D11-A Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2019 Individual Champion: Scott Zoscin (Weatherly Area) - 17:40
- 2019 Team Champions: Moravian Academy - 39 points
Individuals Breakdown
Thomas Smigo of Palisades emerged in a big way as a freshman last season last season, running to Colonial League and District 11 Class AA individual titles before taking seventh in the state in AA. Smigo and his Palisades squad moves to A for this season and Smigo, now a tenth grader, will be the big favorite in D11-A and among the top runners in the state.
On returning state meet times alone, Smigo would be the No. 3 returner in Class A -- behind only the Penns Valley duo of Colton Sands and Brendan Colwell -- if you took his time from the AA state meet race last season. Smigo will be a force in the state this season as he moves into his sophomore year.
Weatherly's Scott Zoscin in the defending district champ in A, running to the victory by over 20 seconds last fall at DeSales. He returns for his senior season and will be a threat for a high finish. Moravian Academy's Sam Carter took third in the district and ran his 5K best of 18:12 at the state meet for 85th last year. He'll once again be a factor.
After that, it should be a different look race at the district level for the top spots with Palisades, as well at Pen Argyl Area both moving to Class A from AA. Pen Argyl's Nathan DeBellis (23rd in D11-AA last year) and the Palisades duo of Mitchell Campbell (25th in D11-AA last year) and Liam McDowell (26th) are all returning and should make a run at the top five in Class A.
Moravian Academy's Mason Tran and Shenandoah Valley's Joelvi Nunez are among the other strong returners that we'll see in D11-A this fall.
Team Preview
District 11 Class A adds another state spot for teams this season bringing the number to two after it was at one last season. That's good news for the teams that are set to be involved in what should be a close race for berths in Hershey.
Moravian Academy, the reigning district champs that placed 18th at the state meet last year, earned that lone states spot last season. It returns five of its seven varsity boys from last season, led by Carter and Tran. it should be right in the mix for one of the two state spots and possibly even a district title.
Perhaps the team to beat could be Shenandoah Valley, which took second in the district last season. It returns six varsity boys from its solid pack from last year. The top five had a 1-5 gap of just 48 seconds at the district meet last season.
Palisades, which comes over from AA this year, has the odds-on individual favorite in Smigo, and lowsticks in Campbell and McDowell. Its issue may come in the form of depth, but if it can move the back part of its varsity squad up in the field, this team will be hard to overcome at the district level. The Pirates were second in D11-AA last season and earned a trip to states -- this is an experienced squad.
Weatherly Area, Marian Catholic, and Pen Argyl Area are among the teams to keep an eye on that will be looking to make a run at the top two this season. It should be interesting in Class A this year.