Quick District Recaps

Before we hop into our state predictions for this upcoming weekend, lets take a look at some of our thoughts from the crazy district weekend.

D12-

A:Unsurprisingly, Masterman cruises through to states.

AA: Crazy, crazy upset for Lansdale Catholic. Not only did they knock O'Hara out of states, but they shockingly stole the district title from Engineering & Science.

AAA: No shocker here, as LaSalle cruises through with 15 points. LaSalle has dropped in some people's eyes over the past few weeks, but with every top team having their struggles, I think they're still in contention to win this thing.


D11-

A: Shenandoah Valley ran great to grab the lone state spot by just 2 points over Moravian, while Wayne Reilly looked great in his solo cruise to a district title.

AA: In one of the craziest district races in PA, while Blue Mountain grabbed the title, the battle for the 2nd spot was insane, with a huge upset squad Notre Dame Green Pond taking the second spot. 2nd through 7th were separated by only 16 points! John Koons took down favorite Kevin Haas for the title, and will have his team join him this weekend.

AAA: I truthfully didn't think Easton had a shot at winning this one. I thought, even if Parkland were to run poorly, they'll still win. Its always crazy how things can change so quickly at districts. After not being close all year, Easton flipped the script on Parkland, led by a shocking winner in Cosmo Cardone. I saw an update on social media that said that an Easton runner had won, and I just assumed it was Ozgar. This was a crazy impressive run for Easton and with this momentum, watch for them to try and crack the top 7 at states in AAA.


D10-

A: Cochranton avoids the upset from West Middlesex but both teams comfortably make it through to next weekend, with the junior Troy Hart just barely coming away with the individual win.

AA: In heartbreaking fashion, General McLane misses out on a state spot off a 6th man tiebreaker from North East. I'm shocked that Lewis, who has been undefeated to this point, only got 3rd. With the times as slow as they are, its hard to tell how aggressively the top guys went after it. Jonah Powell and his Grove City boys both pick up wins, and will gear up for Greensburg Salem. Although their GM squad didn't advance, Nate Price and Dylan Throop will look for big races this weekend.

D9-

A: Elk County Catholic survives a big scare from a solid Cranberry squad, prevailing 54-56. Just like we expected it to, ECC's 5th man almost bit them in the rear end, but they hold onto the district title. Both squads advance through to Hershey, while the individuals are headlined by the Smethport duo of Christian Tanner and Darion Gregory, who finished 1-2.

AA: Punxsutawney Area secures the lone team state spot with just 29 points.


D8-

AAA: Taylor Allderdice comfortably advances through for yet another year, with just 24 points.

D7-

A: I knew Hessler and Routledge were the top 2 runners in this field, but I expected Routledge to flip the script on Hessler from last race. I was wrong. Despite Routledge fading back to 3rd (great race for Zachary Gould), his Winchester Thurston squad comfortably takes the district title with just 32 points. I simply can't wait for this rematch between them and Jenkintown this weekend. There was also craziness for the last 2 team spots. 3rd through 5th were separated by just a point and Shady Side came up short on yet another 6th man tiebreaker. Big shoutout to Eden Christian Academy for the big upset to finish 3rd.

AA: In no surprise, Greensburg Salem, Indiana, and New Castle all advance out of AA. Greensburg Salem looked even better than I thought, while Indiana taking 2nd over New Castle was slightly surprising. New Castle hasn't seen very stiff competition this fall though, so I was glad they still held their own and comfortably made it through. Since the GS duo of Binda and Brown have been a little up and down this year, I gave Ford the title because of his momentum. But the GS boys proved me wrong. They're clearly in top form and are ready to get their revenge on Grove City this weekend.

AAA: Of course, the madness was on full display in the most powerful district in all of PA (although certainly not the deepest). North Allegheny has a lot to be happy about, and some things to be worried about. With Kinne's struggles, NA was still able to comfortably take down Mt. Lebo and Seneca Valley by about 20 points or so, with SV taking back the runner up spot over Mt. Lebo from last week. The big story in this one, outside of Kinne, is the big bounce back race for Seth Ketler. He has been a huge question mark all season, and with this 4th place finish, he is primed to help Seneca Valley solidify a place in the top 3 or 4 at states. Not sure what to make of the Kinne situation. While this consistency problem may strip his status as title contender, as long as he can deliver a top 10 finish for NA, I still think they have a reasonable possibility of winning the title. Its crazy to think that a kid who was #2 on his team all season is now the favorite for a state title in AAA? You go Dan McGoey!


D6-

A: Penns Valley advances as team champions, but the big story in this one is Colton Sands. He finishes 4th in 17:50, almost a minute back from his teammate and district champion Brendan Colwell. Hopefully this is a temporary illness that will be easily recoverable from before this weekend. If not, Then Jack Miller's quest for state gold just got that much easier.

AA: Nothing too exciting here. Garrett Baublitz and Central Cambria both cruise to district titles.

AAA: Team wise, all State College. Individual wise, all Mifflin County. SC puts 4 in the top 6 en route to an easy district title as they gear up for Hershey. I was hoping they'd have a slightly better low stick for them to crack into the top 5 in AAA, but nonetheless they are still very dangerous. Brayden Harris and Chayce Macknair are just absolutely rolling right now. The teammate duo went 1-2, beating the field by over 40 seconds! These two are absolutely in contention for top 15 finishes at Hershey.

D5-

A: Ian Zimmerman and the Northern Bradford boys cruise to easy district titles. Zimmerman is a medal contender in the A race.

D4-

A: The Wyalusing Valley Area boys delivered a solid performance this past week, holding off a very hot South Williamsport squad to take the district title. While I still think WVA squad has still taken a step back, their 5th man was better at their district meet, with freshman Caleb Stoddard making a big jump individually. If Stoddard makes another jump this weekend, I still think WVA has the chance to sneak into 3rd at states. Ethan Knoebel responded well after losing to Hess in his league meet, taking down the WVA trio of Heeman, Laudermilch, and Patton for the individual win. Knoebel has tons of upside heading into this weekend, and I think he might be a deep sleeper for a top 7 or so finish.

AA: In a thrilling photo finish, Alejandro Quintana outleaned Jacob Hess for the title. While I had these two both finishing 1-2, I expected Hess to pull away and win the title semi-comfortably. Quintana is filling Quinn Serfass's shoes very well, and is primed to land high in the medals with the momentum he'll carry into Hershey. As for Hess, I still think he's one of the top runners in AA as just a freshman, and he'll be looking to shock all of AA with his quietly dominant Lewisburg squad. Speaking of which, they cruised to a district title by 30 points over Milton Area, the 2nd qualifiers. I expected Warrior Run to be better in this one.

D3-

A: In brutal conditions at Big Spring, Fairfield took the team title, and Mitchell Brett of Kutztown Area claimed the titles in A.  Mitchell Brett is a deep sleeper for the medals as just a sophomore.

AA: In all of the craziness of district weekend, this was one where things played out mostly as expected. Ben Kuhn held off Logan Horst for the individual title, while York Suburban outlasted Wyomissing for the title, with Big Spring snagging the last team spot.

AAA: We knew coming into this race that it would probably be one of, if not the craziest district race in PA. In an absolute shock, after the dust settled, Twin Valley, Chambersburg, and Palmyra were outside of the top 5, with poor performances. Carlisle snuck in, but did not live up to their title hype. Hershey, after being doubted all year long, snuck in for the last spot. Warwick, as expected, did not quite have the firepower to win, but were strong enough to find themselves as runners up in the craziness. And finally, after a hot start to the season, Cedar Crest reminded us just how good they could be, taking the district title by over 40 points. This one was truthfully just crazy. Given that the conditions of the race were truly brutal and unpleasant, the fortitude of Cedar Crest has me very excited for next weekend. They were very deep and tough, as their #6 man Ryan Scicchitano was 30 places ahead of any other team's 5th man! This was a big statement from Cedar Crest. As for Twin Valley, I'm disappointed. In terms of raw talent they had the chance to claim the title. But, as we saw throughout the season, they were plagued with consistency issues, and when they needed it the most, they failed to deliver. They have plenty of great individuals and have great DMR potential for the winter. The individuals up front were so deep. I was shocked when I saw Dorenkamp took the title, but at the same time, the more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Go look at the top 7. Any of those guys have a chance to medal this weekend. D3 guys have all shown glimpses of brilliance this fall, but none have been consistent in doing so.

D2-

A: Healey outkicks Liam Mead for the team title, but Montrose looks incredibly solid, scoring just 30 points for the team title. Not sure if Healey just chose to sit on Mead and kick, or if Mead really gave him a run for his money. Either way, I think Mead has top 10 potential, and with Wyalusing Valley looking a little shaky, I think Montrose jumps into position to have the best chance to break up a 1-2 finish from Jenkintown and Winchester Thurston. I expected a bit of a more dominant performance from Healey, as a state title for Miller seems to become more and more imminent.

AA: Mitchell Rome dominates the field, taking down a host of Holy Redeemer boys by over 40 seconds. Rome looked a little flat to kick off the season without his usual training crew of state medalists, but he has rounded into form really well at this point in the season. As expected, Holy Redeemer rolls to a title, with Abington Heights taking the 2nd spot. Its hard to tell just how good this Holy Redeemer squad is, and with how packed AA is right now, they could finish anywhere from 4th to 9th.

AAA: No big surprises here either, as Wirth and Burkes lead Wallenpaupack to a district title with a 1-2 finish. Excited to see where Wirth, the recent University of Cincinnati commit, ends up in the AAA race this weekend.

D1-

A: In probably the least surprising district result from the week, the Jenkintown boys roll to a 15 point victory, with Miller cruising to a 15:59 victory. The times behind Miller though were very impressive, as their top 4 all finished at or below 16:21. If their 5th man was a little stronger, they would've made it out of AAA! Frankly, I think the Drakes of Jenkintown are going to ride this top 4 to a state title, and at this rate, there is little anyone can do to stop them. Buckle up Winchester Thurston, because this is turning more into a David vs Goliath than a rivalry.

AA: Credit to Shane Cohen, as I predicted against him repeating his district title. But he retained it, taking down Jack Brosius (my champion) with a lean and just a fraction of a second. PJP rolls to the title with 25 points though, and are quietly a solid team to watch in AA.

AAA: Obviously last, but not least. In the craziness that was District 1, it was as packed, deep, and drama-filled as we expected it to be. Just for statistical comparison, here is the average time of the 6th place team over the past years...

2017-Central Bucks East (16:34)
2016-Spring Ford (16:32)
2015-Spring Ford (16:33)
2014-Central Bucks East (16:23)-- Two teams with 16:30 averages got in
2013-Bensalem (16:25)
2012-Pennsbury (16:23)
2011-Haverford Township (16:41)
2010-Conestoga (16:38)

This year, the top 11 teams all averaged under 16:30.

Great Valley, the first team out, finishing 7th, averaged 16:21.

And will be sitting at home this weekend.

In a year where we saw a major lack of firepower up front in District 1, it was quickly made up for by probably the deepest district race in D1 history. There were many teams in this race that, any other year, would be contenders for a top 5 finish at states. This year however, are sitting at home. These squads should not hang their heads. Like many of the teams out in D3, there was simply madness with so many good teams this year, and someone had to be sent home. To all the teams in D1 and D3, and those in other districts who were sent home with their hearts broken, use this as fuel for the future. As I said with Twin Valley, teams like Lower Merion, West Chester East, and Great Valley have major potential for some relays in the winter...

But back to the teams that did make it. We saw the dominant Dwest, and not the shaky Dwest, as they rolled to a district title, averaging 15:51 and scoring just 71 points. I think if Kinne isn't healthy, this squad has the best chance to take the title. I know LaSalle will be up there, but I feel very confident in the Whippets after this performance. How about those boys from Unionville? Damn, did they kill it. I repeatedly mentioned that I thought they had the raw talent to finish 2nd, but I didn't think they'd tie it together. They actually destroyed Dwest through 4 guys, and lost it on their lack of a 5th man. With that being said, the jump that their 5th man did make, Jarrett Conway, was a big one. If he can come up big again next weekend, Unionville could shock some people. I gotta give credit to Council Rock South. I thought their league performance may have been a fluke, but they came out and took care of business. The same goes for OJR and Haverford. Haverford was expected to make it through, and they did not crack under the pressure, and finished a respectable 4th. OJR silenced my doubts, riding a great performance from all 5 of their guys as they snagged the last spot from Great Valley and Henderson. The big shock was CB East. I truly have no idea where that came from (shoutout RJJL for the call). They were inconsistent, shaky, and unpredictable throughout the season. But when it mattered most, they came up big, and shocked a lot of people.

Individually, obviously, this was lacking up front. But that doesn't mean it wasn't exciting. With Demis, Walker, McComb, and Sewall all sticking around in the final straightaway, Walker snuck away for the win, with Demis and McComb faltering, and Sewall making up major ground in the last seconds. It was a thrilling finish, and with Unionville putting 3 in the top 6, I wonder if people were worried about them stealing the title at first. All of these top 4 are obvious medal threats next weekend, and I'm excited to see how they stack up against the western PA guys.

Start tuning in for the state predictions throughout the week! Love you guys!

-The RunningHub