D7-AAA Boys - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 15
- 2020 Individual Champion: CJ Singleton (Butler) - 15:50
- 2020 Team Champions: North Allegheny - 40 points
Individuals Breakdown
CJ Singleton of Butler had a huge breakthrough season last year, becoming among the state's elite. He won at Red, White, & Blue, TSTCAs, and then WPIALs. The junior placed sixth at the state meet, the best in AAA by a non-senior. Singleton will be among the state title favorites in AAA, as he was last year. The senior will be the one to beat in District 7 this fall.
Singleton could face some challengers all year long because it is a very deep year in the WPIAL in AAA. There are three other state medalists back this season from D7. But one of Singleton's top challengers could come from his own Butler teammate: Sage Vavro. Despite having an off day at the state meet, Vavro was solid last year, taking second at TSTCAs and WPIALs.
North Allegheny's Scott Nalepa paced the way for the Tigers during their state title-winning 2020 campaign. He was fourth at WPIALs and then put together a great race at states to place eighth overall. NA's Jackson Hickel is another returning state medalist. He was 14th at WPIALs and then turned on the jets to take 22nd at the state meet. The Tigers are crazy deep with Graham Wolfe (fourth at WPIALs, 35th at states), Gregory Kossuth (seventh at WPIALs, 28th at states), and Michael Gauntner (18th at WPIALs, 43rd at states) all back this fall. Each of those boys will contend for state medals this season.
Seneca Valley has a pair of strong returners. Noah Petersen had a big junior season, placing third at WPIALs and then 14th at the state meet to grab a state medal. Petersen has been strong since his freshman season, and he'll hope to close out his high school XC career with another big states run. Eli Dewitt was also strong for SV last season. The rising junior was eighth at WPIALs and qualified for the state meet.
Two other returning state qualifiers from the WPIAL are South Fayette's Jake Borgesi and Greater Latrobe's Drew Kozuch. Borgesi was 13th at WPIALs last and Kozuch was 19th. Both will be strong returners to watch out for this fall.
Team Preview
2020 was a banner season for the North Allegheny boys, and 2021 has the potential to be even better. NA was dominant last season, cruising to the WPIAL title before leaving no doubt about it at Hershey, scoring just 49 points to capture the AAA team title by 27 points. NA did it with some tremendous depth, and now five of the state championship seven are back this fall.
NA is in the driver's seat to win its second straight state championship and third in four years. They also have the chance to pull off the girls and boys team sweep, with the NA girls team looking to win its fourth straight team title. Back this year is the two state medalists -- Nalepa and Hickel -- along with Wolfe, Kossuth, and Gauntner. Despite losing two seniors from last year's top seven, NA has some JV runners with potential to step in and make an impact this season.
This team enters the year as the clear No. 1 in Pennsylvania and a team that has the talent in place to make a run at a nationals bid. It could be another big year for the team from Wexford.
NA isn't the only team that will be making waves on the state scene this season. The boys from Butler will be strong, too. With a terrific top two in Singleton and Vavro, Butler brings back five of its top seven. If the Golden Tornado can solidify the back end of its varsity squad, this can be a very dangerous team in the WPIAL and in PA as a whole. Butler was second in the WPIAL last year and could have contended for a high state finish, but the full team didn't get the opportunity with reduced qualifier numbers. This will be a hungry team.
There are three state spots once again for D7-AAA this season. While NA and Butler are big favorites to claim those top two spots, the last spot is very much up for grabs.
Seneca Valley could certainly make a run at state qualification. The Raiders return a strong top two in Petersen and Dewitt, and this is a team that should always be considered a contender in the WPIAL. After that, teams like Mount Lebanon, Upper Saint Clair, Pine-Richland, and Baldwin will have a shot to make some noise with improvements. It looks like it could be very wide open for top five team placings in the WPIAL this fall.