The All Decade Team: 85-71

Let the game's continue. I believe we were at 85 ... (for 101-86 click here)

85. Jake Susalla, Plum, Class of 2016

States:8th (15:56), 17th (16:17)

District Seven: 4th (16:30), 3rd (16:26), 22nd (16:56)

Footlocker Northeast Regional: 22nd (16:06)

Grove City: 1st (16:08*), 3rd (16:30**)

Susalla consistently excelled on hilly and difficult courses during cross country career. As both a junior and a sophomore, he cracked the top 3 at the Grove City invitational, including a 16:08 victory his senior season. He capitalized off the momentum from that win to produce a 3rd place run at WPIALs and a 17th place finish in his first career trip to Hershey.

As a senior, Susalla battled some injuries and, many (or at least me) assumed his senior season would be a wash. However, Jake emerged from the shadows at WPIALs to finish 4th overall. Then, he really turned it on for states. Susalla finished in 8th place overall ,but he ran a blistering time of 15:56 on the Hershey lay-out, joining a rare and noteworthy club on the course. At Footlocker Regionals, he held his own again, finishing in 22nd place overall and 4th for the state of Pennsylvania.

84. Ernie Pitone, Cardinal O’Hara, Class of 2013

States:9th (16:05), 33rd

District Twelve: 6th (16:31), 6th (16:29)

Team (States): 2nd (1), 2nd (3)

Team (Districts): 1st (5), 1st (3)

Nike Northeast Regionals: 19th (16:28)

Team (Regionals): 2nd (3)

Nike Nationals: 39th (18:02)

Team (Nationals): 5th (2)

PCL:2nd (16:00), 8th (16:33)

Foundation: 10th (16:56)

Rose Tree: 4th (16:04), 4th (16:23)

Briarwood: 5th (16:05)

Ernie Pitone played a key role on the back-to-back state runner-ups Cardinal O’Hara in 2011 and 2012. He placed in the top four at Rose Tree, the Top 8 at PCLs and the Top 6 at District 12 in both seasons, most notably clocking a 16 flat at PCLs on the hilly Belmont course. After finishing 33rd at states as a junior, Pitone had a huge day at states his senior season, clocking 16:05 and finishing 9th overall. He was O’Hara’s first finisher across the line and his big day nearly propelled them to the state title. Pitone did now slow down after states. He finished 19th at the Northeast Regional meet, helping O’Hara put three in the top twenty and clinch a nationals bid. Then, in the slop of Portland, Pitone finished 39th overall at Nike Nationals to finish as the team’s #2 runner on an impressive 5th place overall team. Only five runners have cracked the top 40 at NXN.

Many people associate the 2012 O’Hara team with Kev James or Dan Savage, but Pitone was a critical piece in their success and is perhaps one of the most underrated/underappreciated stand outs of the decade.

83. Alex Knapp, West Chester Henderson, Class of 2015

PIAA States: 12th (16:10), 18th (16:27), 52nd

District One: 6th (15:46), 11th (15:38)

Team (States): 1st (3*), 1st (7**)

Team (Districts): 2nd (1), 1st (3)

Nike Northeast Regional:17th (16:31), 26th (16:22), 31st

Team (Regionals): 2nd (3*), 3rd (3**)

Nike Nationals: 86th (16:06*)

Team (Nationals): 12th (2*), 15th (4**)

Carlisle: 16:16 (27th), 16:15 (26th), 16:24 (16th)

Manhattan: 12:59.0* (33rd)

Ches-mont: 2nd (16:21), 8th (16:34)

Alex Knapp had one of the more interesting careers in PA state history. As a sophomore, he jumped on board the loaded 2012 West Chester Henderson team and proved himself with a 16th place finish at Carlisle. After being held out of the district championships, he finished in 52nd place overall at states. Somehow, that made him the 7th finisher on a loaded Henderson team. But Knapp really made a name for himself when the squad took a trip to Wappinger Falls for regionals. As just a sophomore, Alex had one of the best races of his career, blossoming as the team’s #3 runner and placing 31st overall. Without his breakthrough performance, it’s unclear if Henderson would have been close enough to warrant an at-large bid.

As a junior, Knapp took another big leap forward. He ran 15:38 at Districts to place 11th and then grabbed his first state medal in 18th. After a 26th place finish at regionals, he was flying back to Portland once again, where he finished in 86th place overall. It is currently the 13th highest PA finish in NXN history. In his first two years on Henderson’s varsity, Knapp had clocked two state championships and two trips to Nike Nationals, an unprecedented start to a career.

However, as a senior, Knapp found himself in a new role. The team turned over much of it’s roster, leaving Knapp as the only returner from varsity. Unphased, he helped the team back to the top of the state as they placed 2nd at Ches-monts and Districts before adding a top 10 finish at states. Knapp took 6th at D1 and 12th at states, both the highest finishes of his career. For his last hoorah, he went to Nike Northeast and placed 17th overall in the region, adding his name to the short list of top 20 regional finishers.

82. Aaron Gebhart, New Oxford, Class of 2015

States: 54th, 14th* (16:25), 28th**

District Three: 1st (16:11), 3rd (16:23), 14th (16:59)

Nike Northeast Regional: 10th (16:20), 16th (16:12)

Carlisle: 16:02 (12th), 15:37 (5th)

YAIAA: 1st, 2nd, 3rd

New Oxford’s Aaron Gebhart first began to turn heads when he cracked the top 30 in the loaded 2012 state championship, finishing 28th as a sophomore. A fan favorite, Geb had a huge junior season. He ran a 15:37 at the Carlisle Invitational, a top 12 time of the decade, before rolling to 2nd at YAIAA and 3rd at Districts. After the D3 championships, Gebhart proved he could handle the D3-state double by playing 14th at States. In the post season, he traveled to the Northeast Regional championships, where he finished 16th overall.

As a senior, there were big expectations on Aaron. He rose to the occasion with a 1st place finish at his league championships and a first place finish at districts over studs Zach Brehm and Zach Seiger. Unfortunately, after putting himself in strong position early, Gebhart faded hard at states, falling back to 54th and succumbing to the fabled “District 3 curse”. Inspired by that moment, the New Oxford senior picked back up his training, focusing again on the NXNE regional championships. In snowy, slick conditions, Gebhart navigated the course well and finished in 10th place overall, nearly qualifying for the national championships. Just 12 runners from PA have finished in the top 12 at the regional meet in the last decade.

81. Sebastian Curtin, Mercyhurst Prep, Class of 2015

States (A): 2nd (15:58), 3rd (16:33), 37th

District Ten (A): 1st (16:38), 1st (15:57), 3rd (17:42), 11th

Team (States): 5th (1), 5th (1)

Team (Districts): 2nd (1), 2nd (1)

Footlocker Northeast Regional: 40th (16:22.7)

Gettysburg: 15:57 (4th)

As a A runner, Sebastian Curtin was often left out of the big spotlight that large schools command. But quietly, Curtin put together a remarkable career. In his final two seasons, Curtin grabbed back to back district titles in the loaded D10 and helped his Mercyhurst Prep team to a pair of 5th place finishes at states. To help the team hit this top tier, Curtin finished 3rd and 2nd in back to back state meets, including a sub 16 mark in 2014 on the Hershey course. He proved his 2nd place finish was no fluke at the Footlocker Regional championships where he clocked a second straight top 100 finish, taking 40th overall.

80. Tom Coyle, LaSalle, Class of 2013

PIAA States: 11th (16:12), 8th (16:17)

District Twelve: 1st (15:59), 1st (16:02)

Team (States): 5th (1)

PCLs: 16:20 (4th), 15:56 (1st)

Carlisle: 16:10* (2nd)

Paul Short: 16:08* (7th)

Tom Coyle, similar to Magaha, was another runner whose track accomplishments often overshadowed what he was able to do in cross country. Coyle burst onto the scene as a junior with top 10 finishes at the prestigious Carlisle and Paul Short Invitationals. He then really turned heads at PCLs, running 15:56 on the historic Belmont course to win the PCL title. When he added a victory at District 12s, that affirmed Coyle on the short list of potential state champions for the crazy year that was 2011. After leading the field through the mile, Coyle ended up fading to 8th place, still a very respectable finish, but behind rival Dan Savage of Cardinal O’Hara (who was 4th).  With the majority of the top 10 finishers set to return in 2012, many were excited to see how Coyle would do in a rematch.

However, injury struck Coyle at an inopportune moment. The LaSalle front runner did not race at a major invite for the team until the PCL championships, where he finished just 4th, a full 24 seconds slower than he ran the previous season. Overall, PCLs was a tough meet for the Explorers. The new classification rearranging had left just one state spot for District 12 and, considering how unstoppable O’Hara had been, LaSalle would be left home barring a miracle: placing their top five finishers in the top five non-O’Hara spots at districts. In that moment of greatest need, Coyle rallied his troops. Tom ran a 15:59 to win the District title in just his second big race of the year and it set the tone for the meet as LaSalle pulled off the feat and qualified for states (where they would finish 5th with just 2 less runners than their competition). Despite his limited training and the depth of the field, Coyle ran to an 11th place finish at states and capped off his season running faster than he had in 2011.

79. Patrick DeSabato, Friend’s Central, Class of 2009

Independent States: 3rd (16:13), 5th (16:30), 11th (16:51)

Footlocker Northeast Regional: 22nd (16:17)

Manhattan: 12:56.85 (2nd)

Belmont: 15:47 (3rd), 16:33 (2nd)

Paul Short: 15:39 (3rd)

 

DeSabato and teammate Ivo Milic-Straklj helped create a dynamite 1-2 punch for Friend’s Central within the independent league. Friend’s Central, not traditionally one of the independent league powers, finished 2nd at Independent States in both 2007 and 2008, led by DeSabato on both occasions. He finished 5th in 2007 before clocking 16:13 in a tight battle for 3rd as a senior. During his senior season, Patrick also added historic marks at Belmont (15:47), Paul Short (15:39) and Manhattan (12:56) before proving himself on the state’s biggest stage at Footlocker Northeast. He placed 22nd at Regionals with a time of 16:17 at VCP.

78. Matt McCullough, Malvern Prep, Class of 2009

Independent States: 1st (16:05), 6th (16:30)

Footlocker Northeast Regional: 19th (16:13.4), 54th (16:27.7)

Belmont: 16:19 (1st)

Salesianum: 16:46 (7th)

Although I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Matt race in person, I always thought very highly of this guy’s career. His resume is admittedly not flashy, but the guy was a prime time player. He won the Independent State Championships his senior year and added a top 20 finish at the Footlocker Regionals, 3rd best out of all PA runners. He also dominated his section of the Briarwood Invitational (16:19), sacrificing a chance at a fast time (rival DeSabato clocked well under 16 minutes). His biggest chance to make real noise at a big invitaitonal might have been Salesianum where he was a solid, but not jaw dropping 7th. I really do feel that if McCullough had been in the PIAA, he could have been a lot higher on this list (maybe have even stole the AAA state championship in 2008), but as it stands, he handled business in the independent league and showed up clutch in the important races and that’s all we will know for certain.

77. Sam Bernitt, North Penn, Class of 2010

PIAA States: 21st (16:35), 10th (16:36)

District One: 2nd (15:46), 7th (15:33)

Team (States): 1st (2)*

Team (Districts): 2nd (2), 1st (2)

Suburban One: 15:34 (2nd), 15:49 (4th)

Briarwood: 16:18* (9th)

Carlisle: 15:35 (4th), 16:24 (8th)

Salesianum: 16:40 (1st), 16:41 (4th)

Manhattan: 12:33 (5th)

In 2008, after Neal Berman and Ben Furcht took 3rd and 1st at districts (with Berman losing a shoe), the talk was: can Lower Merion take 1-2 at states? But the duo ended up shocked with Furcht a surprising 11th and Berman an equally surprising 22nd. The two redeemed themselves at Footlocker Regionals (placing 1st and 2nd for PA in 10th and 11th). In 2009, North Penn’s Brad Miles and Sam Bernitt looked every bit as good as the Lower Merion duo. They took 1-4 at Carlisle, both sub 15:40 then clocked a pair of all-time marks at Manhattan, with Bernitt running 12:33 for 4k. Then, the duo took 1-2 at both Suburbans and Districts, with Bernitt beating out Will Kellar and Vince Perozze who were 2nd and 9th at states in 2008 (Bernitt was 10th and Miles was 7th). So the talk was back on for a 1-2 at states.

Miles held up his end of the bargain, but Bernitt had a rare off day in an otherwise brilliant season. He had to settle for 21st overall and a second straight state medal. Unlike Berman, Bernitt decided to hang up his spikes after states so we will never know if Bernitt would have followed his teammate Miles to Footlocker Nationals or not. But we do know that Bernitt’s senior campaign was one of the best in the business.

 

But Bernitt’s career is not purely defined by his senior year. After playing soccer in his younger years, the boys convinced Bernitt to come join the XC team before his junior year. In his first year of cross, Bernitt emerged as a key contributor to the team’s varsity. He finished in the top 10 in his first district and state meet (as well as at the marquee invitationals like Briarwood and Carlisle) and his transfer from soccer may have been the difference between North Penn winning a second straight district and state title, and finishing off the podium in both events.

76. Owen Dawson, Coatesville, Class of 2007

PIAA States: 8th (15:47),  32nd

District One: 5th (15:22),  16th (15:59)

Team (States): 1st (3), 4th (3)

Team (Districts): 1st (2), 1st (4)

Nike Team Nationals: 21st

Team (Nationals): 1st (3)

Ches-Mont: 3rd (16:28), 7th

Carlisle: 16:08 (10th)

75. Tom Panulla, Coatesville, Class of 2007

PIAA States: 6th (15:38), 28th**

District One: 8th (15:29), 30th (16:09), 23rd (16:00)

Team (States): 1st (2), 4th (6), 2nd (3)

Team (Districts): 1st (3), 1st (5), 1st (5)

Nike Team Nationals: 32nd

Team (Nationals): 1st (4)

Ches-Mont: 4th (16:29), 10th**

Steel City: 16:29 (7th)

Carlisle: 15:56 (7th), 16:33** (15th)

Owen Dawson and Tom Panulla had a friendly rivalry as key members of the Coatesville XC squad. In an article on milesplit, Tom mentioned how he kept a tally during the season of the two’s head to head record and they came out almost dead even on the season. That kind of inter squad competitiveness helped both runners reach another level: both men placed in the top 8 at states and districts during their senior seasons. The 2-3 punch for much of Coatesville historic 2006 season, Dawson and Panulla both cracked 15:30 at districts and were well under 16 minutes on the old Hershey lay out. And man, look at those team stats. Those Coatesville squads were no joke.

74. Zack Montijo, North Penn, Class of 2008

PIAA States: 6th (16:09), 33rd (16:12),  

District One: 6th (15:29), 17th (15:41), 34th (16:13)

Team (States): 1st (1)

Team (Districts): 1st (2)

Nike Northeast Regionals: 14th (16:37)

Team (Regionals): 4th (2)

Suburban One National: 1st (15:40)

Manhattan: 12:44.53 (3rd), 13:00 (7th)

Carlisle: 16:06 (8th)

Salesianum: 16:44 (3rd)

Selected to PA Mideast Regional Team 24th, 15:50 (3)

Picking these few spots was very tight between a lot of high quality names. One of my personal favorites from this bunch was North Penn’s Zack Montijo. Monty started as a premier 4x800m relay leg for the dominant North Penn teams of my early high school years, but he also will be remembered for how he helped transform the North Penn XC program. After running 15:41 and placing 33rd at the state meet, Montijo entered his senior season ready to elevate not just his own performance, but the performance of his teammates as well. North Penn, with the addition of Brad Miles and the continued rise of Zach Hoagland, became an instant state title favorite. Montijo got off to a bit of an uneventful start before really turning things on in the team’s final meets. He won the Suburban One National title in impressive fashion, placed 6th at Districts in 15:29 and then came up huge with a 6th place finish at states, #1 in team scoring. As a result, North Penn grabbed both the district and state titles. At regionals, North Penn finished as the top PA team in 4th place, with Montijo taking 14th in the region.

Montijo made teams better wherever he went, whether it was on relay teams (he has a ton of 4x8 state golds hanging about) or on the cross country field. I will also always remember how my teammates and I saw him go up to accept his award for winning conferences and he threw up the Jay-Z diamond. We then had a running joke about the Jay-Z diamond for the rest of the year and I threw it up when I anchored our “B” team 4x4 to a win in the slow heat at a dual meet to try and make my older teammates laugh. So thanks Zack Montijo.

73. Drew Magaha, Upper Moreland, Class of 2012

PIAA States: 6th (16:15)

District One: 1st (15:16), 12th (16:02), 16th (16:25)

Suburban One American: 15:50 (1st), 16:03 (1st), 16:12 (1st)

Viking: 15:46 (5th)

Foundation: 16:43 (4th)

Salesianum: 16:22.18 (1st)

Tennent: 15:35 (1st)

Drew Magaha had a truly unique cross country career. I had the pleasure of watching Magaha in person a few times during his freshmen and sophomore seasons (my junior and senior seasons) and had the (dis)pleasure of being beaten handily by him on multiple occasions. After his freshmen track season, I felt he had the talent to win our conference during his sophomore cross country season if he came out for the team. He did, winning in a bit of an upset at the time and running 16:12. He also finished 16th at Districts during his sophomore campaign and then cracked the top 100 at states.

Although I saw a bit of a breakout coming in cross, I had no idea what was to come on the track. Magaha became a 1:53/4:16 man and won the district title at 1600m as just a sophomore, setting the stage for a truly monumental track career. That’s what he will be remembered for.

I think his junior season of XC (still very solid including winning a league title over future XC medalist Dillon Farrell and placing 12th at Districts) was good, but nothing special, especially when you consider his spring overshadows those marks completely (he ran 4:07 at states closing in roughly 58 seconds). But people forget how versatile and dominant his senior year XC season was. It was really like he had flipped a switch and said, I want to be good at XC now.

Magaha started the season with solid times of 15:46 at Viking and 16:43 at Foundation, cracking the top five in both meets, which were run on very different styles of courses. Then he turned the corner. At Salesianum, one of the most difficult courses in the country, he clocked a 16:22.18, putting him just behind Brad Miles PA best 16:20 (as in future State and Regional champ Brad Miles). He crushed Tennent and Suburban Ones before dominating the District One field in 15:16, winning by roughly 18 seconds. That is the largest margin of victory at D1 AAA in the decade (just ahead of 2013 Russell). He went into states as a heavy favorite, however, in one of the most bizarre state meets we’ve seen, he ended up just 6th and junior Conner Quinn, who Magaha had bested in the previous two races handily, left with state gold. Magaha chose not to run a regional meet, but if he had, he likely would have been a serious contender for a national meet given his season to date. Of course, he didn’t, choosing to focus on track (which worked out ok, seeing as he ran 1:48.8), but that missing regional performance proved to be a missing link when trying to place him on this all-time list.

72. Sam Hibbs, Hatboro Horsham, Class of 2012

PIAA States: 13th (16:23), 7th (16:08), 12th (16:26)

District One: 9th (15:53), 2nd (15:29), 15th (16:23)

Footlocker Northeast Regional: 47th (16:42)*

Suburban One Continental: 15:53 (2nd), 15:44 (2nd)

Viking: 15:29 (1st), 15:59 (2nd), 16:08 (4th)

Centaur: 16:32 (1st), 16:22 (3rd)

Briarwood: 16:15 (1st)

Foundation: 16:34 (1st)

Carlisle: 16:13 (9th), 16:21 (18th)

Salesianum: 16:38 (2nd), 16:42 (1st)

Sam Hibbs is one of just 19 members of the three time medalist club in the last decade and, even more impressive, his medals all came in the top 13 overall finishers. Only 6 guys from this decade made it to that list. Hibbs had his best crunch time performances a junior when he ran 15:29 for 2nd and districts and followed that mark with a 7th place finish at states. In the postseason, he added a 47th place finish at the Footlocker Regional Championships at Sunken Meadow.

His senior year was a period of ups and downs. Hibbs shot out like a rocket with a PR at Belmont, a 15:29 win at Viking and a gold at Foundation. At Salesianum he was upset by Drew Magaha, but still ran a quick 16:38 on the hilly lay out. Then his teammate Conner Quinn jumped past him for the league titles and Hibbs was a surprising 9th at districts. Once the state title favorite, Hibbs became a non factor in the leaderboard, taking 13th at Hershey. It’s unclear what exactly happened, but it seems like something was up. Later that track season, Hibbs finished 2nd indoors for 3000m and won the outdoor 3200m title. If his track season ends up flipped with his XC season during that senior year, he probably jumps 40+ spots on this list. But all the same, he had a terrific cross country career for Hatboro Horsham.

71. Paul Power, Spring Ford, Class of 2015

PIAA States: 11th (16:07), 20th (16:29)

District One: 5th (15:31), 10th (15:36), 39th (16:18)

Footlocker Northeast Regional: 14th (15:53)

Paul Short: 15:24 (4th)

Foundation: 15:50 (1st)

Pioneer: 1st (16:10), 1st (16:30)

Foundation Meet Record Holder

Power showed his big meet potential his sophomore season when he snuck through district qualifying to clinch his first of three straight state championship appearances. His junior season was when things really started to get going for him. He won the Pioneer conference title, finished in the top 10 at districts (breaking 15:40) and then grabbed his first state medal in 20th place at Hershey. Once he hit his senior season, he incredibly found another gear. Power made himself a household name when he destroyed the Foundation Meet record with a 15:50, defeating guys like Kevin James, Jake Brophy and Matt McGoey for the crown. That mark still stands as the 17th fastest time in the course’s brief history and the 15th fastest individual performance. Power followed that run with a 15:24 at Paul Short, another very quick time for that invitational. He added another win at Pioneer and career best finishes of 5th at Districts and 11th at states, however those marks didn’t line up with the times he had run on the same courses earlier in the season.

Rather than being frustrated and giving up, Power retooled and hit the ground running in time for Footlocker Northeast Regionals. Just when it had seemed like he had burned out, Power turned the corner and dropped a 15:53 at Van Cortlandt, good enough for 14th place and #3 from PA. That time at VCP is the 17th fastest mark by a PA runner this decade and is faster than the time Ben Furcht ran when he qualified for Footlocker Nationals in 2008.