PA HS XC Top 50: Week Two

By Jarrett Felix

I’ll keep it simple since nobody really likes to read. I’ve updated the top 50 list based on this past week’s invitational performances. I didn’t take into account any dual meet results. That being said, these can be important so continue to share what you’ve seen/heard. It really adds to the picture. You ended up getting 59 names this week, but it’s not necessarily my top 59. The “just missing group” is numbers 51 through 55, but the “on the rise” group, is just a list of performances that helped jump guys from off the radar to on the radar for future versions of the list. As usual, I hope you enjoy the subjectivity that is #the50.

Just missing: Amadou Diallo, Noah Beveridge, Yahya Soliman, Josh Higgins, Gabe Sullivan

On the rise: Nick Norton, Jake Underwood, Evan Hutton, David Haines

50. Phoenix Myers, Sr Seneca (10 A)

49. Austin Maxwell, Sr Kennett (1 AAA)

48. Ryan Barton, Sr DT West (1 AAA)

47. Shaun Bullock, Sr DT West (1 AAA)

DT West now has three guys who have found their way onto the list in 2016 (only Carlisle has done that so far). Shaun Bullock is the latest addition after his excellent run at the Cherokee Invitational where he was easily the team’s top finisher. Barton had the best splits in week one and has the best state finish of the trio (36^th as a sophomore) so he keeps a spot as well. I’m interested to see how things shift (if at all) when this team moves up to 5k.

46. Avery Lederer, Jr Penncrest (1 AAA)

45. David Endres, So CB East (1 AAA)

A nice little budding rivalry between these two district one stand outs is reflected in the rankings. Endres struck first at Northampton, winning the individual title, but Lederer really stepped up a week later at Abington where he finished one spot ahead of Endres (3^rd and 4^th), but had a sizable margin of victory. That being said, I still give Endres the slight nod here in the rankings. For me an individual win counts a bit more, even if it was against a less talented field. However, it’s basically a tie at 45.5.

44. Ryan Campbell, Jr CR North (1 AAA)

43. Jesse Cruise, Sr Cedar Crest (3 AAA)

42. Michael Geiger, Sr Parkland (11 AAA)

District 11 gets its second runner on the list as Geiger really impressed at the Centaur Invitational, getting 2^nd and running 16:37 on the hilly, hot course (17 seconds back of winner Liam Conway). Geiger is very strong on hills and has been a consistent leader for Parkland over the past three seasons. This might be the year he breaks onto the medal stand.

41. Jack Zardecki, Jr Dallas (2 AA)

40. Hunter Crawley, Sr South Williamsport (4 A)

39. Donovan Myers, Sr Seneca (10 A)

38. Joe Cullen, Jr Wyomissing (3 AA)

One of the most impressive performances of the weekend without a doubt. He ran 16:41 from the less competitive race, a time that would have put him in a league with the guys almost 10 spots ahead of him. He’s also coming off a huge track season where he showed massive upside and trained under District 3 champ Jack DiCintio in 2015. Plus, Cullen’s Wyomissing squad looked really strong in their opener and emerged as a top 5 team in AA. So there’s a lot to like after PTXC.

37. Matthew D’Aquila, Sr Lower Merion (1 AAA)

36. Brandon Hontz, Sr WC Rustin (1 AAA)

35. Mark Brown, So Greensburg Salem (7 AA)

34. Jonah Powell, So Grove City (10 AA)

As is typical in the early season, we continue to find sophomores who will make a name for themselves in 2016. I’m not sure who had the more impressive race this weekend honestly. Mark Brown had an excellent run against Tristan Forsythe of Winchester Thurston (a proven state medalist) and pushed him all the way to the finish in one of the fastest times of the day. Meanwhile, Jonah Powell pulled off an upset victory over Connor Walsh (who won at McDowell and was 4^th at A states last year) in his season debut and has that “Grove City” name on his singlet that often times indicates future success. Both of these guys are monsters and should be really fun to watch duke it out at states in AA. Both seem like top possible 10 guys at this point which, as just sophomores, is really impressive.

33. Ben Bumgarner, Sr Waynesburg Central (7 AA)

32. Evan Addison, Jr LaSalle (12 AAA)

31. Isaac Kole, Sr Carlisle (3 AAA)

30. Bryan Keller, Sr CR North (1 AAA)

29. Alex Tomasko, Sr Mechanicsburg (3 AAA)

28. James Abrahams, Sr Haverford (1 AAA)

This seems like a logical tier to me. All these guys have similar abilities. Their 3200 bests from a season ago are very comparable. Abrahams and Tomasko have similar 1600 bests, while Abrahams and Keller had some notable 800 battles themselves (particularly the Abington Invite), showing how close their track abilities are. But this is XC and it’s a different beast so each of these runners had to prove they could handle the fall. And they did! Kole, Keller and Tomasko all finished right in a row at PTXC with fantastic top 8 PA performances. Meanwhile, Abrahams finished 2^nd at Abington behind returning state medalist Liam Galligan. Abrahams gets a slight nod for being the most proven XC guy of the bunch a year ago, but the group behind him is on a nice ascent.

27. Casey Conboy, Sr Baldwin (7 AAA)

26. Aaron Pfiel, Sr South Fayette (7 AA)

These two were very strong at their RWB debuts this past weekend. Pfiel edged out Conboy for the 3^rd fastest time of the day. Don’t forget, Aaron was in the top 10 at AA states last year and is a proven, consistent XC runner with a great training partner in Sam Snodgrass. Conboy had a monster track season and, so far, it’s translating well to the trails. Both guys have a lot to be excited about heading into week 3.

25. Connor Walsh, Sr Cambridge Springs (10 A)

24. Ben Clouse, Sr Sewickley Acadmey (7 A)

23. Eric Kennedy, Sr Kiski Area (7 AAA)

22. Tristan Forsythe, Jr Winchester Thurston (7 A)

This kid is a beast and the Winchester Thurston program looked killer again to start 2016. Forsythe, who earned a medal in all three seasons last year, won the AA-A race in a very quick time, rivaling the AAA (and AA) boys in the bigger race. With a great group of training partners, confidence from a fantastic sophomore year and the extra experience as a junior seems like a recipe for success. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he wins the A state championship this year. I’m very high on Forsythe.

21. Morgan Cupp, Jr Mechanicsburg (3 AAA)

I had a really hard time placing Cupp in this one. I like his upside a ton and, although he might be a tad high, I think he’s going to have a big season. Placing in the top 5 Pa runners at a loaded PTXC meet is a nice way to start the year.

20. Noah Curtin, Sr Mercyhurst Prep (10 A)

19. Seth Slavin, Sr Pleasant Valley (11 AAA)

The guy just consistently gets results, finishing just behind Connor McMenamin at PTXC for the #4 PA spot. Slavin’s a great performer across any surface, but he seems to really turn it on for the championship season. Especially Footlocker Regionals. And if he’s already this good in September, hard to imagine what November might look like.

18. Isaac Davis, Jr Jersey Shore (4 AA)

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

16. Ryan James, Sr O’Hara (12 AAA)

15. Connor McMenamin, Sr Souderton (1 AAA)

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

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

12. Mark Provenzo, Sr Franklin Regional (7 AAA)

Another really tough group to split out. Everybody ran awesome this weekend in this tier. McMenamin finishing as PA’s #3 runner despite injury last spring was a great sign. He should really come on as he continues to get healthy. Conway and Feffer both picked up those all-important victories against solid competition, but Provenzo gets the nod because of, mainly, history. He finished as the top AAA WPIAL runner at RWB and, as one commenter pointed out, those guys tend to do really well at districts and states. There isn’t a lot of space at the top, but Provenzo might find a way to finish as a top 5 guy at states.

11. Griffin Mackey, Sr Sewickley Academy (7 A)

10. Liam Galligan, Sr Springfield (1 AAA)

There was a ton of love for Galligan after his big victory at Abington and it’s hard to disagree. Liam was phenomenal on the track, lowering his mile time into the 4:15 range, and the momentum carried through without issue to his first fall race. He’s a state medalist who has already amassed two top 50 finishes in Hershey. I’d like to see how he matches up with some guys ahead of him on the list. People think he has top 5 potential this year.

9. Rusty Kujdych, Jr Neshaminy (1 AAA)

8. Spencer Smucker, Jr West Chester Henderson (1 AAA)

7. Zach Lefever, Sr Ephrata (3 AAA)

6. Nick Dahl, Sr GFS (Independent)

5. Zach Skolnekovich, Sr Quaker Valley (7 AA)

I was high on this guy last season. I was high on this guy in the preseason. And I’m high on this guy now. The question is, will he ever go head to head with anybody ahead of him on this list? What could he do to move up higher? I’m looking at Skolnek as a potential state champ and, hopefully, a guy who sneaks into the top 20 of Footlocker (don’t think he’s ever run it, but maybe this year he will).

4. Sam Affolder, So Carlisle (3 AAA)

I can’t wait for the first Affolder-Affolder-Henderson-Lefever match up this year. District 3 is going to be so much fun this year.

3. Nathan Henderson, Sr JP McCaskey (3 AAA)

2. Josh Hoey, Jr Bishop Shanahan (1 AAA)

1. Noah Affolder, Sr Carlisle (3 AAA)

The favorites are just kind of doing their thing. No jaw dropping performances for me personally this weekend (Affolder’s run at Enos Yeager was absurd though), just a couple of proven veterans picking up wins. Noah’s the clear favorite for now in my opinion, but maybe we will see Josh get some push in the coming weeks to help make the conversation interesting.

Stay tuned.