Dylan Throop kept his dream season alive, as the General McLane junior pulled away around the race's midpoint and it was smooth sailing from there. The team race was as close as you could imagine with Lewisburg Area taking the title on a sixth runner tiebreaker over York Suburban.
Dylan Throop took a peak over his shoulder in the closing meters of the AA boys and knew he had the win in his possession. The General McLane continued his impressive junior campaign with a state title in 15:57. It was his fifth win of the season and he made his move to the front early.
After getting out well, Throop found himself in the top ten hitting the 1K point. After the mile, Throop and Lewisburg's Jacob Hess separated themselves from the pack before Throop made a solo go of it the rest of the way. He rolled to the finish in one of the day's terrific sub-16 performances.
Wyomissing Area's Ben Kuhn took second with the District 3 champ closing well to finish in 16:08, improving from ninth last year. Greencastle-Antrim's Weber Long placed third in yet another huge race for the breakthrough sophomore. He also moved up well after a fairly conservative start.
Meadville Area's Patrick Stevens took fourth in 16:16, followed by fifth place Hess (16:17) and sixth place Garrett Baublitz (16:25) of Juniata. Thomas Smigo of Palisades took seventh in 16:31 for the fastest freshman time of the day.
The team race was an absolute thriller, as Lewisburg Area claimed its first state title in program history. It came in dramatic fashion on a tiebreaker over York Suburban.
Both squads scored 82 points with Thomas Hess as the deciding sixth runner for the Green Dragons. The race was close all the way through, with the teams tied at the mile, YS leading by six at the two mile, and Lewisburg taking the tiebreaker at the finish.
Sophomore Jacob Hess led the way for Lewisburg with a fifth place overall finish. Peter Lantz also got on the medal stand with a 13th place overall finish. He outkicked York Suburban's top runner in the closing winners, a sprint that proved decisive. Calvin Bailey was 31st in 16:58, Evan Hart was 56th in 17:19, and Gianluca Perrone was 73rd in 17:35 for Lewisburg. Thomas Hess' 107th place finish was the pivotal sixth runner tiebreaker.
For York Suburban, its the program's fifth podium in six years. After winning the state crown in 2014, YS was second in 2015, 2016, and 2017. It was another runner-up finish for the boys in orange. Cole Adams and Grant Kern, both sophomores, placed 14th and 15th, respectively. Both Lewisburg and York Suburban return six of seven varsity boys so the stage is already set for another showdown in 2020.
WPIAL champions New Castle placed third with 128 points, managing a solid 41-second spread. Indiana Area took fourth with 153, following up last year's second place finish with another strong showing. Central Cambria, the District 6 champs, were fifth with 156 points, while Punxsutawney Area took sixth with 169.
