D7-AA Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Non-Team Individuals: 15
- 2018 Individual Champion: Mark Brown (Greensburg Salem) - 16:52
- 2018 Team Champion: Greensburg Salem - 40 points
Individuals Preview
As per usual, a great amount of talent is back this season in D7-AA. Th strong Greensburg Salem duo of Mark Brown and Cameron Binda have graduated, but there is still some great depth back.
Quaker Valley's Daniel Ford is the top returner from a year ago. He was third at districts and then 20th at states. He clocked a 4:22 to take third in the outdoor track 1600 meters in AA. He should be one to watch for a big season. New Castle's Anthony Litrenta will be in the mix as well. He was fourth at districts and 22nd at states. He ran 4:24 for 1600 meters this spring and should contend district title.
Blackhawk's Jack Aulbach was fifth at districts. He had an off day at states, but Aulbach should still be a factor for the district win. He has the quickest returning 5K time in the district at 16:23. Overall, it should be a good race between Ford, Litrenta, and Aulbach.
Ringgold's Lucas Pajak, Beaver Area's Will Lamb, and Indiana Area's Iago Jopia are among the other top returners in D7-AA this coming season. Another serious contender should be Indiana's Kendall Branan. He was second in D7-AA and 11th at states in 2017. He ran 1:54 in the 800 meters this past spring and could compete for the district title in 2019.
Team Preview
Last year, the top two AA teams from the state meet and three of the top seven hailed from D7-AA in what was an incredibly deep year.
Greensburg Salem, which scored just 40 points to win the district title last year before running away with the AA state title, loses some good talent, but should still contend for a states spot, and possibly the district title. Brown and the Bindas have graduated, so Mason Jobe and Ethan Kelley will be called upon to lead this team, which will need to retool its varsity team this fall.
The ones to beat look to be the D7-AA and PIAA Class AA runners-up from Indiana Area. Joey Budjos has graduated, but five varsity boys are back this season. The 2018 No. 1 runner Jopia is back. Branan, who was 11th in the state two years ago in 2017, should be in line for a big senior season and could lead this team.
New Castle will be strong again this season after taking third in the district and seventh in the state last season. Five varsity returners are back this season, led by Litrenta, a solid No. 1 runner. NC has good depth and will be in the mix on the district and state level.
There's a long list of teams that will look to challenge these top three squads for one of those three state qualifying spots. Ringgold, Montour, Laurel Highlands, Knoch, and South Fayette are among the list of teams that will have a good shot to make a run for Hershey.