XC Top 50 Rankings: #10-6

10. Liam Conway, Sr Owen J Roberts (1 AAA)

One of the tricky parts about the rankings is figuring out how track success is going to equate to the XC trails. No one fits this more than Owen J Roberts stand out Liam Conway. The junior rolled to brilliant times for a second straight track season as he clocked a 1:53.30 and a 4:13.00 in his two primary events this spring. Conway also took a silver and a bronze at states indoors and outdoors respectively, his first ever state medals. The question is, how does this lightning speed translate to the trails?

For some, the two aren’t all that correlated, but for Conway it’s clear that he can run the hills. He won the Centaur Invitational last year and also placed 3^rd at Foundation with a time of 16:16. That time would have been 12^th at states and #3 among returners. On the faster courses, Conway showed up as well. In his two trips to Lehigh he ran 15:39 (7^th at Paul Short) and 15:40 (6^th at Districts). The problem was, Conway didn’t have the pop at the end of the season as a bad injury ended up hampering him at the exact wrong moment and he finished well out of medal contention.

That marked two years in a row where Conway was a medal contender but came up short at states as he finished 28^th there as a sophomore. However, I’m not too concerned. He’s clearly shown he has a clutch gene, having now garnered three state medals in his last three attempts. I think he has the potential to be a lot like Souderton’s recent grad Connor McMenamin. McMenamin had good success at districts but just missed medaling at states as a sophomore and junior. Then, to cap off his senior season, Connor placed 6^th at states and top 20 at the Footlocker Northeast Regional meet. McMenamin may be a bit more strength based than Conway, but I think Liam could have a similar breakthrough at states this year if things click right.

9. Joe Cullen, Sr Wyomissing (3 AA)

With Jack DiCintio graduated last year, Wyomissing lost one of their best runners in school history. But Joe Cullen quickly stepped up to fill the hole he left. With Cullen at the helm, Wyomissing had an excellent season, taking second at districts and qualifying for the state championships. Joe led the way for the team with a 1^st place finish in the race. A week later at states, Cullen finished 15^th for his best ever state finish. However, he did lose to Bryce Ohl from his own district, who finished 8^th. Cullen was also 25 seconds slower than his time from the Foundation Invitational where he had clocked a 16:30. That time would have placed him 5^th overall. All that said, a slightly off state race (if you can even call it that) was the only blemish on Cullen’s XC resume. He won the PTXC and Berks meets to go with his district title and was second at Foundation. Overall, he was close to unbeatable all year.

On the track, Cullen was somehow able to top his fall achievements. He ran a 1:55 indoors at the state final in the 800 to claim 5^th overall. Then outdoors, after winning the 3200, 1600, 800 and 4x4 at his district meet, Cullen attempted a difficult 4x8-16-4x4 triple. He ended that with two silvers and a gold, including a blazing 4:13 1600 PR. At the Eastern States Championships this June, Cullen also clocked a 1:53.56 800 FTW and his best speed performance of the year. That set his season best marks at 1:53. 4:13 and 9:33.

The kids got all the wheels to win the AA state title this year. I honestly think he’d be my pick to win if I had to decide right now, but thankfully I don’t.

8. Isaac Davis, Sr Jersey Shore (4 AA)

Cullen may be the up and coming name to watch, but Jersey Shore’s Isaac Davis has earned the right to sit across the AA rankings right now. In his past two seasons, Davis has placed 9^th and 3^rd at states. He was the top non-AAA sophomore by time in 2015 and the top non-AAA junior by time in 2016.

Those state finishes came after Davis crushed courses around his area. He clocked a 15:54 to win Big Valley, ran 16:21 to win at Foundation and then won big at Bloomsburg and Sunbury (both times over Tyler Leeser). Davis is not afraid to run from the front and doesn’t back down from a challenge which makes him tough to beat.

On the track, Davis was off to a bit of a slow start, not quite at his dominating form from the fall, but he got rolling at the right time, winning districts (in two events) and then clocking a season’s best 9:36 at states in the 3200. When Davis is healthy and locked in, there’s little anyone can do to stop him.

7. Morgan Cupp, Sr Mechanicsburg (3 AAA)

I had a tough time placing Cupp on my list this season. As a part of one of my personal favorite sleeper picks from last season, Mechanicsburg, Cupp and now graduated Alex Tomasko were fantastic over the XC hills. Cupp was top 10 at PTXC (top PA returner), top 10 at Carlisle (#2 PA returner), and then 5^th at Paul Short (#2 PA returner), 6^th at Mid Penns top returner), and 5^th at districts (top returner). That’s incredible stuff in a variety of places. But always, Tomasko was nearby, helping to push him in every race and, likely, every practice.  

With Tomasko now gone, Cupp will have a big target on his back. He’s the top returner in District 3 and, considering the way he has excelled on the Big Spring layout, he could be district champ in what was the toughest district in the year last year. He’s also the #4 returner from states this past fall after placing 13^th.

Cupp may not have the same flashy track times as others on this list, but he was very successful this past year on the oval. He ran 4:23 for 1600 and a strong 9:32 for the 3200, a PR that came at the right time in Shippensburg. He’s consistently improving, just like has the past three seasons on the trails. If he continues to cut time, he’ll be dropping from a sub 15:40 PR in the 5k. That’s scary to think about.

6. Josh Hoey, Sr Bishop Shanahan (1 AAA)

In 2016-2017, Josh Hoey not only changed schools but seemingly changed his identity. After being a miler his first two seasons at DT West (and a pretty successful one at that), he gradually changed his focus to the 800 meters. Unsurprisingly, the middle Hoey shined in this event as well. He ended up winning two states titles at 800 in dominant fashion, running a 1:49 800 to close things out. That made him 6^th in state history for the event.

So in summary, Josh ran 1:49.37 and a 4:08.59 mile in 2017, putting him in the top 6 on the PA All-Time list in both events! And he’s still a got a year to go.

Of course this isn’t a track list. It’s a cross country list. So let’s turn to his XC credentials. Wait, turns out these are also pretty darn good. As a sophomore, Josh finished 3^rd at districts and states, running a blazing 15:49 on Hershey’s hills (the same time as Dominic Hockenbury). He also ran under 12:30 at Manhattan and was the team’s #1 runner in DT West’s regional championship. Even while at Shanahan, he still clocked a 15:37 at Carlisle (top PA returner) and won a Ches-mont title.

Doesn’t seem like there’s much to complain about here, because there isn’t. That being said, Hoey gets the #6 spot for now because it’s unclear how much, if at all, XC will be a focus for him. Clearly, he’s got the talent to win the title if he wants to pursue it, but last year he changed course later in the year and ended up passing on states completely (which worked out pretty well on the track). If Josh’s head is in something, he does big things, but if it’s not, I think he’s beatable for any of the names surrounding him on this list.

Shanahan is an interesting wild card team with both Josh and Jonah Hoey, Logan Yoquinto, Jack Ettien and Jon McGrory. That’s a team that could make a run at one of the state team spots. So that may be enough incentive to get Hoey fired up this fall. If so, watch for him to shoot up this list toward the very top.