etrain's Team Rakings: District Three AAA

D3 AAA

5. Cumberland Valley (3 AAA)

6. Hempfield (3 AAA)

Historically, Cumberland Valley has done one thing better than any other school in the district: timed their peak. CV has won just one district three title in the last decade or so, despite the fact that they have been the top D3 team at states almost every year over the same span.

Meanwhile, Hempfield, last year’s District 3 Champion, suffered the fate that most D3 champions end up suffering the next weekend at states: they had a tough weekend. They went from 1st in the district to 16th in the state and the last finisher out of those from D3. But guess what? History told us this would happen!

Here’s a look at the recent district champions and how they ranked among their D3 peers at states:

2014: Hempfield 1st @ Districts, 4th States

2013: Lower Dauphin 1st @ Districts, 3rd States

2012: Cumberland Valley 1st @ Districts, 1st States

2011: Chambersburg 1st @ Districts, 5th States

2010: Hempfield 1st @ Districts, 5th States

2009: Conrad Weiser 1st @ Districts, 1st States

2008: Conrad Weiser 1st @ Districts, 2nd States

2007: Cedar Crest 1st @ Districts, 4th States

Ironically 2009 and 2012 were also the only years that the D3 individual champion was also the top runner from D3 at states (Lockwood and Kunzweiler). Coincidence? Literally, no idea.

Now keep in mind over the same span Cumberland Valley did this …

2014: 2nd @ Districts, 1st States

2013: 3rd @ Districts, 2nd States

2012: 1st @ Districts, 1st States

2011: 3rd @ Districts, 1st States

2010: 3rd @ Districts, 1st States

2009: 2nd @ Districts, 2nd States

2008: 3rd @ Districts, 1st States

2007: 3rd @ Districts, 1st States

It seems to me like they knew something that everybody else did not.

But here’s the kicker, I’m not sure any of this matters anymore! The District 3 Championships have been rightfully moved to Big Spring (one of my personal favorite courses) and, in all likelihood, the 2015 season should bring an end to the District 3 curse while possibly dramatically altering the state landscape to more prominently feature D3 teams and individuals at the top, like we have seen in track and field.

Which means this season could be a great one for both Hempfield and Cumberland Valley. Let’s start with Hempfield, the District 3 Champions who return 4 of their top 5 and 5 of their top 7. Losing Duncan Brady, a top 50 finisher at last year’s state meet, definitely hurts, but they return two top thirty finishers from districts in Justin Yurchak and Nick Norton who will be working to fill his shoes. Hempfield was relatively unimpressive in the early weeks of the 2014 season, before showcasing their full, healthy squad at Lancaster Lebanon Leagues. There, they uncorked a dominate 37 point performance with 5 in the top 11 overall including Joey White at 9th and Coby Mattes at 11th (both return this year). Also returning is rising sophomore Christian Groff who showcased promising potential as a frosh last year. His brother Matt was a 4:16 miler for Hempfield. There is some talent here to defend their district gold, but they will need everyone to be on their game.

Cumberland Valley also returns quite a crew, but loses their best runner. Quinn Wasko, the near state medalist in 2014, graduates, leaving Owen Seeber, the team’s top runner at Districts in 2013, in a senior leadership role. Behind him are two promising rising juniors in Yahya Soliman and Josh Higgins (ET #34). Soliman broke 16 minutes for 5k last year at Paul Short while Higgins ran under 9:30 for 3200m on the track. The team also returns an additional three members of last year’s top seven: Caleb Schultz, Josh Cahill and Riley Park. The team has a nice mix of runners, but will need to prove its consistency as a whole if they are going to run to a district title.

Ephrata (3 AAA)

In what was a secretly loaded year team wise for District 3, Ephrata rode a strong pack to 6th overall, less than 40 points from third place and a spot on the line at states. They achieved this finish despite the fact that they were a team made up entirely of sophomores and juniors with limited big race experience. Team leader Nate Becker made the jump from 19th at Leagues to 19th at Districts and then rallied one more time for an impressive 41st place finish at states. He added a 9:40.00 for 3200m during the spring. Fellow state qualifier Zach Lefever clocked a 9:46 on the track this past spring and Rhett Hart clicked off a 10:07. When you add in Chris Hershberger, the team has a strong top four with sub 17 ability.

Ephrata has the potential to really excel in District 3, especially considering their trajectory. They were just 28th at districts in 2013 and in basically a year’s time they have dramatically improved their ability to compete with their rivals. Just look at the jump they made from Carlisle to Districts alone last year. Considering they return all seven of their top runners from a year ago, they have the potential to add a strong five and solidify themselves as a sleeper contender at states.

Mechanicsburg (3 AAA)

There’s a potentially very intriguing story to be told here. Mechanicsburg is not a traditional D3 powerhouse, but they have a great group of young up and coming talent mixed with a strong senior leader. They return their entire top five from last year’s 15th place finish at Districts, including three rising juniors and a rising sophomore. That rising sophomore is Morgan Cupp who finished 22nd at Mid Penns and 25th at Districts last year, making him one of the best freshmen in the state. He added 4:34 and 10:06 in his first high school track season. Running with Cupp last year was Alex Tomasko who finished an agonizing 35th at Districts last year (23rd at Mid Penns), just missing the state cut off. He too is one of the best within the district for his age and could make noise during the sophomore to junior jump.

The Senior leader will be Thomas Nicewicz who made a huge series of statement runs at 800m during track season, culminating in a 1:55 for 9th in the state meet final. He has strong endurace as well (ran 4:28 for 1600m) and hopefully can improve on his 51st place finish at Districts a year ago, giving this team 3 in the top 20-25. That makes them instant contenders especially if runners like Andrew Sulon (4:47/10:29) can take a mini leap to round out the top five.