AAA Boys 4x800m Relay Preview
Central Bucks West will be on a quest for its fourth straight state title in the AAA 4x800 meter relay, which would be quite the feat when you consider the amount of talented 4x800s that have been in Pennsylvania over the past few years.
But West comes in as the third seed and it will have some work to do if it wants to four-peat. They have certainly been a team that thrives on the big stage, but West enters Ship at PA No. 3. Like usual, we can expect quite the battle for the win here.
State College Area holds the state's top spot after rolling to a 7:50.99 to win the District 6 title in runaway fashion, and the Little Lions will be seeking to snatch back the state title from West. State College last won the state title in the 4x8 in 2016, and they have a strong squad this year that has been dropping fast times all spring long. SC enters Saturday as the favorites with their terrific depth in the half mile.
But one team that will be hungry to flip the script on State College this weekend is Lewisburg Area, which has been a step behind SC (quite literally) for much of the season. Lewisburg took a close second to SC at Bruce Dallas, the Roddick Invite, and the Altoona Mt. Lion Classic. Lewisburg went 7:51.55 -- also in a solo effort -- to win the District 4 title and grab the No. 2 seed for this weekend. The Green Dragons made the move to AAA from AA this season, and really haven't missed a beat. Despite being on the smaller side of the other schools in this classification, Lewisburg is still set to be a serious factor in this race.
The defending champs from CB West have a season best of 7:52.28. The Bucks ran 7:53.09 to win the District 1 title last week and have once again reloaded with good depth in the 800. West should figure right into the equation up front.
Then there's the group from District 3. D3 saw four team dip under 8 minutes, paced by the district champs from Cedar Crest, which ran a PA No. 4 7:53.56 for the win. Fifth two years ago, this Cedar Crest team could be even better than that sqaud and will certainly be right up near the front. Twin Valley (7:56.32), Hempfield (7:56.39), and Lampeter Strasburg (7:59.20) also have some good potential in this field to make a run at the top five.
District 1 teams like North Penn (7:56.34), Pennridge (7:56.42) and Haverford Township (7:58.88) will all be right there as well, in the mix for the top five. Butler also went sub-8 with a 7:59.53 to claim the WPIAL title -- a time that could make them a team to watch if they go after it.
We should see some serious time drops, and there will be plenty of excitement around the AAA 4x800 as always.
ENTRIES:
Event 701 Boys 4x800 Meter Relay AAA
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NFHS Record: 7:33.48 2009 , Central Bucks So HS, PA
Dickson, Manion, Poiesz, Mallon
PIAA Record: 7:33.48 2009 , Central Bucks So 01
Dickson, Manion, Poiesz, Mallon
NFHS Hnr Rol: 7:48.00
8:02.04 SQS
School Seed Finals
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1 State College Area 06 7:50.99 SQS
2 Lewisburg Area 04 7:51.55 SQS
3 Central Bucks West 01 7:53.09 SQS
4 Cedar Crest 03 7:53.56 SQS
5 Twin Valley 03 7:56.32 SQS
6 North Penn 01 7:56.34 SQS
7 Hempfield 03 7:56.39 SQS
8 Pennridge 01 7:56.42 SQS
9 Haverford Township 01 7:58.88 SQS
10 Lampeter Strasburg 03 7:59.20 SQS
11 Butler 07 7:59.53 SQS
12 Palmyra 03 8:01.02 SQS
13 Pittsburgh Central Catholic 07 8:01.50 SQS
14 Seneca Valley 07 8:02.01 SQS
15 Southern Lehigh 11 8:05.21
16 North Allegheny 07 8:07.37
17 Holy Ghost Preparatory 01 8:09.46
18 Liberty 11 8:10.43
19 La Salle College 12 8:10.94
20 Taylor Allderdice 08 8:12.97
21 North Pocono 02 8:13.39
22 DuBois Area 09 8:20.84
23 Cardinal O'Hara 12 8:24.66
24 Cathedral Prep 10 8:39.45