young squad turned things around dramatically on the track. Rachel Conhoff is one of the individual favorites. Her 6th place finish in 2021 cements her as the top returner, and she backs that title up with a 17:55 5k and a 4:35 1500m. If the race comes down to a sprint, her 1500m prowess could signal a commanding victory. Behind her are Holly Chambers, Ryann Wauthier, and Samantha Grubb. Chambers and Wauthier have run 18:27 and 18:34, and Grubb is close behind with a 19:04. Rounding out the scoring looks like it could be Brooke Adams. Adams was the third cross country scorer last year and has run 12:36 in the steeple and 2:26 in the 800m. If all five of these girls can put it together simultaneously, then Ursinus will be a serious contender for the win, or at the very least that second-place spot.

Rounding out the top three could be one of any number of teams, but with a great deal of depth and pack running, it’s looking like the TCNJ women might claim that third spot. Up front looks to be Salini Iyer and Cassidy Quinn, but don’t be surprised if Jenna Priore, Liz Askin, Riley Stellitano, and Lea Martin are all close by. Quinn has run 18:34 in the 5k, and Iyer was the NJAC cross country champion as a freshman marking them each as standout talents. Stellitano, however, has proven herself on the course as the top TCNJ returner from the 2021 meet. Priore has run 19:08 and Askin has run 19:17, and Martin is close behind with a 19:45. Expect TCNJ’s top five and top seven to shift around a lot throughout the season and that depth to surge them to a strong finish come the regional meet.

As far as individuals go, Conhoff, Murphy, and Gable have a chance at placing well. But there are also several other women with a real shot at bringing home glory on the day. Rose Teszler of Swarthmore will undoubtedly be a runner in contention for the title as her 2:12 800m speed makes her the fastest middle distance runner in the field. In addition to being one of the best 800m runners in the country, she is the second fastest returner in the entire region. She was bested only by Conhoff in last year’s competition. In a kickers race, Teszler is definitely favored. On the other side of the coin is Haverford’s Katherine Hirsche. While Teszler has the speed, Hirsche has the strength. At her conference meet, she posted the best 10k time of any woman in the entire region and then doubled back with an 18:08 5k to match her personal best. All five of these women have their strengths, and all five look to be in great shape to take home the individual crown.