D7-AA Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 15
- 2019 Individual Champion: Will Lamb (Beaver Area) - 16:48
- 2019 Team Champions: New Castle - 79 points
Individuals Breakdown
Good depth returns on the individual side in D7-AA this season. Beaver Area's Will Lamb is the defending district champion and he's back for his senior season. He ran away with the district title last year in a solid breakthrough fall that included a win at Red, White & Blue and runner up finishes at Marty Uher and Foundation. He was 58th at states, so he'll have a lot of motivation coming into the 2020 fall.
Ringgold's Lucas Pajak was third in the district and then placed 16th at states -- the highest placed returner in the WPIAL Class AA for this season. He was consistently strong all fall last year and should be a serious factor for the district title and a high states finish.
There are two other state medalists back in D7-AA. Greensburg Salem's Quintin Gatons was 20th at states after an 11th place district meet finish. Indiana Area's Joel Beckwith was seventh in the district and then went on to take 21st at the state meet. Both are back for their senior seasons. Avonworth's Jackson Habala was 21st at the state meet in Class A and he, along with his team, move to AA this season.
New Castle's Zac Gibson (eighth in the district) and Jonah Miller (16th) and Indiana's Tucker Davis (15th) are among the other top boys to watch in the district this season.
Team Breakdown
New Castle ran to the district crown last season, scoring 79 points at Cal U. to outlast a strong contingent of D7-AA teams on the boys' side. NC loses its top runner from last year, Anthony Litrenta, but brings back four varsity runners led by Gibson and Miller. This squad, which placed third at states last year, will be in the mix once again for a repeat district title and perhaps another high state meet finish.
Indiana Area took the third of three state spots last year. Graduated is Kendall Branan, the team's top runner from a year ago, but Indiana has some talented boys back with Beckwith and Davis as a strong 1-2. This team could be looking at a return trip to Hershey if it can pad its depth.
Ringgold was just a point off Indiana for the final state spot last season, though as it enters 2020, we can expect this team to be right in the mix again for a top three spot and possibly the district title. Pajak is back after a state medal-winning performance last year and in total, this team returns six varsity runners from a year ago. After last year's near-miss, this will be a dangerous team this season.
Greensburg Salem, the 2018 state champions, can't be counted out. Expect the Lions to be right back in the mix this season for a states spot. Beaver Area, led by the defending champion in Lamb, returns its full varsity squad and should be in the hunt for the top three after a seventh place run in 2019.
Uniontown Area, North Catholic, Montour, and Knoch are also worth keeping an eye on in D7-AA this fall.