D11-AAA Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2020 Individual Champion: Cole Frank (Liberty) - 17:31
- 2020 Team Champions: Parkland - 84 points
Individuals Breakdown
After capturing the district title two years in a row, Cole Frank's hold atop D11-AAA will come to an end this fall. Frank has graduated and is off to Temple and the door is open for a host of others to try and seize the top spot. It figures to be a close battle.
Four returners (and four out of the top five from last year's district meet) went under 18 minutes on the very challenging Blue Mountain Ski Resort course. It could be Alex Kane's time. Now a senior, Kane (fourth in the district last year) has been a high finisher in the district for three years now. He was 49th at the state meet, the best of any returner in D11-AAA and has plenty of experience. His teammate Dominik Lisicky will be a factor as well after taking fifth at districts and 53rd at states, just behind Kane.
Northampton's Ezekiel Colyer was second to Frank in the district last year, running a strong race at Blue Mountain, just about seven seconds off the win. He wound up 56th at the state meet. Freedom's Alex Heidemann was third at districts and 66th at the state meet. He, too, will be in the mix. Both Colyer and Heidmann have some strong potential heading into their senior seasons.
Ultimately, this will be an interesting matchup to follow this year as these senior boys go for the top spot in the district, in addition to some high finishes at the state meet. Freedom's Alex Hume and Parkland's Paul Abeln will also be ones to watch for this season.
Team Preview
It was incredibly close in the team standings in District 11 Class AAA last season. Just three points separated the top four teams and ten points separated the top five teams. And to add to that, only one team got a trip to states, down from the usual two because of the PIAA's limitations on team qualifiers to just one per district/classification.
Parkland squeaked out the title last year by a point over Southern Lehigh and two points over Nazareth Area and Freedom. Parkland loses two of its top three from last season -- a team that placed seventh at the state meet. The champs will look to have some JV boys step up if it wants a shot at a repeat.
Each of the top teams lose some key pieces from last year's team, though. Southern Lehigh, which brings back a terrific 1-2 in Kane and Lisicky loses three of its top six from 2020. Nazareth Area and Northampton Area (fifth in the district last year) also lose three varsity boys. Freedom, however, brings back its top four boys. The Patriots could be in a good spot heading into the fall if it can develop the backend of its varsity squad.
Liberty, despite losing Frank to graduation, returns the rest of its varsity squad from 2020 and could be a factor in this wide open district this year.
The race for the district title and the other state qualifying spot will come down to depth and how these teams can make up for the graduation of some talented seniors. Last year was a close one and this year could be just as close. Thankfully, D11-AAA will send two to states this time around instead of just one.