North Allegheny retains the top spot after winning a third straight PIAA State Championship. The Tigers utilized a classic approach; they got out of the box patient and slowly picked their way through the field. At Mile one, they were sixth in the team count with 180 points but trimmed nearly 90 points to win by 76. They are potentially slated to see Episcopal for the first time at Team Nationals Northeast Regional

Episcopal won the PAISAA (Independent School) State Championship a couple of weeks ago. We anticipate a clash between Episcopal and North Allegheny at the Team Nationals Northeast Regional. But both teams will have their work cut out for them, as they'll have to contend with NJ perennial powerhouse CBA and rival Union Catholic.

Grove City did it. They won the 2A State Title, and they did so with one of their best races of the year. They led from the first mile to the finish and never wavered. They had six runners in the top-30 points-paying positions at the finish. Our meet merge revealed that they were the second best team (behind NA) on Championship Saturday. They averaged the same as LaSalle, but split nine seconds better in their compression.

For the fifth year in a row LaSalle placed second in the 3A State Championship race. All things considered, thats a pretty impressive run. Led by seniors Drew Brill and Ryan McGinley, they earned 161 points. They employed a similar strategy to NA, sitting eighth after the mile, but moving up steadily throughout the race.

North Penn continued their steady climb with a fourth place finish at the State Championship. They were edged out by Penncrest for the third spot by a meager three points, but excelled again with a 50-second split. It is to be seen if they will compete at a post-season regional.

We're impressed Penncrest. Penncrest had just about the best day they could've had and finished inside the Top-3. We can't say we saw that coming. Finishing about 20 points behind LaSalle and three points ahead of North Penn for third, Penncrest benefited from Gavin Mogck's career day. He finished in the eight slot, and Penncrest used a tight pack behind him to earn a top-3.

Hempfield has been one of the most consistent teams in the PIAA over the last month and it paid dividends yet again on Championship Saturday. A week after finishing second at the District 3 Championships, the Hempfield boys finished fifth at the state meet, and as the top D3 team. A 17:24 average led them to the finish. They were only 37-points out of the runner-up position.

The District 6 Champs came out firing on all cylinders and delivered with sixth place finish at the State Meet. Nick Sloff's 16th place finish resulted in 10-points and with a pack at his coat-tails, they were able to deliver the finish. This squad placed 7th at the PIAA Foundation Invitational, so to make these gains over the period of a month is pretty impressive.

The District 11 Champions rode a multi-week win-streak into the PIAA Championship meet and recorded an eighth place finish. Just 20-points out of a Top-5, they utilized a stout pack and 1:16 compression to finish ninth.