2017 PIAA XC District Previews: District 2

District 2 (10/25)

A (1 Team, 5 Individuals)

1. Montrose

2. Lakeland

3. Elk Lake

1	Brandon	Curley	Sr	Montrose
2	Andrew	Healey	So	Holy Cross
3	Liam	Mead	Jr	Montrose
4	Peyton	Jones	Jr	Elk Lake
5	Cody	Oswald	Sr	Elk Lake
6	Collin	Spellman	Jr	Montrose
7	Eric	Bixby	Jr	Montrose
8	Max	Brewer	Jr	Montrose
9	Jerome	Washo	Sr	Montrose
10	Zach	Reeves	So	Lakeland
11	Noah	Chup	So	Lakeland
12	Travis	Hickling	Sr	Blue Ridge
13	Nick	Coy	So	Montrose
14	Jack	Malay	Sr	MMI Prep
15	Thomas	Lee	Fr	Holy Cross
16	Chris	Noldy	So	Lakeland
17	Gavin	Beck	So	Riverside
18	Brett	Carney	Sr	Elk Lake

You ever see those exasperated looking people in commercials who stare into the camera and say “There’s gotta be a better way!” That’s how I feel sometimes looking at these district alignments. I have to give a shout out to Lakeland and Elk Lake, both strong, well-coached programs with good squads who are fighting uphill battles to get past the juggernauts over at Montrose. I would have liked to see those teams compete for states, maybe through a wildcard selection of some kind. Lakeland has a really nice pack. They’ve caught my eye in recent weeks and have a lot of young promising athletes. Wanted to give them a shout out before jumping ahead.

Montrose looks like a potential championship squad yet again. They absolutely dominated this meet a year ago, but may want to save a little something for states in 2017. For that reason, you might see a bit less domination from this deep pack. However, I still expect all five scorers in the top 10 overall and a very low team score. The trio of juniors, Spellman, Bixby and Brewer, will be an important watch for anyone looking to see how this team could potentially place at states. That’s where there season will likely be decided.

Individually, we could get a really exciting match up. Brandon Curley and Andrew Healey are both on a roll this season and, to my knowledge, have yet to go head to head in 2017. Healey is the young up and comer. He was 2^nd at Foundation and dropped a big performance at Paul Short to back it up. Yet Curley is the top returner who has produced big results at Cliff Robbins and McQuaid (one of the fastest times we’ve seen from a A guy in recent years). I think both of these guys could be top 5 finishers in the A state meet.

Behind them, we’ve got a trio of state medal contenders in Liam Mead, Peyton Jones and Cody Oswald. The Elk Lake boys have been perennial forces around the 40s at states. I’m interested if this will be the year that one of their guys makes a leap.

AA (2 Teams, 10 Individuals)

1. Dallas

2. Holy Redeemer

3. Crestwood

1	Jack	Zardecki	Sr	Dallas
2	Mitchell	Rome	Jr	Dallas
3	Mitchell	Martin	Sr	Berwick
4	Bryce	Zapusek	Jr	Holy Redeemer
5	Clay	Kismal	Sr	Crestwood
6	Jacob	Pasake	Sr	Western Wayne
7	Josh	Wyandt	Sr	Dallas
8	Connor	Stevens	Sr	Holy Redeemer
9	Nicholas	Gershey	Jr	Scranton Prep
10	Adam	Borton	Sr	Dallas
11	Dominic	Capaci	Jr	Holy Redeemer
12	Kerry	Lyons	Sr	Scranton Prep
13	Josh	Jarden	Sr	Dallas
14	Matt	Brunetti	Sr	Crestwood
15	Nate	Searfoss	Jr	Coughlin
16	Lucas	Volpetti	Jr	Holy Redeemer
17	Ben	Tidball	Sr	Tunkhannock
18	Scott	Williams	Sr	Holy Redeemer
19	Riley	Newman	Sr	Lake Lehman
20	Steven	Brenkosh	Sr	North Pocono
21	Griffin	Keller	Jr	Berwick
22	Joey	Rowley	So	Hanover
23	George	Strish	Jr	Holy Redeemer

I’m very interested to see how this one shakes out. I’ve been quick to talk up the District 2 AA scene as one of the best districts around and perhaps the trickiest state qualifier to navigate. However, this year’s pack seems to be a bit underwhelming to me on paper. So I’m fully expecting fireworks to prove me wrong when these athletes take to the course.

Out front, Jack Zardecki won’t need to do anything special to prove he is a superstar. The Dallas senior is a favorite for the title after a silver last year (and excellent results in the interim). His Dallas teammates, Mitchell Rome and Josh Wyandt in particular, may end up his biggest threats to the title. That being said, Mitchell Martin of Berwick is fresh off a terrific league race at Lackawanna and could contend. I’ve been riding for Clay Kismal this season as well. Deeper down the list, Jacob Pasake is a sleeper for gold. He was 3^rd a year ago in a blazing fast result.

In the team battle, I’ve gone with chalk yet again as I project Dallas and Holy Redeemer to keep their state spots. Dallas, the two time defending state champions, will look to show the same depth they displayed at the prior two district meets. Keep an eye on how their spread looks behind Zardecki. As for Holy Redeemer, they are waiting for a star or two to emerge. Lots of pieces right there, including Connor Stevens who seems to excel in the District 2 centric meets. I expect Holy Redeemer to roll to the #2 spot and, if things really break right for them out front, they could contend for an upset.

AAA (1 Team, 5 Individuals)

1. Wallenpaupack

2. Abington Heights

3. Hazleton

4. Scranton

1	Tyler	Wirth	Jr	Wallenpaupack
2	Kyle	Burke	Sr	Abington Heights
3	Dan	Uhranowsky	Sr	Abington Heights
4	Franklin	Cunningham	Sr	Hazleton
5	Thomas	Johnson	Sr	Wallenpaupack
6	Tyler	Holcomb	Sr	Williamsport
7	Joel	Christiansen	So	Scranton
8	Jake	Kobusky	Sr	Wyoming Valley West
9	Dieter	Burckes	Fr	Wallenpaupack
10	Ethan	Maddox	Jr	Abington Heights
11	Vincent	Shlenker	Sr	Delaware Valley
12	Ryley	Holcomb	So	Williamsport
13	Jack	Monte	Jr	Wallenpaupack
14	Jason	Lee	Sr	Scranton
15	Zack	Keiner	Fr	Hazleton
16	Bobby	Early	Sr	Hazleton
17	Ryan	Siebecker	Jr	Abington Heights
18	Seth	Brown	So	Wallenpaupack

It’s rare for me to say, but I think District 2 AAA will be the race of the day. It’s loaded at the front individually, led by Tyler Wirth of Wallenpaupack. Wirth is building a resume that puts him among the best ever from his district. Even Reece Ayers wasn’t quite hitting Wirth’s numbers as a junior (look him up kids, he’s good). But legacies aren’t built in the regular season. Wirth will look to capitalize on his breakout debut with a win at districts a top 5 finish in the state.

Although Wirth is a heavy favorite, there’s a group of guys behind him that are hard to count out. Kyle Burke is the defending champion and a low 4:20s miler. He’s experienced and has a clutch gene. He’s going to have his hands full with Wirth, but could definitely be a strong #2 and set himself up as a state medal contender on the Hershey hills. His teammate Dan Uhranowsky is another talented runner with great speed.

Franklin Cunningham from Hazleton is a consistent top 5 type performer, essentially since his freshman year. I mistakenly said he’s been district champ in the past in another medium, but he’s been really good at this meet before even without that title. His best race of his career to date was Foundation where he took a spot in the top 20. Lastly, don’t count out last year’s runner up Tyler Holcomb of Williamsport. He’s technically out of District 4, but they don’t have a AAA meet of their own.

One another name I will throw out there is Scranton sophomore Joel Christiansen. I think this guy is a big time sleeper. He’s young and hasn’t raced a lot of marquee meets, but I’ve seen some quality results out of him from September. Let’s see how much he’s improved since then.

The team battle is setting up to be spectacular as well. Wallenpaupack, with the additions of rookies Wirth and frosh Dieter Burckes, seems to have the best line up on paper. Their top 3 is terrific when you add in Thomas Johnson. That being said, Abington Heights is the defending champs. They didn’t come all that close to Wallenpaupack at Paul Short, however, in a smaller meet like this Wirth’s front running advantage is a bit more limited. That opens the door for Heights to win it. The key match up will be at the #3 spot. Can Abington Heights get a big day out of Ethan Maddox and swing victory into their corner?