D7-AAA Boys - Team Breakdown
- AAA Preseason Team Rankings
- Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- 2017 Champion: Seneca Valley (87 points)
Seneca Valley will look to turn its two year run atop the WPIAL's Class AAA into three, but North Allegheny, who held a very long streak before the Raiders will be looking to stop it in its tracks.
Seneca Valley won the district title by seven points over Butler last year. The Raiders ended up sixth at states. It returns good firepower up front in Seth Ketler (sixth at states) and Sam Owori (23th at states). Connor Volk-Klos and Aidan Domencic also return from the top five.
But the boys from North Allegheny will once again be strong. Six varsity runners are back from last year, and the team added Zach Kinne from Illinois. Along with the state's top returner from Hershey last year, Dan McGoey, the Tigers have one of the nation's -- let alone the state's -- top 1-2 punches.
We know both SV and NA have lowsticks. The key to the district title will come from those 3-4-5 (and possibly 6-7) runners. Expect these two squads to faceoff a number of times this fall, so we'll get a glimpse of what to expect before the postseason.
Mount Lebanon can't be forgotten here, either. After placing fourth and narrowly missing a states bid last year by just ten points, Lebo will be extra motivated to move up in a big way this fall. Five varsity runners are back this season. State medalist Patrick Anderson and Peter Cosentino will lead the way for this team.
Fox Chapel Area, with the talented Christian Fitch up front, will be a team to watch. FCA brings back six varsity runners from last year's team, which placed fifth at WPIALs. Norwin and Upper Saint Clair are a pair of up-and-coming teams with the potential to make a splash this season.
Chartiers Valley, Hampton, and Pine-Richland have some solid boys back and could surprise some folks this season. Keep an eye on the matchups in this district. It's going to be another wild ride through to the district meet this year.