Etrain Reviews the Decade: Top 25 XC Rankings by Season

Top 25 Rankings by Season:

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

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2019 Season: Top 25 Rankings

Places listed are states/districts

Honorable mention: Bruce Trimmer, Sr Oxford (1 AAA), Graham Thomas, Sr Penn Manor (3 AAA), Matt Sandifer, Sr Germantown Academy (Independent), Vincent Twomey, Sr LaSalle (12 AAA)

25. CJ Singleton, So Butler (7 AAA): 13th/5th
24. Declan Rymer, Jr DT West (1 AAA): 12th/7th
23. Patrick Stevens, Sr Meadville (10 AA): 4th/2nd
22. Jonathan Thrush, Sr Muhlenberg (3 AAA): 14th/1st
21. Christian Fitch, Sr Fox Chapel (7 AAA): 11th/4th
20. Sage Vavro, So Butler (7 AAA): 9th/7th
19. Sean Garrett, Sr Garnet Valley (1 AAA): 10th/3rd
18. Zach Marmol, Sr Peters Township (7 AAA): 8th/6th
17. J. Henry Lyon, Jr Williamsport (4 AAA): 7th/1st
16. Weber Long, So Greencastle-Antrim (3 AA): 3rd/2nd
15. Andrew Healey, Sr Holy Cross (2 A): 3rd/1st
14. Zach Leachman, Sr Mars (7 AAA): 19th/3rd
13. Garrett Baublitz, Sr Juniata (6 AA): 6th/1st
12. Jacob Hess, So Lewisburg (4 AA): 5th/1st
11. Ben Kuhn, Sr Wyomissing (3 AA): 2nd/1st
10. Ethan McIntyre, Jr Unionville (1 AAA): 3rd/4th
9. Aiden Barnhill, Jr DT West (1 AAA): 6th/2nd
8. Ethan Maher, Sr LaSalle (12 AAA): 5th/1st
7. Cole Walker, Sr Unionville (1 AAA): 4th/1st
6. Brendan Colwell, Jr Penns Valley (6 A): 2nd/2nd
5. Dylan Throop, Jr General McLane (10 AA): 1st/1st
4. Dan McGoey, Sr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 2nd/2nd
3. Robert DiDonato, Jr Germantown Academy (Independent): 1st
2. Colton Sands, Jr Penns Valley (6 A): 1st/1st
1. Patrick Anderson, Sr Mount Lebanon (7 AAA): 1st/1st

2018 Season: Top 25 Rankings

Places listed are states/districts

Honorable Mention: Cameron Binda, Sr Greensburg Salem (7 AA), Aiden Weber, Sr Harbor Creek (10 AA), Ian Miller, Sr Manheim Township (3 AAA), Mark Brown, Sr Greensburg Salem (7 AA)

25. Ryan Starvaggi, Sr Harbor Creek (10 AA): /19th
24. Andrew Foster, Sr Ephrata (3 AAA): 19th/2nd
23. Christian McComb, Sr Boyertown (1 AAA): 172nd/3rd
22. Seth Ketler, Sr Seneca Valley (7 AAA): 14th/4th
21. Robert DiDonato, So Germantown Academy (Independent): 1st
20. Brandan Knepper, Sr Mechanicsburg (3 AAA): 12th/3rd
19. Adam Hessler, Jr Freedom (7 A): 3rd/1st
18. Sam Owori, Sr Seneca Valley (7 AAA): 10th/9th
17. Peyton Sewall, Sr DT West (1 AAA): 9th/2nd
16. Mitchell Rome, Sr Dallas (2 AA): 4th/1st
15. Nate Price, Sr General McLane (10 AA): 3rd/5th
14. Cole Walker, Jr Unionville (1 AAA): 11th/1st
13. Chayce Macknair, Sr Mifflin County (6 AAA): 8th/2nd
12. Josh Lewis, Sr North East (10 AA): 27th/3rd
11. Evan Dorenkamp, Sr Manheim Township (3 AAA): 7th/1st
10. Garrett Baublitz, Jr Juniata (6 AA): 2nd/1st
9. Andrew Healey, Jr Holy Cross (2 A): 2nd/1st
8. Tyler Wirth, Sr Wallenpaupack (2 AAA): 6th/1st
7. Jonah Powell, Sr Grove City (10 AA): 1st/1st
6. Christian Fitch, Sr Fox Chapel (7 AAA): 5th/3rd
5. Brayden Harris, So Mifflin County (6 AAA): 4th/1st
4. Jack Miller, Sr Jenkintown (1 A): 1st/1st
3. Dan McGoey, Jr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 3rd/1st
2. Zach Kinne, Sr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 2nd/8th
1. Patrick Anderson, Jr Mount Lebanon (7 AAA): 1st/2nd

2017 Season: Top 25 Rankings

Places listed are states/districts

Honorable mention: Quinn Serfass, Sr Loyalsock (4 AA), Jack Zardecki, Sr Dallas (2 AA), Brandon Curley, Sr Montrose (2 A)

25. Andrew Healey, So Holy Cross (2 A): 4th/2nd
24. Peter Borger, Sr Malvern Prep (Independent): 2nd
23. Elias Lindgren, Sr Episcopal (Independent): 1st
22. Jack Miller, Jr Jenkintown (1 A): 3rd/1st
21. Jonah Powell, Jr Grove City (10 AA): 3rd/6th
20. Bryce Ohl, Sr York Suburban (3 AA): 2nd/1st
19. Sam Snodgrass, Sr South Fayette (7 AA): 21st/1st
18. Mitchell Etter, Sr State College (6 AAA): 14th/1st
17. Brendan Miller, Sr Upper Dauphin (3 A): 2nd/1st
16. Carlos Shultz, So Phoenixville (1 AAA): 21st/5th
15. Avery Lederer, Sr Penncrest (1 AAA): 12th/24th
14. Ethan Koza, Sr CR North (1 AAA): 13th/6th
13. Evan Addison, Sr LaSalle (12 AAA): 11th/1st
12. Seth Ketler, Jr Seneca Valley (7 AAA): 6th/2nd
11. Spencer Smucker, Sr Henderson (1 AAA): 9th/7th
10. Tristan Forsythe, Sr Winchester Thurston (7 A): 1st/1st
9. Ryan Campbell, Sr CR North (1 AAA): 10th/4th
8. Liam Conway, Sr Owen J Roberts (1 AAA): 8th/3rd
7. Dan Mcgoey, So North Allegheny (7 AAA): 3rd/3rd
6. Josh Hoey, Sr Bishop Shanahan (1 AAA): 7th/2nd
5. Tyler Wirth, Jr Wallenpaupack (2 AAA): 5th/1st
4. Morgan Cupp, Sr Mechanicsburg (3 AAA): 4th/1st
3. Noah Beveridge, Sr Butler (7 AAA): 2nd/1st
2. Isaac Davis, Sr Jersey Shore (4 AA): 1st/1st
1. Rusty Kujdych, Sr Neshaminy (1 AAA): 1st/1st

2016 Season: Top 25 Rankings

Places listed are states/districts

Honorable mention: Noah Curtin, Sr Mercyhurst Prep (10 A), Jared Giannascoli, Jr Lower Dauphin (3 AAA), Ryan Thrush, Sr Brookville (9 A), Matt D'Aquila, Sr Lower Merion (1 AAA), Donovan Meyers, Sr Seneca (10 A), Ben Littmann, Sr Winchester Thurston (7 A)

25. Connor Walsh, Sr Cambridge Springs (10 A): 5th/1st
24. Aaron Pfeil, Sr South Fayette (7 AA): 4th/3rd
23. Casey Conboy, Sr Baldwin (7 AAA): 22nd/6th
22. David Haines, Sr North Pocono (2 AA): 5th/1st
21. Seth Slavin, Sr Pleasant Valley (11 AAA): 16th/1st
20. Tristan Forsythe, Jr Winchester Thurston (7 A): 3rd/2nd
19. Alex Tomasko, Sr Mechanicsburg (3 AAA): 112th/7th
18. Isaac Davis, Jr Jersey Shore (4 AA): 3rd/6th
17. Isaac Kole, Sr Carlisle (3 AAA): 14th/6th
16. Spencer Smucker, Jr Henderson (1 AAA): 12th/4th
15. Morgan Cupp, Jr Mechanicsburg (3 AAA): 13th/5th
14. Nick Feffer, Sr State College (6 AAA): 11th/1st
13. Ryan Campbell, Jr CR North (1 AAA): 7th/3rd
12. Noah Beveridge, Jr Butler (1 AAA): 5th/2nd
11. Mark Provenzo, Sr Franklin Regional (7 AAA): 9th/1st
10. Rusty Kujdych, Jr Neshaminy (1 AAA): 10th/1st
9. Ryan James, Sr O'Hara (12 AAA): 8th/9th
8. Connor McMenamin, Sr Souderton (1 AAA): 6th/2nd
7. Zach Lefever, Sr Ephrata (3 AAA): 4th/3rd
6. Nick Dahl, Sr GFS (Independent): 1st
5. Zach Skolnekovich, Sr Quaker Valley (7 AA): 2nd/1st
4. Ben Bumgarner, Sr Waynesburg Central (7 AAA): 1st/2nd
3. Sam Affolder, So Carlisle (3 AAA): 3rd/4th
2. Nathan Henderson, Sr JP McCaskey (3 AAA): 2nd/2nd
1. Noah Affolder, Sr Carlisle (3 AAA): 1st/1st

2015 Season: Top 25 Rankings

Places listed are states/districts

Honorable mention: Jack DiCintio, Sr Wyomissing (3 AA), Dan Filler, Sr Gettysburg (3 AA), Sam Signor, Sr East Pennsboro (3 AA), Rahi Shah, Sr Bensalem (1 AAA), Bryce Descavish, Sr Central Cambria (6 AA), Rob Morro, Sr O'Hara (12 AAA), Matt Wisner, Sr Carlisle (3 AAA), Ben Clouse, Sr Sewickley Academy (7 A) - and those are just the seniors! Monster year in 2015

25. Joe Previdi, Sr Masterman (12 A): 3rd/1st
24. Spencer Smucker, So Henderson (1 AAA): 15th/9th
23. Zach Lefever, Jr Ephrata (3 AAA): /2nd
22. Ryan James, Jr O'Hara (12 AAA): 17th/3rd
21. Domenic Perretta, Sr Beaver Falls (7 A): 5th/1st
20. Nick Dahl, Jr GFS (Independent): 1st
19. Kevin Lapsansky, Sr Easton (11 AAA): 14th/1st
18. Mike Kolor, Sr Seneca Valley (7 AAA): 13th/6th
17. Rock Fortna, Sr CB West (1 AAA): 12th/5th
16. Will Kachman, Sr Bedford (5 AA): 4th/1st
15. Kent Hall, Sr Unionville (1 AAA): 11th/8th
14. Jake Susalla, Sr Plum (7 AAA): 8th/4th
13. Jacob Stupak, Sr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 7th/5th
12. Marc Migliozzi, Sr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 10th/2nd
11. Jeff Kirshenbaum, Sr Methacton (1 AAA): 9th/6th
10. Griffin Mackey, Jr Sewickley Academy (7 A): 1st/2nd
9. Matt Kravitz, Sr North Pocono (2 AA): 3rd/2nd
8. Zach Skolnekovich, Jr Quaker Valley (7 AA): 2nd/1st
7. Henry Sappey, Sr DT West (1 AAA): 6th/4th
6. Nathan Henderson, Jr JP McCaskey (3 AAA): 5th/1st
5. Nick Wolk, Sr Peters Township (7 AAA): 4th/1st
4. Josh Hoey, So DT West (1 AAA): 3rd/3rd
3. Dominic Hockenbury, Sr Lake Lehman (2 AA): 1st/1st
2. Jaxson Hoey, Sr DT West (1 AAA): 2nd/2nd
1. Jake Brophy, Sr CB East (1 AAA): 1st/1st

2014 Season: Top 25 Rankings

Places listed are states/districts

Honorable Mention: Jaxson Hoey, Jr Malvern Prep (Independent)

25. Simon Smith, Sr Towanda (4 AA): 4th/1st
24. Josh Hoey, Fr Malvern Prep (Independent): 2nd
23. Griffin Mackey, So Sewickley Academy (7 A): 3rd/3rd
22. Ryan James, So O'Hara (12 AAA): 15th/2nd
21. Billy McDevitt, Sr Malvern Prep (Independent): 3rd
20. Nathan Henderson, So JP McCaskey (3 AAA): 13th
19. Aaron Gebhart, Sr New Oxford (3 AAA): 54th/1st
18. Dan Green, Sr James Buchanan (3 AA): 3rd/1st
17. Zach Seiger, Jr Red Land (3 AAA): 14th/2nd
16. Alex Knapp, Sr Henderson (1 AAA): 12th/6th
15. Henry Sappey, Jr DT West (1 AAA): 10th/7th
14. Zach Brehm, Sr Carlisle (3 AAA): 9th/3rd
13. Sebastian Curtin, Sr Mercyhurst Prep (10 A): 2nd/1st
12. Hunter Wharrey, Sr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 8th/2nd
11. Paul Power, Sr Spring Ford (1 AAA): 11th/5th
10. Sam Webb, Sr Pennsbury (1 AAA): 7th/4th
9. Sam Ritz, Sr Germantown Academy (Independent): 1st
8. Dominic Hockenbury, Jr Lake Lehman (2 AA): 1st/1st
7. Casey Comber, Sr Hatboro Horsham (1 AAA): 6th/3rd
6. Matt McGoey, Sr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 4th/1st
5. Andrew Marston, Sr Conestoga (1 AAA): 3rd/2nd
4. Colin Abert, Sr Easton (11 AAA): 5th/1st
3. Griffin Molino, Sr South Williamsport (4 A): 1st/1st
2. Kevin James, Sr O'Hara (12 AAA): 2nd/1st
1. Jake Brophy, Jr CB East (1 AAA): 1st/1st

2013 Season: Top 25 Rankings

Places listed are states/districts

Honorable mention: Jim Belfatto, Sr O'Hara (12 AAA)

25. Sam Webb, Jr Pennsbury (1 AAA): 19th/8th
24. Nick Smart, Sr O'Hara (12 AAA): 11th/5th
23. Scott Mason, Sr Penn Charter (Independent): 3rd
22. Ethan Martin, Sr Fox Chapel (7 AAA): 17th/2nd
21. Cole Nissley, Sr Lower Dauphin (3 AAA): 16th/4th
20. Jeremy Parsons, Sr Maplewood (10 A): 2nd/2nd
19. Andrew Marston, Jr Conestoga (1 AAA): 9th/18th
18. Sam Ritz, Jr Germantown Academy (Independent): 2nd
17. Jaxson Hoey, So Malvern Prep (Independent): 1st
16. Aaron Gebhart, Jr New Oxford (3 AAA): 14th/3rd
15. Patrick Reilly, Sr Dallastown (3 AAA): 100th/1st
14. Dominic Hockenbury, So Lake Lehman (2 AA): 2nd/2nd
13. Casey Comber, Jr Hatboro Horsham (1 AAA): 13th/9th
12. Chris Cummings, Sr WC East (1 AAA): 12th/7th
11. Zach Brehm, Jr Carlisle (3 AAA): 10th/2nd
10. Reiny Barchet, Sr Henderson (1 AAA): 5th/6th
9. Jake Brophy, So CB East (1 AAA): 8th/4th
8. Dominic Deluca, Sr Dallas (2 AA): 1st/1st
7. Chris Kazanjian, Sr Penncrest (1 AAA): 6th/3rd
6. Colin Martin, Sr Fox Chapel (7 AAA): 7th/1st
5. Colin Abert, Jr Easton (11 AAA): 2nd/1st
4. Kevin James, Jr O'Hara (12 AAA): 4th/1st
3. Griffin Molino, Jr South Williamsport (4 A): 1st/1st
2. Ross Wilson, Sr CR North (1 AAA): 3rd/2nd
1. Tony Russell, Sr Henderson (1 AAA): 1st/1st

2012 Season: Top 25 Rankings

Without a doubt 2012 ended up being one of the deepest ranking years that we had in the decade and it made things very tricky for me when trying to sort out the list. Let me hit a few honorable mentions real quick:

Sam Ritz, So Germantown Academy (Independent) – Ritz was second at Independent States in a really quick mark of 16:04, behind only national qualifier Sami Aziz. He also placed 5^th at Paul Short. However, you can make an argument Ritz wasn’t even the best guy in his own family as his brother Ben was Inter-Ac champ and 2^nd at Paul Short to only Galassi, but unfortunately Independent States wasn’t his best day.

Mac Emery, Sr Council Rock North (1 AAA) – Emery was fantastic in the early season with wins at Abington, Council Rock and Steel City plus he was top 10 in a deep District 1. Over the course of the year he beat Ross Wilson, Connor Harriman, Sam Webb, Chris Kazanjian, Reiny Barchet and James Zingarini all of whom ended up on the medal stand at states in AAA. But Mac didn’t and so he just barely was edged out in a super deep year.

25. Aaron Valoroso, Sr Towanda (4 AA): 4^th/1^st

A year after he placed 7^th in AA, Valoroso was 4^th at the state championship behind three guys who ended up in my top 7 of the end of year rankings. He was also the runaway district champion in a strong small school division, District 4. However, a few factors worked against Valoroso as he was gunning for a spot on this list. For starters, the expansion to three classifications put an asterisk next to his state performance as the A division had the likes of not only Rico Galassi and Luke Jones, but also the Northeast Bradford duo who could have swiped Aaron’s district title. It also hurt the AA state meet ended up going out at a significantly slower pace than the other two races as the guys were moving quite comfortably through two miles before things exploded over the last mile.

24. Colin Abert, So Easton (11 AAA): 12^th/1^st

23. Kevin James, So O’Hara (12 AAA): 22^nd/2^nd

22. Conner Quinn, Sr Horsham (1 AAA): 13^th/6^th

It’s crazy to think that in many ways Conner Quinn was just as good (if not better) in 2012 as he was in 2011 when he became the state champion. He ran faster marks at both of his championship races at Lehigh and had a better finish at the Footlocker Northeast regional. Considering the pressure he was under after his surprise finish in 2011, Quinn really held his own quite strongly and would be much higher than 22^nd a lot of years.

21. Tom Coyle, Sr LaSalle (12 AAA): 11^th/1^st

As I’ve already written about, the 2012 LaSalle team is one of the wildest rides we will ever see in PA Cross Country. The fact that were able to survive a tumultuous start to the season and then turn around and finish 5^th in the state is nothing short of spectacular. Coyle in many ways personified this swing as he went from a district 4^th at PCLs to District champ (sub 16 at Belmont again) and 11^th at the state meet in a faster time than the prior season.

20. Ernie Pitone, Sr O’Hara (12 AAA): 9^th/6^th

Ernie Pitone was very good for much of the 2012 season, but I don’t think anyone can say they saw his state championship race coming. Pitone had been a dog fight with many of his O’Hara teammates most of the season and had not finished as their #1 runner at any point in his career until the state championships when he brought home 9^th overall. If the tiebreaker was flipped, Pitone would have been the hero of that state championship, but unfortunately his clutch performance is lost to history. By the way, his nationals performance was arguably just as good and just as critical as O’Hara finished in 5^th in the nation without a guy under 18 minutes.

19. Ean DiSilvio, Sr Allerdice (7 AAA): 25^th/3^rd

District 8 won’t be getting their own “through the decade post”, but I can tell you right now DiSilvio was the best guy they had this decade (all respect to Amadou Diallo who was a beast as well). DiSilvio was a two time state medalist and, although he was likely hoping for more than 25^th during his senior state meet, put together an awesome 2012 season. He was third at the WPIAL championships behind Brent Kennedy and Ethan Martin (top 5 in the state) and posted top 5 finishes at McDowell, Red White and Blue, Boardman and Foundation.

18. Curt Jewett, Sr Northeast Bradford (4 A): 4^th/1^st

17. Sam Williams, Sr Northeast Bradford (4 A): 3^rd/2^nd

The Northeast Bradford duo finished side by side once again with Jewett taking the district title and Williams the better state medal. Williams was also the Foundation and PTXC winner while Jewett won at NTL Coaches. But the real story for these two guys was not their individual accomplishments, but the fact that they ended their careers with redemption in the team competition. Two years after a heartbreaking disqualification, they led NEB to a blowout in the first ever A state championship.

16. Connor Harriman, Sr Pennsbury (1 AAA): 8^th/7^th

You know the 2012 rankings are crazy when someone like Connor Harriman is coming it at the 16^th spot. The Pennsbury senior placed in the top 10 at AAA states for a second straight year in 2012, but that probably wasn’t his most memorable appearance on the Hershey hills. At the Foundation Invite, Harriman produced one of the first “kick of the week” moments I can remember hearing about when he hawked down DiSilvio for the individual title. A storyline that probably deserved more play in the 2012 season was Harirman’s Pennsbury squad which, for much of the early part of the season, was the darlings of the etrain rankings and a Cinderella team that was taking it to the big favorites from CR North. Unfortunately, Harriman would not be on the roster when the fruits of his labor began to blossom at Pennsbury when they qualified for the state meet a year later and won the 4x8 at states two years later, but I am sure he was proudly watching.

15. Dan Savage, Sr O’Hara (12 AAA): 10^th/4^th

It must have been an odd transition for O’Hara’s senior leader in 2012. After being the clear front runner on the roster in 2011, Savage suddenly found himself competing for the top spot on the team not only with classmate Ernie Pitone, but also the talented young sophomore Kevin James. Savage actually opened the season as the team’s #3 at Briarwood and the #2 at Foundation before finding his rhythm at Great American where he finished as PA’s top runner (ahead of Brendan Shearn). His postseason included DELCO and PCL championships and top honors within the O’Hara locker room at Regionals and Nationals. He was 10^th at states, but ran a faster time than he did when he finished 4^th a year earlier. And its worth noting the guy was literally two inches away from being the senior leader on a team that was back-to-back state champs and 5^th in the nation.

14. Reiny Barchet, Jr Henderson (1 AAA): 19^th/3^rd

The simple fact of the matter is that Reiny is not just a massive talent, but a gutsy runner. His highs in 2012 were really high. He beat Tony Russell twice during the invite season (at Ches-monts and Carlisle) and then finished in 21^st in the Nation at the Nike Cross Nationals for the top spot in all of PA and All American honors. He was sub 13 at Manhattan, sub 15:25 at Lehigh and sub 16 at Bowdoin Park for 2^nd in the Northeast Regional. States wasn’t his best day, but he still fought valiantly in his final sprint and held off a couple guys that would have swung the title the other way if he got passed.

13. Jack Macauley, Sr North Penn (1 AAA): 6^th/5^th

The highlight of Macauley’s career is probably the upset team victory from his junior season, but from an individual standpoint he hit an entirely new level during his senior year. He won at Salesianum in one of the best times PA has ever seen and ended the Hershey meet with a 16:02. He spent the season jockeying around with the loaded pack in D1.

12. Ross Wilson, Jr CR North (1 AAA): 7^th/2^nd

11. Ethan Martin, Jr Fox Chapel (7 AAA): 5^th/2^nd

Ethan Martin and his WPIAL teammate Brent Kennedy put together monster seasons for juniors and, besides an all-time great in Tony Russell, grabbed the top spots on this list for the class of 2014. Martin spent much of the fall in Brent Kennedy’s shadow so even when he was turning in breakout races (like at RWB where he beat Jaskowak) he was still something of an afterthought. A year later, his twin brother Colin’s rise to stardom (Colin ended up WPIAL champ and sub 9 in the 3200) made Ethan even more out of center. But his 5^th at states (behind 4 guys who would all go on to qualify for a national championship) and 2^nd at WPIALs were both phenomenal and of course Martin took 2^nd the next indoors in the 3k before outdueling Ross Wilson, Vinny Todaro and others en route to the state title in the outdoor 3200. Kid is an all-time great.

10. Luke Jones, Sr Elk Lake (2 A): 2^nd/1^st

Not sure how much there is left to say about Luke Jones at this point. The kid is just a championship performer. He won three straight District titles (two of them over Rico Galassi) and led his team to a state gold (2010) and state silver (2012) in two tight races. The guy always seemed to be at his best when the pressure was at its most intense as he finished 2^nd at states two years in a row, both times exceeding most people’s expectations. He doubled down on that Hershey success (he ran 16 flat) with the 6^th best PA performance at the Footlocker Northeast Regional.

9. Sami Aziz, Sr Germantown Friends (Independent): 1st

The signature moment of Sami Aziz’s Cross Country career was ironically a performance on the track. At the Henderson 3200 tune-up meet, Aziz crashed the party that was set up for the Henderson v. O’Hara match-up and outkicked Tony Russell for the victory. The result came sandwiched between two fantastic actual XC races where Aziz first won the Independent League title in 15:51 and then qualified for the Nike Nationals in Oregon by placing in the top 10 at the Regional Meet.

8. Rico Galassi, Sr Holy Cross (1 AAA): 1^st/2^nd

One of the biggest disappointments about the switch to three classifications was the split of the top of the AA class. Having Galassi, who ran an incredibly bold and aggressive state championship race, mixed in with the likes of Todaro, Shearn and Jaskkowak (all of which ran much more conservatively in the early going) would have made for quite the clash of abilities. Would Galassi have been able to win the state championship in AA like he did in A? We never will know. But we did get to see Galassi go head to head with the majority of the big names at the Footlocker Northeast Regional where he placed 16^th overall and was the #5 runner on a loaded Pennsylvania Regional team. Galassi’s 2012 accomplishments also included invite victories at Paul Short, Cliff Robbins and Lackawanna.

7. Max Norris, Sr Harriton (1 AAA): 4^th/4^th

Look, I’ll always have a soft spot for Max Norris because he gave me a shout out in Penntrack journal and quite frankly I’m not sure that’s ever happened at any other point this decade. But ignoring that fact, Norris’s 2012 XC season was really quite special. Norris had been a strong XC runner each of the previous two seasons, but hadn’t been able to make that leap into the state medals. After an injury set him back, it looked like 2012 wouldn’t be much different. But once he actually got back on the course, it was a different story. Norris won the Central League title, took 4^th in District 1 and then took 4^th at the state meet.

Yet things went up another level for Norris after Hershey. This is when Max Norris became a super star. Training through to the Footlocker Regional, Norris finished as PA’s #2 runner at Van Cortlandt and punched a ticket to San Diego. At Footlocker, he upped his game again by placing 17^th overall for the #1 spot in PA. Only 5 guys placed higher at Footlocker over the course of the entire decade (and 3 of those guys are in the discussion for greatest ever).

6. Dan Jaskowak, Sr Grove City (10 AA): 3^rd/1^st

The classification change really shook up a lot of individual battles, including the rematch many were hoping for with Jaskowak taking on Quinn. Coming off an absolutely prolific track season, Jaskowak seemed like the favorite regardless of his classification, but that’s not the way he came out of the gate. After being upset at Red, White and Blue by Brent Kennedy and getting beat out for the fastest PA time at Boardman by Austin Pondel, Jaskowak prepared for his rematches. His 2012 season started to heat up with a victory at the Foundation Invite over defending AA state champ Brendan Shearn. Then he entered into a truly incredible two meet stretch. First, he toppled Brent Kennedy by a nose at the TSTCA championships in a legendary Coopers time of 15:36. Then, in incredibly sloppy conditions at Buhl Park, Jaskowak went head to head with Austin Pondel and again, by a slim margin, came out victorious. Their times of 16:23 were 45 seconds faster than anyone else in the entire three classification meet. There’s no way to prove it, but I wonder if something got taken out of Jaskowak’s legs at the wacky D10 meet because ultimately, when it came time for the sprint-kick finish in Hershey, he didn’t have the wheels to go with Shearn and Todaro and he came home in 3^rd place. Still, his three marquee wins against Shearn, Kennedy and Pondel is really special and hard to match for anyone outside this top 5.

5. Austin Pondel, Sr Correy (10 AAA): 3^rd/1^st

The meteoric rise of Austin Pondel somehow ends up outside the top 5 storylines of the 2012 season just because the 2012 season was absolutely bananas. Look, Pondel was a great XC runner in 2011. He grabbed a state medal and he placed really well at the Northeast Regional. But he didn’t show much flash on the track and he was housed in a district that didn’t get a lot of love (outside of Jaskowak). So what did Pondel do to make the state wake up? Well, he started smashing records. He went to McDowell and dropped a blistering 15:37. He went to Boardman and ran 15:45. He went to Sharpsville and ran 15:33! For added fun he ran 15:47 at Cochranton. Four races. Massive margins of victory. Sub 16s. The guy had an absolutely monster September.

So now people were aware of Pondel and the question became: what classification did Correy belong to? Ultimately, his team was slotted for AA, but apparently the Correy coaches didn’t want to be classified outside of the biggest and best competition in AAA (plus, it doesn’t hurt to avoid Grove City) so Correy ended up pushing and getting approval to be in AAA. Could Pondel win the state championship in a seemingly open field?

After another sub 16 at Region 4 (15:37) and the legendary 16:23 in the mud at Buhl Park (they wanted to cancel the race and have the kids run on the road and he and Jaskowak ran 16:23 instead, I mean that’s just incredible), Pondel had firmly inserted himself into the discussion. Some were worried about his lack of big race competition. I personally remember being very concerned that the conditions at District 10 were going to leave his legs super flat for states. Regardless, I’m not sure anyone was beating Tony Russell on State Saturday as the junior was just on another level, but Pondel really held his own and proved he belonged in the title discussion with his third place finish in a blistering 15:56. As an added bonus, Pondel qualified for the Footlocker National Championships at Van Cortlandt to end November with, yes, another sub 16 (15:51).

4. Brent Kennedy, Jr Kiski (7 AAA): 2^nd/1^st

Heading into the state championship meet, I thought Brent Kennedy had a better chance at state gold than Tony Russell. Although he was also a junior, the Kiski harrier had been 7^th the prior year as a sophomore and had just sub 15:40 at both Carlisle and Coopers in a pair of runner-up finishes against the best guys in AA before running away with the WPIAL title. Plus, Kennedy had battled with Russell on the track in the 1600, both guys upstart talents in the middle distances and Kennedy had proven to be just a bit better. Was this his moment to show the east coast what was up? Ultimately, Kennedy came pretty darn close with his 15:52 to Russell’s 15:45 and settled for the silver. Then Kennedy joined rare company by qualifying for the Footlocker Finals as a junior.

Kennedy was an unreal talent, but unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to see him and Russell rematch for the state title in 2013 as an injury knocked Brent out for the year. But still Kennedy managed to put together one of the best careers of the decade in three years when most guys couldn’t do the same thing in four.

3. Brendan Shearn, Sr North Schuylkill (11 AA): 2^nd/1^st

It’s really hard being a defending state champion. After Shearn’s junior season finished, he had already grabbed two state golds (one for XC, one outdoors in the 3200) and now he was the big name in AA with a large target right on his back for the new entries into the classification to shoot at. At his opening meet at PTXC, Shearn ended up just 7^th overall and was buried behind multiple small school athletes. But Shearn found his footing, first with a win at Briarwood over Tony Russell and then with an all-time great performance at the Schuylkill League Championships. However, after a slower early pace, Shearn didn’t have enough of a surge on the last mile to put Vinny Todaro away and the Big Spring senior sprung the upset.

All that said, Shearn’s senior season was clearly geared toward a deep run into the end of November and hopefully December. When he showed up to the Footlocker Regional meet, he proved that with a 4^th place overall finish in 15:46, good for tops in PA ahead of the 2^nd through 4^th finishers at AAA states and the top two guys in A. At Footlocker Nationals, Shearn ran a quick 15:44 and ended up 21^st in the nation. That was #2 in PA. Ultimately, I believe Shearn was named the Gatorade Runner of the Year for the State of Pennsylvania.

2. Vinny Todaro, Sr Big Spring (3 AAA): 1^st/1^st

The 2012 season from Vinny Todaro is one of the all-time great seasons lost to history. Todaro put together the rarely season undefeated season including a win at the state championships against arguably the best two seniors in the state in Brendan Shearn and Dan Jaskowak. Todaro also compiled head to head wins against Brent Kennedy and Tony Russell while throwing down one of the fastest times in Carlisle history. His 16:00 final time from states may not look like much, but that was off a 10:16 3200 split, making Todaro’s last mile one of the quickest ever in Hershey history.

Where did this magical season come from you might ask? Well, Todaro had finished 26^th and 9^th in his last two state finals, both times being one spot away from medaling. Those disappointments drove him to become the runner he was: a state champion in XC and my #2 runner in the state in 2012.

1. Tony Russell, Jr Henderson (1 AAA): 1^st/1^st

Russell had a pretty dominant stretch run to his 2012 season that included wins at Districts, States (in a new meeting record) and the Nike Northeast Regional. Add in his all-time performances at Manhattan and Belmont and you’ve locked up the title. Plus, it doesn’t hurt his ranking that Russell was the #1 guy on the state championship team.

By the way, I talked a lot about Todaro’s final mile and how quick he ran it. Well, Russell went out faster through 2 miles and still closed the last 1.1 in 15:38! It’s the second fastest last 1.1 in course history behind only Jake Brophy’s superhuman 2014 race.

West Chester East vs. Everybody

West Chester Henderson may have been the state champions in 2012, but it was another West Chester team that ended up becoming the most underrated team on the etrain blog. At the end of the 2011 Cross Country season, West Chester East finished 8^th in District 1 and missed out on a state qualifying spot. Although they were returning quite the war chest of Henderson, they were bringing back 5 of their top 7 including state qualifier Jesse Rogers and one of the district’s freshmen in Eric Diestelow.

But East was overshadowed within their own conference. Not only did West Chester Henderson shine as perennial title contenders, but the boys from Great Valley who had been second at the 2011 district championships, were also bringing back 5 of their top 7 including three guys who had finished in the top 40 at Lehigh’s championship. Great Valley had state experience, strong recent success and a preseason stamp of approval in the rankings. West Chester East would have to be party crashers.

West Chester East’s first chance to do just that came in their opening invitational at Abington. Here, East was racing against two teams largely considered to be the best threats to Henderson in CR North and Great Valley. In the match-up, East promptly showed their worth. Posting strong depth (5 in the top 15), East edged out CR North. The big game changer was Chris Cummings who led the way in 5^th place overall. The junior hadn’t raced at districts the prior fall, but had been a member of the team’s varsity squad during his freshman season. The performance was good enough to get East the #10.5 spot in the etrain rankings, a non-committal vote of confidence from the site head.

East’s performance proved to be no fluke over the next two weekends. East swept the top 4 spots at the Chris Fretz invitational before scoring just 28 points in the large school section of the Bull Dog Invitational. East’s top 4 was only broken up by Downingtown West athletes (Joey Steadman took 2^nd overall) and, even without #5 Sean Dougherty, the East boys rolled through the competition.  Ultimately, there success was beginning to turn heads. They came it at #7 in the etrain team rankings, the #3 team in D1 behind only Henderson and surprise early-season squad Pennsbury.

With a target now firmly on their back, West Chester East entered the prestigious Paul Short Invitational hoping to post a strong victory. The battle would feature league rivals Great Valley, perennial D3 power Cumberland Valley, an upstart Hershey team and the AA state favorites from Pottsgrove. Although many thought East’s streak of victories might come to an end, the squad ran flawlessly with 5 top 50 scorers. The talented sophomore Diestelow led the way at 16:23 with Cummings also coming home in the top 20. It was Trey Crump who stepped up in a big way to take 43^rd and finish as the team’s #4. With no Dougherty in the line-up, it looked like there could be a gaping hole in the team’s varsity, but they rose to the challenge and outlasted the highly touted D3 packs and easily topped Great Valley as well.

However, after the meet, the comment section of the blog was quick to write off East’s victory. Some said they didn’t beat any true top tier teams. Others noted that, had CV’s Alex Coburn not suffered from dehydration, Cumberland Valley would have left the meet with the championship trophy instead. Still, East’s victory was enough to rise them another couple spots into #5 in the etrain team rankings.

As East went into Ches-mont’s it was revealed that Dougherty had a stress fracture and the team’s key early season cog was done for the year. Trey Crump’s breakthrough at Paul Short would need to become a habit as depth and overall health became an increasing concern entering championship season. In fact, it was so concerning that East actually slipped two spots in etrain’s rankings without even running a single race.

The drama heightened even further as the supports for Great Valley and Downingtown West increased in volume. Sure, Henderson was going to run away with the Ches-mont title, but the battle for second was turning the league championships into a marquee invite. The pressure was not just for the silvers at Ches-mont, but the knowledge that there might only be one non-Henderson state spot up for grabs at the District championships the next weekend.

On race day, as expected, things were unbelievably tight. Downingtown West got a massive lift from their front runners as Joey Steadman and Kenny Leidal took 3^rd and 4^th overall behind only the super-duo of Russell and Barchet at Henderson. Matt Willig of Great Valley was 5^th and then Diestelow came home in 6^th, putting East in a front-running hole early. But that whole would be short lived. Stephen Dages for East saw that Cummings wasn’t having his best day and came through with a clutch 8^th place overall finish. He crossed the line as the team’s #2 runner in a surprise turn. When Cummings came home a spot later, that gave East the best #3 in the meet (including Henderson).

But there was an agonizing wait for West Chester East. Three Great Valley runners and two more DT West athletes crossed the finish line during the 44 second gap between East’s #3 and their #4 runner Trey Crump. Then Great Valley’s #5 Dan Dudt slipped inside the chute one second ahead of West Chester East’s #5 Jesse Rogers. In an incredibly slow race, would that be the difference?

After what was likely an agonizing wait, the final standings were revealed. Great Valley had put together a terrific performance and they finished with 77 points. However, West Chester East had edged them out by a nose, scoring 75 points. Dages proved to be the hero with his 8^th place finish. DT West was also in the mix with 80 points. They were just 5 points out of second and, if their #5 continued to make strides, could jump both teams at Lehigh.

In perhaps an equally important meet for the Ches-mont teams, CR North and Pennsbury faced off at the SOL National meet at Lehigh. Pennsbury had bested North in the early season and was a top 5 team in the etrain rankings for much of the season, most notably posting a 3^rd place finish at Foundation over Mount Lebanon and Lower Dauphin. But CR North had a proven track record of success and a reputation for peaking at the right time. After a lackluster start to the year, they were beginning to come on strong right when it mattered most. At leagues, it was North who became champion with just 28 points against 44 for Pennsbury.

With CR North’s emergence into their old self, it looked like a 6 team battle for 5 state championship spots. Henderson would surely claim the district title and then CR North, West Chester East, Pennsbury, Great Valley and DT West would slug it out for the remaining tickets. CR North’s peaking at the right time inspired etrain to expect similar results out of Great Valley at the district meet. West Chester East was predicted at #4 with Pennsbury at #5 and DT West the odd team out.

As usual, the Ches-mont proved to be a special group of runners. Henderson won the meet with 67 points and CR North came through for silver. However, the remaining 3 state qualifying spots all ended up belonging to Ches-mont programs. West Chester East led the way yet again as they continued to defy the haters with a 3^rd place overall run. They dipped under 200 points despite no finishers higher than 20^th. Eric Diestelow and Chris Cummings both snuck under 16 minutes with Jesse Rogers, the team’s lone state qualifier in 2011, had a phenomenal race to take 44^th overall as the team’s #3. Also rising to the occasion was #6 runner Alex Hughes. Depth had been a concern, but the speedster raced phenomenally at Lehigh and finished 77^th overall just 6 seconds behind the school’s #5 runner.

Great Valley (218) and DT West (253) both found a way to get past Pennsbury. Great Valley had solid depth with a 47 second spread, led by Matt Willig at 15:59. Billy Wolffe had a nice day as the team’s #3 runner with a 16:14 performance. Meanwhile, DT West got a massive lift at the #5 spot. This was the team’s weakness on paper, but sophomore Will Pelcin dropped a phenomenal 16:53 to race right on the coat tails of Keegan Flagg. That performance proved to be the difference maker as Pennsbury finished 20 points back. Pennsbury sophomore Alek Sauer (easily one of the best ten 800 guys this decade) had an unfortunately timed off day and finished outside the scoring 5 for this team.

So the Ches-mont was sending 4 teams to the state championships. While most schools would be taking a victory lap, the league got ready to double down on their success. They would get a chance to see the top ranked teams from the WPIAL and District 3 and they dreamed of much more than sneaking into the top 12 overall. And there was extra motivation when etrain released his state predictions …

West Chester East got slotted in the 10^th spot in the predictions one spot behind Great Valley. East had beaten Great Valley every team they faced them include at the Ches-mont Championships and the District Championships. Not to mention that East had already taken down Cumberland Valley at Paul Short who was ranked in the 5^th position as well as Hershey (8^th).

Etrain’s prediction proved to be a galvanizing one in the comments as many East supporters were quick to point out they were underestimated and would rise to the challenge as they had all season to date. Ches-mont mates DT West were not picked to place in the top 12 and of course the now infamous etrain pick was for O’Hara to knock off Henderson at the top of the standings.

Ultimately, regardless of the predictions, the haters, the doubters or the anonymous commenters, the state championship would be decided by the runners on the course. After concerns about the Hershey Parkview layout being trashed by rain, it turned out the conditions were actually perfect for an XC championship meet. Even by the 6^th race of the day, things were looking set up for fast times.

However, the Ches-mont schools did not attack the course with an aggressive start. West Chester East was actually just 12^th in the team standings at the mile with their last two scorers in the 100s for overall placing. Great Valley’s pack had gotten off to a better start, sitting in 9^th, but it was actually DT West that stormed the castle gates with a hot start from Keegan Flagg and Ryan Mucha (40^th and 63^rd in team scoring). West was tied for 7^th in the standings and only 10 points away from 6^th.

A mile later, West Chester East had found their rhythm. Although the team was relatively new to the Hershey hills, they showed that they could attack the course at its most difficult stretch. Dages was looking closer to his Ches-mont form and Rogers was using his experience well. Meanwhile, Alex Hughes was continuing to be an x-factor. He was running as the team’s #5 runner and was actually ahead of the #5 guys for Great Valley and DT West. Those two teams were 6 and 2 points ahead of West Chester East at the two mile marker as the three schools held the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th positions in the standings. Yet Cumberland Valley and Mt Lebanon were only 1 and 8 points behind, ready to try and knock East back to their predicted position at 10^th.

The last mile of the state championships is always jam-packed with notable performances. Some guys are struggling for breath and going backwards, others are making championship saving surges toward the finish line. There are big kicks, dramatic falls and all sorts of chaos. For the three Ches-mont schools, the state picture would be very difficult to sort out. With the top 25 already in the clubhouse, none of these teams had any individual medalists. They would need to rely on depth to score highly in the state.

The first guy through to the finish was a bit of a surprise. Great Valley’s Matt Willig produced a clutch 29^th overall finish which was good enough to put him 17^th in the team standings. Just two seconds later was Joey Steadman in 18^th. It seemed like the league rivals had managed to find each other even among the crowded field as Ken Leidal, Chris Cummings and Eric Diestelow all crossed in a row with team scoring positions 23 through 25. Two in the clubhouse for East. Two for West. One for Great Valley.

There was an agonizing 15 second wait before the next finishers came through. Billy Wolffe came to play with a 17:02 for Great Valley, but the key runner was Thomas Doran. The junior finished just 2 seconds off Wolffe and one spot back in the team standings. When Garrett Zatlin crossed shortly thereafter, Great Valley had 4 runners in the clubhouse before any of their rivals could count 3. They were now back in contention. With Daniel Dudt crossing at 17:33, it looked like Great Valley might have done enough to jump East for the first time.

West Chester East was edged out by 18 points against the Patriots. Great Valley finished 6^th in the state standings and East exceeded expectations with their 7^th place run. Stephen Dages, Jesse Rogers and Alex Hughes rounded out the top 5. Each runner finished ahead of Dudt, but ultimately they couldn’t quite narrow the gap that Doran and Zatlin created in the 3-4 spot. Still, East put all 7 scorers in the top 90 team scorers proving that they were both healthy and deep on the Hershey hills.

DT West managed to hang for the 9^th place finish in the state. Leidal and Steadman led the way as they often had, but sophomore Tyler Alansky was a major part of their climb up the standings. The state rookie ran 17:36 and placed 73^rd in the team standings to surprise in the #4 spot for West. Ryan Markle, a senior leader on the team, had one of his better days as well when he jumped up to the #5 spot. Downingtown managed to hold off Lower Dauphin by just 16 points to clinch 9^th.

We’ve always known there is a strong culture of running in the Ches-mont League, but the 2012 season may have proven this better than any other year. There were 4 teams in the top 9 at the state meet all running within the same circles. They pushed each other, fueled a ton of state wide discussion and ultimately achieved far more than many would have thought possible.

Throwback Thursday: What Else

Yes, it's more O'Hara and Henderson! There's no escaping this I'm afraid. Here's a look at what I thought immediately after the XC season ended. It impacted a lot of fans, catapulted the career of RJJL and really took the blog up to another level. Can't say enough about it ...

O’Hara v Henderson: The Big Question 

http://etrain11.blogspot.com/2012/12/ohara-v-henderson-big-question.html

It is ironic right now to consider that this was the big question of hot debate all summer long and the two teams certainly lived up to the hype. Both teams went back forth all day long with big wins at various meets. Both teams left the state and represented at Great American and Manhattan. Both teams went to the state championship and placed at least 5 guys in the top 50. Both teams scored under 70 points at the state championship and tied one another for the title. Then both teams qualified for NXN, the first time PA has ever sent two teams. Both teams capped off their seasons with great performances at Nationals, two of the top performances we have seen despite very muddy conditions.

If anything the two teams exceeded their massive expectations that developed way back in July and August. The original O'Hara v. Henderson discussion started in the middle of August has since amassed over 1,000 page views, 86 total comments and it helped catapult the blog into a main topic of conversation in the summer for the first time in its history.

I think the rivalry has brought out the best in the runners along the way. I never imagined Tony Russell and Reiny Barchet would have exploded like they did. Certainly Kevin James and Ernie Pitone can not be overlooked as they were huge helps to Dan Savage this year. We saw a number of clutch performances from guys like Haugh at states, banged up but still gutting out a top 50 mark and Bobby Rimkis surprising a lot of people with a state medal to help his team get the gold. We saw huge breakout performances at Regionals from Belfatto and Knapp (and a school record on the track for Mr. Belfatto as well).

The knock on O'Hara coming into the year was always about depth. But they overcame that knock early and often. Their JV squad may have been the best in the state and Hayes and Belfatto stepped up into a pair of quality top 5 guys. Drew Pastore also stepped up and filled in for an injured Nick Smart very nicely. At Nationals the O'Hara depth was seen most clearly, their top 7 all ran exceptionally well.

The knock on Henderson coming into the year was always about youth and the fact that they struggled on the difficult state course the year before. To say they proved the doubters wrong seems to be a dramatic understatement. Tony Russell smashes the course record, 3 Warriors medaled at states and their entire top 7 placed in the top 52 runners on the difficult state course.

It has been an honor to report on such an epic dual throughout the season. Both teams have a lot to be proud of and unfortunately at this point I don't feel comfortable saying any time is really better than the other. These teams are the closest I have ever seen two squads from PA be.

Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to these teams this season, you will not soon be forgotten.

-A Fan

Throwback Thursday: Taking a Trip to States

I've been spending a lot of time looking back at my original blog and it's fun to see the evolution from what it started as to what it ended as. This post is probably my favorite one from those original writings. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Taking a Trip to States November 1, 2012

http://etrain11.blogspot.com/2012/11/taking-trip-to-states.html

I will be making the trip up to the state championships at Hershey this weekend for perhaps the final time. If anyone wants to meet up, talk track, just meet the man behind the posts feel free to give me a call or text or something. My name is Jarrett Felix and my number is 215-450-1099. I am 20 years old and I hopefully don't sound like a child predator for making posts like this. I know there are at least a few parents out there who are readers so this meet up chance applies to you to if you feel you want to talk to the guy posting up some of the things your kids are reading or whatever. I'm planning on wearing some Muhlenberg gear, I'm a Junior here and a Co-Captain of the Cross Country team so if you want to talk to Muhlenberg also feel free. And I have a facebook if you want to facebook stalk what I look like. Again, not trying to be creepy, just trying to be accessible to the readers. Hopefully, its a fun time and a cool race.

Now I am going to get sentimental for a moment.

I know he doesn't really read this blog anymore, because he is a focused man, but if he does, I hope he isn't too embarrassed by what I say.

What's really cool about getting older and following the sport for a while is watching kids improve and rise to the highest level, from relative obscurity to well known commodity. For me, I'm most excited about the state race because I get to see my good friend Francis Ferruzzi run in probably his last race of his High School career on Saturday. Francis and I went to high school together and we have done countless runs together over the years from the time he was a Freshman until now. I'd be lying if I said I knew right when I saw him that he would run 15:45 and break the school 3k record indoors. I still remember the first run anyone did with Francis and my friend Todd told us all, watch out for this kid he is going to be good. We didn't listen to Todd then (which was silly because the kid is a genius), but we should have.

At Paul Short, Francis took off on all of us older guys and led our pack through the first mile, a gutsy move for a Freshman at the biggest meet of his young career. He ended up running under 17 minutes, one of the only Freshman in our schools history to boast a mark like that. That was the moment when I knew he was something special. At Districts, Francis was the top Freshman in the race. He was a key part of our team's 10th place finish at the District meet after losing virtually our entire varsity team from the prior season. It was the last race that Francis and I ever ran together.

Francis and I are neighbors and we have grown over the years to become good friends. We have ran together so many times that is just habit. Whether it be hill work outs at 7 in the morning or late night long runs at 2 in the morning, it was a quality run. Over the years he has become faster and faster (especially relative to me), but I still often times think of him as that little freshman I met a few years back.

Since going off to college, I've missed a lot of races I really wish I could have been at, whether it was the Trojan Track Classic sophomore year or his PTFCA classic 3200m last year. Honestly, there are a lot of moments that I really regret missing, only able to hear about it through a short phone call before the cool down.

That's why this year, for his final race, there is no where else I would rather be than cheering for my friend on the brutal Hershey course. Our high school cross country career comes full circle this weekend at Hershey.

There are thousands of stories like ours this weekend at Hershey. Thousands of runners whose dreams are realized, whose friends and families are watching the final race of a high school career, filled with ups and downs (ironically much like the state's course).

So Saturday, remember the journey of how you arrived at this moment. Seize the power of the moment and run with it all the way through the final hill.

Because before you know it, you will be an old guy like me, sitting a computer screen, remembering the good old days of running with his best friend.

Good luck everybody.

Throw Back Thursday: Footlocker Journals

Pennsylvania had 4 different men qualify for the Footlocker National Championships in San Diego, none of which were crowned State Champion in Hershey. Penntrack put together some very cool journals with each of these runners in 2012 and I've shared links to them below.

https://pa.milesplit.com/articles/92514-penntrackxc-journal-brendan-shearn-north-schuylkill-entry-4-feb-5-a-painful-3k-at-yale

https://pa.milesplit.com/articles/96788-foot-locker-journal-brent-kennedy-kiski-area-hs-i-learned-we-are-all-the-same-even-meb

Austin Pondehttps://pa.milesplit.com/articles/96959-foot-locker-journal-austin-pondel-corry-area-burgers-on-the-beach-oh-and-a-race-too

Max Norris: https://pa.milesplit.com/articles/96987-foot-locker-journal-max-norris-harriton-hs

The Big Question ... Answered?

After fighting all the way to the finish line, O’Hara’s bid for a state championship season had once again ended in heartbreak. They and Henderson shook hands, congratulated one another and raised their respective trophies. Then, it was back to training.

There was a long three-week stretch ahead of both teams. The Nike Northeast Regional was not until the end of November and both teams were going to need to regroup mentally and physically if they were going to grab a qualifying spot to Nationals in Oregon. O’Hara was pelted with talk of being “chokers” who could not rise to the occasion. Henderson, on the other hand, had accomplished their ultimate goal and were being praised for it. Each of these factors can be dangerous in their own ways. But often times the good runners will turn anything into motivation.

As these two teams revamped their training through November, another state champion was figuring out how to best peak for Wappinger Falls. Rob Hewitt, coach of Independent League Champs Germantown Friends, spoke with Coach Kelly at Henderson about the need to keep their athletes competitively sharp in the long lay-off between the state meet and the regional. Ultimately, they decided on a 3200 time trial at Henderson high school at roughly the half way point between the two big races. To make things even more interesting, Kelly called up O’Hara coach Tom Kennedy to see if his guys would want to participate.

Kennedy spoke to his team and apparently there were some reservations about quickly turning around and matching up with Henderson again. The wounds from states were still raw. However, O’Hara saw this as a great opportunity to get in a quality race against great competition. So on November 14, a seemingly random Wednesday night, O’Hara and Henderson began their next battle.

It’s not a controversial opinion to say that Track and Cross Country are very different animals, but fans of the Henderson v. O’Hara rivalry were eager for whatever the next chapter was in this story. No one was ready for the tale to end in Hershey. On race day, Tony Russell and Reiny Barchet went to the front along with Germantown Friend’s stand outs Sami Aziz and Lyle Wistar. They settled in behind Henderson’s pace maker and charged out for a fast time.

Side note: Penntrack put together a really nice race video for this meet (you can access it without an account). Its fun to watch, especially if you like Smashing Pumpkins.

In the second half of the race, Tony Russell took over. Oozing with confidence after his impressive final mile at the state championships, Russell continued to push the pace and dropped everyone but Aziz. Barchet was next in the Henderson-O’Hara standings and then the O’Hara pack was rolling in. O’Hara’s top three had been visible at the front of many races, but this time they were a pack of four. Jim Belfatto, excited about the opportunity to get back on the track, was tucked in with Savage and James and looking very smooth.

On the final lap, Russell and Aziz battled hard, but ultimately it was Sami Aziz who sprinted home as the meet champion. The Independent League gold medalist had heard the hype about Russell, but was up for the challenge, blasting a shiny new PR of 9:14.7. Although Russell didn’t take gold, his silver came with a giant breakthrough at the 3200 distance. He clocked 9:16.3.

There was a sprint battle to the finish behind them. Reiny Barchet was able to hold on for third place, but just a half second behind him was O’Hara’s #1 runner. It wasn’t Savage or James or Pitone. It was their 4^th different #1 runner that season: Jim Belfatto. Belfatto stopped the clock at 9:22.1 which was not only a massive PR but, improbably, a school record for the 3200. Savage, James and Pitone all came through close behind and ahead of Henderson’s 3-4 Eric Stratman and Seamus Collins (who can be seen high-fiving as they cross the finish line). Chris Pastore finished in 11^th overall, wrapping up the sub 9:40 performers.

In dual meet scoring, the final standings were Henderson 28, O’Hara 27. If you counted the GFS guys in the results, the final standings were Henderson 36, O’Hara 36. Another tie! Only this time, O’Hara would have taken it on the 6^th man tie breaker as Matt Hayes bested Ricky Waltz to the finish line. Once again, these teams were as close as close gets.

Despite their pre-race reservations, the O’Hara boys left the meet feeling great about the decision to compete. They had a little bit of their swagger back. Henderson still had plenty of reason to be confident as well. Their results were peppered with PRs and they had a monster front runner in Tony Russell. In a large, highly competitive meet like NXR that could be a deciding factor. However, conspicuously absent from the 3200 duel was one of the heroes from Hershey – junior Sam Haugh. Haugh had apparently badly injured his hand and he would be unavailable for the Nike meet. That left a hole in their top 5 that somebody would need to fill.

The guys descended on Wappinger Falls Saturday November 24. Based on the national rankings, the Northeast Region had a good chance at sending 3 teams to Nationals. However, only two teams were guaranteed a spot. And Christian Brothers Academy was a close to a guarantee for one of those spots as you get in Cross Country. Both Henderson and O’Hara had seen CBA up close and the NJ power had stormed ahead of each by some 200 points. The more interesting New Jersey school for the PA hopefuls was Don Bosco who could be a real party crasher if things unfolded right.

 If Henderson or O’Hara was afraid of CBA, they certainly didn’t show it at the start of the race. CBA’s top 3 runners had been dominant compared to the PA teams in their first two match-ups, but through the halfway split of the regional race, you would never have been able to tell. Based on 2.5K splits, all three teams top 3 runners were nearly dead even. Meanwhile, O’Hara and Henderson’s 4-5 runners were both starting more aggressive. The boys from Henderson particularly so as they stormed out to the overall lead in the team standings, followed closely by O’Hara. PA was taking it to the New Jersey super power.

In the second half of the race, CBA began to counter punch. Tom Rooney and Josh Kruppa were beginning to move back up the field to join their lead three, all of whom were holding ground or advancing. Meanwhile, O’Hara and Henderson both had pieces that were slipping slightly. Kevin James for O’Hara and Bobby Rimkis for Henderson were both feeling fatigued. It became clear that CBA would have enough to win the race, but who would take that coveted second spot?

At the front of the field, Henderson needed every point they could get from Tony Russell. And with yet another signature final mile, Russell delivered just that. Tony became the regional champion and, regardless of how his teammates finished behind him, locked up a spot at the National Championships. But the x-factor for Henderson was Reiny Barchet. Although two O’Hara runners had bested Barchet at states, he came to Regional with a lot more pop. The junior sprinted furiously over the final stretch and outkicked a pack of runners, including CBA’s top dog Jack Boyle, to bring home 2^nd place overall. A 1-2 finish for Henderson in the Northeast Regional!

O’Hara never stopped battling behind them. Kevin James was joined by his teammates Dan Savage and Ernie Pitone and together they worked together to get to the finish line. James hung right on Savage’s shoulder through the chute as the boys took 11^th and 12^th in the team standings. Pitone was not far behind in 14^th. Only O’Hara and CBA had three in the clubhouse that quickly. Still, there was plenty of ground O’Hara still needed to make up on Henderson.

But there was a wait for the Henderson pack. Rimkis was fading and someone needed to step up and take over as the team’s #3 runner if they were going to catch O’Hara. The hero of the day was none other than sophomore Alex Knapp. Knapp, who had been a non-factor at the 3200 race, came powering home over the final half of the race and picked up critical ground to finish 24^th in the team standings, sneaking ahead of O’Hara’s #4 runner and keeping his team in the hunt. Knapp was the team’s 7^th man at states, the only one who didn’t factor into the team scoring. But without Knapp, Henderson may have been sitting home during nationals weekend.

With Knapp stepping up, O’Hara needed their own hero to counter. For them it was Jim Belfatto. Fresh off his school record in the 3200, Belfatto stepped up and kicked right beside his teammate Chris Pastore. Both O’Hara boys managed to finish ahead of Henderson’s Bobby Rimkis. Pastore finished as the quickest #5 runner in the entire meet, even ahead of CBA’s Josh Kruppa. The question was, would that be enough to overcome Henderson’s impressive 1-2 finish?

Eric Stratman stepped up for Henderson, once again speaking to their depth, as the #6 man from states became the #5 at regionals ahead of Seamus Collins. Stratman’s 39^th place finish was not quite enough to catch O’Hara in the final standings, but it did keep things incredibly close. The final score was O’Hara 90 and Henderson 95 in 2^nd and 3^rd positions. The fact that the margin was once again so razor thin seemed to all but guarantee that two teams from Pennsylvania would be heading to Nationals. And, oh by the way, both PA teams finished much closer to the super power CBA. Their winning total was only 73 points.

After a nail-biting wait, it was revealed that Henderson would indeed be at the Nike National Championships in Oregon. With Henderson being bumped into the meet, that extended the individual qualifying list a bit further down, meaning PA’s Sami Aziz, the winner of the 3200 race between both times, would also be heading to nationals. PA was sending 15 boys to Nike Nationals and 4 to Footlocker for a total of 19 national qualifiers.

Now Nike Nationals had always been a little gimmicky. The course featured hay bales and short, man-made hills plus, most notably, some man-made mud. But in 2012, the course was at a new level of crazy. The natural Oregon weather combined with the artificial course conditions made the Nationals course an absolute slop show.

They say that a muddy race can be a great equalizer. Conditions make it harder to have all of your guys have their best day. But in my opinion, the conditions made it so that fast starting teams could benefit. In the mud, it was going to take a lot of work to move up late in the race. So if you could get out hard and find a way to hold your ground, you could have a big day.

As we had just seen at the Northeast Regional, our PA teams knew how to get out hard. The boys got out so hard in fact that through the opening 2k, Reiny Barchet was mixing it up for the lead at the National Championship. The Henderson junior had been second at the Northeast Regional and was hoping to carry that momentum with him in this race. Fearlessly, he went to the front and hung on as best he could with the lead group. In the end, Barchet finished in 21^st overall for the top spot in PA, edging out 4:01 miler Bernie Montoya and finishing 10^th in the team standings.

Surprisingly, his teammate Tony Russell was not with him. In his prior few races, Russell had run within himself at the start, using a powerful final mile to crush the field after their legs were already weak. His state championship close was a textbook example of this. However, the muddy and crowded conditions made it tough for Russell to use his well-honed strategy. The slop took many victims on this day and, unfortunately for Henderson, Tony Russell was one of them. Henderson finished a solid 15^th in the final standings.

That meant it was up to O’Hara to score a top 10 finish for Pennsylvania. Right from the start, O’Hara stuck their nose in the race. At the first split, they were in 5^th place. Now O’Hara had been out this hard before and struggled to finish the job. At states, they were leading over Henderson through 2/3 of the race, but ultimately were edged out. This time had to be different.

Every time they read off the team splits, O’Hara was holding tight to that 5^th position. At the finish, Dan Savage crossed first for the squad, named “Philadelphia”, with Ernie Pitone just behind him. Their final times were 18 flat and 18:02. Those times would have been scary to see before the race, but after actually traversing the course the times would prove to be quite impressive. O’Hara put their entire top 5 under 19 minutes, helped by yet another big day from Jim Belfatto (who had some nice face time in the NXN video) and that proved to be enough for O’Hara to hold their 5^th place finish at the National Championships. They finished just one spot behind CBA.

O’Hara’s 5^th place finish would prove to be the best national finish of any team in the decade. Savage and Ptione were 36^th and 39^th in the national file, two of PA’s better overall finishes in this meet. The disappointment of the state championship had not wilted this team. Instead it had provided the motivation they needed to finish the season on an incredibly strong note.

As these runners packed up their XC spikes (or probably through them out after that race), they could both be satisfied with what they had accomplished. O’Hara’s seniors had left the team with a lasting legacy and a piece of the history books. Their returners, James and Belfatto, would have incredible wisdom and experience to bring to the next generation. Meanwhile, Henderson was the state champions, returning 6 guys who were ready to try and win gold again. Bobby Rimkis could graduate knowing that, without him, his Henderson teammates would still be chasing that elusive gold. And his individual medal was an added bonus.

Yes, both sides could hold their high. The question O’Hara vs. Henderson did not seem important to them anymore. Each runner had used their opponents as motivation, as a reason to push that extra day in training, and as a way to get the most of themselves. From that perspective, it was really more O’Hara and Henderson.

Of course, the anonymous blog commenters could never be satisfied with such a cop-out of a concept. And, because of the final results of the season, some fans never let the debate rest. The lingering question as the 2012 calendar ended: what would you rather be 5^th at nationals or 1^st in the state?

From the perspective of a middling runner like myself, I gotta say I think they both sound pretty great.

The 2012 Season in Review: A & AA

Preseason

The move to three classifications did undeniably have some effect on the AAA landscape as team’s like Grove City and Dallas shifted from AAA Cinderella stories to AA powerhouses, but the biggest impact could be seen within the AA individual class. The class of 2013 within small schools was absolutely stacked. Many in that class were friends despite school and even district boundaries and they were excited to, together, prove just how talented the AA class could be. Yet the split in classifications fractured their impact.

In AA, defending state champion Brendan Shearn remained, but the 4 guys who had finished directly behind him at the state championship shifted down a classification. His class would include Aaron Valerosa (7^th), district mate Tyler Stelmack (12^th) and 800 standouts Shawn Wolfe (16^th) and Dan Alexander (17^th).

There were also some top names from the AAA landscape who had now moved down a classification. Dan Jaskowak (2^nd) became the top returner based on time in the AA class. After his meteoric rise from relative obscurity to state title hopeful in 2011, Jaskwoak took to the track and doubled down on his success. The junior’s track season included times of 1:55, 4:17 and 9:14, the last of which was good enough for second at the state championships. The preseason speculation was that Shearn vs. Jaskowak would be the “real” state championship.

Vinny Todaro (26^th) was the only other top 40 finisher from the AAA state meet who would be switching classifications. However, Ethan Louis and Dominic Deluca (both top 50 finishers), both seemed like they could compete for a top 10 to 15 place within AA.

At the top of the new A classification were two ready-made rivals from District 2. Luke Jones of Elk Lake, the two-time defending district champion and reigning silver medalist would enter as the slight favorite against Holy Cross’s Rico Galassi. Rico was 3^rd at the 2011 state championships and went on to finish a narrow second against Shearn in the outdoor 3200. The Northeast Bradford duo of Sam Williams and Curt Jewett were also in the A classification along with North East’s Ryan Smathers. Smathers was fresh off a blazing fast track season that included a 4:12 in the 1600.

This classification also featured Jordan Jackson (7^th), Ryan Archer (10^th), and Barrett Kemp (13^th).

Sorting out the team side of the small school classification was a bit trickier. In the AA race, you had a number of formerly mid-pack AAA teams that were suddenly at the front. Pottsgrove from District 1, who had failed to qualify for states out of the loaded region, were the preseason #1 ranked team. Grove City, who finished 19^th in AAA the prior year, was preseason #2. Annville-Cleona, a top team last year who struggled a bit at AA states, returned their entire varsity and looked like contenders from within the AA classification. Holy Redeemer (3^rd and 2^nd the prior two years) and Quaker Valley (1^st and 3^rd) were programs you could never count out.

In A, Canton received the most votes in PTXC’s preseason poll. Using a tight pack, Canton had raced to 6^th in the final standings at AA states in 2011. They returned their entire scoring 5. State runner-ups North East and surprise 4^th place finishers Masterman were also in Class A with a nice crop of returners. Oswayo Valley (11^th) and Vincentian Academy (12^th) both returned their entire varsity squads.

AA

Vinny Todaro of Big Spring had been 26^th at the prior year’s state championship in XC. One spot off the medal stand. During indoor track, Todaro finished 9^th at states in the mile. One spot off the medal stand. Outdoors, after running 4:16 at districts, Todaro failed to qualify for the state finals in the 1600m. It had been a story of near misses for the junior. But as a senior, he was determined to flip the script. Opening his season at Enos Yeager, Todaro dropped a 12:30 on the 2.35 mile course, one of the fastest times in meet history. Instantly he established himself as a name to watch alongside Jaskowak and Shearn.

Shearn had the chance to open his season shortly thereafter. He traveled to the PTXC Invitational where he had started his title run a year ago. This time, things didn’t go quite as smoothly. The North Schuylkill sejnior finished 7^th in the final standings and #2 against AA competition. The top runner in AA was Dallas Junior Dominic Deluca, who finished second overall in 16:07. Deluca, another former AAA transplant, was making a quick case that he belonged in the state title conversation.

The west coast’s Dan Jaskowak opened his season at the Red, White and Blue Invitational where he had won the previous fall. Just like Shearn, he hoped to open on a similarly high note, but ultimately ended up surprised by a couple of upstart juniors. AAA runners Brent Kennedy and Ethan Martin both topped Jaskowak who finished in a final time of 15:40. However, Jaskowak’s Grove City team looked great. They placed 3^rd overall in the invite, losing only to AAA powers North Allegheny and Mount Lebanon. Sophomore Aaron Benka was the team’s breakout star, taking 22^nd overall. Quaker Valley, the defending AA state champions, finished in 7^th overall.

Shearn would have the first bounce back performance. At the Briarwood Invitational, Brendan put himself on a hilly course right in the middle of the raging O’Hara v. Henderson debate. Brendan battled against rising Henderson star Tony Russell all the way until the finish, but guys running 15:41 for blazing fast times at Belmont Plateau. Shearn was given the nod in the final results, a big win for his confidence. The same weekend, Jaskowak raced at the Boardman Invitational where clocked an impressive 15:46 for 3^rd overall against out of state competition. The time was quite quick, but ended up being slightly slower than the fastest PA time of the day, AAA’s Austin Pondel, who won the D2 race by 40 seconds.

With both top contenders getting back on track, the boys descended on the Hershey Parkview course for a state preview at Foundation. As expected, Shearn and Jaskowak showed their class from the jump in the race. Ultimately, Jaskowak prevailed against Shearn with a 16:19 statement victory. Brendan, at 16:27 was well ahead of third place finisher Dominic Deluca (16:53). Lake Lehman’s Kieran Sutton finished 4^th in 17:01 and Bradford’s Aziz Yousif was 5^th in the same time.

The Foundation meet also served as an opportunity for the top two teams to face off prior to states. District 1’s Pottsgrove was trying to prove they could handle their sudden jump to state elite while Grove City was hoping to take a grip on the power struggle. However, on race day, this match-up didn’t come to fruition the same way it did for Shearn and Jaskowak. Pottsgrove did indeed storm to the title, led by Ian Yanusko in 6^th place, but Scranton Prep surprised Grove City for the 2^nd position. The District 2 squad finished only 13 points back of Pottsgrove and unleashed a very solid pack with 5 in the top 26. Grove City placed 3^rd with 125, unable to match the depth of Pottsgrove and Scranton Prep. The PCL’s Bonner rounded out the top 4, led by Will McDermott’s 7^th place finish.

Fans didn’t have to wait long for a Pottsgrove-Scranton Prep rematch. The two teams were just 3 points apart at Paul Short 6 days later with Pottsgrove once again edging out the top AA spot in the race.

While everyone was salivating over the Jaskowak-Shearn match-up, Big Spring’s Todaro prepared for his moment at the Carlisle Invitational. Facing off against two of the top AAA runners in the state in Brent Kennedy and Tony Russell, Todaro absolutely blitzed the course to run 15:31 and win his third invite of the season. Shawn Wolfe, the defending District 3 champion in the AA classification, ran 16:11 for 11^th. Liam Corcoran, another D3 AA stand out, was 9^th in 16:06. Wolfe’s Annville-Cleona team held their own among the stacked AAA field, taking 8^th overall with 315 points.

As the calendar flipped to October, the championship season began to descend upon us. It seemed like the momentum was on the side of Dan Jaskowak. He started the month with a jaw dropping 15:37 at his home invitational while his Grove City teammates posted 17 points. Then he won at the TSTCA championships, avenging his early season loss against Brent Kennedy with a 15:36 victory at Coopers. Capping off the stretch run of the season, Jaskowak battled AAA star Austin Pondel all the way to the line at District 10’s and knocked him off in a slosh pit of conditions (yet still ran 16:23) for yet another gold.  

Todaro posted an undefeated month as well. He won the Cumberland County Championships and then outlasted a strong group of Mid Penn Competitors to win on his home course. Then Todaro traveled to Hershey and defeated Shawn Wolfe by 4 seconds for the District 3 title.

Not to be outdone, Brendan Shearn dropped a 15:17 at the Schuylkill League Championships to break a long standing course record. His winning time was over 90 seconds better than second place. He then cruised through the District 11 championships, winning by 48 seconds and running the fastest time for any classification.

Team wise, the favorites were looking strong as well. Pottsgrove picked up an easy win at the Pioneer League Championships, scoring just 33 points to defeat a largely AAA field. Then they cruised past Holy Ghost Prep at the District One Championships. Prep had been among PTXC’s top 5 AA schools for the majority of the season, but Pottsgrove’s depth proved to be too much for anyone to handle. They placed their top 6 runners in the top 8 overall while HG Prep’s #1 runner was 9^th.

District 2’s championships were incredibly sloppy as muddy conditions made it tough for the runners to produce fast times. However, Scranton Prep handled the conditions best out of any of the teams in the deep field. They posted a score of 54 to knock off Tunkhannock (65) and Holy Redeemer (67). This knocked out Holy Redeemer from the State Championships in a surprise turn for the 2010 state runner-ups.

Other district champions included top foundation teams Grove City and Bonner as well as defending state champions Quaker Valley, who were starting to look like their old selves after a 66-132 WPIAL championship. Annville-Cleona also held on for another district title, defeating York Suburban by 27 points.

After watching Rico Galassi boldly sprint through the opening 1600 meters, the AA boys took a more conservative approach to the opening stretch. The lead time at the mile was only 4:56 and 18 guys came through in that time with 33 under 5 minutes. Vinny Todaro, Brendan Shearn and Dan Jaskowak were the top three through this point as expected. Aaron Valoroso, Kieran Sutton and Mitchell Smith, each a district champion, rounded out the top 6. But still anyone could jump up the standings in a blink. The pack was too tight to have a clear favorite.

The same could not be said for the team race. Pottsgrove, as expected, was out well ahead of the field. Their entire scoring 5 was in the top 20 team places and averaged a 5 flat. But their expected rivals, Scranton Prep, were nowhere to be found. They were back in 156^th, their usually tight pack slipping apart in the crowded state field. Instead, it was Grove City who rose to challenge Pottsgrove. Grove City had 72 points, just 6 pack of Pottsgrove and no other team had less than 130.

At two miles, things continued to stay very conservative. None of the top runners seemed to really want to put in that big surge. As a result, the leaders went through 3200 in 10:16. It was a pack of 5 all together, Jaskowak leading with Todaro, Valoroso, Shearn and Sutton. Dominic Deluca, the top junior in the field, had moved to 6^th in the standings. But through this point, it was obvious that the top names were running within themselves. It had been a conservative start and the final mile would be an explosion.

The second mile had proven to be much more of a differentiator in the team standings. Pottsgrove was beginning to open up, now with a 19 point margin over Grove City. Scranton Prep was climbing the standings, now in 4^th with 140 points. However, their district rivals from Tunkhannock was just ahead with 139. Annville-Cleona was not out of it either, sporting 142 points. Annville had the best front running, led by Shawn Wolfe in 8^th overall.

As the final mile progressed, the front of the race began to explode. Shearn busted lose on the down-hill leaving the Alohas and put the pressure on the others to follow. Although many expected the red hot Jaskowak to be the closest pursuer, it was Todaro who countered closest. Those three started to breakaway, chased by Sutton and Valoroso.

It looked like maybe Shearn had put enough distance between himself as the 4:16 miler, but coming up the final hill, Todaro had another gear still reserve. He sprinted past Shearn and opened up to the finish. Todaro stopped the clock right at 16 minutes to win by 4 over Shearn. Jaskowak managed to make it home at 16:12 to round out the top 3 as expected. Although few had that order. Valoroso and Sutton finished nearly side by side to round out the top 5.

Deluca, who had put himself in the mix at two miles, could not hang on through to the finish. He ended up in 11^th place. But the junior did finish as the top returner in the field. Dominic Hockenbury, as just a freshman, finished in 22^nd overall and claimed a state medal behind his teammate Kieran Sutton.

At two miles, it appeared Potsgrove had the race won. However, Grove City didn’t give up over the final mile. Dan Jaskowak’s 3^rd place finish got his team a 1 in the team standings. Then sophomore Aaron Benka crossed in 18^th, meaning two Grove City boys were in the clubhouse before any from Pottsgrove. In fact, Ian Yanusko, Pottsgrove’s #1 runner, finished in 29^th place overall and outside the individual medals. It was incredibly rare for a state championship team to not have any individual medalists. Pottsgrove’s Morgan Moonan and Evan Cook both crossed next from the top two teams, but their teammate Derek Lopez had slipped a bit over the course of the final mile and junior Ryan Whiteman stepped up for Grove City to pass him. Pottsgrove’s #5 runner at two miles, Mike Rossi, had also slipped behind a late surging Grove City runner as Ian Brown moved ahead.

But ultimately, junior Josh Toth was able to pick up the slack when Rossi slipped and he surged one spot ahead of Ian Brown, helping to swing the title back in Pottsgrove’s favor. The final standings read 96 to 99. Annville-Cleona finished 3^rd, well back in 151 points, but posting an awesome bounce back from a disappointing state meet in 2011. Shawn Wolfe struggled over the final mile, but still delivered a low stick alongside Ben Mason and Mark Bachman. Tunkhannock held on to defeat District 2 champs Scranton Prep as their early season title dreams were dashed by the Hershey hills. Both of these teams looked set to rematch in Hershey the next season as Tunkhannock returned their entire top 4 and Scranton Prep returned 4 of their best 5.

A

Preseason favorites Rico Galassi and Luke Jones got a chance to face off in week one as the pair traveled to the Cliff Robbins Invitational. It was a stacked meet that also featured the Northeast Bradford duo of Sam Williams and Curt Jewett. Galassi handled business impressively, beating Jones by 23 seconds and defeating Williams and Jewett by a wide margin. However, the good news for Northeast Bradford was that they finished as the top A school in the meet. Freshman Levi Upham placed 12^th overall in his first invite of his career, giving them a valuable third piece.

A week later, the Northeast Bradford boys took their show on the road to a bigger stage: the PTXC Invitational. The field was stacked with talent from all classifications, most notably defending state champions Brendan Shearn and Conner Quinn. But NEB was up for the challenge and Sam Willliams conquered all the competition en route to the individual victory. As a team, Bradford finished 5^th in the final standings and tops among small schools. Junior Brandon Devonshire was the difference maker as his addition the line-up really rounded out their top 5. Now this team was a state title contender.

North East looked to be one of the most formidable opponents for Northeast Bradford. The 2011 state runner-ups picked up a nice win at Slippery Rock, led by Ryan Smather’s 16:07 gold medal. Sophomore Gary Olson also posted a top 5 finish as the team rolled to a victory over many of the top WPIAL schools in the classification.

Unlike prior years, North East did not attend the Foundation Invitational, which meant Northeast Bradford would have to handle District 10’s other top program in Fairview. With Williams and Jewett taking 1-2 individually, this proved to be a smooth operation. Bradford scored 73 points and cruised to victory. Their closest competitors were from Vincentian Academy in D7. The Archer twins, Ryan and Alex, placed 4^th and 8^th individually and led a top 4 that all was within the top 20 scorers. If this team developed a bit more of a 5^th man, they would be in a position to challenge for the podium at season’s end. Fairview, Saegerotwn, Masterman and Elk Lake rounded out the top 6 teams.

As mentioned, Williams and Jewett took the top 2 spots at this meet, giving Williams a second straight major invitational victory. Adding to the impressive nature of the run, was the defeat of Elk Lake’s Luke Jones who finished in 3^rd place, one spot ahead of Ryan Archer. Hunter Johnston of Saegertown rounded out the top 5.

The two missing names from Foundation quickly showed up in other places. First, Rico Galassi stormed to a victory at the Paul Short Invite in Lehigh. He dropped a 15:44 to dominate a field that included top talent from the Independent League and each of the other classifications. Then at McQuaid, Ryan Smathers knocked off the Northeast Bradford duo with a jaw dropping 14:51 3-mile. Williams (15:06) and Jewett (15:10) were 4^th and 5^th overall, but did help lead their school to the top PA honors with a 15:54 average. They scored 100 points vs. North East’s 204. It was actually Oswayo Valley (200) who finished closest to NEB in the final standings, led by Spencer Cole in 20^th. Barrett Kemp, who had been the breakout star of this meet a year prior, was just 44^th and finish as Oswayo’s #3. If he returned to early season form, perhaps this could be the challenger to NE Bradford’s quest for the throne.

Heading into District week, the clear favorites for the state title seemed to be Rico Galassi and Northeast Bradford. Bradford delivered on that sentiment quite strongly with a 32 point performance at the D4 championships. Jewett and Williams both finished under 16 minutes. But perhaps more importantly, Ben Horton had a really strong day as the team’s #6 runner which provided a nice level of insurance in case disaster struck. NEB didn’t have to look far back into the history books to see when a bizarre DQ cost them a state title. Every member of the team would be important.

Meanwhile, Galassi wouldn’t prove to be as fortunate. Luke Jones delivered yet again on the D2 stage as he survived brutal conditions and turned in a 10 second victory over Galassi to win a third straight district title. Now Jones, who had shown his ability to run clutch in Hershey just one year earlier, could make a case for state title favorite. Jones also helped his Elk Lake teammates lock up a spot in the state championships.

District 10, who had their own sloppy championship race, proved to be the wildest meet of district weekend. The slop proved to be a real challenge for North East’s senior leader Ryan Smathers to navigate and, after leading through a mile, he faded back to 5^th. That meant Jeremy Parsons was the surprise champion from Maplewood. There was more bad news for North East. The 2011 runner-ups for state gold ended up 4^th in the final standings, losing by just one point against Mercyhurst Prep in the race for the final state qualifying spot. That meant North East would not be headed back to states. The race for gold was just as close with only 1 point separating Saegertown and West Middlesex. Despite an off day from lead man Hunter Johnston, Saegertown was able to win a district championship just a year after graduating their best runner, 3-time district champ Nate Tallada.

Upsets were going around as at the WPIAL championships, Sacred Heart knocked off Vincentian Academy for the victory by 12 points. Vincentian had the individual champion in Ryan Archer, but ultimately, Vincentian’s nearly 4 minute spread left them vulnerable for Sacred Heart to swoop in. That being said, Vincentian seemed like their front running advantage would be much more valuable in Hershey and they were still not out of the running for the podium.

Oswayo Valley survived a nail bitter against Northern Potter to win the District 9 title. Barrett Kemp looked back to his old self with an individual victory. Masterman in District 12 and Westmont Hilltop in District 6 also both raced to qualifying spots for the state championship. Both teams were preseason top 5 picks by PTXC.

The stage was finally set for the PIAA State Championships. The individual race in A had really opened up after district week as the list of potential champions was close to 10 guys. But Rico Galassi, the favorite for most of the season, put his stamp on the race from the start. He stormed out the gates and put a ton of pressure on the others to follow his near suicidal pace. At the mile, Galassi was through in a jaw dropping 4:41. Smathers of North East was the guy closest to him at 4:43, but 9 guys went out under 4:50 and 24 were out under 5 minutes. Williams and Jewett were in 4^th and 5^th, leading North East Bradford through the standings. Their team led comfortably at the 1 mile with 79 points. Saegertown, the slightly surprising champions out of District 10, were in second place with 104. Then the WPIAL teams, OLSH and Vincentian sat in 3^rd and 4^th.

As the race progressed, runners naturally started to crater off the early pace. However, the one guy who wasn’t faltering was Rico. The senior actually opened up over mile two and led through 3200 in 9:56. Luke Jones was now his closest competitor, trying desperately to reel his rival in. But he was still nearly 10 seconds back. Smathers, Jewett and Williams rounded out a familiar top 5. The biggest favorites were all there, but it seemed like no one could catch Galassi.

Looking just as invincible, Northeast Bradford was leading the team race. They had 87 points at 2 miles and their average time of 10:43 was the only average under 11 minutes. While freshman Levi Upham was fading a bit in his state debut, Brandon Devonshire was having a monster race and had climbed within spitting distance of a medal during mile 2.

Saegertown was the team that had the best chance of catching up. Although they couldn’t quite match the Bradford front running, they did have a medalist in Hunter Johnston and a strong two-three in Morgan Schenberg and Brandon Barclay. If Devonshire faded, perhaps Saegertown could make up ground. Vincentian sat in third with the best #4 runner in the race. Depending on how their #5 closed out the last mile, they could challenge for the podium. Oswayo Valley and Elk Lake had now moved into the top 5 teams in 4^th and 5^th. Oswyao boasted 3 runners in the top 11 of team scoring.

Over the final mile, Northeast Bradford began to fade ever so slightly, but ultimately no one was going to catch them. Their top 3 runners all ended up finishing with individual medals as Devonshire grabbed 22^nd overall and 7^th in the team scoring. Their final score of 96 points was 37 ahead of the next closest competitor.

Rico Galassi’s path did not prove so smooth. His once insurmountable lead was shrinking with every step. The familiar foe of Luke Jones was pushing hard to try and get Galassi. As they came to the final straightaway, the one man race became a two man race. Jones sprinted like crazy, but coming off poop-out Rico still had enough left in the tank to hold on for a narrow 1 second victory. The times were blistering fast for the new A division as Galassi ran 15:59 and Jones came home in 16 flat. They were the fastest small school times ever turned in on this particular course layout.

Sam Williams and Curt Jewett were the next two to cross the line, adding individual medals to their gold medal collection. Jeremy Parsons of Maplewood doubled down on his District 10 victory by placing in 5^th and leading the district in Hershey. Parsons, a junior, was also the top in his class for the event. Sophomore Griffin Molino, who finished in 8^th, was the #2 returner.

As the back half of the race started to trickle in, sorting out the team battle was becoming close to impossible. Yes, Northeast Bradford was clearly the state champions, but who would be second? Saegertown seemed in a position to grab it at 2 miles, but their #5 runner had slipped a bit coming out of the Aloha hills. Vincentian had hoped to move up, but their guys largely held serve in the final mile. The same was true for Oswayo Valley.

In the end, the medals ended up being handed to a surprise team: Elk Lake. When they had started the season at Foundation, Elk Lake had been relatively buried in the team title conversation and, even after winning the district meet, it didn’t feel like this squad had enough to get to the podium. But they fought hard and got a massive lift from a pair of sophomores in Eddie Cumens and Dalton Sherman. But the big mover over the final mile was senior Seth Carney. Sitting in 149^th with a mile to go, Carney turned on the jets and passed 32 runners to help swing the race in Elk Lake’s favor. Just two years after their state championship run, Elk Lake was back on the podium, ironically, alongside the team that they beat to get that title.

Sagertown finished 9 points back in 3^rd with Oswayo Valley and Vincentian Academy rounding out the top 5 teams.