Boys' District 1 Preview
Photo by Don Rich
Class-A
Last year's champs New Hope-Solebury have been moved to AA, so we'll get a new champion in Class-A this year and it should be a battle. Jenkintown and Dock Mennotie look to be the top candidates for the one state qualifying spot.
Jenkintown enters as the favorites. Sophomore Jack Miller is the overall favorite after taking second as a freshman last year. He took second at BALs to Holy Ghost's Callahan Lennon. Dock's Tim Kennel will not go down without a fight. Kennel was just three seconds behind Miller at BALs and was fifth in the district last year. Neither will want to lose this one. Jenkintown looks to have the better depth.
Jenkintown's Jamail Khan and Joshua Jackson should be around the top five. Jackson was sixth at BALs.
Photo by Patty Morgan
Class-AA
Holy Ghost Prep will look to continue its reign on D1-AA and they have another strong team that can do so this year. Callahan Lennon is the defending champ and he won't want to surrender that title in his season year. He should run a fast time on Lehigh's course. In addition to Lennon, Holy Ghost Kevin Dineen and Liam Flood should be near the front.
AA's new arrival New Hope-Solebury won Class-A last year and they'll look to make some noise in AA this year. Matt Peshek has had a strong season to lead the way for New Hope. Eric and Chris Cammarata will be crucial pieces to New Hope's chances of an upset.
Landon Detweiler of Upper Perkiomen has looked strong this season and will look to book his first trip to Hershey and the state meet on Friday.
Photo by Howard Anderson
Class-AAA
The field is AAA is very strong, per usual. There's no clear-cut favorite for the individual crown, but it should be a crowded front pack. Neshaminy's Rusty Kujdych, Souderton's Connor McMenamin, Owen J. Roberts' Liam Conway and Bishop Shanahan's Josh Hoey. Hoey was third as a sophomore last year at districts and then third in the state. But he has a new team this year and hasn't exactly looked like his normal self. Will Friday be his comeback day? We know the talent is there. That said, the other three will be very hungry for a shot at district glory and some momentum heading into Hershey. What we do know is that if the conditions are right, the times will be flying.
A host of other individuals make up the next tier. Haverford's James Abrahams, Lower Merion's Matthew D'Aquila, and Penncrest's Avery Lederer mixed it up at Central Leagues and they all look ready for big performances at districts. Don't forget abut Carlos Shultz, the Conestoga freshman, who dropped a sick 15:56 at Paul Short.
William Tennent's duo of Evan Hutton and Sean Rahill have been strong all season and should be up there. Central Bucks South's Matthew Scarpill looks to be coming around at the right time and should factor in. West Chester Henderson's Spencer Smucker hasn't raced much this season, but most recently, he looked very strong at Manhattan, which is a good sign. He could be ready for a big performance on Friday and challenge the leaders.
Now onto the team race. The two top squads are Downingtown West and Council Rock North. West won the district and then the state handily last season, but lost their entire top three. Remarkably, they've rebuilt the squad with the 4-5-6-7 guy from that state title team and have become arguably the state's deepest team. Shaun Bullock leads the Whippers. North also has a great pack, led by Ryan Campbell, who has showed signs that he could really surprise some people on Saturday.
Spiring Ford is coming together at the right time, winning PACs with an 18 second 1-5 gap. Central Bucks West, too, has been clicking as of late, running away with the SOL Continental crown. Lower Merion won the Central League and could certainly factor into that top five.
William Tennent, North Penn, Central Bucks East, Conestoga, Pennsbury, and Souderton are teams that on a good day could really surprise some folks.
The big question is West Chester Henderson. The perennial powers haven't been seen much this season. They've made states every year since 2007 and conventional wisdom would tell you to not bet against them. Smucker is a talented frontrunner, but can the rest of Henderson boys put together a states worthy performance? That's a question we won't get an answer to until Tuesday.