PIAA XC Champs Race Preview: Class AAA Boys


Class AAA Boys Individual Preview - PIAA State Championships

We've seen some great races over the years for the state title in AAA boys, but we perhaps haven't seen as wide open of a field in many years as we will on Saturday in this classification. There are a number of boys coming into the weekend with a legitimate shot of leaving Hershey as a state champion.

It will come down to who runs the fastest time from each of the four heats of races. Let's dig into the contenders.

District 1 saw a great battle for the title on Monday. It will be a quick turnaround for those boys, who will run their second big race in five days. Downingtown West's Aiden Barnhill won that race in a close one over Hatboro-Horsham's Devon Comber. Barnhill was sixth at states a year (the No. 2 returner based on those results) during a breakthrough season. Now an accomplished veteran, Barnhill will be right in the mix for his first individual state title. Comber ran the state's fastest XC 5K of the season, clocking a 15:19 to win his league. He was 51st a year ago, but on the heels of two statement races, he will be a factor as well.

Taking third in District 1 was Ethan McIntyre of Unionville, though his performance came in a different "heat" than Barnhill and Comber. McIntyre is the top returner from last year's state meet in AAA. He took fourth, running his best race of the season at Hershey. The senior certainly can't be counted out. The talent doesn't stop there from D1. Pennridge's Diego Lera-Lozano (fourth) and Downingtown West's Declan Rymer (fifth) also ran well at districts. Rymer was 12th at states a year ago, while Lera-Lozano was 21st.


CJ Singleton has been the king of the WPIAL this fall. The Butler junior, who was 13th in the state last year, has earned convincing wins at three major meets this fall, taking first at the Red, White & Blue Classic, the TSTCA Championships, and then the District 7 (WPIAL) Championships. He's been on a tear and he will look to keep that rolling into Saturday. Singleton is certainly capable of taking home the title here. His teammate Sage Vavro wasn't too far behind Singleton at both TSTCAs and WPIALs. He was ninth at the state meet last year and we can look for those Butler boys to work together on the Aloha Hills.

The title contenders don't stop there. Penn Manor's Graham Thomas has been rolling as of late. After taking the L-L League crown, the senior ran away with the win in a tough District 3, clocking a 15:41 at Big Spring. He was 16th a year ago and he should be right in the thick of this race. The same can be said for Liberty's Cole Frank, who won the District 11 title last week. The senior was 18th at states a year ago and has his sights set on a big run on Saturday and he has the talent to back it up.


District 6 saw a competitive race for the district title this past week. Brady Bigger of State College captured the win in the end over Mifflin County's Brayden Harris (second) and Williamsport's J. Henry Lyon (third). Bigger ran 15:49 to win at Mid-Penns and then a very quick 15:37 to win D6. After a 20th place finish at states last year, Bigger has emerged as a title contender. Harris has dealt with injuries for the past year-plus, but the senior is making his way back. He was ran 15:51 at D6 and should be a factor at the state meet once again. Don't forget that Harris was fourth in the state as a sophomore two years ago. Lyon, meanwhile was seventh at the state meet last year and has some great experience. He can't be counted out.

Zachary Brill of LaSalle College won the District 12 title last week and should be primed to be in contention for a high finish. Brill clocked the fastest time at the mid-season Foundation Invitational on the Hershey course. Along with his younger brother Drew Brill, look for the Brills to be near the front in their heat, looking for fast times.

In the year of COVID-19, we haven't seen the big invitationals we normally do that bring together some of the state's top boys from across the state. There's definitely a lot of mystery heading into Saturday -- more than normal -- and the fact that these runners will be divided up across four races further muddies the waters.

Other boys to keep an eye on in these races are District 2 champion Tavian McKenna of Wyoming Valley West, District 8/9/10 Sub-Regional champion Christian Mattern of McDowell, Holden Betz of Downingtown West, Brian DiCola of Hatboro-Horsham, Aidan Hodge of Hempfield, Alex Jubert of Norwin, Scott Nalepa of North Allegheny, Noah Petersen of Seneca Valley, Stephen Schousen of JP McCaskey, Jordan Tiday of Cumberland Valley, and Skyler Vavro of Butler (24th last year),