2018 NY Boys XC Preview: Class A

Class A Preview

New York State XC Season Guide - 2018

Replay

The action last year in Class A revolved heavily around two teams, Fayetteville-Manlius and Corning, who captured the top two spots at both States and NXN-NY. The Hornets placed 2nd at NXN for the third time in 13 years while the Hawks were 12th, but Corning got the better of FM by 2 points in the States mud bowl to win its second straight title.

With Class B's Burnt Hills beating all of its Class A competition in the McQuaid AAA and Federation races, the A teams had a few less plaudits than usual in 2017. But there was still some milestone events as the teams battled through to Sectionals and beyond. Niskayuna finished as the 3rd rated team in A after ending its 36-year States drought with a win in Section 2. Monroe-Woodbury took a trip to States for the first time in 23 years after ending Warwick Valley's run of 19 consecutive titles in Section 9. Smithtown won a brutal S11-A battle with Northport in a broiler at Sunken Meadows and went on to finish 4th at States and also in the Class A rankings.

Ithaca's Silas Derfel had a monumental senior season while winning the McQuaid AAA and States A races and then going on to place tops among NY runners at NXN with a 19th place finish. FM's Garrett Brennan won the NXN-NY and was the top guy for the 2nd place Hornets at NXN. Corning's Quinn Nicholson led his Hawk contingent with a 41st at NXN. Saratoga's Shea Weilbaker joined Derfel as part of the Class A duo who earned at-large tickets to NXN, where he finished 69th.

Teams

There are some familiar names at the top of the Class A team leaderboard for 2018. Rated 4th in the nation in preseason rankings, Fayetteville-Manlius is seeking its 11th straight trip to NXN along with its first States championship in four years behind a quintet of runners returning from States and Nationals that include Garrett Brennan, Geoff Howles, Peyton Geehrer, Matthew Tripp, and Sam Otis. Corning enters the season 2nd rated and also has five veterans from last year's States and Nationals action that includes Torrey Jacobson-Evans, Nathan Lawson, Bryce Derick, Camden Zaidel, and John Cleary.

Two other teams that will be closely watched at the beginning of the season are Saratoga and Smithtown. The Blue Streaks are led by Class A's top rated runner Shea Weilbaker, and they have a solid top 5 for the always nasty fight in S2-A. Smithtown always seems to have lots of depth, and the Bulls could actually be a little underrated as the projected 4th team if they get back a key runner from two years ago at full strength.

Although 14 of the top 20 finishers from last year's States A race have moved on to the happy hunting grounds of college athletics, there should be plenty of exciting action in Class A. The western sections should both have great competition, as both the S5-A and S6-A races look like toss-ups in preseason. Section 9 could go many different ways after being a center of stability for almost twenty years. And as always, Section 2 will be hellish.

Individuals

Shea Weilbaker begins his senior  season with the highest rating in Class A, but right on his heels is the guy who finished 2nd at States behind Silas Derfel, that being Warwick Valley's Behailu Bekele-Arcuri. Other runners that are expected to have big years are 2017 NXN-NY winner Garrett Brennan and his teammate Geoff Howles, Guilderland's Noah Tindale, and Niskayuna's Marty Dolan.