Teams
It has been one of the least talked about title defenses in recent memory, but North Allegheny boys have been quietly going about their business looking for the right formula to put themselves in the best position to keep their state title. This season, they've gone unbeaten against PA competition and lost only one meet in Ohio by one point. Marc Migliozzi, Jacob Stupak, and Sam Blechman have done a good job filling in the shoes of the graduating champions. They will enter the meet as underdogs once again. Very few people expected them to win in 2009 or 2014, and 2015 is no different.
That's because a lot of the attention has been on the dominance of the Downingtown West team. Entering the season, people were anticipating how good of a squad they would be with Jaxson and Josh Hoey joining the squad. The result? Convincing victories at Carlisle, Ches-Monts and District 1, and a huge win at the Manhattan Invite Eastern States Race have made them state favorites and NXN Finals hopefuls. The Hoey brothers have two of the top five times in the entire state this season, and the two of them along with Henry Sappey finished 2-3-4 in district 1. A varsity squad that runs ten deep makes the back end tough for the other contenders to challenge.
Central Bucks West have also been on a tear in 2015, defeating everyone in their path with the exception of Downingtown West. They were 2nd to the district champs last week, but don't count them out. Rock Fortna and Brian Iatarola can keep tabs on the Downingtown West front three. If the supporting cast can have a big day, anything can happen.
Lasalle have resorted to the strategy that brought them a runner up finish in their first ever state meet appearance in 2008: pack running. The District 12 champions haven't finished with a spread worse than 40 seconds in any competition this season. Their best spread was at the Philadelphia Catholic League Championships with a spread of 21 seconds. In that 2008 state meet, the spread was under 20 seconds. Those low spreads kept them close to Central Bucks West and North Allegheny in September. Can a lower spread put them over?
West Chester Henderson qualified for states once again with a business as usual 3rd place finish at the District 1 meet. They have been chasing Downingtown West all season long, but have yet to overcome them. The will aim for another top five state finish after finishing outside of the top five a year ago.
Council Rock North outdid Lasalle's spread heroics at District 1, using a 16 second spread to qualify in 4th place. State College have Alex Milligan leading their charges as they dominated the District 6 area. Hempfield (3) won the Paul Short Run Brown race to get their season up and coming. They haven't been defeated since that big win in early October.
Individuals
It's been since September 20 that Jake Brophy of Central Bucks East has lost a cross country race to a Pennsylvania competitor. The defending champion and state course record holder has had very few challengers on his road back to the state meet. He's broken 15:10 in back to back Lehigh University appearances and he won on his last trip to Hershey at the PIAA Foundation Invitational in under 16 minutes. Based on all this, you would think that it's his race to lose.
But one runner has managed to come close to knocking off the state champion. Jaxson Hoey of Downingtown West gave Brophy a run for his money at last week's District 1 title race, nipping at his heels with 200 meters to go, only for Brophy to pull away late on to earn a 4 second victory. However, should that scenario resurface on Saturday, it'll be hard to discount a 4:11 1600 meter state champion from outkicking an 8:57 3200 meter runner when the state title is on the line. And let's not forget about his brother Josh, perhaps the next big star in the state. He's run 15:23 this season and has the toughness to give it a go against those two seniors. But for both of them, it'll be their first run on the Hershey course. We will see how they handle to difficult hills.
Nick Wolk of Peters Township has been the man of the land out West. Wolk has had a big breakthrough season, recording five victories in six major meets this season. Only Jake Brophy has stopped Wolk's momentum all season. Wolk has three sub 16 minute performances and a district title. But he has yet to medal at states. That should be a certainty. What will be intriguing is to see how he stacks up against the stars of the East.
Nathan Henderson of JP McCaskey has had a strong grip on District 3, recording several sub 16 minute performances, including a 15:38 district championship run. Alex Milligan of State College is poised to make a top ten push at states after another solid campaign leading his team back to states.
Rock Fortna of Central Bucks West nearly broke 15:30 last week, and he proved last week that he can hang tough with the other District 1 stars last week. Henry Sappey of Downingtown West is the best #3 runner in the state. He has big meet experience, winning the Ches-Mont league title last year. Connor Mcmenamin of Souderton is looking to finish as the top junior at states after finishing last season as the 3rd best sophomore.