2A Boys' Individuals Preview - PIAA State Championships
Quite possibly the best indicator of how the AA boys race might play out this weekend came at Saturday's District 10 Championships. It was there that Jonah Powell of Grove City won his elusive first D10 XC title, defeating a powerfully deep group of individuals. Powell, the top returner from the state meet last year (he was third), will look to convert that into a state title on Saturday.
Some of AA's other top individuals hail from D10. North East's Josh Lewis, who got the better of Powell, earlier in the season at Foundation in Hershey, was third at the district meet. Lewis won 6 races coming into districts, and has experience running up front. Second in D10 was Aiden Weber of Harbor Creek. It was his fifth runner-up finish of the season (his teammate Ryan Starvaggi, who won a number of those races, unfortunately did not qualify for the state meet). Weber was seventh last year and would certainly like to have his first win of the season come on the biggest stage.
We also can't count out General McLane's Nate Price. The senior was sixth last season. He started his season with a 15:35 win at Lock Haven. Price was beat by his teammate Dylan Throop at districts. Look for those two to work together to run to a high finish.
D10 was an incredibly muddy meet, however, and may not mirror what we'll see in Hershey. Of course, it's not just District 10 going to Hershey. The WPIAL has a strong contingent of individuals, led by the Greensburg Salem duo of Mark Brown and Cameron Binda (8th and 19th at states last season). Brown won D7 with Binda right behind him in second. Other WPIAL runners like Cameron's brother Dylan Binda, Quaker Valley's Daniel Ford, New Castle's Anthony Litrenta, and Blackhawk's Jack Aulbach could make a run for the top 5 or better.
Juniata's Garrett Baublitz was ninth a year ago. The junior won his third straight District 6 title on Saturday and has had a consistent fall, including a third place finish at Foundation in September. He could very well leave Hershey a state champ on Saturday. Baublitz outlasted Bedford's Van May to win at D6; May just missed out on medaling at states last fall taking 27th.
Mitchell Rome of Dallas, 12th at states in 2017, won the District 2 title, and will also likely find himself in the front pack. He'll hope to join his sister Allie as PA Class AA state champs. Another returning medalist is Notre Dame-Green Pond's John Koons, who ran to the District 11 title last week. Koons was 14th and looks fit heading into the weekend.
Ben Kuhn of Wyomissing Area came home first in the mud to win the District 3 title. After Berks County and D3 wins, Kuhn is riding a nice wave of momentum heading into states, where he helped his Wyo squad win a state title last year. Loyalsock's Alejandro Quintana won a dramatic District 4 race with Lewisburg's Jacob Hess. Those two are battle tested and should be in the mix for high places at states.
Lancaster Mennonite's Logan Horst, Lower Moreland's Shane Cohen, Pope John Paul II's Jack Brosius, Westmont Hilltop's Nick Fetzer, and Palmerton's Jacob Martinez will be on the hunt for medals in this strong, but relatively open AA boys field.