District Week: District 6 Preview

by Jarrett Felix

A (2 Teams, 10 Individuals)

With two team spots on the line and plenty of squads positioned to wrestle for the title, we should see a fun battle at the District 6 championships. It looks like Penns Valley is positioned for another run at the title, utilizing their killer pack to pick apart the opposition. Chris Colwell has emerged as a potential star in his sophomore season and will challenge the top group, while a strong pack of names behind him will likely be able to clinch another state berth.

After Penns Valley’s scores are calculated, I believe there are at least three teams gunning for the final spot. St. Joesph’s was third last year and I’d guess they are hungry for a little revenge. They lose district champion Brian Hackman, but Eli Urban, last year’s runner up, is back to try and keep the individual gold in house. Talented freshman Kaelan Wright and emerging star Michael Peters round out a solid SJ top three, but what will likely swing the meet is the performance of their 4-5 runners. I like how this team has fared in bigger invitationals, hanging with a decent amount of large schools and other top AA/A programs so I’ve slotted them as my team #2, but they are far from a lock. Purchase Line and Westmont Hilltop both have the potential to earn silver in this race, especially if their front running keeps them in the mix against St. Joe’s.

Individually, sophomore Sam Cunkleman emerged as a title contender at leagues, running away with the gold. But Urban and Colwell, each motivated by team title aspirations, will give him a fantastic challenge. Jacob Shulte from Bishop McCourt, David Wiles from Marion Center and Hunter Williams from Westmont Hilltop had strong showings either at leagues or districts last year (or both) which bodes well for their upside. Alex Ringer from United has really impressed me thus far in the early going so he could be a sleeper pick for a top five spot.

1. Penns Valley

2. St. Joesph's

3. Purchase Line

4. Westmont Hilltop

1	Sam	Cunkleman	Homer Center	So
2	Eli	Urban	St. Joesph's	Sr
3	Chris	Colwell	Penns Valley	So
4	Jacob	Schulte	Bishop McCourt	Jr
5	Keith	Griffith	Penns Valley	Sr
6	Hunter	Williams	Westmont Hilltop	Sr
7	David	Wiles	Marion Center	Sr
8	Michael	Peters	St. Joesph's	So
9	Alex	Ringer	United	So
10	Mark	Bierly	Penns Valey	So
11	Nathan	Moore	Purchase Line	Jr
12	Cyrus	Lanager	West Branch	Jr
13	Micah	Kurka	Purchase Line	Fr
14	Kaelan	Wright	St. Joesph's	Fr
15	Sam	Gray	Penns Valley	So
16	Joseph	Brendle	Marion Center	Sr
17	Robby	Patrick	Longier Valley	So

AA (1 Team, 5 Individuals)

Fun fact: last year’s District 6 Championships was as close as possible in a cross country meet. With only one spot on the line, Somerset beat out Central Cambria on a 6^th man tie breaker, with their 6^th man just one spot ahead of CCs. This year, the teams seemed poised to battle it out once again in a down to the wire battle for their golden ticket. This year, it appears Central Cambria has favorite status, beating Somerset at their league meet this past weekend and holding the superior front runner in Bryce Descavisch. Central Cambria also has looked very deep in their recent meets, meaning if it does come down to a #6 this season, they may have the upper hand.

Somerset won’t go down without a fight and should have their own impressive front runner in Dominic Mazzariello, a sophomore who led the team as a freshman last year. Mazz will be paired with a new talented freshman, Cejay Walker, who he could groom to follow in his footsteps and challenge for a top five spot of his own. But most importantly for Somerset will be their battle in the 3-4-5 spots, matching up against guys like Mike Walwro and Max Murin from Cambria and trying to play catch up against these two runners that ran so well at leagues.

Individually, Bedford, a possible long shot in the team conversation, has two of the best runners in the field. Will Kachman is hoping to challenge Dominic Hockenbury for the state title in 2015, looking refreshed and stronger than ever in his senior season. Kachman has won the championship each of the past two years and seems like a safe bet for a three peat. That being said, Descavisch is no push over. Both runners had huge breakthroughs over 3200m at states last outdoors (finishing just next to each other) and both have carried the momentum to the trails. They are clearly very familiar with each other, which usually creates a nice rivalry on the course.

Along with talented freshman Cejay Walker, Forest Hills frosh Mitchell Chunta has the potential to grab an individual qualifying spot for states. He will have to contend with Zane Baker from Bedford, having an excellent season behind Kachman, and the Tyrone duo of Joe Kohler and Adam Zook.

1. Central Cambria

2. Somerset

3. Bedford

1	Will	Kachman	Bedford	Sr
2	Bryce	Descavish	Central Cambria	Sr
3	Dominic	Mazzariello	Somerset	So
4	Zane	Baker	Bedford	Sr
5	Mitchell	Chunta	Forest Hills	Fr
6	Cejay	Walker	Somerset	Fr
7	Joe	Kohler	Tyrone	So
8	Javaunte	Neumann	Central Cambria	Sr
9	Nick	Patrick	Phillisburg-Osceola	Sr
10	Matt	Senft	Somerset	Jr
11	Adam	Zook	Tyrone	Sr
12	Mike	Walwro	Central Cambria	Jr
13	Max	Murin	Central Cambria	Jr
14	Alex	Calhoun	Bedford	So
15	Logan	Tew	Bedford	Jr

AAA (1 Team, 5 Individuals)
One of the best rivalries in the state will be on display with the ultimate prize on the line. The district’s lone guaranteed spot on the line at states will be awarded to the best team on race day and once again State College and Altoona are the favorites to battle for the crown. SC has won the past two titles, despite strong surges from Altoona in the final stages. This year might be a similar story. State College is fresh off a Mid Penn Championship, putting two runners in the top 5 (Nick Feffer and Alex Milligan) and getting a strong run from Owen Wing and Will Daubenspeck to close things out. They seem to be gaining momentum at the right time, charging forward into the state contender conversation. They will be the favorites on race day.

That being said, Altoona has really come on nicely in recent weeks. They were well behind SC at Big Valley, but improved at Carlisle and displayed a nice pack at Tri States. Joe Uliano is having an excellent season as the team’s front runner and Brady McCarthy ran his best race of the year on a hilly XC course, meaning he is hitting his stride at the right time. Historically, Altoona always finds a way to be competitive at Districts and nothing motivates this team like a shot to beat their archrivals.

Here’s the catch in this one, I think Altoona once again has a legit chance to make states, even if they don’t beat State College. Mifflin County’s past stand outs have graduated and Altoona has developed a strong top five, top to bottom with Kevin Smith, Brett George and Cody Kelly all showing excellent improvement this season. The wildcard to break it all up is going to be Hollidaysburg runner David Snyder. He ran 17:11 at Carlisle to put him right in the mix with Altoona’s pack. Although he didn’t compete at districts last year, if he toes the line this time, he could play a huge role in deciding if Altoona gets to post a team score in Hershey.

Considering I just told you both of these teams have a realistic shot at qualifying for states, it shouldn’t surprise you that the top individuals will likely all come from one of those two schools. State College has all the top returners (Milligan, Feffer, Wing, Balogh) including the defending champ in Alex Milligan. That being said, Nick Feffer has led the team in each of his past two races including a third place finish at Mid Penns and a top 10 finish at Pre States. Both guys have hopes of standing on the medal stand in Hershey and both are likely well ahead of the rest of the field so we will see if these two actually go all out against one another or save a bit for next week. The more compelling individual battle will likely take place in spots 3-10 where the packs will sort each other out and we will see if Snyder can outduel Altoona or if maybe Mifflin County’s Trent Yoder can jump up into the top pack.  

1. State College

2. Altoona

1	Nick	Feffer	State College	Jr
2	Alex	Milligan	State College	Sr
3	Joe	Uliano	Altoona	Sr
4	Owen	Wing	State College	Jr
5	Brett	George	Altoona	Sr
6	Cody	Kelly	Altoona	Sr
7	Will	Daubenspeck	State College	Sr
8	David	Snyder	Hollidaysburg	Sr
9	Matt	Balogh	State College	Sr
10	Kevin	Smith	Altoona	Sr
11	Brady	McCarthy	Altoona	Jr
12	Tony	Degleris	State College	Sr
13	Owen	Isham	State College	Fr
14	Trenton	Yoder	Mifflin County	Sr