D2-A Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
- State Qualifying Spots For Non-Team Individuals: 5
- 2018 Individual Champion: Andrew Healey (Holy Cross) - 16:51
- 2018 Team Champion: Montrose - 30 points
Individuals Preview
There should be little in the way of preventing Andrew Healey from winning his second straight District 2 Class A individual title. The Holy Cross senior is the heavy favorite to take the district this season and he enters the season as the top returner in all of Class A in the state of Pennsylvania.
Last year, Healey out-dueled the now-graduated Liam Mead of Montrose for the D2-A individual win. He went on to take second to Jenkintown's Jack Miller at the state championships. This year, Healey will be in pursuit of the state crown in Class A, and he's the early favorite to get it done.
His Holy Cross teammate Kevin Jumper is the next best returner in the district. He was fifth at districts last year and 69th at states. Montrose's Nick Coy (seventh in the district last year), Elk Lake's Noah Staff (eighth), Holy Cross' Thomas Lee (ninth), and Elk Lake's Thaddeus Woodhead (tenth) are among the others that placed inside the top 10 in the district last year.
Some of those individual spots look to be up for grabs in D2-A, but they will all be chasing Healey, who should cruise to his second straight district title.
Team Preview
Montrose won its third straight District 2 Class A title last season before running to a fifth place finish at states last year. But the defending champs face an uphill battle this season to the four-peat. Five of the team's varsity seven from last season have graduated, including the team's powerful top three.
Coy is the top returner from Montrose after taking seventh at districts and 84th in the state. He'll look to lead this squad back to states, but Montrose will need to add depth.
Looking to take the district title this season is Holy Cross (third last year). Led by Healey, the odds-on favorite for the district and possibly even the state title, HC also returns two other top ten districts finishers in Jumper and Lee. This squad will look to fill out the backend of its varsity squad, but it's in a good spot.
Elk Lake will also be in contention for that one and only state spot in D2-A. Second last season, EL returns five boys. Peyton Jones, its top runner from 2018 has graduated, but Staff, Woodhead, and Jeremy Quinnan make for a solid top three that should be able to make a run at the district title.
Susquehanna Community was fourth last season and returns its full varsity squad. If its pack can move up, it could be in the mix, too.
Ultimately this race will come down to which team can add the most depth. Who can have some JV runners from 2018 step up and get their team to Hershey?