PA HS XC Top 50: #20-11

by Jarrett Felix

Here's the second to last post on the top 50! We will reveal our top 10 for both High School and NCAA on twitter throughout the day before releasing the official posts so if you are into that sort of thing, give us a follow @TheRealTrain11

51. Aaron Pfeil, Senior South Fayette (7 AA)
50. Sam Snodgrass, Junior South Fayette (7 AA)
49. Jakob Jorgensen, Senior Epsicopal (Ind)
48. Jonah Powell, Sophomore Grove City (10 AA)
47. Sam Morgan, Junior Parkland (11 AAA)
46. Christian Babo, Junior Harbor Creek (10 AA)
45. Austin Maxwell, Senior Kennent (1 AAA)
44. Alex Tomasko, Senior Mechanicsburg (3 AAA)
43. Jack Zardecki, Junior Dallas (2 AA)
42. Ben Littman, Senior Winchester Thurston (7 A)
41. Brian Mass, Senior CB West (1 AAA)

40. Mike Morris, Sophomore Hershey (3 AAA)
39. Jesse Cruise, Senior Cedar Crest (1 AAA)
38. Jake O'Neill, Senior DT West (1 AAA)
37. Bryan Keller, Senior CR North (1 AAA)
36. James Abrahams, Senior Haverford (1 AAA)
35. Hunter Crawley, Senior South Williamsport (4 A)
34. Ryan Barton, Senior DT West (1 AAA)
33. Donovan Meyers, Senior Seneca (10 A)
32. Isaac Davis, Junior Jersey Shore (4 AA)
31. Brandon Hontz, Senior West Chester Rustin (1 AAA)

30. Noah Beveridge, Junior Butler (7 AAA)
29. Matt D'Aquila, Senior Lower Merion (1 AAA)
28. Ryan Campbell, Junior CR North (1 AAA)
27. Connor Walsh, Senior Cambridge Springs (10 A)
26. Tristan Forsythe, Junior Winchester Thurston (7 A)
25. Ben Bumgarner, Senior Waynesburg Central (7 AA)
24. Casey Conboy, Senior Baldwin (7 AAA)
23. Evan Addison, Junior LaSalle (12 AAA)
22. Morgan Cupp, Junior Mechanicsburg (3 AAA)
21. Seth Slavin, Senior Pleasant Valley (11 AAA)

20. Ben Clouse, Senior Sewickley Academy (7 A)

If not for an unfortunate injury at the PIAA state meet, it’s not impossible to imagine Sewickley Academy  with the #1 and #2 returners from the state meet. He and Griffin Mackey took 1-2 at the Foundation Invitational just a few months before states and 2-3 at the WPIAL championships. Plus Clouse was second in the A classification at the Red, White and Blue Invitational (behind Mackey again) and second at the Slippery Rock Invite (behind only oscar winner Nick Wolk). He’s a member of the two time defending WPIAL team champions and will be training with the defending state champion (as well as talented frosh Henry Maekem) in 2016 looking to duplicate the big jump he made a year ago. Assuming he’s healthy (he didn’t run any track this year), Clouse is not just a top 20 guy in the state, he might even have a shot at top 10.

19. Noah Curtin, Senior Mercyhurst Prep (10 A)

The last three seasons, the A state meet has featured a Curtin brother in the top 3. Noah broke through under the bright lights last November for easily his most impressive race of the season, rolling to a 2^nd place overall finish in A with a 16:14 time. He had some other highlights during the season (15:48 at McQuaid for 3 miles), but mainly Curtin turned it on best during championship season. On the track, he had his most successful season by far dropping a 4:24 for 1600 and a very quick 9:28 for 3200 at Baldwin, both big PRs. This year he goes for a 3^rd straight top 15 finish and a 4^th straight top 3 finish for the Curtin brothers (Sebastian was 3^rd and 2^nd in 2013 and 2014). I think sub 16 is in the cards for Noah, especially in a loaded A field, but he will need to have another brilliantly timed peak. Let’s see if he can be clutch once again.

18. Eric Kennedy, Senior Kiski (7 AAA)
The WPIAL proved during this past track season that they are one of the best districts in the state. Someone in this district is going to have a breakout year like Nick Wolk or Marc Migliozzi and become a star. Maybe that someone is Eric Kennedy? The Kiski runner has had problems with health during XC, but this past track season we saw what a fit and healthy Kennedy could accomplish. He ran 4:17 for second at WPIALs, finished 8^th at states and then dropped a monster 1:56.04 at John Hay to win the slower section.


Last year, Kennedy raced very sparingly, but he showed his XC potential in the Spike Shoe Invite at PSU. He finished 3^rd overall in that meet, second for PA athletes, and defeated a variety of future Top 50 finishers at states. As a sophomore in 2014, he finished tops in his class at WPIAL  championships (15^th overall). This came a year after he finished as the WPIALs top freshman in 28^th. And, much like Ryan Campbell, Eric’s older brother was a Footlocker Finalist back in 2012 (as a junior). If Eric can find a way to stay healthy, he’s going to be very tough to beat this fall.

17. Kyler Shea, Senior Lower Dauphin (3 AAA)

Kyler Shea was consistently in the top 25 of my rankings a year ago and looked like a good bet for a state medal in Hershey. He finished 3^rd at Big Spring (behind only Nate Henderson and Zach Lefever), 2^nd at Mid Penns, 9^th at Carlisle in 15:59 (#5 for PA behind only Hoey, Hoey, Henderson and Sappey) and 5^th at districts. Shea ended up finishing just 33^rd at states, which is still incredibly impressive, but perhaps not as high as he was hoping. He was 34^th as a sophomore (and 8^th at Districts) so he has consistently been a top tier talent and I think he will come out with a vengeance this season, seeking his first state medal. Remember, Lower Dauphin has turned into quite the power in recent years produced state medalists Cole Nissley and Sean Weidner as well as district champion Jeff Groh (who won as a sophomore). Shea has great training partners in Colton Cassell and Jared Giannascoli who are both top 50 threats this year and is fresh off a track season that included a 9:30.12 3200m PR at the heat of states (he finished 13^th). I think this kid has a ton of upside and could definitely surprise with a top 5 finish at the state meet if things break right.

16. Connor McMenamin, Senior Souderton (1 AAA)
A two time top 50 XC finisher, Souderton’s Connor McMenamin has been one of the sport’s best distance runners when healthy. He missed this past spring, but indoors he finished 6^th in the mile with a 4:22.30 and grabbed his first state medal. The previous spring, he ran in the 9:20s for 3200 and qualified for the state championship in that event. But McMenamin’s best work has definitely been on the grass. He ran 15:44 at Lehigh last year for 7^th in the district and also ran an identical 15:44 mark at the Suburban One Championships at the same course. Although McMenamin had a rare off day at Hershey last year, he finished 31^st at states as a sophomore. In addition, Connor has been in 18^th and 15^th with a mile to go the past two years at states. If he can find the extra strength in his senior season to finish that final mile, he will end the season in the top 10 on this list without a doubt.

15. Mark Provenzo, Senior Franklin Regional (7 AAA)

For almost a decade, the WPIAL has had a clear alpha dog leading the way throughout the season in cross country. A year ago, it was Peters Township’s Nick Wolk, who made a big leap forward starting in the summer and never slowing down. Heading into 2016, this year’s version of Wolk might be Franklin Regional’s Mark Provenzo. Provenzo was on fire to finish out his XC campaign last fall. He was the #2 PA runner at Sharpsville (behind Zach Skolnekovich), won the West Moreland race in a blazing 15:38, finished 3^rd at WPIALs and then earned his first ever state medal with a 20^th place finish at Hershey. Provenzo continued to prove his worth on the track when he ran 9:26 for 3200. He’s the top returner from the WPIAL XC season for both Districts and States and he’s hoping to hold his ground at that spot in 2016.

14. Liam Conway, Junior Owen J. Roberts (1 AAA)

This past track season, Liam Conway had one of the most effective seasons of any runner. When you consider the fact that he was just a sophomore, it’s mind blowing. Conway ran 1:54, 4:15 and 9:24 in the three major distance events. Indoors, he qualified for states in all three events and outdoors he made the 1600 state final. Conway isn’t just a track guy as he’s been one of the state’s top runners in his class since his freshman year breakthrough at Paul Short. Last season, Conway placed in the top 10 at big time invitationals like Foundation and Paul Short, was 11^th at districts and 28^th at states (just 3 seconds behind the final medal spot).

Conway will lose some key training partners in 2016, but he will also have a ton of individual motivation when he hits the trails. He has come up just short of a medal each of the past three seasons and guys who have had that type of bad luck (Vinny Todaro, Tony Russell) tend to bounce back with a vengeance: especially if they are as talented as Conway.

13. Nick Feffer, Senior State College (6 AAA)

In PA history, there have been few 800 meter specialists that have placed in the top 12 of the AAA state championship. Sure, there are 1600/800 types who have done well (Crits, Endress, Hoey, Brehm), but very few 800 centric type guys. The closest would be Chris Ferry (11^th in 2006) and Zack Montijo (6^th in 2007) who both earned state medals in the 800 the winter and spring after their XC prowess. However, they both focused on the 1600 the seasons before they placed in the top 12. On the flip side, the AAA 800m state champ has finished in the top 50 at XC states just 3 times in the fall immediately before their title run. Those finishes were 26^th, 29^th and 34^th.   

So you are probably wondering, what’s the point? Well, I’m setting the stage to talk about one of the most intriguing runners on this year’s list: Nick Feffer. Feffer was 22^nd at states a season ago and also finished 3^rd at Mid Penns, 6^th at Foundation (top returner) and 2^nd at Districts (top returner again). He’s the #7 returner in AAA. Meanwhile, on the track, Feffer dropped a 1:52 split and then ran 1:53.50 to take 4^th in the outdoor 800 final on the double (setting him up as the top returner for 2016). Feffer has solid mile strength (4:20 for 1600), but it’s clear that he’s more 800 centric than say his teammate Alex Milligan (who placed 16^th at XC states as a junior and 1^st at D6 last year). That sets Feffer up with the opportunity to become one of the only true 800 specialists to place in the top 10 in XC in the sport’s history. Pretty cool.

Feffer is a clutch performer who has brought his A game to the state championship on more than one occasion (he’s run big PRs the past two spring state championships and had his best race of this past XC season on the Hershey hills). Let’s see if he can continue his hot streak with the pressure on as a senior leader in 2016.

12. Liam Galligan, Senior Springfield Delco (1 AAA)

Just getting a state medal is difficult. But imagine grabbing 4^th place in both the indoor and outdoor state championships in your event. That’s what Liam Galligan was able to do in the mile, finishing 4^th indoors with a 4:19 and 4^th outdoors with a 4:15.03. The only guys who finished top 4 both indoors and outdoors were Jaxson Hoey, Josh Hoey, Dominic Hockenbury, Domenic Perretta, Mike Kolor and Matt Wisner. Essentially, your nominees for best actor in the 2015-2016 season. And notice that only Josh Hoey is a returner from that group and trust me, he will be prominently featured on this list.

Galligan’s impressive track marks are consistent with his XC credentials although likely slightly superior. Galligan already has two top 50 finishes in the state for cross country and finished 21^st a year ago on the hills. Liam timed his peak beautifully over the course of the season as he went from 8^th at Delcos to 4^th at Centrals then 14^th at districts and finally his 21^st finish at the state meet. That’s a strong progression. To crack the top 10 on this list, he will need to prove he can be a consistently dominant front runner on the trails, but he should have plenty of opportunities in his senior season to do just that.

11. Rusty Kujdych, Junior Neshaminy (1 AAA)

I often talk about experience, especially for cross country and the difficult Hershey course. However, as just a sophomore who never raced the Hershey course before, Rusty Kujdych ran a gutsy race and finished 19^th in the state with a time of 16:13. That’s a monster performance. It took Rusty a little time to find his groove during his last XC season (he was 34^th at Paul Short), but once he found it, the kid was nearly unstoppable. He ran 15:48 at William Tennent, 15:53 for 2^nd at Leagues and 15:55 for 12^th at districts prior to the 19^th place finish at states. On the track, the sophomore ran 8:48 for 3k and 9:22 for 3200m (which somehow didn’t make states in the wacky district one). That 9^th place finish in D1 that ended his track season should give an extra spark to an already talented and motivated runner. Rusty is never afraid to front run and chase a fast pace and at Hershey that attitude could just make him a surprise title contender in 2016.