Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Do or Die

Ever since North Allegheny’s incredible sophomore class emerged in 2012, they had been declared favorites for gold in 2014. Even with the loss of Seamus Love, North Allegheny came into the 2014 season as most likely to win the AAA state title. However, the confidence that fans had predicted with in 2012 was waning. Malvern Prep, an independent league squad led by rising junior Jaxson Hoey, was seen as the best team in the state. O’Hara, Council Rock North, Conestoga and Carlisle were all pre-season picks to try and knock the Tigers from their #1 spot.

 

Early in the season, NA did little to shake the doubters. At the first major invitational, the Red White and Blue Invitational, they packed a serious punch out front, taking the top two spots in the meet behind Matt McGoey and Hunter Wharrey, but Seel seemed a bit off and the team had a glaring weakness at the 4-5 positions. Although it was encouraging that Wharrey was emerging as a top 10 threat, the gaping hole left by Seamus Love’s departure could not be ignored.

 

Meanwhile, Conestoga displayed excellent depth in their early season meets and had potential through not just five, but seven guys in the early going. Andrew Marston, the team’s #1 runner, was making a name for himself in the state title conversation. The youngsters from Downingtown West also showed potential for a strong top five at the Abington Invitational, hanging tough with Malvern Prep. Soon after, Cardinal O’Hara gave Malvern Prep another test at the Briarwood Invitational, behind a potent top three featuring Kevin and Ryan James.

 

O’Hara and North Allegheny met at the Pre State meet towards the end of September to decide an early season favorite for the state championship. The Tigers, who had thrown down huge performances at this meet the previous two years, were the favorites, but O’Hara was eager to prove otherwise.

 

On race day, the pace was very quick through the first half of the race with Kevin James for O’Hara up front, leading the way. Although James did not end up winning, he did finish 2nd overall, an important low stick for his team. McGoey and Wharrey finished 4th and 5th while Ryan James, as only a sophomore, ran down a slew of runners in the second half of the race to grab 6th. Rob Morro, O’Hara’s #3, edged out Scott Seel, continuing the slight O’Hara advantage and Drew Pastore and Billy Donovan brought it home in the 4-5 spots, beating out Jacob Stupak and Peter Savchick in aggregate.

 

North Allegheny’s lack of depth through five runners had cost them an early season win and would have to improve if they were going to get revenge against O’Hara at the state meet. This issue was compounded when the top five for Conestoga had a fantastic showing up in New York at the McQuaid Invitational. Andrew Marston led five under 16 for three miles and nearly set a course record when he won the race.

 

To make matters worse, an old rival in Mount Lebanon had nearly beaten North Allegheny at the Pre State meet, finishing just five points back. Lebo’s pack was significantly stronger and if their front running improved behind Ian Baun, they could steal back the WPIAL title, getting revenge for the upset in 2011.

 

Many wondered if Scott Seel was struggling without his old training partner Seamus Love, not to mention the fact that Love himself would have likely accounted for at least a 25-point swing, more than enough to beat O’Hara and distance themselves from Mount Lebanon. In 2010, Logan Steiner transferred to North Allegheny from Meadville and provided the missing piece to a state title time. After a transfer helped win the Tiger’s a title in 2010, it seemed an ironic twist that a transfer would cost them a title in 2014.

 

But North Allegheny transitioned. They had been a fantastic pack team the previous two seasons, but that hadn’t been enough to distance themselves in the past. It was time for a new strategy, one that had given North Allegheny so much trouble in the past.

 

North Allegheny continued to win races behind their top three, but as the season progressed more young runners developed into strong 4-5 runners. Jacob Stupak showed consistent improvement, beginning at the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Invite, where Stupak was asked to step up when Hunter Wharrey sat out. The team delivered and showed that they were not a one or two man team. The momentum continued to carry behind Zach Dieble, Marc Miggliozzi and freshman TJ Robinson.

 

When North Allegheny saw their rivals Mount Lebanon again at Tri-States, both teams were likely thinking back to Pre States where Lebo had come so close to dethroning the WPIAL empire. However, things were not as close at Tri-States. On the difficult hills of Cal U, North Allegheny showcased their new and improved top five and took the title back. Matt McGoey won individual gold and Scott Seel had one of his best races of the season.

 

By the time the Tigers hit Districts, they were a well-oiled machine. McGoey and Wharrey finished 1-2, Seel finished an impressive 6th and Stupak had another killer showing, finishing 13th. Dieble rounded out the group with a 25th place finish to give the team a total of 47 points.

 

Although this was actually one of North Allegheny’s less dominating wins, they looked more than ever like a team ready to win the state championship. Unlike in year’s past, they had a dangerous front-runner. Matt McGoey entered states a legitimate top five contender. The team closely resembled the CRN and O’Hara teams that had given them big challenges the previous two seasons: a killer top three with two consistently improving underclassmen at 4-5.

 

While North Allegheny was finding its identity, other top contenders were struggling. O’Hara and Conestoga had both lost to a LaSalle team that had a killer pack but no clear front-runner. Downingtown West, after winning the Chesmont League, had barely edged out Central Bucks East for a spot at states. At the District 3 Championships, Hempfield upset the Mid Penn champs Cumberland Valley.

 

However, States would be no cakewalk for the Tigers. Cardinal O’Hara, similarly to North Allegheny, also was coming to the end of an era. Kevin James, their Senior leader, was approaching his final chance for individual and team gold in Cross Country. Ironically, parallels were drawn between the 2014 O’Hara squad and the 2010 North Allegheny squad that won a state title in its final try with Ryan Gil. In addition, the 2014 North Allegheny team had been compared to the 2012 O’Hara team. Like O’Hara, the North Allegheny team had been coming together for years, building towards a shot at a state championship. But in 2012, despite a strong top three, O’Hara had been edged out by West Chester Henderson and their Seniors never got that team title. Was that the fate North Allegheny would suffer as well?

 

Adding to the drama, was the emergence of an old nemesis: West Chester Henderson. Henderson had what was arguably the best top four in the state at their disposal and had a ton of momentum after they nearly stole the district title from heavily favored Conestoga. NA and Henderson had a history of finishing 1-2 at the state meet and maybe this year would add to the tradition.

 

Ultimately, all the talk would be settled on the Hershey course and the North Allegheny boys lined up with their now traditional buzzed haircuts, looking forward to competing for gold. It was perfect weather conditions for a title match and the quick early pace reflected this. McGoey and Wharrey got out hard, putting themselves near the front of the race, while the 4-5-6-7 runners packed it in and ran conservatively. Scott Seel straddled the groups.

 

It was a tight race through the opening third as CB West, the young squad from District One, was out to a surprising lead. In second was Conestoga, third was O’Hara and then fourth was North Allegheny. They were in a good spot, but only 33 points separated the Tigers from 7th, indicating just how close this race would be. Miggliozzi and Dieble were both around 110th and Stupak was in 137th. If they couldn’t move up, their top three alone would not be enough to get them on the medal stand, let alone with gold around their neck.

 

But the second mile, things began to turn. CB West’s early attack on the pace had slowed them up and they had fallen back to third in the standings. Meanwhile, the North Allegheny pack was moving up. Dieble was now in the 80s, Miggliozzi in the 90s and Stupak at 102. All three seniors were in medal position to lead the way with McGoey and Wharrey both in the top 10 overall. They had taken a commanding lead in the team standings, leading by almost 30 points over Conestoga. The state championship was within reach.

 

However, the race was not over. A year ago, Cardinal O’Hara’s 4th and 5th runners had stormed through the field over the final mile and nearly picked off enough finishers to steal the silver medals away from North Allegheny. They sat perched with their top three in position, hoping for another big finishing stretch by Pastore and Nolen or Donovan. In addition, Conestoga had four runners that were all comfortably ahead of North Allegheny’s 4th with 3 runners all right on Seel’s heels. Their 5-6-7 runners sat in a tight pack and a breakthrough last mile for any of them could easily provide the 20 to 30 point swing that was required for gold.

 

Yet over the final mile, the team that made a final surge to claim victory was North Allegheny. Matt McGoey set the tone, sprinting all the way through the line and out leaning Colin Abert, the pre-race favorite, to grab 4th place overall in an unbelievable15:47. Behind him, Hunter Wharrey took 8th overall, running 15:52, a time equal to the mark run by Ryan Gil in 2010 when he won the state title.

 

Unfortunately, Scott Seel was barely outgunned by Drew Wilkinson for the final medal spot, but his 26th place finish was still easily his best run at the state championship and his time would have earned him a medal at any of the previous six state championships. Jacob Stupak picked off nearly 60 runners over the final mile, including Conestoga’s 2 through 4 runners. His close all but sealed the victory. But for an exclamation point, Dieble moved up to 58th overall, giving the team 5 runners in the top 60.

 

The Achilles heel of North Allegheny, their #4 and #5 runners, turned into their greatest gift by seasons end. Stupak was the best 4th man in the race and Dieble was the best 5th. As an added bonus Miggliozzi end up the best 6th man in the field as well.

 

North Allegheny scored an impressive 72 points and averaged 16:21, the fastest team average in course history. After all the struggled and heartbreak, the class of 2015 came through when it mattered most. With their backs against the wall, they not only won the state title, but they dominated in a historically strong performance.

 

The legendary Ryan Gil graduated in the Spring of 2011 after bringing the long coveted state championship trophy back to North Allegheny High School and the WPIAL. When he left, no one knew how long it would be before there was another Ryan Gil. In the fall of 2011, Scott Seel, Matt McGoey, Hunter Wharrey and Seamus Love became freshman at North Allegheny High School ready to make their own title run and leave their own mark on the school’s history books. When they graduate with the Class of 2015, there will be four Ryan Gils accepting diplomas.

 

And then another freshman class will join in 2016 …