Anna Marks is the editor of The Parliament, Bensalem’s school newspaper. A sports fan, Marks boldly (and bravely) picks the winners in the opening round boys’ basketball games. Check out her picks.
Today is February 13, which means one thing (no. it’s not that it’s one day before Valentine’s Day).
It’s District Playoff Time!
My name is Anna Marks, and I’ll be taking you through the 2026 PIAA District 1 Boys Basketball Championship and predicting where the SOL teams will end up each round. There are 15 SOL teams competing in this year’s tournament across classes 3A to 6A, and the first round features some high caliber schools. Let’s get into it:
In my opinion, the first round’s best SOL teams (excluding bye teams) are two underdogs and a not-so-underdog, #19 Wissahickon, #22 Council Rock South, #13 Cheltenham.
Wissahickon has quietly had an impressive season with big wins against #12 Perkiomen Valley, SOL Tournament Champion Upper Dublin, and #20 Central Bucks West. Their strength is in their height as prevalent in their 6’11’’ center, Jona Sellenriek, and they also have one of the area’s most dangerous scorers in Nico Vacchiano. Their ability to penetrate into the paint and posterize defenders (literally) has made them a major threat this season. I believe if they continue this against #14 Chester they’ll advance.
CR South had a slow start as a team but ramped up at the right time finishing the regular season with seven straight wins and an SOL Patriot Division Title. I’ve noticed their strengths in their transition offense and strong three-dimensional game that allows them to suffocate their opponents, especially as of late. Despite their SOL Tournament loss to Upper Dublin last Friday, if they continue to use the strengths that got them here, they’ll be poised to make a nice run.
Coming off a very strong run in the SOL Tournament, Cheltenham – despite struggling in the SOL title game - is also poised to make a deep playoff run. They finished 4-1 in their final five regular season games and performed well against district playoff teams, beating #14 Chester, #17 CB East, and #21 Neshaminy. A very hard-hitting offensive group, Cheltenham has been able to use that to beat teams all year.
On the opposite side, my “red flag” teams are #17 Central Bucks East and #21 Neshaminy. Both teams have had losses to non-playoff teams, especially down the stretch. With losses to #26 North Penn and #36 Pennridge, CB East has had an abysmal stretch to close out the season, going 2-8 in their last 10 games. The Patriots are cold, and it’s going to take a lot of heat to get them a win tonight, even in a close #16-#17 matchup.
Similarly, Neshaminy’s losses to #29 Bensalem and #31 Council Rock North were both critical, and the Redskins lost out on a chance to win the SOL Patriot title. The ‘Skins finished 5-5 in their last 10 games. Against a really good #12 Perkiomen Valley team, it’s going to be tough to spark a win in enemy territory.
#24 Pennsbury has been disappointing compared to years past. Finishing the year at 13-9, the Falcons struggled down the stretch in their conference games and with their tough non-conference opponents. While it can happen, it’ll be difficult to turn it around tonight against one of the district’s best teams, the Lower Merion Aces.
In 5, #5 Upper Moreland has competed well this season, especially with 6A schools. Despite being slightly undersized, the Golden Bears keep their opponents on 2x speed and are efficient from deep. In their opening round matchup vs. Sun Valley, they look to speed them up.
In 3A and 4A, #4 Lower Moreland and #3 New Hope-Solebury look to change the tides of their disappointing seasons with upset wins.
SOL Boys’ Basketball Opening Round District 1 Predictions:
Class 6A
#9 Lower Merion vs. #24 Pennsbury: 69-60 LM
#11 Penn Wood vs. #22 Council Rock South: 55-53 CRS
#12 Perkiomen Valley vs. #21 Neshaminy: 60-45 PV
#13 Cheltenham vs. #20 CB West: 65-60 Cheltenham
#14 Chester vs. #19 Wissahickon: 75-73 Wiss
#16 Downingtown West vs. #17 CB East: 62-42 D-West
Class 5A:
#5 Upper Moreland vs. #12 Sun Valley: 63-59 UM
#7 Pottstown vs. #10 Springfield Twp.: 67-66 Pottstown
Class 4A :
#1 Pope John Paul II vs. #4 Lower Moreland: 64-30 PJP II
Class 3A
#2 Bristol vs. #3 New Hope-Solebury: 52-35 Bristol
- Log in to post comments
