D3-AA Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 15
- 2019 Individual Champion: Ben Kuhn (Wyomissing) - 15:46
- 2019 Team Champions: York Suburban - 61 points
Individuals Breakdown
It was a breakthrough 2019 season for Weber Long of Greencastle-Antrim. He got progressively better throughout the fall, and had a monster postseason that included a second place finish at Mid-Penns and then a second place finish in District 3 Class AA, before taking third at states.
Of course, this season Long is the favorite in D3-AA after the graduation of last year's champ (and state runner-up) Ben Kuhn. He'll also be a threat to the state title in AA this fall. If he continues his upward trend, he'll be hard to beat.
With York Suburban moving to AAA and a number of top boys from last year graduating, there will be plenty of room to move up this season in D3-AA after the favorite Long.
There are three other returners from the district that placed inside the top ten of the district last year. Kennard-Dale went 8-9 at districts last year with Collin Wolf and Dan Gibney. Both return for their senior seasons and should be in the mix for top five finishes in the D3-AA. Wolf just missed a state medal with a 26th place run at Hershey last year. Gibney wasn't far behind, taking 38th in the state.
Schuylkill Valley's Luke Seymour was tenth in the district last year. He'll be a junior this season and will also be aiming for a top five district run at Big Spring. Others to keep an eye on include Donegal's Brock Overlander, Kennard-Dale's Garrett Quinan, Annville-Cleona's Jack Tshudy, and Susquehannock's Matthew O'Brien.
Team Breakdown
York Suburban has always been a factor in District 3 Class AA for quite a while. Last year, the strong YS squad was on full display, scoring just 61 points to win the district by 64 points over second place, and then taking second in a state on a tiebreaker to the champs from Lewisburg.
But it'll be a different look in the district with YS making the move to AAA for this season. It will be a strong contender for a high district and state finish in AAA, but that means that the door is open for a new squad to take over in D3-AA this fall.
The team that looks like it could take the reins this fall is Kennard-Dale, which placed second to YS last year and put forth a strong eighth place finish at the state meet. K-D brings back six varsity boys from a year ago, paced by Wolf and Gibney, a very solid 1-2 punch. Quinan, Dylan Cunningham and Caleb Scarborough round out the projected top five for this squad that should be among the state's best in AA this fall.
Another strong team to watch out for is Susquehannock, which took third in the district to earn the final state qualifying spot last season. They were 11th in the state in AA. Like K-D, they also bring back six from last year's varsity team. O'Brien was impressive as a freshman, and Susquehannock should have a pretty tightly packed group that will make it a team to watch on the state stage, as well.
After that, it's fairly up in the air with a third state spot up for grabs. Oley Valley had just a 16-second 1-5 gap at the district meet last year and that squad brings back five varsity boys. OV was fifth in the district last year. Donegal was seventh last season, and should be a factor with its full varsity squad returning to the fray this year. Boiling Springs should be a factor with six varsity boys back from last year's squad that was eighth in the district.
Teams like Wyomissing Area and Conrad Weiser will have some retooling to do, but they can never be counted out.