D4-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: Alejandro Quintana (Loyalsock Township) - 16:25
- 2018 Team Champion: Lewisburg Area - 53 points
Individuals Preview
Last year saw one of district week's top moments with a thrilling finish at the District 4 Championships in the Class AA race. Loyalsock's Alejandro Quintana outlasted Lewisburg Area's Jacob Hess in a terrific race to the line with the district title on the line.
Both boys are back this season. Perhaps we could see an encore? Quintana went on to take 14th at states, while Hess took seventh. Hess was the day's fastest ninth grader. Now he heads into his sophomore campaign looking for even more success. The senior Quintana will look to retain his title in the district.
There's plenty of talent back in District 4 Class AA with just one boys graduating from the top 11 in the district from last season.
Hess' Lewisburg teammate Peter Lantz was third at districts and then 19th at states, taking home a medal. Mount Carmel Area's Derek Lawler and Warrior Run's Damein Moser (fifth) are the other boys back from the top five in the district from last season.
Lewisburg's Calvin Bailey, Danville's Eli Zakarian, Mount Carmel Area's Krystof Lapotsky, and the Milton Area duo of Tanner Walter and Colton Loreman also make up a strong contingent of D4-AA returners that should make a run at high finishes again this season in the district, as well as state medals. Lapotsky is coming off a big spring that saw him run 9:22 for 3,200 meters -- one of the fastest returning times in the state.
With so much talent back, it's coming to be a fierce year of competition in District 4. Bet on that.
Team Preview
Lewisburg Area enters the season at the state's top-ranked AA squad, per PennTrackXC's rankings. After a fourth place state meet finish in 2018, Lewisburg returns its full varsity squad. Hess emerged last season and quickly became the squad's top runner and the sophomore will make a run at an individual state title this season if all goes well.
Lantz is a very strong No. 2 runner and will provide the senior leadership on this squad this season, as the lone varsity senior. Bailey, Evan Hart, and Gianluca Perrone are a trio of rising juniors that will play crucial roles this season for a team that will make a run at a state title.
Two teams make states in D4-AA. Last year, Milton Area snatched up that spot, taking second behind Lewisburg. Milton did it with depth, managing just a 52-second 1-5 gap. It loses one senior, but returns the other six varsity boys, including Walter and Loreman. Walter was 31st at the state meet after taking tenth at districts. Milton will be in the mix for a return trip to Hershey.
Danville Area was third last season. It returns four of seven varsity boys, led by Zakarian a solid returning senior, who was seventh in the district last season. Shikellamy loses its top boy from last year (the lone graduate from the top ten, Doug Hallman), but returns its next five, a strong core. Both of these teams should make a good run at the top two.
Warrior Run and Loyalsock Township are among the other teams with some strong returners that will hope to get in the mix for a states spot this season. D4-AA is stacked with returning talent and it will make for an interesting year with some coveted state spots on the line.