XC All Decade Team: 10-1

You can check out the previous pieces of this top 101 at the following links:
11-30
31-50
51-70
71-85
86-101
Some sample list criteria

10. Max Kaulbach, Germantown Friends, Class of 2008

Independent States: 1st (15:46), 1st (16:16), 3rd (16:21)

Team (States): 1st (1), 1st (1)

Nike Team Regionals: 2nd (16:01)

Team (Regionals): 5th (1)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 25th (15:54)*

Manhattan: 12:27 (1st), 12:44 (8th)

Paul Short: 15:27 (2nd), 15:46 (3rd)

Winner of Footlocker Northeast Freshman/Sophomore Race 16:34

In the loaded class of 2008, Kaulbach proved time and time again that he was on par with the likes of Aldrich, McNally and Dennin. However, after the 2007 Northeast Regional meets had been completed, Max Kaulbach was the only member of the big four to miss out on a bid to nationals and ended his cross country career with the title of “phantom finalist”. Kaulbach’s GFS team had been ranked #1 in PA for the majority of the season and so the team made the choice to participate in the first ever Nike Team Regional meet at Wappinger Falls in hopes of qualifying for the National Championships. Kaulbach did his job terrifically out front, taking 2nd overall in 16:01 (T-6 best mark on the course this decade), but GFS couldn’t quite crack that coveted top two and had to settle for 5th in the standings. In 2007, Nike had not yet added the individual portion of their National Championship so, for the only time in meet history, the 2nd place finisher did not qualify for nationals. Meanwhile, across the state in Van Cortlandt, all three of his classmates qualified for Footlocker Nationals.

But Kaulbach’s resume was more than just “the phantom finalist”. He won back to back independent state championships, both in impressive fashion, and helped GFS win a pair of league titles. He was 2nd and 3rd at Paul Short in back to back seasons, finishing tops for PA as a senior. At the Manhattan Invitational, against future Footlocker Finalist and AAA state runner up Chris Aldrich, Kaulbach absolutely dominated his section in a time of 12:27. That makes him the third fastest individual on the course this decade behind only Tony Russell and Brad Miles. Kaulbach ran that time with an impressive 10 second margin of victory over Aldrich.

9. Dominic Hockenbury, Lake Lehman, Class of 2016

PIAA States (AA): 1st (15:49), 1st (16:01), 2nd (16:36), 22nd (16:56)

District Two (AA): 1st (15:47), 1st (16:08), 2nd (16:22), 3rd (18:51)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 11th (15:38), 15th (15:53), 21st (16:15)

PTXC: 15:53 (1st), 15:58 (2nd)

Foundation: 16:11 (1st), 16:10 (1st), 16:43 (1st)

The first thing I look at when trying to determine where each of these guys belong on this list is the state championship. It’s the biggest and most important stage where the pressure is at its peak and the prime time players do their best work. Hockenbury was never afraid of this big stage and over the course of three seasons, he dominated the Hershey course. In AA, Dom finished 2nd, 1st and 1st at states his sophomore through senior seasons (with a medal as a freshman as well). In fact, when you factor in his three foundation wins on the same course, his Hershey dominance is even more impressive. And let’s not forget his title runs in 2014 and 2015 were fairly dominant, front-running efforts where he always seemed in control. Hockenbury also added three top 21 finishes at the Footlocker Regional meet (only guy to pull that off this decade from PA) and, although he finished in the dreaded 11th spot this year for XC, he ran a blazing fast 15:38 to do it, the fastest time to miss Footlocker within at least the past 10 years.

8. Kevin James, Cardinal O’Hara, Class of 2015

PIAA States:2nd (15:38),  4th (16:02), 22nd (16:28)

District Twelve: 1st (16:41), 1st (16:28), 2nd (16:04)

Team (States): 3rd (1), 3rd (1), 2nd (3), 2nd (5)

Team (Districts): 1st (1), 1st (1), 1st (1), 1st (6)

Nike Northeast Regional: 4th (16:05), 7th (15:58), 16th (16:22)

Team (Regionals): 7th (1), 4th (1)*, 2nd (2)**

Nike Nationals: 61st (16:14), 55th (15:51), 88th (18:33)

Team (Nationals): 5th (3)**

PCLs: 1st (16:22), 1st (15:45), 3rd (16:08), 10th (16:42)

Rose Tree: 15:12 (1st)

DELCOs: 15:22 (1st), 15:53 (1st), 15:59 (2nd)

Foundation: 15:54 (2nd), 16:34 (3rd)**

Briarwood: 15:51 (3rd), 15:56 (2nd), 16:04 (4th)

Great American: 15:14 (7th)*, 15:27 (16th)**, 15:58 (40th)***

Take a quick look at that resume. It’s truly remarkable. He has the second fastest time at Hershey this decade (15:38) and is a member of the two-time sub 16 club at Hershey (club that includes just five members). He has two top five finishes at the state championship in AAA (8 person club this decade). He scored on four teams that placed in the top 3 at the state championships and was the number one runner on a team that won districts three times (and the 6th man on his fourth district championship). Four times top 10 at PCLs with two golds plus a 15:45 as a junior (I believe that’s a meet record). He won Delcos twice with three sub 16s and a 15:22 (I believe that’s a course record). He’s qualified for Nationals three times (only person to do this), twice as an individual (Brophy, Miles, Russell and James only people to do that) and placed in the top 100 every time he made the trip out to Oregon (i.e. 3x in the top 100 when no one else has done it more than once). He’s placed in the top 20 at his regional meet three times (Ayers and Miles the only others to pull this off) and he was the third runner for a team that took 5th in the nation.

But, somehow, he never managed to get that elusive XC state gold. As a result, James falls here: just outside the top 7.

7. Griffin Molino, South Williamsport, Class of 2015

PIAA States (A): 1st (15:46), 1st (15:54), 8th (16:36)

District Four (A): 1st (15:42), 1st (16:03), 3rd (16:15)

Nike Northeast Regionals: 6th (15:55.2)*

Nike Nationals: 76th*

Spiked Shoe: 15:43 (1st), 15:54 (2nd)

Paul Short: 15:18 (3rd)

Here’s what I find crazy: one of the top 10 runners in the last decade comes from a school that does not even have an official cross country team. Yes, “A” South Williamsport did not register a team score of at least five runners in their last few trips to the District Four championships, but that did not stop Griff from rolling to back to back district titles, including a blazing 15:42 win his senior season. He also traveled to a variety of big meets, getting a 15:43 win at Spiked Shoe and a 15:18 3rd place finish at Paul Short.

But Griffin’s post season marks are what has been most impressive. As a sophomore, he finished 8th in a loaded A state championship. A year later, he ran 15:54 to win the state championship in convincing fashion. Only Tony Russell ran faster at the 2013 state championships. With the pressure on in 2014, Molino came back just as strong as before, running 15:46 on the Hershey lay out, at the time just barely missing Russell’s state record and giving him the #2 time in the course’s history and the fastest AA or A time in the course’s history. Even now after three of the fastest state races ever, Molino is the #5 performer on the states lay out, one of five runners to break 16 twice at Hershey. And he did all this with less competition than his compatriots. His 15:54 is the fastest mark on the course when no other runners have broken 16 in the same race and his 12 second margin of victory trails only Brophy’s legendary 15:24 for fastest time with at least a 10 second margin of victory.

It’s also worth noting that Griffin’s achievements were not fluky by products of attending a small school. His junior season, he qualified for Nike Cross Nationals running 15:55.2 at Bowdoin Park and beating classmate Kevin James. The time remains the #3 fastest time by a PA runner in the decade, behind only Tony Russell’s gold medal winning victories. Molino did not compete at Regionals during his senior season, so it’s questionable what a healthy Molino would have done, but based on the rest of his impressive career, he would have represented PA well. A second national qualifying berth would have potentially swung Molino into my top five.

6. Ryan Gil, North Allegheny, Class of 2011

PIAA States: 1st (15:52), 3rd (16:03), 20th (16:47), 52nd

District Seven: 4th (15:39), 1st (15:30), 3rd (15:58)

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

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

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 23rd (16:21), 8th (16:10)

Nike Northeast Regionals: 14th (16:32)**

Team (Regionals): 3rd (1)**

Footlocker Nationals: 31st (15:52)

Nike Nationals: 78th (16:16)**

Team (Nationals): 12th (1)

Tri-States: 15:38* (1st), 16:03** (1st)

Red, White and Blue: 15:33 (4th), 15:41 (3rd)

Carlisle: 15:55 (4th), 15:46 (5th), 16:14 (3rd)

Pitts CC: 15:46* (2nd)

In four seasons, Ryan Gil was a top three runner on a team that placed in the top three at the state championships. He also was the #1 runner on three straight district champions for the North Allegheny Tigers. The team success really started for Gil as a sophomore. The Tigers rolled to a victory at the Carlisle Invitational over defending state champions North Penn and other top programs (LaSalle, Upper Dublin) behind Gil’s third place finish and a strong showing from Chase Broussard. After dominating the WPIAL scene, the team was stunned at states when the finished 3rd overall, out of the medals. That disappointment sparked a run to the Nike Regional Championships where Gil, leading the way in 14th overall, helped the Tigers qualify for Nationals thanks to an at large bid. That team continued to surprise in Portland, where they finished 12th, after being predicted to finish last by some out of state pundits.

With a somewhat depleted squad, Gil returned as a junior ready to pick off where he had left off at Regionals and Nationals. He rolled to some fast early season times, but was bested by Rad Gunzenhauser at RWB and Pitts CC. But when he had his chance for a rematch at Coopers Lake, Gil was ready. He bested Rad in back to back races clocking an absurd 15:38 at Tri-States and an even more impressive 15:30 to win the WPIAL (fastest by a junior this decade, #2 overall). At state he took home 3rd overall, this time losing out to his old rival Gunzenhauser, but his team came away with a 2nd place trophy, turning the tables on LaSalle from the previous season. For the icing on the cake, Gil traveled to Sunken Meadow and finished 8th at Regionals to book a trip to Footlocker Nationals. It was the first time in the decade a junior had qualified for FLN.  

By many standards, Ryan Gil’s junior year was better than his senior one, however, he cemented his legacy as an all-time great at Hershey during the fall of his final XC season. After a solid start to his season, Gil suffered an injury to his foot that left him in a boot. As a result, the North Allegheny Tigers, once the favorites to win the state championship, were suddenly fighting for their lives against district rivals Baldwin (not to mention the rest of the state, including defending state champion Henderson). After missing Tri States, Gil cautiously stepped on the starting line at districts, managing to take home 4th at Coopers (in 15:39, his 4th career trip under 16 minutes on the course and 3rd under 15:40) and keep the WPIAL title streak alive. However, after losing to three guys (from the same team), it seemed likely that Gil would struggle against the loaded field at states (on my blog I predicted him 3rd).

However, Gil came to play and after hanging tough in the pack for the first two plus miles, he took care of business in the final piece of the race to run away from a stacked field (5 guys under 16 after just two had done it total the previous three years, 3 future national finalists). Despite having limited fitness, inconsistent training, and health questions, Gil came up huge at the biggest meet of the season. His 1st place also helped North Allegheny clinch a long awaited state title: their first since 1997.

5. Dustin Wilson, Chesnut Hill Academy, Class of 2012

Independent States: 1st (16:34), 1st (15:47), 2nd (16:28), 5th (16:18)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 5th (15:50), 17th (16:09), 42nd, 71st

Footlocker Nationals: 13th (15:29)

Paul Short: 15:46 (1st), 15:54 (4th)

Briarwood: 15:39 (1st)

Manhattan Invitational: 12:47 (3rd)

By some accounts, the 2011 Cross Country season was a down year for Pennsylvania. However, the Class of 2012 was carried by the terrific career of Dustin Wilson from Chesnut Hill Academy. Wilson competed in the independent league for his entire career and in four seasons placed 5th, 2nd, 1st and 1st at the independent championships. During his two championship runs at Belmont Plateau he won by 36 and 49 seconds over the rest of his competition, dominating the field in an unprecedented way. Wilson had a knack for peaking at the right time and as a result he placed in the top 50 at the Footlocker Northeast Regional meet three straight years, including a pair of top twenty finishes.

Wilson’s senior season was truly remarkable. He ran a very quick 15:39 for the gold at Briarwood, won the prestigious Paul Short Invitational, and finished 3rd in the Eastern States race at Manhattan (losing to only Ed Cheserek and Tim Ball). After winning the Independent State Championships with perhaps the largest margin of victory of the decade (for any classification), he took 5th at the Footlocker Regionals at Sunken Meadow and finished 13th at the National Championships. Wilson’s finish is tied for #2 in the decade and his mark of 15:29.4 is also #2 for the Balboa Park course, trailing only Jake Brophy.

4. Mark Dennin, Boyertown, Class of 2008

PIAA States: 1st (15:30), 10th (15:49), 24th (16:26)

District One: 2nd (15:06), 11th (15:36), 19th (16:01)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 2nd (15:24), 52nd (16:22)

Footlocker Nationals: 13th (15:36)

Selected to PA Mideast Regional Team (1), 15:22 – 3rd

Pioneer: 1st (15:17), 2nd (16:02), 3rd, 4th

Steel City: 16:05 (2nd), 16:24 (5th)

Centaur: 16:15 (1st)

Foundation: 16:05 (1st)

We always talk about “peaking” when it comes to cross country. It’s hard to hold your best fitness for any extended period of time and with the combination of early season meets, district and state championships and regional championships, it can be hard to balance all these objectives in a training schedule. But Mark Dennin made peaking looking easy during the 2007 XC season. Dennin finished a distance second to Vince McNally at the Steel City Invitational and couldn’t quite keep pace with Henderson’s Chris Aldrich at Districts, losing 15:02 to 15:06 (#6 and #7 on Lehigh this decade). Considering Aldrich and McNally were 4th and 5th at the previous state championship and had been excellent all season, Dennin was a bit of an afterthought in state title discussions behind these two titans. But Mark was ready for the challenge and, running a gutsy race and killing the pace early on a new Hershey lay-out (that he had raced at the very first Foundation Invitaitonal), Dennin broke the spirit of Aldrich and McNally and ended up running away with the state title. His margin of victory, an absurd 29 seconds, is easily the biggest margin of victory for a AAA state champ this decade and he did it in a field that included three future Footlocker Finalists (as well as two future XC state champs) in the top 10 runners. His fearless front running efforts inspired conference mate Jimmy Tarsnane to execute the same strategy to grab his state title the next year.

Dennin made no secret about the fact that he was peaking specifically for states, unlike 2nd placer Henderson’s Chris Aldrich, who had high hopes for the Footlocker National Championships. But Dennin reset after the season and decided to represent PA in the state’s last Mideast Regional Championship. He did extraordinarily, finishing 3rd overall and running 15:22. At Van Cortlandt, he continued to ride his impressive peak and ended up running 15:24 for 2nd overall at the Footlocker Northeast Regional behind only Don Cabral (who set the course record). Dennin’s time is the fastest of the decade for PA on the VCP course. Out in San Diego, Dennin pulled off one final trick, taking 13th overall at FLN (T-#2 in the decade) in one of the most loaded fields in meet history (guys like Chris Derrick, German Fernandez, Colby Lowe, Rob Finnerty, Don Cabral and Ryan Hill were among the All-Americans, although Mike Fout was the individual champion).

3. Brad Miles, North Penn, Class of 2010

PIAA States: 1st (15:47), 7th (16:31), 10th (16:20)

District One: 1st (15:35), 6th (15:30), 4th (15:24)

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

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

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 1st (15:52)

Nike Northeast Regionals: 6th (16:22)*, 7th (16:26)**

Team (Regionals): 6th (1)*, 4th (1)**

Footlocker Nationals: 21st (15:45)

Nike Nationals: 54th (16:05)

Suburban One Continental: 1st (15:24), 1st (15:38), 2nd (15:51)

Briarwood: 15:49 (3rd), 16:08 (5th), 16:06 (4th)

Carlisle: 15:20 (1st), 16:02 (2nd), 16:00 (5th)

Manhattan: 12:27 (2nd), 12:47 (1st), 12:50 (6th)

Salesianum: 16:20* (1st), 16:49** (4th)

In addition to having one of the most appropriate cross country names of all time, Brad Miles also produced three years of consistent success as a runner. In the North Penn graduates first year of Cross Country, he finished 4th at Briarwood, 5th at Carlisle, 4th at Salesianum and ran 12:50 for 4k at Manhattan. And that was just the regular season. He followed it up by taking 4th at Districts in 15:24 (the #1 runner for the District champs) and 10th at states (the #2 runner for the state champs) plus he took 7th at the first ever NTN regionals at Bowdoin Park, leading North Penn to 4th in the meet. It was a very impressive sophomore campaign.

After suffering an injury during his sophomore track season, Miles got off to a bit slower of a start in XC then many expected him to (I thought he would be state champ that year for some of the preseason). He finished 5th at Briarwood, but found his stride in the midseason taking 2nd in sloppy conditions at Carlisle, winning his Manhattan section in 12:47 and dropping jaws with a 16:20 victory at Salesianum (#3 AT, best PA this decade). After running 15:38 to grab his first league title, he didn’t punch his way through the close of his junior season the way many hoped: he took 6th at districts and 7th at states.

But Miles retooled over the final month of the year, finding his stride with a 6th place finish at the NXNE regional meet, earning him individual qualifying honors at Nike Cross. This proved to be a spark for his Senior season where Miles was truly historic. He won Carlisle in 15:20 (2nd fastest of the decade), ran 15:49 at Belmont (3rd only to the Rosa twins), ran 12:27.51 at Manhattan (2nd in Eastern States) and, most importantly, grabbed district, state and regional titles. His state championship mark of 15:47 was the record from 2009 to 2012. His regional title (at Sunken Meadow rather than Van Cortlandt) is the only FL regional title of the decade. Miles is one of just two athletes to complete the district-state-regional sweep (Tony Russell also did it both his junior and senior year), one of just three athletes in the decade to qualify for two nationals (he’s also the only runner to qualify for both national championships individually) and he is the only PA runner to place in the top 10 at a regional meet three straight years.

Team wise, it’s worth reiterating that Miles helped lead North Penn to back to back state championships as a sophomore and junior, plus a pair of district titles in the same year. As a senior, even after graduating the majority of their varsity squad, Miles helped rally the troops for a 2nd place finish at districts behind eventual state champions West Chester Henderson.

We know have just two runners remaining in the rankings and, although all of my writers disagree with my decision, I ultimately decided on the follow order for my list. I went back and forth on this and I think both guys are more 1a and 1b then 1 and 2, but ultimately there had to be a #1. If it's worth noting I think straight up #2 beats #1 in a race. And oh what a race that would be ...

2. Jake Brophy, Central Bucks East, Class of 2016

PIAA States: 1st (15:39), 1st (15:24), 8th (16:15), 30th

District One: 1st (15:09), 1st (15:11), 4th (15:24), 16th (15:53)

Footlocker Northeast Regionals: 2nd (15:27.2), 5th (15:37.4)

Footlocker Nationals: 8th (15:21), 25th (15:58)

Suburban One Continental: 15:07 (1st), 15:08 (1st), 15:45 (2nd), 16:32 (3rd)

Briarwood: 16:07 (1st), 15:39 (2nd)

Foundation: 15:53 (1st), 16:01 (3rd)

Viking: 15:48 (1st), 16:05 (1st), 15:49 (3rd)

Rose Tree: 15:38** (3rd)

Ready for this resume? If you are not sitting down, please pull up a chair. Ok here we go. Jake Brophy is one of just two runners this decade to win multiple AAA XC State Championships (Tony Russell). Brophy has the best three year stretch of the decade at states with a 1st-1st-8th, beating the next best mark by 6 total places (spots 2 through 6 are separated by 7 total places). He placed in the top fifty at states four times (technically 4 times in the top 30). He ran under 16 minutes on the Hershey course three times (never been done before) and has four times at 16:01 or faster. He has run under 15:40 twice at Hershey (only one other person has done it ever) and has the fastest time in course history by 14 seconds.

Although he never added a sub 15 at Lehigh to his resume, he did break 15:20 on 4 separate occasions and cracked 15:10 three times, He accounts for 4 of the top 13 times on the course out of runners from this decade and many of his marks came in windy or muddy conditions. Brophy holds the top junior mark on the course and ran 15:24 as a sophomore (which ties Miles sophomore mark atop the list). He broke 16 at districts four straight years, dating back to his 15:53 finish from his freshman year.

Brophy became the first runner in the past two+ decades to qualify for two Footlocker Finals, finishing 5th and 2nd at VCP to earn the trip. His times were the 2nd and 7th fastest on the lay-out in the last decade. When he made the trip out Balboa, he recorded PA’s best decade finish (8th) in PA’s fastest decade time (15:21) and as a junior, recorded PA’s best junior finish of the decade (25th).

But ultimately, even with this stacked of a resume, you know what Jake told us, in an interview with the blog, was his favorite achievement of his illustrious career? Qualifying for states with his teammates during his senior season after they just barely missed a team birth the previous year. That might be all you need to know about how special of a runner Jake Brophy truly is.

1. Tony Russell, West Chester Henderson, Class of 2014

PIAA States: 1st (15:49), 1st (15:45), 27th

District One: 1st (14:59), 1st (15:11), 6th (15:43)

Team (States): 1st (1), 1st (1), 5th (1), 2nd (7)

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

Nike Northeast Regionals: 1st (15:46), 1st (15:51)

Team (Regionals): 2nd (1), 3rd (1)

Nike Nationals: 11th (15:16)

Team (Nationals): 12th (1), 15th (3)

Ches-monts: 2nd, 2nd

Briarwood: 15:41* (2nd)

Manhattan: 12:20 (1st), 12:24 (4th)

Few competitors in PA state history have had as dominant of a career as West Chester Henderson’s Tony Russell. Russell won two district titles, two state titles and two regional titles: the only runner of the decade to claim two such seasons. His 11th place finish at NXN in 2013 is also the best finish at either national meet of the last decade for PA XC runners. Russell held the Hershey State course record from 2012 to 2014 and became the first person to clock two sub 15:50 performances when he won his second championship in 2013. His times at Manhattan (12:20 and 12:24), Lehigh (14:59) and Belmont (15:41) are either the best or among the best recorded by a PA athlete and his 15:46 at Bowdoin and 15:16 at Portland Meadows are two excellent marks on nationally prominent stages.

Russell was also the individual leader on one of PA’s best teams. He led the 2012 and 2013 Henderson teams to state championships and, as a sophomore, was also the #1 runner on a District One championship squad that finished 5th in the state. Russell’s Henderson teams also qualified for the national championships in both 2012 and 2013, helped in large part to his 1st place finish at the regional meets. Henderson finished 12th as a team in 2013, tying them for the 3rd highest nationals placing of the decade.

Ultimately, it’s hard to deny a man with 4 XC state golds, 2 regional golds and a Manhattan Eastern States Championship is one of PA's all-time greats.