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Altoona senior Ashlyn Noce has enjoyed great success during her scholastic cross country career.
She could add to that with a possible District 4-6 Class 3A individual championship on Saturday, but it won't be easy.
Noce is considered one of the favorites in the 3A girls field, along with State College's Evelyn Younkin and Williamsport's Isabella Sanders, in the meet that will be held at Maple Crest Golf Course in Portage this year.
The District 6 1A girls race will begin the day at 9 a.m., followed by 1A boys at 9:30. The District 6 2A girls will start at 11:30 a.m., followed by the 2A boys at noon. The District 4-6 Class 3A girls race is set for 1:30 p.m., followed by the 3A boys at 2 p.m.
Noce finished fourth as a freshman in 2023 and was runner-up the last two seasons. Younkin won last year's race.
"As a frontrunner, Ash has her sights set on a top-three finish,'' Altoona girls coach Tabitha Quinn said. "In the season's races, Ash has been battle-tested against feature PIAA state standouts at (Big Valley), (Penn State), the PIAA Foundation race and the PTSCA meet. She's been priming her challenge field against favorites (Sanders and Younkin), who are in the mix.''
In Class 3A, the top team will advance to the state meet on Nov. 7 at Big Spring High School in Newville, along with the top five non-winning team individuals.
State College is expected to win the 3A girls team title. In addition to Noce, Altoona's Emma Etters and Lana Luke, and Hollidaysburg's Addison Smith and Julia Van Kleunen will be trying to get one of the five individual spots.
In Class 3A boys, Hollidaysburg senior Reuben Manfred figures to be the front-runner among Blair County runners.
"Reuben Manfred has cemented himself as one of the premier distance runners in the area,'' Hollidaysburg coach Travis Singer said. "His races in big invitationals all season long have shown that he is capable of competing with some of the best that the state has to offer, which he will certainly see when competing against State College. While he has set his sights on a strong result at states, he is not looking past the fantastic competition at districts."
Hollidaysburg freshman Mason Kephart should also be in the running for one of the five individual state qualifying spots. Altoona's Archie Glover and Seth Lieb should also be in the mix.
"Archie Glover and Seth Lieb have been our No. 1 and No. 2 runners, pushing each other throughout the entire season, and as a result have become stronger competitors,'' Altoona boys coach Paula Foreman said. "It's been fun to watch. Although State College continues to be the team to beat for the team championship, we believe both Archie and Seth will be strong contenders for securing one of the coveted individual qualifying spots.''
Class 2A
The Central Cambria boys and girls teams appear to be strong contenders to continue their dominance in District 6 Class 2A.
During Randy Wilson's tenure as coach, the Central Cambria girls have won 23 District 6 titles and the boys have won 14.
Jillian Wise, Paige Alexander, who finished third last year, and Delaney Snyder are three of the Lady Red Devils' top runners, while Reed Takacs and Miles Doyle lead the Central Cambria boys.
Two teams and 10 other top individuals will qualify for states in both the boys and girls in 2A.
"There is a lot of tough competition we will be facing on Saturday,'' Wilson said. "Bellefonte will be a strong team to contend with on the boys side, and Forest Hills will be a tough opponent for our girls. Individually, we are hoping to have a few runners on the podium. Both teams have had a strong fall season, and we are looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish at districts.
"Like just about every team at this point in the season, we are dealing with some injuries. Hopefully, our runners have had enough time to recover and heal so that we can be at our best on Saturday. We know we will have our work cut out for us, but we are looking forward to the challenge.''
Class 1A
After winning the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference championship, against many Class 3A and 2A runners, Bishop Carroll sophomore Noah Knobloch appears to be the favorite in the District 6 Class 1A boys race.
Knobloch won the Class 1A race last year as a sophomore. Just like in 2A, two teams and 10 other individuals will qualify for states.
Other area boys who figure to be in the mix include Williamsburg's Tanner Ross, who recently won the Inter-County Conference championship race, and Cambria Heights' Logan Paronish and Mason Kline, who both placed high in the recent Heritage Conference championships.
In Class 1A girls, Williamsburg junior Ava Dixon will be trying to make a return trip to states after finishing third in last year's district race.
Other area top runners in 1A girls include Blake Pennington of Bellwood-Antis, Maggie Barton of Juniata Valley, Sierra Hoover of Cambria Heights and Abbey Hines of Bishop Carroll.