Individual Placing for Virtual XC Meet

1.      Tony Russell, Sr Henderson 13

2.      Mark Dennin, Sr Individual 07

3.      Brad Miles, Sr Individual 09

4.      Jason Weller, Sr Individual 06

5.      Tony Russell, Jr Henderson 12

6.      Dustin Wilson, Sr Individual 11

7.      Chris Aldrich, Sr Individual 07

8.      Paul Springer, Sr Individual 06

9.      Max Kaulbach, Sr GFS 07

10.   Wade Endress, Sr Individual 10

11.   Kyle Dawson, Sr Coatesville 06

12.   Zach Hebda, Sr Individual 10

13.   Brendan Shearn, Sr Individual 12

14.   Ryan Gil, Sr North Allegheny 10

15.   Vince McNally, Sr Individual 07

16.   Radford Gunzenhauser, Sr Individual 09

17.   Griffin Molino, Jr Individual 13

18.   Chris Campbell, Sr Individual 10

19.   Brent Kennedy, Jr Individual 12

20.   Vinny Todaro, Sr Individual 12

21.   Max Norris, Sr Individual 12

22.   Joe Beveridge, Sr Individual 08

23.   Jimmy Tarsnane, Sr Individual 08

24.   Colin Abert, Jr Individual 13

25.   Ben Furcht, Sr Individual 08

26.   Ross Wilson, Sr Individual 13

27.   Dan Lowry, Sr Individual 07

28.   Austin Pondel, Sr Individual 12

29.   Kevin James, Jr O’Hara 13

30.   Chris Aldrich, Jr Henderson 06

31.   Jacob Kildoo, Sr Individual 10

32.   Neal Berman, Sr Individual 08

33.   Josh Izewski, Sr CB East 07

34.   Dominic Deluca, Sr Individual 13

35.   Conner Quinn, Jr Individual 11

36.   Reece Ayers, Sr Individual 10

37.   Colin Martin, Sr Individual 13

38.   Matt McCullough, Sr Individual 08

39.   Lucas Zarzeczny, Sr Individual 06

40.   Drew Magaha, Sr Individual 11

41.   Will Kellar, Sr Henderson 09

42.   Scott Van Kooten, Sr Individual 06

43.   Gus McKenzie, Sr GFS 09

44.   Brad Miles, Jr North Penn 08

45.   Chuck Lockwood, Sr Individual 09

46.   Brett Kelly, Sr Individual 11

47.   Logan Steiner, Sr Individual 11

48.   Brad Miles, So North Penn 07

49.   Tom Pannulla, Sr Coatesville 06

50.   Ross Wilson, Jr CRN 12

51.   Owen Dawson, Sr Coatesville 06

52.   Zack Montijo, Sr North Penn 07

53.   Dan Savage, Sr O’Hara 12

54.   Sam Bernitt, Sr Individual 09

55.   Chris Ferry, Sr Henderson 06

56.   Reiny Barchet, Sr Henderson 13

57.   Jake McKenzie, Sr GFS 07

58.   Dan Savage, Jr O’Hara 11

59.   Tyler Mueller, Sr Individual 09

60.   Reiny Barchet, Jr Henderson 12

61.   Isaac Dunkleburger, Sr Individual 06

62.   Ernie Pitone, Sr O’Hara 12

63.   Rob Speare, Sr Strath Haven 06

64.   Kevin James, So O’Hara 12

65.   Sean Ward, Sr Coatesville 06

66.   Ryan Gil, So North Allegheny 08

67.   Sam Bernitt, Jr North Penn 08

68.   Andrew Jervis, Sr Henderson 06

69.   Logan Steiner, Jr North Allegheny 10

70.   Alex Knapp, Jr Henderson 13

71.   Mike Billotta, Sr O’Hara 11

72.   Bryan Andrews, Sr Henderson 10

73.   Jason Leonard, Sr Coatesville 06

74.   Matt McGoey, Jr North Allegheny 13

75.   James Zingarini, Sr CRN 12

76.   Nick Smart, Sr O’Hara 13

77.   Jack Macauley, Jr North Penn 11

78.   Jim Belfatto, Sr O’Hara 13

79.   Cordon Luoco, Sr North Allegheny 13

80.   Patrick Morgan, Sr North Allegheny 08

81.   Zach Hoagland, Sr North Penn 07

82.   Mac Emery, Sr CRN 12

83.   Bobby Rimkis, Sr Henderson 12

84.   Austin Stecklair, Sr Henderson 10

85.   Dan Davis, Sr North Penn 11

86.   Chase Broussard, Sr North Allegheny 08

87.   Isaac Ortiz, Sr GFS 07

88.   Achraf Khattabi, Sr Henderson 09

89.   Dave Waterman, GFS 09

90.   Shawn Quinn, Sr LaSalle 09

91.   Hunter Wharrey, Jr North Allegheny 13

92.   Ricky Waltz, Henderson 13

93.   Kevin Murray, Jr Strath Haven 06

94.   Brian Quintrell, Sr North Penn 08

95.   Seamus Love, Jr North Allegheny 13

96.   Tom Trainer, Jr LaSalle 09

97.   Seamus Collins, Sr Henderson 13

98.   Chris Pastore, Sr O’Hara 12

99.   Sam Haugh, Jr Henderson 12

100.                    Ryan Fink, Sr Strath Haven 06

101.                    Tom Waterman, Sr GFS 09

102.                    Ernie Pitone, Jr O’Hara 11

103.                    Seamus Collins, Jr Henderson 12

104.                    Eric Stratman, Sr Henderson 13

105.                    Scott Seel, Jr North Allegheny 13

106.                    Ross Wistar, Sr GFS 09

107.                    Chris Trimble, Sr North Penn 11

108.                    Bryan Andrews, Jr Henderson 09

109.                    Evan Caldwell, Jr GFS 09

110.                    Gus McKenzie, So GFS 07

111.                    Tom O’Kane, Sr LaSalle 09

112.                    Clarke Hunt, Sr Strath Haven 06

113.                    Tim Stauring, Sr North Penn 08

114.                    Stash Grab, Sr Henderson 09

115.                    Jim Belfatto, Jr O’Hara 12

116.                    Nick Molloy, Sr LaSalle 09

117.                    Chris Pastore, Jr O’Hara 11

118.                    Eric Stratman, Jr Henderson 12

119.                    Tim Appman, Jr North Allegheny 10

120.                    Tim Collins, Sr Henderson 10

121.                    Alex Knapp, So Henderson 12

122.                    Chris Rosato, So Coatesville 06

123.                    Drew Mahoney, Jr Coatesville 06

124.                    Brendan Stone, Jr LaSalle 09

125.                    Austin Stecklair, Jr Henderson 09

126.                    Reiny Barchet, Fr Henderson 10

127.                    Will Appman, Sr NA 08

128.                    Eric Balaban, Jr North Allegheny 08

129.                    Kevin Moy, Sr Henderson 13

130.                    Tim Stauring, Jr North Penn 07

131.                    Drew Pastore, Jr O’Hara 13

132.                    Jim Norley, Sr Henderson 06

133.                    Sam Butler, Sr GFS 09

134.                    Michael Becich, Sr North Allegheny 13

135.                    Tyler Nictora, Jr North Allegheny 10

136.                    Ryan Grace, So North Penn 11

137.                    Christian Donnelly, Jr O’Hara 12

138.                    Matt Molloy, So North Penn 11

139.                    Matt Hayes, Sr O’Hara 12

140.                    Brain Kuntzman, Sr North Penn 08

141.                    Seamus Morgan, Jr LaSalle 09

142.                    Ryan James, Fr O’Hara 13

143.                    Nicholas McClure, Sr North Allegheny 13

144.                    Scott McCollester, Jr Henderson 06

145.                    James Stevenson, Sr LaSalle 09

146.                    Will Kellar, Fr Henderson 06

147.                    Matt Robertson, Sr North Allegheny 08

148.                    Mike Meehan, So North Allegheny 10

149.                    Dom Comasso, Jr North Penn 07

150.                    Vincent Tonzo, Jr North Allegheny 10

151.                    Brian Arita, So CRN 12

152.                    Tom Waterman, So GFS 07

153.                    Dom Comasso, Sr North Penn 08

154.                    Kevin James, Fr O’Hara 11

155.                    Rob Morro, So O’Hara 13

156.                    Tim Collins, Jr Henderson 09

157.                    Steve Jordan, Jr Henderson 09

158.                    Brian Quintrell, Jr North Penn 07

159.                    Sean Griswold, So CRN 12

160.                    Mike Salach, Jr Henderson 10

161.                    Hunter Hill, Jr North Penn 11

162.                    Nathaniel Paffett-Lugas, Sr Strath Haven 06

163.                    Eddie Einbender-Luks, Jr GFS 07

164.                    Cameron Mactavish, Jr GFS 09

165.                    Joe Pane, Sr North Allegheny 10

166.                    Doug Benton, Sr CRN 12

167.                    Brian Kuntzman, Jr North Penn 07

168.                    Jay Cadwallader, Jr North Allegheny 08

169.                    Charlie Grab, Jr Henderson 10

170.                    Tyler Johnston, So North Penn 11

171.                    Christian Ostrowski, Sr O’Hara 11

172.                    Christian Donnelly, Sr O’Hara 13

173.                    Tony Russell, Fr Henderson 10

174.                    George Dickson, So Strath Haven 06

175.                    Jake Sachetti, Sr O’Hara 11

176.                    Zack Keller, Jr CRN 12

177.                    Zhewen Zhang, Jr GFS 09

178.                    Ross Wistar, So GFS 07

179.                    Andrew Donaghy, Jr Strath Haven 06

180.                    Doug Paxson, Jr Henderson 06

181.                    Alex Dello Buono, So North Penn 08 

Team Standings for Virtual XC

1	92	Coatesville 06
2	162	Henderson 13
3	192	Henderson 12
4	200	O'Hara 12
5	249	North Allegheny 13
6	253	Henderson 06
7	255	GFS 07
8	259	GFS 09
9	269	North Penn 08
10	271	North Penn 07
11	278	O'Hara 13
12	288	Henderson 09
13	292	North Allegheny 08
14	309	O'Hara 11
15	320	North Allegheny 10
16	325	CR North 12
17	335	Strath Haven 06
18	342	LaSalle 09
19	348	North Penn 11
20	367	Henderson 10

Things are looking intriguing in the early versions of the virtual XC meet. The GFS 09 national qualifying squad and NA's 12th place nationally team are both struggling to find their footing in this stacked field. Henderson, who has 5 teams in the meet, has many mixing it up with the front. Can anyone surprise Coatesville? Their front 5 is very strong, but a couple Henderson teams are deeper through 7 guys. Unfortunately, they only score it to 5.

Individual wise the race is intriguing. There are a couple guys named Tony Russell up near the front with a couple guys from Boyertown as well. Sleepers from outside the PIAA are in the mix and of course you have to watch 14:47 man Paul Springer.

Things are still being finalized now as some of my peers are looking over the early drafts and letting me know their opinion. Stay tuned tomorrow night should lead to a dramatic unveiling.

Virtual XC Meet

Why just talk about it when we can experience it? It's time to lay down some numbers. Based on my opinion and purely my opinion I will be putting together a virtual XC meet to determine the best teams and individuals since 2006 in PA XC! The question is where should I hold this virtual meet? In order to try and make this as fair as possible I will be holding it at .... the Hershey Parkview Course that started in 2008 complete with poop-out hill and all. I figure that's the fairest way to do it even though you can argue that gives an advantage to some teams over others, but I think it's the fairest way to go.

So who will be running at this meet? I figure I'll go kind of NXN style on the qualifying procedures. From each year two teams will qualify for the meet and five individuals not on those teams will also make the meet from each season. There will also be 4 "wild card" teams that make the meet. Also to reduce unnecessary repetition, individuals can only qualify as individuals once. In other words, if someone like Joe Beveridge could have made it in 2007 and 2008, he will only make it 2008 which I deem to be his most successful year.

So who did I pick to compete?

I picked these, and yeah I'm sure I'm bias here but these are the teams I selected:
2006- Coatesville, WCHenderson, (Strath Haven)
Individuals: Jason Weller, Paul Springer, Scott Van Kooten, Lucas Zarzeczny, Isaac Dunkleburger
2007- GFS, North Penn
Individuals: Mark Dennin, Chris Aldrich, Vince McNally, Dan Lowry, Josh Izewski
2008- North Allegheny, North Penn
Individuals: Jimmy Tarsnane, Matt McCullough, Joe Beveridge, Ben Furcht, Neal Berman
2009- West Chester Henderson, GFS, (LaSalle)
Individuals: Brad Miles, Rad Gunzenhauser, Chuck Lockwood, Tyler Mueller, Sam Bernitt
2010- North Allegheny, West Chester Henderson
Individuals: Wade Endress, Zach Hebda, Chris Campbell, Reece Ayers, Jacob Kildoo
2011- Cardinal O'Hara, North Penn
Individuals: Brett Kelly, Dustin Wilson, Logan Steiner, Drew Magaha, Conner Quinn*
2012- West Chester Henderson, O'Hara, (CRNorth)
Individuals: Max Norris, Brendan Shearn, Vinny Todaro, Brent Kennedy, Austin Pondel (This one killed me! I had to leave off Sami Aziz, Rico Galassi and Luke Jones among others ... straight up brutal)
2013- West Chester Henderson, North Allegheny, (O'Hara)
Individuals: Griffin Molino, Colin Abert, Dominic Deluca, Ross Wilson, Colin Martin

With that the field is set, the race will commence soon once I gather up the data, but should be fun! Looking forward to putting this bad boy together

XC Teams

So earlier I did a little XC individuals piece for PA and now the question becomes who are the best XC teams in PA history?

Considering we had a national championship squad it's tough not to put the boys from Coatesville up at the number one spot. Back in 2006 they took down a national championship for themselves at the NTN championships (precursor to the NXN championships). Coatesville had an impressive scoring 5, putting 5 in the top 25 in the state for AAA during a fairly competitive year (3, 6, 8, 12, 18). At Districts that year they had 5 guys under 15:50 as well. Kyle Dawson was a very strong front runner and right behind him a group of Panulla, Owen Dawson, Sean Ward and Jason Leonard rounded out the top 5 for this group. It was a remarkable team to see during my first ever year of cross country. 

Besides this squad you can make arguments for a lot of other teams for #2. Last year's Henderson and O'Hara squads were phenomenal squads. O'Hara took 5th at Nationals, but Henderson beat them at states. And if you are talking Henderson last year, you have to mention Henderson this year, another very strong squad that ended up being quite similar to the previous years team.

And what about the other heartbreak O'Hara team from 2011? Where do they stack up even though North Penn managed to upset them at the state championships? North Penn has racked up 3 state titles while I've been following the game, tying them with Henderson for the most titles, but they never sent a squad to the national championships.

GFS and NA each did so. NA had a team finish 12th back in 2008 behind sophomore Ryan Gil and tight pack. GFS did it with Gus McKenzie leading the way for a surprising upset squad with the Watermans. But perhaps GFS's best team was the squad led by Max Kaulbach back in 2007. That squad was maybe a 5 guy away from nats and they didn't have quite their best day at regionals as well. 

And how about Strath Haven and Henderson from back in the Coatesville year? Both those teams may have been state champs in another year had they not ran into the juggernaut of Coatesville. 

Overall, it seems Henderson this past year would get the nod for #2 with 7 guys under 16 minutes at Lehigh  and a nice, dominating finish at the state championships. They took 1, 6, 18, 30, and 37. Although they didn't have the out of state success of O'Hara a year ago, I value the dominating performance this year enough.

O'Hara's 5th place national squad is #3 for me. There finish to close out the year really showed how strong they could be, although states didn't go perfectly, they still had 3 medalists with 5 in the top 50 at states and came within one tiny step of winning a state title. 

During this period I've been watching I've noticed that most years there are 4 teams that cycle around going after the title. North Penn (3 titles, including arguably the greatest upset of the new millennium), Henderson (3 titles of their own, two more runner ups and two trips out to Oregon), NA (Only the one state title, but some really fantastic teams that had some really bad luck at states, including the 2008 squad that made it to Portland), and lastly the best PCL team (LaSalle and/or O'Hara has been in the conversation for state title just about every year since joining the PIAA, but has yet to get to the title). 

Then of course GFS would be just on the edge looking in, hard to tell just how good they have been because they haven't raced at the PIAA state championships. Malvern Prep is a team quickly on the rise to look out for as well. 

I mean you look at the teams in recent years who have lost state championships you have O'Hara three times with a combined 12 in the top 50 and 8 in the top 30. They have had the 11th place finisher at states 3 times in a row I think? 

Then you have NA's squad this year which had 5 guys in the top 45 with a very tight spread. The NA team that made it to NXN didn't win either, nor did any of the LaSalle teams that had spreads that were better than my 200 PR. 

Props to the CRN boys. They had some very good teams over the years but never quite had the team that was going to take down a title (while I've been around at least). They have turned out a slew of great individual runners and have made it to the state championships every single year that I have been following, but I believe their highest finish was their 3rd place last year when they upset NA. 

Let me know what you think if you're out there.

Top 25 PA

What kinda marks does it take to be a top 25 guy ever at the distance events in PA? Well here is what I've got ....
3200m

1. Springer, Paul- 8:49.68e Unionville ‘07 Nike Outdoor Nationals 6/16/07

(Indoor Mile 2007, Indoor Mile 2006, Outdoor 3200m 2006)            

2. Spooner, Chris- 8:53.46c Lewisburg ‘04 Hartford Public Invitational 5/8/04

(Indoor Mile 2004, Outdoor 800m 2004, Outdoor 1600m 2004, Outdoor 4x800m 2004, Outdoor 3200m 2003, Outdoor 4x800m 2003)

Smart, Bo- 8:57.9 Interboro ’86 (8:21.07 3k)

               (Mile 1986)

3. Kaulbach, Max- 8:58.69c Germantown Friends ‘08 Henderson Track & Field Invitational 5/2/08

(Indoor Mile 2008)          

Walker, Jake- 8:58.83 Ellwood City ‘06 (8:21.94) Penn Relays Carnival 4/27/06

(Outdoor 3200m 2006, Indoor 300m 2005)

4. Connelly, Mike- 8:58.90 Upper Perkiomen PIAA T&F State Championships /83

               (Outdoor 3200m 1983, Outdoor 3200m 1981)

Fitzgerald, Ian- 8:59.35 North Hills ‘04 (8:22.42) Penn Relays Carnival 4/22/04

(Outdoor 3200m 2004)

5. McGarry, Kevin- 8:59.45hc Archbishop Wood ‘73 Gold West Invitational

6. Fitzgerald, Ian- 8:59.48c North Hills ‘04 Golden West Invitational 6/12/04

(Outdoor 3200m 2004)

Miller, Craig- 8:59.59 Manheim Township ’06 (8:22.63) PTFCA Indoor State Championships 2/25/06

(Outdoor 1600m 2004, Outdoor 1600m 2005, Indoor 3000m 2006)

Dugan, Chris 8:59.9 Southmoreland ‘97(8:22.93) Penn Relays  /97

               (Outdoor 3200m 1997, Outdoor 3200m 1996)

7. Dugan, Chris- 9:00.81c Southmoreland ‘97 NSIC 3/8/97

               (Outdoor 3200m 1997, Outdoor 3200m 1996)

Micikas, Robert- 9:00.87 Crestwood ‘09 Penn Relays Carnival 4/23/09

 (Indoor 3000m 2009)

8. Richey, Jerry- 9:01.2h North Allegheny ‘67

(Outdoor 880y 1967, Outdoor Mile 1967, Outdoor 2 Mile 1966, Outdoor 2 Mile 1965)

Furcht, Ben- 9:01.82 Lower Merion ‘09 Penn Relays Carnival 4/23/09

9. Weller, Jason- 9:02.75 Boyertown ‘07 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/26/07

(Outdoor 3200m 2007, Indoor 3000m 2007)

Norris, Max- 9:02.78 (8:25.62 3k) Harriton ’13 Penn Relays 4/26/13

               (Indoor 3000m 2013)

10. Wimer, Cliff 9:02.83c Solanco ’77  /77

               (Outdoor Mile 1975, Outdoor 2Mile 1975)

*11. Wilson, Dustin- 9:02.85 Chestnut Hill Academy ‘12 Independent School Championships 5/19/10

               (Indoor 3000m 2012)

12. Fischer, Matt- 9:03.01 Unionville ‘10 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/29/10

               (Outdoor 3200m 2010)

13. Dennin, Mark- 9:03.63 Boyertown ‘08 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/24/08

(Outdoor 3200m 2008)

14. Bodary, Chris- 9:03.83c Bishop Shanahan ‘08 National Scholastic Indoor Championships 3/15/08

*15. Gil, Ryan- 9:03.87 North Allegheny ‘11 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/29/10

               (Indoor 3000m 2011)

16. Tarsnane, Jimmy- 9:04.22 Perkiomen Valley ‘09 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/23/09

(Outdoor 3200m 2009)

17. Walker, Jake- 9:04.31 Ellwood City ‘06 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/27/06

(Outdoor 3200m 2006, Indoor 300m 2005)

Capecci, Keith- 9:04.50 Council Rock North ’06 (8:27.223k) Penn Relays Carnival 4/27/06

18. Shearn, Brendan- 9:04.51 North Schuylkill ’13 Henderson Invitational 5/3/13

               (Outdoor 3200m 2012)

19. Furcht, Ben- 9:04.55 Lower Merion ‘09 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/23/09

*Parlapiano, Tom- 9:04.85 St. Pius ‘99 (8:27.55 3k) /98

               (Outdoor 3200m 1999)

20. McNally, Vince- 9:05.1 Conestoga Valley ‘08 Hempfield Black Knight Invitational 4/12/08

(Outdoor 1600m 2007, Outdoor 4x800m 2005)

21. Collins, Mickey- 9:05.6hc Easton Knights of Columbus 6/5/71

               (Outdoor Mile 1971)

22. Mazzacco, Dan- 9:05.73 Baldwin ’02 Baldwin Inivitational 5/3/02

(Outdoor 3200m 2002, Outdoor 1600m 2000, Indoor Mile 2002)

23. Reifsnyder, Bill- 9:06.00 Williamsport PIAA District 4 Championships /80

               (Outdoor 3200m 1980, Outdoor 3200m 1979)

24. Brown, Steve- 9:06.48 North Hills PIAA State Championships /85

               (Outdoor 3200m 1985)

*Coval, Dan- 9:06.65 (8:29.22 3k) Council Rock North ’00 Penn Relays Carnival 4/23/99

(Outdoor 3200m 2000, Indoor 3000m 2000, Outdoor 3200m 1999, Indoor 3000m 1999, Outdoor 3200m 1998, Outdoor 3200m 1997)

25. Hibbs, Sam- 9:06.96c Hatboro Horsham ‘12 New Balance Outdoor Nationals 6/15/12

               (Outdoor 3200m 2012)

1600

1. Vandegrift, Paul 4:03.22 Archbishop Kennedy ’87 /87

(Outdoor 800m 1987, Outdoor 1600m 1987, Outdoor 800m 1986, Outdoor 1600m 1986, Outdoor 1600m 1985)

2. Lowry, Ken- 4:03.82c Wissahickon ‘82 Golden West Invitational /82

               (Outdoor 4x800m 1982)

**3. Miller, Craig- 4:05.33c Manheim Township ‘06 Adidas Outdoor Championships 6/18/04

(Outdoor 1600m 2004, Outdoor 1600m 2005, Indoor 3000m 2006)

*4. Magaha, Drew- 4:07.32 Upper Moreland ‘12 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/28/11

               (Outdoor 1600m 2011)

*5. McNally, Vince- 4:07.55c Conestoga Valley ‘08 Nike Outdoor Nationals 6/16/07

(Outdoor 1600m 2007, Outdoor 4x800m 2005)

6. Booth, Mike- 4:07.71 West Mifflin ‘04 Baldwin Invitational 5/7/04

**7. Brehm, Zach- 4:07.82c Carlisle ’15 PA Distance Festival 5/31/13

8. Beam, Eric 4:08.05c Springfield DELCO ‘73 /73

               (Outdoor Mile 1973)

9. Costantino, Nick- 4:08.15hc Holy Ghost Prep ’87 Golden West 6/87

               (Indoor 2 Mile 1987)

10. Ftizgerald, Ian- 4:08.37 North Hills ‘04 Baldwin Invitational 5/7/04

(Outdoor 3200m 2004)

11. Richey, Jerry- 4:08.4h North Allegheny ‘67

(Outdoor 880y 1967, Outdoor Mile 1967, Outdoor 2 Mile 1966, Outdoor 2 Mile 1965)

Mckay, Dan- 4:08.45 (3:51.44 1500m) Hatboro Horsham /97

               (Outdoor 1600m 1997, Outdoor 1600m 1996)

12. Spooner, Chris- 4:08.46c Lewisburg ‘04 Penn Relays Carnival 4/22/04

(Indoor Mile 2004, Outdoor 800m 2004, Outdoor 1600m 2004, Outdoor 4x800m 2004, Outdoor 3200m 2003, Outdoor 4x800m 2003)

13. Smart, Bo- 4:08.6 Interboro ‘86

               (Mile 1986)

14. Springer, Paul- 4:08.88c Unionville ‘07 Nike Outdoor Nationals 6/16/07

(Indoor Mile 2007, Indoor Mile 2006, Outdoor 3200m 2006)

15. McGarry, Kevin- 4:09.15hc Archbishop Wood ‘73

*16. Bair, Sam- 4:09.61 Shaler ‘03 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/25/02

(Outdoor 1600m 2002, Outdoor 1600m 2001)

17. Kehl, Tom- 4:09.61c Father Judge ‘10 Penn Relays /10

18. Mancini, Blair- 4:10.0 North Penn ‘81 /81

               (Outdoor 1600m 1981, Outdoor 4x800m 1981, Outdoor 4x800m 1980)

*Russell, Tony- 4:10.04c Henderson ’14 New Balance Indoor Nationals

19. Havko, Sam- 4:10.17 Fairview ‘09 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/23/09

(Outdoor 1600m 2009, Outdoor 800m 2009)

**20. Ritz, Sam- 4:10.27c Germantown Academy ’15 PA Distance Festival 5/31/13

21. Miller, Brad- 4:10.43 Manheim Township ‘06 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/27/06

(Outdoor 1600m 2006)

22. Black, Gary- 4:10.92c State College PIAA T&F State Championships /78

               (Outdoor Mile 1978)

23. Gentry, Steve- 4:10.94hc State College PIAA T&F State Championships /65

               (Outdoor Mile 1965, Outdoor 2 Mile Relay 1965)

24. Schadt, Kevin- 4:11.10 Hempfield Invite /91

25. Mansan, Larry- 4:11.23hc South Hills Catholic PIAA T&F State Championships /77

               (Outdoor Mile 1977)

800

Lowry, Ken- 1:48.5 Wissahickon ’82  PIAA T&F State Championships /82

               (Outdoor 4x800m 1982, Outdoor 1600m 1982)

1. Magaha, Drew- 1:48.82 Upper Moreland ‘12 Abington Invitational 4/20/12

               (Outdoor 1600m 2011)

2. Vandegrift, Paul- 1:48.8h Archbishop Kennedy ’87 /87

(Outdoor 800m 1987, Outdoor 800m 1986, Outdoor 1600m 1987, Outdoor 1600m 1986, Outdoor 1600m 1985)

3. Mallon, Tom- 1:49.01 Central Bucks South ‘10 PA Distance Festival 6/4/10

(Indoor 800m 2009, Outdoor 800m 2009, Outdoor 800m 2008, Indoor 4x800m 2009, Outdoor 4x800m 2009, Indoor Mile 2010, Outdoor 800m 2010)

4. Fowler, Mark- 1:49.24 Penn Wood ’84 International Prep Invitational /84

               (Outdoor 800m 1984)

5. Gray, Trinity- 1:49.93 Franklin Learning Center ’96 /96

Kehl, Tom- 1:50.2 Father Judge ‘10 Colonial Relays 4/4/10

*6. Bair, Sam- 1:50.38 Shaler ‘03 Butler Invitational /02

(Outdoor 1600m 2002, Outdoor 1600m 2001)

7. Cho, Hong- 1:50.41 Wissahickon ’11 Henderson Distance Festival 6/3/11

               (Indoor DMR 2011, Outdoor 800m 2011)

8. Gerhardt, Tim- 1:50.80 Cheltenham ‘97 /97

               (Outdoor 800m 1997, Outdoor 800m 1996)

9. Korich, Mark- 1:50.84 Springfield ‘03

(Outdoor 800m 2003, Outdoor 1600m 2003, Indoor Mile 2003)

10. Borgese, John- 1:51.00 Ridley PIAA T&F State Championships /80

               (Outdoor 800m 1980)

Manley, Connor- 1:51.0 CB West ’11 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/28/11

                (Outdoor 4x800m 2011, Indoor 4x800m 2011)

*11. Lefubure, Luke- 1:51.08 Henderson ‘11 PA Distance Festival 6/4/10

(Indoor 800m 2010, Indoor DMR 2010)

*12. Willig, Ned- 1:51.10 Great Valley ‘12 Henderson Distance Festival 6/3/11

               (Indoor Mile 2012, Indoor DMR 2012)

Nishiyama, Kevin- 1:51.1 CB East Penn Relays /99

               (Outdoor 800m 1999)

Holder, Ryun- 1:51.11 Chambersburg ’12 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/26/12

13. Kauffman, Aaron- 1:51.24 Red Land ‘06 adidas Golden West Invitational 6/11/06

 (Indoor 800m 2006)

*14. Mancini, Blair- 1:51.4h North Penn ‘81 /80

               (Outdoor 1600m 1981, Outdoor 4x800m 1981, Outdoor 4x800m 1980)

15. Manley, Connor- 1:51.50 Central Bucks West ‘11 District One Championships 5/20/11

               (Indoor 4x800m 2011, Outdoor 4x800m 2011)

**16. Logue, Joseph- 1:51.59 Pennridge ’14 PA Distance Festival 6/09/12

               (Indoor 4x800m 2012)

*Kunzweiler, Alec- 1:51.62 Cumberland Valley ’13 PIAA T&F State Championship 5/25/12

               (Outdoor 4x800m 2012)

17. Stone, Andrew- 1:51.64 LaSalle ’13 PA Distance Festival 5/31/2013

               (Indoor DMR 2013)

18. Rotz, Andrew- 1:51.65 Central Dauphin ‘07 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/26/07

(Outdoor 800m 2007, Outdoor 4x800m 2004)

19. Kunzweiler, Alec- 1:51.68 Cumberland Valley ’13 District 3 Championships 5/18/13

               (Outdoor 4x800m 2012)

20. Endress, Wade- 1:51.73 Altoona ‘11 PTFCA State Championships 2/26/11

               (Indoor Mile 2011, Indoor 800m 2011)

*21. Coyle, Tom- 1:51.78 LaSalle ’13 PA Distance Festival 6/9/12

               (Outdoor 1600m 2012, Indoor DMR 2013)

Spooner, Chris- 1:51.8 Lewisburg ‘04 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/29/04

(Indoor Mile 2004, Outdoor 800m 2004, Outdoor 1600m 2004, Outdoor 4x800m 2004, Outdoor 3200m 2003, Outdoor 4x800m 2003)

*Francis, Kyle- 1:51.8 Bensalem ’14 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/25/13

               (Indoor 4x800m 2013, Outdoor 4x800m 2013)

22. Wharton, James- 1:51.84 Chester PIAA T&F State Championships /82

               (Outdoor 800m 1982)

23. Meredith, Ted- 1:51.85hc Mercersburg Academy ‘12 Olympic Games /1912

24. Bailey, Wil- 1:51.87 Penn Hills ’12 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/26/12

               (Outdoor 800m 2012)

Palmisano, Mike- 1:51.9 Upper Dublin ‘09 PIAA T&F State Championships 5/23/09

(Outdoor 1600m 2009, Indoor DMR 2009)

25. Jones, Jamar- 1:51.94 Engineering and Science ‘07 Swarthmore Last Chance Meet 5/14/07

(Outdoor 800m 2007, Outdoor 4x800m 2007, Outdoor 4x800m 2006, Outdoor 800m 2006, Indoor 800m 2007)

National Qualifying

This was pretty interesting to look up. The evolution of times at the various national qualifying meets at various locations is intriguing. It's hard to tell if Footlocker has necessarily gotten any easier, but I think it is quite clear that over the past few years the NXN meet has become increasingly competitive. Take a look down the list and maybe flip back between this and the post below as a point of reference.

Van Cortland
2nd Mark Dennin 15:24.0
5th Chris Aldrich 15:27.3
7th Vince McNally 15:30.3
9th Paul Springer 15:31.9
10th Ross Wilson 15:41.0
13th Vince McNally 15:41.9
4th Brendan Shearn 15:45.5
7th Max Norris 15:48.3
12th Dan Lowry 15:50.6
9th Brent Kennedy 15:50.9
10th Austin Pondel 15:51.0
23rd Jason Weller 15:52.9
10th Ben Furcht 15:53.5
25th Max Kaulbach 15:54.5
12th Colin Martin 15:58.2
11th Neal Berman 15:59.8
13th Colin Abert 16:01.1
16th Chris Cummings 16:07.4
16th Rico Galassi 16:07.5
19th Luke Jones 16:10.3
20th Conner Quinn 16:12.5
19th Matt McCullough 16:13.4
20th Dominic Deluca 16:15.1
21st Dominic Huckleberry 16:15.5
22nd Andrew Marston 16:16.0
22nd Patrick DeSabato 16:17.7
23rd Dan Jaskowak 16:18.8

Sunken Meadow
8th Chris Cambell 15:46.7
9th Zach Hebda 15:47.9
5th Dustin Wilson 15:50.0
11th Juris Silenieks 15:50.6
1st Brad Miles 15:52.8
13th Joe Kush 16:01.6
16th Reece Ayers 16:05.6
5th Rad Gunzenhauser 16:05.7
17th Dustin Wilson 16:09.0
8th Ryan Gil 16:10.8
19th Matt Kacyon 16:18.5
12th Jacob Kildoo 16:20.5
23rd Ryan Gil 16:21.8
15th Brett Kelly 16:22.8
24th Aaron Wilkinson 16:22.9
18th Dan Jaskowak 16:24.9
20th Brendan Shearn 16:27.5
19th Chuck Lockwood 16:31.0
24th Austin Pondel 16:37.6
25th Conner Quinn 16:39.8

Wappinger Falls
1st Tony Russell 15:46.4
1st Tony Russell 15:51.7
6th Griffin Molino 15:55.2
2nd Reiny Barchet 15:55.8
7th Kevin James 15:58.5
2nd Max Kaulbach 16:01.5
12th Jaxson Hoey 16:03.8
5th Wade Endress 16:03.9
16th Aaron Gebhardt 16:12.3
18th Jim Belfatto 16:13.2
9th Sami Aziz 16:14.1
9th Wade Endress 16:15.2
20th Reiny Barchet 16:16.4
12th Gus McKenzie 16:20.0
15th Dan Savage 16:21.0
16th Kevin James 16:22.1
6th Brad Miles 16:22.5
13th Reece Ayers 16:22.8
7th Brad Miles 16:26.8
19th Ernie Pitone 16:28.1
13th Reece Ayers 16:31.5
14th Ryan Gil 16:32.3
17th Logan Steiner 16:36.6
25th Will Kellar 16:36.8
13th Jake McKenzie 16:37.2
14th Zack Montijo 16:37.5
20th Brent Kennedy 16:42.2
24th Joel Christina 16:43.1
22nd Chase Broussard 16:44.8
20th Tim Stauring 16:45.6
23rd Tim Stauring 16:49.0
25th Patrick Morgan 16:51.3
25th Zach Hoagland 17:02.0

PAs Greats

PA has rarely been THE state on the national scene, very few times while I've been around the game have we seen individuals in the mix for national championships on the XC trails or on the track. Even when we had a 7:33 4x800m, one of the top 8 or so times ever at that point in time, that was the third best mark of the year. While I've been following the scene (which admittedly is a small window) the top national runners were probably bookending my periods of time. Coatesville won a national championship at NXN in 2006 just as I was beginning to understand and follow the sport and Tony Russell mixed it up for an individual title at NXN in 2013 right as I was leaving the sport. Russell also ran a big anchor leg on a indoor 4xMile squad that was just off a national title and ran a top 10 time in history. But I hesitate to count the indoor season as a true national representative. For me it's all about XC and Outdoors which is why I don't give too much credit to guys like Max Kaulbach who won an indoor national title in the 2-mile (back when there were two indoor national championships). The east coast has a massive advantage on this end because we are one of the only areas that truly takes it seriously.

But talking about our relevance on a national scene got me to thinking about who are the best PA runners that I have seen since I've been following PA HS athletics, i.e. Fall of 2006 to Fall of 2013?

It's not an easy question that much is certain. If you're talking XC you have to look at what Russell has done with two regional titles and ranking him up there as one of the best, if not the best. He also boasts a slew of course records and two state titles with a team and as an individual.

But once you move past him you have a lot of interesting names to consider. Max Kaulbach, Mark Dennin, Vince McNally and Chris Aldrich all graduated together and were in arguably the best class of XC individuals we have seen. Dennin has the top finish at the Footlocker meet since I have been here. He and Jason Weller have a pair of the clutchest wins I can remember.

Dustin Wilson and Zach Hebda represented very well at Footlocker, but it was a bit more of a decline those years. You look at what it was like when Dennin was there and how loaded it was at the top before NXN shrunk it down a bit and you can really appreciate the stretch run Dennin had. Max Norris and Shearn were also up there for representing well on the national scene.

Ryan Gil has one of the most memorable state championships in history and Wade Endress, despite some middle of the season rockiness, was a boss that year, qualifying for nationals at NXN that season. Endress may have been the most versatile runner that I have seen.

There are plenty of names to mention across the board as you can tell and it's really hard to put together any sort of ranking system. So I broke it down briefly by graduating years and put out the top 5 in each of those years in order.

Class of 2007
1. Jason Weller- State champ and super clutch, ran sub 15 at Lehigh and almost broke it at Hershey
2. Paul Springer- 14:47 is the course record at Lehigh, he could run fast and he snaged a footlocker bid in there as well
3. Kyle Dawson- 14:58 mark of his own, did a lot of the hard work to get the fast times for everybody else while leading perhaps the greatest team in state history
4. Lucas Zarzeczny- AA state champ, dominated the AA scene that year in XC out of Avonworth
5. Scott Van Kooten- name probably sounds familiar, his brother Jeff recently grabbed a medal, but Scott was a fantastic runner in his day, another guy who liked to go out hard and made the races at districts and states fast

Class of 2008
1. Mark Dennin- atop a loaded class, had one of the greatest 3 race stretches in state history, look at the names of the guys that beat him at nationals that year, they should look familiar, Derrick, Fernandez, Puskedra, Lowe, Cabral to name a few
2. Vince McNally- kinda a career achievement award, he was 13th at states as a freshman and top 5 as a soph, he ran 15:02 and qualified for nats
3. Max Kaulbach- didn't get as much love because he was independent league but ran hard for a good team and if he hopped in races with guys like Dennin he may have been able to win, we just never got to see it, didn't have individual xc qualifiers back then
4. Chris Aldrich- 15:02, district champion, 2 time top 5 finisher at states, footlocker finalist, another great henderson product
5. Dan Lowry- another guy who didn't get to show how good he was until it was too late, he came from lasalle before they were in the piaa, really underrated xc talent who was 12th at footlocker that year

Class of 2009
1. Joe Beveridge- gotta give credit where credit is due here, he didn't get to footlocker, but the guy came up huge at the state meet, he absolutely dominated Spisak and Santana (a couple guys who became quite good in college) and won states in AA as a junior as well
2. Ben Furcht- I'm bias here. He ran a 15:08 and made it to footlocker but he didn't come up big at states and lost to Tarsnane (and a bunch more really) Furcht is one of my favorite guys to come through the state and he was a gutsy racer, smart runner and incredibly hard worker. He and Berman really helped catapult Lower Merion into a real deal program and almost carried them to states that year (might have been a top 10-12 team in the state). Ben is one of the best runners to have 0 state titles.
3. Jimmy Tarsnane- He got the Ws at states that's what really matters in the end. He too helped PV get to a new level pulling Perozze and Armstrong along with him and maybe helping Dallago a bit for the future. PV got 4th at states that year! Tarsnane was a game changer for that program and probably earned #2 on most non-biased peoples list here.
4. Neal Berman- The other man in the Lower Merion duo made people think about 1-2 at states. Ran a blazing fast mark at Lehigh with just one shoe and finished 11th at Footlocker regionals that year. He too suffered at states, but was another smart runner who had to have liked training with somebody like Ben. I've got both of their autographs still.
5. Matt McCullough- Out of Malvern Prep, a squad which is back on the rise again, he was an under the radar guy from the Independent league who finished among the top 20 or so in the region. Another very smart racer who liked to run even splits. Loved the way guys like him raced. He almost managed to steal an indoor mile state championship as well!

Class of 2010 (a class close to my heart ...)
1. Brad Miles- Probably the biggest name I left out of the intro. Before Russell, he was the only guy who was a Regional champ for PA while I was watching. Miles really broke through to win districts, states and regionals all in a row which very rarely happens, it's been done only 3 times (twice by Russell) since I've been watching.And oh yeah Miles won two team state titles during his time at NP and got the team back to states out of the tough district one with basically nobody besides Sam Bernitt and himself. Incredible.
2. Radford Gunzenhauser- Name alone should get him on this list, but he also came through for a huge stretch of quality racing at the end of the season. He was the best guy in the state for a lot of this year and gave Miles one heck of a fight at states. Gunz also qualified for Footlocker, keeping his name in a big bunch of greats.
3. Will Kellar- A leader on that Henderson team for 2 years in a row and got them the title in 09. He finished second at states as a junior, 6th as a senior and in total has 3 individual medals from XC. He finished in the top 5 at districts a couple times in a row which is no easy task in itself.
4. Sam Bernitt- Gotta give credit here. He shut down his season after a rough states, but he was running on Miles level for most of the year. He might have been going to footlocker if he had chose to head out to Sunken Meadow. He was 2nd at districts and also grabbed a team title as a junior when he finished in the top 10 of states. I've got his phone # no big.
5. Chuck Lockwood- Probably the best guy on the AAA level when it comes to doing well after winning District 3. He won District 3 and finished 4th behind three guys who went on to qualify for Footlocker that season. Lockwood is another really under appreciated talent on the PA XC scene.
Honorable Mention: Gus McKenzie, GFS- Led a team to a huge surprise NXN qualifying mark and did work out there in the Independent League. If he had raced more of the big names that I put on the above list he probably would be up near the top, he just didn't get the same chance to prove himself because he wasn't in the PIAA.

Class of 2011
1. Zach Hebda- Huge fan of this guy. It's crazy because he was the 3rd best guy on his own team for the first 3 years of his high school career and then he became the best guy in the state. He didn't get that state title, but if he had a little bit more experience I think it could have been his.
2. Ryan Gil- Hard to rank this class of guys because all of them are so fantastic. Gil had an incredible career, 3rd as a junior and 1st as a senior. Hebda was better than him that year I feel, but Gil overcame all the injuries and timed his win perfectly at states. It's a shame he had to fight those injuries his senior year or he could have been one of the special ones. He went through some hard times in his younger days when NA got stunned at states (twice in a row) but he ended up leading them to the state title as a team his senior year for sweet revenge. In total Gil finished with 5 XC state medals, including two golds, one footlocker finalist appearance and he was also the top guy on the NA squad that finished top 12 at nationals in one of the greatest feel good stories of XC that I have seen. Lots of nice things to say about Gil.
3. Wade Endress- He always went out and tried to race the best guys. He went to the WPIAL course to race the 3-headed monster of North Hills, he went to Coatesville to race Chris Campbell. He lost both of those races, but he pushed himself outside of his comfort zone and it paid off at states when he finished 2nd and almost kicked to the win. Plus Endress got an individual qualifier to NXN. Gotta give props to Wade, he was a class act and a great competitor. He just wanted to race the best no matter what it took. He made that Altoona XC squad a swagger filled bunch of guys. Can definitely make a case he was the best in their year.
4. Chris Campbell- Just dominated District One that year. He beat Endress and crushed Steel City. He qualified for Footlocker. The guy was really strong his last two years at the state meet and he had a great finish. Most years that kinda resume gets you higher than 4th, but this was just a crazy year.
5. Jacob Kildoo- This is a tough one because let's face it I easily could have gone Silenieks, Kush or Ayers here because all of those guys were fantastic! But this year was just a little too deep. I'm gonna talk about everybody here though, even if I'm giving Kildoo the big nod. Ayers finished in the top 10 at states 3 years in a row. Incredible. The only guy to do it while I've been watching. Silenieks and Kush made up the best 3 some in XC state history as far as I'm concerned and they almost all got to Footlocker that year. And lastly Kildoo was the big dog at states that senior year. Came up with a strong race at Carlisle, finished 5th at states and also had his own top 12 finish at Footlocker regionals to boast about. His senior year he was the best of this group overall I would say, but you can certainly make a case for the other 3 in this slot.

Class of 2012
1. Dustin Wilson- Represented us fantastically on the big stage. Mixed it up with the All-Americans when he went out to Footlocker. Again the Independent league thing really limited our perception of just how great he was that season compared to the other PA guys.
2. Drew Magaha- Look the guy is certainly best known for his track marks which are quite absurd, but in XC his senior year he really put it all together, Magaha dropped a killer solo XC mark at districts and despite lots of talk of his XC credentials not being fit for hills, he pulled out a 6th place finish at the state meet. Props for a track guy to do it big like him.
3. Brett Kelly- Look there weren't a lot of stand out names in the class of 2012 if you remember, but Brett Kelly held his own. The third Boyertown guy on these lists, Kelly sported a great 3rd place finish at states and 3 top 30 finishes in his years there. He also managed a strong footlocker finish that year. He was 10th at districts 3 years in a row.
4. Logan Steiner- Steiner was a very strong runner for NA, he helped them continue to stay relevant and win another WPIAL title. He was top 5 at the state championship and did well at the NXN meet. He has 3 state medals to his name as well and was a WPIAL champ in some really crappy weather. Can certainly make a case he deserves to be higher on this list.
5. Josef DiP.- I honestly can't spell his last name, but Josef was the only senior among a sea of phenomenal juniors at the AA level. D-P ran really well that year and you can argue his best race wasn't that state meet, he did some nice work later that year on the track as well. An underrated guy among all the super stars in AA.

Small shout to Sam Hibbs. His senior year in XC wasn't his year, but he finished with 3 XC state medals and helped coach up and motivate the state champ in Conner Quinn. Then Hibbs went to the track and proved himself in a big way. Mad props.

Class of 2013
First off, I think this class is the hardest to rank. You can make a case for 15+ guys on this list. Just sayin.
1. Brendan Shearn- Although he didn't win the state title his senior year, he did win as a Junior, qualified for Footlocker and finished up near the All-American mix. I respect the race Shearn ran at states that year, he ran really gutsy and pushed himself to the limit. Plus Shearn is partially responsible for putting AA on the map with his achievements on the AA side. He showed they can hang with the best of em.
2. Max Norris- Norris was the feel good story of the year from XC districts until Penn Relays basically. He could kick down anybody and somehow came from left field in the last few races of the season to push himself into the conversation for top 5 at states, then top 10 at regionals and then all-american at nationals. Truly a guy who rode the momentum of a good race and he took it all the way to the top.
3. Austin Pondel- I give Pondel a slight nod here because he got the ultimate achievement when he locked up a Footlocker spot at Van Cortland. Pondel had a phenomenal senior XC season, becoming the breakout performer of the year and challenging for a state title at season's end. He came incredibly close considering he didn't have the flashy track times and he just ran a very hard race in very muddy conditions the week before. Pondel ends that year as a very underrated XC guy with a great story. Heck Pondel's school could have been AA, but his Coach wanted their school to race the top level. No excuses. That's a fantastic story,
4. Vinny Todaro- Gosh how is this guy 4th in his year? He probably deserves to be higher considering his senior year he dominated at Carlisle and beat Shearn and Jaskowak in one of the best races in state history. Todaro would have given Russell a run for his money that year I have to imagine, but he didn't run the post season and that kinda hurt his ranking as a result. But I am a huge fan of how Todaro raced in his Senior season. Another guy who doesn't get as much love, but had a fantastic series of races to grab the title.
5. Rico Galassi- Ugh do I have to pick just one guy? I go Galassi because he is a gutsy sub 16 at states in the first ever A race. He runs hard and he had a very good series of races that year and came up just a little bit short at the end of the season for Footlocker, but clearly belonged in the conversation with the best in the biz.

That being said I have a few more names I want to throw out. How about Dan Savage? Senior leader on an O'Hara team that was 5th at Nationals and was 1 point away from winning the state title two years in a row? He kept that team motivated and provided excellent leadership through all the heartbreak.

How about Luke Jones? Just a few seconds away from a state title. Twice in a row. And proved himself nicely at Footlocker regionals as well. I think he also got his squad a state championship in there. Very nice stuff for an underrated guy in Luke Jones.

Dan Jaskowak was also a beast. He suffered too from that Pondel mud battle and it may have screwed him out of a state title. I doubted him hard core all his junior year and all he did was almost steal the state title at the very end. He had some solid Footlocker finishes in back to back years as well and a really memorable win at Red, White and Blue his Junior year.

And a small shout out to Conner Quinn. He had the greatest upset perhaps in any state race ever! Who saw that coming? I mean really though? That was a sick race and although his senior year wasn't perfect he battled back hard and still had a nice series of races and a good Footlocker race.

Gotta give props to the Horsham boys.

Class of 2014
Gotta admit, I wasn't watching this one that closely, but here we go
1. Tony Russell- As I've said, on paper he is the best to ever come through. I believe he has 5 XC state medals, 4 were gold, two regional championships, the state meet course record, a sub 15 and he has some nice invitational wins and fast times on other courses. He led his team to two NXN titles and delivered in an upset and when he was the favorite. He was 11th at NXN as an individual his senior year which is the highest finish since Dawson. The achievements speak for themselves.
2. Ross Wilson- Gave it his all every race he ran, have to appreciate what he has accomplished as well, with a couple runner-up finishes at districts to Russell and almost again at states. He also will be competing at Footlocker in a couple hours with a chance to really cement his legacy.
3. Reiny Barchet- Barchet has run fast times at Lehigh, has grabbed 5 state medals of his own and has been a top guy in the district since he was a freshman. If he was around his sophomore year he may have had another medal in the collection. He came up with a very clutch race at states this past year and as a Junior he was an All-American at NXN beating some of the biggest names in the sport like Montoya and Leingang. His high moments are nice moments.
4. Dominic Deluca- This is a guy who really came on strong after I stopped being a poster. He was actually very strong early in his Junior year and then kind of faded at the end of the year. Then we all forgot about him until he ran 9:13 or so and then he never looked back from there. He absolutely dominated the AA guys this year and with a little bit more big race experience maybe could have been a footlocker guy this year.
5. Colin Martin- He wasn't the big name Martin a year ago, but he really stepped out of his brothers shadow and cemented his own legacy this year. He has done a great job winning big time races and competing with the best at the state, capping it off with a 12 place finish at regionals. Who knows what Ethan would have been if he was healthy, but it is nice to see Colin, who has always been running very good times, carve out his own legacy.

Well that's that. If anybody actually comes across this stuff and reads it I'll keep going with some other events and maybe some XC teams worth noting.

Last night I had a dream that I met Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. Then I woke up .... Maybe one day ....