PIAA District III AA Boys Preview
AA qualifies 3 teams and 15 individuals not on one of the three qualifying teams to the PIAA State Championships in Hershey. Since the move to three classifications, York Suburban is 3 for 3 in earning state team bids. Wyomissing and Milton Hershey are both 2 for 3. Early season predictions have this a 2 team race between Wyomissing and York Suburban. The battle for the final team spot should be just as competitive. Milton Hershey and Big Spring are the early contenders for that final state berth.
Here is a look at what the top 6 teams from 2017 return in 2018.
Wyomissing
2017 District Finish: 1st
Returns: 5 of top 7 from 2017 PIAA District 3 AAA Girls Championships
District 3 returning rank
Ben Kuhn. #1
Josh Diehl #9
Thomas Foster #11
Ryan Vargo #21
John Sachenik #66
Notes: Wyomissing is our early favorite to win the team crown in Big Spring. They return 5 from last year’s championship team and have the districts top returning runner in Ben Kuhn. Kuhn is coming off a strong Sophomore track and field season that saw him finish 9th at the PIAA Championship 3200m. Losing Joe Cullen (now running for Duke Univ) to graduation certainly hurts, but Wyomissing has the depth returning to repeat as champion.
York Suburban
2017 District Finish: 2nd
Returns: 3 of top 7 from 2017 PIAA District 3 AAA Girls Championships
District 3 returning rank
Jarrett Raudensky #3
Andrew Paskey #12
Jordan Ohl #15
Notes: York Suburban has not missed qualifying as a team for the state championships since the PIAA expanded to three classifications in 2015. In fact, YS has qualified as a team for the past 7 years! They return a strong top 3. They will battle Wyomissing early, but will need to find strong #s 4-7 to compete. Those newcomers will determine whether or not the Trojans advance to the AA state championships for the 8th year in a row.
Milton Hershey
2017 District Finish: 3rd
Returns: 3 of top 7 from 2017 PIAA District 3 AAA Girls Championships
District 3 returning rank
Gary Waters #7
Jonas Mendez #24
Andrew Brammer #31
Notes: Milton Hershey returns a strong top 3, but like York Suburban, they will need to replace 4 members from last year’s squad. The Junior High program had a good showing at Ben Bloser, placing two runners in the top 20. If they can get contribution from a few newcomers, they should battle Big Spring for the 3rd and final team spot.
Eastern Lebanon County
2017 District Finish: 4th
Returns: 3 of top 7 from 2017 PIAA District 3 AAA Girls Championships
District 3 returning rank
Mitchell Gray #17
Cole Nelson #18
Matthew Sweinhart #92
Notes: ELCO returns their top two finishers from last year. Both Gray and Nelson will compete for district individual medals. They packed a tight group of runners behind Nelson to finish out their team scoring last year. Losing those three point scorers will be difficult to replace.
Gettysburg
2017 District Finish: 5th
Returns: 4 of top 7 from 2017 PIAA District 3 AAA Girls Championships
District 3 returning rank
Andrew Hirneisen. #6
Dustin Fluke #42
Sam Douds #69
Jacob Bordatto #72
Notes: Gettysburg should remain in contention for a top 5 spot at Districts, but may not have enough low point scorers up front to contend for a state bid. Hirneisen will be looking for an individual state qualifying spot
Big Spring
2017 District Finish: 6th
Returns: 5 of top 7 from 2017 PIAA District 3 AAA Girls Championships
District 3 returning rank
Ishmael Kirkwood #5
Ian Ward #22
Dain Vallie #32
Ian Lay #49
Trevor Moyer #60
Notes: The Bulldogs will match Wyomissing in depth. Not only do they return 5 runners from last year’s 6th place team, they also should be bringing up a couple of freshman who had success at the Junior High level. If Big Spring can get quality scoring from #s 3-5 then they should compete for a team qualifying spot at States.
Preseason Top 3 (in alphabetical order): Big Spring, Wyomissing, York Suburban