The picks (team and athlete):
Mid-Penn Commonwealth: Cumberland Valley. This is the first of several divisions that’s really too close to call — CV and Carlisle can make bona fide arguments for winning, with Chambersburg and State College looming as dark horses. Carlisle has a true low stick in Zach Brehm, but his value is mitigated somewhat in league duals. Skip Springman’s Eagles, who return a core of talented runners in Quinn Wasko, Josh Higgins, Yahya Solmian and Owen Seeber, seem to be the most ready for the early-season meets. Carlisle hosts CV on Sept. 9 — the league title could very well be on the line.
Mid-Penn Keystone: Red Land. Another interesting league battle with plenty of contenders. Red Land returns its entire squad from last season and is a legitimate candidate for the outright District title, but injury questions have cast some doubt, particularly early in the season while its runners regain health and fitness. John Butler’s Lower Dauphin squad lost studs Jeff Groh and Cole Nissley to graduation, but new No. 1 Sean Weidner has moved comfortably into the leadership role and will have his team ready to run. Mechanicsburg sports some stellar young talent and could surprise, while Hershey and Palmyra also possess strong teams. When the dust settles, I think Red Land’s talent still wins out.
Mid-Penn Capital: Milton Hershey. While East Pennsboro and Trinity also return plenty of pieces from last year’s squads, it’s the Spartans who have the biggest room for improvement over a year ago. Returning 5 of its top 6 runners is enough for me to give Milton Hershey the edge in the Capital this year.
Mid-Penn Colonial: Boiling Springs. On paper, the Bubblers look like the clear-cut choice in the Colonial after their 10th-place showing at the District 3-AA meet last season. Although the loss of senior leader Jonathon Goodson hurts, Boiling Springs has a pack of juniors ready to fill the void. James Buchanan’s Daniel Green, who cruised to the individual District 3-AA title last year, will win most if not all of his dual meets, but he’ll need some support to keep his team’s scores low.
Lancaster-Lebanon 1: Hempfield. Of all the division battles, this one looks to be the most difficult to call. Hempfield, McCaskey, and Cedar Crest are all very capable of walking away with the crown. McCaskey will boast its strongest squad in years on the wings of seniors Duncan Hopkins and Xavier Gutierrez. Cedar Crest will be loaded as usual, but many of its returning runners missed out on postseason competition due to the squad’s depth (since when is depth a bad thing?). The Black Knights earned plenty of big meet experience en route to their 8th-place showing in District 3-AAA last season, making them the pick for the division. Expect some fireworks on Sept. 9, when Hempfield, Cedar Crest, Warwick, and Garden Spot collide in a quad meet that will arguably be the best weeknight battle of the season.
Lancaster-Lebanon 2: Annville-Cleona. This looks to be a two-horse race between Manheim Central and Annville-Cleona, which finished second and third in District 3-AA last season behind perennial power York Suburban. However, the Barons graduated its top runner from that District squad, Kyle Kegarise, while the Dutchmen’s squad returns intact, giving them the edge. Lancaster Mennonite typically fields strong squads, but probably has too many holes to fill to catch the top two.
Mid-Penn (team and individual): Carlisle, Zach Brehm (Carlisle). After a narrow defeat to Cumberland Valley in the dual meet, Brehm and his Thundering Herd squad exact their revenge on Oct. 11 in Newville.
Lancaster-Lebanon (team and individual):Hempfield, Brian Delany (Manheim Township). After finishing second in the L-L for the past four years, Terry Newman’s Black Knights finally get their breakthrough. Blue Streak Delany looks to be the class individual of this field after placing seventh in District 3-AAA last year as a sophomore.
District 3-A Champions: Camp Hill, Blake Behney (Camp Hill). In a class sporting just seven teams, Camp Hill held off a strong challenge from Veritas Academy to win the District title last year. That task gets easier this season as Veritias graduated most of its team. Top runner Behney is the beneficiary of defending 3-A champion Brady Wilt of Biglerville moving up to class AA, but he’ll be pushed by his Lion teammate Cooper Leslie.
District 3-AA Champions: Palmyra, Daniel Green (James Buchanan). This should be a dogfight. A pile of teams, including Palmyra, Annville-Cleona, defending champions York Suburban, Wyomissing, and Manheim Central could be the pick here. Palmyra will benefit from the experience of racing against mostly AAA competition throughout the fall, and earns the win after missing out on states last season. Green holds off challenges from newcomer Wilt and Annville-Cleona’s Jeff Inman to repeat as 3-AA champ.
District 3-AAA Champions: Carlisle and Brehm. Four team spots at the PIAA meet are up for grabs, and it’s going to be an all-out war to obtain them. Red Land comes on strong as Zach Seiger and Drew Wilkinson round into form at just the right time, but the Patriots fall by the slimmest of margins to the Herd, who are paced once again by Brehm’s dominating run. Cumberland Valley continues its season-long run of good form to claim third, and Cedar Crest picks the right time for its best race, narrowly earning the final state bid over Hempfield and Berks contenders Twin Valley and Wilson.