Mars freshman John Zervos talked about the leap from middle school to high school cross country being about tactics. Developing a strategy though isn't something Zervos discusses, or even thinks about.

After running a personal-best time of 18 minutes, 1 second at the Tri-State Coaches Association Championships at California (Pa.) University last week, Zervos is ready for the biggest challenge.

Zervos, and the rest of the competitors, will need to find the right strategy at the WPIAL Class AA and AAA cross country championships Thursday at Cooper's Lake Campground.

“I honestly don't know,” Zervos said about his strategy. “I don't like to think about it. I just try to go out and whatever happens in the race happens. I don't think about whether to slow up or speed down, I do what my body tells me.”

The Planets, who compete in AA, are hoping to build off their team title at Tri-State last week and qualify for the state tournament. Mars sophomore Caleb Keys is happy with how the team prepared. His best time of the year, 17:53, came at Cooper's Lake Campground about three weeks ago.

Keys was an alternate for the WPIAL race last season.

“I think as the year started we built on distance,” Keys said. “We've focused more on speed this year and have been running faster times.”

Knoch coach Wess Brahler has done everything possible to take advantage of technology to make sure the Knights are ready. The Knoch boys won the Class AA title last season and the girls placed fourth.

For training, Brahler has his kids monitor their training closely.

“With all this technology, so many of the kids have GPS watches,” Brahler said. “It takes some of the guesswork out of it, knowing exactly what our mileage is per week. It's a lot more beneficial.”

Brahler thinks both teams will challenge for states again. He's also excited to see where senior Mandi Moxi finishes. Moxie placed fifth last season and set a school record early this season by running an 18:15 on Knoch's home course.

“She has potential to win this race,” Brahler said. “She's primed and ready to go.”

In Class AAA, Seneca Valley will have high aspirations. The Raiders' girls squad won the Class AAA title last season and return Mariah Mack, Isabella Biase, Rachel Hensler and Julia Kooser. On the boys' side, Michael Kolor will be among the favorites to win.

Zervos is excited to take his first crack at WPIALs. He doesn't have any plan and will figure that out when the race starts.

“It's not something you can talk to anybody about,” Zervos said. “Everybody races different, people start and end at different speeds. It took me one or two races to get in the swing of what I'm supposed to do, where to speed up and slow down. I'm just going to get my feet wet and prepare.”