Photo by Ethan Rissell
PIAA Class A
Individuals - Forsythe Ready For Big Fall
With under a mile to go in the Class A race at states last year, Winchester Thurston's Tristian Forsythe took the lead and gapped a deep field. But it wasn't meant to be, as Mercyhurst Prep's Noah Curtin roared from just outside the top five and into the lead to grab the win.
But Forsythe comes back as the convincing top returner this year after he dropped to third at Hershey. He had a great indoor and outdoor track season, complete with a AA 1600 meter title in XC. The rising senior will look to close out his career on top.
But who could challenge Forsythe? Upper Dauphin's Brenden Miller and Southern Huntingdon's Andrew Stanley placed third and fourth in the Class AA 3200 meters at outdoor states this year. They should factor in. Southern Columbia's Ethan Knoebel and Holy Cross's Andrew Healey all had strong performances last fall.
However, aside from Forsythe, the only other returners from the top 20 at states last year are Dock's Tim Kennel (eighth in 2016), Jenkintown's Jack Miller, (11th in 2016), Lakeview's Zachary Tingley (17th in 2016), and Riverview's Ben Barnes (19th in 2016).
Teams - Winchester Thurston Goes For 3rd Title In 4 Years
After suffering disappointment at states in 2015, Winchester Thurston came back in 2016 and left no doubt about it, winning the Class A state title with 62 points, 48 points ahead of second place. Thurston loses Ben Littmann and Shaun Hay, but brings back the individual favorite in Forsythe and four others from last year's winning squad.
It gets murkier after that, but a few teams will look to emerge. Elk County Catholic was second last year and has four returners from its top five last fall. Montrose was the Class A breakthrough last year. They were fifth a year ago and will look to move up this season, while Northeast Bradford (fourth in 2016) is never a team to count out. Jenkintown (sixth in 2016) returns six of seven and Penns Valley (ninth in 2016) also brings back six.
For these teams from smaller schools, finding depth can be a challenge, but a few should surely emerge to threaten the top of the Class A podium in November.