D11-AA Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Non-Team Individuals: 10
- 2018 Individual Champion: John Koons (Notre Dame Green Pond) - 16:39
- 2018 Team Champion: Blue Mountain - 104 points
Individuals Preview
Like 1A, it should be a close and interesting race to the top of D11-AA this season. The top returner from the district meet is Salisbury Township's Shane Artis, who went sub-17 for a big PR at that meet to place third. He was 59th at the state meet, and the rising senior will be among the top contenders for the title here.
Blue Mountain's Kevin Haas will also be a factor. The Schuylkill League champ was fourth at the district meet and was 37th at states. He had a strong spring that saw him run 4:25 over 1600 meters, and may be the one to beat in D11-AA.
Saucon Valley's Matthew Chaikowsky was fifth at districts and 32nd at states -- the best Hershey finish of any D11-AA returner. The junior will be one to watch in the district this season, as he was less than 20 seconds off a state medal in AA.
Allentown Central Catholic's Nathan Harris, Bangor Area's Marino Bubba, Pine Grove Area's Travis Anderson, and Pen Argyl's Anthony Coppolella are among the other contenders in what is a fairly deep district this season.
Team Preview
Blue Mountain aims to repeat as D11-AA champion this season. It loses its No. 2 runner, but brings back six varsity boys from last season, including Haas, who is among the individual favorites. Blue Mountain, the Schuylkill League champs from last year, have some solid depth that will be crucial to its repeat campaign this season.
Notre Dame Green Pond earned the second of the two state spots last season. It loses John Koons, the 2018 D11-AA champion, but has five varsity boys back. NDGP usually retools well and should be a factor for a states spot this season again.
Northwestern Lehigh should be a strong squad this season. It was fourth last season, just 5 points off NDGP. This year, all 7 varsity boys are back, including a top 3 that is separated by just 14 seconds. Look for NW Lehigh to make a serious run at the top two. Allentown Central Catholic was also just 5 points off second place NDGP at districts. It has 6 varsity boys back and should be a factor as well.
Saucon Valley, with all boys back, and Bangor Area, which loses one of its top runners (Morgan O'Brien), but returns 6 others, should also be in the mix.
Expect another crowded group of teams atop the D11-AA standing this season and the two state spots will be hotly contested. Very little separated the second through seventh place teams in 2018, and we should see another close battle this time around, too.