D10-A Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2019 Individual Champion: Troy Hart (Reynolds) - 16:30
- 2019 Team Champions: Cochranton - 69 points
Individuals Breakdown
It was a very strong freshman season for Samuel Hetrick of Saegertown. The ninth grader took third in the District 10 Class A race and then a week later, he earned a state medal with a 22nd place Hershey run, the second highest placed frosh in the Class A field at Hershey. Hetrick returns this season and will be looking for even more as a tenth grader this fall. He'll be the one to beat in D10-A.
In fact, there's a nice crop of freshman from last season that are heading into their sophomore seasons. In addtion to Hetrick, Cochranton's Chase Miller (sixth) and Lakeview's Colson Jenkins (seventh) earned top ten district finishes last year as ninth graders. So the top three returners based on district results are all rising sophomores, meaning it there will be plenty of young talent near the front.
Other strong returners in D10-A include Rocky Grove's Magnum Vincent, Cambridge Springs' Hunter Spaid, and West Middlesex's Giovanni Rococi.
Team Preview
It should be a close race for the team title in District 10. Like last year, the top two advance on to the state meet.
Cochranton, the defending district champions that took seventh at states, will turn to its young talent to try and get it a return trip to the state meet. They lose Noah Bernarding, but will hope that Miller can become a formidable No. 1 runner and the others can move up in the field to give them a shot.
Cambridge Springs earned the second spot and a trip to Hershey and placed eighth in the state. CS brings back four varsity boys, let by Spaid, who is a top five district contender. It will look to replace some of those graduated seniors and it should be right in the mix again for a state meet berth.
West Middlesex were a single point off Cambridge Springs last season at the district meet, and because of that, WM just missed the state meet. Luke Mantzell, fourth in the district and 15th in the state last year, has graduated, but the rest of the six varsity boys from last season return, and that group included four freshman led by Rococi. West Middlesex won't be lacking motivation after a near miss last year, and very well could be the team to beat here.
Rocky Grove also has six varsity returners, and should also be a factor. It will look to move its 2-3-4-5 runners closer to its No. 1 runner Vincent. Lakeview and Eisenhower will also look to get in the mix if some runners can show some good improvement into this fall.