The XC Top 50: #50-41

by Jarrett Felix

*I apologize in advance for any incorrect spellings, class years or classifications. Hope you enjoy!*

50. Dan Quigley, Sr Freedom (11 AAA)

Quigley had a very impressive cross country season last year as a Junior that included top twenty finishes in loaded fields at both Carlisle and Paul Short (the latter producing a sub 16 PR). He was also third at the District 11 Championships behind only eventual state medalists Colin Abert and Kevin Lapsansky of Easton. On the hills of Hershey, Quigley capped his season nicely with a solid 38^th place finish at the AAA state championships[1].

Quigley was nonexistent during track season, a fact which is less concerning when you couple it with the fact that his sophomore year was the exact same way (maybe he plays another sport?). There also could be injury concerns here. A year ago, Freedom suffered through a variety of injuries to top runners, crippling their chances of a legit run at states so my hope is that Quigley hasn’t suffered at all from the bug. On the flipside, Freedom has proven it’s a strong program with some runners on the rise. Most notable, Quigley should have Will Aplaugh (4:23 this spring and honorable mention status for this list) to help push him in practice and races. That’s a huge benefit.

Overall, Quigley was an absolute monster during XC a year ago. His season was consistently strong on a variety of big stages. I love his cross country resume, but I would have liked to have seen a few track results from him this past spring. I think a well-rounded running year can play a huge role in developing a runner and helping them reach their full potential.

49. Dan Filler, Sr Gettysburg (3 AA)

Filler was very strong during the stretch run of Cross Country, including a 4^th place finish at his YAIAA League Championships, a 2^nd place mark at the District 3 Championships (ahead of Jack DiCintio and Kyle Shinn among others) and then a medal at the AA State Championships (20^th). He added a solid 9:42 for 3200m on the track.

Filler comes from a sneaky good program (the Beegle brothers were both medalists in AAA) and potentially could have even better his 20^th place finish at the state championships if he wasn’t suffering from the District 3 double run at Hershey (he ran fantastically at Districts). The AA scene was loaded a year ago, but, on paper at least, things appear to be thinning out. That could open the door for a big breakthrough for Filler.

48. Jack Carmody, Sr Rustin (1 AAA)

Carmody started the year quietly for a an upstart Rustin team and struggled in the spotlight at Paul Short. However, Jack found his momentum at the perfect timing piecing together a stretch run of 5^th at Chesmonts, 12^th at Districts and then 37^th at States. On the track he added marks of 9:44 and 4:32.

Carmody was very impressive a year ago on the trails and should benefit from racing in the always competitive Chesmont league. Losing Senior leader and 4:22 1600m runner Jimmy Cook will hurt, but Rustin still should have some nice pieces to help push Jack in practice. The stretch run he put together at the end of the fall showcases just how good he can be. Now he just has to prove he can recapture that magic.

47. Liam Galligan, Jr Springfield DELCO (1 AAA)

Galligan cracked the top 50 at states a year ago as just a sophomore with a 49^th place finish at states, just a week after he placed 30^th at Districts. That’s an impressive jump. He also was 3^rd at Central Leagues (a league that included district champ Conestoga) and 5^th at DELCOs (that included Cardinal O’Hara).

But Galligan’s track season is probably what gives me the most confidence in him going forward. He ran 4:20 for 1600m as just a sophomore and qualified for the indoor state championships in the mile. Running at the state finals and facing a loaded district 1600m field gives him a level of experience few sophomores have had before. He still has to prove his speed transfers well to the trails, but I have no doubt the potential is there for a break out season.

46. Seth Slavin, Jr Pleasant Valley (11 AAA)
Seth Slavin and Liam Galligan finished side by side at states this past fall with Slavin getting the edge in 48^th over Galligan’s 49^th and again the two finish side by side in the rankings. Slavin did not quite match Liam’s track times, but still produced marks of 4:31 and 9:44 (plus some impressive indoor marks at 3200m and 3k). He hasn’t showcased the speed to match Galligan, but he has displayed excellent strength.

Last fall, Slavin had an impressive sophomore campaign, especially on difficult and hilly courses. He was 2^nd at the Centaur Invitational on the Hilly DeSales course (behind only Casey Comber I believe), he was 4^th at EPCs (ahead of Quigley) and then 6^th at Districts. Perhaps most importantly, Slavin ran his was to 1^st overall in the frosh/soph race at Footlocker Northeast Regionals. That impressive performance is what gave him the edge in my mind over the other runners close to him on this list.

45. PJ Murray, Sr Conestoga (1 AAA)

Over the last two years, Conestoga has enjoyed tremendous success in both cross country and track and field. Although they have had some strong squads in the past (near state qualifier in 2010, a variety of solid 800m type performances), 2014-2015 was truly outstanding. On the year, Stoga grabbed a district one title, earned the silver medal at XC states, took second indoors in the DMR, won the Colonial Relays and qualified for Penn.

However, this upcoming season should be a true test of their depth as essentially all of their key pieces from their two year run among the state’s elite have graduated. PJ Murray is the only member of last year’s top seven who is back this year and he will have to carry the load as a front runner if Stoga wants to stay relevant this year. The good news is that Murray is a pretty good runner to lean on at the top. He was the team’s #2 man at states last year in what I believe was his first time running the course (if memory serves he was an XC rookie last year). He was 52^nd at States and 21^st at Districts last year and added in a 4:23 1600m PR as well as a 4:26 full mile indoors to bolster his resume.

Murray has great potential as a Senior who is still relatively inexperienced in cross country. However, it will be interesting to see how he handles the loss of so many top flight training partners.

44. Nick Feffer, Jr State College (6 AAA)

One of the coolest stories from 2015 was the State College 4x800m relay. A year after they won the state title and broke a historic school record, the team turned around with four entirely new runners and broke the record again, running a stunning 7:41.50. Although Alex Milligan’s breakout Junior season played a big role in the team’s success, sophomore Nick Feffer’s emergence as the #2 leg may have been the difference maker. He split a 1:54 at the state meet.

Feffer’s speed and ability to perform in the clutch on the relay are not in question (1:56/1:54 splits indoors and outdoors at states), but relative to some of the other names on this list, his long distance credentials are less well-known. Feffer ran a 4:25 1600m at the District 6 Championship as part of a busy weekend and was also third overall last year at the XC D6 Championships (behind only Alex Milligan and Brad Foust who both have medaled at XC states in the past). He also finished 20^th at Mid Penns a year ago. However, Feffer finished just 76^th at states (I think he may have fallen) and 37^th at Pre States.

 I think that I have seen some excellent potential for Feffer to translate his track success to the trails, especially as he makes the sophomore to junior jump and trains alongside proven contender Alex Milligan. Keep in mind Feffer was the #2 frosh at AAA states in 2013, behind only 2014 medalist Ryan James.

43. Grayson Hepp, Sr GFS (Independent)

Our first independent leaguer of the list! Grayson Hepp is fresh off an excellent track season that included a 1:57 800m and a clutch 1200m leg on the GFS DMR at indoor states. Hepp is also a 4:24 miler from his sophomore outdoor season and clocked 9:26 for 3200m on the track last fall. On the trials, was 36^th at Paul Short and grabbed 9^th at Independent States on the hilly Belmont course.

Hepp comes from a program that has produced stars in the past (Nike Northeast Team Qualifiers in 2009, PA’s top team in 2007) and will have the luxury of training with Nick Dahl who just ran the equivalent of 8:58 for 3200m at Nationals. Hepp clearly has the talent and the speed, now he just has to translate that into consistent performances away from the track.

42. Gabriel Allgayer, Sr Mercersburg Academy (Independent)

The Mercersburg Academy Senior is coming off a solid track season that included runs of 4:31 and 9:40 for 3200m. He was also fifth this past cross country season at Independent States behind only Ritz, Josh Hoey, McDevitt and Dahl which is a pretty strong top four. Allgayer’s biggest run came at Paul Short when he won the white race in an impressive time of 15:50.

Allgayer is from a lesser known school in an often overlooked league who, as far as I can tell, didn’t have much of an indoor season (which is the prime opportunity for independent runners to showcase their ability because outdoors/XC they do not compete at PIAAs). That will inevitably hurt his ranking. However, the few times he was able to get in the right race against strong competition he produced some impressive times and performances. He’s a sleeper this season.

41. Zach Skolnekovich, Jr Quaker Valley (7 AA)

Skolnekovich has been a cross country stud ever since his freshman year when he finished 12^th at the state championships in cross country. Last year, Skolnekovich added a 16:00 5k time as well as a district seven championship to his resume on the grass as just a sophomore. He finished 12^th at states again as a sophomore, but the field was arguably more impressive than it had been a year earlier.

Skolnekovich is still young, which makes the fact that he has already placed in the top 12 at states on four separate occasions pretty impressive. If he can make another leap this year, he could be extremely strong. He ran a PR of 9:40 for 3200m on the track this spring in a loaded D7 race which also a positive sign. It also doesn’t hurt that Quaker Valley has a pretty impressive history as a AA powerhouse.

PS Next list will be posted tomorrow at (my favorite event in meters divided by 100):(the "lowest" number ranking in the next round of 10 posted) PM

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[1] The way Hershey is set up, the hills and tight packs set things up for some crazy, somewhat fluky performances. As a general rule, I consider the AAA Top 50 as the “fluke cut off”, meaning that I pay special attention to runners with Top 50 finishes and don’t put much stock in anything outside of that.