D9-A Boys - Individuals Breakdown
- Class A Top Individuals Rankings
- State Qualifying Spots For Non-Team Individuals: 10
- 2016 Champion: Ryan Thrush (Brookville Area) - 16:34
Expect some new blood to step up to the plate in District 9 Class A this fall. Six of the top ten and the first four finishers from D9-A have graduated. The incredible and versatile Ryan Thrush of Brookville has graduated. So has Elk County Catholic's Zachary Wortman. Those two both placed inside the top ten at states last season and went 1-2 at districts.
Who could be the next stars to emerge this year? It could be the Smethport Area duo of Christian Tanner and Darion Gregory. The pair were fifth and sixth respectively at districts last fall. Tanner was 22nd at states, bringing home a medal. Gregory was just on the outside with a 29th place performance.
But Elk County Catholic always seems to develop its runners very well. ECC brings back Ben Hoffman, who was the top Class A freshman at states last season. As he heads into his sophomore season, Hoffman should be a serious threat to climb up the state leaderboard after just missing a medal last fall in Hershey. There's also Logan Hoffman, who finished just behind Tanner at the Bradford Invitational last fall. He was 12th at districts, but expect him to improve upon that this fall.
Matthew Dippold and Isaac Wortman are among the other ECC harriers that will be on the radar this season. D9-A may have lost some big names to graduation, but there are plenty of young runners ready to step up in their places.