PA HS XC Top 50: #40-31

by Jarrett Felix

A quick reminder of the list 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)

Our second of just three sophomores to crack this list is Mike Morris from Hershey. Although Morris wasn’t even the top freshman from his district at states last year (that was Jack Wisner of Carlisle) but he was the #2 overall frosh just 3 seconds behind him. And before that point, Morris had raced like a much older runner. He finished 9^th at the Mid Penn Championships and 12^th at the District 3 championships, two of the best races in the state. No other freshman were really comparable (Evan Kreider was the #2 frosh at districts in 29^th). With an extra year of confidence, I think Morris could definitely hoist a medal for Hershey. Hopefully, he picks up talented rising junior Andrew Sullivan (4:21-9:35 this spring) as a training partner.

39. Jesse Cruise, Senior Cedar Crest (3 AAA)

Cruise finished just outside the top 50 at states a year ago (62^nd) and also earned a top 20 spot in District 3 (19^th). He also finished in the top 12 at both Lancaster-Lebanon and the Bull Dog Invitational at Big Spring. But Cruise’s biggest weapon is definitely his track speed. After running 1:55 as a sophomore in 2015, he added a 4:17.36 1600m to his resume and qualified for the state finals in that event. Cruise has shown consistent improvements in strength each year and runs for a strong program that has turned out district champions before (Alex Galli most recently in 2010). He may not be quite district champion level, but if he’s a top 10 guy in D3, that also makes him a medal threat in AAA and a must have guy on this list.

38. Jake O’Neill, Senior Downingtown West (1 AAA)

Lost in the talent palooza at Downingtown West has been one of their most important runners: Jake O’Neill. Last year, O’Neill finished 40^th at the PIAA State Championships this past fall, making him the 14^th overall returner in the AAA state championship race. He runs the state course very well (he was the team’s #3 in 2014 when they finished 4^th) and has the strength to be a medalist this season. On the track, he ran a sub 16 5k at the PA Distance Festival at Henderson (15:58) and also cracked 10 minutes in the 3200. He has a deep stable of guys to train with (Drew Alansky seems like a logical training partner after his excellent spring) and should have a ton of confidence after his junior season.

 

37. Bryan Keller, Senior Council Rock North (1 AAA)

If I had to make a bet right now, I might be putting my money on Council Rock North to win the AAA Team Title in 2016. Thanks to a near perfect display of pack running, North finished 5^th at states a year ago with a group of five returners including three sophomores. That core went on to really excel on the track as well, including a sub 7:50 4x8 clocking. One of the stars of that relay was Bryan Keller who was consistently one of the best lead off legs in the state and qualified individually in the 800 for states. If North wants to truly take the next step in XC, it may need to be Keller who makes a jump to elite status.

 

Keller finished 69^th at Hershey last year and showed consistent improvement on the trails, but his track splits of 1:55/4:25/9:37 are what really shows his upside for the fall in my mind.

 

36. James Abarahms, Senior Haverford (1 AAA)

Abrahams was a monster on the track in 2016. He dropped a 4:20 for 1600, 9:34 for 3200 and 1:56 for 800. That’s a nice range of abilities. But unlike some other guys who had monster track seasons, Abrahams is a fairly established XC runner as well. He opened his season last year taking 2^nd at the Abington Invtiational and then took 11^th at the Paul Short Invite, running 15:57 in the rain. He’s the top returner in the Central League (2^nd last year) and the 7^th returner from District 1 (16^th last year). That’s an encouraging resume on the trails. Abrahams was in 35^th with a mile to go at states last fall. With an extra year of strength, he could come off the hills and hold on a bit better, helping him jump into the medalists.

 

35. Hunter Crawley, Senior South Williamsport (4 A)

When Hunter Crawley first emerged as a state caliber talent, it was in the shadow of South Williamsport’s two time state champion Griffin Molino. Now, as he enters his senior season, Crawley has asserted himself as an individual and will be toeing the line chasing his own state gold. The A state championship race returns many of the top runners from last year’s field (including defending champion Griffin Mackey) with 6 of the top 11 coming back, including Crawley who was 7^th a year ago. Crawley ran 16:09 at Paul Short last fall and 4:23 on the track this past spring (he finished 4^th in the state). It looks like he will have do a decent chunk of training by himself given the team’s roster, but he has overcome that obstacle in the past. And perhaps the next in line from South Williamsport’s club squad will emerge just as Hunter did two years ago.

 

34. Ryan Barton, Senior DT West (1 AAA)

Many people around the state still feel that Downingtown West is still a AAA contender in 2016. They still have a deep core that was able to win the Chesmont Championships by themselves. The key piece to defending the title, in my eyes, may be a runner who didn’t even race at last year’s state championship. Downingtown Senior Ryan Barton was 36^th at states two years ago as a sophomore, providing a huge spark for the eventual 4^th place finishers. Last year, he was a consistent top 5 guy for West with the exception of a rare off day at Districts, but that was enough to bump him from the varsity squad in this deep of a group.

Barton still ran 16:27 at Carlisle (finishing 18^th), ran 16:28 at Chesmonts (to finish 4^th) and ran 16:45 on the Wappinger Falls regional course to finish 36^th. He’s quite good at Cross. Plus he’s consistently run in the low 4:20s or faster for two outdoor seasons in a row, qualifying for states out of the loaded District One two years in a row. Plenty of talent here for West’s X-factor at this year’s state championship.

 

33. Donovan Myers, Senior Seneca (10 A)

The Myers twins are fresh off a state championship in the 4x800 having split 1:56 and 1:53 on race day. That 1:53 split came from Donovan Myers of Seneca who has really come into his own as one of the stars in this sport, even if he’s from a small school in a smaller district. The crop of talent in D10 A is awesome (Curtin, Walsh, Tingley, the Myers twins) which should push all these guys to fast times throughout the season. Personally, I think Donovan could be on the verge of an impressive breakthrough (especially considering his brother, Phoenix, is a terrific training partner). Here’s the Myers twins resume at districts and states over the past 3 seasons:

2015: States - Donovan 9^th, Phoenix 30^th, Districts – Donovan 4^th, Phoenix 5^th

2014: States – Phoenix 15^th, Donovan 18^th, Districts – Donovan 2^nd, Phoenix 11^th       

2013: Districts – Phoenix 8^th, Donvan 21^st

They’ve also helped lead Seneca to three straight state appearances and two straight District 10 A team titles.

 

32. Isaac Davis, Junior Jersey Shore (4 AA)

I think Isaac Davis is one of the best runners in AA. Might even end up as the 2016 AA State XC Champion. Let that sink in for a second. Davis was 9^th at states as a sophomore last year (running 16:27 and finishing 1 second out of 6^th) in his first race against top flight competition. In his previous three races, he absolutely dominated with three impressive wins (he beat Hunter Crawley, David Fletcher, Brody Beiler, and Anthony Bach from his district).

On the track, Davis really found his groove at the end of the season, clocking a strong 9:31 for 3200 at District 4’s championships and finishing 16^th overall in the AAA 3200m State Title race (which is always loaded). I’m hoping to see this guy get in some races against top flight talents to help prepare him for championship season, but if he doesn’t don’t forget about him prior to the big dance at states.

 

31. Brandon Hontz, Senior West Chester Rustin (1 AAA)

Hontz is legitimately one of the most exciting guys on my top 50 list. In XC last year, he learned a lot from following Jack Carmody (who finished in the top 50 at states each of the past two seasons) and finished 22^nd at districts last season with a 16:05 and 9^th at Ches-monts. If he ran that way at states (he missed the meet for the US Youth Triathlon Championships) then he would have been in the top 50-60 runners just behind Carmody once again. He ran a very quick 4:19 last year for 1600m and nearly qualified for the state final. He also clocked a 9:40 for 3200 and a 1:58.04 for 800m. That 4:19 is a monster performance and, if things break right this fall, we could see him in the top 10 at districts on the fast Lehigh course.