So I'm not sure how in depth I can go right now about why I picked what, especially given how much crazy action there was this weekend, but if you have any questions about something, comment away and this coming week I will make a post answering everyone's questions. Honestly, it was incredibly hard to do the rankings this week so many answers are going to be less than satisfactory in many cases. So new rankings ladies and gentleman (most likely just gentleman, but don't want to assume no ladies read) are:
EDIT: I edited this to include age and class, however, I am not postive about all the ages and classes, I'm doing it from memory.
1. Austin Pondel, Sr Corry Area, (10, AA/AAA, he is not sure where they will compete this fall I heard, but Corry is AA eligible, they just have chosen to compete at a AAA level in the past)
2. Vinny Todaro, Sr Big Spring (3, AA)
3. Brent Kennedy, Jr Kiski Area (7, AAA)
4. Rico Galassi, Sr Holy Cross (2, A)
5. Dan Jaskowak, Sr Grove City (10, AA)
6. Connor Harriman, Sr Pennsbury (1, AAA)
7. Ryan Smathers, Sr North East (10, A)
8. Brendan Shearn, Sr North Schuylkill (11, AA)
9. Ean DiSilvio, Sr Allerdice (8, AAA)
10. Sam Williams, Sr Northeast Bradford (4, A)
11. Dan Savage, Sr O'Hara (12, AAA)
12. Kevin James, So O'Hara (12, AAA)
13. Curt Jewett, Sr Northeast Bradford (4, A)
14. Tony Russell, Jr West Chester Henderson (1, AAA)
15. Reiny Barchet, Jr West Chester Henderson (1, AAA)
16. Dominic Deluca, Jr Dallas (2, AA)
17. Ethan Martin, Jr Fox Chapel (7, AAA)
18. Mac Emery, Sr Council Rock North (1, AAA)
19. Ben Ritz, Sr Germantown Academy (Independent)
20. Francis Ferruzzi, Sr Upper Dublin (1, AAA)
21. Luke Jones, Sr Elk Lake (2, A)
22. Sam Ritz, So Germantown Academy (Independent)
23. Evan Williams, Sr Governor Mifflin (3, AAA)
24. Jeff Groh, Jr Lower Dauphin (3, AAA)
25. Jack Heummler, Sr Strath Haven (1, AAA)
26. Ross Wilson, Jr Council Rock North (1, AAA)
27. Ernie Pitone, Sr O'Hara (12, AAA)
28. Alec Kunzweiler, Sr Cumberland Valley (3, AAA)
29. Adam Bodine, Sr Haverford (1, AAA)
30. Ryan Archer, Sr Vincentian Academy (7, A)
31. Jack Macauley, Sr North Penn (1, AAA)
32. Sam Webb, So Pennsbury (1, AAA)
33. Conner Quinn, Sr Hatboro Horsham (1, AAA)
34. Shawn Wolfe, Sr Anville Celona (3, A)
35. Dave Fowler, Jr Haverford (1, AAA)
36. Sami Aziz, Sr Germantown Friend's (Independent)
37. Alec Brand, Sr Central Bucks East (1, AAA)
38. Max Norris, Sr Harriton (1, AA)
39. Patrick Reilly, Jr Dallastown (3, AAA)
40. Colin Abert, So Easton (11, AAA)
41. Josh Zemet, Sr North Allegheny (7, AAA)
42. Mike Meehan, Sr North Allegheny (7, AAA)
43. Chris Berry, Sr CB East (1, AAA)
44. Ryan Hertzog, Sr South Western (3, AAA)
45. Joey Steadman, Sr Downingtown West (1, AAA)
46. Lyle Wistar, Sr Germantown Friend's (Independent)
47. Bobby Rimkis, Sr West Chester Henderson (1, AAA)
48. Cole Nissley, Jr Lower Dauphin (3, AAA)
49. Xaiver Sauvageau, Sr Littlestown (3, AA)
50. Matt Kazanjian, Jr Penncrest (1, AAA)
Just Missing
Will Cather
Chris Kazanjian
Ryan McGuire
Aaron Valerosa
Alex Knapp
Paul Short Quick Thoughts
For all you out there wondering: Rico Galassi is for real. Great weather today on a fast course left the door open for Rico to go off to the tune of a 15:44. What makes it more impressive to me is the fact that Galassi and company weren't even running sub 5 minute pace on Lehigh's sloppy first mile (6 races already under the courses belt by the gun), unheard of for a sub 16 minute mark on the course. I knew there was a reason this guy had the #1 ranking on this blog for a little bit .... I think the kid deserves some more votes in the poll boys.
The Ritz bros are back! Ben opens up in 15:52, Sam is the #3 PA finish behind Rico and his brother at 16 flat (the same time as Brendan Shearn last year). The GA boys didn't exactly storm onto the scene at Briarwood, but today they were very impressive.
Hershey and CV incredibly close again! But no Alex Coburn for CV ... that gives them the edge in my book.
West Chester East silences the doubters with a big win. They have a great pack for sure.
Haverford boys doing work as well. Bodine and Fowler running great races.
And Huemmler is back to running with the leaders, the milers sure do love Lehigh's course.
The Ritz bros are back! Ben opens up in 15:52, Sam is the #3 PA finish behind Rico and his brother at 16 flat (the same time as Brendan Shearn last year). The GA boys didn't exactly storm onto the scene at Briarwood, but today they were very impressive.
Hershey and CV incredibly close again! But no Alex Coburn for CV ... that gives them the edge in my book.
West Chester East silences the doubters with a big win. They have a great pack for sure.
Haverford boys doing work as well. Bodine and Fowler running great races.
And Huemmler is back to running with the leaders, the milers sure do love Lehigh's course.
Carlisle Preview
Paul Short may get a lot of buzz this week, but the Carlisle Invitational has plenty of fire power this year. West Chester Henderson has decided to schedule the meet this year to showcase their talent. A lot of talent outside of PA looks like it will also be making the trip to Carlisle including Don Bosco of New Jersey. North Allegheny, a team that historically is always at this meet, is currently not on the list of scheduled teams on Penntrack, but hopefully they will be making the trip once again. Other teams scheduled to be in attendance include Kiski Area, Penncrest, and Pennsbury. Pennsbury is currently a top 4 ranked team in the state and is coming off a big confidence booster at Hershey. Mount Lebanon has attended this meet in the past as well, but is not scheduled at this time. They, like their D7 rivals North Allegheny, could be in the team title mix. Also worth considering is Downingtown West, who will not attend Paul Short and has atttended this meet in the past. They seem to be a team on the rise with something to prove. LaSalle is in a similar boat to DTWest having not signed up for Paul Short as of my last perusal. They have had great success at this meet before and I hope to see them back. Hopefully Stone will begin to make a climb back to the top and maybe we will see some of Tom Coyle, who was 2nd at Carlisle last year. North Penn also has attended this meet in years past, but is not currently scheduled as is Lower Dauphin who ran last year.
In the individual race there are a lot of names to be on the look out for. Out front, of course, there is Tony Russell, who has a lot of confidence after an impressive Briarwood time. He will attack the 15:40 barrier again here at Carlisle if conditiions permit. But the talented junior will be fronted by his rival to the west, Brent Kennedy of Kiski. Kennedy was 7th last year at states and dropped some impressive doubles and triples on the track including his state performance. Kennedy then opened his season with a convincing win at Red White and Blue in 15:27 over Jaskowak and Martin. Both Russell and Kennedy are looking to impress at this field and make a run at the #1 individual ranking, which should benefit both of their teams. Then of course there is Hershey champion Connor Harriman who will look to use his furious kick to compete at the top level.
The top PA returner in this race after Shearn (who has declared for Paul Short) and Coyle (who has been injured all season) is Francis Ferruzzi, who was 7th last season. He opened up his year at Belmont with a solid top 10 finish. He will look to prove himself in another big meet hanging up there with the top pack. Barchet and Rimkis both also should be in the mix up front in this race as they look to boost the Henderson stock. Vinny Todaro is a sleeper pick for the title if he has his day in the Challenge race.
Here are some other names to watch:
Ken Leidal*
Joey Steadman*
Harrison Schettler
Sam Webb
Cole Nissley
Jeff Groh
Zach Brehm
The NA Boys*
Dan Klinik
Liam Corcoran
Chris Culley*
The Archers*
Jordan Crawford*
Shawn Wolfe
The Kazanjans
Will Cather
In the individual race there are a lot of names to be on the look out for. Out front, of course, there is Tony Russell, who has a lot of confidence after an impressive Briarwood time. He will attack the 15:40 barrier again here at Carlisle if conditiions permit. But the talented junior will be fronted by his rival to the west, Brent Kennedy of Kiski. Kennedy was 7th last year at states and dropped some impressive doubles and triples on the track including his state performance. Kennedy then opened his season with a convincing win at Red White and Blue in 15:27 over Jaskowak and Martin. Both Russell and Kennedy are looking to impress at this field and make a run at the #1 individual ranking, which should benefit both of their teams. Then of course there is Hershey champion Connor Harriman who will look to use his furious kick to compete at the top level.
The top PA returner in this race after Shearn (who has declared for Paul Short) and Coyle (who has been injured all season) is Francis Ferruzzi, who was 7th last season. He opened up his year at Belmont with a solid top 10 finish. He will look to prove himself in another big meet hanging up there with the top pack. Barchet and Rimkis both also should be in the mix up front in this race as they look to boost the Henderson stock. Vinny Todaro is a sleeper pick for the title if he has his day in the Challenge race.
Here are some other names to watch:
Ken Leidal*
Joey Steadman*
Harrison Schettler
Sam Webb
Cole Nissley
Jeff Groh
Zach Brehm
The NA Boys*
Dan Klinik
Liam Corcoran
Chris Culley*
The Archers*
Jordan Crawford*
Shawn Wolfe
The Kazanjans
Will Cather
Paul Short Preview
Trying to keep my absurd amount of posting that I have been doing, I'm going to lay down the notable entries for Paul Short and then give you some names to be on the look out for. Here are the online team entries worth noting:
Cumberland Valley
Easton Area
Germantown Academy
Great Valley
Hatboro Horsham
Haverford
Hershey
Holy Cross
Holy Ghost Prep
Holy Redeemer
Methacton
Pottsgrove
Strath Haven
West Chester East
Bensalem (White)
Lower Moreland (White)
South Western (White)
Penn Charter (White)
The thing that I am most excited about this weekend is some of the team battles we are about to see. In the Brown Race the red hot West Chester East team seems to be in the best shape they have been since way back when the team was defending state champions in 2006. Chris Cummings, currently coming off a big win at Rose Tree, leads a tight pack of guys who are looking to burst onto the scene is surprising fashion, much the way Zach Trama did last spring. This will be West Chester East's first battle with ranked teams since they took down Great Valley and CR North in the same race at the Abington Invitational. But said Great Valley team is looking for revenge this year, after a disappointing 4th place finish last year at this meet. Great Valley peaked at the right time running a great race at Districts to beat North Penn and take second behind Henderson. In that race Matt Willig and Garrett Zatlin, currently Juniors, had break out performances. Billy Wolffe, the anchor of the state champion DMR squad, has been a strong leader for this year's team as well.
But there is more than just a few D1 rivalries to be settled. Hershey and Cumberland Valley, who tied in their opening invitational at PTXC will square off with one another looking, CV looking for some sweet revenge and Hershey looking to prove that PTXC wasn't a fluke. Nate Hamilton will look to lead a tight knit pack for Hershey against Cumberland Valley, who has Alec Kunzweiler, 1:51 800m runner and 14th place finisher at last year's state championship, as well as fellow 4x800m relay memeber Alex Coburn, who ran in the 16:20s a few years back on this very course as a freshman.
The real sleeper team among all this is Methacton. They quietly ran to a 6th place finish, less than 50 points off Lower Dauphin and ahead of teams like Unionville and Grove City (in combined scoring). Chris Watro was the big breakout performer for Methacton last meet, and don't be surprised to hear his name out front again. Methacton has a chance to surprise though D1 teams out front if they have another big day.
Plus Pottsgrove, coming off a convincing win at Foundation, looks to maintain their AA powerhouse ranking as they go up against Holy Redeemer once again as well as new challenges from Holy Ghost Prep and Germantown Academy. Holy Ghost is lead by Christian Kardish, coming off a rare off race at Rose Tree. Holy Ghost Prep has run the Hershey course very well over the past couple years, leading to a few state berths and multiple sub 16s. Pottsgrove is led by Ian Yanusko who ran a solid top 10 AA performance last weekend. Germantown Academy has the Ritz boys to lead them, although Ben did not race in the team's opener and would be a key loss going into this meet.
Also watch out for Penncharter in the White race, they are a very solid team this year.
As for the individuals, we will see another Brendan Shearn v. Conner Quinn match up in a battle of the state champions, only this time it seems both boys are rolling much better than they were at PTXC. Quinn certainly runs the hills better than the fast Lehigh course, but still has a sub 15:40 PR on the trials here. Shearn was third here a year ago, but proved on the track that he has the ability to run a very fast 5k, breaking the 15 minute mark at nationals. Shearn also has the sting of a tough loss to Dan Jaskowak to think about on the home stretch of this race. He is going to be tough to beat.
However, Shearn will have his hands full with old rival Rico Galassi of Holy Cross with whom he dualed at the outdoor states 3200m final. Galassi was 3rd at AA states last year and opened up his season with a quality win over Deluca, Williams, Jewett and Jones, all very impressive names thus far this year. Galassi will look to prove he deserves to be mentioned with the best in the state as he makes his first trip out to Lehigh for the race. His solid track speed should help him in a race of this caliber on this fast of a course.
Alec Kunzweiler, who was a top finisher in last years race, is back and has high expectations to bounce back after PTXC. He also has a team to race for which certainly helps motivate you when the going gets tough. I expect him to be with the leaders in this race. The Ritz boys took it out very hard last year trying to hang on to Dustin Wilson. This year they may be better suited for a fast race after both boys dropped great track PRs this spring. Sam, as just a freshman, finished 9th last year in 16:11 in very muddy conditions.
Some sleepers to mix it up with the top group would be guys like Chris Watro of Methacton and Adam Bodine of Haverford. Bodine had a very solid race at Belmont Plateau mixing it up with Alec Brand in the Division I race. Colin Abert of Easton is just a sophomore but opened up his season in 16:14. He is a name to watch and a potential D11 champion this year.
Jack Huemmler will look to bounce back after a somewhat disappointing opener at Rose Tree. His 1600m speed should benefit him on this course. He was an impressively high finisher at the D1 Championships last year and will look to harness that late season magic again here at Paul Short.
In the White race, Ryan Hertzog, a top finisher at the District 3 Championships last fall, headlines the field. He was 2nd in the White race last year in 16:21. Kyle Francis of Bensalem, Dan Alexander of Lower Moreland, and the Penncharter Boys should all compete for a top spot.
Cumberland Valley
Easton Area
Germantown Academy
Great Valley
Hatboro Horsham
Haverford
Hershey
Holy Cross
Holy Ghost Prep
Holy Redeemer
Methacton
Pottsgrove
Strath Haven
West Chester East
Bensalem (White)
Lower Moreland (White)
South Western (White)
Penn Charter (White)
The thing that I am most excited about this weekend is some of the team battles we are about to see. In the Brown Race the red hot West Chester East team seems to be in the best shape they have been since way back when the team was defending state champions in 2006. Chris Cummings, currently coming off a big win at Rose Tree, leads a tight pack of guys who are looking to burst onto the scene is surprising fashion, much the way Zach Trama did last spring. This will be West Chester East's first battle with ranked teams since they took down Great Valley and CR North in the same race at the Abington Invitational. But said Great Valley team is looking for revenge this year, after a disappointing 4th place finish last year at this meet. Great Valley peaked at the right time running a great race at Districts to beat North Penn and take second behind Henderson. In that race Matt Willig and Garrett Zatlin, currently Juniors, had break out performances. Billy Wolffe, the anchor of the state champion DMR squad, has been a strong leader for this year's team as well.
But there is more than just a few D1 rivalries to be settled. Hershey and Cumberland Valley, who tied in their opening invitational at PTXC will square off with one another looking, CV looking for some sweet revenge and Hershey looking to prove that PTXC wasn't a fluke. Nate Hamilton will look to lead a tight knit pack for Hershey against Cumberland Valley, who has Alec Kunzweiler, 1:51 800m runner and 14th place finisher at last year's state championship, as well as fellow 4x800m relay memeber Alex Coburn, who ran in the 16:20s a few years back on this very course as a freshman.
The real sleeper team among all this is Methacton. They quietly ran to a 6th place finish, less than 50 points off Lower Dauphin and ahead of teams like Unionville and Grove City (in combined scoring). Chris Watro was the big breakout performer for Methacton last meet, and don't be surprised to hear his name out front again. Methacton has a chance to surprise though D1 teams out front if they have another big day.
Plus Pottsgrove, coming off a convincing win at Foundation, looks to maintain their AA powerhouse ranking as they go up against Holy Redeemer once again as well as new challenges from Holy Ghost Prep and Germantown Academy. Holy Ghost is lead by Christian Kardish, coming off a rare off race at Rose Tree. Holy Ghost Prep has run the Hershey course very well over the past couple years, leading to a few state berths and multiple sub 16s. Pottsgrove is led by Ian Yanusko who ran a solid top 10 AA performance last weekend. Germantown Academy has the Ritz boys to lead them, although Ben did not race in the team's opener and would be a key loss going into this meet.
Also watch out for Penncharter in the White race, they are a very solid team this year.
As for the individuals, we will see another Brendan Shearn v. Conner Quinn match up in a battle of the state champions, only this time it seems both boys are rolling much better than they were at PTXC. Quinn certainly runs the hills better than the fast Lehigh course, but still has a sub 15:40 PR on the trials here. Shearn was third here a year ago, but proved on the track that he has the ability to run a very fast 5k, breaking the 15 minute mark at nationals. Shearn also has the sting of a tough loss to Dan Jaskowak to think about on the home stretch of this race. He is going to be tough to beat.
However, Shearn will have his hands full with old rival Rico Galassi of Holy Cross with whom he dualed at the outdoor states 3200m final. Galassi was 3rd at AA states last year and opened up his season with a quality win over Deluca, Williams, Jewett and Jones, all very impressive names thus far this year. Galassi will look to prove he deserves to be mentioned with the best in the state as he makes his first trip out to Lehigh for the race. His solid track speed should help him in a race of this caliber on this fast of a course.
Alec Kunzweiler, who was a top finisher in last years race, is back and has high expectations to bounce back after PTXC. He also has a team to race for which certainly helps motivate you when the going gets tough. I expect him to be with the leaders in this race. The Ritz boys took it out very hard last year trying to hang on to Dustin Wilson. This year they may be better suited for a fast race after both boys dropped great track PRs this spring. Sam, as just a freshman, finished 9th last year in 16:11 in very muddy conditions.
Some sleepers to mix it up with the top group would be guys like Chris Watro of Methacton and Adam Bodine of Haverford. Bodine had a very solid race at Belmont Plateau mixing it up with Alec Brand in the Division I race. Colin Abert of Easton is just a sophomore but opened up his season in 16:14. He is a name to watch and a potential D11 champion this year.
Jack Huemmler will look to bounce back after a somewhat disappointing opener at Rose Tree. His 1600m speed should benefit him on this course. He was an impressively high finisher at the D1 Championships last year and will look to harness that late season magic again here at Paul Short.
In the White race, Ryan Hertzog, a top finisher at the District 3 Championships last fall, headlines the field. He was 2nd in the White race last year in 16:21. Kyle Francis of Bensalem, Dan Alexander of Lower Moreland, and the Penncharter Boys should all compete for a top spot.
Fastest Times At the Foundation Meet
1.
Quinn 16:03
2.
Jaskowak 16:06
3.
Savage 16:13
4.
Shearn 16:15
5.
Kennedy 16:16
6.
Coyle 16:17
7.
Jones 16:17
8.
Harriman 16:21
9.
Kunzweiler 16:24
10.
DiSilvio 16:25**
11.
Macauley 16:26
12.
Galassi 16:26
13.
Culley 16:28
14.
Williams 16:29
15.
Smathers 16:30
16.
Groh 16:30*
17.
Pondel 16:31
18.
Wakeley 16:33
19.
Todaro 16:34
20.
Hertzog 16:34*
21.
James 16:35**
22.
Russell 16:37
23.
Williams 16:37*
24.
Colwell 16:39
25.
Norris 16:39
26.
Pitone 16:39
27.
Wilson 16:40
28.
Jewett 16:40**
29.
Valerosa 16:42
30.
Jackson 16:42
31.
Wolfe 16:44*
32.
Zingarini 16:45
33.
Faye 16:45
34.
Martin 16:46
35.
Schott 16:48
36.
Archer 16:48
37.
Haugh 16:50
38.
Stelmack 16:50
39.
Meehan 16:50**
40.
Webb 16:50**
41.
Brand 16:50**
*District 3 Championships
**Foundation Meet 2012
Team Rankings
First off just want to straight up say that times to me mean very little in cross country. I honestly couldn't tell you the fastest marks this season or anyone's PRs on an XC course. Even year to year is tough to compare considering differences in conditions, race tactics, etc. I like at times in the sense of relative to one another at that's about it. I may be a numbers guy, but I'm all about who you beat and how you do it. Moving on ..... Team Rankings. Here we go.
1. O'Hara- Right now, clear cut top team in PA. Real solid top 6 and hopefully soon, top 7. Its still relatively early, but these guys are rolling.
2. Henderson- NA was good last weekend and Seel not finishing hurt them, but right now I just feel Henderon is a better squad. Russell and Barchet should both end up ahead of NA's top guy whoever it ends up being at season's end in my opinion. Rimkis should be solid and the other Henderson boys should hopefully round into shape. I'm not ready to hop off the bandwagon of a team with this much potential.
3. NA- clear cut top tier team. It's these three and then a drop off. NA has a killer pack, but still has to prove to me that they have the fire power up front. I feel that McGoey and Seel can take that next step and become front runners in the near future, but on that states course the young guys get eaten up. With a year of extra experience under their belt they will compete, but I think right now they are a year away. Still lots of time for that to change.
4. Pennsbury- Not a dynamic pick for the 4 spot, but a solid team with a legit state title contender in Harriman out front. Webb is looking good behind him and their pack is holding it together well. Nice bounceback race at foundation after the near loss to CRN.
5. Mt. Lebanon- I gotta apologize WPIAL, you guys haven't been getting enough love. Mt. Lebo didn't even have their best day and still came up with a solid finish at Foundation. They have a solid pack in their own right and if the pieces click they will be dangerous and hard for Pennsbury to hold off.
6. Lower Dauphin- Without Groh finishing, they still finished a respectable 5th in the race. There pack is way better than I expected behind their big guns out front. Nissley should be able to improve from his Foundation race as well.
7. West Chester East- They have a nice pack and some solid guys out front. I feel like they have a bunch of names that I don't know as well that can come on strong in the coming weeks. Kinda want to see these guys in a big meet, however. Paul Short could be interesting.
8. Cumberland Valley- I don't know if they are going to Paul Short or to Carlisle, but either way it will be a big chance to see where they are at relative to Lower Dauphin and Hershey.
9. Fox Chapel- So I'm not 100% why I completely left them off my list last week. They still haven't raced for a bit, but my increased respect for the WPIAL puts them back on the list.
10. Hershey- See Cumberland Valley above. I know that's lame but it is the only way I can go with them til Carlisle.
CRN just off the list this week.
1. O'Hara- Right now, clear cut top team in PA. Real solid top 6 and hopefully soon, top 7. Its still relatively early, but these guys are rolling.
2. Henderson- NA was good last weekend and Seel not finishing hurt them, but right now I just feel Henderon is a better squad. Russell and Barchet should both end up ahead of NA's top guy whoever it ends up being at season's end in my opinion. Rimkis should be solid and the other Henderson boys should hopefully round into shape. I'm not ready to hop off the bandwagon of a team with this much potential.
3. NA- clear cut top tier team. It's these three and then a drop off. NA has a killer pack, but still has to prove to me that they have the fire power up front. I feel that McGoey and Seel can take that next step and become front runners in the near future, but on that states course the young guys get eaten up. With a year of extra experience under their belt they will compete, but I think right now they are a year away. Still lots of time for that to change.
4. Pennsbury- Not a dynamic pick for the 4 spot, but a solid team with a legit state title contender in Harriman out front. Webb is looking good behind him and their pack is holding it together well. Nice bounceback race at foundation after the near loss to CRN.
5. Mt. Lebanon- I gotta apologize WPIAL, you guys haven't been getting enough love. Mt. Lebo didn't even have their best day and still came up with a solid finish at Foundation. They have a solid pack in their own right and if the pieces click they will be dangerous and hard for Pennsbury to hold off.
6. Lower Dauphin- Without Groh finishing, they still finished a respectable 5th in the race. There pack is way better than I expected behind their big guns out front. Nissley should be able to improve from his Foundation race as well.
7. West Chester East- They have a nice pack and some solid guys out front. I feel like they have a bunch of names that I don't know as well that can come on strong in the coming weeks. Kinda want to see these guys in a big meet, however. Paul Short could be interesting.
8. Cumberland Valley- I don't know if they are going to Paul Short or to Carlisle, but either way it will be a big chance to see where they are at relative to Lower Dauphin and Hershey.
9. Fox Chapel- So I'm not 100% why I completely left them off my list last week. They still haven't raced for a bit, but my increased respect for the WPIAL puts them back on the list.
10. Hershey- See Cumberland Valley above. I know that's lame but it is the only way I can go with them til Carlisle.
CRN just off the list this week.
Pre States: Is it an Advantage?
This year a boat load of teams flocked to the state championship course at Hershey to test their skills on PA's toughest and most important course. This year was probably the deepest year in the meet's brief history and included arguably the best two teams in the state: O'Hara and North Allegheny (they will currently sit 1 and 3 respectively for me after this weekend's action, but that is a conversation for another post). But are these teams really getting an advantage from their decision to brave the hills?
Statistically speaking no AAA boys squad has won states after competing at Foundation. The AA schools have faired much better with teams like North East and Quaker Valley grabbing double golds in the Foundation meet and the state meet. North Penn, who has won 3 of the past 5 state championships (the Foundation meet just had its 6th running this Saturday) has never even insinuated that they would like to run on the grueling Hershey course.
Personally, I ran in the JV race at Hershey at the Prestates meet in 2008. I had my best race of the season at that point and so did most of my teammates. We won the JV race team title and the Varsity race title. My friend and I took 2nd and 3rd in the JV race and our lead runner Mike Palmisano finished in 3rd place overall. We felt we had a great team that could compete for a state title and that this meet would give us valuable experience.
The next weekend our team blew up at the Carlisle Invitational. A combination of muddy weather and a hard race at Hershey most likely tanked our team for that race. Very few guys had great days, I personally had one of my worst races in my high school career, going from 18:31 at Hershey to 19:56 at Carlisle. It was a rough time. So clearly trying to go hard back to back weeks like we did was not a smart move, and we have not gone back to the Foundation meet since. At the state meet we were 5th that year, the same as the year before, in arguably a deeper field but with also, arguably, a better team.
Individual wise there have been some great success stories. In the first year of the meet Mark Dennin took down the gold. He then went on to stun the field at states in a commanding victory. Izewski, Jones, Crits and Jacob all finished in the top 10 at states after competing in the Pre State meet. Topper, Taylor, Stauffer and Cipro all surprised with medals at states after not so impressive Foundation meet results.
This past year Conner Quinn and Dan Savage both had excellent races after racing the Foundation meet. In the past guys like Matt Kacyon and Tom Kehl have excelled at states after racing Foundation. Brett Kelly this past season was a notable example of experience triumphing. I would bet there are plenty of individuals who believe they have benefited from running the state meet course multiple times.
However, Conner Quinn and Hatboro Horsham chose not to return to the Foundation meet this year.
Its hard to see where the line can be drawn between talent prevailing because talent shows up for this meet, and where the benefits actually come into play.
Brendan Shearn, Dan Jaskowak, Connor Harriman, Ean DiSilvio, O'Hara, Pottsgrove, and North Allegheny will look to prove the theory one way or the other this fall.
Statistically speaking no AAA boys squad has won states after competing at Foundation. The AA schools have faired much better with teams like North East and Quaker Valley grabbing double golds in the Foundation meet and the state meet. North Penn, who has won 3 of the past 5 state championships (the Foundation meet just had its 6th running this Saturday) has never even insinuated that they would like to run on the grueling Hershey course.
Personally, I ran in the JV race at Hershey at the Prestates meet in 2008. I had my best race of the season at that point and so did most of my teammates. We won the JV race team title and the Varsity race title. My friend and I took 2nd and 3rd in the JV race and our lead runner Mike Palmisano finished in 3rd place overall. We felt we had a great team that could compete for a state title and that this meet would give us valuable experience.
The next weekend our team blew up at the Carlisle Invitational. A combination of muddy weather and a hard race at Hershey most likely tanked our team for that race. Very few guys had great days, I personally had one of my worst races in my high school career, going from 18:31 at Hershey to 19:56 at Carlisle. It was a rough time. So clearly trying to go hard back to back weeks like we did was not a smart move, and we have not gone back to the Foundation meet since. At the state meet we were 5th that year, the same as the year before, in arguably a deeper field but with also, arguably, a better team.
Individual wise there have been some great success stories. In the first year of the meet Mark Dennin took down the gold. He then went on to stun the field at states in a commanding victory. Izewski, Jones, Crits and Jacob all finished in the top 10 at states after competing in the Pre State meet. Topper, Taylor, Stauffer and Cipro all surprised with medals at states after not so impressive Foundation meet results.
This past year Conner Quinn and Dan Savage both had excellent races after racing the Foundation meet. In the past guys like Matt Kacyon and Tom Kehl have excelled at states after racing Foundation. Brett Kelly this past season was a notable example of experience triumphing. I would bet there are plenty of individuals who believe they have benefited from running the state meet course multiple times.
However, Conner Quinn and Hatboro Horsham chose not to return to the Foundation meet this year.
Its hard to see where the line can be drawn between talent prevailing because talent shows up for this meet, and where the benefits actually come into play.
Brendan Shearn, Dan Jaskowak, Connor Harriman, Ean DiSilvio, O'Hara, Pottsgrove, and North Allegheny will look to prove the theory one way or the other this fall.
Rankings 9/23
A few question marks, like where were Seel and Groh at the finish? If Groh finishes up in that top pack maybe the rankings change up a bit. Both of these DNFs really effect the team rankings that are coming up as well. I had a tough time placing Harriman and DiSilvio this week. Harriman had a fantastic kick and earned mad props from me for a great bounce back race, but DiSilivio ran a heck of a race himself. Not an incredible field (I think Briarwood was better) but some interesting times. A lot of new names bursting on to the scene as well. Some guys are going to be hard to place. Meehan was like NA's 4th guy a week ago so placing someone like him on the list is a challenge and a half. Tried not to over react to Norris's return. He looks like he is going to be shooting back up this list.
1. Austin Pondel
2. Dan Jaskowak
3. Brendan Shearn
4. Sam Williams
5. Rico Galassi
6. Brent Kennedy
7. Connor Harriman
8. Tony Russell
9. Ean DiSilvio
10. Curt Jewett
11. Vinny Todaro
12. Kevin James
13. Dominic Deluca
14. Ethan Martin
15. Conner Quinn
16. Dan Savage
17. Ryan Smathers
18. Luke Jones
19. Evan Williams
20. Jeff Groh
21. Ross Wilson
22. Ryan Archer
23. Jack Macauley
24. Mac Emery
25. Sam Webb
26. Sami Aziz
27. Aaron Valerosa
28. Francis Ferruzzi
29. Alec Brand
30. Max Norris
31. Ernie Pitone
32. Lyle Wistar
33. Josh Zemet
34. Mike Meehan
35. Reiny Barchet
36. Alec Kunzweiler
37. Chris Pastore
39. Cole Nissley
40. Ryan McGuire
41. Bobby Rimkis
42. Kieran Sutton
43. Caleb Wakeley
44. Aziz Yousif
45. Brian Shields
46. Chris Cummings
47. Hunter Johnston
48. Ryan Hertzog
49. Jack Huemmler
50. Adam Bodine
Just Missing
Joey Steadman
Will Cather
Shawn Wolfe
Nate Hamilton
Ian Yanusko
Matt Hayes
Curtis Watro
1. Austin Pondel
2. Dan Jaskowak
3. Brendan Shearn
4. Sam Williams
5. Rico Galassi
6. Brent Kennedy
7. Connor Harriman
8. Tony Russell
9. Ean DiSilvio
10. Curt Jewett
11. Vinny Todaro
12. Kevin James
13. Dominic Deluca
14. Ethan Martin
15. Conner Quinn
16. Dan Savage
17. Ryan Smathers
18. Luke Jones
19. Evan Williams
20. Jeff Groh
21. Ross Wilson
22. Ryan Archer
23. Jack Macauley
24. Mac Emery
25. Sam Webb
26. Sami Aziz
27. Aaron Valerosa
28. Francis Ferruzzi
29. Alec Brand
30. Max Norris
31. Ernie Pitone
32. Lyle Wistar
33. Josh Zemet
34. Mike Meehan
35. Reiny Barchet
36. Alec Kunzweiler
37. Chris Pastore
39. Cole Nissley
40. Ryan McGuire
41. Bobby Rimkis
42. Kieran Sutton
43. Caleb Wakeley
44. Aziz Yousif
45. Brian Shields
46. Chris Cummings
47. Hunter Johnston
48. Ryan Hertzog
49. Jack Huemmler
50. Adam Bodine
Just Missing
Joey Steadman
Will Cather
Shawn Wolfe
Nate Hamilton
Ian Yanusko
Matt Hayes
Curtis Watro
PIAA Foundation Preview
Now I am certainly not penntrack, and I don't have the resources to do my own show describing my picks for the upcoming weekend and all that good stuff, I'll give you the best thing I can and that's a preview of this weekend's biggest meet, located in Hershey PA.
In the A race, the Northeast Bradford boys headline the field with ET#8 Sam Williams and ET#19 Curt Jewett looking to take down the individual gold. The teammates ran great at PTXC two weekends back taking 1st and 5th in a loaded field. Williams is coming off a terrific double medal outdoor campaign and is off to the fastest start he has had in all of his cross country seasons. In addition, he has consistently had his best races at the state course. He won the Pre State AA race last year in convincing fashion, finishing with a time faster than AAA winner Sam Hibbs and eventual state champ Conner Quinn. Jewett boasts a 4:16 PR and one of the best training partners in the state in Williams, however, historically the states course has been less than kind to Jewett. He was 19th last year at AA states while his teammate Williams, who he had been stride for stride with all year, was 4th. Luke Jones will look to avoid being overlooked in this field. He beat both Williams and Jewett in his first race of the season and was 2nd at AA states last year. He will look to establish himself as the favorite to win the A state championship in this race. The Archer twins from Vincentian Academy are also in the field. Ryan Archer has already broken 16 minutes this season and Alex is looking to step back up to his twin brother's shoulder. Both are sleeper picks in this race, one could possibly take the victory. Hunter Johnston is also a name to remember from Saegertown. Smathers and Galassi ran last year at this race but are not listed as of the writing of this article for this years race. Throw them in the mix and things could be very interesting.
In AA we should get an early look at the team title contenders. Quaker Valley, Grove City, Pottsgrove and Holy Redeemer are all on the team list for the AA race and all have their eyes on state gold this fall. Quaker Valley is the defending AA state champions and, although they lose some key pieces, do return guys like Roy Hadfield who should hopefully mix it up with the front group and snag a AA medal. However, Grove City has started the season extremely well and has moved onto the ET top teams list. Jaskowak will have individual glory on the line as well as he faces Brendan Shearn in an exciting individual battle. After a slow start, Shearn had a dramatic come from behind victory over Tony Russell and shot up to take the #1 spot on the rankings. The momentum is going his way. Jaskowak has had a been a rough patch compared to the high expectations he recieved from yours truly, but still has a ton of potential and ran a great race to get 2nd at states last fall, a race that should give him some confidence at Hershey. But the real name to watch in this race may be ET #9 Dominic Deluca, the Junior from Dallas, who stormed to two impressive 2nd place finishes to start the year. He lost to only Galassi in his opening race (beat Williams, Jewett, Jones and more) and then lost to Williams in a sprint finish the next weekend at PTXC. If he has another solid race he may be in the mix at the finish for the win. He isn't a big name yet, but he has major upside in this race. Ian Yanusko from Pottsgrove as well as Tyler Stelmack, Aziz Yousif and Shawn Regan should all be in the mix for a top spot behind the two big name front runners.
In the AAA race, Pennsbury, who comes off a close victory over CRNorth will be looking to have a bounce back race as they look to prove they deserve to be one of the states top ranked teams. They will have their hands full with O'Hara and North Allegheny, two teams with tight packs and impressive starts to the season. NA has a great pack of guys with an absurdly tight spread. They are led by Josh Zemet outfront, but followed closely by a string of underclassmen, including 3 sophomores who have the potential to be in the top 10 in the WPIAL by seasons end. O'Hara was considered by most to be the best team in PA last year but suffered an unfortunate defeat at season's end. This year the youngster Kevin James appears to have taken a quantam leap forward and Pitone and Savage are along for the ride. This front 3 looked dynamic at Belmont and Chris Pastore and Jim Belfatto will look to shrink the spread behind them as they try and beat a hard nosed North Allegheny team. I expect Savage to bounce back and take the reigns for O'Hara and they will need him. If Zemet and the NA guys prove they are on level with guys like Pitone and James, NA is a threat for not only a state title, but a national berth in the difficult Northeast Region. Pennsbury, Lower Dauphin, Mt. Lebanon and LaSalle (without Coyle) are all ranked teams competing in this race. Whichever team steps up and competes well with not only improve drastically in the team rankings, but will also have much needed confidence for the state meet.
In the individual AAA race, ET #6 Connor Harriman will look to bounce back after a tough dual meet performance against CRN. He has had a ton of success in this course, finishing 10th last year at the state meet and running very well at the pre state meet where he beat Conner Quinn in 2011. His young sophomore teammate Sam Webb is coming on strong, beating Harriman in the most recent dual meet. He may be a surprise name. My pick for the title, however, is Jeff Groh, the Junior from Lower Dauphin. He won the D3 Championships on this course last year as a sophomore and started of his season very well at PTXC finishing fourth. Groh's teammate Cole Nissley is also a factor if he can overcome some of his difficult history on the challenging Hershey hills. D3 rival Evan Williams is also a veteran on these hills and will look to compete with top group and break onto the rankings. Dan Savage was 4th at states last fall and despite a somewhat disappoint opening meet, should be a contender for the title at this race. He comes on strongest at the end of the season, but I'm sure he wants to be mixing it up with the states best. That means James and Pitone should be running with the top pack as well. We should finally see how the WPIAL stacks up against the boys out east as well. Right now I have the NA boys pretty low on my individual list and the same can be said about Mt Lebo's squad. Both teams have something to prove and guys like Zemet and Roddy should show up big. Ean DiSilvio from Allerdice is a defending state medalist and a sub 16 5k guy. He can't be counted out from the top group in a race like this. A deep sleeper for you is Alec Brand who has had a quietly impressive start to his season. If he runs the hills well he may pick off some of the guys who went out a little over their head. Also Jon Colwell of Mifflin County could be a factor. He runs the state course well and with teammate Addison Monroe may be able to surprise some people. Returning medalist Chris Culley is also a name to watch if he can recapture his past state magic.
In the A race, the Northeast Bradford boys headline the field with ET#8 Sam Williams and ET#19 Curt Jewett looking to take down the individual gold. The teammates ran great at PTXC two weekends back taking 1st and 5th in a loaded field. Williams is coming off a terrific double medal outdoor campaign and is off to the fastest start he has had in all of his cross country seasons. In addition, he has consistently had his best races at the state course. He won the Pre State AA race last year in convincing fashion, finishing with a time faster than AAA winner Sam Hibbs and eventual state champ Conner Quinn. Jewett boasts a 4:16 PR and one of the best training partners in the state in Williams, however, historically the states course has been less than kind to Jewett. He was 19th last year at AA states while his teammate Williams, who he had been stride for stride with all year, was 4th. Luke Jones will look to avoid being overlooked in this field. He beat both Williams and Jewett in his first race of the season and was 2nd at AA states last year. He will look to establish himself as the favorite to win the A state championship in this race. The Archer twins from Vincentian Academy are also in the field. Ryan Archer has already broken 16 minutes this season and Alex is looking to step back up to his twin brother's shoulder. Both are sleeper picks in this race, one could possibly take the victory. Hunter Johnston is also a name to remember from Saegertown. Smathers and Galassi ran last year at this race but are not listed as of the writing of this article for this years race. Throw them in the mix and things could be very interesting.
In AA we should get an early look at the team title contenders. Quaker Valley, Grove City, Pottsgrove and Holy Redeemer are all on the team list for the AA race and all have their eyes on state gold this fall. Quaker Valley is the defending AA state champions and, although they lose some key pieces, do return guys like Roy Hadfield who should hopefully mix it up with the front group and snag a AA medal. However, Grove City has started the season extremely well and has moved onto the ET top teams list. Jaskowak will have individual glory on the line as well as he faces Brendan Shearn in an exciting individual battle. After a slow start, Shearn had a dramatic come from behind victory over Tony Russell and shot up to take the #1 spot on the rankings. The momentum is going his way. Jaskowak has had a been a rough patch compared to the high expectations he recieved from yours truly, but still has a ton of potential and ran a great race to get 2nd at states last fall, a race that should give him some confidence at Hershey. But the real name to watch in this race may be ET #9 Dominic Deluca, the Junior from Dallas, who stormed to two impressive 2nd place finishes to start the year. He lost to only Galassi in his opening race (beat Williams, Jewett, Jones and more) and then lost to Williams in a sprint finish the next weekend at PTXC. If he has another solid race he may be in the mix at the finish for the win. He isn't a big name yet, but he has major upside in this race. Ian Yanusko from Pottsgrove as well as Tyler Stelmack, Aziz Yousif and Shawn Regan should all be in the mix for a top spot behind the two big name front runners.
In the AAA race, Pennsbury, who comes off a close victory over CRNorth will be looking to have a bounce back race as they look to prove they deserve to be one of the states top ranked teams. They will have their hands full with O'Hara and North Allegheny, two teams with tight packs and impressive starts to the season. NA has a great pack of guys with an absurdly tight spread. They are led by Josh Zemet outfront, but followed closely by a string of underclassmen, including 3 sophomores who have the potential to be in the top 10 in the WPIAL by seasons end. O'Hara was considered by most to be the best team in PA last year but suffered an unfortunate defeat at season's end. This year the youngster Kevin James appears to have taken a quantam leap forward and Pitone and Savage are along for the ride. This front 3 looked dynamic at Belmont and Chris Pastore and Jim Belfatto will look to shrink the spread behind them as they try and beat a hard nosed North Allegheny team. I expect Savage to bounce back and take the reigns for O'Hara and they will need him. If Zemet and the NA guys prove they are on level with guys like Pitone and James, NA is a threat for not only a state title, but a national berth in the difficult Northeast Region. Pennsbury, Lower Dauphin, Mt. Lebanon and LaSalle (without Coyle) are all ranked teams competing in this race. Whichever team steps up and competes well with not only improve drastically in the team rankings, but will also have much needed confidence for the state meet.
In the individual AAA race, ET #6 Connor Harriman will look to bounce back after a tough dual meet performance against CRN. He has had a ton of success in this course, finishing 10th last year at the state meet and running very well at the pre state meet where he beat Conner Quinn in 2011. His young sophomore teammate Sam Webb is coming on strong, beating Harriman in the most recent dual meet. He may be a surprise name. My pick for the title, however, is Jeff Groh, the Junior from Lower Dauphin. He won the D3 Championships on this course last year as a sophomore and started of his season very well at PTXC finishing fourth. Groh's teammate Cole Nissley is also a factor if he can overcome some of his difficult history on the challenging Hershey hills. D3 rival Evan Williams is also a veteran on these hills and will look to compete with top group and break onto the rankings. Dan Savage was 4th at states last fall and despite a somewhat disappoint opening meet, should be a contender for the title at this race. He comes on strongest at the end of the season, but I'm sure he wants to be mixing it up with the states best. That means James and Pitone should be running with the top pack as well. We should finally see how the WPIAL stacks up against the boys out east as well. Right now I have the NA boys pretty low on my individual list and the same can be said about Mt Lebo's squad. Both teams have something to prove and guys like Zemet and Roddy should show up big. Ean DiSilvio from Allerdice is a defending state medalist and a sub 16 5k guy. He can't be counted out from the top group in a race like this. A deep sleeper for you is Alec Brand who has had a quietly impressive start to his season. If he runs the hills well he may pick off some of the guys who went out a little over their head. Also Jon Colwell of Mifflin County could be a factor. He runs the state course well and with teammate Addison Monroe may be able to surprise some people. Returning medalist Chris Culley is also a name to watch if he can recapture his past state magic.
PIAA Foundation
Its a big weekend when you get to see the boys run at Pre States! The meet really took off last year as we saw some great teams there. I'll probably do a preview later in the week but I want to reiterate the fact that no team has ever ran the Foundation meet and then won states. O'Hara just missed accomplishing that feat last year and now will test their luck again. Here are the current entries from the official foundation meet website worth noting:
Shawn Regan, Allentown CC
Kyle Francis, Brad Rivera, Bensalem
Aziz Yousif, Bradford Area
The Cardinal O'Hara boys featuring Savage, Pitone, James, Pastore, Belfatto, Hayes and Smart
Jordan Crawford, Nathan Repetz, Cedar Cliff
Alec Brand, CB East
Dominic Deluca, Dallas
Luke Jones, Elk Lake
Evan Williams, Governor Mifflin
Dan Jaskowak, Grove City
Aaron Benka, Grove City
Jacob Fetterman, Hazelton Area
The Holy Redeemer Boys
Jack Magee, LaSalle
Brendan Billotta, LaSalle
Andrew Stone, LaSalle
The Lower Dauphin boys featuring Jeff Groh and Cole Nissley
Jon Colwell, Mifflin County
Addison Monroe, Mifflin County
Will McDermott, Bonner
Chris Culley, Moon Area
The Mount Lebanon Boys featuring Seamus Roddy
The North Allegheny Boys featuring Zemet, Seel, Luoco, and McGoey
Brendan Shearn, North Schuylkill
Curt Jewett, Northeast Bradford
Sam Williams, Northeast Bradford
Tyler Stelmack, Northwestern Lehigh
The Pennsbury Boys featuring Connor Harriman and Sam Webb
Ian Yanusko, Pottsgrove
The Quaker Valley Boys
Hunter Johnston, Saegertown
Connor Linse, Souderton
Ean DiSilvio, Allerdice
Steve Yannacone, Unionville
Avery Scripture, Upper Perkiomen
Ryan and Alex Archer from Vincentian Academy
A pretty sick set of entries, especially in the team title talks. I'm interested to see how this race gets split up. I heard possibly 3 races. Should be interesting either way.
Shawn Regan, Allentown CC
Kyle Francis, Brad Rivera, Bensalem
Aziz Yousif, Bradford Area
The Cardinal O'Hara boys featuring Savage, Pitone, James, Pastore, Belfatto, Hayes and Smart
Jordan Crawford, Nathan Repetz, Cedar Cliff
Alec Brand, CB East
Dominic Deluca, Dallas
Luke Jones, Elk Lake
Evan Williams, Governor Mifflin
Dan Jaskowak, Grove City
Aaron Benka, Grove City
Jacob Fetterman, Hazelton Area
The Holy Redeemer Boys
Jack Magee, LaSalle
Brendan Billotta, LaSalle
Andrew Stone, LaSalle
The Lower Dauphin boys featuring Jeff Groh and Cole Nissley
Jon Colwell, Mifflin County
Addison Monroe, Mifflin County
Will McDermott, Bonner
Chris Culley, Moon Area
The Mount Lebanon Boys featuring Seamus Roddy
The North Allegheny Boys featuring Zemet, Seel, Luoco, and McGoey
Brendan Shearn, North Schuylkill
Curt Jewett, Northeast Bradford
Sam Williams, Northeast Bradford
Tyler Stelmack, Northwestern Lehigh
The Pennsbury Boys featuring Connor Harriman and Sam Webb
Ian Yanusko, Pottsgrove
The Quaker Valley Boys
Hunter Johnston, Saegertown
Connor Linse, Souderton
Ean DiSilvio, Allerdice
Steve Yannacone, Unionville
Avery Scripture, Upper Perkiomen
Ryan and Alex Archer from Vincentian Academy
A pretty sick set of entries, especially in the team title talks. I'm interested to see how this race gets split up. I heard possibly 3 races. Should be interesting either way.
Team Rankings
1. O'Hara
2. Henderson- This was a tough spot, you have Rimkis in there the squad looks a lot better. Haugh being banged up and AJ not having his best day, there is potential here for Henderson. I need to see a little, tiny bit more out of NA for me to move them up the list.
3. NA- I really like NA so far, it pains me to put them at the 3 spot, but right now Henderson should be able to put 2-3 guys with their #1 (maybe I am wrong, but that is the shape I feel Zemet is in vs. these guys from Henderson). NA has a sick pack, however, and if one of their stud sophomores takes the next leap to Ryan Gil status (20th at states as a soph and 3rd? at WPIALs) then NA is going to move up on my list no doubt.
4. Pennsbury- They didn't race this past weekend, and I don't see much reason to knock them down. There were not any teams that really showed enough to surpass these guys. I'm on the Harriman and Webb bandwagon.
5. Lower Dauphin- See above, just replace Harriman and Webb with Groh and Nissley. Better 1-2 punch, not quite as a good of a pack (but getting there).
6. West Chester East- They absolutely crushed this weekend. Not a big name meet by any means, but a convincing win yet again. Cummings wasn't even their top guy. They have already beaten GValley and CR North who both just beat down LaSalle and North Penn. So gotta go with East here.
7. LaSalle- Really? The team that just got smacked at Belmont? Yeah I know this may seem kind of silly, but I actually gained some confidence watching these guys race. Billotta and Magee both look god and they have some other talent hidden in the woodwork that may able to come on strong. When they get everyone back they are going to have a strong team. It is just a matter of if they can get everyone back in time.
8. Cumberland Valley- They didn't race this weekend which actually helped them in a weekend filled with some let downs.
9. Mt. Lebo- This is a begrudged placing of Lebo on the list. I wasn't all too impressed with their performance at Boardman, but they are still a very solid team in a very good district. This is a little higher than I would like to see them at this point, but they should bounce back.
10. Grove City- AA fans rejoice! Grove City cracks the list after a pretty impressive weekend yet again. They are hanging around with teams like Lebo despite running in meets with a pretty big field. In a smaller race they can really move up the rankings when their 5 isn't as far back.
11. Hershey- See Cumberland Valley. I want to move Hershey up but I need to see more proof. I know what CV has on paper and it is good. Hershey on paper has a bunch of guys who have run great but I don't know much about them. Hope they can show me something in the near future.
12. CR North- My boys return to the list! They had a solid race this weekend and apparently are doing absurd mileage. Zingarini hopefully will come around and round out what could be a very scary top 3 with Wilson now beginning to take the next step.
Great Valley and North Penn the near misses at this point.
2. Henderson- This was a tough spot, you have Rimkis in there the squad looks a lot better. Haugh being banged up and AJ not having his best day, there is potential here for Henderson. I need to see a little, tiny bit more out of NA for me to move them up the list.
3. NA- I really like NA so far, it pains me to put them at the 3 spot, but right now Henderson should be able to put 2-3 guys with their #1 (maybe I am wrong, but that is the shape I feel Zemet is in vs. these guys from Henderson). NA has a sick pack, however, and if one of their stud sophomores takes the next leap to Ryan Gil status (20th at states as a soph and 3rd? at WPIALs) then NA is going to move up on my list no doubt.
4. Pennsbury- They didn't race this past weekend, and I don't see much reason to knock them down. There were not any teams that really showed enough to surpass these guys. I'm on the Harriman and Webb bandwagon.
5. Lower Dauphin- See above, just replace Harriman and Webb with Groh and Nissley. Better 1-2 punch, not quite as a good of a pack (but getting there).
6. West Chester East- They absolutely crushed this weekend. Not a big name meet by any means, but a convincing win yet again. Cummings wasn't even their top guy. They have already beaten GValley and CR North who both just beat down LaSalle and North Penn. So gotta go with East here.
7. LaSalle- Really? The team that just got smacked at Belmont? Yeah I know this may seem kind of silly, but I actually gained some confidence watching these guys race. Billotta and Magee both look god and they have some other talent hidden in the woodwork that may able to come on strong. When they get everyone back they are going to have a strong team. It is just a matter of if they can get everyone back in time.
8. Cumberland Valley- They didn't race this weekend which actually helped them in a weekend filled with some let downs.
9. Mt. Lebo- This is a begrudged placing of Lebo on the list. I wasn't all too impressed with their performance at Boardman, but they are still a very solid team in a very good district. This is a little higher than I would like to see them at this point, but they should bounce back.
10. Grove City- AA fans rejoice! Grove City cracks the list after a pretty impressive weekend yet again. They are hanging around with teams like Lebo despite running in meets with a pretty big field. In a smaller race they can really move up the rankings when their 5 isn't as far back.
11. Hershey- See Cumberland Valley. I want to move Hershey up but I need to see more proof. I know what CV has on paper and it is good. Hershey on paper has a bunch of guys who have run great but I don't know much about them. Hope they can show me something in the near future.
12. CR North- My boys return to the list! They had a solid race this weekend and apparently are doing absurd mileage. Zingarini hopefully will come around and round out what could be a very scary top 3 with Wilson now beginning to take the next step.
Great Valley and North Penn the near misses at this point.
XC Top 50 Rankings 9/16
I hope I'm not jumping the gun for this weekend's rankings, but I think I've seen all the big meet results that I'm going to see. So I'm going to drop down the rankings for this week. With LaSalle racing and Coyle not, he is coming off the list. It's gotta happen, sorry boys. NA looked pretty sick, they didn't have either of their two stud sophomores from last week, only McGoey raced from that group. O'Hara showed up in a big way, they were supposed to win in my opinion, but it was a big win. The Rimkis DQ changes things slightly admittedly, but it was a pretty big win. I'd love to see what NA can do at a race like Carlisle. I want to see if they are in the same league as Henderson/O'Hara. The team rankings will reflect my thoughts on that.
On to the individuals, obviously the Coyle thing will be the big move, but some nice bounce back races for some of the big names this weekend, and of course Tony Russell looks very good in the opener. But don't overlook the work of guys like Austin Pondel and Vinny Todaro (both AA boys this year) they are both looking very good. One more plug for the stock exchange. Once I post up these rankings you can make purchases and sales on the individuals on the rankings. Still plenty of time to get in on the exchange if you'd like. Should be a fun time.
1. Brendan Shearn
2. Rico Galassi
3. Austin Pondel
4. Brent Kennedy
5. Tony Russell
6. Connor Harriman
7. Vinny Todaro
8. Sam Williams
9. Dominic Deluca
10. Ethan Martin
11. Dan Jaskowak
12. Conner Quinn
13. Ryan Smathers
14. Jeff Groh
15. Ross Wilson
16. Dan Savage
17. Ean DiSilvio
18. Ernie Pitone
19. Curt Jewett
20. Luke Jones
21. Kevin James
22. Jack Macauley
23. Ryan Archer
24. Cole Nissley
25. Aaron Valerosa
26. Mac Emery
27. Francis Ferruzzi
28. Lyle Wistar
29. Alec Kunzweiler
30. Reiny Barchet
31. Chris Pastore
32. Jack Huemmler
33. Hunter Johnston
34. Ryan McGuire
35. Bobby Rimkis
36. Alec Brand
37. Josh Zemet
38. Caleb Wakeley
39. Brian Shields
40. Ryan Hertzog
41. Ken Leidal
42. Sam Webb
43. Jon Colwell
44. Sami Aziz
45. Adam Bodine
46. Will Cather
47. Shawn Wolfe
48. Nate Hamilton
49. Jim Belfatto
50. Zach Brehm
On to the individuals, obviously the Coyle thing will be the big move, but some nice bounce back races for some of the big names this weekend, and of course Tony Russell looks very good in the opener. But don't overlook the work of guys like Austin Pondel and Vinny Todaro (both AA boys this year) they are both looking very good. One more plug for the stock exchange. Once I post up these rankings you can make purchases and sales on the individuals on the rankings. Still plenty of time to get in on the exchange if you'd like. Should be a fun time.
1. Brendan Shearn
2. Rico Galassi
3. Austin Pondel
4. Brent Kennedy
5. Tony Russell
6. Connor Harriman
7. Vinny Todaro
8. Sam Williams
9. Dominic Deluca
10. Ethan Martin
11. Dan Jaskowak
12. Conner Quinn
13. Ryan Smathers
14. Jeff Groh
15. Ross Wilson
16. Dan Savage
17. Ean DiSilvio
18. Ernie Pitone
19. Curt Jewett
20. Luke Jones
21. Kevin James
22. Jack Macauley
23. Ryan Archer
24. Cole Nissley
25. Aaron Valerosa
26. Mac Emery
27. Francis Ferruzzi
28. Lyle Wistar
29. Alec Kunzweiler
30. Reiny Barchet
31. Chris Pastore
32. Jack Huemmler
33. Hunter Johnston
34. Ryan McGuire
35. Bobby Rimkis
36. Alec Brand
37. Josh Zemet
38. Caleb Wakeley
39. Brian Shields
40. Ryan Hertzog
41. Ken Leidal
42. Sam Webb
43. Jon Colwell
44. Sami Aziz
45. Adam Bodine
46. Will Cather
47. Shawn Wolfe
48. Nate Hamilton
49. Jim Belfatto
50. Zach Brehm
Briarwood Numbers
Just throwing some stuff down for people to think about on the eve of perhaps the most anticipated match up in the entire history of my blog. Henderson and O'Hara will square off in a battle to see who (at this point, which obviously won't mean much in the end) is the better team. Between just these two groups we have a total of 9 guys who have surfaced on or around the rankings in the past 12 months. Ironically, guys like Ernie Pitone and Kevin James were non factors for O'Hara at this point last year. Pitone was 52nd in the varsity race in the 18 minute range and James wasn't even on the varsity squad. Christian Ostrowski and Matt Brown were O'Hara's 4-5 guys (if you are saying who? that is the reaction I was expecting). Those guys were in great shape in September, taking 13th and 14th right behind Pastore. Henderson wants to show off their depth against O'Hara on O'Hara's "home course". Barchet and Russell and there young squad mates may not have ever seen this course before. Belmont may be a good test to see how Henderson handles the hills. It should be very exciting to see who pulls out the gold. But there is more to this meet than simply O'Hara v. Henderson. North Penn, the defending state champions, and Council Rock North, perhaps the most consistently top tier program of the decade, will be in the race and neither has received any sort of hype in the past month. Both are flying under the radar and that is probably right where they prefer to be.
Last year's top finishers from the team title conversation:
3 Savage 16:09
9 Emery 16:31
10 Macauley 16:35
11 Wilson 16:40
12 Pastore 16:43
17 Zingarini 16:51
25 Grace 17:05
On the individual side, the hope is that Conner Quinn will duck out of the Division I race that Horsham has run every year in order to face off against the state's best like Savage, Russell, Barchet, Emery, Macauley and new comer to this meet Brendan Shearn. Shearn has made himself a schedule of the best is the business this fall. He is hoping to bounce back off his flu filled opener. Meanwhile Emery is two races deep and rounding into shape as a sleeper. Savage was 4th at states and has been very good at Belmont Plateau over the years. Quinn has something to prove as defending state champion and Russell and Barchet will look to silence some of their doubters from this blog. Macauley should be a force as well off his best track season and a convincing 17th place finish last XC state meet.
Looking a little further down the sleeper list, Alec Brand from CB East should be competing in one of the races at Belmont Plateau this weekend and may get his first shot at conference rival Conner Quinn in the Division One race. Brand started out his season with a pair of convincing performances against top tier District One talent. Francis Ferruzzi from Upper Dublin and Chris Berry from CB West are a pair of sub 9:30 3200m runners who may be on the verge of a break out race. This will be Ferruzzi's 5k debut. Ryan Hertzog, one of the best XC guys you've never heard of, was in this race before he came on late in the season at the District 3 Championships. He ran 16:55 in the Division One race. If he is back, he could be a sleeper to watch.
And last but certainly not least we get a flare for the independent league dramatics. Lyle Wistar, Sami Aziz, Ben Ritz and Sam Ritz all may be in the Division II race with the boys from Great Valley (Willig, Wolffe, etc). Great Valley wants to boost their team stock with a solid showing (assuming they are back) but the individuals in this race should grab the headlines. The Ritz brothers had a strong showing for 2nd and 3rd behind Willig last year and had killer track seasons, highlighted by Ben's low 9:20s and 4:12 performances. Sam is just a sophomore but ran 4:22 as a freshman last year. Wistar has great range and opened up the season a tough second behind Russell and just ahead of Rimkis in the Henderson v. GFS 3200m dual. Aziz, who has had his fair share of Ramadan struggles, is looking to bounce back and start progressing towards a independent league title down the road. GFS as a team may also surprise with their two front runners leading the way.
Get pumped.
PS shameless plug here, the etrain stock exchange is underway right now and after this weekend's action is over people will be making their first profits/losses ... if you want to get in facebook me or something like that and we will hook you up with a "stock profile" instead of the etrade baby its etrain ... baby
Last year's top finishers from the team title conversation:
3 Savage 16:09
9 Emery 16:31
10 Macauley 16:35
11 Wilson 16:40
12 Pastore 16:43
17 Zingarini 16:51
25 Grace 17:05
On the individual side, the hope is that Conner Quinn will duck out of the Division I race that Horsham has run every year in order to face off against the state's best like Savage, Russell, Barchet, Emery, Macauley and new comer to this meet Brendan Shearn. Shearn has made himself a schedule of the best is the business this fall. He is hoping to bounce back off his flu filled opener. Meanwhile Emery is two races deep and rounding into shape as a sleeper. Savage was 4th at states and has been very good at Belmont Plateau over the years. Quinn has something to prove as defending state champion and Russell and Barchet will look to silence some of their doubters from this blog. Macauley should be a force as well off his best track season and a convincing 17th place finish last XC state meet.
Looking a little further down the sleeper list, Alec Brand from CB East should be competing in one of the races at Belmont Plateau this weekend and may get his first shot at conference rival Conner Quinn in the Division One race. Brand started out his season with a pair of convincing performances against top tier District One talent. Francis Ferruzzi from Upper Dublin and Chris Berry from CB West are a pair of sub 9:30 3200m runners who may be on the verge of a break out race. This will be Ferruzzi's 5k debut. Ryan Hertzog, one of the best XC guys you've never heard of, was in this race before he came on late in the season at the District 3 Championships. He ran 16:55 in the Division One race. If he is back, he could be a sleeper to watch.
And last but certainly not least we get a flare for the independent league dramatics. Lyle Wistar, Sami Aziz, Ben Ritz and Sam Ritz all may be in the Division II race with the boys from Great Valley (Willig, Wolffe, etc). Great Valley wants to boost their team stock with a solid showing (assuming they are back) but the individuals in this race should grab the headlines. The Ritz brothers had a strong showing for 2nd and 3rd behind Willig last year and had killer track seasons, highlighted by Ben's low 9:20s and 4:12 performances. Sam is just a sophomore but ran 4:22 as a freshman last year. Wistar has great range and opened up the season a tough second behind Russell and just ahead of Rimkis in the Henderson v. GFS 3200m dual. Aziz, who has had his fair share of Ramadan struggles, is looking to bounce back and start progressing towards a independent league title down the road. GFS as a team may also surprise with their two front runners leading the way.
Get pumped.
PS shameless plug here, the etrain stock exchange is underway right now and after this weekend's action is over people will be making their first profits/losses ... if you want to get in facebook me or something like that and we will hook you up with a "stock profile" instead of the etrade baby its etrain ... baby
As Requested AA and A Teams
First off, I wasn't purposely trying to leave off the AA and A teams, I just couldn't find any that looked worthy of being top 10 at this point in the season. Quaker Valley last year was a clear cut top 10 squad, but this year there is no Quaker Valley.
So I'll do my best to throw out some teams to watch in no particular order of the AA and A variety. Let's see if we can find this year's Quaker Valley .....
Let's start with Quaker Valley. Ironically enough, the defending AA champs look like they have the potential to be solid again. They return 4 from their top 7 a year ago including Roy Hadfield and are historically a top notch AA team year in and year out. They won the 4x8 outdoors in impressive fashion. They dominated the AA competition a year ago in XC as well. However, they do lose a lot of key pieces like LJ Westwood and Nat Fox who were both multiple state medalists (Westwood has his fair share of state gold at this point). They opened up well this season, placing 7th at the competitive RWB invite despite a bit of an off race from Hadfield.
Also highlighted in that RWB race is new AA team Grove City. They have the big time front runner that most of these small schools can't boast of and they rode Jaskowak's abilities to a 3rd place finish at RWB (ahead of Fox Chapel, who made my top 10 teams list). I think Fox Chapel looks like a better team when you throw in their JV runner and their slightly tighter spread, but Grove City had great races from their top 5 guys, everyone was 17:13 or under. If they can narrow the spread to Jaskowak they won't be to vulnerable in bigger races. Sophomore Aaron Benka is now to Jaskowak what Jaskowak was to Jacob Kildoo. Interesting thought to keep in mind.
Then there are a few teams like Northeast Bradford who have two tremendous front runners, but need to sure up a group of 5 guys to help them place well at the A state championships. I'm not sure what kind of depth it is going to take to win a meet like but having two potential top 5 guys is a nice start.
Vincentian Academy (also A) has the Archer bros out front to lead them. Ryan was sub 16 to start the season and Alex has the potential to be just as good. Similar to NEBradford, they need to sure up that pack.
There are also teams like Dallas to consider, who mixed it up with Scranton Prep early in the season and return a solid crew from the District 2 Championship in AA last year. Deluca has developed into a very good front runner for their squad.
Other teams to watch are North East with Ryan Smathers, Holy Redeemer, and Oswayo Valley in their respective divisions. Both return a decent amount of finishers from last years efforts.
So I'll do my best to throw out some teams to watch in no particular order of the AA and A variety. Let's see if we can find this year's Quaker Valley .....
Let's start with Quaker Valley. Ironically enough, the defending AA champs look like they have the potential to be solid again. They return 4 from their top 7 a year ago including Roy Hadfield and are historically a top notch AA team year in and year out. They won the 4x8 outdoors in impressive fashion. They dominated the AA competition a year ago in XC as well. However, they do lose a lot of key pieces like LJ Westwood and Nat Fox who were both multiple state medalists (Westwood has his fair share of state gold at this point). They opened up well this season, placing 7th at the competitive RWB invite despite a bit of an off race from Hadfield.
Also highlighted in that RWB race is new AA team Grove City. They have the big time front runner that most of these small schools can't boast of and they rode Jaskowak's abilities to a 3rd place finish at RWB (ahead of Fox Chapel, who made my top 10 teams list). I think Fox Chapel looks like a better team when you throw in their JV runner and their slightly tighter spread, but Grove City had great races from their top 5 guys, everyone was 17:13 or under. If they can narrow the spread to Jaskowak they won't be to vulnerable in bigger races. Sophomore Aaron Benka is now to Jaskowak what Jaskowak was to Jacob Kildoo. Interesting thought to keep in mind.
Then there are a few teams like Northeast Bradford who have two tremendous front runners, but need to sure up a group of 5 guys to help them place well at the A state championships. I'm not sure what kind of depth it is going to take to win a meet like but having two potential top 5 guys is a nice start.
Vincentian Academy (also A) has the Archer bros out front to lead them. Ryan was sub 16 to start the season and Alex has the potential to be just as good. Similar to NEBradford, they need to sure up that pack.
There are also teams like Dallas to consider, who mixed it up with Scranton Prep early in the season and return a solid crew from the District 2 Championship in AA last year. Deluca has developed into a very good front runner for their squad.
Other teams to watch are North East with Ryan Smathers, Holy Redeemer, and Oswayo Valley in their respective divisions. Both return a decent amount of finishers from last years efforts.
Team Rankings
I have practice in like 30 minutes, but I'll scribble down the thoughts I have on the team rankings real quick before I go
1- O'Hara
2- Henderson ... Not changing til after Briarwood then maybe we can talk
3- NA- Really showed off their depth, and those young guys are going to come on strong, I feel like they may be lead by 3 sophomores and districts. They are going to be a sick pack this year.
4- Pennsbury- Defeated the defending champs and CRN the last two weeks. Harriman is a legit state title contender and their pack has developed fairly nicely to this point. If they don't burn out they are going to be a very solid D1 team.
5- Lower Dauphin- obviously the top 2 guys are pretty sick, but they seem to have developed a lot more of a pack than I thought they would. They are a young team in their own right. High on Groh and Nissley this year.
6- LaSalle- they haven't raced yet but the rumors make it look like they won't be racing impressively any time soon. Missing 3 guys from your top 5 hurts badly. Especially when you have to beat O'Hara to get a bid to states.
7- North Penn- they are the defending state champs and yeah they lost but they actually kind of impressed me in the loss. Some guys look like they are ready to step up and become legit contibutors. They are always good when it counts so I'm not too phased by the loss.
8- Mount Lebanon- Still not completely sold on these guys, but that was a very nice opening win. They have a solid pack and are developing some front runners.
9- Fox Chapel- They look dangerous and they had a nice piece in the JV race that should move up to Varsity and contribute. Martin is the real deal out front.
10- Cumberland Valley- I see much more potential here than what they showed. Despite an off day they were still very close to Lower Dauphin
10.5- West Chester East- I copped out here. They had a very nice race and I didn't have the heart to put them in the top 10, but I thought they deserved some love. That was a solid win and hopefully they continue to improve. I know CRN and GV will.
Also major props to Hershey! Did not see that coming at all! Nice opener for them.
1- O'Hara
2- Henderson ... Not changing til after Briarwood then maybe we can talk
3- NA- Really showed off their depth, and those young guys are going to come on strong, I feel like they may be lead by 3 sophomores and districts. They are going to be a sick pack this year.
4- Pennsbury- Defeated the defending champs and CRN the last two weeks. Harriman is a legit state title contender and their pack has developed fairly nicely to this point. If they don't burn out they are going to be a very solid D1 team.
5- Lower Dauphin- obviously the top 2 guys are pretty sick, but they seem to have developed a lot more of a pack than I thought they would. They are a young team in their own right. High on Groh and Nissley this year.
6- LaSalle- they haven't raced yet but the rumors make it look like they won't be racing impressively any time soon. Missing 3 guys from your top 5 hurts badly. Especially when you have to beat O'Hara to get a bid to states.
7- North Penn- they are the defending state champs and yeah they lost but they actually kind of impressed me in the loss. Some guys look like they are ready to step up and become legit contibutors. They are always good when it counts so I'm not too phased by the loss.
8- Mount Lebanon- Still not completely sold on these guys, but that was a very nice opening win. They have a solid pack and are developing some front runners.
9- Fox Chapel- They look dangerous and they had a nice piece in the JV race that should move up to Varsity and contribute. Martin is the real deal out front.
10- Cumberland Valley- I see much more potential here than what they showed. Despite an off day they were still very close to Lower Dauphin
10.5- West Chester East- I copped out here. They had a very nice race and I didn't have the heart to put them in the top 10, but I thought they deserved some love. That was a solid win and hopefully they continue to improve. I know CRN and GV will.
Also major props to Hershey! Did not see that coming at all! Nice opener for them.
XC Rankings 9/9
Alrighty folks here is a little ranking flavor for ya. Here's the deal, I'm going to be straight with you, the rankings this week were extremely difficult. It's hard to balance my expectations for the future with the evidence in front of me right now to determine ideal rankings. But the fact of the matter is something has to be done because all the top ranked guys lost convincingly. Coyle has some injury issues and I heard Shearn was having some problems with the flu. But these are my right now rankings, not my predictions for who is going to be state champions. So here are my new right now rankings-prepare to be stunned.
1. Rico Galassi
2. Brent Kennedy
3. Connor Harriman
4. Tom Coyle
5. Dan Savage
6. Sam Williams
7. Dominic Deluca
8. Dan Jaskowak
9. Ethan Martin
10. Conner Quinn
11. Brendan Shearn
12. Jeff Groh
13. Jack Macauley
14. Vinny Todaro
15. Austin Pondel
16. Ean DiSilvio
17. Curt Jewett
18. Ryan Smathers
19. Tony Russell
20. Luke Jones
21. Mac Emery
22. Ben Ritz
23. Ryan Archer
24. Ernie Pitone
25. Jack Huemmler
26. Cole Nissley
27. Aaron Valerosa
28. Lyle Wistar
29. Alec Kunzweiler
30. Hunter Johnston
31. Ryan McGuire
32. Bobby Rimkis
33. Alec Brand
34. Ross Wilson
35. Caleb Wakeley
36. Seamus Roddy
37. Sam Webb
38. Ken Leidal
39. Jon Colwell
40. Sami Aziz
41. Will Cather
42. Steve Yannacone
43. Ryan Hertzog
44. Chris Pastore
45. Dan Klinik
46. Nate Hamilton
47. Zach Brehm
48. Jacob Fetterman
49. Matt Kazanjan
50. Chris Kazanjan
Just Missing:
Jordan Crawford
Liam Corcoran
Christian Kardish
Reiny Barchet
AJ Chaborek
Josh Zemet
And many more ....
Team Rankings to come ...
1. Rico Galassi
2. Brent Kennedy
3. Connor Harriman
4. Tom Coyle
5. Dan Savage
6. Sam Williams
7. Dominic Deluca
8. Dan Jaskowak
9. Ethan Martin
10. Conner Quinn
11. Brendan Shearn
12. Jeff Groh
13. Jack Macauley
14. Vinny Todaro
15. Austin Pondel
16. Ean DiSilvio
17. Curt Jewett
18. Ryan Smathers
19. Tony Russell
20. Luke Jones
21. Mac Emery
22. Ben Ritz
23. Ryan Archer
24. Ernie Pitone
25. Jack Huemmler
26. Cole Nissley
27. Aaron Valerosa
28. Lyle Wistar
29. Alec Kunzweiler
30. Hunter Johnston
31. Ryan McGuire
32. Bobby Rimkis
33. Alec Brand
34. Ross Wilson
35. Caleb Wakeley
36. Seamus Roddy
37. Sam Webb
38. Ken Leidal
39. Jon Colwell
40. Sami Aziz
41. Will Cather
42. Steve Yannacone
43. Ryan Hertzog
44. Chris Pastore
45. Dan Klinik
46. Nate Hamilton
47. Zach Brehm
48. Jacob Fetterman
49. Matt Kazanjan
50. Chris Kazanjan
Just Missing:
Jordan Crawford
Liam Corcoran
Christian Kardish
Reiny Barchet
AJ Chaborek
Josh Zemet
And many more ....
Team Rankings to come ...
Weekend Results
If you have any results from this weekend's action, post them up here as comments when you hear about them. Also dual meets and things from throughout the week are interesting to know. I know North Penn beat UD in a dual at UD. Macauley bested Ferruzzi for the 1-2 punch and I think NP took 3rd and then UD 4th? Someone would have to confirm the UD 4th think but I thought Steven Williamson for UD was up there pretty well.
I'm a UD alumn for those of you who don't know and this is off memory and one phone call.
So yeah comment away with the latest news from a great weekend of XC action!
I'm a UD alumn for those of you who don't know and this is off memory and one phone call.
So yeah comment away with the latest news from a great weekend of XC action!
District 2
District 2 is probably one of the most under appreciated districts in the PIAA and this past weekend they put up some great numbers to open up the weekend. In the past few years we have seen Bobby Micikas, Reece Ayers, Victor Costello, Sean Burke, Chris Eheret, AJ Lomingelli, Aaron Wilkinson and much more (I'm sure I'm missing like 50 AA guys) drop some great times on the trials and the course before they graduated. Now the new era is reigning supreme and a lot of these guys have already achieved greatness equal to or superior to these graduates. I'm still not quite sure which teams are AA and which are A and even which are AAA but I wanted to give a bit of a shout out to some of the names to watch in District 2.
In AA (last year anyway) Holy Redeemer returns their top 3 runners from the competitive D2 championships. Mitchell Ford and his two teammates took the 3-4-5 spots at Districts behind the big names of Luke Jones (1st) and Rico Galassi (2nd). Jones and Galassi have quickly risen to become the glass of the new A title race. Galassi, after a break out track season that included a 9:19 3200m, won his opening race of the season over his rival Jones (3rd). Jones, who broke out on the track in his own right, was 2nd at XC states, finishing closely behind Brendan Shearn. Galassi and Jones were 3rd and 2nd at XC states last year so they have the ability to run the Hershey course quite well.
On the AAA side (which is rapidly becoming the AA side), Dominic Deluca (AA this year) opened his season with an impressive second place over 3 of the best guys in AA last year: Curt Jewett, Sam Williams and Luke Jones. Now a junior, Deluca looks poised for a break out season. He leads a young Dallas team with no Seniors in their top 7 from the opening meet. They were a close 2nd behind Scranton Prep. Deluca was 3rd at Districts last year behind eventual medalists Wilkinson and Burke. Yours truly named him the big sleeper of his 2011 states predictions. Didn't work out. But hopefully I was just one year too early. North Pocono, 2nd at AAA District 2 Champions, returns their entire top 7.
In AA (last year anyway) Holy Redeemer returns their top 3 runners from the competitive D2 championships. Mitchell Ford and his two teammates took the 3-4-5 spots at Districts behind the big names of Luke Jones (1st) and Rico Galassi (2nd). Jones and Galassi have quickly risen to become the glass of the new A title race. Galassi, after a break out track season that included a 9:19 3200m, won his opening race of the season over his rival Jones (3rd). Jones, who broke out on the track in his own right, was 2nd at XC states, finishing closely behind Brendan Shearn. Galassi and Jones were 3rd and 2nd at XC states last year so they have the ability to run the Hershey course quite well.
On the AAA side (which is rapidly becoming the AA side), Dominic Deluca (AA this year) opened his season with an impressive second place over 3 of the best guys in AA last year: Curt Jewett, Sam Williams and Luke Jones. Now a junior, Deluca looks poised for a break out season. He leads a young Dallas team with no Seniors in their top 7 from the opening meet. They were a close 2nd behind Scranton Prep. Deluca was 3rd at Districts last year behind eventual medalists Wilkinson and Burke. Yours truly named him the big sleeper of his 2011 states predictions. Didn't work out. But hopefully I was just one year too early. North Pocono, 2nd at AAA District 2 Champions, returns their entire top 7.
Top 10 Team Rankings
Eh I have like 10 minutes to kill before class so I will try and scramble to get this up. Not a whole lot of explanation going into this one, I feel most are pretty self explanatory.
1. O'Hara- Didn't race this weekend, thus still the #1 team until proven otherwise
2. Henderson- Raced this weekend at a low key meet, didn't blow me away with their performances, clear cut top 2 team in the state, we don't need to get too much into this again ...
3. North Allegheny- NA produces great teams consistently, they haven't raced yet but I expect big things in November from this team even if the fast times don't show up until October
4. LaSalle- Recent news that Coyle has had some injury problems makes me worried about this team, they need their front runner to contend
5. Cumberland Valley- Pretty solid group of guys, good team, hasn't raced yet at a big invite but will have a big chance to prove themselves at PTXC
6. North Penn- No race from these guys yet, but they return a bunch and are defending state champs so I have to give the benefit of the doubt
7. CR North- Rough opening weekend, but I still have high hopes for this team, they are better than what we just saw out of them
8. Pennsbury- Killed the Viking race, they string together a few more like that and they are a top 5 team in the state
9. Kiski Area- Solid team, no race yet, will be interesting to see what there relative no name guys can do to help them compete with the WPIALs best
10. Great Valley- No Willig, but still a bunch of young talent, hopefully the guys can show what they have got in an invitational in the near future
1. O'Hara- Didn't race this weekend, thus still the #1 team until proven otherwise
2. Henderson- Raced this weekend at a low key meet, didn't blow me away with their performances, clear cut top 2 team in the state, we don't need to get too much into this again ...
3. North Allegheny- NA produces great teams consistently, they haven't raced yet but I expect big things in November from this team even if the fast times don't show up until October
4. LaSalle- Recent news that Coyle has had some injury problems makes me worried about this team, they need their front runner to contend
5. Cumberland Valley- Pretty solid group of guys, good team, hasn't raced yet at a big invite but will have a big chance to prove themselves at PTXC
6. North Penn- No race from these guys yet, but they return a bunch and are defending state champs so I have to give the benefit of the doubt
7. CR North- Rough opening weekend, but I still have high hopes for this team, they are better than what we just saw out of them
8. Pennsbury- Killed the Viking race, they string together a few more like that and they are a top 5 team in the state
9. Kiski Area- Solid team, no race yet, will be interesting to see what there relative no name guys can do to help them compete with the WPIALs best
10. Great Valley- No Willig, but still a bunch of young talent, hopefully the guys can show what they have got in an invitational in the near future
etrain Stock Exchange
Offer still stands on the etrain Stock Exchange proposal. You can go back and check the post if you forget what I am talking about. It's a great way to show you know the sleepers in the PA XC world and a cool way to show me your opinions on which guys need to move up. Here is the link to the post with details:
http://www.etrain11.blogspot.com/2012/07/etrain-stock-exchange.html
I made a facebook group already, so if anyone is interested in joining just let me know on here or on facebook. I'm Jarrett Felix.
Stay classy.
http://www.etrain11.blogspot.com/2012/07/etrain-stock-exchange.html
I made a facebook group already, so if anyone is interested in joining just let me know on here or on facebook. I'm Jarrett Felix.
Stay classy.
Rankings 9/2
The bolded names are guys that were affected in rank by this past weekend's events. Some guys impressed me a lot, others I think took a step in an expected direction. It is still super early but I think we saw some up and coming studs with wins from Colwell, Pondel, Martin and Todaro ... A solid debut from Brehm and Pennsbury was a monster in their opener. Deluca of course has been on my radar for a while and took a big step in his first race. Sam Webb kind of a similar situation. Barchet may need a bit of time to get back to his old self and the CRN boys have some work to do. Smathers, Williams, Jewett and Jones now know there is plenty of depth in single A and Galassi looks very sharp. Pondel in AA is a scary thought as well. There is much more I can say about these races when pressed, just comment about what you would like to know. Next weekend should really be fun.
1.
Dan Jaskowak
2.
Brendan Shearn
3.
Conner Quinn
4.
Tom Coyle
5. Rico Galassi
6.
Brent Kennedy
7.
Dan Savage
8. Connor Harriman
9.
Sami Aziz
10.
Jack Macauley
11.
Alec Kunzweiler
12. Vinny Todaro
13. Luke Jones
13. Luke Jones
14. Ethan Martin
15. Ryan Smathers
16. Tony Russell
17. Austin Pondel
15. Ryan Smathers
16. Tony Russell
17. Austin Pondel
18.
Jack Huemmler
19.
Jeff Groh
20.
Ben Ritz
21. Sam Williams
22. Curt Jewett
23. Dominic Deluca
24. Ean DiSilvio
21. Sam Williams
22. Curt Jewett
23. Dominic Deluca
24. Ean DiSilvio
25. Lyle Wistar
26. Mac Emery
27.
Ernie Pitone
28. Reiny Barchet
29.
Cole Nissley
30. Steve Yannacone
31.
Chris Culley
32.
Caleb Wakeley
33. Ross Wilson
34. Sam Webb
35. Ken Leidal
36. Jon Colwell
37. Jon Faye
38.
Aaron Valerosa
39.
Ryan Hertzog
40.
Chris Pastore
41. Alec Brand
42. Will Cather
43. Matt Kazanjan
44. James Zingarini
45. Danny Klinik
46. Barrett Kemp
46. Barrett Kemp
47. Zach Brehm
48. Liam Corcoran
49. Chris Berry
50. Christian Kardish
Just Missing: Monroe, Jackson,
Haugh, Steadman, McGuire, Yousif and More
Commenting
So there have been a lot of issues with this coming up as of late. I love the enthusiasm and I like discussion, but some things seem to be getting out of hand. Personal attacks have been handed out in more frequent fashion than usual I'd say. When people were merely throwing around names at me it wasn't a big deal, I'm a big college man I can take a few one liners from anonymous people, but I don't want youngsters in HS getting completely bashed without a chance to defend themselves. Comments are coming in too fast for me to possibly police everything which means I may have to shut down commenting completely on the blog. I left a poll up for everyone to decide what they think is best for the future of the blog. If you have any suggestions for improvements please let me know. I can be stricter with deleting if necessary, but I would prefer if we were all adult enough to handle this with a little more class. Ultimately, when all is said and done this is for fun. If you don't think you can read what I have to say and not get fired up about it, then I take no offense from people not reading my blog anymore. I am not worried about appealing to the masses or going national or getting paid or anything. I do this for fun, and I hope that we can all have fun through this blog.
I am admittedly writing this at 1 am so if this isn't worded fantastic and doesn't completely make my point my mistake, I'm a little tired and so is my good buddy Kenny who is overseeing my work.
Overall, the point of this post is, vote on the poll on the side of this page to tell me if you thing commenting has gotten out of control enough for me to disable it from the blog.
I will be going through the most recent post and hiding any comments that I deem as argumentative and off topic. Sorry in advance.
I am admittedly writing this at 1 am so if this isn't worded fantastic and doesn't completely make my point my mistake, I'm a little tired and so is my good buddy Kenny who is overseeing my work.
Overall, the point of this post is, vote on the poll on the side of this page to tell me if you thing commenting has gotten out of control enough for me to disable it from the blog.
I will be going through the most recent post and hiding any comments that I deem as argumentative and off topic. Sorry in advance.
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