Xc Recaps: Week 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to the running hub. I created this not to replace Etrain, but rather, to try and carry out his legacy by stirring up conversation in our sport again. While it may not be the same, and it may take awhile to get off the ground, I wanted to help start this for the community. I'd like to remain anonymous for now, as I feel that the content is meant to create a dialogue, not just an author spilling info out to you guys. So, lets start anew, and kick things off! Hope you all enjoy!

Well ladies and gentlemen, we’re back! After a summer of ambitious goals, motivation, and most importantly, mileage, the PAHS XC scene has finally returned. Let’s look at some of the meets across the state from our opening weekend.

Bear Mountain Run- While I can admit I’m not familiar with the course, it wasn’t hard for a certain performance to catch my eye. General McLane senior Nate Price blew the field away with a 15:35 solo win. Price won this same race a year ago, 8 seconds slower. The defending District 10 champion, and 3rd fastest returner for AA is absolutely in contention for a state title this year, and this effort shows that he may just be getting started. His 9:31 to end last spring is just another indicator that this kid has the talent to step up and be a state champion. A distant 2nd place was Southern Columbia’s Ethan Knoebel. While he may have run 2 seconds faster last year, this is certainly a name to keep an eye out for. Although he isn’t exactly super consistent with his XC resume, his 4:20 from last spring shows that there is more than enough upside for him to be dangerous this fall. Lastly on the individual side would be Jason Matthewson. The sophomore from Elmira Express appears to be a transfer from out of state, and was able to break into the 9:50’s as just a freshman last year.

On the team side, there isn’t much to say outside of the commanding performance that Price’s team put up behind him. General McLane won the meet with an impressive 73 points in a 25 team race. Their top 3 is absolutely electric, and while AA will be increasingly competitive as it seems to be every year, if the 4-5 in Halmi and Fair can cut that timespread down, I wouldn’t rule this team out as an AA contender.

44th Cliff Robbins Invitational- Contrary to Bear Mountain, the team race stole the show at Misericordia University. For the first time in what seems like forever, Dallas will not be a powerhouse in District 2. With the team’s core graduating, it will be up to Mitchell Rome to help mold the younger group to try and rebuild the Dallas team. Meanwhile, up front, Holy Redeemer pulled off what could be called an upset win, defeating Montrose off of a 6th man tiebreaker. Holy Redeemer, the runners up in District 2AA last fall, return 5 of their top 7 and are now the favorites for the time being with Dallas out of the way. Montrose, while they came up short of the team title, should be very happy with their performance. Getting past Andrew Healey and Holy Cross out of District 2A is not going to be easy, but as of right now, until we see a race out of Holy Cross, Montrose’s depth puts them in the driver’s seat to kick off the season. Lastly, a solid race for Scranton. They will need to improve a lot to have a shot at Wallenpaupack out in AAA, but a great season opener for Josh Christiansen to pick up the individual win might help jumpstart this team’s success.

45th Mcdowell Invitational- Out in one of the western PA meets this weekend, we got a sneak preview of some of our best A and AA talent statewide. Josh Lewis of North East is good. He’s really good. He quietly went out last year and won a lot of races he was in. The 4:23/9:26 track star finally burst onto the scene last spring after he quietly won a district title in cross last fall, but faltered at the state meet. I think the individual A race is going to be crazy this year with Miller and Healey up front, but I would not count Lewis out of this title race. His XC resume isn’t quite there, but remember this in 2 months. Outside of Lewis, we have our Harbor Creek boys, the senior duo of Starvaggi and Weber. These two will try to topple the aforementioned Nate Price and General McLane out in District 10AA. Unfortunately, they have a lot of work to do with a lack of depth, and the loss of Christian Babo to graduation. Another rebuilding program is the boys from Butler. With Beveridge off to Syracuse, and Brady and Hays also gone, the young team held their own, finishing 3rd and 17 points off of the title. That being said, they’re stuck in the powerhouse D7 AAA, so this will probably be a rebuilding year for them. Really big win for New Castle. I’m a big proponent of pack running teams who can win races without a frontrunner. The clash between them and Greensburg Salem is shaping up to be exciting, but right now I’d give a comfortable advantage to GS. Also to note, Grove City ran without Powell. If you put him in the top 3 or even top 5, GC is right in the mix for the team title.

Marty Uher Invitational- Another western PA meet from this weekend, Marty Uher was run on the brutally tough Cal U course. Times are typically incredibly slow here. It wasn’t all Mt. Lebanon surprisingly in this race, with the aforementioned D7 AA boys Greensburg Salem making a statement. Lebo is known for always opening the season strong, so for GS to come out and keep the victory margin to single digits is a very promising sign. Their biggest concern, their depth, was answered well with strong finishes of 18th and 19th place from their 4-5. The trio of the Binda’s and Brown is one of the strongest in the state on any given day, so as I said, that AA race is going to be very interesting, and I’m not quite ready to peg a favorite just yet. As for Lebo, we’re used to electric openers for them, so it seems crazy to say an opening victory is kind of flat, but nonetheless they’re still a very strong team. Anderson is certainly going to be emerging out of the WPIAL as an individual star if nothing else, but they’ll have their hands full in the district as usual. Solid race for Robert O’Brien from Upper St. Clair as well.

Big Valley Invitational- We had a great District 6 clash here, with the State College and Mifflin County teams rekindling their rivalry for yet another year. While SC came out on top 53-92, which I would call convincing fashion, this rivalry will be fun to watch over the course of the season. Mifflin County actually outshined SC in front running, but their depth is what allowed the victory slip away. Don’t look now, but keep an eye on Penns Valley. They did not put together a great performance, and lack any sign of depth, but just keep an eye on them. Their entire 5 doesn’t have a single senior OR junior. Super young team, with great talent up front. All it takes is a normal progression for one or two young guys, and they’re in the equation in A. Garrett Baublitz is very fast in case any of you didn’t know. While he’s more known for his crazy 1600’s on the track, the now junior was a top 10 finisher at states last year and is one of the many contenders for the individual title in AA.

Gateway Invitational- Christian Fitch and his Fox Chapel squad roll to victory all-around. Fitch seemingly dealt with some health issues last year, but the 9:26 2 miler is not to be messed with come this fall if he is back and healthy.

Northampton- Before I touch on this meet, it should be known that this course is extremely short. Every year, there are some very fast times run here and lots of bold predictions are made. I mean no disrespect to the runners and the great performances they put out on the course, but this is one of those asteriks you put next to times. That being said, it’s always exciting to get our first glimpses of the D1 picture. Although Boyertown lost nearly its entirety of its stars, it certainly didn’t lose all of them. Stud junior Christian McComb put together a great race, regardless of time. He beat some big names, and is in a District 1 that has no Rusty, no Shultz now, and a who knows with Hoey, where anything is possible. The sophomore was quietly top 30 in the state last fall in AAA, so to reiterate, McComb is no slouch, and should not be taken lightly. I really liked the running from the Easton guys in this race. To me, since Abert graduated, Easton is a team that always kind of lurks around the top of their league/district, but has struggled to really crack into the top 1 or 2 teams. Well they made a statement, showcasing some strong frontrunning with a 2-4 Ozgar-Cardone punch, and putting 4 in the top 22. If Bunce can develop as a 5th man, Easton will be tough to beat. Speaking of which, one team did beat them, and that was the champions of the meet in CB East. I can’t lie, this team is always extremely hard to bet on. They always are praised for how talented they are for being so young, and how they always seem to be just barely on the outside looking in. Well, it’s on them to finally pull it all together and get the job done. This young core they’ve had is now grown up, and are one of the most experienced groups in the entire state. Endres is now a state medalist, albeit on the track, and they’re overdue to make some noise. Granted, I don’t believe in being “overdue”, and that a team should do what they need to in order to advance, but with the expansion of 6 qualifying teams, I think CB East is yet again in a position where they could be crowned district champions, or sitting at home come Hershey.

Neshaminy Invitational- In a small tri meet, Council Rock South really put on a beating. Hard to tell what they really have, but one thing we know is that they’re rock solid through 4. Like so many other teams, if they can solidify themselves through 5, they’ve got a shot at those top 6 spots in District 1.

Oakbourne Relays- I don’t know if I’ll ever really understand this meet, but it exists, and people seem to like it, so it stays. A glimpse at mostly the Chesmont league of district 1, we got a preview of one the AAA title contenders in Downingtown West. Dwest rolled to a team victory, with their two duos of Chamoun/Wagner and Valderrabano/Datte taking the top two spots. Outside of those pairs, one of the D1 AAA favorites Payton Sewall posted the fastest splits of the day, at 5:09/5:05. Outside of Dwest, it was all of the already known D1 sleepers. Penncrest, Unionville, and Oxford are all teams with true chances to break into that the top 6. If you think I’m saying that a lot, don’t worry, district rankings will hopefully drop next week!

Thank you all for reading! (This could be 2 or 200, I have no idea) I’m going to do my best to keep this going, and it might be terrible, it might work out who knows. I just think someone has to step up and at least partially try to fill what Etrain did for all of us! See you all soon!

-The RunningHub