The Most Underappreciated Runner This Decade?

In the late 2000s, District 10 was the powerhouse of AA distance running. In 2007, North East stormed the state to an XC championship before following it up with a 4x800 title. The next XC season, District 10 took 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th and 9^th individually at States. The 9^th place finisher, who had been their district champion, went on to run 4:10 and 1:52 at the same state championship as Sam Havko finished faster than the AAA winner in both contests.

Watching these runners rise to success was Saegertown freshman Nate Tallada. Running at a small school within the district, Tallada first turned heads his freshman season when he won the Penn State Behrend Invitational. Then, against a loaded field, Tallada took 5^th at the 2008 Sharpsville Invite in a time of 16:21. Although Tallada was 6^th at the D10 championships that year, the unbelievable depth at Buhl Park was made evident when he finished 12^th at states a week later. Overall, it was one of the most impressive freshman campaigns the district had seen.

A year later, Tallada returned to the trails with that extra bit of strength and experience. Most of the D10 talent had graduated in front of him, but one large threat remained. Alex Beardsley of fabled North East was the top returner in AA and proved his potential immediately with a win at Foundation and a sub-16 mark at Sharpsville. Tallada put up a valiant fight against Beardsley, but ultimately finished a distant second.

But Tallada would get a rematch at the District Championships. Going head to head with the state title favorite, Tallada pulled off a fantastic upset and defeated Beardsley for the surprise district title. Conditions, as they often were, were sloppy at Buhl Park, but the gold medal is not awarded based on fast times. With the victory under his arm, Tallada entered the state championship looking to better his top 12 finish from the prior year. Given his success against one of the state’s best at Districts, it wasn’t crazy to think he could challenge for a spot in the top 5. Perhaps even win the title.

On race day in Hershey it seemed he was perhaps a year away. The Saegertown sophomore was in 7^th at two miles and in the mix with the lead pack, but ultimately ended up in 10^th at the finish. He ended the day as the #4 returner in the state and would end up elevated to the #3 spot when fellow sophomore Aaron Wilkinson was elevated to AAA the following fall.

Tallada had likely been dreaming bigger than a 10^th place finish at states after the win at districts, but the fire was really lit inside him after the 2010 track state championships. Tallada ran a phenomenal race at Shippensburg, dropping a 4:25 1600 in the trials. Typically, that kind of time not only gets you into the finals, but in contention for a medal. However, Tallada’s time was not fast enough to advance him to the state finals. Mike Bedell, who finished one spot ahead of him in his heat, claimed the last finals spot.

One of the breakout stars of that 1600 final was North East freshman Ryan Smathers. After delivering a fantastic leg on the team’s 4x8, Smathers placed sixth in the state championship final as a 9^th grader. This drew the eyes of many runner fans and made Smathers a hot sleeper pick in what was shaping up to be a wide open 2010 XC State Championship battle.

Somehow, everyone was overlooking the defending district champion. But Tallada wouldn’t have to wait long to remind people about his talent. Nate began his junior season with his best ever performance at the McDowell Invitational where he defeated Smathers to take the gold medal. Then he won the Big Red Invitational before traveling to the PIAA’s Foundation Invite and handling a loaded field of title hopefuls. In a matter of moments, the narrative had shifted back toward Tallada and the junior was ready to put the state on notice.

After wins at Rocky Grove and the D10 Region 3 meet, Tallada ran his best ever time on Buhl Park by outdueling Smathers for a second straight District 10 title. His time of 16:11 was just enough to slip by the speedster Smathers who finished at 16:13. Things were setting up perfectly for redemption in Hershey.

When the runners began to traverse the Parkview layout, Tallada followed a familiar foe. Ryan Smathers stormed aggressively to the start and put the pressure on his opponents. The sophomore led through two miles in a blistering pace and dared anyone to follow. Tallada was following at a safe distance, running within the pack. He was 4^th at the mile and 5^th at two-miles, but seemingly well within himself among the pack of standouts. As Smathers began to fade, the door opened for Tallada to grab his title.

But disaster struck. Sometimes the legs don’t cooperate with the mind, especially on the Hershey hills. Leaving the back part of the course, Tallada struggled to hang on to his position and in a devastating turn, the state title hopeful drifted all the way back to 19^th in the final standings. Tommy Gruschow of Trinity ended up the champion as District 3 had knocked off the D10 powerhouses for a 3^rd straight season.

After a trip to the Footlocker Regional meet, another season was in the books for the Saegertown standout. Now only one was left. Still, Nate was a two-time district champion with a plethora of big race victories. He’d be back and he’d be a contender once again. But some of the swagger Tallada had during his early years in high school had faded a bit.

The 2011 XC season started very slow for Tallada. He was not among the early contenders for state gold and, in fact, he was not even the best runner on his own team. Hunter Johnston, a junior from Saegertown, came storming out the gates with a 16:01 time at the Red, White and Blue Invitational. Tallada was just 31^st in that race and 11^th at McDowell.

But Nate would eventually reignite the spark. He had decided to pace himself this season and try to save his best running for the end of the year. Things began to click at the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Invite, where Tallada ran a blistering sub 16 time. He finished 4^th, competing valiantly with three of the top competitors in the Pittsburgh Area (Ean DiSilvio, Mike Runco and Alex Moran).

Shortly thereafter Tallada claimed his fourth straight D10 Region 3 title with a 16:09 at Dempseytown, easily his fastest performance in this meet over the course of his career. This set him up for a return to Buhl Park and yet another showdown with a top runner from North East. Ryan Smathers was waiting anxiously for Tallada, trying to reclaim the D10 title for his high school.

Conditions were terrible and there was even discussion about changing the race to a road race. But Tallada thrives on this stuff. He had won in slow conditions as a sophomore and he was ready to handle them again today. Smathers and Maplewood sophomore Jeremy Parsons took the race out hard as Tallada waited, running the early mile behind Hunter Johnston. But as the race progressed, Tallada sensed the moment and surged at the right time, putting away his competition for a third straight title.

Tallada’s three year stretch of district championships is not unprecedented, but it’s incredibly rare, especially in a district like this 10. Conditions are unpredictable in late October and no three year stretch is without some type of madness on the course. It not only takes a unique physical talent to defeat the depth of small schools in the district, but it takes a sharp mental state to bring your best stuff regardless of the conditions.

Although Tallada had once dreamed of state gold, it was not meant to be. The 2011 season in AA proved to be the year of the up and coming talent. Brendan Shearn led a buzz-saw of juniors across the Hershey Hills and into the shoot. Nate, instead, ran his own race and it ended up working out pretty well. Tallada finished in 9^th position, his best ever finish at Hershey. His time of 16:45 was almost 20 seconds better than the time he ran to finish 10^th two years earlier. It was just a different class of talent in AA in 2011.

The career of Nate Tallada may end up forgotten, especially considering the era of AA talent that followed immediately on the heels of his epic peak. But Nate was truly a phenomenal runner and one of the best runners that District 10 has seen.

A few years later, Saegertown finally got to see that state gold. The freshman and sophomores on the team that Tallada captained saw first hand what it took to be the best and eventually rose to the tops of class A in 2013 with one of the most impressive state championship victories of any classification. But we’ll get to that.

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