So another week of Indoor Track and another week of craziness goes down. So where should I start this week's analysis? Hmmmmm .... How about the duo of Drew Magaha and Ned Willig.
So I said all those nice things about Ned last week for dropping that quick of an 800, and hey Drew the same thing applies to you now. Unreal first 800 of the season. 1:55 this early on a flat track is unprecedented. To have two guys that fast is amazing.
I'll be frank here, this past XC season was a down year for PA. Probably one of the biggest down years I've seen in the past couple years. But this track season has started out as one of the most talented years we will ever see. Ned and Drew look like could push each other at the end of the season to sub 4:10 indoors.
Nice 4:17 for Ned. I'm honestly not too surprised with that kind of time after that 800. I'm hoping Ned and Drew get their first duel at Millrose Games. Drew definitely would have a shot to win if Cheserek isn't it/leaves the race to a kick. But I mean Cheserek is already in 4:09 shape and he just finished XC, so there is no reason to think he won't run fast at Millrose.
I'm hoping when I make my guest appearence at the Burdette Invitational I get to see a Drew v. Ned dual. Maybe through Brett Kelly in their just for kicks. See how fast he can go if he hangs on.
Now there are other runners besides the big two in the state. Props to a nice DMR from Strath Haven, Sam Brooks with a really big win and fast time, it looks like he has taken the next step, and O'Hara has a second straight gold medalist in the 3k, neither of which were named Savage or Billotta.
Haneef Hardy, Jonathan Stiles and Ryan Horgran all look like sleepers this year. Hardy especially. He has an outside shot at the 800 title against a tired Drew. Drew has yet to prove to me his a dynamic doubler. He still has time to do that obviously, but he has to improve in that area. Wade could always do it, we will see what Drew has got.
I still haven't seen too many relay performances that make me excited for the relays indoors, which are honestly my favorite thing about most indoors meets. I love the DMR and I want to see a battle shape up. North Penn and Great Valley the only squads I've seen with real potential so far. Strath Haven will be good but I don't see them being state champ good.
Lastly, it's sprints but hey you gotta mention him, nice work by Eric Fucht, he straight killed that 300m and his 4x4 came back with a nice 3:23 flat. Fucht is going to be scary this year. He's a crazy fast sprinter, but remember his event is even on the indoor states itenerary. Come outdoors, we may ever be talking top 10 all time and national record kind of times in the 300m Hurdles. 35.0x is the record. Keep it in mind.
Good work PA for proving PA don't play.
-train
Just curious, when you say "North Penn and Great Valley the only squads I've seen with real potential so far." what does the phrase "squads" imply? Overall team talent, or DMR talent? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMagaha vs. Willig will be very exciting in the months to come. It will be a crazy year for PA if Ned and Drew can push each other to the next level. With such a fast time this early in the season, there is definitely potential for a top 3 finish by BOTH runners on the national scene. Keep up the hard work; PA don't play.
ReplyDeleteFantastic run by both Trimble and Macauley in the 800/1600 this past weekend. Watching them this past weekend, they are troopers man. I don't know what they're feeding the guys at North Penn, but wow, they know how to Win. They should be the team to beat if they decide to go fresh in the DMR. Another amazing run for Brooks; he seems to be running with confidence, and should be able to get on the podium this season.
Eric Futch's time this early in the season is HUGE. His 300m time is faster than what any of the big 3 - gilmore, brandon/bernard bennett-green ran this season. The three of them have run 47 point in the open 400, which shows that Futch has the talent to run as fast as that. 47 speed with fantastic hurdling technique, and Wow. Hello, male version of Ryan Krais/Leah Nugent. COMBINED.
ReplyDeleteI think Haneef deserves a little more recognition. After all, 1:21 is as fast as what Lefebure posted last spring season during his peak, AND as fast as what Conor Manley and Ryan Brennan posted at the Penn State meet. But, WTF is he doing with the number tag on his arm? I mean, I saw people put it on their leg before... but arm? Upside down? Do that again and he should be disqualified for looking stupid.
Just something to think about.
I like the Hardy commment, running an off distance like that really made it so his name didn't get on the radar but you are right, the guy isn't quite getting the recoginition he should.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just mean out of DMR squads that I have seen put together on paper. I'm sure looking at other team's rosters like Horsham, CR North or someone like that they can put together a good DMR, I just haven't seen it yet so I don't want to jummp on any bandwagons.
-train
@etrain-ah ok. I thought thats what you meant. thanks
ReplyDeleteBig down year for XC, how so? Connor Quinn ran as fast as Gil did as a Junior with several other juniors Jaskowak and Savage right behind him. Sure the overall times wernt as fast but the junior class seemed to be pretty solid, also AA made a huge step forward with 5 guys going under the winning time from last year and 2 guys going under Beveridges time. I dont know how thats a HUGE step down
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, you said it yourself, the times on the whole were down. If Juniors are that dominate at the top of the states results that is a sign that it is a down year. The Junior class is good, they will be fast at states next year, yes, yes I agree, but the Senior Class is the clear indicator of how good the state was really. Conner Quinn wasn't even the top guy on his team for most of the year, let alone the state. The top guys were incredibly inconsistent besides Wilson and a few AA guys. There was no dominance, there was no Brad Miles or Paul Springer.
ReplyDeleteAs for Beveridge take note of how much he won that race by and what the conditions were like that day. It was hot out that day, it was a beautiful day this year. Weather is a huge factor in XC, its like trying to compare the 2 mile at states each year, you can't really do it. Fischer's year the weather was way better and the pace was much faster than this past year with Glenn and Hebda. No disrespect to Fischer of course, he still ran 9:03 and that's fast regardless of the condition outside, but I think favorable conditions helped him edge out guys like Dennin and Weller and Aldrich's 3200m times at states.
For further proof just look at our results on a national level, we had 3 guys qualifiers last year, the year before that we had 3 and the year before that (down year again, we just had 1), then the year before that we had 3 again (possibly could have had 4). So I'm just saying this year was a down year. Especially for AAA boys which, not to be rude, is where the depth of the state that year is really determined.
-train
ps sorry for the late response hope you see this