District 11 Class A Boys - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
Individuals To Watch: Landon Boyle (Minersville Area); Mitchell Campbell (Palisades); Alexander Hume (Lehigh Valley Academy); Diego Olayo (Shenandoah Valley); Jacob Parker (Weatherly Area); Thomas Smigo (Palisades);
Contending Teams: Lehigh Valley Academy; Minersville Area; Moravian Academy; Palisades; Shenandoah Valley; Weatherly Area
The Skinny: Smigo will go for his third straight district title and second straight while in D11-A. He started off his season well with a win at Lions Invite and then cruised to the Colonial League. Boyle claimed the Schuylkill League last week and has logged three top 5 finishes in big meets this season, so he'll be a factor. Hume is enjoying a nice season, and should be one to watch.
The team race appears very wide open with two spots to the state meet on the line. Weatherly, the defending champs, edged out Minersville for the Schuylkill League title by three points. Both teams will look to keep the momentum going into Wednesday. But the Colonial League squads will be right there in the mix. Moravian Academy was sixth in the Colonial League, a single point ahead of Palisades. Upstart squad Lehigh Valley Academy should be right there. It's anyone's guess how this could shake out, but expect just a few points to separate teams going and not going to Hershey.
District 11 Class AA Boys - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 10
Individuals To Watch: Samuel Bower (Northwestern Lehigh); Joseph Chukoskie (Northwestern Lehigh); Owen Hibell (Palmerton); Jacob Huber (Saucon Valley); Matthew Santana (Northwestern Lehigh); Justin Williams (North Schuylkill)
Contending Teams: Allentown Central Catholic; Northwestern Lehigh; Notre Dame Green Pond; Palmerton Area
The Skinny: It's been a banner season for the Northwestern Lehigh, which will have its sights set on a state title next week. Before that, the Tigers will look to get through District 11, where it will be the big favorites to win its third straight district crown. Santana and Bower will be among the individual favorites with Chukoskie, Williams, Huber, and Hibell all with a shot at the top spot with a good team.
As for the second state spot after NWL, it should be close with Allentown Central Catholic (9th in the EPC) and Notre Dame Green Pond (third in the Colonial League) among the top favorites.
District 11 Class AAA Boys - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 10
Individuals To Watch: Ezekiel Colyer (Northampton); Liam Davis (East Stroudsburg Area South); Alex Heidemann (Freedom); Adam Kollgaard (Nazareth Area); Dominik Lisicky (Southern Lehigh); Liam McLaughlin (Stroudsburg)
Contending Teams: Emmaus; Liberty; Nazareth Area; Parkland; Southern Lehigh
The Skinny: Heidemann has been on a tear this season. The senior went 15:36 at Paul Short and then ran to the EPC crown last week. Now he returns to DeSales looking to add a district title after taking third last year. He will have challengers, including EPC runner up Davis and Colonial League third place finisher Lisicky.
The EPC Championships provided a nice preview of what could come at the district meet. Nazareth Area captured the EPC win and looks to be in a good spot heading into this week. Parkland and Liberty weren't too far off Nazareth, and should challenge for the top spot, or at least the top two. Southern Lehigh was second in the Colonial League and should be a factor for state qualification as well. Overall, this looks wide open heading into the meet.