D10-A Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2020 Individual Champion: Magnum Vincent (Rocky Grove) - 16:43
- 2020 Team Champions: Rocky Grove - 37 points
Individuals Breakdown
There's a good group of returners in D10-A that should make the race for a district title an exciting one this fall. Many of these boys will be in the mix for state medals as well. The lone returning state medalist from D10-A is Sam Hetrick of Saegertown, who placed 25th in Class A at the state meet to grab the last medal. He was fifth in the district, but ran his best race at Hershey to get himself on the podium. Hetrick, a junior this year, will look for another big season. He was third in the district as a freshman, so he certainly doesn't lack the experience.
Lakeview's Colson Jenkins and Cochranton's Chase Miller were third and fourth in the district last year, respectively. Jenkins took 44th at states, while Miller was 30th. This is gonna to be a great matchup between Hetrick, Jenkins, and Miller for the top spot in the district, and surely these boys will have a great shot at the podium at the state meet, as well. Of course, they won't be the only ones with a shot at the district's top spot this year.
Union City's Landon Myer, Rocky Grove's Ethan Knapp, and West Middlesex's Giovanni Rococi are among the other boys with state meet experience out of D10-A back this season. We'll see who can draw on that experience and make a good run at a high finish at Hershey. Hunter Spaid of Cambridge Springs, who has a 17:23 5K to his name, is another boy to watch for here.
Team Preview
It was a close one last year with just one state qualifying spot on the line in D10-A. In the end, Rocky Grove came away with the district title and a trip to Hershey by three points over second place West Middlesex. This year, however, it's back to two state spots for D10-AA, which will be a welcome sight for whoever gets second in the team standings.
Rocky Grove, last year's champions, loses its top runner and district champion Magnum Vincent as well as two other varsity boys to graduation. But a young core will be called on to lead this team this year. It will need to retool a bit, but RG will be a factor once again. The favorite, however, may be last year's unlucky runner-up West Middlesex. They bring back six varsity boys from a young team last year. With good depth that managed just a 44-second 1-5 gap last year, this will be a very strong team in 2021.
Cochranton is a team that can't be counted out. This team was third in the district last year, just ten points off West Middlesex. Four varsity boys are back, led by Miller, and this team will certainly have a shot to reclaim the district title, which it last won two years ago in 2019. Iroquois and Cambridge Springs are among the others teams to watch out for this fall.