D1-AAA Boys - Team Breakdown
- AAA Preseason Team Rankings
- Qualifying Spots For Teams: 6
- 2017 Champion: Downingtown West (135 points)
The race for the state qualifying spots in District 1 will be even more competitive this season with the addition of a sixth spot, one more than previous years. In a year that District 1 appears to be very wide open, things will get very interesting on that final Friday in October.
The heavy favorites for the win are the defending champs from Downingtown West. The Whippets lose two boys from their top three from last year, but bring back five varsity runners. West has also proven the ability the rebuild very well each season. The 2015 state champs placed third at the state meet each of the last two years. Payton Sewell will look to lead West again this fall.
After West, it gets interesting. What we'll see here is a power struggle between some of last year's top teams, which lose some valuable pieces and some upstart teams looking to make some noise.
Owen J. Roberts was third in the district and seventh at states last season. OJR loses it top three, but has some talented returners, like Linus Blatz, that could return it to the top six. Bishop Shanahan, led by Jonah Hoey, was fifth at both districts and states last year and returns some strong firepower. Central Bucks East was sixth last season, just missing states. Five varsity boys are back for East, which should be a factor this season.
Among the up-and-coming squads are West Chester East, Haverford Township, Unionville, and Oxford Area. With a solid group of runners back for each of these teams, they all could contend in what appears to be a deep, but open D1. North Penn, Lower Merion, and Council Rock South are also worth watching for.
West Chester Henderson, which had a nearly decade-long state qualifying streak snapped last fall, will look to get back to Hershey this fall. It loses four-time state medalist Spencer Smucker, but expect some more boys to step up this season.
Council Rock North has made the state meet every year since 2005 out of the tough District 1, but that may be in jeopardy this fall. North, which won states in 2016 and placed second on a tiebreaker last season, loses its top four from last year. This is never a team to count out, however, and will be worth keeping an eye on to see if the pieces fall in place this fall.