League Week Recaps (Part 2)

Don't worry, we're back! As promised, here are the rest of the league recaps!

Schuylkill League Championships-
Blue Mountain claimed both the individual and team titles in their respective league meet. Kevin Haas continues his great season, picking up his first win of the fall. He was a top 5 finisher in the Lions Invitational, the Unionville 2 Mile Bash, and the NEPA invitational. Consistency has been key for Haas, and he has clearly stepped it up a notch as we approach the postseason. He's now the likely  favorite to take the district title next week after his big performance. Blue Mountain's squad picked up a big win, taking down a district rival contender in Jim Thorpe, who finished a distant 3rd. Blue Mountain and Bangor are going to clash for the D11 AA crown next week, and it should be a fun one to watch.

LHAC Championships-
The heavy favorites Central Cambria out of D6 AA picked up an easy win in their league meet, scoring just 35 points for the win. They are an incredibly deep squad, as they put 10 in the top 30 of this race!  While this team doesn't necessarily have a front runner, they've got a great pack and could definitely utilize their depth in the AA race at Hershey. Individually, junior Nick Fetzer picked up a huge individual win, wining by over 20 seconds. He was 3rd last year with a 16:51, so this was a solid jump for Fetzer, who will look to contend for a top spot in D6 AA next week. I don't expect him to hang with Baublitz, but he could absolutely be top 3.

Freedom XC Invitational-
In a shocking Pittsburgh showdown, we got a matchup between probably the 2nd best teams in both A and AA. In an unexpected twist, Winchester Thurston held their own with Greensburg Salem, just falling short on a 6th man tiebreaker. Going up against an AA powerhouse and almost coming away with a win is huge for WT. They've clearly made the necessary adjustments since Foundation, and are poised for a big rematch against Jenkintown. This one is going to be closer than people think. Buckle up. I liked General McLane's performance in this one. Their ace Nate Price didn't even have his best day, and they only finished 13 points off of Greensburg Salem. And to be very clear, GS did not run poorly. These are not fluke performances for either WT or GM. General McLane is now back in the mix of the craziness in AA for a podium spot with teams like Lewisburg threatening as well. Adam Hessler pulled what I would consider an upset win over Scott Routledge, the GS trio, and a struggling Nate Price. This was a very solid field, and now the D7 A individual title will be a rematch between Routledge and Hessler next week. As I mentioned above, Greensburg Salem didn't run poorly. However, if they want a shot at beating Grove City for the title, they will have to have their top runners be stronger. If I'm looking at this race from a purely objective standpoint, Brown and Binda should both be looking to be top 3 in this race. While it didn't mean all that much in this smaller race, it will absolutely have a bigger impact as we enter the postseason.

Bicentennial Athletic League Championships-
While their A rivals were fighting for a win in their respective meet, Jenkintown had quite the opposite route in their league meet. Cruising to a 16 point performance, the Drakes had no issues sailing through a weak league. This is indeed the best scoring 5 in A, no matter how well WT runs. However, this Jenkintown squad is not deep. While I think Jenkintown is still favored, there will be pressure on each member of this scoring 5 to not blow up and cost them a title. I think if they go out conservatively to prevent a blow up, that could be the safest way for this team to win a title, but who knows.

TSTCA Championships-
Obviously, one of the biggies of last week. In the AA field, we saw a clash between two of the newest WPIAL stars, with Daniel Ford taking down Jack Aulbach for the win. New Castle ace Anthony Litrenta rounded out the top 3, with Lucas Pajak finishing 4th. The top 3 in this race will all match up with the Greensburg Salem boys in what should be a great individual battle in D7 AA next week. Team wise, we're in for an even better treat than we thought out of this aforementioned district. While New Castle remains undefeated on the season, we have a new team to watch for. I had New Castle and Indiana Area both comfortably advancing, but Uniontown came up just 9 points of a huge upset. This makes things much more stressful for the Indiana Area boys, as well as the New Castle boys themselves. Uniontown is an extremely balanced team who, despite not having as much power up front as New Castle, are very balanced and deep. I think they match up with Indiana Area very well and it will be a dogfight for the 3rd and last team spot out of D7 AA.

Then of course, there was the AAA race. There were many shocks and surprises, but none of which I think are too earth-shattering in the grand scheme of things. With the top programs being as elite as they are, its hard to tell who actually put all of their efforts into this race. Anderson handed Kinne his first lost of the season, but from Kinne's interview, he couldn't seem to care any less. He seemed happy that his team won, and that all of his focus was on next week. The big story for me in this one was that NA handily won this meet without McGoey. If the back end of NA's scoring 5 is starting to look this good, they may have just locked up the title. The other big surprise was Mount Lebanon taking down the Seneca Valley boys for runner up. This one is a little harder to gauge. Mt. Lebo has a ton of momentum right now, and frankly, the SV boys have seemed vulnerable almost all season. Its truly hard to tell what every teams' intentions were heading into this meet, so its tough to have definite takeaways. The one big thing I will say though is the meteoric rise of Peter Cosentino. This team went from "Patrick Anderson and the Lebo boys" to a monstrous top 2. Obviously they aren't quite a Kinne/McGoey, but I have to credit the Lebo boys this fall. This program is known for running out of steam towards the end of the season, but they're coming together really well.

Pioneer Athletic Conference Championships (PACs)-
In of the many D1 leagues, we saw OJR continue to prove that they are a favored contender to make it out of D1. They scored just 44 points and were the only team to average under 17 on the Heebner Park course. Blatz ran a strong race to finish runner up to the likely D1 champ, while David Brunton and freshman Thomas Damiani also found themselves in the top 10. I will say though, Methacton held their own. They scored 64 points to finish 2nd against an OJR squad that has top 3 potential in D1. The back end of D1 AAA qualifying continues to get crazier and crazier, and I'm running out of options as to how to sort it all out. Something a little more definite is Christian McComb. I officially think he's the favorite. The kid has just been lights out all year, and his run at Manhattan was highly overlooked because it wasn't in the Eastern States race. I think he'll have to hold off Walker, Demis, and Sewall, but I think this is his race to win, maybe in low 15:20's depending on conditions.

Philadelphia Public League Championships-
Out at Belmont Plateau, we got a preview of some D12 A action. While Masterman has been the favorite for years, their quest for a title won't be so easy this year. Although they won the meet, they held off a solid performance from Engineering & Science, who finished just 6 points off. While these aren't exactly powerhouse teams in the PIAA, I find this development exciting seeing that Masterman has won the district title for at least the past 5 years.

Henderson Invitational-
As a D1 tune-up, some Chesmont teams took to the track looking for a fast 3200. Under the lights, reigning Chesmont champ Cole Walker took the win in 9:40. Despite Walker being a possible D1 champ and top 10 finisher at states, this wasn't the story of the meet. The big development was the sudden resurfacing of Jonah Hoey who, in his first race since last spring, ran 9:41 for 2nd. The question becomes, what does this mean for the XC realm? Was this a warmup race for Jonah before he finally appears at districts, or was this just a fitness checkup as he gears up for indoor? Shanahan is known for their flexibility and their unorthodox approach with how they choose to race their athletes, so your guess is as good as mine with what Jonah chooses to do. All I'll say is, don't forget Jonah was 10th at districts and 6 places off of a state medal last fall. While its absolutely absurd to consider, there is the freak possibility that Jonah shows up next week and wins a district title.

Team wise, it was big news for Unionville. With Conway back with the top guys, the Uville boys put 4 under 10 in this race. This is huge as they turn their attention to districts this Friday. I've said this before, but if this team's top 4 is healthy, they're talented enough to finish 2nd in D1.

SOL Championships-
American:
In the American division, Jason Cornelison continues to prepare for a big districts race. I think expectations for Cornelison were a little higher heading into this season, but it also isn't clear as to whether or not he was shaking off the remnants of an injury. Regardless, Cornelison is looking stronger and stronger week by week and could contend for a top 5 spot on Friday. As if D1 needed another team to worry about, Wissahickon threw their name in the mix with a solid performance. They put their entire scoring 5 under 17 and rode a 21 spread to an easy victory. I think there's simply too many good programs to give Wissahickon a legitimate shot at making it through, but they're a good enough team that they should at least be mentioned.

National:
In probably the performance of the week, CR South sent a message to the rest of D1. I had them on the outside looking in due to some consistency issues throughout the season, but if they run like they did this past week, they're advancing regardless of other program's performances. I specifically said, if Ochs gets back to the front, this team is very dangerous, and he did just that. The boys in gold went 1-4, put 3 under 16:30, and 5 all under 17. They're also deep past 5, and have tons of experience on this Lehigh course. CR South now becomes a very desirable pick for Friday amongst all the madness. If Ochs replicates this performance, they should be set.

Continental:
The most competitive of the 3 divisions, North Penn and CB East went at it again for the league title, with CB West lurking in 3rd. While Demis secured the individual title, CB East was still able to triumph by just 3 points. I think both of these programs are going to be two of the best teams in AAA that are sent home before states, simply because of how deep D1 AAA is this year. With that being said, both teams have the potential to send 2 individuals or so to states. Demis is obviously one of the top guys in D1 right now, and McManus has come on very strong for CB East as of late. Depending on which Endres shows up, he could easily make it through as well. The CB West guys have developed out of nowhere as well. Andrew Gillespie had struggled in the early season having lost so many key training partners, but he has made huge jumps the past two weeks and could make it through as an individual on Friday.

Northwest PA Cross Country Invitational-
In a shocker, Fairview upset Harbor Creek for the team title. Despite the front running prowess of Starvaggi and Weber, this Harbor Creek squad just simply could not tie it all together this season. Credit to Fairview though. They put 5 in the top 16 and rode their depth to victory. Unfortunately, they're pretty buried in D10, but if they could beat HC again and crack the top 4, it would be a great way to wrap up the season.