Boys Preview - PIAA District 2 Championships
Class A
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
After a second place finish a year ago, Andrew Healey is the one to beat on Wednesday in 1A. The Holy Cross junior has been impressive in 2018, including some very solid races at PTXC, Foundation, and Paul Short, where he went sub-16. He was fourth at states last year and Healey will be out to prove he can contend for a state title this season.
Other strong individuals include Elk Lake's Peyton Jones, Montrose's Liam Mead, Holy Cross's Kevin Jumper in this strong 1A field.
Montrose will once again be the heavy team favorites. They will be shooting for their third straight D2-A team crown. Mead leads a deep group that should grab the lone state spot. Max Brewer, Colin Spellman, and Nick Coy add great depth for the twice defending champs Holy Cross will pose the best threat to that spot, along with Elk Lake.
Class AA
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
Mitchell Rome will aim to continue his great season with a District 2 title, looking to keep the title in Dallas' hands after Jack Zardecki won it last season. Rome is fresh off a dominating win in the WVC Champs and seems poised to grab the win on Wednesday.
Holy Redeemer brings in a solid duo of Bryce Zapusek and Lukas Volpetti that should compete for high finishes within the top five and crucial low team points. Ethan Mattox of Abington Heights and Scranton Prep's Stephen Postupak and Nicholas Gershey are among the other top five hopefuls in this field.
Holy Redeemer are the overwhelming team favorites, looking to unseat Dallas, which has won three straight D2-AA team titles. Holy Redeemer has a sub-minute 1-5 spread and some good frontrunning to go along with it, a combination no team in D2-AA has proven it is able to match. Lakeland, Abington Heights, Scranton Preparatory, and Dallas are among a fairly wide open group of teams that will compete for the second state qualifying spot.
Class AAA
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
Tyler Wirth is the heavy favorite to repeat as District 2 Class AAA champion. The Wallenpaupack senior dominated the district meet before taking fifth at states last season has had another strong season, which has included strong finishes as some of the state's biggest meets. He went 15:53 at Paul Short last month.
D2-AAA has a number of boys that have raced well this season and could be on the verge of breakthrough races at Lakeland on Wednesday. Wallenpaupack's Dieter Burckes, Scranton's Josh Christianson, and Williamsport's J. Henry Lyon are among the others worth watching for after Wirth in this field.
Wallenpaupack will be favored to repeat as district champions. They scored just 29 points last season in their winning effort. Williamsport, Scranton, and Hazleton will aim to keep it close with the defending champs.