PTXC 11 Boys' Gold Race - Race Preview
- Race Time: 9:20 A.M.
- Virtual Meet
- 2018 Individual Winner:
- 2018 Team Winner:
The team race will not be close on Saturday. Virginia's Loudoun Valley, the two-time defending national champions and three-time defending PTXC winners, should easily capture its fourth straight win on the Farm Course, which usually serves as the team's first "full-strength" meet of the season.
The Vikings return three boys from last year's NXN-winning team, but this squad will dip into its very large pool of JV talent and other up-and-comers to fill in the gaps this season.
Individually, the race should figure to be very intriguing up front. The meet's top returner from last year is Loudoun Valley's Carlos Shultz. The senior, who attended high school in Pennsylvania during his freshman and sophomore years, was LV's top runner at NXN last year where he took 30th in the nation. But at PTXC 10, he was second, behind his teammate then-senior Jacob Hunter (another former PA standout -- the now-graduated Sam Affolder -- did not race at PTXC 10). Shultz will look to move up to the top spot for a win in his former home state. Expect him to be in the mix.
Two others return from LV's national championship squad: Kellen Hasle and Mateo Barreto. Hasle, who was 52nd at NXN, was seventh at PTXC 10. Barreto, meanwhile, was 12th last year at Kutztown. Both boys, now seniors, will play crucial roles on LV's squad this year and it begins Saturday. Taylor Ney and Kevin Carlson will be among the other Loudoun Valley threats that could get inside the top ten here.
But there will be challengers to LV's bid to keep the individual title in its hands. Boyertown's Christian McComb was fifth last year, the top PA finisher. He's coming on a win in 15:33 at Northampton, which is a PR and much faster than he ran at that race last season. He's fit and ready to roll for Saturday.
Andrew Healey of Holy Cross will make his season debut. Class A's top returner was eighth last year at PTXC. Now the senior will go after a big win here early in the season. Lewisburg Area's Jacob Hess will make his season debut. He was very strong as a freshman; now as a sophomore Hess will look to make an even bigger impact.
A number of other out-of-staters should be up there. Mendham (NJ)'s Jack Jennings will be a serious factor after taking 20th at PTXC 10. His former teammate Jack Stanley (third at PTXC 10) had a tremendous season last year, and Jennings will surely be hoping for similar success in his senior year. Calvert Hall College's Owen Johnson was ninth last year at PTXC 10. He's run well at this meet the past two years and he should be in line for another strong run.
Charter School of Wilmington (DE)'s Andrew Avila, who was second at Delaware states last year, should be up in the front pack. The Monsignor Farrell (NY) duo of Christopher Paxis and Anthony Bentivegna are coming off strong seasons last year and will hope to make noise in their PTXC debuts.
Other contenders for the top ten include Scranton's Josh Christianson, Danbury (CT)'s Jack Watson, Mendham's Zachary Hodges, Greencastle-Antrim's Weber Long, and the Hatboro-Horsham duo of Stefano Isabella and Devon Comber.
This a relatively open field. Shultz is likely the favorite, but it could get very close up front on Saturday morning.
While Loudoun Valley are the team favorites, we should see a good battle for second, namely between a number of non-PA schools. New Jersey's Mendham and New York's Monsignor Farrell are a pair of squads that will look to solid starts to their respective seasons. Danbury from Connecticut and Calvert Hall College from Maryland will be strong as well.
Twin Valley and Hershey are a pair of District 3 teams looking to make an early impact this season. Lewisburg Area is the top-ranked AA team in Pennsylvania. It will battle it out with a number of large schools on Saturday. Boyertown, Hatboro-Horsham, Altoona Area, and Chambersburg are also among the teams to watch, with teams looking to make early statements.