District Week: District 10 Preview

By Jarrett Felix

AAA (1 Team, 5 Individuals)

Starting with AAA etrain? Always pushing the envelope!

The AAA race at District 10s features not just the District 10 squads but also the AAA squads housed in District 9. That means our friends from Dubois, including their excellent front man Peter Foradora, are going to crash the party this weekend and steal some state qualifying spots. With Foradora on board (as well as talented freshman Jamison Cook), it almost guarantees that whoever loses the McDowell v. Cathedral Prep battle this year will not send five guys to states. So the pressure is on for both teams to deliver under pressure.

McDowell is led by sophomore Ryan Zimmerman who has been fantastic as a front runner this year and is likely the favorite for individual gold. He provides a strong low stick for his team in this small meet. The pressure will be on for Jack Holmberg and Dillon Mohr, the team’s projected 2-3 punch, to have a big day and break up Cathedral Prep’s top pack, otherwise it will be very difficult for McDowell to take the title for the second straight year. Cathedral Prep beat McDowell fairly handily in their dual meet and also got the W over them in their only big invitational match up, leaning on a strong top three of Evan Fritzke, Bailey Klein and Kevin Haight. They apparently didn’t race any varsity members at the sectional meet which raises some eyebrows, but when they have decided to a race a full squad the results speak for themselves. McDowell is improving, but I’m not sure it will be enough to beat Cathedral Prep.

1. Cathedral Prep

2. McDowell

 

1	Ryan	Zimmerman	McDowell	So
2	Peter	Foradora	Dubois	So
3	Evan	Fritzke	Cathedral Prep	Sr
4	Bailey	Klein	Cathedral Prep	Sr
5	Kevin	Haight	Cathedral Prep	Sr
6	Jamison	Cook	Central Tech	Fr
7	Jack	Holmberg	McDowell	So
8	Dillon	Mohr	McDowell	Sr
9	Kyle	Wagner	Cathedral Prep	Jr
10	Dean	Swanson	McDowell	Jr
11	Adam	Russell	Strong Vincent	Jr

AA (2 Teams, 10 Individuals)

Let the young guns have at it! Three of my projected top five finishers in this meet are freshmen, led by Grove City’s breakout star Jonah Powell. The other two freshman, Ryan Stravaggi and Aiden Weber, will be trying to follow in the footsteps of teammate Christian Babo (MIA thus far this season) who medaled at states last year as a freshman and finished 3^rd at D10s. If Harbor Creek had Babo to bolster their front pack, they could potentially sneak an upset in this field considering they also have Jared Szlenski as a potential top 10 finisher. However, it looks like Grove City will just have too much depth for Harbor Creek to contend with. Behind Jonah Powell, who looked awesome in his last two big invitationals with a pair of silvers, Brandon Pyle and Dillon McConnell appear to be rounding into form. Pyle had a huge breakthrough race at states last year which saved this team’s spot on the podium. He has a history of rounding into shape at the right time. Meanwhile McConell is one of the only Seniors who in the varsity group for GC and his leadership will be important as we head full force into championship season.

Grove City has big goals yet again this year. They have a couple silver medals now at the state championships and are hungry to grab that gold. If they can place five guys in the top 8-10 of this race, it would be a huge statement, however, just like last year, the most important weakness they will have to address is their front running. Depth has clearly not been an issue.

That means Grove City’s attack on the top spots at this meet will be important and I’m predicting they deliver. In addition to the three I mentioned, also keep an eye on sophomore Ben McNight and Jonah’s brother Jacob. Fighting for a top individual spot from outside this group will be Jake Lehotsky from Fort Leboeuf who has had a tremendous Junior season. He was a near medalist at states in 2014. You also have John Curtis and Jacob Derry from a talented Corry squad (Curtis is just a sophomore) and Blake Ristau from Warren.

1. Grove City

2. Harbor Creek

1	Jonah	Powell	Grove City	Fr
2	Brandon	Pyle	Grove City	Jr
3	Dillon	McConnell	Grove City	Sr
4	Ryan	Starvaggi	Harbor Creek	Fr
5	Aiden	Weber	Harbor Creek	Fr
6	Jake	Lehotsky	Fort Leboeuf	Jr
7	Ben	McKnight	Grove City	So
8	Jared	Szlenski	Harbor Creek	Jr
9	John	Curtis	Corry	So
10	Jacob	Derry	Corry	Jr
11	Jacob	Powell	Grove City	Jr
12	Blake	Ristau	Warren	Jr
13	Elijah	Depew	Grove City	Jr
14	Jacob	Eshelman	Franklin	Fr
15	Nick	Rose	Meadville	Jr
16	Jack	Stevens	Meadville	Jr
17	Connor	Keene	Fort Leboeuf	So
18	Justin	Kita	Harbor Creek	Sr
19	Trevor	Phelps	Warren	Sr
20	Daniel	Lauffenburger	Warren	So

A (2 Teams, 10 Individuals)

I expect the smallest schools to put on the biggest show at the District 10 Championships. Last year, there were just two spots for three great teams and Saegertown (the defending state champions) ended up being bounced by Seneca and Mercyhurst Prep. Now we face a similar challenge, as these same three teams are projected to be locked in a tight battle for district supremacy yet again.

Early on, Saegertown looked like they were lacking the depth needed to compete at the top of the district while Seneca’s team also looked like it was out of rhythm after winning the district title last year. That all changed in recent weeks as the Meyers twins took 1-2 at their league meet and Saegertown placed 4 in the top 10 at their second meet, including a big breakout run from freshman Gabe Deyoung. With Brad Amy as an experienced leader on the team and Garrett Johnston (brother of state medalist Hunter) continuing to improve, Saegertown has some of the best front running in the field. Seneca’s pack of Gabe Jarema and Nick Post both took big strides forward last weekend and, considering Jarema’s performance at last year’s district meet, are set up to keep their team score low through the later stages of the pack.

But there is something about Mercyhurst Prep that each year they stay in the hunt. I picked against them last year and they ended up beating Saegertown and finished 5^th at states with the Curtin boys leading the way out front. Sebastian is gone, but Noah is still round and is one of the favorites to keep the district title in the family. Jimmy Zimmerman has been pretty clutch this season in a supporting role, but after getting hit by another wave of graduation, I’m not sure this squad will have the depth needed to overcome the excellent front running of their two opponents.

Individually, I really like Connor Walsh in this one. I think he has had a fantastic year and, if he can beat out Noah Curtin, he will set up himself up as a favorite for a top 10 spot at states. The Junior from Cambridge Springs has been at the front of a variety of invitationals this year already and looked dominant in his last two trots, winning against Amy and Jonah Powell in back to back races. The Meyers twins already have some serious state hardware and will likely position themselves in the front of this field again. Zac Tingley, the sophomore from Lakeview, is coming off an impressive victory in his section and has continued to improve over the course of the season. Steele Henderson, Walsh’s Cambridge Spring teammate, has looked very good in his last two races, coming on strong at Grove City and now Sectionals, where he placed third. He could potentially follow Walsh to a top five spot in this absolutely loaded field.

Calvin Gealy from Wilmington and Timothy Wheeler from Northwestern are among my sleeper picks. And really keep an eye on Noah Curtin’s battle with Walsh out front. He was a top 12 finisher at states last year and battled tough with Peretta at Freedom. His brother was 2^nd at states last year, breaking 16 at Hershey so if Curtin has a big day at Districts, it may be a sign of amazing things to come in his future.

1. Seneca

2. Saegertown

3. Mercyhurst Prep

1	Connor	Walsh	Cambridge Springs	Jr
2	Noah	Curtin	Mercyhurst	Jr
3	Zac	Tingley	Lakeview	So
4	Donovan	Meyers	Seneca	Jr
5	Brad	Amy	Saegertown	Sr
6	Phoenix	Meyers	Seneca	Jr
7	Garrett	Johnston	Saegertown	Sr
8	Steele	Henderson	Cambridge Springs	Sr
9	Calvin	Gealy	Wilimington	Sr
10	Wyatt	Fleischer	Saegertown	Sr
11	Dylan	Forrester	Reynolds	So
12	Ryuji	Mano	Greenville	Sr
13	Gabe	Deyoung	Saegertown	Fr
14	Jimmy	Zimmerman	Mercyhurst	Jr
15	Timothy	Wheeler	Northwestern	Jr
16	Jacob	Watts	North East	Jr
17	Paris	Enterline	Northwestern	Sr
18	Kyle	Mudger	Cochranton	Sr
19	Jeremey	Gallagher	Maplewood	So
20	Chris	Drozynski	Lakeview	Sr