Oscar Nominees- Best Actor

So right now I am in between classes and don't have the time to go back to my room and check my work document, but I did want to get at least one category worth of nominees up online and I need a post for the day so this seems like the perfect situation.

Therefore the nominees are (this is just off the top of my head so if I miss someone they may be added back on a little later):

Hong Cho, Wissahickon- Hong Cho began the Oscar season with a 4th place finish at the indoor state championships in the 800m in a very solid time of 1:54.94. He then ran the lead off leg of the state champion Wissahickon DMR. But Hong didn't settle after an impressive indoor season. He ran multiple 1:52 in opens and relays, took down Dustin Wilson in an early season mile race, and helped his 4x8 and 4x4 teams place well at the Penn Relays with impressive splits. At the end of the season, Hong was at full stride as he ran 1:50.92 to win the District Championship and break Tom Mallon's meet record. He then won the state championship in the individual 800, while also helping lead his 4x400m squad to a solid medal finish. He finished the season with a 1:50.41 800m PR from the Henderson meet in June.

Wade Endress, Altoona- Wade Endress began the Oscar season with a historic indoor states double that included a surprising state record on the double in the 800m, running away from great racers like Nate McClafferty and Kyle Moran with furious last laps. He ran 4:13.34 and then 1:51.73 at a meet record (and at the time a state record). Unfortunately, injury struck Wade in the outdoor season of his senior year. He managed to battle back and run hard to achieve another impressive double at states with a 4:13.77 and 1:53.76 time in each, earning him 4th and 3rd respectively. Without Wade's early pacing in the 1600m to ensure it wasn't tactical, the state record may not have gone down quite as decisively as it did.

Eric Futch, Pennwood- Futch began his own Best Actor campaign with a well earned second place finish in the 60m hurdles to rival Chris Williams from Strath Haven. His Pennwood relays narrowly missed medals in the 4x4 and 4x2. But come outdoors Futch was determined to not let the story be near misses. He ran a season best 14.24 110m Hurdles at Delcos, but his focus was the 300m Hurdles. Come states, he not only ran away from former champion Kowan Scott, he also blasted a 36.43 state record in the 300m hurdles. He can also boast a 21.32 200m PR and a sub 3:20 4x400m relay squad. Futch went on to continue his spring season into the summer where he added another state record with a 51.67 400m hurdle race. His listed PR in the open 400m at the time was 51.66. Futch has not let his foot off the gas this indoors, already powering through a 3:21 4x4, 1:29 4x2, 22.37 200m, 50.30 400m and #20 all time 300m in 33.56 (all state leading times if you convert from flat to banked track).

Ryan Gil, North Allegheny- Gil had a great indoor season helping his DMR qualify for the state finals and also winning the 3000m looking fairly comfortable over Tom Trainer. He went on to the Penn Relays and capped off his 3ks for the season with 8:30.91 clocking. The future looked bright for Gil when he unleashed a 4:13.70 mile at the Baldwin invite for the win, and then came back to the 32 over a stacked field in 9:13. Ultimately, sickness ended Gil's outdoor season early, but many thought, if healthy, he would have defeated Burkhardt for the state title.

Matt Gilmore, Cheltenham- Matt Gilmore played the role of super hero in the early parts of the Oscar season as he nearly carried Cheltenham to an indoor state title by himself. Running on what many thought to be a crippling leg injury, Gilmore won the 400m and 200m and the indoor state championship. But he wasn't done just yet. He also pulled off a come from behind victory in the 4x200m and nearly caught Abington in the 4x400m final that decided the state championship. Gilmore did help lead his tired squad to a second place finish in the 4x4 in an under 3:20 clocking. Abington's relay had set the 4x400m state record earlier that winter. Outdoors Gilmore, didn't race the clock, he raced his foes and he amassed some impressive wins (and also some impressive records) in route to a gold medal in the 400m at Outdoor States (and a runner up finish in the 200m on a questionable disqualification call).

Drew Magaha, Upper Moreland- Drew Magaha took the track world by storm, after what some might call a disappointing winter, Magaha torched the track in the Spring of 2011, earning him the nickname Megaha. Ok, maybe that was just a type-o. But Magaha did amass meet records wherever he went outdoors, including league, district, and state records in the 1600m over consecutive weeks. His 4:07.32 with a 58 second close, smashed the state meet record and left people wondering what he could do the next season. Magaha came off this track season with high expectations for his first serious cross season. His work paid off as he won the hotly contested District One Championships easily in 15:16 and came up just short at states, finishing 6th. This indoor season has had some highlights as well, including a supposed 1:52 relay split and a Lehigh track record 1:54.2 800m.

Connor Manley, CB West- Connor Manley was a little known entity in 2010, but in 2011 he took the track world by storm as he led CB West's squad to high relay success. In the 4x800m indoors Manley anchored his squad to a stunning upset win over then state record holders and future national champs Abington and in the process reset the state record in the 4x800m. He also ran on the 4x400m team that medaled indoors. But CB West did not settle, outdoors their Penn Relays squad ran under 7:40 and Manley clocked his first 1:51 split. At districts, after running easily to victory in the 4x800m, Manley ran hard and helped push Cho to the District record as Manley ran a 1:51.50 (also under the old district record). At the Outdoor State Championships, Manley ran a huge anchor leg of about 1:51 flat to catch Will Taylor on the final straightaway and seal another big win in the 4x8.

Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham- Conner Quinn was just known as Sam Hibbs training partner when the cross country season started this past fall, but Quinn began turning heads with a big win at the Suburban One League Championships, a 3rd place finish at the District Championships and a huge PR, and then a stunning upset win at the State Championships for Cross Country as just a Junior.

Will Taylor, Abington- Will Taylor started the year as a relative unknown on an Abington squad with big names like Kyle Moran, Tevin Smith and Macey Watson, but when all was said and done Taylor may have been the story of the year. He moved up to the 800m and helped Abington set a then indoor state record in the 4x800m. He followed it up with a key leg on the Abington 4x400m that set the indoor state record. Then Taylor ran 3 solid races at the state championships (including a second place finish in the 400m to Gilmore and an anchor leg holding off Gilmore in the 4x400m) to help Abington win the team title. Outdoors Taylor was the key leg in Abington's big Penn Relays sub 7:40 clocking dropping a stunning PR of 1:53. He helped anchor Abington's relays at the state championship to a pair of second place finishes, both nearly wins.

Ned Willig, Great Valley- Ned Willig had a fairly disappointing finish to his indoor season when his team finished just 7th in the DMR at the state championships. But he did not get discouraged as he put together a fantastic outdoor season that included a 1:51.10 and 4:11.99 in the 800m and 1600m respectively. He took home 3rd at the outdoor state championships as a Junior and helped his sprint medley team become All-Americans (with a 1:51 split). In cross country Ned helped lead his young Great Valley squad to a second place finish at Districts, behind his own second place finish, and ran to a top 10 finish at the XC State Championships. Willig began his indoor season fast with a runner up finish to Cheserek a 1:55 800m and then an armory win that earned him a trip to the Millrose games. Then, the number 1:51 proved to be significant one more time for Willig, who astounded with a 1:51.25 #8 AT 800m for the indoor state record. The third time the record has been broken in the past 4 years.

Dustin Wilson, Chesnut Hill Academy- Dustin Wilson started the year with a bold decision to forgo the mile and 3000m at the state championship indoors and opt for the DMR instead. Unfortunately, his sacrifice did not pay off right away as the team just missed a state medal. However, at nationals Wilson clocked an impressive 4:14 anchor split to bring the team the title from the slow section. Then, in another slow section win, he earned All-American honors in the 2 mile, running 9:12. Wilson had a relatively quiet outdoors before going on a tear at season's end that included a 9:02, 15:01 and 4:12ish clocking in the DMR that ran a very quick time under 10:20. His All-American status was fulfilled for a third straight season when he finished 13th at Footlocker Nationals in the fall and earned the Gatorade XC runner of the year for Pennsylvania.

Feel free to vote on this category now if you want, or you can wait til I have posted every category. Just comment on the post or message me on facebook or something to vote.

Have a great day everyone.