If you haven't been following along, I could only get up the first 10 before class, so I made one post with the 12-3 ranked upsets (can quickly be found by scrolling down to the post below this) and used this post for the top 2 upsets (in my own opinion). Ironically they come from the very same meet ....
2. Conner Quinn XC 2011
In 2011 the XC individual title was largely seen as up for grabs. Certainly the favorite was 4:07 miler and Penn recruit Drew Magaha of Upper Moreland, who straight up dominated the District One Championships with a 15:16 time (15:34 was second).
But Magaha was a little new to the top of the XC universe which led many (including myself) to look elsewhere for our picks. There was Logan Steiner of North Allegheny, a proven XC entity who had medaled at states already twice and won a team title the previous season. He won the WPIAL title in absolutely horrible conditions the previous weekend for back to back impressive wins.
Then there was top returner Sam Hibbs who was coming off a bit of an off day at Districts, quick miler Alex Moran from Mt. Lebo, and Ned Willig from Great Valley who was a 4:11 miler with great XC strength (second at districts).
Behind this group was a slew of new up and comers. Dan Jaskowak out of District 10 was the big name that many were picking for a surprise upset. Tom Coyle and Dan Savage, the lead runner for a very strong O'Hara team with team title hopes, were also up there in the conversation for the title. Surprise District 3 champion, sophomore Jeff Groh, was also tossed around as a potential surprise top 5 finisher.
But none of those guys left the state meet with a title. That honor belonged to the Junior from Hatboro Horsham: Conner Quinn. Going into the season many saw Quinn as a very strong training partner to teammate Sam Hibbs in his quest for a state title (which he would have to wait until outdoors in the 3200m to grab). There was also another man named Quinn, Quinn Devlin from Downingtown West, who many thought would be in the mix for a state title if he could stay healthy (unfortunately he could not).
Going into districts, Quinn took a big step forward. He was a surprise 3rd at Lehigh running in the 15:30s. He finished only behind true speedsters Ned Willig and Drew Magaha. If he could manage another performance like that at the state championships, he would certainly be in the mix to win?
But Quinn didn't have the flashy track times, the high quality wins in invitationals, or the flashy name that was being thrown around on the message boards. Surely that meant he wasn't a true title contender.
Nope.
Quinn broke away from a slew of big names and never looked back. He didn't need a flashy kick or an impressive surge, he just was the strongest runner on that day and used that to his advantage. His 16:03 won him the state title by three seconds over Dan Jaskowak of Grove City who was also a Junior.
Big congrats to Conner on the W.
1. North Penn XC 2011
When I heard Conner Quinn won the state title in 2011, I was stunned. But when I heard North Penn won the team title, I just straight up thought it was wrong. Sam Bernitt originally asked me about it and I was positive he was just completely wrong. But no, North Penn had ascended one more time to the top of the totem pole in XC. They won their state title since 2007 and they did it without a top 10 guy or a big name.
Let's back up a moment. North Penn spent the beginning of the year trying to figure out what pieces they had left from the previous season. They were second at Districts in surprise fashion in 2010, despite losing both Brad Miles and Sam Bernitt thanks to the emergence of sophomore Jack MaCauley. MaCauley, Chris Trimble and Dan Davis would be back to try and help the team improve on their finish. At states, the team's inexperience showed big time, only Dan Davis managed to finish in the top 50 of the state. It was a valuable learning experience for the youngsters.
North Penn didn't show their cards early in the season. I was on the North Penn bandwagon from Day 1. I was a firm believer that with that kind of program and those young talents they could do anything after what I had witnessed the previous year. They didn't rebuild, they reloaded. So I kept saying they were a top 5 team in the state. Even after Henderson once again emerged as a power. Even after North Allegheny and Mount Lebanon showed off some excellent packs.
And then the final nail to the coffin for me that made me think the North Penn dream was over. At Districts, the same place where the previous two seasons they had had such unbelievable races and shocked me so much, they underwhelmed again. Henderson dominated the meet, scoring 89 points. Great Valley had 148 for second and North Penn was a disappointing third in 155. That was it I jumped off the bandwagon.
So then we get to states. The powerhouse team, basically from Day 1 that season was O'Hara. They were so loaded. There were 4 guys on that team who were legit medal threats and all of them had the potential to be up in the top 50 finishers, which is no joke. They had run some really fast times (on some really fast courses admittedly) and were coming off a season where they surprised with their third place finish at states despite a lot of neigh sayers (including myself). So as far as I was concerned O'Hara was in excellent position to take down the title. The only problem was that they lacked a tad of depth. After their 5 there was a fairly reasonable drop off. And the state course usually takes a few victims from every team at states and depth pays off.
So who would you have picked to sneak up and surprise O'Hara?
Henderson, title winners in 2009, runner ups in 2010 and now district champions with a ton of strong youngsters, led by then sophomore Tony Russell? They seemed just as good a bet as any.
North Allegheny? The defending champs had hit their stride with a stunningly dominate victory of Mt. Lebanon (at the time the #2 team in the state in most people's opinion) to win yet another WPIAL title. It seemed as if everything was coming together perfectly for NA to peak beautifully and snag another gold.
Mount Lebanon? Hungry from a tough loss at WPIALs this team was going to be back chasing the win. They had great experience on the course and had three very strong front runners to lead their charge. They were a team with all the right motivation for an upset.
Even Great Valley, the district runner ups who had come on incredibly strong over the course of just a few weeks, looked as if they had more momentum than the Knights from North Penn.
But, alas, that is why they run the races. North Penn runs hard, they run the hills well. MaCauley sneaks into the medals. Dan Davis is back in the top 30. Chris Trimble finishes 35th, just behind O'Hara's third man. A couple of sophomores Ryan Grace and Matt Molloy have huge days and finish 78th and 82nd. It's a big day for North Penn. They exceeding expectations. They are a top 5 team no doubt.
But even after they finished and talked about the race, could they have really thought they won? O'Hara had two in the top 11 and 4 in the top 50. North Allegheny had two medalists, Mt. Lebanon had two guys ahead of Davis, even the boys from CRN had 3 guys up around the top 50 and always run excellent at the state championships. It was likely going to be a battle to sort out who was getting the silver medals.
But the results came in. Tie-score. A tie for the state title! Unheard of! It was basically the closest a state championship could ever be. And in the end, North Penn had the 6th man to do it. It was Hunter Hill's day to shine, beating out O'Hara's #6 by just 13 seconds.
So why did it happen?
I'll tell you why. North Penn changed their game plan. For two years they had surprised everyone at Districts and ran out of their minds at Lehigh to lock a nice cushy seat to states. The goal was to get there and you bet they got there in style those years.
But you want to know a secret? Nobody runs out of their mind two weeks in a row. Especially not when the second meet is the state championship at Hershey. So North Penn waited a week to unleash their peak. They trained for the hills of Hershey and made it their goal not just to get to states, but to go win.
And although they had a rocky year and don't have the district title trophy to show if in their trophy case, guess what? North Penn got the only gold medals that truly matter. They won the 2011 state championship in dramatic fashion and every second counted.
Seeing what that O'Hara team has become over the last couple years, a true powerhouse in cross country and track and field, makes you appreciate even more what North Penn accomplished.
Congrats to them.
May the madness always continue.
2. Conner Quinn XC 2011
In 2011 the XC individual title was largely seen as up for grabs. Certainly the favorite was 4:07 miler and Penn recruit Drew Magaha of Upper Moreland, who straight up dominated the District One Championships with a 15:16 time (15:34 was second).
But Magaha was a little new to the top of the XC universe which led many (including myself) to look elsewhere for our picks. There was Logan Steiner of North Allegheny, a proven XC entity who had medaled at states already twice and won a team title the previous season. He won the WPIAL title in absolutely horrible conditions the previous weekend for back to back impressive wins.
Then there was top returner Sam Hibbs who was coming off a bit of an off day at Districts, quick miler Alex Moran from Mt. Lebo, and Ned Willig from Great Valley who was a 4:11 miler with great XC strength (second at districts).
Behind this group was a slew of new up and comers. Dan Jaskowak out of District 10 was the big name that many were picking for a surprise upset. Tom Coyle and Dan Savage, the lead runner for a very strong O'Hara team with team title hopes, were also up there in the conversation for the title. Surprise District 3 champion, sophomore Jeff Groh, was also tossed around as a potential surprise top 5 finisher.
But none of those guys left the state meet with a title. That honor belonged to the Junior from Hatboro Horsham: Conner Quinn. Going into the season many saw Quinn as a very strong training partner to teammate Sam Hibbs in his quest for a state title (which he would have to wait until outdoors in the 3200m to grab). There was also another man named Quinn, Quinn Devlin from Downingtown West, who many thought would be in the mix for a state title if he could stay healthy (unfortunately he could not).
Going into districts, Quinn took a big step forward. He was a surprise 3rd at Lehigh running in the 15:30s. He finished only behind true speedsters Ned Willig and Drew Magaha. If he could manage another performance like that at the state championships, he would certainly be in the mix to win?
But Quinn didn't have the flashy track times, the high quality wins in invitationals, or the flashy name that was being thrown around on the message boards. Surely that meant he wasn't a true title contender.
Nope.
Quinn broke away from a slew of big names and never looked back. He didn't need a flashy kick or an impressive surge, he just was the strongest runner on that day and used that to his advantage. His 16:03 won him the state title by three seconds over Dan Jaskowak of Grove City who was also a Junior.
Big congrats to Conner on the W.
1. North Penn XC 2011
When I heard Conner Quinn won the state title in 2011, I was stunned. But when I heard North Penn won the team title, I just straight up thought it was wrong. Sam Bernitt originally asked me about it and I was positive he was just completely wrong. But no, North Penn had ascended one more time to the top of the totem pole in XC. They won their state title since 2007 and they did it without a top 10 guy or a big name.
Let's back up a moment. North Penn spent the beginning of the year trying to figure out what pieces they had left from the previous season. They were second at Districts in surprise fashion in 2010, despite losing both Brad Miles and Sam Bernitt thanks to the emergence of sophomore Jack MaCauley. MaCauley, Chris Trimble and Dan Davis would be back to try and help the team improve on their finish. At states, the team's inexperience showed big time, only Dan Davis managed to finish in the top 50 of the state. It was a valuable learning experience for the youngsters.
North Penn didn't show their cards early in the season. I was on the North Penn bandwagon from Day 1. I was a firm believer that with that kind of program and those young talents they could do anything after what I had witnessed the previous year. They didn't rebuild, they reloaded. So I kept saying they were a top 5 team in the state. Even after Henderson once again emerged as a power. Even after North Allegheny and Mount Lebanon showed off some excellent packs.
And then the final nail to the coffin for me that made me think the North Penn dream was over. At Districts, the same place where the previous two seasons they had had such unbelievable races and shocked me so much, they underwhelmed again. Henderson dominated the meet, scoring 89 points. Great Valley had 148 for second and North Penn was a disappointing third in 155. That was it I jumped off the bandwagon.
So then we get to states. The powerhouse team, basically from Day 1 that season was O'Hara. They were so loaded. There were 4 guys on that team who were legit medal threats and all of them had the potential to be up in the top 50 finishers, which is no joke. They had run some really fast times (on some really fast courses admittedly) and were coming off a season where they surprised with their third place finish at states despite a lot of neigh sayers (including myself). So as far as I was concerned O'Hara was in excellent position to take down the title. The only problem was that they lacked a tad of depth. After their 5 there was a fairly reasonable drop off. And the state course usually takes a few victims from every team at states and depth pays off.
So who would you have picked to sneak up and surprise O'Hara?
Henderson, title winners in 2009, runner ups in 2010 and now district champions with a ton of strong youngsters, led by then sophomore Tony Russell? They seemed just as good a bet as any.
North Allegheny? The defending champs had hit their stride with a stunningly dominate victory of Mt. Lebanon (at the time the #2 team in the state in most people's opinion) to win yet another WPIAL title. It seemed as if everything was coming together perfectly for NA to peak beautifully and snag another gold.
Mount Lebanon? Hungry from a tough loss at WPIALs this team was going to be back chasing the win. They had great experience on the course and had three very strong front runners to lead their charge. They were a team with all the right motivation for an upset.
Even Great Valley, the district runner ups who had come on incredibly strong over the course of just a few weeks, looked as if they had more momentum than the Knights from North Penn.
But, alas, that is why they run the races. North Penn runs hard, they run the hills well. MaCauley sneaks into the medals. Dan Davis is back in the top 30. Chris Trimble finishes 35th, just behind O'Hara's third man. A couple of sophomores Ryan Grace and Matt Molloy have huge days and finish 78th and 82nd. It's a big day for North Penn. They exceeding expectations. They are a top 5 team no doubt.
But even after they finished and talked about the race, could they have really thought they won? O'Hara had two in the top 11 and 4 in the top 50. North Allegheny had two medalists, Mt. Lebanon had two guys ahead of Davis, even the boys from CRN had 3 guys up around the top 50 and always run excellent at the state championships. It was likely going to be a battle to sort out who was getting the silver medals.
But the results came in. Tie-score. A tie for the state title! Unheard of! It was basically the closest a state championship could ever be. And in the end, North Penn had the 6th man to do it. It was Hunter Hill's day to shine, beating out O'Hara's #6 by just 13 seconds.
So why did it happen?
I'll tell you why. North Penn changed their game plan. For two years they had surprised everyone at Districts and ran out of their minds at Lehigh to lock a nice cushy seat to states. The goal was to get there and you bet they got there in style those years.
But you want to know a secret? Nobody runs out of their mind two weeks in a row. Especially not when the second meet is the state championship at Hershey. So North Penn waited a week to unleash their peak. They trained for the hills of Hershey and made it their goal not just to get to states, but to go win.
And although they had a rocky year and don't have the district title trophy to show if in their trophy case, guess what? North Penn got the only gold medals that truly matter. They won the 2011 state championship in dramatic fashion and every second counted.
Seeing what that O'Hara team has become over the last couple years, a true powerhouse in cross country and track and field, makes you appreciate even more what North Penn accomplished.
Congrats to them.
May the madness always continue.
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