District Week Previews: District Nine

by Jarrett Felix

Here's a link to the full breakdown in District 9

District 9 Championships 10/29

AA (1 Team, 5 Individuals)

Logan Caruso will be hoping for three in a row as the Bradford Junior goes for another district championship. Caruso has been consistently progressing during the season as he returns to full health and his improvement is definitely encouraging. I think he will grab gold in this one, but the Punxsutawney duo of Owen Barlebaugh and Ethan Brentham should give him a challenge.

That title will be as it looks to me like the Phils and Bradford will be locked in a tight team battle for the one state qualifying spot. Each position should be tight including the match up between Vinnie Bizzaro, Bradford’s #2 and the duo I mention above. But, as usual, the race likely will be swung on the 4-5 battles and where Clearfield, the other notable team in this district, fits into the equation. They could potentially be Bradford's best allies in this battle if they slip their runners in the right spots.

What’s exciting to me about this district is its youth. The best is yet to come for a lot of these runners as many of the top guys are either freshman or sophomores. I’ve got just one senior in my top 10 projected finishers.

A (2 Teams, 10 Individuals)

This is going to be a fun match up. District 9 A has a pretty nice history of churning out top individuals and this year is expected to be no different. Brookville’s Inspector Gadget (cause he has the tools for everything) Ryan Thrush comes in as the district title favorite after his terrific spring and recent 3^rd place finish at Foundation. But he will have to deal with a pair of returning state medalists from Cranberry in Harrison Keenan and Sam Lander. Both have established themselves as excellent hill runners who are true XC guys.

That being said, I think the biggest threats to Thrush are some newcomers to the elite tear. I’ve been very impressed by the running of Zach Wortman of Elk County Catholic. He’s looked phenomenal so far this season, including a big time run at McQuaid. I’ve got Wortman as a top 5 contender at states and a win over Thrush at the district championships would go a long way toward bolstering that opinion. And let’s not sleep on the sophomore duo from Smethport. Christian Tanner and Darion Gregory both qualified for states a year ago as freshman and have taken big steps forward as they continue to mature.

In the team battle, the usual powers, Elk CC and Cranberry appear to be the favorites. Elk County Catholic will be a particularly noteworthy follow as they make their last impressions before states. At the end of the weekend, depending on how things go at WPIALs, ECC could end up the state title favorites in A. They have a strong front runner in Wortman and Logan Hoffman has been a great #2. Add in a pair of freshman brothers for each and the talented Matt Dippold and you have a top five with a lot of upside. If they can put five guys in the top 10 at a district as talented as this, that would be a big statement about their state championship chops.