PIAA AAA State Championhip Recap

In the last race of the day, there was no surprise when the AAA field came through the mile in the fastest time of the day. Even then, the lead pack coming through in 4:50's showed no signs of anyone trying to break the field early. However, it wasn't long after the first mile when the NA boys decided to try and gap the field. Coming down the Aloha hills, Zach Kinne and Dan McGoey had put a considerable gap on the field in only half a mile or so. Only one other athlete in the field had responded to the move.

Patrick Anderson.

As the trio broke off and slowly gapped the field through two miles, with Fitch hanging on for dear life, Kinne looked at ease, and many in the crowd thought he was going to repeat from Foundation. In fact, as they passed the sewage plant, Kinne had actually opened up about a 5 meter lead. However, as they disappeared in the woods briefly, many were shocked to see Anderson emerge up the hill as the leader. With McGoey falling off, it was clear it was now a two man race. As they rounded the shed for the long, final straightaway, Kinne wasn't out of it quite yet. But as the straightaway dragged on, it became increasingly clear that no on was going to catch Patrick Anderson.

For someone like me, who is a fan and an analyst* (not quite sure I've earned that status yet) of the sport, this was humbling to watch. Its so easy to get caught up in the hype of the studs who receive lots of the attention online and through the grapevine, but when it comes to Hershey, those who are rewarded are the silent grinders of the year. Of course, its not as if Patrick Anderson came out of nowhere. However, I can confidently say I don't think anyone picked this kid to win. Many people, including myself, saw his win at TSTCA's as a fluke, and reassured ourselves that this was the case when he lost at WPIAL's a week later. In all of the craziness of Anderson taking the title, I think the most forgettable part in all of this is that he's only a junior. Despite the talk around McGoey's incredible finish as just a sophomore, there's no longer even a guarantee that he can win this thing. The WPIAL is set up to be even stronger than last year, as these two, coupled with Fitch, will all return for battle next year.

The story of the day for me was Brayden Harris. I hyped him up a lot going into this race, and he still exceeded my expectations, finishing 4th, very similar to McGoey's finish last year. Its very rare we see 4 of the top 5 finishers in a state championship all return!

If I'm Kinne, I walk away from this race disappointed but very proud nonetheless. Its extremely hard to come into an entirely new state, entirely new environment, and be expected to beat an entire state of athletes who have tailored their training and experience to the Hershey course. We've become accustomed to guys like Noah Affolder coming in and blowing us away, when in reality, its much more difficult than it seems. He had an incredible season and despite his struggles at WPIAL's, he bounced back to earn state silver and more importantly, helped his team power their way to their own state championship.

Tyler Wirth capped off an incredible XC career. Although he was never able to crack into the top 3, he arguably had the greatest, most consistent XC career in the class of 2019. Don't forget this kid has run 4:14. Although a freak bad day kept him out of the 1600 finals last spring, he's still debatably the most well-rounded athlete in the sport.

Moving towards the team side, this thing was really crazy. The results showed how there truly was a tier of the top 6 teams in the state. 68 points separated the top 6 teams, yet the gap from those top 6 was another 70 points back to Council Rock South in 7th. Each team had the pieces to try and win this thing, but of course, there could only be one winner.

Unionville, pointed out by many, had the firepower up front to try and win this thing. They weren't quite able to duplicate their district performance, and a struggling 5th man really knocked them out of contention. I must commend them for how beautifully they tied it all together for the postseason.

Mount Lebanon's pack behind Anderson couldn't quite hold steady in the latter half of the race. They looked fantastic through 4 at the two mile, but they fell apart at the #5 spot, and Cosentino couldn't quite sneak in the medals. The boys from Lebo proved a lot by keeping their momentum throughout the entirety of the season, and holding their own with the eventual state champs on numerous occasions. Like always, they seem as if they'll be losing some guys, but will have enough pieces to stay relevant on the statewide scene next year.

I think there's a lot to be said about this Seneca Valley team. After having consistent success the past couple years, they had to deal with some adversity this year. They didn't seem to be very deep, and Ketler was fighting off a slump of some sorts throughout the season. However, when it really mattered, they got a great lift from freshman Noah Petersen, and we saw signs of the old Seth Ketler. The Owori/Ketler duo has been fun to watch for the past 3-4 years, and I'm sure they'll take some much needed rest before they gear up for a title defense indoors.

I'm sure Dwest came into this meet with the vision of winning this thing, yet they found themselves off the podium. They were leading through the mile, and fell out of the top two by the two mile. I'm sure that despite some solid individual performances, this team came away wanting more. Their district performance indicated that they had the talent to win this thing, but one or two tough days from guys had it slip away from them. Its a classic Hershey thing. This course is unforgiving, and unless you're a perennial powerhouse, you have to have your whole squad on its A game to win a title there. Despite the massive losses they'll suffer to graduation, I can confidently say that this Dwest squad will likely be in a similar position heading into Hershey next year.

Kudos to LaSalle for making me eat my words. I wasn't generous in my predictions for them, and they ended up on the podium. Despite only having one medalist, this team was simply too deep to let the Hershey course break them down. While nobody was lights out, there wasn't any huge blowups from this team. They're a unit when it comes to running as the "LaSalle army", and they proved it by following up a state championship with another podium finish.

And of course, there were our state champions from North Allegheny. I find it rather funny how, at the beginning of the season, the big argument was if Kinne and Mcgoey were going to be enough up front to make up for their lack of depth. When the dust settled, NA had the best 5th man in the entire field. While there was talk about the battle for PA #1 all season long, I think North Allegheny convincingly proved that they're the best. Their balance of front running mixed with their depth was a combination that could not be matched. I also think its fitting that, despite there being no individual glory for either Kinne or McGoey, they came together to bring home one title.

Now that my friends, is a wrap on our XC season here in Pennsylvania. That concludes our first competitive season on the site, and we made it! Hopefully we can continue to work together as a community to improve the site, and more importantly, continue some great conversation surrounding our sport. I'll take a couple days off from here, but expect maybe a small tease for indoor by the end of the weekend. As soon as we have a better idea on who our regionals representatives are, I'll make sure to get those to you guys as well. Thank you all!

Stay happy, stay healthy

-The RunningHub