The 2010 Season in Review: AAA

The 2009 Team Championships were a thrilling back and forth affair with 4 teams all vying for state gold. In 2010, it seemed we could an equally exciting championship, if for no other reason than none of the top teams seemed to be bring much back. Each of the top three teams were losing at least three scorers and no other top 10 teams returned an inspiring herd. Altoona, fourth in 2009, was cast as the favorite with North Allegheny waiting in the wings behind them. NA barely returned anything, but they did have an incoming transfer, Logan Steiner, who had medaled at states for Meadville the previous fall.

While there was plenty of doubts about the top teams, no one had reservations about the individuals. Ryan Gil of North Allegheny was a heavy early favorite after he not only qualified for the Footlocker National Championships, but added a 9:03 3200m on the track. Gil was a member of the loaded class of 2010 that had two years earlier put four sophomores on the medal stand. Alongside Gil was Wade Endress of Altoona, Jacob Kildoo of Grove City and Reece Ayers of Tunkhannock. The remaining power districts each had a prime contender as well in Chris Campbell (D1), Logan Mohn (D3) and Tom Trainer (D12).

Wade Endress, and by extension Altoona, made it clear from the start that they intended to do whatever it took to be the best. The boys schedule included PTXC (where Endress would race Logan Mohn), Carlisle, (Gil, Kildoo, Trainer and Ayers), Steel City (Campbell) and Tri States (North Hills Monster). Who was a whose who of Pre-Season favorites. Would this team be up to the challenge?

In early September, Altoona answered with an emphatic “Yes”. They rolled to victory at the Big Valley Invitational and then followed that with a win at PTXC. The squad knew they needed someone to fill the space between Endress and the pack and the man to do looked to be junior Korey Replogle. He finished 3^rd and 4^th in the team’s two opening contests. Tyler Lidwell was also off to a hot start for the reigning District Champions.

Individually, Endress looked as sharp as ever. He rolled to wins in each of the first two invitationals. However, the headlines in the opening week of the season were dominated by the WPIAL. Not only did North Allegheny come out looking better than ever, but North Hills senior Zach Hebda had absolutely torched the Red, White and Blue course to announce that he might be the guy to beat in 2010. Gil was bested by both Hebda and last year’s 5^th place finisher from states Joe Kush.

Endress would get his own shot at Gil at the Carlisle Invite on September 25^th and Altoona would find out if they were deserving of that #1 state ranking. Endress ran aggressive at Carlisle and finished as the #1 PA runner in the field, taking second overall in 15:43. Tom Trainer of LaSalle was third across the line and then it was Ryan Gil in fourth. Overall, the Carlisle race featured 13 of the 25 AAA runners who would eventually take medals at states later that year.

While Gil was unable to assert his dominance individually, his team had no problem. The posted a winning score of 114 that knocked off Altoona comfortably by 47 points. The Gil-Steiner punch combined with their usual deep stock of pack-runners was too much to handle. That being said, Altoona held their own through the first 4 runners (77 vs 74 from NA) and could have used Patrick Reade (out with illness) in the rotation on race day to help narrow the gap.

We had to wait a bit to see what the next chapter of the team battle would feature. But individually, the top athletes were throwing haymakers. At Paul Short, Reece Ayers beat out Quinn Devlin (one spot behind Gil at Carlisle), Ed Schrom and eventual Independent State Champion Dustin Wilson in order to grab the gold medal. Zach Hebda and Joe Kush continued to fly across the west, rolling to the victory at Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Chris Campbell unseated Wade Endress from the #1 spot in the Etrain rankings with an emphatic win at the Steel City Invitational. Jacob Kildoo, Tom Trainer and Hatboro Horsham’s Sam Hibbs all added some notable wins as well as the state prepared for championship season.

The most eventful meet of the season was the Tri State Championships at Coopers Lake on October 21^st. Not only did it establish the North Hills monster as a full-grown beast when Silenieks, Hebda and Kush swept the top spots ahead of Wade Endress, but it also shook up the team landscape. With Ryan Gil out due to a toe injury, Baldwin shocked North Allegheny for the team championship. Even if Gil had raced, Baldwin still likely would have won the title. Altoona was third, finishing just behind the Gil-less North Allegheny Tigers. Although their top 4 all placed in the first 20 overall, they didn’t quite have the #5 needed to contend at the highest level.

Meanwhile, on the Eastern part of the state, one program on the rise and one unkillable creature were beginning to ascend. At the Ches-mont Championships, West Chester Henderson made their first PA-soil appearance. After wowing in New Jersey, the defending state champions rolled to a league title with 25 points. Austin Steckliar grabbed the individual gold as well in a very quick 15:53 to defeat 2010 breakout star Quinn Devlin. Two days later, at the famed Belmont Plateau, there was a changing of the guard. O’Hara, who had already made a statement by obliterating the field at Foundation, became PCL champions over LaSalle (the team that shook up the PIAA the prior two years). Chris Garrity led the way with an individual championship of his own, beating Tom Trainer by 15 seconds.

At Districts, these two schools were victorious again. Henderson in particular looked lethal. They won a second straight district title by score 73 points. They finished with 4 in the top 20 and a fifth at 32^nd overall. It was a freshman, Reiny Barchet, who turned the most heads with a fantastic 14^th place finish in 16:05. After three straight easy victories, the defending state champions were the favorites for states.

But North Allegheny did manage to claw back some momentum. The Tigers defeated Baldwin in a rematch, helped in large part by the return of their super star Ryan Gil. The wounded athlete finished an impressive fourth at WPIALs behind the North Hills monster despite a conservative start. He was closing rapidly over the final 1k, indicating he might be able to mix it up for a top three finish at states.

But Gil had missed a lot of time due to training. It was later revealed his toe was broken and he had only transitioned from pool workouts to actual running a couple days before districts. So it was no surprise that on State Championship Saturday, Gil sat back at the start and let the others dictate the terms. At the mile, Gil was in 17^th place. Zach Hebda and Juris Silenieks, two of the favorites, were in the lead spots. Wade Endress followed them as did Chris Campbell, who had just become District One champion, and Alex Izewski of CB East.

Gil’s North Allegheny teammates seemed to take the same approach as he did. The Tigers were in just fourth place at the mile marker and Logan Steiner, the fifth place finisher at both Leagues and Districts, was buried in 71^st place. They consistently relied on him finishing not far behind Gil in order to win the big meets. He had some big ground to make up.

Henderson was first in the standings with 125 points despite the fact that the team didn’t look like they were exerting themselves much. Their top six runners were all within 10 seconds of one another and the pack seemed ready to shine. Altoona was in second, only 10 points back of Henderson. Endress helped the cause with his first position in the team standings, but their top 5 runners were all off to great starts.

Mile two at Hershey is where the race really starts to take shape. The hills have started to take their toll and the ambitious starters have begun to pay for their mistakes. Henderson was still in the lead, boasting a score of 131, but North Allegheny had moved up into second place and now only trailed by 14 points. Logan Steiner had done exactly what he needed to do, moving up to 19^th place and continuing to close. Now it was time for the rest of the pack to make its move. Henderson’s #3 and #4 runners were in 20^th and 31^st respectively. That was still a long ways away for North Allegheny’s corresponding 3-4. Altoona sat in third place in the standings, Endress and Replogle both in medal positions, but Mountain and Lidwell each starting to fade a bit. Patrick Reade was giving a strong performance at the #5 spot.

Baldwin and Cardinal O’Hara, two pre-meet favorites, were starting to sneak into the picture as well. Both teams were still over 200 points in total, but they had moved to 6^th and 5^th in the standings. O’Hara had experience on this course and they could sense the opportunity opening up for pack to make a surge.

Individually, the race was completely wide open. The top runners had all begun to eye each other up as the leaders traded positions. At the two mile split, it was Reece Ayers who had the lead. Ayers had already placed in the top 10 twice at states and this year he wanted a little extra. Jacob Kildoo of Grove City flanked behind him. Then Wade, Juris and Hebda. Gil was in 7^th, Chris Campbell following just behind in 8^th. Then, expertly timing his move, Gil made a surge. His tactical savvy that made him a great racer would not diminish because of stubbed toe. His mind was too sharp. The top five athletes began to break away from the field. Gil, Endress and Kildoo, Hebda and Campbell. Ultimately, the jump that Gil had gotten on his competitors was enough to hold on for the victory. Endress kicked it for second, fighting off the late charges of Hebda and Campbell. Then Kildoo came home to complete an epic 5 runners under 16 minutes on the fabled Hershey hills. It would take some time before this result could be bested.

Logan Steiner crossed the line in 13^th place overall, coming across before any runner from Henderson, Baldwin or O’Hara. North Allegheny’s top two runners had come through. Now it was up to their pack to deliver. Bryan Andrews was Henderson’s first runner across the line, taking 16^th place. Austin Stecklair was next, just two spots outside the medals. Altoona ended up with two runners in the medals as Korey Replogle delivered a 25^th place finish as a junior. That meant three teams had two guys already in the clubhouse, each from a top 3 team at the two-mile standings.

Henderson was excited to see their guy next as Tim Collins crossed in 51^st place. But only two seconds later, Tim Appman of North Allegheny was in the shoot, making up over 15 seconds on Collins in the final mile. With no sign of a third runner for Altoona, it seemed like this race was officially down to two teams. Henderson punched back again with their star freshman Reiny Barchet crossing in 63^rd. There was a full 6 seconds behind him and the Tiger’s #4 man Tyler Nicotra. With four runners in for both sides, the standings showed NA at 75 and Henderson at 82. The Tigers had a small cushion, but the Warriors could still steal it.

While they waited anxiously, O’Hara’s #4 runner crossed the line. Their pack had clearly made up ground, but the firepower outfront wasn’t quite enough to get them in the state title discussion. Baldwin got a third home. Altoona was still looking for their #3.

And then, Mike Meehan, the youngest runner on the North Allegheny varsity squad, came sprinting through traffic. He crossed the line at 17:20 and cemented the title for the Tigers. Meehan finished as the best #5 runner for any team in the state, showing once again that depth is king in cross country. Henderson did just enough to cling to the silver medals as their #6 man from districts, Mike Salach, produced a strong file mile to make sure that O’Hara couldn’t close down on them.

Baldwin finished in 4^th place and Altoona 5^th, both teams swapping their positions from the state championships a year earlier. Just six points separated the two programs this time around. Altoona’s Pat Reade ran a great race to keep his team in the mix and stave off the surprise of the day in Tunkhannock who was just 1 point away from one of the most improbable top 5 finishes in state history.

After a truly gutsy front-running style, the boys from Mount Lebanon took home 7^th place. They had four juniors and two sophomores on their varsity squad, putting them on the short list for favorites in the 2011 addition of the championships.

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