By Erik Boal, DyeStatCAL Editor

The 43rd annual Stanford Invitational is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Stanford Golf Course.

Here are 10 storylines to follow at the one of the most prestigious high school and college invitationals in the country:

We meet again

For the first time this season and the first of three expected regular-season meetings, including the Clovis Invitational and Mt. SAC Invitational, the top two girls teams in the state Great Oak and Davis Senior will square off in the seeded race. Great Oak edged Davis Senior by two points at last year's Division 1 state final, then the Blue Devils rebounded to place second ahead of the third-place Wolfpack the following week at Nike Cross Nationals. Arcadia, which edged Davis Senior in last season's seeded race, is expected to field its strongest lineup of the year in an attempt to defend its title. Great Oak will line up Evelyn Mandel, Nicole Rice, Kiyena Beatty, Sydney Belus, Sandra Plughoft, Michelle McIntosh and Devin Ito, with Davis Senior countering with Sofia Castiglioni, Olivia O'Keeffe, Abigail Fisk, Sophia Lodigiani, Annie Mitchell, Ruthie Mitchell and Sage Taylor.

Talented trio up front

After senior Cooper Teare of St. Joseph Notre Dame was involved in an exceptional battle with Armijo senior Luis Grijalva as both individuals broke 14 minutes on the 3-mile course in the sweepstakes race Sept. 17 at the Woodbridge Classic, Teare will now compete against seniors Michael Vernau of Davis Senior and Callum Bolger of San Luis Obispo in the boys seeded race. Teare ran 14:52.7 last year, Vernau clocked 15:05.3 and Bolger ran 15:07.8, as Phillip Rocha of Arcadia set the 5-kilometer record at the Stanford Golf Course last year by clocking 14:32.5. Evert Silva of Fresno and Kent Slaney of Palo Alto are also off to impressive starts this season and both have the potential to break 15 minutes as part of a deep field of challengers.

The next leading lady

The top two performances from last year's meet came from Fiona O'Keeffe of Davis Senior and Cate Ratliff of Santa Cruz, both breaking 17 minutes, including O'Keeffe setting the girls 5-kilometer course record at 16:32.1. O'Keeffe and Ratliff will both be in attendance as college freshmen for Stanford and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, leaving the window of opportunity open for a new individual champion in the seeded race, especially with Aptos junior Marea Zlatunich – the fastest returning female – competing in Division 3. Sofia Castiglioni of Davis Senior placed second behind O'Keeffe last season and could produce the individual win, but will be challenged by Great Oak's Evelyn Mandel and Nicole Rice, St. Joseph Notre Dame's Kiera Marshall, Redwood Larkspur's Glennis Murphy and Arcadia's Holly Lung, Eryca Yamane and Jasmine He, among others.

Wolfpack bouncing back

Following a third-place finish behind Colorado programs Mountain Vista and Palmer Ridge in the boys sweepstakes Sept. 17 at the Woodbridge Classic, Great Oak will look to build momentum entering the Oct. 8 Clovis Invitational with a strong performance in the seeded race. Jesuit is the defending champion and will against be a formidable competitor with Brendan Jones, Benjamin Holland and freshman Matt Strangio, along with Bellarmine College Prep, led by Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau and Alex Scales. Great Oak will rely on Solomon Fountain, Jacob Korgan and Carlos Carvajal in an attempt to remain in front of its California challengers.

A little Stanford goes a long way

Although the host Cardinal aren't likely to race full lineups until Oct. 14 at the Wisconsin Invitational, Stanford is still the favorite to win both men's 8-kilometer and women's 6-kilometer team titles. For the sixth-ranked Cardinal women, Elise Cranny and Vanessa Fraser are scheduled to compete, along with freshman Hannah DeBalsi and sophomore Catherine Pagano making their collegiate cross country debuts. The No. 11 Stanford men will be led by Blair Hurlock and Patrick Perrier, with talented freshmen Isaac Cortes, Alek Parsons and Thomas Ratcliffe expected to race unattached.

Best of the rest

In addition to Cranny and Fraser, Fresno State senior Annemarie Schwanz and Tulane junior Emma Newton are expected to be among the leading contenders in the women's 6-kilometer race. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, led by sophomore Peyton Bilo, is coming off a strong performance Sept. 17 at UC Riverside and has a young lineup capable of placing in the top three. Along with the Stanford men, Cal Poly, Saint Mary's, San Jose State and Santa Clara are also capable of being among the leaders. Stanford defeated Cal Poly to win both men's and women's team championships last season.

Small school showdown

One of the fastest girls times of the meet is expected to come out of the Division 4 race, which is expected to be run in favorable morning conditions, which Cate Ratliff of Santa Cruz benefited from last year to clock 16:49.7. Seniors Niki Iyer of Harker School and Natalie Novitsky of Sacred Heart Prep are both expected to produce significant improvements from last season. Iyer clocked 18:05.9 and Novitsky ran 19:03.1, but both should be well under 18 minutes this year, along with juniors Mari Friedman of Santa Cruz and Cassi Land of Sonora Union, who ran 17:48.6 and 17:56.5 in the Division 4 race last season.

Traveling road show

After many California teams visited Nike Portland XC in Oregon, the Iolani Invitational in Hawaii, the Bob Firman Invitational in Idaho and Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota in recent weeks, several out-of-state challengers will arrive in Palo Alto to compete in the seeded races. Centennial (Nevada), led by Alexis Gourrier and Karina Haymore, will be joined in the girls seeded race by Boise (Idaho) and St. Mary's Academy (Oregon). The boys seeded race not only features senior Hayden Dressel of Mt. Spokane (Washington), Henry Weisberg of McQueen (Nevada) and Connor Lehl of Punahou (Hawaii), but teams from Olympia (Washington), Boise and Handsworth of British Columbia, Canada.

Can Aptos bring 'A' game?

The biggest regular-season opportunity for defending Division 3 girls state champion Aptos comes on the Stanford Golf Course, a significant measuring stick for the 13-time Central Coast Section champion. Marea Zlatunich ran 17:33.1 last year to lead the Mariners, who prevailed against Campolindo. Zlatunich could face a challenge up front from Live Oak junior Kaylah Grant, who set the Westmoor Ram Invitational record Sept. 24 by clocking 14 minutes. Aptos, which finished fourth overall last season in all divisions combined, will again be tested by Campolindo, led by Isabella Chao and Hannah Ruane.

Quick turnarounds

Several Southern California stars will be competing on the Stanford Golf Course on short weeks based on league meets scheduled Wednesday and Thursday. Mission League girls winner Mariah Moro of Notre Dame will not only make the trip to Palo Alto, but move up two divisions to race in Division 2 after finishing 13th last year in Division 4. Stuart Kendall of Foothill, who won the Century Conference Crestview League boys opener, will look to regroup quickly in preparation for the Division 1 boys race, along with teammate Hannah Hall in the Division 1 girls race. Kelly Wacker of Mater Dei, who placed second in the Trinity League preview, is scheduled to compete in the Division 2 girls race. Aptos, Campolindo, Davis Senior, Jesuit, Palo Alto, San Lorenzo Valley and Santa Cruz are among teams scheduled to race after competing in league meets Wednesday or Thursday.