Preseason Top 25 in the Northeast Region

Hey guys it's Forrest! I am super excited to have Chris on board with me for this upcoming XC season. We'll both be doing different previews and articles, so you guys get to see two different opinions on the season. He's written some awesome articles so far and I know he'll continue to do so! I've got a lot on my plate this upcoming semester, so I am very glad for the help.
Now, here's a lot of information coming your way!

Top 25 Runners in the Northeast – Preseason

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts this summer. I wasn’t sure what to post about, and I didn’t want to put up some arbitrary stuff. I will have a lot of really cool announcements coming up, and I can’t wait for the season to get started! I noticed that there was a top 50 runners from the Northeast on Penntrack based solely on 5k times from XC last season, so I thought I would make a more subjective version of my own. I will be attempting to keep up this this top 25 list over the course of the season.

SR stands for “Speed Rating”, which come from the website www.tullyrunners.com. Also to note that they, Ostberg and Brannigan, are ranked 7^th and 8^th respectively. 

1. Alexander Ostberg (Sr – CT) – Osberg’s list of accomplishments goes on as far as Brannigan’s, so I’ll do my best to make it quick: FLNE 3^rd place (15:22 – SR of 197.5) and went on to be the top Northeast Finisher at Footlocker Nationals with a strong 11^th place finish. During the track season he won outdoor nationals in the 5k with an outstanding time of 14:16.16, which beat another outstanding junior, Elijah Armstrong (6^th at FLN) by 13 seconds! Ostberg also bested Brannigan at the Loucks Games over 3200m winning in a time of 8:52.64 to Brannigan’s 8:53.59. Ostberg is a distance running stud, and I have no doubt he would have gone under 8:50 had he raced later in the season, yet he only has a 4:15 PR over 1600m. No question in my mind he will be the Footlocker Northeast Regional Champion this upcoming season. 

2. Mike Brannigan (Sr – NY) – Brannigan first jumped onto my radar after the NY State Championships during XC last season, where he blazed to a big victory. He followed it up with a win at the NY Nike Regional Championships (15:29 -- SR of 197). He was set for a top 10 finish at Nike Nationals, when he had what seems to me his only poor race of his junior campaign running 15:40 for 44^th place. Brannigan however would get some redemption on the track with a win at Nike Outdoor Nationals in the Two Mile with a time of 8:53.59 (8:50.5c) after placing second by just .02 seconds in the 1600m at the NY State Championships where he clocked 4:07.84. Brannigan also anchored Northport’s 4xMile Team to a victory at the Brooks PR Invitational with a split of ~4:08.2 where they ran the second fastest mark of all time for a US High school team. Brannigan will look for some redemption this year at Nike Cross Country nationals most likely and if he does, the NY State and Regional championships are his for the taking. 

3. Bryce Millar (Sr – NY) – Millar will be Brannigan’s biggest motivator next XC season. Millar beat out Brannigan at the line during the NY State Championships last XC season, but then placed 4^th in the NY Regional race, where Brannigan beat him by 16 seconds. Millar is more of an XC stud, but he does have solid track PR’s of 9:04 (4^th best returning time in the region) for 3200m and 4:19 for 1 Mile. I would say that he’s just barely ahead of the PA guys behind him. And don’t forget he’s on the Fayetteville-Manlius team that is so solid year after year. He’s got fantastic coaching behind him, and a stud in Peter Ryan to push him to the next level.

4. Griffin Molino (Sr – PA) – Molino is the first PA guy on our list as he is the top returner from the Nike Northeast Regional where he finished a very solid 6^th place last season. He won the ‘A’ State meet for PA in a blazing time of 15:54 (SR – 190.33). Molino loves to go out hard and hold onto a pace as he showed at the PA state meet during XC when he went out in 9:57. In a slowed down race of regionals where he negative split (8:04 – 7:52) I believe Molino was at a disadvantage. The New York Regional was taken out hard by Brannigan (7:52), which I believe would have greatly benefitted Molino. He also came up with a great 4:12.93 1600m time on the track this outdoor season, despite only running 8:50 for 3k indoors.

5. Colin Abert (Sr – PA) – I’m always pretty hyped up about Colin Abert. I think he’s a total stud and he goes hard from the gun in every race. He absolutely ran away from Wilson and James in the State Championships last year to place second in the AAA state meet. His 15:54 (190 –SR) should not be quickly forgotten (tied Molino’s time). He barely got any training indoors, but still ran a solid 4:16.90 in the 1600. He doubled 4:18.95/9:33.75 at Districts. He’s also the second returner for FL NE Regionals behind Alex Ostberg. Barring injury, Abert will go to Footlocker Nationals. He had a tough race at FL regionals last year as well, but still had a solid 184 SR.

6. Aidan Tooker (Jr – NY) – This was a really tough choice to put Tooker at the #6 spot, but this rising junior New Yorker was just a beast all last XC season. He took 5^th at the NY Federation Championships (16:03 – SR 189) and then followed it up with a 7^th place finish at the Nike Cross Regionals (15:46 – SR 191.6) and then a 43^rd place finish at NXN (15:40). He always showed up in the big meets last XC season. Indoors he ran 9:09 for 3200, but struggled slightly outdoors to match that, but he did run 9:10 at his sectional meet along with grabbing a 4:22 PR. I love the upside of Tooker, because he’s going into his junior year. As we’ve seen, the trend is for juniors to make a jump, and Tooker absolutely seems like he is ready to do that. He was poised at the NY Regional Meet going out 5 seconds behind the leaders in 7:57 and then came home in 7:50 for the second 2.5k, and he is the top returner from the whole Northeast at Nike Nationals. He beat out Brannigan by one place (same time), along with fellow New Yorker Benito Muniz.

7. Kevin James (Sr- PA) – We’ve been putting a microscope up to Kevin James since the beginning of his freshman year. Being in the spotlight for so long could get to someone, but James keeps coming up big, like most recently dropping a 9:03 for 3200m, which is the 3^rd fastest returning time in the region. He was 4^th in AAA States (16:02 – SR 187.33) during XC and in the 3200m outdoors. He’s carried some great DMR teams with strong 1200m splits; placed 7^th at Nike NE Regional (2^nd returner – SR 187.5); and placed 55^th at Nike Nationals (5^th returning finisher from the Northeast). James always has good races, and he continually improves.

8. Benito Muniz (Sr – NY) – It’s been getting tougher to place these guys, but I really liked what Muniz did all of last season. He ran solid races leading up to the New York Regional (21^st and 9^th place finishes at the New York State and Federation Championships) and then make sure to have his best race at New York Regionals (15:45.8 – SR 191.73 – 3^rd Returner) and 53^rd at Nike Nationals (15:48 – 4^th NE Returner). Muniz followed up his XC season with a nice 9:24 Two-Mile indoors, a 4:09 Mile at Outdoor Nationals, and he’s got a 1:53.16 800m PR to his name. He’s got such great range, which is awesome to see. Look out for this guy.

9. Peter Ryan (Jr – NY) – This was probably my toughest placement on the list. Peter Ryan was a stud sophomore and is younger brother to Nick Ryan (2012 NY Regional Champion and 15^th place finisher at Nationals). The younger Ryan, however, might surpass his brother in terms of accolades when he’s done high school. Last season Ryan finished 12^th at Regionals (15:58.2 – SR 187.60), but more importantly he came up big when it counted for his team being F-M’s top finisher at Nationals with a 46^th place finish in 15:42. He is the 3^rd best returner from Nike Nationals in terms of Northeast runners. Outdoors he ran 9:21 for 3200m as well to increase his pedigree and grab a NY state Medal. Every day at practice he’ll have a leader in Bryce Millar to run with, and I wouldn’t be surprised he if he were top 3 on this list by the end of next XC season. His upside potential is almost unlimited.

10.  Blaise Ferro (Jr – NJ) – Ferro will be CBA’s top returning runner from the 2013 XC season and will need to be in top shape in order for them to make a run at the title once again next season. These coaches are always pulling studs out of nowhere and Ferro should have a big breakout season next year. I felt as though he ran a really controlled race at Nike Northeast Regionals where he finished 14^th in 16:10, because two months earlier in the season he ran 16:09 at the Bowdoin XC Classic, which took place on the same course. He had a rough Nike Nationals race however where he placed 70^th overall. Outdoors he was able to bounce back with a nice PR of 9:08 for 3200 when he won the NJ Meet of Champions.

11. Pat Tucker (Sr – NY) – Pat Tucker is the last of the New York returning National Qualifiers. Last season he finished 8^th at the Federation Championships (16:07 – SR 184), placed 9^th at the NY Regional Meet in 15:52.3 (SR – 189.57), but he had a tough nationals race where he finished 136^th overall in 16:30. Tucker is one of the few on this list to really roll indoors where he placed 6^th at New Balance Nationals in the 5k with a time of 14:51 and he added PR’s of 4:17 and 9:14 to his name. He struggled a bit outdoors, and was only able to drop 2 seconds off his 3200m time from indoors, but he’s got speed and talent and I think he’ll bring it this XC season.

12. Craig Corti (Sr – NJ) – Corti had a really great XC season where he placed 8^th at Bowdoin, second in his Shore Coaches section to Liam Mullett and had the 3^rd fastest time that day (Brannigan had the fastest) won his group meet, placed 7^th at the NJ MoC and finished 9^th at the Northeast Regional Meet, where he is now the 3^rd returner. He peaked a bit early this spring, but managed to run 9:08 for 3200 and 4:15 for 1600m. I think he’s a real gamer and the NJ guys always seem to be best at the Regional Races.

13. Marco Pompilj (Sr – NY) – Pompilj had a really unlucky time at the New York Regional race. After placing 4^th at the NY Federation Championships in 15:57.6 (SR – 188) he finished in 16:02.80, which placed him 14^th in the New York Regional Meet. This caused him to miss out on attending the national championship. He went out with the top pack in 7:54 for the first 2.5k, but really felt it in the second half of the race. He won his section of the Reebok Invitational and the Brown Invitational last season, where he beat out Edwin Rutto and Pat Tucker quite handily. And he placed 10^th at Bowdoin. He holds nice PR’s of 4:13 and 1:55 as well.

14. Nick Carleo (Sr – MA) – The tough this about Carleo is the lack of data we have on him. He crushed a 23 year old course record at Maudslay State Park to start his season, placed second to Mike Wyman, (Brown U recruit who placed 4^th at New Balance Outdoor Nationals in the Mile in 4:08), in the MIAA Eastern State Championships and then placed 10^th at the Northeast Regionals in 16:01, right behind the NJ stud Craig Corti. He had a great indoor campaign where he placed 6^th at Indoor nationals in a nice 4:14.35 Mile time, but he was quiet outdoors only needing to run 4:15 to win the Mile at the MIAA All-State Outdoor State Championships. With the lack of information, it is hard for me to place him higher, but he is the 4^th returner in terms of the Northeast Regional, so I’m sure we’ll see some big things from him. His best time was a 2.9 mile race which he clocked 14:14 for a SR of 192.31, so the potential is there.

15. Jake Brophy (Jr – PA) – Jake Brophy is brimming with talent. On the PA scene he is one of the most well-known rising juniors and he’s got a nice pedigree. As a sophomore Brophy placed 4^th out of District One in a time of 15:24 and then placed 8^th at the PIAA State Meet in 16:15. He didn’t race at either Regional Meet, which makes it tougher to place him. However, he ran 8:42 indoors over 3000m and helped his 4x8 team instead of going for 3200m glory outdoors and dropped his split to 1:55 after running a 9:32 3200 as a freshman. XC seems to be his sport, and I think Brophy will bring it to the Regional and National seen this fall.

16. Dan Muldoon (Sr – NY) – Muldoon is a returning stud for a strong Liverpool squad that will be looking to get back to Nike Nationals. Muldoon is clearly an XC guy as he only ran 4:28 and 1:56 outdoors after not running indoor track. He does however have the XC chops: He placed 8^th at the NY State Meet, 7^th at the Federation Championships, 15^th at Regionals, and placed 89^th at Nike Nationals in 16:07. He was one of the few top NY runners to negative split his race (8:08 - 7:56) to get his SR of 185.83, which was the same as his SR from the Federation Meet. He’s consistent on the XC course and loves to hit hills hard, which is perfect for a leader of a team.

17. Jaxson Hoey (Jr – PA) – Jaxson Hoey is one of the biggest track studs for a sophomore that I’ve seen come out of the Northeast Region in a while. He crashed onto the scene placing 9^th at Briarwood, then beating 2xRegional champion Tony Russell along with National qualifiers Ross Wilson and Kevin James at a 2 mile XC race with a time of 9:55. His 16:03.8 finish at regionals for 12^th place really showed how much of a stud he was, but it didn’t end there. Indoors he ran 4:16.72 in the Mile to place 13^th at NBNI and followed it up outdoors by running 9:09.01 for 2 Miles, 1:54.73 for 800, and a 4:11.13c for 1600m. Hoey’s potential is scary good, and his Black Friars XC club (Malvern Prep) return their top 4 runners and will be looking to make it to Nike Nationals this upcoming season.

18. Fran Bogan (SR – NJ) – CBA always seems to return a few studs from amazing squads, and Fran Bogan will look to be their season leader this season. This placement might even be a bit low for him after an outstanding XC season. As a sophomore he ran an outstanding 9:19 for 3200m and it shot him into a great XC year where he finished 9^th at Bowdoin, 19^th at the Reebok Manhattan Invitational, 5^th at Shore Conf’s, 4^th at Groups, and 23^rd at the Meet of Champions where he took it easy. After not running in the Northeast Regional, Bogan placed a fantastic 56^th at the Nike National Meet in 15:52. He couldn’t seem to find the magic outdoors however where his season best for 3200m was 9:23. CBA will need the Bogan from Nike Nationals to show up consistently this XC season. His lack of consistency is why he is further down this list, but when he shows up, he does it in a big way.

19. Jeremy Spiezio (Sr- NY) – Spiezio is an interesting character. He ended his season at the NY State Championships with a win in a very solid 15:46 time. Maybe he got injured in training, but he didn’t race Federations or Regionals, which is why he’s a bit lower on this list. He was outstanding indoors placing 4^th at the Yale Track Classic 3k in 8:38 and finished 11^th at NBNI in the Mile with a time of 4:16.04. Outdoors he placed 9^th in the 3k at Penn relays with a time of 8:27.56 and followed it up with a strong PR’s of 4:10 for 1600m and 9:07 for 3200m. Spiezio seems to peak a bit early, and I’m not sure quite what to think of him, but he is clearly a stud and I hope we see him at bigger championship type races next XC season.

20. Ben Petrella (Jr – NY) – Liverpool has got two studs up front, which I love to see. Petrella will most likely pass Muldoon this season, but Muldoon will be teaching him a lot about racing. Much like Muldoon, Petrella was very consistent and steady during the XC season. He had a nice 17^th place finish at the Manhattan Invitational, placed 12^th at NY State Championships, 17^th at Federations (SR 183), 17^th at Regionals (16:08 – SR 184), and 121^st at Nationals in 16:25. That’s some really great composer from a sophomore who ran 9:38 as a freshman over 3200m. He’s clearly very talented and added nice PR’s of 9:23 and 4:23 to his resume this past May.

21. Andrew Marston (Sr- PA) Marston is high on this list for a plethora of reasons. He broke out last season and led his team to the state meet for the first time in over a decade. Marston is a steady runner who just ticks off pace, staying even the entire race. It’s not the best for someone who can win, but Marston will not die on the hills of any course. His 9^th place showing at the state meet last season proved that. He’s not the best track guy in the word, but he ran under 4:23 and 9:30 on multiple occasions throughout the year and ended with PR’s of 4:20, 8:45 (3k), and 9:17 for 3200. I really like what Marston has to offer as an XC guy and I think he’ll led Conestoga to big things next season. He is the 5^th returner from FL Regionals.

22. Dan Dracup (Sr – NY) – Dracup was really solid all XC season for Ithaca High School. He placed 15^th at NY State, 20^th at the Federation Championships, and 18^th in the NY Regional Meet all with Speed Ratings of 182-183. He knows how and when to bring it, and I really like to see that. He didn’t run between January and May, where he seemed to injury himself in a 5k Running Club meet where he ran 17:39. He came back strong and dropped time fast going from 9:58 for 3200m to 9:39 and then just 5 days later to a PR of 4:19.11 for 1600m! He finished his outdoor season running the 800 where he ran a nice PR of 1:55.13. Dracup should be healthy and ready to roll this XC season where he will once again be in the mix of a strong group of NY runners.

23. Luke Gavigan (Sr – NY) – Gavigan is the last person to beat Mike Brannigan. He had a solid XC campaign last season placing 4^th at the NY State Championships, 13^th at Federations (SR 182), but he had a very disappointing 25^th place finish at the NY Regional Meet. Gavigan took to the track in full force running 4:08.96 to win the Millrose HS Mile and he placed second at NBNI in the Mile with a time of 4:11.67. He won the Penn Relays Mile in 4:13 and beat out Brannigan by .02 seconds at the NY State meet with a time of 4:07.82 for 1600m. Gavigan has great speed/strength closing most of his races in sub 2 minutes. I think he’ll be able to run with some of the best during this XC season.

24. Zach Brehm (Sr- PA) – Another strength Miler on this list is Zach Brehm. After an outstanding 4:08 Mile as a sophomore Brehm came through in XC with a big win at his HS invitational, a second place finish at Districts (extremely hilly course) followed by a 10^th place finish at the PIAA State meet (SR – 181.33). It’s rare for runners to do well back-to-back from Brehm’s District 3 to the state meet. Outdoors he ran 4:11.73 to win the PIAA State 1600m and place 10^th at NBON in a solid 4:10 showing. Brehm will have something to prove this XC season and he’ll have a District Rival, Aaron Gebhart breathing down his neck.

25. Aaron Gebhart (Sr – PA) – Gebhart is one of my favorite PA runners and he’s earned his spot on this list. After a 3^rd place finish at Districts, Gebhart placed 14^th at the PIAA State meet, and then finished his season with his best race clocking 16:12.30 at the Nike Regional meet to place 16^th overall (SR – 182.90). Outdoors he was very consistent and ended with PR’s of 4:21 for 1600 and 9:16 for 3200m. Gebhart is a beast on the hills and shows up when it counts. He is sure to be a threat this coming season.

Just Missed -- Austin Gilbert (Sr – CT) – Gilbert was overshadowed last season by his teammate Trever Hopper, but I believe he is now ready to step into the spotlight. He placed very well at the Northeast Regional last season (21^st), but he really came into his own on the track. Indoors he ran 9:14 for 2 Miles and outdoors he placed 15^th at Penn Relays for 3000m with a time of 8:32.15. He followed it up with a 14:57 5k in May along with 3 times under 4:20 for 1600m ending in a PR of 4:15. I think he works best off of a fast pace and if he does out with the leaders at Regionals he could have a shot at qualifying for the national championship meet.

Names to Remember: Leland Jones (NJ), Jack Salisbury (RI), John Rice (NY), Edwin Rutto (NJ), Conor Lundy (NY), Luke Petela (NJ), Randall Neish (CT), James Asselmeyer (NY), Marc Rienas (NJ), Aaron Groff (NJ, Dominick Munson (NJ), Chris Martin (NJ), Casey Comber (PA), Jeff Van Kooten (PA), Sam Webb (PA), Jamison Koeman (MA).