Class A (1 team, 5 individuals)
Christopher Dock girls and New Hope Solebury boys cruised to team titles in the Class A division, with Christopher Dock scoring 23 points, and New Hope Solebury scoring 60 points. New Hope Solebury were led by champion Greg House in 17:07. Emma Seifried of Country Day School of the Sacred Heart won her 3rd straight championship race, running 19:00 to earn the gold today.
Class AA (1 team, 5 individuals)
Pottsgrove boys made it three Class AA titles in a row in convincing fashion that puts them in the mix for the state title next week. Pottsgrove had five finishers in the top 11 overall with a 1-5 spread of 39, their calling card for their 2012 title and 2013 runner up finish at the last two state meets. They scored 29 points to defeat Holy Ghost Prep by 35. Derek Lopez led the way for the champions with a winning time of 16:39.
For the girls, preseason district favorites Gwynedd Mercy Academy were nipped to the district title by new champions Lower Moreland by a 2 point margin, 74-76. Lower Moreland were led by three top ten finishers to Gwynedd Mercy's one, despite having their number five runner finish in the 30s. Karli Visconto of Nazareth Academy was victorious in the race with a time of 19:07 in her 3rd race of the season after stress fracture injuries kept her out of the first half of the season.
Class AAA (5 teams, 25 individuals)
The boys AAA race made it even more difficult for fans to figure out who will win the state championship next Saturday. Because there isn't a dominant team, it left for some dramatic and exciting competition, which saw the state champions West Chester Henderson come 8 point short of pulling off what would have been an incredible feat, having graduated six of the seven runners from the 2013 state championship side. Henderson had four finishers in the top twenty, but had the rest of their finishers in the 100s, which opened the door for district favorites Conestoga to snag the district tile 152-160. Central Bucks West and Council Rock North used identical 50 second spreads to clinch spots to states, and Downingtown West snagged the last state qualifying spot by 11 points of Central Bucks East.
If people thought the team race was tight, the battle for the individual gold medal was a thriller! Names like Casey Comber, Jake Brophy, Paul Power, Sam Webb, Andrew Marston, Alex Knapp, among others did all they could to keep themselves in the hunt for the title. At two miles, six guys were still in the mix with Jake Brophy leading the way. By the time they exited the cornfields, Brophy shook off three guys, but couldn't shake off Marston of Conestoga and Power of Spring Ford. After going around the final statue into the finish, Brophy found a final gear and pulled away from the rest, and the CB East junior emerged victorious in 15:11! Marston was 2nd in 15:18. Comber came back and finished 3rd in 15:19. The race had 11 sub 16 minute runners!
The girls race was the long and highly anticipated head to head matchup of state champions Unionville and Pennsbury. Both teams were coming off league title wins, but this race was a chance to see where they stood next to each other before the big state final next week. The front two on each team battled, with Olivia Young of Unionville holding off Olivia Sargent of Pennsbury, and Kacie Breeding of Unionville fighting off Hannah Molloy and Meredith Twomey of Pennsbury. Behind that drama, Pennsbury had five in the top 25 overall compared to Unionville's 4 in the top 22. Pennsbury came away with the 64-95 win and their 1st district crown since 2011.
Behind those two, Great Valley finished 3rd with 206 points to earn a state berth, Conestoga finished 4th with 259, just two points ahead of preseason PA#3 Central Bucks East, who qualified for states for the 2nd year in a row.
Ahead of all the chaos in the team title race, Marissa Sheva of Pennridge kept her 2014 undefeated season alive with a personal best time of 17:28, good for PA#2 this season. Sheva led the race from the start and the senior continued the push the pace even when Olivia Sargent and Olivia Young tried to make moves on the toughest part of the course at 2 miles.
GIRLS DISTRICT ONE AAA 2014 PREVIEW
by Coach Coren(Strath Haven)shjumpdr1@gmail.com
AAA GIRLS 1st 5 teams plus the next 25 non-1st place team finishers qualify for STATES
TEAMS
HISTORY--- (of the teams who have a shot in 2014)--NORTH PENN(6th 2013) has qualified 10 of the last 15 years(they were 6th and just missed in 2013)-- PENNSBURY was 2nd in 2013 and 2012, 1st in 2011 and 2010, 2nd in 2009, and 6th in 2008(that’s 6 years in a row to STATES).-- UNIONVILLE was 1st in 2013 and 2012 and 2nd in 2011 and made STATES all 5 years from 2003 to 2007. -- STRATH HAVEN has made STATES 6 of the last 10 years.--CENTRAL BUCKS WEST qualified for STATES in 2012 and 2005(7th in 2013). DOWNINGTOWN EAST has qualified 4 of the last 7 years. CENTRAL BUCKS EAST made it in 2013 and 2010. -- GREAT VALLEY made it for the 1st time this century in 2013. DOWNINGTOWN WEST has not made it yet in the 2000’s, but have often been fairly close(8th 2013)--PERK VALLEY made it to STATES in 2007. CONESTOGA has been close and in fact were 7th in 2003. OWEN J ROBERTS is closer than they have ever been in recent history.
If you are counting, that equals 12 teams with Hershey hopes to make it to STATES(Only 5 will persevere!!). As always it is VERY!!! TOUGH!! making it to STATES from District 1. In fact last year at STATES, 4 District 1 Girls’ teams placed 1,2,5,and 7 at the STATE MEET!!!!
2014 PREDICTIONS!!??
Here are my 2 absolute locks to go to STATES---UNIONVILLE and PENNSBURY. As for the District Team Champion, I’m going to make PENNSBURY the favorite. They ran the Lehigh course twice and their 5th girl should make the difference, Sargent is running awesome! As for 3rd, 4th, and 5th-----------this year is ridiculously hard to predict!! GREAT VALLEY has a solid 5 and lots of experience. They will likely finish 3rd. CBEAST raced alot and hard in September, but has really backed off in October. This slight rest will do them well and they will probably be 4th. As for the final STATES spot, look out for CONESTOGA. Their girls are raring to gain the respect their Boys’ team has garnered. They raced little this year and looked very sharp at CENTRALS. They have a very deep 7, but will need their 3rd girl to finish in the top 60.
Here is the list in alphabetical order with relevant team finishes and information.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST--1st SHARP-1st CBE-4th BRIARWOOD “Champs”-2nd FOUNDATION-1st SOL Ctl.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST--2nd SHARP-4th PTX6 “Gold”-1st BULLDOG “Large”-7th CARLISLE “Challenge”-7th SHORT “Brown”-2nd SOL Ctl.
CONESTOGA--4th OAKBOURNE-3rd CHEROKEE-6th SHORT “Brown”-4th MANHATTAN “A”-1st CENTRALS
DOWNINGTOWN EAST--3rd OAKBOURNE-3rd TWIN VALLEY-3rd CENTAUR-3rd CRN-2nd SHORT “White”-4th CHESMONTS
DOWNINGTOWN WEST--5th OAKBOURNE-5th ABINGTON-5th CARLISLE “Challenge”-3rd CHESMONTS
GREAT VALLEY--2nd BRIARWOOD “Champs”-5th FOUNDATION-1st CRN-2nd CHESMONTS
NORTH PENN-2nd CBE-3rd BRIARWOOD “Champs”-2nd 6FLAGS “A”-1st SALESIANUM-6th MANHATTAN “A”-3rd SOL Ctl.
OWEN J ROBERTS--2nd TWIN VALLEY-2nd FRETZ-1st SHORT “White”-1st PAC 10
PENNSBURY--1st QUAD X-2nd CHEROKEE-1st SHORT “Brown”-1st SOL Natl.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY--2nd PTX6 “Gold”-1st FRETZ-9th SHORT “Brown”-2nd PAC 10
STRATH HAVEN--1st ABINGTON-1st BULLDOG “Small”-4th FOUNDATION-2nd BULL RUN “Elite”-10th SHORT “Brown”-2nd DELCOS-2nd CENTRALS
UNIONVILLE--1st OAKBOURNE-1st CHEROKEE-1st CHESMONTS
INDIVIDUALS
In 2013 46th qualified for STATES--that meant there were 21 girls on the TOP 5 teams who would have individually made STATES. This year that number appears to be likely to be way lower--meaning it might even take TOP 40 to qualify!!!
Just to clear up the confusion for the 25 individual qualifiers, I am going to say that these 5 teams’ individuals will be removed(names of their likely(TOP 40) qualifiers included)--UNIONVILLE(Young(12)(2nd 2013)(Breeding(11)(Mills(12)(10th 2013)(Juul(10)--PENNSBURY(Sargent(11)(3rd 2013)(Molloy(11)(5th 2013)(Twomey)(11)(17th)(Balmer(11)(33rd 2013)(O’Connell(12)--CBEAST(Kinkead(12)(E.Morris(12)(25th 2013)(Dawson)(10)(7th 2013)GREAT VALLEY(Claffey)(12)(21st 2013)(Willig)(11)(12th 2013)Wismer(12)(56th 2013)CONESTOGA(Shultz)(11)(33rd 2013)(Nasman(11)-------That’s 17 girls 17+ 25 = 42nd place likely to make STATES???
Other individuals(not including top 5 teams’ individuals) who are almost assuredly going to make it to STATES are (in alphabetical order)
Black(11)(WISS)(18th 2013)
Cardi(10)(SHAV)(49th 2013)
Clowser(11)(NP)(27th 2013)
Devlin(10)(DW)(4th 2013)
Greene(10)(HAR)(97th 2013)
Hutton(9)(CTSV)
Mesyngier(11)(SHAV)(28th 2013)
Planck(10)(DW)
Sheva(12)(PENNR)(9th 2013)
Villalba(11)(CBW)(11th 2013)
Wolters(12)(SHAV)(50th 2013)
That’s 11-----14 to go!!?
Others who have a very good chance to make STATES???(not on a TOP 5 team).
In alphabetical order they are-----
Bixler(12)(WCH)(167th 2013)
Bracken(11)(BSHAN)(175th 2013)
Daniels(10)(PERKV)(131st 2013)
Delviscio(12)RUSTIN)(37th 2013)
Glodek(10)(PERKV)
M.Henderson(12)(HAR)(23rd 2013)
Kasitz(10)(BOY)(60th 2013)
Schumaker(12)(BOY)(44th 2013)
Valenti(12)(NP)(71st 2013)
L.VanBlunk(10)(DE)(41st 2013)
That’s 10 + 11 equals 21. There’s room for ?? 4 more??
These girls are the next most likely to take a trip to “Chocolate Town USA”.
In alphabetical order, they are...
Bamford(9)(SFORD)
Barnhill(12)(DW)(79th 2013)
Berry(12)(CBW)
Brunton(10)(OJR)(115th 2013)
Estes(12)(OXF)
L.Ionescu(12)(UDUB)(55th 2013)
Jones(12)(WCE)(109th 2013)
Joseph(10)(UDAR)(99th 2013)
Kodis(12)(GARV)(127th 2013)
Marchini(10)(SFORD)
Who will be the Individual Champ?
5 girls have a chance to be crowned the District 1 “QUEEN”---Hutton(9)(CTSV)--Devlin(10)(DW)(4th 2013)--(Sargent(11)(PENNS)(3rd 2013)--(Young(12)(UNV)(2nd 2013)--and Sheva(12)(PENNR)(9th 2013). Let’s see how they have matched up so far this year. Young(UNV) beat Devlin(DW) in the 2-Mile at WCH--Sheva(PENNR) beat Sargent(PENNS) at PAUL SHORT--Devlin(DW) beat Hutton(CTSV) and Young(UNV) at CHESMONTS--Hutton(CTSV) beat Young(UNV) at CHESMONTS--LEHIGH is a fast course and is well suited for the milers!! As of now Sheva(PENNR) has run the fastest mile. She also is a fierce competitor as proven in her race at PAUL SHORT. Although the other 4 may be close, it will be great to see a SENIOR win Districts, and in my mind Sheva(PENNR) will cross the line first!!
By the way--these girls are STREAKING!!!!!!!
Qualified for STATES at DISTRICTS as freshmen(now sophomores)
Devlin(DW)(4th 2013)--Dawson(CBE)(7th 2013)--Edwards(UNV)(20th 2013)--
H.Morris(CBE)(38th 2013)--L.VanBlunk(DE)(41st 2013)--M.VanBlunk(DE)(45th 2013)
Qualified for STATES at DISTRICTS as freshmen and sophomores(now juniors)--
Sargent(PENNS)(3rd 2013 7th 2012)--Willig(GV)(12th 2013 9th 2012)--
Sauer(PENNS)(16th 2013 14th 2012)--Molloy(PENNS)(5th 2013 18th 2012)--
Villalba(CBW)(11th 2013 20th 2012)--Clowser(NP)(27th 2013 25th 2012)--
Black(WISS)(18th 2013 26th 2012)--Mesyngier(SH)(28th 2013 49th 2012)
And YES ONLY!!!! these girls have made it all 3 years!!(now SENIORS)QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!!
Sheva(PENNR)(9th 2013 2nd 2012 4th 2011)
Young(UNV)(2nd 2013 16th 2012 31st 2011)
A
1 TEAM to STATES and the next 5 individuals
As far as teams go, CHRISTOPHER DOCK, after runner-ups in 2013 and 2012, are this year’s clear favorite. In fact they could have 5 girls in the TOP 10(including last year’s champion Landis(11).
The other 5 individuals to qualify for STATES are E.Seifried(COUNTRY DAY)(9), H.Seifried(COUNTRY DAY)(9), Guera(PHIL MONT CHRISTIAN)(11)(7th 2013), Kempf(DELCO CHRISTIAN)(12)(4th 2013 4th 2012) and....?????
As for the A Champion-----Freshman Emma Seifried(COUNTRY DAY) would likely be TOP 10 in the AAA race and she will win this going away and is VERY likely to be TOP 10 at STATES. She was 3rd at Bulldog in her first high school race and then crushed a pretty strong field at DELCOS and won AACA as well.
AA
1 TEAM to STATES and the next 5 individuals
GWYNNED MERCY has won two years in a row, but this year will be much tougher. LOWER MORELAND is likely to put 3 girls in front of GWYNNED’s # 2. The score will likely be decided by less than 5 points. Even though both teams are very well coached, I have to pick GWYNNED MERCY based on their 5th girl.
Taking GWYNNED out leads us to the next 5 qualifiers. Once again there appears to be 4 locks and the 5th spot is truly up for grabs. These girls will make it to Hershey---Visconto(NAZ)(12)(2nd 2013)--C.Harmon(LMOREL)(12)(5th 2013 8th 2012)--Stovall(SFMONT)(10)(3rd 2013)--and L.Harmon(LMOREL)(10)(7th 2013).
As for the AA Champion, senior Visconto should win(she was 19th at STATES last year and only lost to Seifried(CDAY) at AACA.
Boys
New Hope Solebury and Jenkintown represent the last two Class A District 1 champions. Who will take home the rubber match? Jenkintown carry a strong front two, while New-Hope Solebury carry a good pack in the middle of their scoring five. Alexander Harvey of Delco Christian and Lucas Watson of Devon Prep will go head to head for the individual gold.
In AA, Holy Ghost Prep will look to finally get a hold of the District 1 AA boys trophy, after coming up short in their first two attempts. Pottsgrove have won the last two titles and the matchup between these two teams is too close to call. Pottsgrove won on better pack running, but Holy Ghost Prep has a good pack this season. Which team will prevail? Derek Lopez will look to lead Pottsgrove and hold off Callahan Lennon and John McLoughlin of Holy Ghost Prep for team points and the gold medal.
The AAA race will be the wild and crazy scramble for the five valuable state qualifying spots. Conestoga enters as the people's favorite to win, having run well at McQuaid in September and cruising at the Central League championships. Downingtown West held off West Chester Henderson by four points to win the Ches-Mont championship. Central Bucks West have had the best 1-5 pack in the state this season without a big front runner boosting the squad. Pennsbury have the leadership of Sam Webb and Alex Sauer to give them a tough 1-2 combination in the front. Council Rock North will have Brian Arita lead their charges. Central Buck East will have favorite Jake Brophy looking to motivate the rest of his team to a top five finish. Whomever qualifies would have earned it in a season where no one team has separated themselves from the rest.
Brophy and Casey Comber of Hatboro Horsham had a classic dual last Friday at Lehigh, with Brophy emerging by 4 seconds. What will the rematch entail? Out to take advantage of any slip ups will be PIAA Foundation meet record holder Paul Power of Spring Ford, Webb of Pennsbury, and Ches-Mont champion Henry Sappey of Downingtown West.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!