District 3 Class A Boys - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
Individuals To Watch: David Bednarczyk (Tulpehocken); Isaac Burd (Trinity); Jasper Burd (Trinity); Moseley Driscoll (York Catholic); Allen Ebersole (Tulpehocken); Ethan Guss (Tupehocken); Jack Kornfeind (Kutztown); Connor Pushart (Trinity)
Contending Teams: Kutztown Area; Trinity; Tulpehocken; York Catholic
The Skinny: Jasper Burd will look to keep his huge senior season rolling in the D3-A race where he'll come in as the big favorite. He went 16:19 at Gettysburg and then placed eighth in a AA and AAA-packed Mid-Penn race. He's also leading a very talented Trinity squad that is the clear favorite to take the top team spot. Trinity was eighth in the Mid-Penn, and will be in the driver's seat to win the district and chase a state title in a week's time. The other team spot will likely come down to Tulpehocken, Kutztown Area, and York Catholic. Tulpy was a spot ahead of Kutztown at the BCIAA last week, while York Catholic -- led by Driscoll, who is running well lately -- will look to put itself in the mix for one of the two state qualifying spots up for grabs.
District 3 Class AA Boys - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 15
Individuals To Watch: Nathaniel Coggins (Susquehannock); Dylan Cunningham (Kennard Dale); Aaron Grim (Oley Valley); Weber Long (Greencastle-Antrim); Matthew O'Brien (Susquehannock); Garrett Quinan (Kennard Dale); Luke Seymour (Schuylkill Valley); Colin Whitaker (Lampeter Strasburg);
Contending Teams: Greencastle-Antrim; Kennard-Dale; Lampeter Strasburg; Susquehannock; Wyomissing Area
The Skinny: D3-AA is stacked with individual talent this season, and there's the argument that this is the best AA district in the state up front. Long is the defending champ, and coming off his Mid-Penn title, still looks like he'll be tough to beat. But YAIAA champion O'Brien has been on fire during his breakthrough junior season, and could certainly make this interesting up front. Seymour won the BCIAA, and is running his best at the right time, while Whitaker ran terrifically at the LL League Champs to take second. Both boys will likely be aggressive and go for it in the lead pack. Quinan was third in the YAIAA, and is another veteran that will be battling it out for the win. This is a can't-miss race between a number of top five state threats.
Lampeter Strasburg and Greencastle-Antrim will be locked in a good battle for the team title. L-S has been solid all season long, and placed third in the AAA-heavy LL League. Greencastle, meanwhile, was fourth in the AAA-packed Mid-Penn. Both teams are battle-tested. Susquehannock, with its lowsticks, along with Wyomissing and Kennard-Dale will battle it out for that third state spot.
District 3 Class AAA Boys - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 4
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 20
Individuals To Watch: Cole Adams (York Suburban); Ray Bondy (Carlisle); Anthony Engle (Twin Valley); Joseph Fahrney (Hempfield); Caleb Hershey (Lebanon); Aidan Hodge (Hempfield); Alex Holbrook (Exeter Township); Grant Kern (York Suburban); Dillan O'Shell (Hershey); Cole Perry (Northeastern); Timothy Roden (Central Dauphin); Kevin Shank (Carlisle); Tyler Stevens (Manheim Township); Jordan Tiday (Cumberland Valley); Ryan Wolfe (Cedar Crest)
Contending Teams: Carlisle; Cedar Crest; Chambersburg; Cumberland Valley; Dallastown; Exeter Township; Hempfield; Hershey; Manheim Township; Mechanicsburg Area; York Suburban
The Skinny: Hempfield has been the class of District 3 AAA and the Knights will look to win the team title on Saturday. Hempfield won at Paul Short and the LL League Championships, and have some great depth that make them the clear favorites for Saturday. Manheim Township was a strong second to Hempfield -- back just 11 points -- so this squad is heating up at the right time to make a play at a high finish. Carlisle was the top D3 team at Mid Penns and looks to be in a good spot to secure a state spot, and the same can be said about Cumberland Valley, which was just a few points off Carlisle at Mid Penns. Very little separated Hershey, Chambersburg, and Mechanicsburg at Mid Penns and those teams should be in the conversation for a top four spot, too. BCIAA champions Exeter Township and YAIAA champions York Suburban ran well to capture league titles last week, and will both be on the hunt for state berths. It's going to be very close for those last few state spots.
Hodge has been very strong all season long, and he'll look to ride that to a district title on Saturday. He won at Paul Short and LL Leagues, leading his very strong team, and may be the one to beat on Saturday. But Adams may have something to say about that. The Foundation winner came on very strong at the end of last season, and he'll look to do the same to challenge Hodge for the win. Those two won't be alone up front, though. The Carlisle duo of Bondy and Shank, the upstart Hershey, BCIAA runner up Holbrook, along with Roden, Kern, Perry, and Stevens will all make a play for high finishes, and it's going to be very competitive as always on the rolling hills of Big Spring.