District 7 Team Rankings

Lets take a look at our first BIG district rankings, checking out some of our state's finest talent in the WPIAL!

D7 A: (SQ Spots:4)
1- Winchester Thurston
In what should be pretty self-explanatory, the boys of WT find themselves as the clear cut favorites out of D7 for A. After a flashy showing at R,W&B, Winchester Thurston has their eyes set on a state title. There's a chance we even see the WT boys take it easy at their district meet in anticipation of their battle with Jenkintown and Co. the following week. Scott Routledge has top 5 finisher potential, and this team is well-rounded. Benjamin Bermann will need to improve as the team's #5 if they want to walk away atop the podium at Hershey, but we are still nearly two months away from the state meet.

2- Riverview
As we start to exit the "early season" and get into midseason form, Riverview has emerged as the next best team behind WT in my opinion. Mason Ochs has made an incredible jump to cement himself as a solid #1 for the squad, and the rest of his team is starting to fill in behind him. Despite having their #5 man back around the 19:50's, this is where their entire back end of the varsity squad is, meaning there is a fair chance this team will push each other and eventually close up that time spread. Add in Gideon Deasy as a solid #2, and this team is looking very comfortable with snagging one of the top 4 state spots.

3- Shenango
Shenango is an interesting program. They boast a spread of just 40 seconds from 1-5, and they actually have the best #7 in the entire district (including WT). That being said, this team fails to have anyone under 18:20 right now/anyone in the top 15 of the district. This is a situation where Shenango's depth will be extremely useful in landing in the top 4 and advancing to states, but without any true front runner, they will not find themselves at the front of meets, nor will they be able to succeed at states.

4- Chartiers Houston
5- Serra Catholic
6- Laurel
I switched the order on these teams about a million times, and this is finally what I decided on. None of these teams exactly have the flashiest times, so I did my best to really go and look at how these teams have done in terms of their finishes. Well, Chartiers Houston hasn't run since R,W&B where they were a surprise top 5 finisher as a team. I like their upside, and not to mention that they beat Serra Catholic by roughly 40 points there as well.

D7 AA: (SQ Spots: 3)
1- Greensburg Salem
As should be expected, the boys from GS are district title favorites again. Similarly to Winchester Thurston, I think this squad's focus is already more on the state meet the following weekend, where they will look to take down General McLane, York Suburban, and a host of other schools. While Mark Brown and Cameron Binda are favored to finish 1-2, they will not have it easy, due to the emergence of new stud Jack Aulbach from Blackhawk. While I don't imagine GS losing this meet, I don't think they can afford to be as comfortable as WT is. There are some solid squads in this district that we're going to touch on, so Noah Calisti and Quintin Gatons will have to run well as the 4th and 5th men of GS to ensure a district title.

2- New Castle
In one of the surprises of the season so far, New Castle remains undefeated on the season, picking up wins at both McDowell and the Big Red Invitational. They've taken down a host of other AA and AAA schools, including Taylor Allderdice, Butler, North East (x2), Harbor Creek, Grove City, and Cochranton (A). The squad has a perfect set up, led by front runner Anthony Litrenta, who has hung in well with some of the top AA talent statewide, especially at McDowell. The rest of this scoring 5 sits within 13 seconds of each other, and is all under 17:35. Despite possibly not winning their district, New Castle might be one of the best teams in AA right now. Will some of Greensburg Salem's stiffest competition come straight from its own district?

3- Indiana Area
The Indiana Area squad is currently slotted in for the last team spot out of District 7. Runners up to Greensburg Salem at R,W&B, we've touched on this squad already this season. With a really solid duo of Budjos and Berzonsky, this squad will have to run well enough to hold off Ringgold to advance to Hershey. I don't think this team is quite on the level of their counterparts listed above them, but I do feel that this team is the clear, established, 3rd best team in this district. They have the best depth outside of the top 2 teams, and have enough pieces to have an off day from someone at districts and still advance.

D7 AAA: (SQ Spots: 3)
1- North Allegheny
Should be no surprise here. Regarded by many as the favorite for the AAA state title, the Tigers sit atop District 7. Despite housing some of the best team firepower in all of PA, NA might be one of the most obvious favorites in any AAA district, which I think is a testament to just how good this program is. We will see their first true exposure to statewide talent this weekend, where they will have a rematch with their fellow WPIAL powerhouses, on top of some of eastern PA's best talent at the Foundation meet. With Kinne and McGoey at the helm, are the Tigers primed to snag their first team title since 2014?

2- Seneca Valley
Up next in D7 is the team that many picked to have the best shot at dethroning LaSalle before the news of Kinne's transfer at the end of last year. Seneca Valley undoubtedly has the best trio in the state, returning two state medalists in Sam Owori and Seth Ketler, as well as Connor Volk-Klos, who many argue was a medal threat as well before a poor states race last fall. The depth is starting to fill in well for Seneca Valley, with Aidan Domencic and Max Weaver running well as of so far in the #4 and #5 positions. I think if this team has any chance to stun NA, it has to start from up front. While the Tigers opened up with a 1-2 finish at R,W&B, I thought SV's trio didn't race up to their fullest capability. I think if Owori, Ketler, anf Volk-Klos can fill in right behind the NA duo to keep things mostly even up front, the back half of SV's scoring 5 will have a fighting chance to stack up against NA's pack behind their dynamic duo. NA's not invulnerable, but SV will have to be perfect.

3- Mount Lebanon
Having opened up their season with a couple wins, the Mt. Lebo boys put themselves in a position to advance to yet another state championship. In fact, with the resume they've put down so far this fall, they have every right to be ahead of Seneca Valley.  But, we've seen this before. Mt. Lebo is known for being a state title contender in the early season seemingly every fall, and then lose steam towards the end of the season. In most years, they just sneak through past districts. Other years, they aren't even that lucky. So for now, they are here to stay amongst the top teams in the district. But, they have to keep this up. Patrick Anderson looks more than stellar as of now, and this team is certainly one of the best in AAA right now. But like I said, for now.

4- Upper Saint Clair
If any team is going to pull a dramatic upset in the postseason and knock Mount Lebanon, I think its this Upper St Clair team. They've quietly strung together some solid performances. Although they've fallen short to Mt. Lebo in both of their performances, their pack is able to hang with Mt. Lebo through 4. If Shaw can continue to run well as a front runner, and if they can develop a better 5th man, this team, might, just might, be able to pull a massive upset.