Annville-Cleona dominated District 3 last season en route to their State Championship in Class A. The Dutchmen move up to Class AA this year with a strong returning roster. Had they stayed in Class A we’d likely be talking about them winning a 2nd state title in a row. They may still make a run at another state title this year in AA. As for District 3, look for Annville-Cleona to get a push from 2023 State Qualifier Conrad Weiser. The Scouts may have more depth than Annville-Cleona through the entirety of their top 7 but that may not matter if Annvile’s top 5 stay healthy. A competitive battle should ensue for the 3rd and final state team qualifying berth between Schuylkill Valley, Big Spring, Wyomissing, Northern Lebanon, and Milton Hershey. A sleeper pick could be Trinity as a healthy Isaac Burd returns to the mix in 2024.

Individually, look for seniors David Giles (Wyomissing) and Landon Hostetter (Annville-Cleona) to battle for the win. While not competing head-to-head last fall, Hostetter ran 9 seconds faster on the District course than Giles. At States, Giles ran 10 seconds faster than Hostetter. Hostetter won District 3 gold in Class A while Giles placed 3rd in Class AA and is the top returnee from that race. This spring Giles ran a 1600m PR of 4:23 and a 3200m PR of 9:25. Hostetter ran a 1600m PR of 4:32 and a 3200m PR of 9:39. Based on Giles breakout on the track were giving him the slight advantage over Hostetter entering the 2024 XC season. Others who could challenge for the individual win include Ryan Gourley (jr, Oley Valley), Oliver Funck (sr, Annville-Cleona), Isaac Burd (sr, Trinity), and Luke Hentz (jr, Northern Lebanon). Of this “challenger” group Gourley had the best spring as he ran new 1600m and 3200m PRs of 4:28 and 9:37.

Here is a team by team look at all participating schools in District 3 Class AA. Individually we highlight those runners who will be appearing in the top 40 of our initial individual rankings. Those rankings will be released soon for our Premium Subscribers.