Weekend 1, A Preview

By Jarrett Felix

It’s almost time for the opening weekend of the PA High School XC Season. Although I don’t have any all-time lists at my disposal, I have tried to come up with some of the key story lines going into each of these meets. It’s some classic etrain analysis that I hope you will enjoy ...

 

 Viking Invitational

Obviously this is the big meet in Week 1 (it almost always is), and of course this year it’s especially big because it will feature the defending state champ, Jake Brophy, as he begins what could be an historic season for PA. If he simply cracks the Top 10 at Footlocker this Spring it would be PA’s best finish in a long, long time.

But I’m more interested in the names behind him. If Souderton, Pennridge and CB West all do show up to the invite, we could see an excellent battle between the top suburban one continental runners, including Connor McMenamin, Tucker Desko and Rock Fortna. I think all three of these guys have the potential to be sub 16 by season’s end (Fortna and McMenamin were that level last year) and I think this will be a nice test to see how they stack up. Pennridge has not really had a super star in XC, they have excelled much more on the track so this could be a big step in the right direction if Desko can prove himself week one. Also CB West has a nice pack of guys who could challenge this group (how will Brian Mass run this year?) and maybe even Josh Goetz can jump into the mix, closing the gap on training partner Brophy.

The other compelling story line here is CRN and Hatboro Horsham. Historically, these are two of the best programs not named Henderson in District One and basically every year they have an individual medalist at states (very hard to accomplish). This year, with Arita and Comber graduating, it’s unclear who will be the leader of either team. The smart money says someone will emerge from both teams over the next few months to become medal contenders, but who will it be? Should be fun to see who takes the first steps this weekend.

Gateway

The Gateway Invitational is a fun early season meet out West. I get the impression it’s a pretty difficult course so that’s probably why a grinder like Jake Susalla took the title a year ago. Susalla has suddenly become one of the favorites for the WPIAL title after an excellent Junior campaign, which could be quite a bit of pressure for the runner from Plum. I’ll be watching to see how he responds in his first race.

I also am very excited to watch Baldwin run. Baldwin has a pretty impressive history in the WPIAL and arguably came the closest of any team to knocking North Allegheny of their pedestal during the 2009-2010 seasons (Lebo also came close in 2011). I think they may be on the upswing again behind Casey Conboy, their talented front runner, but only times will tell.

You like that line? Well I thought it was clever …

LVC

St. Joe’s Prep has quietly been an outstanding program, particularly on the track. They often get swallowed up among LaSalle and O’Hara in the PCL, but if they return to this meet they could have a nice moment for themselves. Joe Piscano is really underrated as an XC beast for Prep. He had a strong season last year with quality runs at Pre States and Paul Short in addition to PCLs and Districts (and this meet where he was 2^nd behind teammate Isiah Fisher). I’m also holding out hope that 1:54 man Stephen McClellan will run for the XC team and make an impact.

Lions Invite

This isn’t a meet I’m particularly familiar with, but I will be keeping an eye on which small school D11 teams appear to be stepping up. I also want to see what Joe Espinal can do for Wilson. He’s an unreal talent who could become a state medal winner in AA if he can figure out the grass the way he has figured out the track. He will be a senior this year so he should be stronger than ever.

Cliff Robbins

All eyes will be on Dominic Hockenbury at this meet (and rightfully so) to see if he can match his clocking from last year (15:50ish). He won last year’s meet by almost a minute and there doesn’t seem to be a logical challenger to step in and narrow that gap (2^nd place was multiple state medalist Nate Morgan from Lakeland). So it should be Hock vs the clock (possibly a theme in 2015, plus it rhymes so even better).

That’s fun, but it’s not as exciting to me as watching a couple potential state title teams battle it out. Northeast Bradford may be back in attendance. They are a powerhouse in the A division and are hungry to get back on the podium this fall. And then there is Dallas, a super young team with a lot of spunk and tremendous upside. They could be the story of the weekend if things break right.

McDowell

This race should be really fun, even if it may not have some of the “star power” on paper. A squad Seneca will take to the trails and start a season that could potential end with district and state titles in their division. The Meyers twins are studs who could make the sophomore to junior jump this fall. I’m interested to see if they have improved their depth behind them to become legit contenders.

We also might get a peak at a fantastic sophomore battle as three of the state’s best frosh last year (Noah Beveridge, Logan Caruso and Christian Babo) all may end up in attendance (also McDowell’s own Zimmerman could be in the mix).

Lock Haven

Admittedly, I don’t know too much about this meet (I think it’s mixed in with a College meet?), but I will be watching is the match up between the small school D6 teams. Eli Urban, teammate of state medalist and sub 4:20 man Brian Hackman, is a sleeper to make noise this year, but he will likely have to deal with Bishop McCourt’s Jacob Shulte, among others.

Enos Yeager

I believe this course is listed as 2.35 miles, which means times will literally mean nothing out there on race day. That’s XC at it’s finest. With the departure of Brehm, D’Angelo and Dyche, Carlisle looks vulnerable within the district 3 rankings after a pair of strong seasons. Matt Wisner, the 800m stand out this past spring, will look to usher in a new era of Carlisle XC and prove he can handle the trails as well as he handles the track. He gets a nice test in XC vet Dan Filler of Gettysburg.

Also keep an eye on Chambersburg. They are a sleeper contender for a state qualifying spot out of D3 and I believe they are the hosts for this meet, which means home field advantage is in play.

McKeesport

I have to brush up on McKeesport Trail Run history, but keep an eye on West Mifflin as a team in this one. I’m interested to see if they can repeat their performance from a year ago.

Cal Invite

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like historically Mt Lebanon has dominated this meet. They handled the course very well last year and appear set up to do it again with another great squad on paper. I’m interested to see how Gunzenhauser handles this difficult lay out considering his biggest successes thus far have been on the track. I am also curious to see how Brandenstein evolves as a sophomore.

But, if memory serves, the WPIAL championships are being moved to this course for the first time in 2015, right? So this has even bigger implications considering Lebo will get to preview the course they hope to use to topple the Tiger Dynasty this season. That also could mean a few more top teams will make the trip to preview the course.

Big Valley

State College and Altoona have had a fun rivalry in recent years, including an epic 2013 District meet. But this year, on paper at least, State College appears to be big time favorites for gold and the only qualifying spot. So how will Altoona rally the troops to start 2015 against their arch rivals? That will be a compelling story line for me at the Big Valley Invitational. You can flip it and also ask yourself, how good is State College? Well, if they throw down a dominate performance this weekend with big runs by their 4x8 guys, we might have an answer.

Altoona has it’s own prestigious history of putting up medal contenders year after year including Wade Endress, Korey Replogle, Dylan Mountain and Brad Foust. Who is next in line? That should be fun to watch for in this one.

In the AA race, you have to look out for Will Kachman. Kachman dominated the AA race last year and he is fresh off his best track season ever with a massive 3200m PR. Kachman was ranked quite high in the top 50 rankings so he will have to back up me up in week one.

Also in the AA race is Lewisburg, a team with sleeper potential in the AA team title race (which is very wide open, might I add).

Hornet Harrier

Again, this is far from my area of expertise, but watch for rising sophomore Tingley to make a name for himself with a nice time in this one.

Northampton Invitational

Similarly to the Lions Invitational, I’m watching to see which District 11 teams come to play at this meet. One of the teams I will be keeping a close eye on is Mahanoy of A D11. I felt like they had a strong season last year and, potentially, could continue to improve this year, assuming they build off that momentum.

Oakbourne

It’s hard to gain too much information from a two mile relay meet in the beginning of September, but it won’t stop me from trying. This meet could potentially feature D1 Champs Conestoga, D1 favorites DT West, D3 Champs Hempfield and the always intriguing West Chester Henderson. That’s a loaded group. Just seeing DT West debut and trying to figure out how their crazy talented group fits together is enough to make a fan tune in, but the real stories here are likely the other teams. We know DT West will be good, but how will Conestoga and Henderson rebuild?

I’m not sure if Hempfield will be back, but if so keep an eye on them. They started very slow in 2014 (injuries?) before bringing the squad together for a killer stretch run at leagues and districts. I’m curious to see how they start the year this time around with a talented crew.

And hey, let’s not sleep on the other Chesmont teams, particularly Unionville who has been on a lot of people’s radar as a potential party crasher in D1. This will be a good chance to prove their depth against some of the other favorites in the district.