The top 5 teams at the District 3 Championships will advance to the State Championships. Two teams come into 2024 as the favorites and they are Hershey and Manheim Township. While Manheim Township will likely have a lower point total through their first three finishers, Hershey likely scores better 4-5 and may be able to displace a runner or two from Township. If Township’s #4 and #5 can close the gap then this could be an incredibly close race. The two teams have some history in close races as they were separated by just 1 point at Lehigh University’s Paul Short Run last year. The Blue Streaks ultimately won their 2nd consecutive Paul Short title. These squads know each other well and were the top middle-distance/distance squads this spring. On paper, the next closest team to Hershey and Manheim Township looks to be Chambersburg. Chambersburg came away with the team title in 2023. At least 9 teams seem capable of state qualification entering the season!

Individually, expect the title to come down to 2023 Champion Adam Kingston (sr, Manheim Township) and 2023 runner-up Vinay Raman (sr, Hershey). They placed 3rd and 6th at States this spring in the 3200m with Kingston running 8:58 and Raman running 9:02. Both are individual state XC title contenders as well. Cole Stevens (sr, Manheim Township) could throw his hat into the ring as well. Last season the three were separated by only :11s at Paul Short with Raman running 15:40, Kingston running 15:45, and Stevens running 15:51. All 3 are big time Division 1 XC and Track and Field recruits for the Class of 2025. Other individuals looking to contend for a top finish include seniors Joel Amstutz (Greencastle-Antrim), Liam Kirkpatrick (Chambersburg), Ethan Peffley (Manheim Township), Mathew McNair (JP McCaskey), Griffen Ridler (Northeastern), Jacob Abraham (Hershey), Daniel Naylor (Red Lion), and Neil Oestereich (York Suburban) and juniors Kolbin Heberlig (Carlisle), and Chase Choudhry (Exeter Township). This will be an upperclassmen dominant field. The top underclassman in the field could be Hershey sophomore Max Hulays.

Here is a team by team look at all participating schools in District 3 Class AAA. We also highlight those runners who will be appearing in the top 80 of our initial individual rankings. Those will be released later this week for our Premium Subscribers.