D5/D8 AA Region - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 5
Individuals Breakdown
Van May enjoyed a strong junior season on the trails at Bedford last fall. He placed second to four-time district XC champ (and multi-time track state champion) Garrett Baublitz and then placed 11th at the state meet in Class AA. He's back for his senior season and he'll be among the top AA boys to watch for in the state.
He went 15:58 at D6 last year. With the "region" changing alignment this fall, May will be the heavy favorite to capture the region title and once again make some noise on the state stage.
Somerset Area has a solid group this fall that should be strong, battling for top five spots in the district. In District 6 Class AA last year, Somerset's Colton Walker, Andrew Straka, and Branson Walker finished 16-17-18, and Chase Brenneman was far behind in 20th. All four are back, aiming for high finishes in the region.
Bedford's Nate Scritchfield and Westinghouse's Sean Russell will also be worth keeping an eye on in the region this fall.
Team Breakdown
Last year, while competing with District 6, Somerset Area placed second in the region to Central Cambria, while Bedford placed seventh in that field. Now those are the two teams to watch for in this new region. Somerset returns five boys from a team last year, including a top four that was separated by just 17 seconds at the district meet last year.
Bedford brings back its full varsity squad this season from last year's squad, and has some good experience in that group.
While Bedford has the big individual favorite in May, it's Somerset that has the advantage in depth and they will be the team to beat in the region this season. There's just one team qualifying spot for teams into Hershey, though, so we can expect that no one will go down without a fight.