Hopefully it is not too chilly in Bloomsburg, but that's probably wishful thinking. The District 4 Championships will kick off at 9:30 am with the 1A Girls. For Full Previews of the action - click and read through the pages below.
District 4 Class A Boys - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
Individuals To Watch: Creed Dewing (Northeast Bradford); Oliver Heintzelman (Northwest Area)
Contending Teams: Northeast Bradford, Towanda, Wyalusing Valley, Troy
The Rundown:
Northeast Bradford enters as the favorite, while Towanda and Wyalusing will compete for the other transfer spot. Behind Creed Dewing, Northeast Bradford has another five boys ranked inside the top 20 of the district. Though they boast a forgettable 1:40 compression, it's unlikely that another team can compete with them, even with a tighter compression. Towanda will certainly try. At their best, they have a 35-second delta.
Heintzelman and Dewing finished in fourth and fifth respectively at last year's championship. Since then, the gap between the two has closed significantly, and Dewing has actually run the faster time (16:47 to 16:48) so far this year. Dewing set his mark at the Owego Invitational, and earned the individual win. He has finished Top-10 at four of his five invitationals this season.
Heintzelman has recorded similar results and most recently finished third on the Bloomsburg Course with a 16:48. He knows the course, and recency bias would suggest that he is the boy to beat come Thursday.
District 4 Class AA Boys - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
Individuals To Watch: Rory Lieberman (Danville); Thomas Hess (Lewisburg); Jonathan Hess (Lewisburg); Kieran Murray (Lewisburg)
Contending Teams: Danville Area, Lewisburg Area
The Rundown:
Truthfully, it is a two horse race between Danville and Lewisburg for the District 4 title, though Lewisburg will be tough to beat. With three boys having run sub-16, and another two around the 17-minute mark, Lewisburg is a 2A juggernaut. The defending state champs are well positioned to defend their title next week and should have no problem rolling over their District.
Rory Lieberman is one of the best runners in the state, and is one of the favorites to win a state title next week. He ran 14:47 at Paul Short and still ranks amongst the nations fastest. The UPenn Commit should have no problem handling the field on Thursday, and may instead chase the 15:39 course record owned by Jacob Hess.
The Hess brothers will have strong days as always, but may instead focus on the team title, and on gearing up for states next week.