District One Cotinues to Heat Up

We are rapidly approaching district season and things continue to get interesting in district one. After Stoga was upset by LaSalle in my neck of the woods, DT West pulled out what I would at least call an upset over Henderson. Henderson was rapidly gaining the "hey, it's Henderson why can't they win districts again?" Type momentum and DT West made a nice statement with the 2 point victory.

The district is now poised for a potential 6 way battle for the district title if Pennsbury, CRN and CB West continue to improve at Lehigh this weekend.

The big thing for DT West was the big step up performance from the Barton boys, particularly Charlie. That was a very clutch moment for the Senior in his last Chesmont championships. Even a young team needs it's senior leaders. DT had a strong pack with no glaring weakness and Sappey continues to impress as a front runner. They could surprise at districts next weekend.

But Henderson looked strong as well. Yes they had a gap to 5 which will be tricky to navigate at the super large district one meet, but they are continuing to improve their top 4. If they don't make states as a team (a fact I still see as unlikely) they may send 4 individuals to states anyway. I'd go out on a limb and say there has never been a team in the history of district one that has had 4 individuals qualify but not qualify as a team. I can think of a couple 3s, but never 4.

If they get through districts, they will be very dangerous at states because their front running ability is much more valuable.

Looking ahead, here are the meets to look forward as we piece together the final pre district results.

SOL Continental
The boys of CB West can smell the district title. They have a strong pack with an incredible amount of depth. The question is, is their pack fast enough to out last the front running potential of their rivals. Fortna leads a group of Murray, Davies, Mass, Iatorola and more as they try and topple CB East, Horsham and North Penn.

That match up should be exciting as well. I think NP has a seriously underrated top 3. If their 4-5 look strong this weekend, you have to throw them in the state qualifying conversation. Meanwhile CB East was 5th at Pre States, a very impressive performance. They have been quiet since, but they remain one of the few teams to have defeated CBW this year.

Individually, we will watch Brophy and Comber go after it. These two are both guys I think can win district in a week, and Brophy is seeking revenge for last year. Comber still hasn't lost a major invite. Tung, Cooney and Collins will look to show off for North Penn. McMenamin from Souderton is one of the most underrated guys in the district and I think sub 16 is looming before October ends.

Brophy 3:1
Comber 3:1
Field 15:1

SOL National
CRN vs Pennsbury. That's what this race probably comes down to. PB has not been able to topple the North dynasty and CRN usually begins it's rise to power around this time. Both of these squads are currently on my bubble. This battle is huge for district implications.

Individually this race will be fun as well. Webb has a chance to grab his first conference title, but Arita will look to keep it in CRNs house. We can't sleep on Hanna from CRS and his teammate MaGuire will be looking to build momentum to grab one of the coveted state spots. Mays, Shah and Ramirez for Bensalem and Chapman for Neshaminy have similar goals. The Sauer v Griswold match up is another one to keep an eye on, especially as it relates to the team title race.

CRN (-5) v Pennsbury

SOL American
I won't pretend this race will be as fast or as exciting as the other two, but it still features prominent bubble runners. Wissahickon has had brutal luck in recent years with a slew of runners barely missing states (Farrell, Ravetz, Brooks, Marcelis and Marcelis all barely missed). Now Marcelis is back on the bubble again looking to get a big win for momentum. SOL American has sent their champ to states for the last decade and at least 2 runners in almost every season. So which name will emerge to be this years surprise sub 16 like Dan Shalala?

Central League
Here's the chance for Stoga to make a statement. They had a tough loss, but I think they will respond to the adversity well. They face a similar field to what O'Hara dominated a week ago, so we will see if they can put up a low 20s score. Orcutt and Abrahms are among the names looking to break up the sweep.

Over/under 24 points for the winner

PAC
Paul Power's Spring Ford squad will look to grab the league title. Power is a strong favorite in the middle of a killer season and his team is growing up fast around him. They will look to affirm themselves as a top 10 district squad.

Kirshenbaum from Methacton, Conway from Owen J and Montgomery from Perk Valley are among the names looking to break up the party. I'll also be watching Boyertown's Dylan Eddinger to see if he can carry the momentum from last year's 4x8.

It's a fantastic time of year. Let the October madness continue.