Division III Madison District Time and date: Oct. 19, 9:30 boys, 10:15 girls Teams: Andrews Osborne, Berkshire (girls), Cardinal, Fairport, Kirtland, Lake Catholic (girls), Richmond Heights Favorites: Maplewood (boys), McDonald (girls) Advancement: Boys top four teams and 16 individuals; Girls top five teams and 20 individuals What to watch for: The team race is Maplewood’s to lose, as the Rockets are third in the state poll. Mineral Ridge is also in the poll and is primed to take the second spot in advancement. After them, the final two spots are wide open. McDonald has been a consistent advancement team over the years, so it should be in contention for another advancement. The fourth slot is very open but expect Cardinal, Brookfield and LaBrae to be in contention. Huskies junior Sam Gdovichin is primed for his second straight advancement after finishing second in the CVC Valley. Joey Ciavarelli of Kirtland also posted a strong PR at CVC as well and Cardinal is a very flat and fast course, similar to Madison. Other runners to keep an eye on in the advancement slots are Tor Eastlake of Cardinal, Evan Krizner of Wickliffe and Brenden Patterson of Fairport. … McDonald comes in as the favorite for the girls team race as Maplewood and Kirtland will battle for the team runner-up spot. The Hornets have four runners who have broken 21 this season, headlined by Izzie Copeland with a 19:17.80. They also feature returning state qualifier Ainsley Borthwick. Also in the team race is Cardinal, with three runners breaking 22 this season. The young Huskies team is in a strong spot for one of the other two advancement slots. Ella Strmen of Berkshire has also had a strong freshman campaign and will be among the runners battling for the back half of advancement spots. Division II Madison District Time and date: Oct. 19, 11:30 boys, 12:15 girls Teams: Beaumont, Berkshire (boys), Chagrin Falls, Geneva, Gilmour, Harvey (girls), Hawken, Kenston, Lake Catholic (boys), Madison, NDCL, Perry, VASJ, West Geauga Favorites: Lakeview (boys), Crestwood (girls) Advancement: Boys and girls top seven teams and 28 individuals What to watch for: The boys side of the team race features three teams within five spots of each other in the state poll. Lakeview is the favorite, but Orange and Chagrin Falls are battling for the team title. With seven advancement slots, both Madison and NDCL are in good advancement positions. The Blue Streaks have had several runners step up through a rash of different speed bumps this season. Jefferson will also be in a good position but the seventh spot is up for grabs. Geneva and Kenston have a strong top two but it will be between the mid-pack runners that determine advancement. Brian Gent of Orange is the favorite in a very tight individual race. Jefferson’s Carter Schaubert, the Chagrin Falls trio of Tommy Mooney, Kelan Byrne and Zach Huey plus Ian Res of NDCL and Jacob Williams of West Geauga will have a say. Berkshire’s Danny Auth and Lake Catholic’s Mason Panhorst have been young runners who have made early impacts in their career and will be in contention for advancement spots. … After Crestwood, the team advancement is wide open and for the taking. Teams such as Chagrin Falls, Beaumont, Kenston and Perry will be in good spots. The Pirates got healthy at the right time with Holly Vis and Audrey Morgan-Ard back from early-season injuries and the emergence of freshman Hazel Kananen. The individual race initially also seemed wide open, but then Gabby Byrne broke through. She has the fastest time by 29 seconds in the coverage area and is the clear front runner. Brielle Collins (Hawken), Brianna McIvor (Kenston) and Vis will be in contention for top five finishes. Runners such as Lia Alvord of West Geauga, Kate Papczun of Gilmour, Katie Kovacs of Madison and Olivia Piper of Wickliffe will be in contention for final advancement spots. Lorain District Time and date: Oct. 19, 11:30 boys, 12:15 girls Teams: Beachwood, Benedictine Favorites: Bay, Woodridge (boys); CVCA, Hathaway Brown, Woodridge (girls) Advancement: Boys top six teams and 24 individuals; Girls top seven teams and 28 individuals What to watch for: Five teams are featured in the state poll and with six advancement spots, the battle for sixth will be tight. Beachwood comes in as the favorite for the spot for another advancement to regional. Junbo Wang broke 17 for the first time at CVC, and the top six runners for the Bison have a lower time than the final advancement spot a season ago. … The girls side of the race will see the Bison’s Sasha Kheyfets among the frontrunners and will look for her second year at Boardman for the regional meet. Division I Madison District Time and date: Oct. 19, 1:30 boys, 2:15 girls Teams: Brush, Chardon, Euclid, Harvey, Mayfield, Mentor, North, Riverside, South, University Favorite: St. Ignatius (boys); Solon (girls) Advancement: Boys top eight teams and 32 individuals; Girls top seven teams and 28 individuals What to watch for: The boys team race is going to be close between St. Ignatius and Mentor. Both feature several strong runners and runners 1-7 who could be in advancement spots. Chardon and University are also in strong positions for advancement with several runners in the 16s or lower. But with four advancement spots open, the battle will be interesting. The battle will be between Aurora, Howland, Mayfield, Nordonia, Shaker Heights and Twinsburg. Several runners will be battling for the individual runs, but look for Billy Dennison to be one of the leaders with Matthew Penkowski, Caleb and Jacob Nieset not too far behind. Among the runners battling for the final advancement spots, Ethan Scott of South, Mason Weber of Riverside and Tim Zagar and Jaswant Singh of Mayfield are going to be jockeying for positions. … Solon and Shaker Heights are the only two teams in the state poll on the girls side, so there’s five spots up for grabs. Chardon, Mentor and Riverside are all contenders for the final spots, with runners such as Briella Hewitt, Nora Kraska and Megan Sullivan respectively all contending for individual titles and top 10s as well. Other individuals such as Tillie O’Donnell of South and Makena Bremec of Mayfield are returning regional qualifiers and will again be in contention for advancement. North freshman Melanie Okerwall will be one to watch. She can contend for an advancement spot but will serve as her benchmark of a strong freshman campaign.