D10-AA - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2019 Individual Champion: Dylan Throop (General McLane)
- 2019 Team Champions: Grove City Area - 56 points
Individuals Breakdown
It was a banner 2019 for Dylan Throop of General McLane. The junior started his season with a 15:30 at Lock Haven and did plenty of winning from there, culminating with wins at the District 10 Championships and then winning the state title in runaway fashion at Hershey.
Throop returns for his senior season, and it should be another big one. He'll be the big favorite in D10-AA, but of course he'll also be the state favorite in AA. Throop was 17th at Foot Locker Northeast, and he'll figure to be a top ten threat for sure this fall. Keep an eye on him this season once again.
There's some good talent after Throop that should make some noise the state stage, as well. Zach Buckner of Fairview won the Sharpsville Blue Devil Invite last season. He took seventh at the district meet. He's back this year, along with his teammate Michael Grecchany, who placed third at districts. Together, they'll make for a strong 1-2 punch.
Gabe Nichols will be called upon to lead the way for Grove City this season. He was fifth in the district last year, and should be a factor up front again this season. Meadville's Matt Pulieo will be one to watch. Last year his teammate Patrick Stevens ended up fourth at the state meet -- Pulieo will look to follow that up with a big season of his own.
Hickory's Cole Frazier, North East's Brock Pennington, and Cathedral Prep's Kody Klein (second in D10-AAA last year; Prep has moved to AA) are among the other boys in this talented district to keep an eye on.
Team Breakdown
It was a romp last year for the District 10 title, as Grove City Area cruised to the team crown with just 56 points, 46 points clear of second place. GCA ended up tenth at the state meet, as one of its top runners, Tobias Jones did not finish. Jones has graduated, along with No. 2 runner Joseph Somora, have graduated, but five varsity boys are back, led by Nichols. This team tends to retool well and should certainly still be looked at as the team to beat in D10-AA this fall.
A team looking to take them down, or at least compete for one of the two state qualifying spots is Cathedral Prep, which moves to AA from AAA this season. Klein will be near the front and five other varsity boys from last year return for Prep, which took third in the D10-AAA race last season. Look for this team to be in the mix.
Fairview was an unlucky third in the district last year, but it brings back two very strong runners in Buckner and Grecchany this season that will provide crucial lowsticks. After that, it will look to narrow the gap to its frontrunners and get into the top two and possibly make a run at the district title. North East, which grabbed the second states spot last year, brings back a solid No. 1 runner in Pennington, but will need some JV runners to step up this fall to contend for a return trip to Hershey.
Meadville Area (fourth last year) is a team to watch. Stevens was terrific last year, but he's graduated. Still, there is a solid contingent of returners led by Pulieo up front that should make this team a contender. General McLane (fifth last year) has the star in Throop, but it has some young runners that have the potential to move up n the field and have a chance at the top two.
Don't count out Mercyhurst Preparatory and Hickory, who will look to add some depth this season. Ultimately, this looks to be a fairly wide open district for the two state qualifying spots, and it should get interesting.