XC Top 50 Preview: Top 10

1. Dustin Wilson, Sr Chestnut Hill Academy (Independent League)
- Wilson is the top returner from Pennsylvania at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional, and the defending Independent League Champion. This track season Wilson did nothing to disprove his number one ranking. He blasted a solo 9:02 3200m at the Independent League Championships while indooors proved he had some mile ability running a 4:14 split on his DMR at nationals. He is an All-American indoors and his most recent 5k at Henderson suggests he is on the verge of sub 15 at Nationals. The one blemish on his resume is his 2010 finish at Paul Short.
2. Sam Hibbs, Sr Hatboro Horsham (1)
- Hibbs is the top returner from the 2010 PIAA State Championships and the District One championships (7th and 2nd respectively). Hibbs has historically run the states course well finishing 12th there during his first trip as a sophomore. He was tops in his class at States each of the past two years. During track, despite injury, he was the top Junior at States in the 3200m and ran low 9:20s and low 4:20s for track. Hatboro Horsham always has a good team and Hibbs should have a great training partner in Connor Quinn. Hibbs has been clutch at states, but one of my few concerns is that he will not have the finishing speed to win a close race for the state title.
3. Alex Moran, Sr Mt Lebanon (7)
- Moran finished 14th at states in XC in 2010, making him the 3rd returner from the state championship. After surprisingly not making states in 2009, he came back full force with many quality finishes in tough District 7 fields. He then became a serious state title contender on the track with a very fast mile race with Ryan Gil. Moran has also run solid 3200m races mixing it up with the North Hills trio running 9:38 early in the season. In a kickers race, Moran has to be a factor for a state title, especially with high team expectations on his back. My one concern is that sometimes track stats falsely indicate a jump to the next level in XC especially in a race like the mile.
4. Quinn Devlin, Sr Downingtown West (1)
- Devlin ran great last season in XC, marked by a great finish at Carlisle. He finished 3rd at a tough District One Championship meet and despite a tough race with multiple falls finished 26th at States. Devlin followed up these performances with a 9:20 3200 on the track and a very nice second place finish at the 3200m at Districts. Unfortunately the story of his track seasons is filled with chapters of sickness and injury. If Quinn can avoid these in Cross Country in 2011, he will prove that he is a true XC guy, more so than a track guy, who is not afraid to run in the front pack and push the pace. He has experience that other guys to not leading at 2+ miles in big races. My concern is he has yet to have a great race at the Hershey states course.
5. Logan Steiner, Sr North Allegheny (7)
- Steiner was very quietly great during XC and track this season. He is the only runner not named Sam Hibbs who has two AAA state XC medals, his first coming as a sophomore at Meadville. He is the #2 returner from states (13th) and has ran the course very well in his experience. He runs for North Allegheny, a team that has produced its fair share of state championships. Steiner ran a 9:24 on the track in the 3200m which is great for a guy who is more of an XC guy. It was tough to slot this guy and he could easily be ranked a few spots higher.
6. Ned Willig, Sr Great Valley (1)
- Ned last season was plagued by early injuries and managed to pull together a solid finish to his season and a 67th place finish at the state championship. However, Ned is not on this list because of his cross season. Ned had a killer track season and showed amazing potential with both his 4:11.99 and 1:51.10. The one thing that concerns me about this season is it makes me think Willig is more of a speed track guy than XC (I used to think Ned Willig was a 2 mile at heart up until roughly Districts for track, shows what I know). Ned, however, during his truly healthy XC season his freshman year ran 15:55 at Districts. His sophomore year he struggled with sickness but still finished top 25 at Districts. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win a District Championship but he has is not proven in XC (especially on the Hershey course) enough to warrant a higher spot on this list.
7. Connor Strynkowski, Sr Palymra (3)
- I'm a really big fan of this guy who ran 9:24 in the 3200m this past spring and finished 9th in the states 3200m's deep field. He also beat guys like Gruschow at Mid-Penns in the 3200m to win the individual championship there. He finished 36th a year ago at XC states and spent the whole season being a guy on the rise but never a big name. Connor is one of the big sleepers this year and I am a big fan of how he has been improving.
8. Brett Kelly, Sr Boyertown (1)
- Brett Kelly took 23rd at States in 2010 and is one of the few returning medalists for AAA. Kelly has consistently been a great hill runner and finished in the 20s the past two years at Hershey, while showing solid speed additionally finishing 10th at Districts each of the past two years. Kelly had a great indoor season followed by a fairly solid outdoor season marked by a 4:21 1600m. Kelly has yet to have the break out track season to match his XC finishes, however, he is a proven veteran in XC. And oh yeah, he runs for Boyertown.
9. Andrew Kutchta, Sr Baldwin (7)
- Kutchta had a solid XC season as part of a solid Baldwin pack, but on the track made his own name for himself with a 9:16 3200m. It surprising that Kutchta has surpassed Bobby Bishop for my top ranked Baldwin guy, but his track season allowed him to make up a lot of ground on guys who have had better XC seasons than him in the past. He is still a little unproven, but is definitely a runner on the rise.
10. Ryan Smathers, Jr North East (10 AA)
- Smathers is the top returner from AA and showed plenty of guts against the AA competition this past year. He lead through 2 miles at the AA state championships and ran a gutsy race in the mens 1600m, only to be outkicked by Gruschow in a fantastic finish. Smathers boasts a 4:18 and 5th place finish at AA states this past year as a sophomore. Smathers is facing the sophomore to junior year jump which means he may improve more than his competitors. I always have a tough time ranking AA guys vs. AAA guys but Smathers has proven himself a lot over the past year as a guy to watch this season, not just for AA, but all of Pennsylvania.