Girls cross country preview

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

Defending champs: Last year East Troy surprised some by winning the Division 2 state title. This year the Trojans should be on everyone’s radar. The team returns five of its top seven runners and is still somewhat young. Sophomores Ella Rondeau and Madison Desing were sixth and 17th last year. Christina Nolting, another sophomore, was 38th. Also back are junior Morgan Bartlett (65th) and junior Kaylee McFarland (141st).

Warhawk power: No Arrowhead athlete made our list of individuals to watch, but that doesn’t mean the team won’t be formidable. A regular on the podium, the Warhawks took second last year and have back four runners from the state meet, including three whose points counted toward the team total: seniors Julia Wesley and Kayla Vogt and junior Emily Burant.

RELATED:Boys cross country preview

Classic showing: Speaking of the Classic 8, Arrowhead wasn’t the only team that ran well at state. Kettle Moraine, which took third, fourth-place Waukesha West and eighth-place Muskego also posted top-10 finishes. Those teams were expected to have back more than half the lineups they ran at state.

RUNNERS TO WATCH

Grace Dargiewicz, sr., Waukesha South: An injury from the previous track season affected her performance early, but by the postseason she had returned to form. She ran her best time of the season (18:51.1) at sectionals and took eighth at state in 18:57.28, the best of her state meet finishes.

Libby Geisness, jr., Waukesha South: Last year’s runner-up in the Classic 8 won invitational titles at Muskego and Mukwonago. She went on to qualify for state as an individual and take 40th in 19:35.36 in her first appearance.

Zoe Goodmanson, jr., Pewaukee: Two years ago the Woodland’s defending champion led the Pirates to the Division 2 state title with an eighth-place finish in 19:46.86. Last year the school moved up to Division 1, where she took 28th in 19:25.63.

Kate Jochims, jr., Muskego: The two-time defending Classic 8 champion also has two top-10 finishes at state. She took 10th as a freshman and was third last year in 18:30.14. That was the only race she didn’t take first in last season.

Erin Sorg, sr., Delavan-Darien: The two-time defending Southern Lakes champion is chasing her third Division 2 top-10 finish at state. She took fifth as a sophomore in 19:13.51 and was eighth last season in 19:16.13.

Maggie Keiper, soph., Whitefish Bay: While running in the shadow of graduated standout Cami Davre, Keiper had a strong freshman campaign. She won the Whitefish Bay Invite, took fifth at the North Shore meet and finished in the top 10 in each race. She was 27th at state in 19:23.19.

Meghan Scott, sr., DSHA: The reigning area runner of the year and defending Division 1 champion hopes to rebound from a broken foot that caused her to miss all of track season. She is a three-time state qualifier who has two top-10-finishes under her belt.

Sami Stieve, jr., Germantown: Stieve built on a strong freshman season by winning titles at the Franklin Saber Invite and Fond du Lac Invite and taking second to Davre at the conference and sectional meets. She was 26th at state last year in 19:22.52.

Leah Neustedter, sr., Brookfield Central: With three top-20 finishes at state, Neustedter already has a résumé few can match. Last year she finished no lower than fourth in the regular season and her fifth-place finish at state in 18:46.57 was her fastest time at state by almost 25 seconds.

Kylee Wunschel, jr., Menomonee Falls: Wunschel led Falls to its first state meet appearance in 23 years. She took 23rd at state in 19:21.02 to help her team take 13th in Division 1.

Sydney Pitrof, sr., Racine Horlick: The defending Southeast Conference champion is another rare returning three-time state qualifier. She was 33rd last season in 19:29.25, her best time at state by 35 seconds.

EVENTS TO WATCH

Milwaukee River Invitational, 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln Park: The inaugural meet hosted by Shorewood and Milwaukee King will feature 27 teams, including Whitefish Bay, Wauwatosa East, Homestead and Cedarburg.

Leighton Betz Invitational, 6 p.m. Sept. 1 at Greenfield Park: Defending Division 2 state champion East Troy is part of a field that is also expected to include Muskego, Pewaukee and Arrowhead.

Highlander Invite, 5:20 p.m. Sept. 1 at Tendick Park: Homestead’s annual meet is expected to feature runners from Arrowhead, Brookfield Central, Divine Savior Holy Angels, Menomonee Falls and Sussex Hamilton.

Arrowhead Invitational, 6 p.m. Sept. 7: The Warhawks' meet always brings together some of southern Wisconsin’s top runners and put them on a fast course.