2017 XC Top 50 Rankings: Week Two

51. Kevin Ehrgott, CR North (1 AAA)

50. Tyler Rollins, Sr DT West (1 AAA)

49. Evan Kaiser, Sr DT West (1 AAA)

This was a tricky spot and ultimately we end up getting 51 guys on the list as a result. I’ve been impressed with the DT West guys start to the year. The depth is there, it just comes down to the front running. Based on year’s past, I see one of those two breaking out and becoming a top 30 guy in AAA, but it’s too hard to tell right now without normal 5k racing going down. As for Ehrgott, he had a great first race, runs for a strong program and seems like an ascending talent. Seemed deserving of a spot, but competition was tight this week. Also want to see him with one more performance of this caliber to back it up a bit.

48. Garrett Baublitz, So Juniata (6 AA)

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

46. Patrick Anderson, So Mount Lebanon (7 AAA)

Mt Lebo’s #1 runner from Meet #2, this sophomore has been off to a hot start. I’m interested to see how he and Costentino will share the lead spot or if this sophomore will hit his stride and just take off down the stretch. Lebo needs somebody to finish in the state medals this year for AAA if they want to have a legit shot at the title (will likely need two state medalists and 4 top 50 guys). Right now Anderson is my #30 for his classification.

45. Jack Miller, Jr Jenkintown (1 A)

44. Sam Early, Sr CR North (1 AAA)

43. Cameron Binda, Jr Greensburg Salem (7 AA)

Binda was a prime example of why you can’t over-react to one week’s worth of performances. Binda was the #4 finisher at Marty Uher, but had the fastest time of any of those Uher guys this weekend when he took 3^rd in a 15:58 at RWB. Binda and Brown should jockey with each other most of the season, hopefully culminating in both juniors getting on the medal stand for the first time.

42. Christian Fitch, So Fox Chapel (7 AAA)

I remember Fitch from an early season race at Coopers last year and thought he may be a top 20 guy in the WPIAL by the end of his freshman season. He ended up mixed in toward the back of the state qualifiers and now is joining an ultra-talented class of runners. Fitch was 2^nd in his opener behind Ben Barnes of Riverview on the tricky Gateway course, but clearly benefited from the switch to the speedier RWB with a 15:40s time nearly 2 minutes faster. It will be interesting to see if Fitch can prove himself on some of the hillier layouts later this fall.

41. Peter Costentino, Jr Mount Lebanon (7 AAA)

40. LeShawn Huff, Sr New Castle (7 AA)

39. Ethan Hermann, Sr Allderdice (8 AAA)

Hermann may be the leader in the clubhouse for most improved of 2017. Doing a great job and emerging as a medal contender for Allderdice. After their best finish in the last 10+ years last season, Hermann and Davis are out to top it in 2017.

38. Nate Price, Jr General McLane (10 AA)

37. Alex Ermold, Jr Governor Mifflin (3 AAA)

A very intriguing name. It’s a bit of a transition year for District 3 and Ermold seems like the perfect type of runner to take advantage. I could see him as a top 5 guy in the district, maybe even top 3. Obviously, he is going to have to prove that this breakthrough is not a fluke, but I feel confidence that Ermold can hold his spot on this list.

36. Jacob McKenna, Sr Spring Ford (1 AAA)

I’m excited by this result from McKenna. After his sophomore track season, I had some pretty big hopes for him and, although he had a very strong junior year, I may have heaped too much pressure on him. This first invite of 2017 was brilliant and huge for a Spring Ford team that will be in yet another dog fight for a state qualifying birth. Let’s see if McKenna can hold this form or, better yet, his classmates jump up and join him.

35. Jeffrey Love, Jr George School (Independent)

Thus far, Love has been the best independent league runner by a good margin. He’s the top returner for that group as well. He picked up a nice first win, but I’m really looking forward to when he takes on some guys ranked well above him on the list. He’s making the sophomore to junior jump which makes him quite dangerous as the season goes on.

34. Owen Isham, Jr State College (6 AAA)

33. Mark Brown, Jr Greensburg Salem (7 AA)

32. Tavonne Davis, Sr Allderdice (8 AAA)

31. David Endres, Jr CB East (1 AAA)

30. Ryan Stravaggi, Jr Harbor Creek (10 AA)

29. Ethan Koza, Sr CR North (1 AAA)

28. Bryce Ohl, Sr York Suburban (3 AA)

27. Brendan Miller, Sr Upper Dauphin (3 A)

26. Evan Addison, Sr LaSalle (12 AAA)

25. Carlos Shultz, So Conestoga (1 AAA)

24. Seth Ketler, Jr Seneca Valley (7 AAA)

23. Tyler Leeser, Sr Milton Area (4 AA)

Although Leeser technically dropped in the rankings this week, that was more about others crushing it as opposed to him coming up short of expectations. I thought Leeser had a great day at PTXC and picked up a win, which never should be underappreciated. I’d like to see him match up with the top guys head to head, but there will be chances for that soon.

22. Czar Tarr, Sr Chartiers Valley (7 AAA)

Big opening result for Czar Tarr of Chartiers Valley as he was 3^rd at RWB and defeated some big names in the process. I’m expecting those top names to jockey a bit (top 4 within 5 seconds) so that could swing either way for Czar in the coming weeks in terms of moving up or down the rankings. The guy was very solid last year as a consistent top 10ish performer in the WPIAL. He’s making a nice jump, but nothing so crazy that it can’t be maintained. Plus, he’s got an awesome name for a dominant runner. The Czar should continue to take names this fall.

21. Jack Wisner, Jr Carlisle (3 AAA)

20. Quinn Serfass, Sr Loyalsock (4 AA)

19. Jonah Powell, Jr Grove City (10 AA)

18. Jared Giannascoli, Sr Lower Dauphin (3 AAA)

17. Sam Owori, Jr Seneca Valley (7 AAA)

16. Jack Zardecki, Sr Dallas (2 AAA)

15. Dan McGoey, So North Allegheny (7 AAA)

In the preseason, I really liked McGoey’s upside. He had proven himself as a freshman and now, just one race into his sophomore season, he looks like arguably the best underclassmen in the state. We’ve had sophomores place 3^rd at states each of the past two years. Both were young brothers of guys who, as seniors, competed for a state championship. This isn’t a perfect equivalent, but, hey, maybe McGoey can jump into the top 5 or so in the state this year. For now, he’s jumped up into the top 20.

14. Joe Cullen, Sr Wyomissing (3 AA)

13. Tyler Wirth, Jr Wallenpaupack (2 AAA)

One of the biggest movers from this past week, Tyler Wirth gets the nod for a top 15 spot after just one XC invitational. Why? Well the Wallenpaupack junior finished as the #2 PA runner in arguably the deepest PA Invite of the weekend at PTXC. I don’t want to overreact to one great race, but I felt the same way about Wirth entering this season as I felt about Domenic Perretta after his big sophomore breakthrough. The guy is too talented to not be a force on the trails. While comparing Wirth’s track accomplishments to Perretta’s isn’t fair to Domenic, I’m aiming to make the point that Tyler is a massive talent who, if things click for him in XC, will be a force. This was still just his first invite. That could mean I’m overreacting after one strong result or it could mean that he is just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential.

12. Morgan Cupp, Sr Mechanicsburg (3 AAA)

11. Mitchell Etter, Sr State College (6 AAA)

This is another big jump that may be a bit premature. Etter beat a couple guys I was pretty high on coming into the weekend in Quinn Serfass and Jack Wisner. And, quite frankly, Etter defeated them by a solid margin. We didn’t get to see what Etter could have been if he stayed healthy during his first big XC season last year. We barely even got to see him compete in varsity races. But on the track, he was excellent and after one outdoor race he’s already set himself up to pick up where Feffer and Milligan left off: potential district champ with a top 15 finish in the state. The question is: can he be even better than those two and crack the top 10?

10. Sam Snodgrass, Sr South Fayette (7 AA)

9. Avery Lederer, Sr Penncrest (1 AAA)

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

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

Although Conway barely moved in the rankings this week, he had one of the most impressive performances there was. Liam proved last track season that he can be a clutch performer. He’s always been a solid XC guy and we shouldn’t penalize him because he also happens to be very fast on the oval. Honestly, the kid could win states this year in the right race. He’s going to be up against true XC guys, but he has the tools to pull off an upset on the right day. That being said, for now I’ve got to slot him here until he can build up his trails resume a bit more. He’s still aiming for that first XC state medal this fall.

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

The sleeping giant of the top 50 list. Still waiting to see his form against the top tier guys and make sure XC is a focus. Clearly, whatever Hoey puts his mind to, he is successful at.

5. Spencer Smucker, Sr Henderson (1 AAA)

4. Tristan Forsythe, Sr Winchester Thurston (7 A)

I always underestimate Forsythe. Always. That being said, I think Forsythe has a shot to be a national finalist this year after seeing his week one results. A 4:12 wire to wire win, the guts to take the lead at states at 2 miles and push for the win, and a long list of state medal accomplishments seems to be enough evidence. All he needs now is the health. Fingers crossed.

3. Ryan Campbell, Sr CR North (1 AAA)

2. Rusty Kujdych, Sr Neshaminy (1 AAA)

Will we see Kujdych and Beveridge head to head this year prior to states? Each guy has raced once and both have been tops in PA. Rusty didn’t do quite enough to take back his preseason #1 ranking, but he’s still just one statement victory away from reclaiming it. I’m looking forward to jockeying this two around the list at some point soon.

1. Noah Beveridge, Sr Butler (7 AAA)