Our 2nd to last edition of the district rankings before my final predictions in a couple weeks, which will not be nearly as elaborate. Lets see how things are stacking up in D2!
D2 A: (SQ Spots:1)
1-Montrose
2-Holy Cross
The lone state spot in D9 is really hard to hand to just one team. The two teams haven't gone head to head this fall, and on paper, they're separated by just 8 points. I felt that I had to go with Montrose because they're much deeper and tighter as a pack, which is just the safer pick. Also, Holy Cross's seasonal PR's come from Paul Short just last week, whereas Montrose's times come from Cliff Robbins in the opening weekend of the season. Seeing that, its likely that Montrose is just flat out a better squad, as we saw them hold their own with squads like North East, ECC, and Wyalusing Valley Area in the 3 mile race at McQuaid.
D2 AA: (SQ Spots:2)
1-Holy Redeemer
The clear favorites out of the district, Holy Redeemer has a really solid team this fall. The team finished top 5 at Foundation in a crowded AA race, and are fresh off of a comfortable team title at the NEPA Invitational this past weekend. Bryce Zapusek is having a great season up front as the team's #1, and the rest of the scoring 5 holds a 25 second spread from 2-5. This is a very well set up team that will most likely cruise to the district title before they set their eyes on Hershey the following week.
2-Abington Heights
In my eyes, this is the clear cut second best team out of the district. On paper, they actually fall behind a Lakeland squad, but I think AH is going to surprise some people at districts. They haven't run an invitational since the Lion's Invitational back at the end of August, where they threw down some solid early season times. They have a solid top 3 all sub 17:50, and have produced some great talent in years past (see 2018 graduates Kyle Burke and Dan Uhranowsky). I think these guys will be much improved from when we saw them opening weekend, and could even give Holy Redeemer a challenge depending on how things fall into place come race day.
D2 AAA: (SQ Spots:1)
1-Wallenpaupack
The reigning champs look poised to take the district title for yet another year. Led by statewide sensation Tyler Wirth, the boys in purple have some decent programs behind them, but should have no problem cruising through to states. They saw the other toughest teams in the district at the Foundation meet, such as Scranton, Hazelton, and Williamsport Area, and beat them all by over 300 points. The key to success has been the emergence of sophomore Dieter Burkes, who has been a great #2 man behind Wirth. His big 16:45 at Hershey has helped really lift Wallenpaupack, and the team continues to be decent through 5. I don't think this is a team that will really be able to make a dent into the AAA scene, but they will obviously have Wirth in the medals, and maybe Burkes as a deep sleeper.
2-Scranton
3-Hazelton Area
4-Williamsport Area
***PSA***
The district 1 rankings are already complete and ready to be posted. Should I post them later tonight? Should I wait till tomorrow? If we can get some good discussion going on this post, maybe I'll throw them up in a couple hours... ;)
Don't forget to check out the recap of this past weekend's action!
Stay happy, stay healthy
-The RunningHub
Werth looks good, Burkes has really improved, Wallenpaupack should cruise through to states and probably crack the top 10 this year. I'm looking forward to the D1 rankings, DTW or Haverford #1? How many Chesmont teams in the top 5? And because D1 is so tight, who will feel disrespected by a lower than expected ranking?
ReplyDelete