Who You Got?

By Jarrett Felix
In the fall of 2012, Cardinal O’Hara and West Chester Henderson were the subject of intense debate around the state. O’Hara was returning four of their varsity five from a season in which they had dominated the PA landscape only to be edged out on a tie breaker by North Penn in one of the most unpredictable finishes in state history. They were hungry, determined and talented. But West Chester Henderson was motivated as well. After winning the district title over North Penn (by an impressive margin), Henderson ended up just fifth at states with no runners in the medals for the first time and only time in the last decade. The team was called “too young” and their ability to navigate the difficult Hershey hills was in serious question.

Questions continued to swirl throughout the season as Henderson impressed at Carlisle while O’Hara dominated at Foundation. In a bit of a surprise twist, Henderson’s junior Tony Russell had become a stand out on the WCH roster and a healthy return for Reiny Barchet gave the squad a strong one-two punch. Meanwhile, O’Hara’s sophomore Kevin James had made the leap into a state medal contender and gave O’Hara a dangerous lead trio along with Dan Savage and Ernie Pitone. Headed into the state championships, O’Hara was definitely the favorite, but Henderson was a favorite of many blog readers to surprise.

At the state meet, Henderson finally revealed their entire hand. Juniors Sam Haugh and Eric Stratman along with sophomore Alex Knapp returned to the line-up after sitting out districts. Tony Russell unleashed his best race of the season, taking 1st overall in a new course record and the squad’s lone varsity senior, Bobby Rimkis, rallied over the final 400m to steal 24th overall and earn a surprising state medal. But still, the question remained: would it be enough? O’Hara had three medalists of their own, including top ten finishers Ernie Pitone and Dan Savage. Their 4-5 men had placed in the top 50 finishers as well, so there was little weakness to exploit. No team had placed more than four in recent years besides the legendary Coatesville team that reigned as national champions.

But when the points were counted, in a jaw-dropping fashion, it was revealed that, for the second straight year, O’Hara had lost the state championship by virtue of a 6th man tiebreaker. A closer look at the standings revealed that in spots 35, 36 and 37 overall Sam Haugh of Henderson, Chris Pastore of O’Hara and Seamus Collins of Henderson had finished right in a row in the same exact time (16:40) with Haugh barely edging Pastore and thus swinging the title. Henderson’s 6th man was an unthinkable 48th overall (the first time in a long time a team placed 6th in the top 50) and their  7th was 52nd meaning the tie-breaker was theirs despite quality finishes in the 80s for O’Hara’s 6th and 7th.

A tie was a truly poetic way for these two teams to finish, creating a perfect ending for the debate that had raged all Fall. However, the story was not wrapped up quite yet. O’Hara had set their sights on the Regional meet early in the season and were prepared for the long journey towards Wappinger Falls at the end of November. The state meet only added to their enthusiasm leading up to regionals. In a brilliant idea for a tune-up race, Henderson and O’Hara (plus GFS) battled in a rematch at 3200m where, once again, things were quite close. The good news for O’Hara: their 5th man from states, Jim Belfatto, finished as their top man on the track in the 3200m (setting the school record in the event).

At regionals, PA was hungry for its first team nationals bid since 2009 and both teams did not disappoint. Tony Russell and Reiny Barchet of Henderson impressed at the regional meet by taking 1-2 overall. Barchet had a huge race to surprise for 2nd and it looked like Henderson was on the verge of another win over their rivals. But O’Hara packed it in, placing three guys in the top 20 and five in the top 35 of the regional meet to beat out Henderson for the 2nd automatic spot (and come surprising close to the defending national champion boys of CBA). Henderson held on for a close third, helped in large part to the step up run of sophomore Alex Knapp, who went from the team’s #7 runner to their #3 in a time of crisis. Henderson was also missing Sam Haugh, one of the heroes from states, at the regional meet due to injury. Pardon the pun, but he was sorely missed.

Fortunately, the at large selection process looked favorably on the efforts of the Warrior XC club and they were selected to go to nationals along with Cardinal O’Hara (also worth noting, Sami Aziz, the winner of the 3200m tune up, qualified for nationals as an individual, meaning 15 competitors from the event punched tickets to NXN). We were set up for a rubber match on one of the sport’s biggest stages: Nike Cross Nationals in Portland.

On race day, the course was in muddy and ugly condition, which would add a few extra variables to the day’s festivities. When the dust settled, PA’s top team would finish with no runners under 18 minutes. The great equalizer certainly even the playing field and made for some wacky finishes from some of the top individuals. Many of the pre-race favorites struggled to tough out the sloppy conditions, opening the door for some chaos. Stepping in to enjoy the madness was Reiny Barchet of Henderson who charged up to the front pack in the middle stages of the race. He would hold on for top finisher honors, in an All-American spot of 21st.

But Reiny was only a small bright spot for Henderson as their usual front man Tony Russell had an off day in the muddy weather (I believe he and a few teammates suffered falls). Meanwhile, O’Hara took advantage. The boys from Philadelphia got out hard and didn’t leave time to get passed as Dan Savage and Ernie Pitone both cracked the top 40 overall finishers, with Kevin James, Jim Belfatto and Chris Pastore all hovering in the 80-100 type spots. That was huge for the team as their combination of front running and depth helped clinch a 5th place overall finish, easily the best run since Coatesville’s national championship in 2006. Henderson finished in a respectable 15th place overall.

So naturally, this rivalry ended the only way it possibly could have: in debate. “What’s better fifth at nationals or first at states?” would live on well past the start of the New Year in 2013.

Of course, throughout the entire 2012 season, despite the “who is better” talk, many fans could not help but look past the epic duel and instead wonder out loud about the 2013 season. You see the 2012 Henderson squad was made up of just one senior (their #3 runner from states and districts) and would have more than enough depth to fill in for him when he left. With improvements by state champion Russell and All-American Barchet, this team could not just potentially match O’Hara’s 5th place finish, but maybe even chase Coatesville’s legendary championship team. After the magical 2012 season, surely anything was possible.

But in the early going, Henderson faced some obstacles. Star runner Tony Russell was battling injury after a difficult spring on the track and the team was being cautious with his return. They knew they needed Tony fresh at season’s end if they were going to chase a top finish in Portland. So when Tony went out, the other guys stepped up. Without Russell, the team still ran fantastically at the Carlisle Invitational, placing six in the top 32 and averaging 16:08 for their scoring five, an average 8 seconds better than the year previously, when they had Russell on the line.

When Tony did return, it was with a bang. He ran the fastest PA mark ever on Van Cortlandt’s 4,000m lay out and then, in a truly historic moment, broke 15 minutes on Lehigh’s fabled course, the first runner to do so since 2006. His teammates followed his lead as all seven members of the varsity squad made a huge statement: they all cracked 16 minutes. It was the first time a team had ever put seven guys under the 16 minute barrier at Lehigh and gave a glimpse into the potential of Henderson’s 2013 squad for the first time.

After winning the state championship in 2012 against O’Hara, Henderson felt fairly confident they could keep their title in 2013. Despite excellent teams from North Allegheny (five in the top 50) and O’Hara (3 in the top 30), Henderson dominated with six in the top fifty once again and three guys on the medal stand. Reiny Barchet had easily his best race of the season, placing 5th overall and flashing some potential for the future. Times were a bit slower in 2013 than 2012 (Henderson averaged a second slower through five), but their point total (counting all finishers) was just 91 points, much lower than the 116 of the 2012 team. They were ready to make their case at regionals and nationals.

At Bowdoin Park, they moved up one spot to 2nd in the team standings, averaging the exact same time on the course that they did in 2012. However, with Barchet finishing 20th, rather than 2nd as he had the previous year, the team seemed a bit more vulnerable than hoped. Knapp ran another strong race at the Regional course, but the team had just two top 20 finishers and 4 top fifty finishers in the meet, putting them behind the pace O’Hara had set the previous year. The good news: Tony Russell won a second straight regional championship to go with a second straight state title. PA’s best XC runner since Craig Miller was ready for a serious redemption run at nationals.

In Portland, conditions were much better as the winning time was roughly 2 minutes faster than it was in 2012. Russell took advantage and clocked a 15:11 on the course to take 11th overall. It was the best finish by a PA runner at a national meet since Kyle Dawson and this race came with both teams and individuals in the same race, unlike Dawson’s 2006 run for Coatesville. But in the midst of a loaded national championship field, Henderson could not match O’Hara’s epic 2012 run. Knapp crossed the line second for the team in 86th, followed by Stratman in 117th as a step up 3rd man. In the end, Henderson settled for 12th overall at the national championships, a truly remarkable finish, but perhaps not what they and many had expected of them.

Overall, expectations were huge on this team and it was likely unfair and difficult to handle that pressure all season. As the 2013 season ended, PA appreciated the efforts of Henderson and O’Hara and, as a state, we set out to look for the next great team to grace the state.

North Allegheny, after years running in the shadows of Henderson and O’Hara, broke through for a title in 2014 and performed incredibly well at the northeast regional meet. But it was not enough to get them through to nationals as the Tigers finished 3rd in the standings. Because they were not able to qualify for nationals, it’s hard to slot this team among the other elites from recent years. But the 2014 Tigers deserve a little credit for their excellent season (and I did some in a multi-part series). Ironically, after spending years in the shadows of other top teams, their 2014 title run was about to be cast into shadows by the next PA state power.

***

I’ve always preached that good running produces more good running and I don’t think that’s exactly a mind-blowing or unpopular line of reasoning. So it’s not surprising that as PA looked for a team to follow in the footsteps of Henderson and Coatesville, we turned again to the Ches-mont league.

Downingtown West’s young program watched the 2013 Henderson team rise to its full strength right in front of their eyes. In the same race where Henderson asserted their place in history with seven under 16, DT West’s young core suffered an agonizing defeat, missing out on a place at the state championships. But that crushing defeat spawned a new determination in 2014. There was plenty of talk about the team’s potential through comments on the blogsphere, but many (like yours truly) doubted that this team was really ready to take the next step. That proved to be foolish.

DT West stole the Ches-mont title from Henderson and unleashed a new star for the individual title: Henry Sappey. After exercising some demons at Lehigh, DT West stormed through the Hershey course in a decisive fourth place effort, mixing it up with some of the top teams despite housing a varsity squad full of Hershey rookies. In some ways it was like 2012 Henderson: a young team, unproven on the Hershey course that surprised.  Like 2012 Henderson, they returned six of their top seven runners from the state championships.  And of course, like 2012 Henderson, they left many wondering: “What will happen next year?”

But little did we know, things were about to get even crazier.

At Malvern Prep, brothers Jaxson and Josh Hoey had emerged as two of the premier distance talents in the state. Both had shined at various points during the XC season and they were just a junior and a freshman, meaning both were far from finished establishing themselves among the state’s greats. The brothers left private school and, therefore, ended up in the public high school system. And where did that put them? Downingtown West High School. Suddenly the favorites for the 2015 State Championship got a lot more favored.

But like any good team, Downingtown would face doubt, pressure and a lot of talk. The word “dynasty” was thrown around by some commenters before the new and improved DT West team had so much as organized an XC practice. Although, much of the “dynasty” talk cooled, the expectations did not. West was the favorites for the state championship from day one and it was hard not to speculate on just how good this team could be.

Throughout the season, they faced obstacles. They faced a variety of talk ranging from questioning to insulting, but, as you can see from the very good penntrack interview write up, they trusted each other and came together as brothers. They won the Manhattan Invitational for PA, a truly historic Eastern States win. They won the Chesmonts without their seniors, setting a precedent for years to come. They won districts with a 2-3-4 finish by their top three and then they dominated the state championships over some very strong squads in North Allegheny and CB West (and LaSalle), this time with a 2-3-6 finish from their top 3. Plus, they did it without their #4 man Ryan Barton who was in the top 5 at Chesmonts, the top 40 at 2014 states and (spoiler alert) the top 40 at 2015 regionals.
And then, when all that was done, Downingtown West won the Northeast Regional qualifying meet, the first time a PA team had ever won the title.

It was a magical season for Downingtown and certainly put them among PA’s best ever. Just how good were they? That was left up to speculation as the team approached its final race together in Portland. There was some rain and muddy conditions forecast for the course, perhaps foreshadowing a O’Hara-esque performance from DT West on the big stage. However, the elements did not play to West’s favor in the end as the team had to settle for just 17th at nationals. I doubt it was the way the team wanted to end their season, but it was still an extremely strong result and one of PA’s best ever finishes.

And with that final moment, it was done. Another magical season was in the books and another legendary PA team was done making its case. But now, we are left with nothing left but hypotheticals if we want to discuss each team's abilities. Hypotheticals and, of course, this site's favorite thing: debate.

So how do you rank the great teams from these years? Let me know below and I will provide you my own insights later on ….

2012 Henderson	Hershey	Bowdoin	Districts	Carlisle	Nats
Russell	15:45' (1)	15:51.7 (1)	15:11 (1)	16:08.38 (9)	106th
Barchet	16:25' (19)	15:55.8 (2)	15:22 (3)	15:50.32 (3)	21st
Rimkis	16:29' (24)	16:40.3 (38)	15:49 (13)	16:21.40 (15)	99th
Haugh	16:40' (35)
Collins	16:40' (37)	17:15.8 (85)	15:55 (19)	16:35.60 (23)	169th
Knapp	16:51' (52)	16:36.9 (31)		16:24.50 (16)	142nd
Stratman	16:50' (48)	16:50.7 (50)		16:41.11 (28)	155th
Barchet		17:31.0 (110)	16:08 (31)		176th

2012 O'Hara	Hershey	Bowdoin	Districts	Foundation	Nats
Savage	16:06 (10)	16:21.0 (15)	16:21.84 (4)	16:42 (4)	36th
Pitone	16:05 (9)	16:28.1 (19)	16:31.69 (6)	16:56 (10)	39th
James	16:28 (22)	16:22.1 (16)	16:04.35 (2)	16:35 (3)	88th
Pastore	16:40 (36)	16:38.1 (34)	16:17.23 (3)	16:59 (11)	109th
Belfatto	16:46 (43)	16:37.9 (33)	16:22.28 (5)	17:07 (15)	93rd
Hayes	17:14 (87)	17:18.7 (92)	16:32.13 (7)	17:05 (12)	139th
Donnelly	17:11 (83)	18:18.4 (199)	16:58.06 (11)

2013 Henderson	Hershey	Bowdoin	Districts	Carlisle	Nats
Russell	15:49 (1)	15:46.4 (1)	14:59 (1)		11th
Barchet	16:04 (5)	16:16.4 (20)	15:29 (6)	15:57 (10)	127th
Knapp	16:27 (18)	16:22.3 (26)	15:38 (11)	16:15 (26)	86th
Collins	16:55 (37)	16:41.6 (41)	15:50 (19)	16:07 (17)	180th
Waltz	16:49 (30)	16:55.4 (52)	15:54 (24)	16:18 (28)	153rd
Stratman	16:57 (41)	16:49.7 (48)	15:54 (23)	16:04 (16)	117th
Moy	17:17 (83)	17:01.3 (64)	15:57 (31)	16:21 (32)	131st

2014 North Allegheny	Hershey	Bowdoin	Districts	Foundation
McGoey	15:47 (4)	16:27.6 (15)	15:57 (1)	16:17 (4)
Wharrey	15:52 (8)	16:37.1 (21)	16:13 (2)	16:21 (5)
Seel	16:24 (26)	16:43.4 (28)	16:39 (6)	16:46 (13)
Stupak	16:45 (45)	17:28.5 (84)	16:52 (13)	17:43 (45)
Dieble	16:53 (58)	17:21.4 (70)	17:09 (25)
Migliozzi	17:06 (88)	17:53.4 (123)	17:17 (31)	17:59 (60)
Robinson	17:16 (118)	18:07.7 (147)	17:28 (36)

2015 DT West	Hershey	Bowdoin	Districts	Carlisle	Nats
Jax Hoey	15:40 (2)	16:29.2 (22)	15:13 (2)	15:28 (1)	150th
Josh Hoey	15:49 (3)	16:02.5 (7)	15:21 (3)	15:40 (4)	72nd
Sappey	15:53 (6)	16:09.4 (10)	15:36 (4)	15:51 (8)	90th
Barton		16:45.9 (36)	17:49 (214)	16:27 (18)	129th
Ryherd	16:45 (54)	16:48.9 (39)	16:15 (34)	16:36 (25)	168th
O'Neill	16:37 (40)	17:00.9 (51)	16:44 (71)		132nd
Alansky	17:07 (99)	17:13.9 (85)			143rd
Bullock	17:52 (190)		16:19 (41)	16:32 (23)