2011 Season: Top 25 Rankings

I didn’t do honorable mentions for the 2010 addition of the rankings (there were 8 or so guys who were under difficult consideration that ultimately did not make the cut), but wanted to throw in some quick ones here.

First and foremost the Altoona duo of Dylan Mountain and Korey Replogle was awesome in the 2011 season (they almost were the topic of one of my articles), but they kind of almost cancelled each other out. If you combine their best races, they are a top 20 guy on this race with Korey finishing 4^th at Carlisle and Paul Short plus winning the district while Mountain was higher at states, 2^nd at TSTCA and a winner at Big Valley and State College.

Also wanted to give a quick shout out to Mike Runco of Pittsburgh Central Catholic. He was undeniably one of the best runners in the WPIAL in 2011, including a silver medal winning performance at districts and third place at Carlisle. I actually picked him to be top 10 or so in the state, but he ended up having an off day and finishing in 66^th. That said, his season was fantastic and should not be forgotten. The splurge of AA guys and the clutch running of certain guys in Hershey ends up bumping him out.

As was the case last time, athletes are listed with their state and district finishes for reference.

25. Max Norris, Jr Harriton (1 AAA): 32^nd/4^th

Norris will get plenty of discussion for his accolades in the 2012 rankings as well, but this season he ended up on the bubble. The Harriton stand out didn’t finish in the AAA medals which means he had to have a special season outside of Hershey to get a nod for the list. Norris had a wins over both state champions this season (Shearn at Paul Short, Quinn at Viking) and was 4^th in District One ahead of a plethora of other future state medalists so he got the narrow nod over the honorable mention guys above as well as some other talented juniors (Macauley, DiSilvio and Pondel).

24. Barrett Kemp, Jr Oswayo Valley (9 AA): 13^th/1st

If Kemp puts together a winning performance in Hershey, he ends up a top 10 guy on this list after being PA’s #1 runner in McQuaid and the invitational winner at Bradford, Ridgway and the District 9 Championships. He didn’t get many chances to race against the big stars and perhaps that hurt him in Hershey, but he posted big results in the opportunities he did have and ultimately, in perhaps the year of the small schools, Kemp earned a spot here.

23. Aaron Wilkinson, Sr Valley View (2 AAA): 19^th/2^nd

22. Rico Galassi, Jr Holy Cross (2 AA): 3^rd/2^nd

Galassi didn’t have quite as impressive of a regular season as some of the other names on this list, but in the post season he came through with a monster 3^rd place finish in AA states. His time would have been top 20 in the AAA race despite the fact that he was running in a lot more thin of a pack. 

21. Curt Jewett, Jr Northeast Bradford (4 AA): 19^th/1^st

Another AA guy who didn’t finish in the top 10 makes the list. That’s usually unheard of in the rankings, but Jewett really earned it. It helps that he races head to head against Sam Williams all season (and racked up a couple big wins against him).

20. Ryan Smathers, Jr North East (10 AA): 5^th/3^rd

Another tricky guy to place on this list, Smathers equates a lot with Austin Pondel (also of D10). Pondel ended up with two wins against him head to head in September and another at the Footlocker Regional meet (where Pondel was PA’s 5^th guy). But ultimately Smathers won Region 4 over Pondel and finished 5^th at states in 16:30 to pair with his fast time at McQuaid and 2^nd place at Foundation. The AA contigent really ended up in a sticky web of crossing head to heads and that bumped Smathers up a few spots from where he otherwise might have been.

19. Zach Israel, Sr Holy Ghost Prep (1 AAA): 16^th/12^th

I foolish doubted Zach Israel with my predictions on the blog. I believe it was actually Brendan Shearn who told me that he thought I had forgotten about him when I posted my predictions and I very pompously stated that I remembered him, I just didn’t think he would crack the top 50. Whoops. Israel finished in 16^th overall, taking some major scalps. That was his best race of the season, but he had also placed top 10 at Carlisle and Paul Short and led his HG Prep team to states out of the always loaded District 1.

18. Sam Williams, Jr Northeast Bradford (4 AA): 4^th/2^nd

Won at Foundation in the fastest time of the day (over the AAA guys) perhaps setting the stage for what was to come in AA. He was also the winner at Meteor and second to his teammate Curt Jewett at NTL Coaches and Districts.

17. Alex Moran, Sr Mount Lebanon (7 AAA): 15^th/8^th

The Mount Lebanon made the top 20 of my rankings each of the past two seasons. The 2011 season had a lot more expectations on his shoulders as he entered as one of the favorites to win the WPIAL and maybe even states. Although he didn’t quite hit that level, Moran still helped transform his Mount Lebanon team into the 4^th best squad in the state that came within a few bounces of winning state hardware. He bounced back from the ultimate heartbreak at districts to come in a very respectable 15^th at states and was consistently near the top of the always strong D7.

16. Mike Bilotta, Sr O’Hara (12 AAA): 11^th/3^rd

Lost in all the craziness surrounding the Cardinal O’Hara state championship was how awesome Bilotta ran in 2011. His 11^th place finish at the state championship was incredibly clutch and would have been hailed as one of the marquee state title moments had one point flipped in another place. Especially when you consider that Bilotta had been 20^th at Foundation during his first trip to the Parkview course that season. Bilotta was the senior leader of an O’Hara team that took a real leap forward and, although he sometimes was lost in their pack at the big invites, came through in the biggest moments like states, districts and PCLs.

15. Sean Burke, Sr Abington Heights (2 AAA): 12^th/1^st

District 2 was supposed to be Aaron Wilkinson’s district in 2011, but Sean Burke emerged as the star in the postseason as he avenged a narrow loss to Wilkinson at Paul Short with a district title and a super medal at states. Burke picked up an early season win at Cliff Robbins over the Jewett, Williams and Galassi and also took 5^th at Foundation and 6^th at Paul Short.

14. Connor Harriman, Jr Pennsbury (1 AAA): 10^th/8^th

Connor Harriman had one of the biggest kicks in the state, particularly coming off Poop-Out hill in Hershey. Although Harriman didn’t have the blazing raw mile/800 speed of a Ned Willig, he followed him brilliantly to 10^th in the state. He also was 4^th at Foundation, one spot ahead of Burke, giving him two head to head wins against the guy and jumping him in the rankings.

13. Sam Hibbs, Sr Hatboro Horsham (1 AAA): 13^th/9^th

Although Hibbs didn’t close out this particular season with the state gold he was hoping for, Hibbs still had a pretty darn good state race with his 13^th place finish. He could have easily folded up like many title hopefuls do when they feel its not their day, but Hibbs set the tone for his winter and spring with his determination. Plus, we can’t forget about the high quality wins Hibbs had early in the season on some grueling courses including Centaur, Briarwood and Foundation. Plus he won at Viking and was second at Salesianum.

12. Brent Kennedy, So Kiski (7 AAA): 7^th/4^th

11. Ned Willig, Sr Great Valley (1 AAA): 9^th/2^nd

From Willig’s freshman year, he was one of the biggest talents in District One. He broke 16 minutes at Lehigh as a 9^th grader, joining some very rarified air. But it took Ned some time to figure out how exactly to navigate the Hershey course. He was positioned a bit too far back early in the race at Parkview, but put together a massive second half and a big finishing kick to break into the top 10 in his final XC race. Willig also led Great Valley to second in the district (ahead of North Penn) and second in the Ches-mont thanks to his individual title.

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

9. Tom Coyle, Jr LaSalle (12 AAA): 8^th/1^st

8. Dan Savage, Jr O’Hara (12 AAA): 4^th/2^nd

I went back and forth on these two. Coyle had a second place finish at Carlisle (tops in AAA) as well as two head to head victories at PCL and District 12. But Savage had that 4^th place finish at states to go along with a DELCO win and a blazing fast time at Great American. If you want to place Coyle in the top spot of the pair, I’ve got no issue with it (Coyle absolutely went for it in Hershey and you have to respect it). But ultimately I gave the slightest of nods to Savage for delivering a decisive performance in Hershey.

7. Logan Steiner, Sr North Allegheny (7 AAA): 5^th/1^st

Steiner looked the tiniest bit rocky to start the season with “just” a 5^th place finish at Red, White and Blue and a 5^th place finish at Carlisle, but he rounded into form at the right time. He took care of business at the TSTCA Championships and the WPIAL Championships to win against fields that, while they weren’t as formidable as the 2010 season, still included a number of future state medalists. After a conservative first mile, Steiner put himself in a position to challenge for the state title, but ultimately had to settle for a well earned 5^th and subsequently the 1^st PA spot at Nike Northesat Regionals.

6. Brett Kelly, Sr Boyertown (1 AAA): 3^rd/5^th

Boyertown had two different individual state champions in Jason Weller and Mark Dennin during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Those guys were both stars in the public eye, but Brett Kelly was a different sort of grinder. He never finished better than 5^th in the district championships, but entered the state meet with the confidence that he could run the hills well. He ended up third at states and then, to double down on that success, ended up as PA’s #2 finisher at the Footlocker Northeast Regional, placing 15^th. That’s actually a better regional finish than Weller.

5. Drew Magaha, Sr Upper Moreland (1 AAA): 6^th/1^st

I could write a week’s worth of posts just about Drew Magaha’s career arc. I raced him a couple times back in his Upper Moreland days (well “raced” him) when he was first starting out as a freshman and its crazy to see what he grew to become. From a track perspective, he was an absolute monster, but he ended up pretty good at XC too. Heading into the fall of 2009, I predicted Drew would win the SOL American League title in XC before he ever race an XC race. He ended up taking the victory and qualifying for states as a sophomore. His junior season was similar, winning the SOL title and advancing to Hershey. But neither time was he able to figure things out on the Hershey hills.

After he obliterated records on the track (4:07!), his senior XC season seemed like the time to put it together. He started slow (5^th at Viking, 4^th at Foundation) and then all of a sudden at Salesianum (not an easy course by the way), he ran an all-time great time. He also had one of the largest margins of victory in District One history.

At states, I think he let the leaders go a little too soon and had that classic big kick at the end of the race, but he still took a very strong 6^th place overall which was by far his best state’s finish and a really strong way to round out his distance running resume. I would have liked to have seen him try the Nike Northeast Regional meet (which he said he was considering at some point).

4. Conner Quinn, Jr Hatboro Horsham (1 AAA): 1^st/3^rd

The Conner Quinn state title feels sort of wacky looking back on it and it was definitely a surprise, but there was plenty more evidence that Quinn could take gold than North Penn. He had run at the front of fields most of the season, chasing Hibbs and taking top finishes at major invites like Viking, Centaur, Brairwood, Foundation and Salesianum. All of those were hilly courses and set him well for the state course.

Ironically, he didn’t get his first win of the season until the league championships when he defeated Hibbs for the first time and won the SOL Continental. That was just 2 weeks before the state meet. Quinn was third at districts, but we had seen from his sophomore season that the Hershey course really played to his strengths more so than the mile types around him at Districts (Magaha, Willig and Norris). This proved to be all to true as he executed a near flawless race in the fastest time of the day (16:03 is no joke).

Although Quinn finished as just PA’s 6^th fastest runner at Footlocker Northeast, Conner really went for it from the gun in that race and put himself in the mix for qualifying as long as possible. While he didn’t ultimately hold on, you have to like the heart he showed and the pride he carried with the state gold.

3. Dan Jaskowak, Jr Grove City (10 AAA): 2^nd/ 1^st

I never really bought into the hype around Jaskowak leading up to the state championship, but he would prove at states and his other endeavors that he was legit. Jaskowak’s season included major wins at Red White and Blue, Grove City and Harbor Creek plus the top PA time at Boardman. He blitzed the scene with his 15:24 time at RWB and announced himself as a title contender, but he somewhat disappeared off the big meet landscape after that which make some wary that he was a one hit wonder. But when Jaskowak got to states he came agonizingly close to stealing the state title, but ultimately finished with a silver. At the Footlocker Regional Meet, Jaskowak had his revenge on Quinn by taking 18^th overall and finishing 3^rd for the PA contingent.

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

There will be more to say about Shearn in the 2012 posts when he wraps up his career, but I’ll just say here that Shearn really helped put AA on the map. He raced an aggressive schedule, winning at major invites like PTXC and Carlisle where small school guys often didn’t shine. In my 2010 rankings you may have noticed that I had no AA guys in my top 25 (if Tallada had won states, he likely would have made the list) while this year there were 7! There was a real sense of community among the AA guys and I think Shearn played a big role in that. Plus, he was the state champion.

1. Dustin Wilson, Sr Chesnut Hill Academy (Independent): 1st

Wilson already got his own article, but its worth reiterating here that his 2011 season was truly remarkable. Shrouded in the Independent League for PIAA season, Wilson was absolutely dominate from start to finish. He won at Briarwood and Paul Short, turned in a great performance at Manhattan and then finished off the year with a sub 15:30 All-American run in Van Cortlandt. The clear #1 guy in 2011 and most likely a top 10 guy this decade.