District 11, District 2, and District 3 (AA) Analysis + More!

District Results Continued:

District 3 AA: Daniel Green proved he is the real deal with a huge win in 16:23. Kyle Shinn was with him at half way, but then Green opened it up to win by 16 seconds over the second half of the course. That’s some really impressive stuff and he should be in contention for a top 3 to 5 spot in AA. I don’t think he’s good enough to challenge Dominic Deluca however. York Suburban used their solid spread of 40 seconds to take the team title. They look to be a top 10 team at the state meet.

District 11 AAA… 15:43… Colin Abert… is this kid for real? As just a junior this kid showed that last season is no fluke and that he is the best XC junior in his class, without a doubt. I had him placed 4^th out of juniors and 12^th overall (after his 12^th place finish @ states last year) and let me tell you, he showed me up big time. Brendan Shearn ran 16:11 last season and the course record was 16:09 by Matt Kacyon. I thought breaking 15:50 would be reasonable, but after that performance this kid is in shape to break the course record at Hershey. That sounds like a challenge to the Martin Twins, Russell,  Wilson, and James to step up their game in their respective district meets. Reilly kicked off the day with an incredible 16 flat out of District 3. Abert just raised the bar even higher. Going into this year I thought it had the potential to be the faster PA year in a very long time and it looks to be panning out that way, which I’m very excited about, although the loss of Kennedy is a shame.

After that Abert rant, I’m still slightly upset that Freedom scored 37 points and not 33, but that’s for another day. Quigley stepped up his game big time running 16:37 for 5^th place. This district will just continue to get better next year as only 1 senior (Chris Kelly -9^th) graduates from the top 14. They are young and hungry to prove themselves to the other PA districts that they too can be a power house. I think Abert going out hard helped jump start this race, but 11 guys breaking 17 is pretty solid for this district meet. Freedom looks fantastic right now. Based on times from last season this is how they pan out: 17, 18, 32, 33, 48 = 148 … If I were teams like LD, SC, Carlisle, and even possibly O’Hara I’d watch out for this squad. Their 4^th man is a senior, but their 6^th man is just a sophomore, meaning they’ll have a fantastic top 5 next year as well. Don’t sleep on this team. 

Parkland also had a very solid race, they’ve got a 43 second spread and like Freedom, only lose their 4^th man from the top 5 next season. I think they’ll surprise people by pushing to the top 12 at States. And not to forget about some other great individual performances like Gabe Lamm running 16:35 and sophomore Lapsansky, Abert’s teammate, running 16:36. 

District 11 AA: Northwestern Lehigh got the job done, collecting another District Title with a really nice 35 second spread. Kyle Gonoude wins the meet in 16:52 which is a fairly respectable time. I think he’ll be able to chop a few seconds off that at the state meet. John Miller of Allentown CC gave him a nice run however and got a sub 17 clocking for himself. This section of District 11 is also very young, 5 of the 10 individuals moving onto the state meet are sophomores. 

District 11 A: Schuylkill Haven gave Minersville Area a real run for their district title, putting 4 in the top 8, but they got nicked by just a point. Really fantastic racing from both squads. Minersville Area returns 6 of 7 next season as well as they look to continue their District winning streak in single A. 

District 2 A: Lakeland flies under the radar this season, at least my own, and dominates this meet over returning champions Elk Lake. Lead by a 1-2 finish from junior combo Nate Morgan and Mark Arzie. This squad looks to do major damage at the state meet, but their lack of a 5^th man could hurt. Jake McGovern of Holy Cross has a breakout race finishing 4^th place overall and 4 seconds ahead of sophomore stud Matt Murray. Nate Morgan won in 16:55… Compared to 2011:

Sean Burk: 16:35 @ Districts, 16:23 @ States

Aaron Wilkinson: 16:45 to 16:28

Luke Jones: 16:45 to 16:17

Rico Galassi: 17:05 to 16:26

Jones and Galassi dropped major time going into the state meet, but if we give him 15 to 20 seconds at least, since he won by 33 seconds, that’s a really solid time of ~ 16:35. That’s top 5 material from what I can guess at this point before doing ‘A’ predictions. 

District 2 AA:  Oh Lord… Dominic Deluca… is 15:53 serious? He was a second off the District record held by Robert Micikas who went on to place 5th at the state meet in terrible conditions (ran 16:28, but the winner Jimmy Tarsnane who was a monster only ran 16:10 that year). Micikas later became the indoor state champion for 3k running 8:35. I really wish Deluca bumped up to AAA, but he was trying to help his team get to states in AA, and they got close!, but man oh man I wish I could see him, Abert, and Co. bang it out upfront for a possible sub 15:40 clocking at the state meet. Give him ~15 seconds and that’s sub 15:40… I’m just saying. He may have one-upped Abert with this performance. Thank you guys for making this blogging experience enjoyable and keep up the good work. Honestly right now looking onto FL, PA could win that team title for the first time ever… I’m just saying.

And right behind him is the sophomore stud Dominic Hockenbury. Deluca ran 16:53 as a sophomore just for some reference… Hockenbury just ran 16:22… He’s on pace to be one of the fastest sophomores at the state meet of all time. Truly some fantastic stuff right here. Deluca is just one of 3 seniors in the top 10 from this district as well. PA has some phenomenal young talent. 

Speaking of shocking events, Tunkhannock Area pulled a fast one on us all. They peaked perfectly to win this meet with Jack Tidball running a very solid 16:29 while leading this squad. They put 4 in the top 11 running very nice all the way around. Scranton Prep had the spread advantage of 29 seconds which will aid them at states very well and they had strong 6-7 runners to boot. Shout out to freshman Owen Brewer of Montrose. He was the first to miss the cut, but he’ll be back.

District 2 AAA: Wallenpupack got the best of Abington Heights and will be going to states with the help of a fantastic 27 second spread. AH went 2-3 up front, but weren’t able to bring it home. Does anyone remember Matt Kravitz? I discussed him this summer after his solid 4:11 1500m performance @ AAU Nat’s and a 2 flat @ Districts this past season. He has proved himself as a fantastic XC runner crushing the top 2 returners from Abington Heights with a 22 second victory, clocking 16:56. I’m excited to see him at Hershey. Keep an eye on this youngster.

Also on a side note, I wanted to do a mini-write up on Jeff Groh. He apparently suffered a stress fracture a few weeks ago and risked his running career today to help his team make it to states. He finished 16^th overall which is just incredible. I’m not sure how bad it is, but racing hard like that on it could only have delayed his comeback by a couple weeks. Hopefully he’ll be able to get fit again for the spring. He was district champion as a sophomore, but has been plagued by injuries, much like Caleb Wakeley. His comeback last season in track clocking 4:16.9 for 1600 and 9:23 double got me excited for his potential return this season. After the 16:17 @ Foundation I had him pegged for at top 5 finish at the state meet, even leading into this race I posted him down at 15:54 @ states. Maybe ambitious, but the kid is a stud. No idea if he is a reader, but if so, good luck Jeff and take some time off to recover. His performance today was heroic of sorts and should be recognized by the running community. That’s what the sport is all about, putting everything on the line for your teammates, your body, your mind, your soul. 

Running with someone, especially brutal XC training, is a bound that is unbreakable. It’s a tradition and shared struggle we all have been through and can relate to. It’s truly special to see someone in our mist putting the community values on the line like that. 

Until tomorrow! As my coach always said: “Work Hard, Eat Right, and Avoid Negative People”

--ForrestCRN