By Aaron Rich
Don Rich, editor
Cross Country is upon us again. There is nothing quite like this sport, fiercely competitive, challenging, and yet fun for everyone involved, from the athletes to the coaches to the parents and fans. These previews are fun to do because they give me the opportunity to look over what was accomplished last season, and what could be accomplished this season by runners from all over the state. This year will be particularly exciting for me as I will be coaching a high school team for the first time. Cross Country is my favorite time of year, and I look forward to being part of it as a coach. I hope that these summaries that follow spark what they were intended to: motivatation, discussion, and add to the excitement of a new season full of unknown promise. Happy running to everyone. Let me know if you think we've overlooked anything. Stay healthy, and leave nothing on the course.
Boys AAA
This year Cedar Cliff is the team to beat. They will be nationally ranked in the pre-season polls and are aiming for not only a state title, but a trip to Portland to race in the inaugural Nike Team Nationals in early December. A real quick glance at 2003 shows Cedar Cliff ran a :39 second spread from 16:23 to 17:02 on the state course the week before States in 2003. Their top soph was DNF at States. They were all off that day, but if he finished where he was with 200m to go in the state race, they would have won easily. All five of those guys return, now four seniors and one junior. Justin Keller, now a junior, will join seniors Pat Caufield, Tim Johnson and Mike Fulton as the core of the talented squad. Senior Bill Frailey should challenge Fulton for the 4th spot. Rounding out the varsity seven-eight are freshmen Aaron Caulfield and junior Cory Creek. The other possible # 7 is Tyler Longenecher, senior, who ran 17:47 on the state course at Districts. Frailey ran 9:55 3200 outdoor and "is not a track guy". He has improved a lot over the past year, and should be mid-16's. Frosh Caufield and Creek are well ahead of last year's 6-7. Creek ran a 1:56 split in 4x800 in the spring. Barring injury, this is PA's best boys' team in years.
The top 3 teams from last year are going to have to rely on young talent as most runners from their state squads last year were seniors. West Chester Henderson loses 3 state medalists and will look to fill that void, with state experience coming from sophomore Chris Ferry and Junior Tom Espedal. They pick up an important addition in Amin Garnett. The senior finished 16th in the state in XC running for Coatesville in 2003, and now lives in the Henderson district. North Hills loses some depth from last year's team but still has the experience and talent of seniors Josh Eddy and Mike Haley, and junior Brennan O'Hare. Hatboro-Horsham loses depth as well, and will look to the experience of junior Josh Hibbs, who is the Hatters top returner. Other teams to watch are Council Rock North, who return 4 runners, and Coatesville, who returns three. Central Bucks East and West have spun off Central Bucks South. Even though the school is not complete, they'll compete as three distinct schools. Competing athletes may share the same classes this fall. That could be fun.
For the individual title the favorite has to be junior Craig Miller from Manheim Township. He came within a nose of adding the US sophomore Mile record to his Freshman 1600 national record at AOC in June. No one in the state has his mile speed. Craig won with style last year and has set his sights on winning this year and in 2005, to make it three. His challengers look to be seniors Ken King, from Connellsville, and Josh Eddy, from North Hills. The two were 5th, and 7th respectively last year. McGuffey's Jeff Weiss is now in AA. Another pack of seniors looking to lead their teams to the top are John Mahoney from Council Rock North, Tim Johnson from Cedar Cliff, and Amin Garnett, now of Henderson. But Miller says there is another guy to watch. Twin brother Brad, who ran 4:18 last spring, is the athlete that most concerns Craig in PA. Coach Terry Lee agrees, but notes, "somebody new is always coming along."
Many things can happen during a cross country season, and these summaries are just one of many outcomes that are left to be determined by the rigors of a 2 month trek over hills and through mud under a myriad of conditions. Best of luck to everyone who steps foot on a cross country course this fall. And remember that we make our own destiny through the quality of our training and the tenacity of our racing.