D12-AAA Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2020 Individual Champion: Zachary Brill (LaSalle College) - 16:29
- 2020 Team Champions: LaSalle College - 19 points
Individuals Breakdown
The Brill brothers from LaSalle will be the ones to watch in D12-AAA this season once again. Last fall, Zachary Brill, a senior this year, captured the district title with his brother Drew Brill, heading into his junior season, not far behind. At the state meet, Drew took home a state medal, placing 12th and Zach was just on the outside of the medals, taking 26th. Look for the Brills to be among the states top duos this seasons.
Patrick Casey of Saint Joseph's Prep had a strong end to his season last year, taking sixth in the district and then 54th at the state meet. Now a senior, Casey will look to move up even more and should be one to watch.
LaSalle, of course, has plenty of talent after the Brills. Francis Dougherty and Ryan McGinley are also back from last year's top seven. Dougherty was seventh in the district, while McGinley was ninth. McGinley is coming off a great spring that saw him go 4:20 for 1600 and 9:22 for 3200m. Will Rau should be a factor in XC after running 4:22 for a full mile this spring. The same goes for Matt Dyer, who ran 4:26 for 1600m this past spring.
Team Preview
LaSalle College made it seven-in-a-row last fall in District 12 Class AAA. The Explorers should be able to extend that streak to eight this season ith relative ease. Zach and Drew Brill are back as a terrific 1-2 punch, and despite losing three varsity boys to graduation, LaSalle has plenty of depth to go around with Dougherty, McGinley, Rau, and Dyer among others able to supply some lowsticks.
LaSalle was second in the state in 2020, winning a tiebreaker over third place Downingtown West. The defending state champions from North Allegheny will be tough to take down this year, but LaSalle may be the team with the best chance to make a run at the WPIAL's Tigers.
D12-AAA was supposed to enjoy a second state qualifying spot last season after LaSalle, but the PIAA only allowed one team per district/classification due to the pandemic. But this year, that second spot will be in full effect. Saint Joseph's Prep was second last year. The Hawks lose just two of seven from last year's team and very well could be the team to beat behind a strong No. 1 runner in Casey.
Father Judge loses its top runner from last year in Shane Curran, but brings back five varsity boys from a team that took third in D12-AAA. Judge will certainly be looking to challenge Prep for that second spot and it could get very close.