Photo by Phil Grove
PIAA State Championships - AA Boys' Team Preview
Like the girls' AAA race, we're expecting a number of teams to be in the hunt for what could be an extraordinarily close AAA boys' fight for the top spot. As the cliche goes, every spot matters. So what're we watching for here?
It looks like the race for the top spot will come down to some WPIAL powers, a few District 1 squads, and the District 12 champs.
We'll start in the west. Seneca Valley won the mid-season pre-state PIAA Foundation Invitational and rose to our top spot in the Flo50 rankings. The Raiders followed that up with a win at Mack Cooper and then its second straight WPIAL team title. Led by projected medalists Seth Ketler and Sam Owori, SV has benefited from the transfer of Connor Volk-Klos from Mars Area and will look to take the state crown on Saturday.
But only a mere seven points off Seneca Valley at WPIALs was Butler, a crew that seems to be coming around at the perfect time. Noah Beveridge will be in the mix for the individual win and leads the way for a team that saw three others---Brett Brady, Aden Dressler, and Robbie Hays---dip under 17 minutes on the challenging Cooper's Lake course. Then there's North Allegheny, which edged out Mount Lebanon for the final state qualifying spot. Daniel McGoey is the sophomore leader of this team that should always be considered a factor when November rolls around.
Photo by Ethan Wu
LaSalle has been rolling along this season, passing every test it's been presented with. The Explorers have a low stick in Evan Addison, who will look to battle it out with the leaders. But the key to this squad's success has come from a pack of sophomores--Vincent Twomey, Bradden Koors and Ethan Maher---along with senior Sean Egan. LaSalle won at Briarwood and Carlisle, before sweeping at PCLs and District 12. Can it end this perfect season with the program's first PIAA state crown?
Then there's the District 1 contingent. The reigning state champions from Council Rock North have a few returners that would love to make it two-in-a-row. Coach Marrington knows how to get his teams ready for the big stage, and this team, which took second in District 1, may have what it takes. With Ryan Campbell, Ethan Koza, Sam Earley, and Kevin Ehrgott, North's top four is arguably the best in the state. The key come from the fifth man. In order to win, he'll have to have a very big day.
Downingtown West beat CR North for that D1 title at Lehigh last week. The Whippets, which returned just one varsity runner from last year's third place team, have rebuilt nicely with Payton Sewell and Tyler Rollins emerging as medal threats. It's 1-5 spread was just 40 seconds and depth has been a strength. West may need someone to step up with a big day, but this team is in a good spot to contend for its second state crown in three years.
Owen J. Roberts and Spring Ford were the PAC squads that made a big impression on the state this year. OJR, paced by Liam Conway and Andrew Malstrom, have improved in leaps and bounds, even since the beginning of the season. Don't sleep on the D1 third place finishers. Spring Ford got over the district hump, placing inside the top five (after taking sixth in back-to-back years). But look for the Rams (which had a 34 second spread at districts paced by Jacob McKenna) to be not just satisfied with getting to Hershey. The Paul Short champs are a solid team ready to take on the state's best, like it has all season long.
Meanwhile, Bishop Shanahan shouldn't be slept on either. Despite some hard luck with injuries this season, Shanahan earned the fifth spot from D1. With Josh Hoey and the rising Jonah Hoey, Shanahan will look for a strong performance in Hershey.
State College Area placed seventh at states last season, and despite losing some key members to that team, the Little Lions are back and ready to contend on Saturday. Mitchell Etter is a strong low stick and others have stepped up. Look for State College to try and improve upon that strong run from last year.
Hempfield took the win in District 3 last Saturday. After missing states in 2016, this team put it all together at Big Spring to defeat Carlisle and Twin Valley. All three teams have faced good competition all season long and will try to rep central PA well this weekend.
District 11 champs Easton Area, District 8 winners Taylor Allderdice, Parkland and Mechanicsburg are the among the others teams with sights on the top ten come Saturday afternoon in what will be a race you won't want to miss.