Boys Preview - PIAA District 7 Championships
Class A
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 4
The race for the top spot in D7-A will be fierce on Thursday. Freedom Area's Adam Hessler will match up with Winchester Thurston's Scott Routledge. The two have met three times this season with Routledge gaining the advantage in the first two meetings and Hessler winning the most recent battle on his home course by just three seconds. The stakes are high on Thursday with a district title on the line, so expect a great race.
CJ Singleton of Saint Joseph is just a freshman, but he's made quite an impact this season, including an early-season 16:31. He could mix it up with the leaders. Winchester Thurston's Sean Heintzleman and Patrick Malone, Riverview's Mason Ochs, and Serra Catholic's Lukas Dunaway are among the other individuals to keep an eye on this week.
The team favorites are the boys from Winchester Thurston, who continue to dominate WPIAL Class A. Expect WT to pack a number of boys inside the top ten on Thursday, and make a run at a state title next week.
There are three other state spots up for grabs in 1A. Riverview, led by Ochs, should be in a good spot to claim a spot. Shenango earned the TSTCA win and has some momentum heading into districts. Chartiers Houston, Shady Side Academy, Serra Catholic, Neshannock, and Laurel make up a deep group of other contenders in D7-A.
Class AA
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
The individual race in D7-AA will be a good one. Greensburg Salem should figure to have a trio up near the front with Mark Brown, Cameron Binda, and Dylan Binda. Those three will work together for high individual places and low team points.
Quaker Valley's Daniel Ford is coming off a win at TSTCAs in AA, and he should factor in to the front pack at districts. Blackhawk's Jack Aulbach is having a breakthrough season. He was second to Ford last week and should be in line for a good finish. New Castle's Anthony Litrenta and Jonah Miller, Ringgold's Ethan Gamble, and Indiana Area's Joey Bujdos are also going to be in contention for the victory at Cal U.
Indiana's Kendall Branan was second in the district last year, but has missed some time this season. He'll look to contend on Thursday.
D7-AA is certainly one of the state's best AA districts from a team standpoint. Thursday's WPIAL Championships will feature a number of teams with podium and state title dreams in Hershey.
It's been a dream season for New Castle, which comes into Thursday undefeated on the season, earning wins at McDowell, Sharpsville, and TSTCAs, among others. NC's spread is right around a minute and this squad is ready to make another statement.
Greensburg Salem is very strong, too. GS won at Red, White & Blue, were a few points off Grove City at Foundation and picked up wins at Westmoreland and Freedom. They are yet to match up with New Castle, though, and that's arguably going to be the most intriguing battle of the day.
Indiana Area is a solid squad as well. This team has good depth and will certainly look to challenge the favorites. Uniontown Area and Ringgold were nine and 21 points off New Castle at TSTCAs, respectively, and both are in the hunt for the title as well. This isn't a race to miss.
Class AAA
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
Zach Kinne's first and only season in PA was rolling along this fall. Then last week at TSTCAs, Mount Lebanon's Patrick Anderson upset the North Allegheny leader for the win at Cal U. in a big statement race for the Lebo junior. Those two meet again this week, as Kinne will look to exact revenge ahead of the state meet.
Both have been running great all season long and the collision will bring them back to Roadman. Kinne's teammate Daniel McGoey was a DNF at TSTCAs, a victim of illness, but if healthy, McGoey can also certainly contend for the win in this stacked race.
The WPIAL has proven to be the state's toughest and deepest district this season. After those top three, there's still plenty of talent. Fox Chapel's Christian Fitch was third at TSTCAs and can contend near the front. Mount Lebanon's Peter Cosentino, Mars Area's Zachary Leachman, Seneca Valley's Sam Owori and Connor Volk-Klos, and Butler's Aden Dressler are among the other high TSTCA finishers that are back for another rumble at Cal U. The talent is overflowing and this is the AAA district race of the week for sure. Seth Ketler of Seneca Valley was second at districts last year, and he'll be hungry for a big race on Thursday. Don't count him out.
The team to beat is the PA#1 North Allegheny boys. NA followed up its Foundation win with a rather convincing TSTCA victory, despite McGoey's DNF. The key was a 13-second spread between their 2-5 runners. Depth is a huge strength for the Tigers, who proved last week that they will be very tough to beat even when one of its top two has an off day.
There's two other spots up for grabs. Mount Lebanon and Seneca Valley are the ones to beat for those spots. Lebo made a big statement at TSTCAs, taking second. Anderson and Cosentino are terrific lowsticks and the depth looks strong. Seneca Valley nearly upset NA at Foundation, but wound up third at TSTCAs. They will look to bounce back on Thursday, but qualifying for states, nonetheless, seems like a safe bet.
A number of teams will look to sneak into the top three if one of the aforementioned teams has an off day. Upper Saint Clair is coming together nicely, lied by Alex Shaw and Robert O'Brien. Norwin, Butler, Fox Chapel Area, Hampton will look for a big day to get close to that states cutoff.