Chapter 1: The Legacy

This is the first post in a 5 part series I'm writing on North Allegheny's road to the state championship this year. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1: The Legacy

Flash back to 2010. North Allegheny, a team with three straight near misses, was heading into what looked like their final chance to win the title before their window closed. Senior Ryan Gil, a Footlocker Finalist in 2009 and 9:03 3200m runner, had been the team’s top runner for the previous two seasons, but in the final and most crucial season, injury struck.

 

A foot injury to Gil left him on the sidelines for a few critical midseason meets, including the Tri State championships, a mere two weeks before the state championships. Without their front runner, the preseason state title favorites, not only lost to district rivals Baldwin by 32 points, but also were nearly edged out by Altoona, who finished just one point back.

 

“Baldwin had a really strong team that season. They had lost Cecala and Logan who were both in the 30s at States the year before, but they returned a state medalist in Bobby Bishop and they also had Paul DeGregorio and Andrew Kuchta who both ended up graduating with district titles in the 3200m. Even if Gil had been in the race and taken first, things would have been within a few points.”

 

After weeks of cross training, Gil braced himself for a return at the WPIAL championships, a meet his school had won each season since 2005. Anything but a peak shape Gil was going to have his hands full against the top WPIAL contenders. The North Hills monster (Juris Silenieks, Zach Hebda and Joe Kush) had just swept Wade Endress, who many considered one of the contenders for a state title, the previous week. Despite the obstacles, the hope was that the mere appearance of the team captain would provide the necessary lift to topple Baldwin and help the team build momentum towards a state title run.

 

It may have provided too much of a lift. Logan Steiner, the team’s #1 man in Gil’s absence, charged to the front of the race and his team followed. Only Gil appeared to have held something back off the start. NA was leading at the mile by 9 points over Mt Lebanon and by 27 points over Baldwin. At 2 miles, the gap was beginning to shrink. Baldwin was making up ground on the overzealous Tigers and their front-runner Bobby Bishop had moved in front of both Gil and Steiner. Baldwin had their top 4 ahead of NA’s third. Baldwin’s freshman 5th man George Kelly was back a ways in 58th, but he had already made up 20 spots since the mile. NA still held a lead at 2 miles, but it was just 11 points.

 

Over the course of the final mile, things continued to shrink. Gil, who had given up on chasing the impressive 1-2-3 sweep of North Hills, fended off Bishop and brought his teammate Steiner with him. Tim Appman and Mike Meehan had big final miles and the NA pack mixed it with Baldwin’s, giving them enough to barely hold off their rivals late charge 80-86.

 

But there was still the rematch looming at states, not to mention the defending state champions: West Chester Henderson. The state course can really hit you hard if you go out over your head, so NA would have to ride a different strategy if they were going to continue their success on the Hershey hills. For the most part, the team held back compared to their district race. Steiner chose to sit back in 71st instead of 1st. In the team standings, North Allegheny was in 4th place overall and 61 points behind first, behind West Chester Henderson, Altoona and another district rival, Mount Lebanon. 

 

Despite his teammates’ slow start, Ryan Gil had not held back. After a cautious qualifying meet at WPIALs, Gil went out in 4:52 at the state meet, placing him 2 seconds off the lead in 17th place. Zach Hebda and Juris Silenieks from North Hills were leading, hoping to continue their monstrous dominance over the rest of the state.

Over the course of the second mile Gil continued to chase the leaders. At the two mile mark, he was in 7th place, three seconds off a new leader, Reece Ayers. The three-headed hydra of North Hills was beginning to look shaky, Juris and Hebda were now in 4th and 5th while Kush was in 14th. Gil, who only two weeks previously had been held out of his league championship, was running in the top 10 of the state championship. The pacing,10:01 for the leaders, was not anything too dramatic so maybe Gil would be able to sneak into the top five or maybe even the top three. Winning seemed improbable: as talented as he was, he had lost a substantial amount of training and racing time. Yet he had to try, ever point was critical for his team success. He knew Wade Endress, a 1:52 half miler, was lurking in third, ready to strike so his move would have to come soon.

 

Meanwhile, the Tigers were rapidly picking up spots behind Ryan. Logan Steiner had moved from 71st to 19th over the course of the second mile and the team had lowered their score by 40 points overall. Tyler Nictora and Will Appman were running in the 3-4 spots with the teams 3-6 separated by just 5 seconds. Defending champions Henderson still held a slim 14-point advantage, but the gap back to third had grown. It was now just a two-team race. Baldwin, the team that had given North Allegheny such a scare at districts, was all the way back in 6th place.

 

To get the state title, every spot would matter over the course of the last mile. Nictora was in 87th  overall, Appman 93rd and Tonzo 99th. Meehan was outside the top 100 as the 6th. The front running excellence of Gil and Steiner would only be able to carry the team so far. Eventually, it would take a complete team effort. That was the task for the final mile.

 

At the front a group of six seniors all thought they had a chance at gold. But Ryan Gil was the top returner from a year ago and the most experienced. He had been in all types of races, running at both the NXN National Championships and the Footlocker National Championships in back to back years. He made a hard move earlier than expected and the others were not prepared to follow. He found himself with daylight as he approached the finish, an important fact. Endress, Hebda and Campbell were all kicking furiously, but Gil was clear enough to hang on and grab the victory. It was an incredibly gutsy performance and a testament that heart and desire are more important than fitness and numbers.

 

It also was critical for North Allegheny as a team: they now had the ultimate low stick. Behind him Logan Steiner continued to sprinting hard to the finish and outlasting Henderson’s #1 man Bryan Andrews. Meanwhile, Junior Tim Appman had made up nearly 50 spots over the course of the last mile moving from 93rd to 54th. He passed Henderson’s #4 and nearly caught their #3 in the process. A solid finish from Nictora and Meehan clinched it for North Allegheny. They beat Henderson by 22 point for that elusive state title.

 

After all the struggling and close calls, after all the injuries and obstacles and heart breaking, Ryan Gil and the North Allegheny Tigers had won their long deserved state championship. It had been four years of historic success for the North Allegheny program, thanks mainly to their fearless leader Ryan Gil. When he graduated at the end of that season, it was hard to say what would happen to the program he left behind.

 

Little did they know they know that after four more years of fighting, the trophy was waiting for them once again.