D12-AAA - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2019 Individual Champion: Ethan Maher (LaSalle College) - 16:28
- 2019 Team Champions: LaSalle College - 15 points
Individuals Breakdown
It was once again the LaSalle show at the district meet last year. The eventual state runner-ups had a terrific squad in 2019 with a group of talented individuals. Max Manganiello is LaSalle's top returner this season. He was fifth at districts and 39th at states during a strong junior campaign. Now a senior, he'll be called upon to pace the Explorers in 2020 and looks to be the one to beat in D12-AAA.
Patrick Coyle and Zachary Brill are also back from last year's top seven, and should be factors for the district title, along with Manganiello. Drew Brill, Philip Coleman, and Will Rau all ran sub-16 last season and will look to make the leap to varsity and should immediately be top five district threats.
There will be a host of boys looking to break up that LaSalle pack, and many should be right there in the mix near the front. Patrick Casey of Saint Joseph's Prep was ninth at districts last season and comes in with a best of 16:54 from 2019. Father Judge's Shane Curran clocked a 16:35 at Paul Short -- the fastest time of an non-LaSalle returner, and he'll be in the conversation up front after taking 12th last year.
Central's Rmani Justiniano and Saint Joe's Prep's Andrew Konieczny are among the other returners from the top 15 in the district from last year that will be looking for top ten finishes this season.
Team Preview
For a third straight season, it was a clean sweep for LaSalle College. The Explorers made it look easy last year, putting seven before any team's No. 1 runner to cruise to yet another district crown. Ethan Maher captured the title, leading the way for LaSalle, which ended up second at the PIAA State Championships.
LaSalle loses a talented senior quartet from that top seven including Maher, Vincent Twomey, Bradden Koors, and Dan Gervino. But the Explorers are stockpiled with up-and-coming talent that will once again make them overwhelming District 12 favorites and right in the thick of the AAA state title conversation.
Scoring 15 will be a tougher task for LaSalle this season, but the team has a wealth of depth and plenty of up-and-comers that should be able to get inside the top ten and make it a runaway once again.
Lucky for the rest of the field, the second state qualifying spot is back in D12-AAA this season, so the race is on for another berth in Hershey after the favorites LaSalle. Last year's runners-up, Saint Joseph's Prep, will be looking to grab second this season again -- this time with that spot meaning a whole lot more. SJP brings back three varsity runners, led by Casey, and has some young talent that should step up and make an impact for the Hawks.
Father Judge, though, will also be on the hunt for that second spot. Judge has four varsity boys back from last season and should make it close with Prep. Roman Catholic and Central will also aim to be in the hunt if they can add some strong runners this season.