HIGH SCHOOL BOYS PREVIEWS
Brown Race
Notable Teams:
PA #2 LaSalle College High School
MD #4 - Loyola Blakefield (MD)
PA #5 - Manheim Township
PA #6 - Parkland
PA #7 Hempfield (3)
PA # 8 Exeter
PA #9 - Penncrest
(NR) Twin Valley
(NR) North Penn
Lewisburg Area - One of the top teams in 2A
Talk about a stacked race. The Brown field features seven ranked teams, including six in Pennsylvania's Top-10. With the addition of a couple of teams on the outside looking in and 2A powerhouse Lewisburg Area, the folks in the Lehigh Valley are in for a treat on Friday.
LaSalle College High School is coming off a win at Carlisle, where they placed three boys under the 16-minute mark. They're led by Drew Brill, Ryan McGinley, and Cole Casadei, who will all be mixing it up for the individual win.
We're curious to see where Manheim Township, Parkland, and Hempfield end up after all is said and done. This will be the third time in seven days that Manheim Township and Hempfield (3) will see each other.
Ryan Pajak (Ringgold) and Rory Lieberman (Danville) will clash in a race between two of 2A's most talented athletes. Ryan Pajak currently holds the PA #3 time, whereas Lieberman just set the fifth fastest time in course history at Hershey to win the 2A race at the PIAA Foundation Invitational.
They won't be alone in that fight, and they'll have to hold off Brian DiCola, who happened to win the 3A race at the PIAA Foundation Invitational. That race was slightly more tactile than Lieberman, and he'll likely be toe to toe with those two throughout the race.
Other Individuals to keep an eye on:
Juniata (PA) - Logan Strawser
Conestoga (PA) - Parker Warkentine
Loyola Blakefield - Carter Bruns
Hempfield - Aidan Hodge, Joseph Fahrney
Penncrest - Gavin Mogck
Twin Valley - Anthony Engle
Central Dauphin - Timothy Roden
White Race
Notable Teams:
NY #2 Monroe Woodbury (NY)
PA #3 Episcopal Academy
Jenkintown - One of the top teams in 1A
Our Lady of Sacred Heart - One of the top teams in 1A
This will be a fun one. The White Race will feature a battle between NY #2 Monroe Woodbury and PA #3 Episcopal Academy.
Monroe Woodbury is coming off a win at the Queensbury Invite that saw the squad place five in the top 15, two under 16-minutes, and log a 1-5 compression of 56 seconds. Episcopal enjoyed a similar victory on that same calendar day. Episcopal placed five in the top 12, four under 16:25, and notched a 1-5 compression of 57-seconds. We'll see fireworks between these two teams on Friday.
Aidan McHugh (Episcopal Academy) will be in the hunt for an individual title. He'll have to contend with Collin Catherwood and Collin Gilstrap of Monroe-Woodbury. They both went in the 15:30s at Queensbury a couple of weeks ago.
The defending 1A state champion, Thomas Smigo, is also expected to toe the line and will likely contend with those few.