The Sun Rises in the West

Given how the decade ended, it’s hard to believe there was once a time where the big names from Downingtown West didn’t dominate the top of the standings. But in 2008, the emergence of two Whippets youngsters was a fairly unprecedented event. District 1’s 2008 championships is one of the fastest in the meet’s impressive history. The final individual state qualifying spot was 16:01 and the average team to qualify as a team was 16:01. All in all, this didn’t leave much room for a 16:04 runner named Quinn Devlin to advance to states. Even if he was just a freshman.

From the time he was in 9^th grade, Quinn was eager to make an impact against the state’s best. At the Ches-mont championships, Devlin fearlessly charged to the lead pack and stayed in contention for the win until the final mile. It was here that eventual state runner-up Will Kellar would dominate the championship in 16:08. Devlin held his own in 5^th place overall, running 16:34.

One spot ahead of him was a familiar face: his teammate Ian Barnhill. Only a sophomore, Barnhill also ran strong in the Ches-mont Championships with a 4^th place finish before punching a ticket to states at the District Championship. Barnhill’s time was 15:57 off one of the more conservative first miles of the qualifiers (5:05). He finished as the #2 sophomore in the race.

It was an encouraging year for both young stars, but neither was satisfied with their start. A season later, the duo returned to Lehigh hungry for more. It was Barnhill who proved first that he had made a significant leap, giving credence to the oft-repeated “junior jump”. At Paul Short, Barnhill clocked a 15:43 to finish in 4^th overall, just 10 seconds behind the leader and 2 seconds away from the Silver. Devlin was solid as well, taking 14^th with a mark of 16:04. It was the same mark he had produced at the district championship the previous season.

Barnhill topped Devlin again at the Ches-mont championships when he finished 3^rd overall in 16:16. Quinn was only 6^th, a spot worse than the previous season and in a slower time. Not all freshman sensations see improvement. Some stagnate or struggle find their footing. Those nagging doubts had to be weighing on Quinn as he returned to the district championships at Lehigh. If he didn’t show improvement, he would once again be left home during States weekend.

However, it quickly became clear that Devlin had nothing to be fear. He bottled that fearless, front-running style and charged to the front of the field and helped lead the race through the first mile. The time? 5:12.

Just a year after the fastest times Lehigh had produced, a sloppy October day produced some of the slowest times in meet history. Just five runners broke 16 minutes and the state qualifying cut-off was 16:41, a full 40 seconds slower than the prior year.

So when Devlin clocked a 16:08 time, about 4 seconds lower than the prior year, it ended up being a massive success. His mark placed him 8^th overall and tops in his sophomore class, jumping the two guys who had bested him as freshman (Ned Willig and Brett Kelly). Devlin was also the second fastest runner from the Ches-mont behind only two-time league champion Will Kellar.

This positive momentum carried Devlin though not just the State Championship (where he placed 41^st), but also through the Footlocker Northeast Regional where Quinn crossed the line as PA’s 9^th finisher. It set up Devlin as one of the rising stars for the 2010 season.

Barnhill, on the other hand, was less fortunate. He punched a ticket to a second straight state championship (placing 26^th), but did not finish the race in Hershey after running in the mid-60s through two miles.

After a pair of interesting seasons the prior year, experts didn’t know exactly what to do with this pair as the early 2010 state championship predictions began to take shape. While each runner had shown flashes of their potential at various points, early rankings showed a long list of runners ahead of them. For starters, the current senior class was projected to be stacked with top runners coming from every corner of the state. In addition, the 2010 outdoor track season had showcased some truly remarkable times and these rising stars were freshest in everyone’s mind.

It wasn’t until the end of September that the DT West duo reminded everyone exactly how strong they were as runners. The pair traveled to the always competitive Carlisle Invitational and lined up alongside an utterly stacked field that included top athletes from both in and out of state. Top runners like Wade Endress, Ryan Gil and Martin Hehir were each sizing each other up on the start line. But when the gun sounded, it was Quinn Devlin who surprised them all and went to the front. The junior ran a bold, front-running race and surged out quickly, leading until about half way through the race. Even then, he clung within the pack and clocked a sub 16 minute mark. He finished ahead of state title contenders Jacob Kildoo and Reece Ayers and was only 2 seconds back from North Allegheny’s Ryan Gil.

Devlin had announced he was ready to run with the big boys and did emphatically, with his first sub 16 in a major invitational.

A week later, it was off to Paul Short to see if the performance could be repeated. Conditions were not perfect at Lehigh, especially after six college races shredded the grass to pieces.  The big names were sizing each other up a bit at the beginning. Devlin tucked it in this time, running with teammate Ian Barnhill just off the leaders’ shoulders.

After a somewhat painful finish to his Carlisle race, Devlin wanted to try another strategy in this invitational. He made sure to keep the leaders within an arm’s length. After the long climb in the back cornfield, he made his move and surged ahead of the previously tight pack. But in the final straightaway, Reece Ayers found that little extra spark that he hadn’t possessed a week earlier and unloaded a kick for the gold. Quinn settled for a well-deserved Silver medal and another new PR.

In both races, Barnhill was just a few spots back. He added a sub 16 at Paul Short with his 6^th place finish to round out a great start to his season. But after the prior year, the senior knew that the most important stretch of his season was right around the corner.

The duo completed a quick 3200 on the track (9:35 for Barnhill, 9:36 for Devlin) before toeing the line at the Ches-mont championships. Battling tooth and nail with Henderson’s front-running duo of Bryan Andrews and Austin Stecklair, both boys were treated to new course-bests in Westtown. Devlin was once again under 16 minutes, running 15:55, but once again earning a silver. Barnhill took 4^th in a very quick 16:09.

Feeling confident, the DT West boys got their rematch with Henderson at Districts. While they had each lost to their closest Henderson opponent at Leagues, Devlin beat Bryan Andrews by one spot en route to a third place finish at D1 (dropping to 15:34) and Barnhill beat Ches-mont champ Stecklair with his 15:47. The two runners both placed in the top 6 overall at the district championship in what was perhaps their best combined result of their careers. Only states in Hershey remained.

Unfortunately, the State Course has taken many victims and the 2010 DT West duo was not necessarily immune. The typically aggressive Devlin suffered a fall early in the race which knocked him back from his desired front-running position and out of the top medal contenders. He and Barnhill were 47^th and 49^th through the first mile. The quick front-running at the top of the field didn’t slow as Devlin tried to rally back into a medal position. By the 2-mile, he had climbed to 28^th place and could see the last medal spot just ahead. But Barnhill was now the one who leading the Whippet charge. Finding something in his legs, the senior charged up to 22^nd place overall.

The pace was absolutely break-neck and the final mile was a war of attrition. Barnhill started to slip as the grueling second mile up the Aloha Hills finally wore him out. He faded to 65^th place in the final standings. That left Devlin as the only hope for a medal. He was able to make a few passes and as he charged through just behind Korey Replogle, it was unclear exactly where he had finished. The final results revealed that he had finished in the dreaded 26^th spot: one place outside the medal stand.

There’s little like the heartbreak of states. For Barnhill and Devlin, the Hershey race would not only be the last XC race they would contest together, but would in time prove to be both of their last ever high school Cross Country races. Although Devlin was a junior with big potential, he would suffer an injury prior to the next fall and not be able to come back to try and get on the medal stand. In fact, it wouldn’t be until Henry Sappey placed 10^th in 2014 that DT West finally got their first state medal of the decade (and then 10 more individual medals after that).

It is impossible to not wonder what could have happened in the 2011 XC season had Devlin been healthy. He was on the rise his junior season and chasing the top finishers in the state. The 2011 XC season ended up being a wacky affair (we’ll get to that in due time) and maybe Devlin could have brought some order to things with a dominate stretch run to his career. But ultimately, in a sport that is often filled with “what ifs”, I don’t look at Quinn’s career under that lens. The guy was a gamer, who left his heart on the course and accomplished a lot more than most state medalists ever dream.

Even though they didn’t end the season with a piece of medal hanging around their neck, it is impossible to look back at the 2010 season and not notice the outstanding marks these Whippets put together. While Devlin grabbed many headlines and ran fantastic, consistent times at all of the major invitationals, Barnhill was just behind, assembling his own impressive resume. For a school that had not made much dent in the Ches-mont league at the time, DT West’s duo was a beacon of light that would shine down on the next generation.

A generation that, ironically, ended with another Barnhill leading the team to state gold.