Awarded to the best runner in the year. Voters can choose to consider an athlete’s full body of work over three seasons or one particularly exception performance or season. It’s up to each reader’s own interpretation of “best”.
And
the nominees are …
Jake Brophy, CB East
Brophy
won his second straight XC state title to start the year, winning in a
thrilling finish over DT West’s Jaxson Hoey. He followed that gold up with a
silver at the Northeast Regional meet and a top ten finish at Footlocker
Nationals. During the indoor season, Brophy won the 3,000m at states and
clocked one of the fast associate 3ks ever. In the spring, he added his first
ever district title in the 3200m.
In
addition to Brophy’s excellent individual achievements, Jake also helped the CB
East team qualify for the state championships during all three seasons. He
provided a key anchor leg on the team’s medal winning DMR as well as a 1:55
split in the prelims of the outdoor state championships in the 4x800 relay.
Nick Dahl, GFS
Dahl
competes for a school outside the independent league, so he may not get as much
hype as some of the other big names, but that doesn’t mean he’s not one of the
state’s best. Dahl already had proven himself as a 2 miler in 2015, but in 2016
he expanded his abilities across all distances. He ran a 1:54 in the 800 and
split a 4:10 indoor DMR anchor as well as a 4:08 outdoor carry at New Balance
Nationals. Dahl competed in the Penn Relays mile as well as the USA Junior
National Championship 5k. He also won an individual state championship in cross
country.
The
GFS team really excelled behind Dahl’s leadership. They won a title in XC and
grabbed medals in both the DMR and the 4x8 at indoor states. The team’s DMR
finished in the top 8 at outdoor nationals and ran a blazing 10:03 time thanks
in large part to Dahl’s herculean 4:08 carry. He will be back next year.
Nathan Henderson, JP McCaskey
JP
McCaskey’s Junior Nate Henderson was dominant during the 2015 XC season. He was
undefeated against District 3 competition and finished 5th at states
in 15:53. After placing 3rd at indoor states over 3,000m, Henderson
continued to roll during outdoors, breaking 8:30 in the 3k and finishing as the
top PA athlete at Penn Relays. He also clocked a 4:14 and a 1:53 split.
Dominic Hockenbury, Lake Lehman
Hockenbury
added two more state golds to his trophy case this year as well as a hard fought
silver in the indoor 3k. He absolutely dominated in both Cross Country and Spring
track against AA competition and surged to a sub 15:50 mark on the difficult
Hershey course. He placed 11th at Footlocker Northeast Regionals and
was an All-American indoors in the 5k. In Hock’s career, he has 5 state golds
and 3 state silvers.Jaxson Hoey, DT West
Jaxson Hoey capped off a fantastic senior season recently with a 3:50 1500m for 7th at the USA Junior Championships. His time converts to 4:07.75 for 1600m, easily one of the best marks in state history. Jax overcame a ton this season, including sickness and injuries, and still finished with a massive breakthrough in the 15 and a 1:51 800 (also a big PR). During indoors, Jax racked up state gold in the mile as well as individual honors in the 800. In XC, Jaxson was second at the state championships with a 15:40 at Hershey. It puts him in the top 5 performances in the course’s history.
DT West excelled with Jax in the line up as he helped lead the squad to a state gold in XC and a team title during indoor track. They also just missed the outdoor title. Jaxson ran an important leg on the team’s 3:15 state gold winning 4x4.
Josh Hoey, DT West
As
only a sophomore, Josh is already getting buzz as one of the state’s best. He
finished in the top 3 at each of the major state championships this year and
surprised a ton of people with a win at the Penn Relays. He finished as West’s
top runner at the Nike Northeast Regional meet and the Manhattan Invitational,
both historic wins for the DT West program. He clocked marks of 15:49 at
Hershey, 4:11 in the mile and 1:54 for 800.
Mike Kolor, Seneca Valley
The
Seneca Valley senior was absolutely dominant on the track during his senior
season, racking up two individual WPIAL titles during the outdoor season and
finishing with a silver medal at the state championships in the 1600. In the
post season, Kolor rolled on, running 1:52 and then 1:51 in his last two races,
crushing his competition on both occasions.
During
XC, Kolor also had his best season to date, placing in the top 15 at states and
leading Seneca Valley to a second place finish at districts. In addition, Kolor
anchored the SV DMR at indoor states to a top 4 finish.
Griffin Mackey, Sewickley Academy
The
Sewickley Academy junior was an absolute force during XC, traveling all around
the state to compete against the best possible competition. He was rewarded for
all of his efforts at meets like Paul Short and Foundation, with a state title
in the A state meet. He was the only junior to win a PIAA or PTFCA state title
in the 2015-2016 season. Mackey also had a terrific track season, qualifying
for states in the 3200 and the 1600 and earning state and WPIAL hardware. His
Sewickley Academy XC squad finished first in the WPIAL and second at states.
Alex Milligan, State College
The
State College stand out first made a name for himself as one of the best
anchors in the nation, leading SC to a state title in the indoor 4x8 as well as
a Millrose Championship. However, Milligan will go down in PA history for
something he did without his teammates. At the 2016 outdoor state meet,
Milligan dropped a 4:10.17 to surprise Mike Kolor and Josh Hoey and win the
state championship in the 1600. It was the third state title for Milligan on the
year and set a school record.
Domenic Perretta, Beaver Falls
The
Beaver Falls senior won three state golds this year, all individually, and
added a state meet record in the 800. In total, Perretta finished his career
with seven state golds and 3 consecutive 16-8 doubles at states, something that
had never been done before. He ran 1:50.10 for 800m and also clocked 1:50
during indoors at the national championships (in his first ever indoor season).
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