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 6th man tie breaker, with their 6th 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

 

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