By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 39th ASICS Clovis Invitational is scheduled for Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif.

Here are 10 storylines to follow at the one of the most prestigious meets in the country:

Same matchup, different identity

The most anticipated team showdown of the meet is the rematch involving Buchanan CA and Great Oak CA in the girls championship race.

Buchanan prevailed 92-116 in their first meeting Sept. 16 at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in Norco, Calif., but Great Oak’s roster has been bolstered by the return of sophomores Arianna Griffiths and Devin Ito.

Griffiths and Ito are scheduled to join Fatima Cortes, Audrey Dang, Tori Gaitan, Brianna Lucas and Sandra Pflughoft for Great Oak, which is pursuing a fourth consecutive girls championship victory and fifth in the past decade, including a win in 2009.

Buchanan, which last won the Clovis girls championship race in 2012, is led by sophomore Corie Smith and junior Meagen Lowe, who placed first and second at Woodbridge, along with Sydney Fox, Katie Nili and Amanda Dolberg. Lowe was sixth in last year’s championship race and Smith placed 18th for Buchanan, which finished sixth overall.

The race will also feature Davis Senior CA, which placed second to Great Oak at last year’s meet in addition to taking runner-up to the Wolfpack in the past two CIF Division 1 state finals.

Since Buchanan isn’t scheduled to compete Oct. 21 at the Mt. SAC Invitational, this will be the only regular-season meeting for the three teams that occupied last year’s Division 1 state podium, with the next matchup expected Nov. 25 at the state final.

We finally meet

Another intriguing team matchup in the girls championship race is the battle of California Division 2 powers Claremont and Granada.

Granada, the 2011 championship race winner, returns to Clovis after not attending last year’s meet following a victory two seasons ago in the large school race. Claremont, the defending Division 2 state champion, placed fourth in last year’s championship race behind Division 1 programs Great Oak, Davis Senior and Arcadia.

Granada, with the state’s best junior class including Colleen McCandless, Kalea Bartolotto, Kinga Bihari, Gracie Dupuis, Isabella Romero and Kaylie Lawsen, has invitational victories at Lowell, De La Salle/Carondelet and Dana Hills.

Claremont secured one of the most impressive victories in program history Sept. 23 with a 137-140 victory over Bozeman MT at the Bob Firman Invitational in Boise, Idaho.

The Wolfpack, also victorious Sept. 8 at the Cool Breeze Invitational, returns Sydney Hwang, Azalea Segura Mora, Tess Rounds and Alyssa Cantrell, in addition to improving depth with the addition of freshman Angie Gushue.

Seeking a higher standard

Great Oak CA has enjoyed one of the most impressive runs by a boys program in meet history, winning three consecutive championship races and favored to secure a fourth straight title on the 5,000-meter Woodward Park course where it set the all-time record by clocking 76:10 at the 2015 Division 1 state final.

Following a 50-75 victory Sept. 23 over Wayzata MN at the Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights, Minn., Great Oak has its sights set on the meet record of 77:09 set in 2010 by Arcadia CA. The best Clovis performance for the Wolfpack remains 78:00 in 2015.

Great Oak, featuring Carlos Carvajal, Gabe Abbes, Jacob Korgan, Gavin Korby, Ryan Shields, Tyler Tickner and Chris Verdugo, is looking to join Arcadia and Dana Hills as the only programs to run under 77:45 on multiple occasions at Woodward Park.

Best of the rest

Although Loyola and Eleanor Roosevelt are not attending the meet, there are still several talented California programs looking to close the gap against Great Oak in the boys championship race.

Crescenta Valley, Dana Hills and El Toro are among the primary Division 1 challengers, with Dublin, Granada, Claremont and St. Francis Mountain View among the elite competitors in Division 2. West Torrance and Maria Carrillo will also square off in the race in what could be a preview of the Division 3 state final.

Claremont took second in last year’s championship race to Great Oak on its way to capturing the Division 2 state title, with Dana Hills placing third. Dublin won the large school race last season, but demonstrated its capabilities to perform on a bigger stage Sept. 16 when it placed third behind Great Oak and Desert Vista AZ in the Woodbridge sweepstakes race.

An exceptional ensemble cast

Last year, there were a record 12 athletes who broke the 18-minute barrier in the girls championship race, equaling the total from 2014 and 2015 combined.

This season, not only is the record in jeopardy, but depending on the weather and the pace of the race, that total could exceed 15 individuals with one of the most talented fields in meet history.

Thirteen athletes scheduled to race have run under 18 minutes during their careers on the 5,000-meter Woodward Park course, led by senior Olivia O’Keeffe of Davis Senior, who won the Division 1 state last year in 17:28.9.

Other California Division 1 stars Meagen Lowe and Corie Smith of Buchanan, along with Tori Gaitan, Sandra Pflughoft and Fatima Cortes of Great Oak, as well as Oak Ridge sisters Elena Denner and Maddy Denner, Martin Luther King’s Lauren Peurifoy, Homestead’s Elena Kamas and El Toro’s Ashley Messineo are entered in the race.

The Division 2 standouts are led by Capistrano Valley’s Haley Herberg and Alyssa Bautista, Claremont’s Sydney Hwang, Granada’s Colleen McCandless, Ayala’s Mikaela Ramirez, Mission Viejo’s Kelli Hines, Oakmont’s Alize Hartke and St. Francis Sacramento’s Sydney Vandegrift, with Division 3 talents Gillian Wagner of Redwood Larkspur, Sylvia Cruz-Albrecht of Oak Park and Kaylah Grant of Live Oak also expected to compete.

Center stage could produce historic third act

For the first time in meet history, the boys championship race could feature an athlete running under 15 minutes on the 5,000-meter course for a third consecutive year.

After former Arcadia CA standout and Foot Locker runner-up Phillip Rocha ran 14:58 in 2015, Armijo CA graduate Luis Grijalva – now a freshman at Northern Arizona – set the meet record last season by clocking 14:49.9, with Davis Senior star Michael Vernau, currently a Stanford freshman, running 14:52.

The only other time athletes broke 15 minutes in back-to-back years was 2009 and 2010, with a combined four individuals achieving the feat, including Arcadia and Colorado graduate Ammar Moussa doing so in both seasons.

El Camino Real CA senior Justin Hazell, Crescenta Valley CA senior Colin FitzGerald, Redwood Larkspur CA junior Liam Anderson, Dana Hills CA senior Jack Landgraf and Great Oak CA senior Carlos Carvajal are the most likely candidates to join an elite list of 40 male athletes to run under 15 minutes all-time at Woodward Park.

Small school, large legacy

Flintridge Prep is the fastest Division 5 girls program in California history, having won the past three state titles and running a division record 95:19 in last year’s final.

After placing 16th competing against larger schools in the 2015 Clovis championship race, Flintridge Prep returned to the small school race last year and captured the title by a 72-118 margin over Prep League rival Mayfield.

The Rebels return Sophie Gitlin, Sasha Codiga, Jenna Mijares, Gabi Bennett and Caroline Wreszin from last year’s record-setting lineup at the state championship meet, looking for another victory at Woodward Park on their march toward becoming only the second Division 5 program to win four consecutive titles at the Nov. 25 final.

In addition to Mayfield, led by McKenna Smith and Audrey Suarez, and St. Joseph Notre Dame – featuring Emily Perez and Beatrice Levy – the Rebels will also face a unique challenge from McFarland, led by DeDe Salcedo.

Although McFarland boasts an enrollment of 860 students – which should have it competing in Division 4 – and has won the past two CIF Central Section Division 2 titles, the Cougars are competing in the postseason this year in Division 1.

Silver State-Golden State showdown

Standouts from Bishop Manogue, Carson, Centennial, Damonte Ranch, Douglas, Galena, McQueen, Reno and Spanish Springs will have an opportunity to measure themselves on the historic California course less than a month away from the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association state finals in Sparks.

Centennial’s Alexis Gourrier, Bishop Manogue’s Hannah Covington and Rosie Linkus, along with Reno’s Penelope Smerdon and Mikayla Shults are scheduled to compete in the girls championship race, with Andrew Ribeiro and Daniel Horner leading Spanish Springs in the boys championship race.

Spanish Springs’ Alexis Melendrez, Damonte Ranch’s Marena Middleton, McQueen’s Megan Gephart, Carson’s Rheanna Fallini-Jackson, Galena’s Kate Indart and Douglas’ Maya Smith are among the state’s other female talents who are expected to race.

Centennial’s Alexander Miller, Damonte Ranch’s Aric Turner, McQueen’s Mason Keach, Galena’s Carson Leavitt, Reno’s Hanokheliyahu Gailson, Bishop Manogue’s Zach Harris and Douglas’ Sean Dunkelman are promising athletes entered in boys races.

An undercard with underrated stars

The extra large school boys race might be overshadowed by the championship lineup, but there is plenty of individual talent capable of delivering only the third winning time under 15:30 in this race in the past decade.

Newport Harbor CA junior Alexis Garcia, Ayala CA senior Zach Arias, Foothill CA senior Stuart Kendall, JSerra CA sophomore Anthony Grover, Channel Islands CA senior Ricardo Torres, Mission Viejo CA senior Luis Chavez and McClatchy CA senior Jonah Wiener-Brodkey should all be in contention for the individual title.

Arroyo Grande CA graduate and Southern Utah freshman Christian Ricketts ran 15:15.5 in last year’s extra large boys division, the fastest time since the race was added to the schedule in 2006.

Esperanza looks to extend streak

Although Esperanza CA hasn’t competed in the girls championship race at Clovis since 2008, the Aztecs have quietly put together one of the meet’s most impressive streaks in recent years by winning three consecutive titles in the medium school division, including a 90-110 victory last season over Tahoe Truckee CA.

Securing a fourth straight win will be a challenge for Esperanza following the graduation of Shannon Mackellar and Sapna Dholakia, but if Hannah Dumaine, Summer Shea and Lauren Reeves are all capable of competing, then the Aztecs will be in contention again.

In addition to division rivals Laguna Hills, Corona del Mar and Las Lomas, Esperanza will also encounter tough competition from Division 4 programs JSerra, Bishop Amat and San Luis Obispo.