The list below represents my own personal, subjective rankings for who had the 25 best Cross Country seasons among PA runners in the 2010 season alone. I placed the most weight on performances at the State, District and League meets with additional consideration for those who excelled at the Footlocker/Nike regional meets. Athletes are listed with their state and district finishes for reference.
25. Chris Garrity, Sr O'Hara (12 AAA): 22nd/2nd
Its always tricky rounding out the final spot in the rankings considering how many top guys are left off the list, but Garrity was a beast for O'Hara and really catapulted them from a good team to a great team. The 2010 O'Hara squad set the stage for an epic stretch and Garrity led them with a 22nd place finish at states, a runner-up finish at districts and league championships in both DELCO and the PCL.
24. Brett Kelly, Jr Boyertown (1 AAA): 23rd/10th
23. Austin Gregor, Sr CB South (1 AAA): 15th/7th
22. Bobby Bishop, Jr Baldwin (7 AAA): 28th/6th
21. Ed Schrom, Sr Central Dauphin (3 AAA): 24th/7th
It was a bit of a wacky year in District 3 and Schrom, one of just two AAA state medalists, also ends up as one of the only two guys from the district to make the list. Schrom was just 7th at the district 3 championship, but bested nearly all of his rivals on the big stage in Hershey. He also was Mid Penn Champion, 3rd at Paul Short and 7th at Carlisle.
20. Bob Gasior, Sr Pittsburgh Central Catholic (7 AAA): 19th/7th
19. Aaron Wilkinson, Jr Valley View (2 AAA): 18th/2nd
To me, one of the biggest unanswerable questions of the season is what would happen with Wilkinson if Valley View had stayed in AA. He was the #1 returner from AA and that race ended up being pretty wide open. Could he have been state champion in the AA division over Gruschow and Limongelli? Or would the Trinity senior still have executed the perfect winning strategy? As it stands, Wilkinson finished the year with an 18th place medal at states and finished as the 9th best PA finisher at Footlocker's Northeast Regional (24th overall).
18. Bryan Andrews, Sr Henderson (1 AAA): 16th/4th
Only one Henderson runner makes the list this year as Andrews tops teammate Austin Stecklair in the final standings. Although Stecklair was the Ches-mont champion and the team's top runner at NXN Northeast, Andrews beat Stecklair at both Districts at States with a 16th place medal in Hershey.
17. Zach Greth, Sr Exeter (3 AAA): 12th/3rd
16. Quinn Devlin, Jr Downingtown West (1 AAA): 26th/3rd
15. Alex Moran, Jr Mount Lebanon (7 AAA): 14th/8th
14. Tom Trainer, Sr LaSalle (12 AAA): 17th/1st
In the early season, Trainer established himself as a breakout XC star with a win at Briarwood and a 3rd place finish at Carlisle ahead of future state champ Ryan Gil. In October, he finished as PA's top runner at Manhattan before trading golds with O'Hara's Garrity at PCLs and Districts. Trainer finished 17th in Hershey, but jumped a few guys who beat him at states due to his early season successes.
13. Logan Steiner, Jr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 13th/5th
12. Alex Izewski, Sr CB East (1 AAA): 9th/29th
Izewski's older brother, Josh, finished 3rd at PIAA States in 2007 (he was 6th on my 2007 season rankings). Josh cast a large shadow, but Alex filled it quite impressively with a 9th place finish at states and a SOL Continental league championship.
11. Sam Hibbs, Jr Hatboro Horsham (1 AAA): 7th/2nd
10. Matt Kacyon, Sr Whitehall (11 AAA): 8th/1st
The 2010 XC Senior class (2011 graduates) was absolutely loaded and so Kacyon often gets overlooked. But the Whitehall senior, who notoriously liked to get out fast, more than held his own in his two trips to states. He was 17th in 2009 and then 8th in 2010. Kacyon also won back to back years at Foundation and the District 11 championships. At the Footlocker Northeast Championships, Kacyon finished 19th (which was only the 7th best finish for a stacked PA group).
9. Dustin Wilson, Jr Chesnut Hill Academy (Independent): 1st
8. Reece Ayers, Sr Tunkhannock (2 AAA): 6th/1st
Reece was 6th at states as a senior capping off a three year stretch where he finished 8th, 9th and 6th on the Hershey hills. That's one of the best three-year stretches that anyone can boast this decade short of Jake Brophy and Dan McGoey (without checking the official numbers). Ayers also made the top 20 in my seasonal rankings for three seasons in a row (only member of his class to do so).
7. Joe Kush, Sr North Hills (7 AAA): 10th/3rd
6. Juris Silenieks, Sr North Hills (7 AAA): 11th/2nd
5. Jacob Kildoo, Sr Grove City (10 AAA): 5th/1st
Kildoo had a fantastic career including a state medal as a sophomore and a senior. In between, he was sick at his junior year state championship. Although many expected him to contend for the top 10, he finished in "just" 45th place and ended up off the medal stand. Not letting that defeat him, Kildoo trained through to the Footlocker Northeast Regional meet and placed 12th overall, just two spots away from qualifying for Nationals. During his senior season, Kildoo was right in the mix for the state championship gold before ultimately taking 5th place in a time of 15:57, just 5 seconds behind the champion.
4. Ryan Gil, Sr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 1st/4th
If you wanted to argue for a higher ranking for the guy who won the AAA state championship, I won't be mad at you. That being said, Gil missed a good chunk of racing thanks to his toe injury and had multiple head to head losses to some other guys around him on this list including Districts and Regionals. That being said, Gil proved he is one of the toughest and clutchest guys to ever come through the state during the 2010 season and will forever be a PA Legend.
3. Chris Campbell, Sr CR North (1 AAA): 4th/1st
The District 1 champion (with ease) was undefeated heading into the state championships, including a win over Wade Endress at Steel City by 20 seconds. Campbell won the always loaded District 1 by 11 seconds, won his league title by 24 and his home invite by 35. Chris was also the top PA finisher at the Footlocker Northeast regional, just edging out Hebda and Juris. Ultimately, if the state championship final flips by a few inches, he's taking the number one spot in these rankings.
2. Wade Endress, Sr Altoona (6 AAA): 2nd/1st
I have to say that Wade was one of my favorite guys to watch race over the course of the decade. The 2010 season epitomized Wade's competitive spirit. He traveled everywhere across the state to race guys on their home turf including his top competitors on this list. Even though Campbell and Hebda both defeated him head to head, when he got the state championship, Endress was able to edge them out for the silver medal and only finish behind the miraculous run from Gil. Endress doubled down on that success by booking a spot to Oregon at the Nike Northeast Regional.
1. Zach Hebda, Sr North Hills (7 AAA): 3rd/1st
The lead head of the North Hills monster gets the #1 spot. Not only was he the most consistent presence in arguably the state's best district, but he also wrote his name at or near the top of multiple course record books including Coopers Lake. Hebda ended PA's 2010 season with a 15:38 at Balboa Park to take 18th overall at Footlocker Nationals.
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