XC All Decade Team: 50-31

50. Sam Webb, Pennsbury, Class of 2015

PIAA States: 7th (15:49), 19th (16:27), 14th (16:17), 69th

District One: 4th (15:26), 8th (15:32), 11th (15:47), 35th (16:26)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 36th (16:31)**

Suburban One National: 1st (15:49), 2nd (15:49), 4th (16:04)

Manhattan: 12:45* (20)

Viking: 15:54** (2nd)

Foundation: 16:35* (7th), 16:49** (7th)

McQuaid: 14:58 (8th)

From the time he was a freshmen, Sam Webb was making noise out of district one. He qualified for the state championships in the loaded district and then finished a terrific 69th at states, a great mark for a frosh. His sophomore season he continued to progress, rolling through districts (11th), states (14th) and even Footlocker Northeast Regionals (36th as a sophomore). His junior season, Webb continued to progress, matching teammate Connor Harriman’s 15:32 best at Lehigh and even helping his Pennsbury squad finally get over the hump and qualify for states. Then, as a Senior, Webb continued to roll through the top competition, finishing 7th at Hershey in a time under 15:50. That came in one of the most loaded state meets in the decade.

Webb suffered a pair of brutal falls at the Nike Cross Northeast Regional meet as both a junior and senior (his junior year fall, cost him his entire indoor season). By some accounts he was in the mix with the top 10 or so in the region before the falls and, based on his resume, it’s not inconceivable that Webb would have been in the national qualifying mix had he been able to stay upright. Unfortunately, you can play the “ifs and buts” game with a lot of different guys, but Webb’s prolonged three year stretch of excellence was enough to help him crack the top 50.

49. Nick Wolk, Peters Township, Class of 2016

PIAA States: 4th (15:53), 46th (16:47)

District Seven: 1st (16:12), 10th (16:50), 20th (16:52)

Footlocker Northeast Regional: 14th (15:55)

Red, White and Blue: 15:48 (1st)

Slippery Rock: 16:28 (1st), 16:57 (5th)

Foundation: 16:09 (2nd)

Pitts CC: 16:12 (1st), 16:30 (6th)

Wolk began his rise in the XC community as a solid runner within the WPIAL. He cracked the top 50 at states during his junior season, but was far from one of the top underclassmen that was generating buzz in the preseason rankings. But that changed very quickly, as forecasted by one of our writers, Evan Hatton. During his senior season, Wolk won six different meets and finished as the top runner from the WPIAL in every single race he ran during the season. His losses only came to the Hoey brothers, Jake Brophy and Dominic Hockenbury when it comes to PA competition. That’s three top 20 types (spoiler alert) and one guy who appears to be heading that way. He also clocked some historically fast marks in two of his most important races. He’s tied for the 21st fastest time on the Hershey lay out and at #21 for times at VCP in the last decade.

48. Brett Kelly, Boyertown, Class of 2012

PIAA States: 3rd (16:10), 23rd (16:28), 28th

District One: 5th (15:41), 10th (15:57), 10th (16:14), 42nd (16:04)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 15th (16:22), 38th (16:35)

Pioneer: 1st (16:06), 1st (16:05), 3rd (16:01)

Centaur: 16:54 (3rd), 15:48 (1st)

Foundation: 16:40* (2nd), 16:44** (3rd)

Paul Short: 16:11* (8th)

Steel City: 16:48 (1st)

Boyertown produced a pair of state champions in the last decade, but lurking behind them on the all-time list was stand out Brett Kelly. As a freshman, Kelly placed 42nd at distircts, running 16:04 in one of the deepest district championships in D1 history (took 16;01ish to get to states). Over the next three seasons, he consistently performed on the state’s biggest stage. He finished in the top 3 at Pioneer, the top 10 in districts and the top 30 at states, an impressive three year resume, especially his three top 10 finishes at Lehigh.

His senior season, Kelly took 5th in District One, running his fastest career mark in the meet at 15:41. Then at the state championships, he was the top senior finisher in AAA, taking 3rd at PIAA states. A few weeks later, Brett navigated the difficult Sunken Meadow course well and took 15th (2nd best PA finish that season) ahead of state champions Shearn and Quinn as well as state runner up Dan Jaskowak.

47. Colin Martin, Fox Chapel, Class of 2014

PIAA States: 7th (16:13), 16th (16:22)

District Seven: 1st (16:04), 5th (16:20)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 12th (15:58)

Tri States: 3rd (16:37), 10th (16:21)

Red, White and Blue: 15:18 (1st)

In the early years of their career, Colin Martin was the lesser known of the Martin twins. As things got rolling during his junior season, Colin gained momentum quickly. He finished 10th at Tri-States, 5th at Districts and then 16th at the state championships. He built on that success during the track season, setting him up for a big senior season. C-Mart delivered when he opened up his season running a blazing 15:18 at the Red, White and Blue Invitational. He took 3rd at Tri-States before bouncing back to win the WPIAL championships and then add a 7th place finish at the PIAA state championships. But Colin really cemented his legacy at Van Cortlandt Park. The Fox Chapel senior raced to 12th overall, the #2 PA athlete, running 15:58 at the regional championships. He finished behind Ross Wilson, but ahead of state runner Colin Abert and 6th place finisher Chris Kazanjian.

 

46. Scott VanKooten, Pitts CC, Class of 2007

PIAA States: 7th (15:42), 17th (16:22)

District Seven: 1st (15:53), 1st (16:10), 4th (16:38)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 29th (15:58)

Tri States: 17:20 (5th), 15:52 (4th)

Carlisle: 15:40 (2nd), 15:49 (4th)

Pitts CC: 15:38 (2nd), 16:11 (1st)

Red, White and Blue: 15:14 (2nd), 15:47 (1st)

Selected to PA Mideast Regional Team (1); 11th, 16:15

Many more recent readers will remember the work of Jeff VanKooten, particularly on the track, but long before him was Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s Scott VanKooten. SVK grabbed two state medals during his XC career, including a 7th place finish at the 2006 State Championships. SVK was never afraid to go out hard and race so he and Kyle Dawson helped set a blistering pace for the championships that made for some extremely fast times. Those same extremely fast times carried over in other key invitationals. He broke 15:50 twice at Carlisle, ran under 16 a pair of times at Coopers Lake and ran an absurd 15:14 at Red, White and Blue in a duel with rival Lucas Zarzeczny of Avonworth.

As a pure racer, VanKooten tallied a pair of WPIAL championships, the only runner in the decade to claim two AAA golds in this district. He also was PA’s top finisher at the Mideast Regional meet (taking 11th) and ran under 16 minutes at Van Cortlandt Park, where he finished as the 29th overall finisher at Footlocker Regionals. He is one of just 22 runners this decade to break 16 at VCP.

45. Joe Kush, North Hills, Class of 2011

PIAA States: 10th (16:15), 5th (16:10), 47th***

District Seven: 3rd (15:38), 3rd (15:48), 18th (16:28), 19th (16:41)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 13th (16:01)

Tri-States: 3rd (15:50), 3rd (16:02), 5th (16:14)

Red, White and Blue: 15:23 (3rd), 15:48 (5th)

Pitts CC: 15:48 (2nd), 16:12 (4th)

Kush was another key member of that historic North Hills trio. Like Juris, he exploded onto the scene at an early age, placing 19th at WPIALs and then 47th at the state championships as a freshman. Over the course of his career, Kush amassed four top 20 finishes in the WPIAL, three top 5 marks at Tri States and three top 50 finishes at Hershey. He took 5th on the course as a junior before adding a 10th place finish in his senior season. Kush also clocked some incredibly impressive times on the WPIAL’s biggest courses. He ran 16:02 or faster at Coopers four times, including a 15:48 as a junior and a 15:38 as a senior. He ran 15:48 at Pittsburgh Central Catholic and 15:23 at Red, White and Blue. To close out his career, he was the 13th finish in the Northeast Regional, the third top 13 member for North Hills. His time of 16:01 on the Sunken Meadow was the 6th fastest mark for PA in 3 years of the championships being held on this course, faster than fellow WPIAL national qualifiers Ryan Gil and Rad Gunzenhauser.

44. Luke Jones, Elk Lake, Class of 2013

PIAA States (AA/A): 2nd (16:00), 2nd (16:17), 17th (16:59)

District Two (AA/A): 1st (18:18), 1st (16:45), 1st (16:45)

Team (States): 2nd (1), 1st (2)**

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

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 19th (16:10)

Foundation: 16:51 (3rd), 16:52 (4th)

Gettysburg: 15:59* (3rd)

In one of deepest classes for small school talent in the decade. Guys like Brendan Shearn, Rico Galassi, Ryan Smathers, Sam Williams and Curt Jewett were all at their peaks and, when the move came to three classes, Dan Jaskowak and Vinny Todaro jumped down in AA. Despite all the influx of talent, Luke Jones took silver medals at back to back state championships. His junior season, Jones finished just two seconds behind state title favorite Shearn for the title. The race featured 24 underclassmen out of the top 30 finishers including 5 straight juniors overall. A year later (with the class switch), Jones still was able to hold his own, finishing with the silver medal at states for the second straight year, this time just one second away from the state title behind Rico Galassi. He finished his career with a 19th place finish at the Footlocker Northeast Regional.

Jones was a strong runner both within the district and as a part of the Elk Lake team. The squad won gold and silver medals at the state championship during his tenure (and also at the district championships). Luke also won three straight District Two titles starting his sophomore season.

43. Rico Galassi, Holy Cross, Class of 2013

PIAA States (AA/A): 1st (15:59), 3rd (16:26), 49th

District Two (AA/A): 2nd (18:48), 2nd (17:05), 3rd (17:23)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 16th (16:07)

Paul Short: 15:44 (1st)

Rico Galassi won the first ever “A” state championship in 2012, breaking 16 minutes on the Hershey course. Galassi managed to hold off Luke Jones, his district rival, by a single second in one of the closer state finishes of the decade. Galassi was 3rd at AA states the year previously, just behind Jones and Brendan Shearn. In total, he compiled three top 50 finishes at states and three top three finishes in District Two.

 

Galassi was part of the small school class of 2013, a class which helped to change the message that small school runners were far inferior to their large school peers. In addition to Rico’s quick mark at states, he also won the prestigious Paul Short Invitational and added a 16th place finish in the Footlocker Northeast Regional.

42. Henry Sappey, Downingtown West, Class of 2016

PIAA States: 6th (15:53), 10th (16:07)

District One: 4th (15:36), 7th (15:48)

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

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

Nike Northeast Regionals: 10th (16:09)

Team (Regionals): 1st (2)

Nike Nationals: 90th (16:12)

Team (Nationals): 17th (2)

Carlisle: 15:51 (8th), 15:56 (7th)

Manhattan: 12:48 (28th)

Ches-Mont: 1st* (16:20)

The Downingtown West team from 2015 had one of the best trios of all time out front, taking 2-3-4 at Districts and 2-3-6 at the state championships (less than a second from yet another 2-3-4 sweep). Henry Sappey was the #3 man on both occasions helping solidify the front end of the team’s impressive roster. But what makes Henry’s achievements even more noteworthy, was his ability to accept his new role as the #3 man. Sappey had been DT West’s #1 runner in 2014, leading the team to a Ches-mont title and a 4th place finish at the state championships. Sappey finished 10th at his junior year state championships, the 2nd overall returner for the entire state. But in 2015, when Jaxson and Josh Hoey joined the team, Sappey’s role changed. However, he did not pout or let the quality of his races deteriorate. Instead, he consistently improved over the course of the season, taking 10th overall at the Nike Northeast Regional meet and stepping up to the #2 spot on the roster to help West win the Northeast Region and take 17th at Nationals.

41. Lucas Zarzeczny, Avonworth, Class of 2007

PIAA States: 1st (15:37), 2nd (15:57), 9th (16:43)

District Seven: 1st (16:06), 2nd (16:21), 3rd (16:43)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 30th (16:00)

Team (Districts): 1st (1)

Tri-States: 15:44* (2nd)
Grove City Invitational: 16:00** (2nd)

Pitts CC: 15:14 (1st)

Red, White and Blue: 15:13 (1st)

Zarzeczny, running for AA Avonworth in XC and AAA Avonworth on the track, was experienced racing a variety of top runners at all school sizes. After placing in the top 10 at AA states as a sophomore (and third in the WPIAL behind two all time studs in Walker and Weiss), Zarzeczny knew he would be in the mix for the 2005 AA state title. However, Jake Walker exploded out the gates and rocked the WPIAL as perhaps it’s best overall talent, regardless of class. Walker entered the AA state meet as a heavy favorite and took the pace out hard (with Lucas followed), but ultimately he couldn’t hold it. That opened the door for Zarzeczny to hold on for the victory, but Isaac Dunkleburger, Lucas’s classmate, surprised for the victory, beating Lucas by one spot for the second straight year and grabbed gold at states.

Perhaps that was Lucas’s motivation going into the 2006 season and he came back with a vengeance. He started the year with a blazing 15:13 at Red, White and Blue and clocked a perhaps even more mind-blowing 15:14 at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, winning by a huge margin over Scott VanKooten on the latter's home course. Of course, he understood it all meant nothing if he did not win at Hershey. Going out to a quick pace yet again, Lucas made himself vulnerable to a late surge from Dunkleburger yet again, but this time he held it and cruised to a roughly 17 second victory against the AA defending champ. His time of 15:37 would also have placed him among the top 6 or so runners in the AAA state championship, a field that was much deeper and more competitive at the top.

40. Dan Lowry, LaSalle, Class of 2008

Independent States: 9th (16:43**)

PCLs: 1st (16:31), 10th (16:47), 6th (16:53)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 12th (15:50)

Paul Short: 15:46 (7th)

Manhattan: 12:36 (1st)

Briarwood: 16:06 (3rd)

Selected to PA Mideast Regional Team (2); 15:46, 19th

Lowry is another intriguing runner in PA history. The LaSalle graduate ran his entire career just before the PIAA and the PCL joined forces in the 2008-2009 school year so Lowry, who dominated the PCL his senior cross country season, never got the chance to compete head to head at the state championships with the state’s best. When he did race against the best at peak fitness, during the Footlocker Northeast Regional meet, he finished 12th overall at VCP in a very quick mark of 15:50. He also was PA’s second runner at the Mideast Regional meet, behind future Footlocker finalist Mark Dennin. Lowry doesn’t have many super flashy marks for the PA All-Time list (although his 12:36 at Manhattan is quite quick), but his post-season indicates he was one of the best in his class.

39. Sam Ritz, Germantown Academy, Class of 2015

Independent States: 1st (16:01), 2nd (16:04), 2nd (16:04), 7th (18:09)

Footlocker Northeast Regional: 28th (16:11), 50th (16:37), 66th (16:58), 78th (17:44)

Paul Short: 16:00** (5th), 16:11*** (9th)

Carlisle: 15:57* (11th)

Manhattan: 12:31 (13th), 12:47 (22nd)

Briarwood: 16:05 (4th)

Since his freshman season, Sam Ritz was a fixture in the state landscape, not just for the independent league, but for Pennsylvania in general. Alongside his brother, Ben, the Ritz brothers helped Germantown Academy back into the spotlight and made the squad competitive in the team battle landscape for the independent league. Sam took 7th at independent leagues as a freshman after finishing 9th at Paul Short. He then added a 78th finish in the Footlocker Regional Championships as just a frosh. His sophomore season he moved up to 5th at Paul Short and added an incredible 2nd place run in the independent league, clocking 16:04 at Belmont behind future NXN finalist Sami Aziz.

The next two years, there was plenty of pressure on Ritz to continue to develop. As a silver medalist at states and a 4:11ish miler, expectations were high. But Ritz did not shy away from the spotlight, racing to an 11th place finish at Carlisle and a very quick 12:47 at Manhattan. He battled tooth and nail against Jaxson Hoey at Independent States, coming within a second of the title against the up and coming soph. A year later, Ritz dropped all the way to 12:31 at the legendary VCP 4k and added a career best 28th finish at Foot Locker (giving him 4 career top 80 finishes in the meet). These results, combined with his 16:01 victory at Independent States (his long coveted XC title) made for an impressive top to bottom four year career from Ritz.

38. Ben Furcht, Lower Merion, Class of 2009

PIAA States: 11^th (16:38), 49^th
District One: 1^st (15:08), 22^nd (15:53)
Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 10^th (15:53)
Footlocker Nationals: 31^st (16:07)
Paul Short: 15:19 (1^st)
Central League: 2^nd (15:27), 4^th (16:24)
Foundation: 16:09 (1^st)
Ben Furcht never cracked the top 10 at the state championships and only has two appearances in the top 50, but he finds himself in the top 50 portion of the rankings. As a junior Furcht began to emerge from the scrum of 17 minute guys into a legit contender within the state. He broke 16 minutes at Lehigh and cracked the top 50 at states. He gained recognition as a smart, even paced racer, who could gut it out with the best of them. He was among the top returners gaining buzz when the 2008 state championship season began, but he would rapidly become the favorite. At the Foundation championships, Furcht stormed to a 16:09 on the brand new Hershey course lay out and defeated his competition (a couple returning state medalists in Mike Pierce and Mike Palmisano) by double digits. A few weeks later, Furcht went head to head with title favorite Jimmy Tarsnane at Paul Short and blasted a 15:19 for the win, roughly 20 seconds ahead of his rival from Perk Valley. During the same season, he ran 15:27 at Centrals (stride for stride with teammate Neal Berman), won the district championship by ten seconds in 15:08 and clinched a spot at FL Nationals with a 10^th place finish at regionals.

However, at the state meet, Furcht had a mistimed bad day. After getting caught mid pack early in the race, Tarsnane took off on Ben and made him work hard the second mile. Fighting to get position, Furcht was in second place at the one mile mark and held a top 3ish position at the bottom of the final poop-out hill before he fell apart over the final stretch and dropped to 11^th. It was an unexpectedly hot day that took out a few competitors (one of my teammates ended up having a similar thing happen to him as Ben) and a wacky state championship in general, but Tarsnane ran a smart, gutsy race and it paid off. Although Furcht proved he was one of the state’s best at regionals (top PA finisher in the race), it’s hard to rank a guy with zero top 10 state finishes too high on this list.

But it is important to note just how strong of a year Furcht’s senior season was. His time at Foundation of 16:09 may not sound like much now, but keep in mind that was the meet record mark up until Paul Power broke it in 2014 (7 years later). Plus, Tarsnane ran 16:10 and Beveridge ran 16:18 in their respective state championships, meaning Furcht’s Foundation time was fast enough to win states (and was technically the course record until Brad Miles broke it at states 2009). His 15:19 at Paul Short was the fastest PA time of the decade for that race up until Colin Abert dropped a 14:55 in the same year (now it’s #3 behind Abert and Molino). His 15:08 win at districts is the 9^th fastest time at Lehigh this decade and Furcht is one of 9 runners to clock a pair of sub 15:20s on this course in their careers (only Brophy and Comber did it twice in the same season like Furcht did). That 15:27 from Centrals that he shares with Berman is still unprecedented for that meet although Kevin James did manage to break that course record at DELCOs.

 
One final, worthwhile, note. If you have been following the site and my posts, you will know Furcht is one of my favorites to have watched (I have his autograph) so I’m probably on the bias side here with my rankings.

37. Reece Ayers, Tunkhannock, Class of 2011

PIAA States: 6^th (16:06), 9^th (16:23), 8^th (16:33)
District Two: 1^st (16:22), 1^st (16:44), 3^rd (16:19), 5^th (17:17)
Team (States): 6^th (1)
Team (Districts): 1^st (1), 1^st (1)
Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 16^th (16:05)
Nike Northeast Regionals: 13^th (16:22)*, 13^th (16:31)**
Carlisle: 16:19 (12^th)
Paul Short: 15:48 (1^st), 15:49 (8^th)
Spiked Shoe: 15:38 (1^st)
Over the last decade, there have been just three runners to crack the top 10 at AAA states three straight years: Jake Brophy, Brad Miles and Reece Ayers. That’s some pretty strong company. In that same three year span, Ayers placed 13^th at NXNE twice in a row and then 16^th at Footlocker Northeast as a senior. The list of three time top 20 regional finishers within the last decade is also short: Brad Miles, Kevin James and Reece Ayers. Again, we are talking elite company. And let’s not forget one of Reece’s best achievements: leading his team. In 2010, Ayer’s senior season, Tunkhannock finished 6^th at the state championships, just a few points away from cracking the top five teams in AAA. Just two years later, they would be relegated down to AA. I’d argue it’s the strongest performance by a small school in the decade and Ayers was out front captaining the charge.

In Reece’s senior season, he finished 6^th at the State Championships in 16:06, losing to five guys who broke 16 minutes on the Hershey course (the two years before and the two years after just six guys total broke 16). He also won the Paul Short Invitational and Spiked Shoe (in 15:38).  And small shout out to Reece for being my first interview for my first (and only) article ever published on PenntrackXC.

 

36. Jacob Kildoo, Grove City, Class of 2011

PIAA States: 5^th (15:57), 45^th, 17^th (16:45), 17^th AA (17:10)

District Ten: 1^st (15:47), 1^st (17:23), 1^st (16:58), 8^th AA

Team (Districts): 1^st (1), 1^st (1)**

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 52^nd, 12^th (16:20), 27^th (16:22)

Carlisle: 15:58 (6^th)

Grove City: 15:51 (1^st), 15:56 (1^st), 16:13 (1^st), 16:46 (1^st)

Sharpsville: 15:47** (3^rd)

Jacob Kildoo has never been afraid of the big moment. As a freshman in the AA state meet, he placed 17^th overall at Hershey. The next season, jumping up to AAA, he matched his achievement, taking 17^th once again, one of four sophomores to crack the top 20. At his first ever Footlocker Northeast Regionals, Kildoo placed 27^th overall. The next year, after getting sick prior to the state championships (he finished 45^th), he finished 12^th overall at Footlocker Regionals, barely missing a surprising spot at Nationals. His finish (PA’s #4) helped PA win the meet as a state over the favored New Jersey and New York squads. During his senior season, Kildoo finished 5^th at States in 15:57, holding his own in a loaded field. Also worth noting, over the course of four years, Kildoo knew how to step up on his home turf. He won the Grove City Invitational four straight years.

35. Matt McGoey, North Allegheny, Class of 2015

PIAA States: 4th (15:47), 24th (16:35)

District Seven: 1st (15:57), 3rd (16:25), 8th (16:34)

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

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

Nike Northeast Regionals: 15th (16:27)

Team (Regionals): 3rd (1), 6th (5***)

Tri-States: 1st (15:55), 8th (16:17**)

Red, White and Blue: 15:27 (1st), 15:45 (4th)

Foundation: 16:17 (4th), 16:22 (3rd)

North Allegheny has been a district level powerhouse for the entire decade, but arguably their best stretch of team performance coincided with Matt McGoey’s time in a Tiger uniform. He cracked the team’s top 7 at districts for the first time as a sophomore, where he helped an intriguing young Tiger pack to the WPIAL title. The team, made up mostly of sophomores, struggled a bit in their return to the state meet, including McGoey who had been 8th at WPIALs. A season later, McGoey returned, just as strong as before, now in more of a leadership role for an even deeper pack. He finished 3rd at WPIALs and earned his first individual state medal in 24th, helping the team reach the podium in 2nd behind an all-time great Henderson team. But Matt really took off his senior season, and his team followed. He dominated his district alongside teammate Hunter Wharrey and rolled through Tri-State and WPIAL titles before leading North Allegheny to the state title with a very impressive 15:47 for 4th overall. Although he often got swept up in the hype behind the District One/Philadelphia Area talent, McGoey proved he could be a reliable state competitor and a powerful front runner for the Tigers time and time again in his senior season. He finished his career with the fastest Hershey time out of the entire star studded list of NA grads.

34. Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham, Class of 2013

PIAA States:13^th (16:16), 1^st (16:03), 20^th (16:25)

District One: 6^th (15:32), 3^rd (15:35), 27^th (16:14)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 20^th (16:12), 25^th (16:39)

Suburban One Continental: 1^st (15:49), 1^st (15:47), 4^th (16:13)

Briarwood: 16:18 (1^st), 16:19 (2^nd)

Salesianum: 17:04 (1^st), 16:46 (3^rd)

Viking: 15:33* (4^th)

Centaur: 16:33* (2^nd)

Foundation: 16:41* (3^rd)

Frosh/Soph Footlocker Northeast Champion 16:46

Hatboro Horsham’s Conner Quinn was perhaps the most unlikely state champion of the last decade. Headed into the 2011 season, seniors had won the previous 6 state championships in AAA and top returners from District One Sam Hibbs and Quinn Devlin (as well as track stand outs Drew Magaha and Ned Willig) seemed like strong bets to contend for district and state titles. Hibbs had been 7^th at the previous year’s state championship (only returner in the top 12) and was teammates with Conner, who had been the top sophomore at the previous state meet in 20^th. Alongside Hibbs focus and preparation, Quinn’s ability to compete at the highest level may have been accelerated.

Over the course of his junior season, Quinn finished 4^th at Viking, 2^nd at Centaur, 3^rd at Foundation, and 3^rd at Salesianum. He beat Hibbs for the first time in his first win of the season, clocking 15:47 at Suburban One Continental. He then placed 3^rd at the District One Championships, roughly 20 seconds behind Drew Magaha. Looking back at the history books, it’s unclear when the last time a runner outside the top 2 at their district meet won the state title. In the last decade plus it’s only Quinn. He blitzed the field at Hershey and ran a strong 16:03 to defeat Grove City’s Dan Jaskowak and Boyertown’s Brett Kelly setting the tone for another upset (North Penn winning the team title over O’Hara).

Although his senior season did not quite follow his dramatic junior year, he still ran a faster time at districts (running 15:32 for 6^th), ran a terrific Suburbans race to defeat Jack Macauley and Jake Brophy and even bettered his Footlocker Regionals finish (going from 25^th as a Junior to 20^th as a Senior).  He also grabbed major invitational wins in his section of Briarwood and Salesianum.

33. Jimmy Tarsnane, Perkiomen Valley, Class of 2009

PIAA States: 1^st (16:10), 8^th (16:15), 40^th

District One: 2^nd (15:18), 9^th (15:38), 29^th (15:54)

Team (States): 4^th (1)

Team (Districts): 4^th (1)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 30^th (16:24)

Pioneer: 1^st (15:54), 2^nd (15:53), 4^th (16:27)

Paul Short: 15:38 (4^th)

Centaur: 16:04 (1^st)

Jimmy Tarsnane was one of the top sophomores in the state in 2006, one of a select group of runners to crack the top fifty in a top heavy year (no sophomore medalists for the only time in the decade). As a junior, Tarsnane continued to be a presence in the top section of the state. He was the top runner in his year at both districts and states placing 9^th and 8^th respectively. However, Brad Miles of North Penn had emerged as a serious challenger to Tarsnane’s place atop the throne and a wave of up and comers were beginning to blossom as well, none more noteworthy than Lower Merion’s Ben Furcht. Although Tarsnane started his season with strong marks at Centaur and Paul Short, he could not seem to match the explosive start of Furcht and even Neal Berman. However, Tarsnane kept his focus, even after a hard fought loss at districts and turned the tides on the Lower Merion duo at the state championships. He led the race essentially wire to wire and made sure things were fast from the gun and, as a result, he grabbed the upset and the state title. He also helped lead his Perkiomen Valley team to a huge breakthrough season. Vince Perozze became a top 10 runner in the state behind Jimmy and the Perk Valley team finished 4^th in the state, a terrific finish.   

32. Dan Jaskowak, Grove City, Class of 2013

PIAA States: 3^rd AA (16:12), 2^nd (16:06), 50^th

District Ten: 1^st AA (16:23), 1^st (17:33), 2^nd (16:21), 3^rd (18:11)

Team (States): 2^nd AA (1)

Team (Districts): 1^st AA (1), 1^st (1), 1^st (2)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 23^rd (16:18), 18^th (16:24)

Tri-States: 15:36 (1^st)

Red, White and Blue: 15:40 (3^rd), 15:24 (1^st)

Foundation: 16:19 (1^st)

Grove City Invitational: 15:37 (1^st), 16:31 (1^st)

As a sophomore, Dan Jaskowak ran in the shadow of Grove City super-star Jacob Kildoo as Kildoo rolled to a 5^th place finish at the state championships. Dan finished a strong 50^th, one of the top five sophomores in the AAA championships, but he went relatively unnoticed in the results. Then, to start his junior season, Jaskowak made a huge statement: he dominated the 2011 Red, White and Blue Invitational, winning in 15:24 over a variety of pre-season favorites like Logan Steiner and Alex Moran (the #2 and #3 returners from states). Suddenly, Dan was a state title contender. He had little opportunity to prove himself before a show down in Hershey with the state’s best. Billed as a sleeper contender, many figured it would be Magaha, Steiner and maybe a resurgent Sam Hibbs at the front with Jaskowak having the potential to surprise. In the end, Dan beat all three of those pre-race favorites, but still came away with just the silver as Conner Quinn grabbed the upset gold, just a few seconds ahead of Jaskowak. A few weeks later at Footlocker Northeast Regionals, Dan took 18^th overall, finishing as the #3 runner from PA ahead of both state champions Conner Quinn and Brendan Shearn.

The stage was set for a compelling rematch in 2012 behind Jaskowak and Quinn, but the classification changes shifted the focus to Jaskowak and Shearn. After a (relatively) rocky 3^rd place finish at RWB, Jaskowak won the Foundation Invitational over Shearn, won his Grove City invitational in a blazing fast 15:37 and then defeated Brent Kennedy at Tri-States in 15:36. At District 10, Jaskowak completed one of the best October stretches in recent memory, going head to head with Austin Pondel in muddy and sloppy conditions at District 10s and still running 16:23. In a span of about a month, Jaskowak defeated or tied three future Footlocker Finalists. In Hershey, he may have run out of gas a bit, but still proved himself admirably with a 3^rd place finish in the AA state meet, well clear of 4^th and in the mix with the top 2 until the final hills.

31. Sami Aziz, Germantown Friends School, Class of 2013

Independent States: 1^st (15:51), 2^nd (16:23)**

Team (Independents): 1^st (1)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 59^th*, 69^th**

Nike Northeast Regionals: 9^th (16:14)

Nike Nationals: 70^th (18:21)

Manhattan: 12:49 (21^st)

The list of guys with state championships and national qualifying performances is not particularly extensive (9 guys). And a few of those guys (two) didn’t even win their state championships in the same year they qualified for nationals. So right away Sami Aziz’s 2012 season can be appreciated for being historic. He grabbed independent state gold at the 2012 Independent League championships, running a quick 15:51 at Belmont (second to only Dustin Wilson’s 2010 meet record) and then finished 9^th at the Nike Northeast Regional, getting a little help from a Henderson at large bid and qualifying for a trip to Nike Nationals (where he placed a very respectable 70^th overall). And although it didn’t technically count towards his XC resume, Aziz also won a memorable dual with West Chester Henderson’s Tony Russell on his opponent’s home track at the first ever Pre-Regionals 3200m tune-up.

Although Aziz hit his peak in a Germantown Friends uniform, he had already come on strong at his previous school, Abington Friends, where he had placed 2^nd at Independent States as a sophomore (to the aforementioned record setting performance from Dustin Wilson. His junior season, he did not compete in PA (I believe someone mentioned he was abroad) so he could not help pad his resume the way many other top dogs on the list did.