PA HS XC Top 50: #30-21

by Jarrett Felix

In case you forgot what has happened so far ...

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)

Noah Beveridge has been one of the best in his age group in the talented WPIAL. As a freshman, Beveridge placed 19^th overall in District 7 and punched his ticket for states. Last year, as a sophomore, Beveridge finished 19^th again at districts, but followed it with a 37^th place finish in Hershey. Noah got a bit of a late start on invitational racing in 2015 (didn’t race a major invite until October) and picked up steam at the perfect time for states. I’m counting on him building on that momentum during the important sophomore to junior jump in 2016. On the track, Beveridge added a 4:24 full mile and qualified for states out of the slow heat of the 1600 in District 7. He’s a gutsy and talented runner that I would hesitate to bet against in 2016.

29. Matthew D’Aquila, Senior Lower Merion (1 AAA)

During the 2007-2008 season, a pair of runners named Ben Furcht and Neal Berman each ran just under 16 mintues during cross country. They then finished in the 40s at the XC state championships and, on the track, ran times of 9:22 and 9:27 at districts to punch their tickets for states. Those races set the stage for a huge Senior XC campaign that included 1-3 finishes at Paul Short and Districts as well as a 10-11 finish at the Footlocker Northeast Regional.

Now I’m not saying a future exactly like that is in the cards for Matt D’Aquila this season, but there are some striking similarities. As a junior last year, the Lower Merion stand out ran 15:53 at Paul Short for 8^th overall and then finished 52^nd at the PA State Championships. And D’Aquila finished 47^th at the Footlcoker Northeast Regional, a higher place than his run at states (and top 10 for PA). On the track, D’Aquila dropped a brilliant 9:21.87 at the District 1 Championships to punch his ticket for states in the 3200. It’s not crazy to think D’Aquila could be on the verge of a big breakthrough like the talented runners who came before him.

28. Ryan Campbell, Junior CR North (1 AAA)
In case you never read the PA Don’t Play blog, Council Rock has quite a history of success in Cross Country. This year’s North team is one of the best squads in the state (more on that to come), but if they are going to truly take the next step they will need an elite front-runner. That front runner may end up being Ryan Campbell.

Ryan finished just inside the top 50 at states last year (42^nd) for the 5^th place CRN squad as their #1 runner. As is the case many years for the North boys, he came on very strong as the season transitioned into crunch time. So quickly, in fact, that he could have been easily missed among the loaded sophomore class (he was 7^th from that class). But his last name helps him stick out in the crowd as older brother Chris was a Footlocker Finalist back in 2010.

Besides the strong training group and excellent XC program, Campbell also showed strong speed on the track, running under 4:30 and under 9:40, qualifying for both district finals in D1 and winning the slower section at the Henderson Invitational for 3200.

27. Connor Walsh, Senior Cambridge Springs (10 A)
Connor Walsh was completely off my radar heading into the 2015 season, but he quickly earned my respect later that fall. Walsh finished second behind Isaac Wilson at the McDowell Invitational and racked up top 10 finishes at Slippery Rock and Sharpsville. But he didn’t really get rolling until the end of the season with wins at Rocky Grove and District 10 (his 16:28 was fastest of the day and one of the best performances in meet history). Walsh finished 4^th at A states with a time of 16:25 (38^th when you combine times, #14 returner) and a man he defeated multiple times during the season (district rival Noah Curtin) ended up getting the silver. Considering Walsh jumped from 28^th the 4^th last year, he’s set up to be a A state title contender this year. He made strong strides on the track as well, clocking a 9:34 for 3200m and finishing in the top 12 at outdoor states for the event.

26. Tristan Forsythe, Junior Winchester Thurston (7 A)
The class of 2018 has been so absurdly strong that when listing off the best runners, it’s easy to miss a few guys. This past season at A states, Tristan Forsythe was the top sophomore in the field, finishing 17^th overall. In addition, when Forsythe raced the big schoolers at PTFCA states, he won the slower section of the mile and grabbed another state medal. By the time his outdoor season was offer he had added a 4:20 full mile, 9:35 32 and his third individual circle and string. Based on his consistent progression, it’s not hard to imagine him making big improvements on his 4^th place finish in WPIAL XC (behind only Mackey, Perretta and Clouse) as well as his 16:27 time from Slippery Rock (where he beat Mark Provenzo, Ben Bumgarner and Max Freyermuth among others).

25. Ben Bumgarner, Senior Waynesburg Central (7 AA)
In 2013-2014, Waynesburg Central was led by the strong XC prescene of Sean Hilverding. Sean finished 6^th at AA states in 2014 and 2013. But when Hilverding graduated last year, a new Waynesburg athlete stepped up quickly to fill his shoes. Ben Bumgarner kept the team’s Top 10 streak alive with a 7^th place finish at the State Championship, just one week after he finished 7^th in the WPIAL. It was a clutch gene that Bumgarner duplicated when he ran an impressive 9:26 at Outdoor states to finish 4^th in the AA 3200m. The WPIAL has been loaded in recent years (we talked about it in our WPIAL vs. piece) and Bumgarner is one of a variety of District 7 guys from across the three classifications who earned a spot on this list. The top notch competition (including last year’s AA state runner-up Zach Skolnekovich) could give Ben a great opportunity to test himself against the state’s best and prepare for a shot at a top 3 finish in Hershey.

24. Casey Conby, Senior Baldwin (7 AAA)
Let the WPIAL talk continue! Baldwin’s Casey Conboy qualified for XC states last year after just missing his sophomore season on two separate occasions (XC and outdoor track). He finished 20^th in the WPIAL and 53^rd at states. But the track season was where Conboy really caught fire. He ran under 9:20 for 3200m on two separate occasions and finished 10^th at the outdoor state championships. The 9:20 barrier is a truly elite mark for a two miler, but admittedly, Conboy’s track achievements to date outweigh his cross credentials. That being said, I could see Conboy following in the footsteps of someone like Todd Gunzenhauser who ran 9:16 in a breakout spring his junior season and followed things up with a massive race at Hershey, where he earned a state medal. Despite all of their immense talent, Baldwin hasn’t had a top 20 finisher in the state within the past decade. That could mean Conboy is due to break the trend.

23. Evan Addison, Junior LaSalle College High School (12 AAA)
As a sophomore last season, Addison emerged as a key contributor on the very deep LaSalle top five and placed 59^th overall at the state meet in AAA (9^th among sophomores). But the track was where Addison really made his mark. He emerged as a strong middle distance runner and key piece of the LaSalle 4x800 that medaled at states. At the PA Distance Festival, Addison added a 4:17 full mile to his resume, putting him near the top of the loaded sophomore class in that event.

Addison will have plenty of strong training partners (including returning top 50 finisher Stephen Paul) and an excellent coaching staff. I also think he’s going to make a big jump this fall. His sophomore season was the best we’ve seen since from a LaSalle athlete since Tom Coyle (split 1:54, ran around 4:20 for the mile), who ended up being pretty good. Sure, Addison may be more suited for tracks than trails, but keep in mind even a miler type like Coyle finished 8^th and 11^th in his final two seasons on grass with a pair of district titles.

22. Morgan Cupp, Junior Mechanicsburg (3 AAA)
As just a sophomore, Cupp dropped his track PRs to 4:24 and 9:38 in 2016 (from 4:34 and 10:06). Those kind of times alone would make him a state contender, but his XC achievements are what really catapults Cupp up my state rankings. At a young age, Cupp ran fearlessly in some of the state’s biggest meets, including the Mid Penn Conference Championships. He finished 6^th in that race after mixing it up with the leaders and then followed that race with a 16 flat mark at Districts on the difficult Big Spring course. That was good enough for 4^th overall ahead of all the Mid Penn runners who had bested him the previous week. Cupp finished his fall by finishing 38^th at his second state championships, finishing just behind sophomore Noah Beveridge in the standings. The two were the #5 and #6 sophomores in the AAA field.

Last year, Cupp was in 28^th place at the state championships at the 2 mile split. He’s not afraid to put himself in a position to win. With an extra year of strength and experience, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Cupp was knocking on the door of a top 10 finish in 2016.

21. Seth Slavin, Senior Pleasant Valley (11 AAA)
Slavin has finished in the top 50 at states each of the last two seasons, including a 29^th place finish at states in 2015. He grabbed his first state medal this past indoor season when he finished in the top 8 for 3,000m at the PTFCA State Meet. He also added a sub 9:40 3200m on the track in the spring (9:35). Slavin is an excellent hill runner with top finishes at the Centaur Invitational and a runner up finish on the District 11 course last year behind two time state medalist Kevin Lapsansky.

But Slavin’s best course has been the Footlocker Northeast Regional course. In New York, Slavin won the freshman/sophomore race in 2014. Then in 2015, he finished 23^rd at regionals (higher than his state finish) and was PA’s #5 runner with a 16:12. Slavin is actually the #5 returner from the Northeast Regional meet in general, meaning he could conceivably be a national qualifying contender in 2016. If that happens, his ranking will look like a huge undervalue.