3A Boys' Team Preview - PIAA State Championships
The AAA boys race usually delivers in the drama department, offering plenty of storylines to look forward to in the final race of the day at Hershey.
This year should be no different. A year ago, LaSalle College squeaked out a state title over Council Rock North, winning on a sixth runner tiebreaker. This year, LaSalle is back to try and defend its title, but North Allegheny and Downingtown West will be looking to spoil the Explorers' bid for a repeat. The race for a state title in AAA is just too close to call.
Let's start with the defending champs from LaSalle, who have retooled nicely this season. Top runner from last year Evan Addison is gone, but 5 of LaSalle's 7 are back this season. LaSalle was second at Carlisle (to D-West), the top PA team at Manhattan (ahead of D-West), and swept through PCLs and District 12. At D12, the squad was very impressive with Vincent Twomey leading the way at 16:13 and then the next 4, led by Bradden Koors, coming in all between 16:28 and 16:32 (and 6-7 not far behind), not easy task on Belmont Plateau. That's as strong of a run as you can ask for out of the defending champions.
North Allegheny has been the best of the west this fall. Wins at Red, White & Blue, Foundation, TSTCAs, and WPIALs have led them to this point. The arrival of Zach Kinne has surely helped, while the state meet's top returner Daniel McGoey has made for a great 1-2 punch. NA's 3-4-5 runners haven't been separated by much this season. Kinne, who was eighth in D7, will be a key up front. This will be the Tigers' third race on a tough course in as many weeks after running at Cal U for TSTCAs and WPIALs.
Downingtown West was brilliant at the District 1 Championships. Payton Sewall nearly won it , while three others went sub-16 and placed inside the top 20 in the always-deep D1. D-West put up 71 points and won by 49 at Lehigh, quite the feat is such a deep field. The Carlisle and Ches-Mont champs look to be in a good spot heading into states, where it has claimed back-to-back third place finishes since the Whippets' win in 2015.
NA has the lowsticks in McGoey and Kinne, while LaSalle and D-West have tighter 1-5 spreads. LaSalle and D-West could have some very high finishers as well in Twomey and Sewall, respectively (and don't out the possibility of big races from their 2 and 3 runners, either), and having that lowstick to counteract NA's will be key. A major plus would also be getting 5 or more in before NA's No. 3. For NA, its tightly packed 3-5 runners will look to close the gap up to the leaders.
The potential scenarios abound, but it all truly comes down to which team runs their best on Saturday, especially when the numbers point to such a close finish.
Of course, it's not just these three squads going for glory on Saturday. A number of other squads should put up low scores on Saturday and contend for high finishes.
District 6 champions State College Area once again have a squad capable of making a solid run towards a high finish. Owen Isham led SC to the win with a third place finish, while the Little Lions took five of the top eight spots. A key for SC is sophomore Bennett Norton, one of their top runners from the season, who is nursing an injury and was their 7th man at districts.
The WPIAL has had yet another strong year. NA picked up the win, but the other two spots in D7-AAA went to Seneca Valley and Mount Lebanon. Seneca Valley has had a great top 3 all season, and saw a big performance from Seth Ketler at D7. The Raiders will be factors here. Lebo has some good lowsticks in Patrick Anderson and Peter Cosentino and some solid depth after that. The top 5 is certainly within their grasps.
District 1 has some good firepower after D-West. Unionville surprised by putting 3 in the top 6 at the district meet, led by D1 champ Cole Walker. This team is trending upwards and could be in for a big states showing. Council Rock South made states for the first time since 2004 and have some good depth, led by Collin Ochs and Kyle Kutney. South could make some noise near the top 5. Haverford, fourth in D1, is another team to watch for.
Cedar Crest took home the District 3 title, and that's a young squad looking to make its presence known at states. Warwick and Carlisle are among the other D3 qualifiers that could move up at states. District 11 champions Easton Area, along with D11 runners-up Parkland will have a good shot at a high finishes.