2017 XC Top 50 Rankings: Week One

By Jarrett Felix

Not a ton of movement this week, but a few notable shake ups. Let’s get to it. I’ve bolded those for which I have seen results for in the past week. If I didn’t see you in the results, I didn’t move your ranking (just the people around you).

New this year: comment with some of your favorite performances from the weekend from guys who didn’t make the list! We will turn it into a poll to be voted on by our readers.

50. Ben Barnes, Sr Riverview (7 A)
A solid performer among small school runners, Barnes picked up a nice win in a solid time at the Gateway Invite. It wasn’t a stacked field, but he handled a strong group of AAA contenders and made it clear he has a winning mindset going into this season. He and Zach Tingley, who won at Hornet Harrier, essentially tied for this spot, but I gave a slight nod to Barnes. Both guys should be strong contenders in A this season.

49. David Endres, Jr CB East (1 AAA)
A familiar performance from Endres as he broke 16 minutes at Northampton for the second year in a row. While he didn’t pick up the win, he lost to a very respectable opponent in Avery Lederer. Plus, the CB East team will likely be a lot more focused at timing their peak this season and I think that could mean big things for Endres in the months ahead. For now, I put him in a cautiously optimistic ranking.

48. Cameron Binda, Jr Greensburg Salem (7 AA)
47. Jake Underwood, Sr Wilson (3 AAA)

46. Kyle Burke, Sr Abington Heights (2 AAA)
45. Ethan Bernstein, Sr Saucon Valley (11 AA)
Burke and Bernstein had a great battle in their opening invitational. Although I’m still high on Burke, you have to give credit to Bernstein who picked up a quality victory. Bernstein is a district champion with great 3200 meter chops and could be in line for a big season this year. I especially like his potential to post a fast time if he gets on the Lehigh course. He could be under 16 minutes.

44. Brandon Curley, Sr Montrose (2 A)
Curley posted a strong second place showing at Cliff Robbins and his Montrose team pulled off a big win in the team standings. I’m very excited about this Montrose squad, but I’ve got to temper the hype a bit. Curley seems like a top 10 type in A this season, but it’s still early.

43. Peter Costentino, Jr Mount Lebanon (7 AAA)
Mount Lebanon grabbed a ton of headlines this weekend after another impressive performance at Marty Uher. Peter Costentino led the way, nearly stealing the victory from the talented Mark Brown. Costentino is coming off a monster track season and was a state qualifier last year, but his progression clearly has cooled off during the summer months. I think this guy has big potential. May even enter into the state medal conversation before all is said and done.

42. Andrew Stanley, Sr Southern Huntington (6 A)

41. Tavonne Davis, Sr Allderdice (8 AAA)
I was really impressed by Allderdice in Week One. Davis has been solid the past two seasons, but as a senior he may finally be ready to break into the top 50 guys in AAA. He’s got a great training partner in Hermann and is following in the footsteps of a stud in Amadou Diallo who blazed the trail Davis needs to follow.

40. Erik Andrzejewski, Jr General McLane (10 AA)
See Nate Price

39. Brayden Harris, Fr Mifflin County (6 AAA)
Big Valley was the meet of the youngsters and freshman Brayden Harris certainly did not disappoint. The kid dropped a 16:21 at this meet, finished just a few seconds behind proven stud Garrett Baublitz and defeated a ton of other list or near list types en route to his 3rd place finish. It’s only his first high school invite so, in theory, Harris still has room to grow. He has a great group of training partners and the energy in the Mifflin County locker room should be infectious as they have a realistic shot of making it to states if they have a strong season.

38. Elias Lindgren, Sr Episcopal (Independent)
37. Peter Borger, Sr Malvern Prep (Independent)

36. Nate Price, Jr General McLane (10 AA)
Yes, the Lock Haven course is fast, but 15:43 and 15:50 for the General McLane boys is moving. Andrzejewski has proven he is a clutch performer who had his best race of the year at states (18th in AA ahead of a lot of strong names), but Price may have more potential on his best day. We saw Price have a monster track campaign, breaking into the 9:30s for 3200 and qualifying for states. He pulled out the win today and with a great teammate to push him, the GM boys should be big contenders in AA. Oh by the way, these two are making the sophomore to junior jump in 2017.

35. Ryan Stravaggi, Jr Harbor Creek (10 AA)
34. Andrew Sullivan, Sr Hershey (3 AAA)
33. Matt Busche, Sr Franklin Regional (7 AAA)
32. Ethan Koza, Sr CR North (1 AAA)
31. Mitchell Etter, Sr State College (6 AAA)
30. Tyler Rollins, Sr DT West (1 AAA)
29. Mark Brown, Jr Greensburg Salem (7 AAA)
28. Garrett Baublitz, So Juniata (6 AA)
27. Dan McGoey, So North Allegheny (7 AAA)
26. Sean Rahill, Sr William Tennent (1 AAA)
25. Seth Ketler, Jr Seneca Valley (7 AAA)
24. Jonah Powell, Jr Grove City (10 AA)
23. Bryce Ohl, Sr York Suburban (3 AA)
22. Quinn Serfass, Sr Loyalsock (4 AA)
21. Brendan Miller, Sr Upper Dauphin (3 A)
20. Evan Addison, Sr LaSalle (12 AAA)
19. Sam Early, Sr CR North (1 AAA)
18. Sam Snodgrass, Sr South Fayette (7 AA)
17. Carlos Shultz, So Conestoga (1 AAA)
16. Tyler Leeser, Sr Milton Area (4 AA)

15. Jack Wisner, Jr Carlisle (3 AAA)
Wisner’s first performance of the season wasn’t even a full 5k, but it got the wheels turning for his upside. Jack had some injury trouble early in the 2016 XC season, but when he got healthy and got rolling he blasted all the way to the top 40 in the state. He’s always been at the top of his class and the top junior in the state is typically a top 5 guy in XC. 12:24 with that big of a margin of victory is impressive and puts him on a short list of all-time greats. I was worried about him losing a step without those training partners but, at least for now, he looks strong. However, he still hasn’t completed a full 5k so it’s hard to get too excited.

14. Jared Giannascoli, Sr Lower Dauphin (3 AAA)
13. Jack Zardecki, Sr Dallas (2 AA)
12. Sam Owori, Jr Seneca Valley (7 AAA)
11. Avery Lederer, Sr Penncrest (1 AAA)
10. Liam Conway, Sr Owen J Roberts (1 AAA)
9. Joe Cullen, Sr Wyomissing (3 AA)
8. Morgan Cupp, Sr Mechanicsburg (3 AAA)
7. Isaac Davis, Sr Jersey Shore (4 AA)
6. Josh Hoey, Sr Bishop Shanahan (1 AAA)
5. Tristan Forsythe, Sr Winchester Thurston (7 A)

4. Spencer Smucker, Sr WC Henderson (1 AAA)
A sneaky good performance out of Smucker in the opener for Henderson. Again, not even close to a 5k, but this is an ultra talented kid who has strung together a consistent set of training and its paying off. He had his better ever track season and now the speed he showed in Meet #1 put him up there with Nick Dahl, who was just 2 spots away from a Footlocker appearance last year. We will see what happens in the coming weeks, but we can’t leave Smucker out of the individual state title talks.

3. Ryan Campbell, Sr CR North (1 AAA)
2. Rusty Kujdych, Sr Neshaminy (1 AAA)

1. Noah Beveridge, Sr Butler (7 AAA)
May be bold after just one race to flip Beveridge over Kujdych, but A) I wasn’t particularly sold on which guy was better coming in and B) it’s more fun to get through the whole post and see something interesting at the end. Here’s the thing, Beveridge came out the first race and ran even better than Austin Pondel did when Pondel ended up being a Footlocker finalist. And here’s the other thing, Beveridge came out the gates a million times better than he did at the start of last season when he was midpack in the opener. He went on to finish 5th at states. If he has anywhere near that type of improvement curve this season, he’s going to run away with the state title. Beveridge has the top spot for now based on his record run, but Kujdych will undoubtedly have a response. I’m excited to see it.

26 comments:

  1. Brendan O'Toole 16:17 @ NP vs Wiss in rain

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  2. This top 10 is going to bounce around a lot this year, they're all so close and it's doubtful anyone will break away like an Affolder, Brophy or Russell.

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  3. Impact Transfers at Spiked Shoe

    11 Drew Barefield Carlisle Leesville, LA 10:06
    16 Erik Boethius State College Sweden N/A
    18 Cade Rush Carlisle Waynesburg Central, PA 10:19

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  4. I’m really looking forward to seeing the team results of today’s meets. The Red White and Blue is stacked as usual and should give us a better idea of how the western teams are shaping up. It looks like N/A, Seneca Valley and Mt. Lebo are all running. The PTXC at Kutztown is loaded with over 50 teams including CBE, CBW and Spring Ford. The NJ Cherokee Challenge lists DTW and Shanahan. DTW has a huge team with a lot of good runners so they should be showing off their depth. I’m hoping that’s Shanahan’s varsity running there today but maybe not. Going into the season I’d give Shanahan the best shot at challenging CRN for states. If they’re all in to go after states I’d say Josh Hoey would be favorite to win the individual title. Jonah Hoey's freshman results show every sign of developing into a top individual in the state. They still need the rest of their varsity to drop a fair amount from last year but they have the potential. It’s looks like a nice day for running so we should see some low times too.
    - RJJL

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    1. The 4.9K Red White and Blue race showed that Mount Lebanon is the team most likely to challenge CRN

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  5. Mt Lebo should make a statement today, they're for real.

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    1. Lebo did make a statement, they've got more talent and depth than anyone in D1.

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    2. They looked really good. JV scored 15 too, nothing to mess with down there.

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  6. All the experts preseason favorite CRN lost to Upper Dublin and they're not even a top 10 team. The state team championship is up for grabs this year.

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    1. Take it easy. CRN rested Campbell and Koza, they'll be back soon.

      But after seeing today's Red White and Blue results, you might be right about no clear favorite. Mt. Lebanon with the upset, 87-101 over Seneca Valley (who was 3rd behind Morgantown, WV). Lebo is on a roll right now, and I'd call them the #1 team at the moment. Worth noting though, it looks like Connor Volk-Klos, formerly of Mars, transferred to SV. He could be the perfect guy to replace Trey Razanauskas and complete another "Big 3" for SV. NA looks shaky, outside of McGoey. Are they currently on the outside looking in for states? I'll let Etrain sort this stuff out :)

      RWB Results:
      http://results.tfmeetpro.com/Big_River_Race_Management/2017_Red_White_Blue_XC_Classic/#event4

      -Jiminy Cricket

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    2. The top 2 for CRN were at official college visits this weekend so they did not race.

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    3. Their top 2 didn't run.

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    4. CRN was without 2 of their best runners, Koza and Campbell

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    5. Even if their two best runners took 1-2, they still barely beat Upper Dublin. Mt Lebonan and N Allegheny and Shanahan are way out in front

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    6. If Campbell and Koza were there, the score would be 20-41 CRN wins. That is not very close for a local meet with only 7 teams.

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  7. 2 guys not mentioned enough, George Schools Jeffrey Love, and Jenkintown's Jack Miller finished 1, and 2 at mill street today against quality competition

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  8. Conway was a beast today @ Desales 15:59

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  9. Carlos Shultz has no results including today, 9/9. Does he have a problem?

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    1. Apparently a runner named Carlos Shultz won a dual meet for Phoenixville today against PJP. Is this him, or just coincidence?

      http://papreplive.com/2017/09/13/tight-knit-spring-ford-boys-cross-country-runs-past-methacton/

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  10. My vote for Etrain runner of the week is Rusty Kujdych for mixing it up with the Loudon Valley pack and for breaking 16 on a true 5K course.

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    Replies
    1. ^ Ben Brugger, Upper Dublin.

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    2. At the Red White and Blue - Christian Fitch from Fox Chapel wasn't on my radar this year, he ran great and took 7th. Tavonne Davis took 6th and is another early season surprise but Etrain already spotted last week and has him ranked #41.

      - RJJL

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  11. RWB was crazy. Snodgrass wins AAA race and Mt. Lebo wins team. Winchester Thurston looks really good as well with a good win. Improvement from everyone and Forsythe wins easy, WT probably would have won AA race too.

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    1. Does the RWB course have a 200 foot drop or something because those times are really good especially for early September.

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    2. It's not a real 5k. They moved it back to the old setup, which is probably at least 100 meters short.

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    3. It's about 80 meters short and no, not a huge drop. They did go back to the old setup though which removes a giant grass hill at the start that messed up everyone's times previously (because the elevation change would be like +250-300 feet)

      Source: I ran there

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