Now this is what I wanted to see out of TSTCAs. Great races across the board. First off Will Baily came into this year as a guy who I liked as an 800m state medalist and he ran a nice 1:57 open. He has a few 1:53 splits to boast from last year and Penn Hills can definitely put together a nice DMR or 4x8 they have some solid pieces. Squirees ran a solid mile. Nothing amazing but I'd imagine that is over distance for him. Nice race for Replogle in the 800 too for under distance.
Not sure why exactly like 20 people were DQd in the 8? I know guys like Tonzo, Smathers, Culley and Bojarski would have been interesting to see have finishing times in the 8 and see how their speed is looking.
In the mile Jaskowak continues to impress as he surprised me all XC season and it has carried over to two impressive mile wins. Nice bounce back for Alex Moran. Very exciting to see him mix back into a top 5 conversation. And heck Jaskowak could finish in the top 3 or so at states in the mile the way he has been running I think only Willig can feel comfortable about beating him. I would really like to see Jaskowak in the 3k. He could be a state title contender in the 3k perhaps depending on how Dustin choses to strategize.
And now the 3k field stretchs on, Shearn a big 8:54 clocking and it will be nice to see this guy mix it up at states. Not sure if he is quite at a level to run the 8:40low, 8:30mid kind of time it will take to run to a state title, but he will gain valuable experience and probably run a nice time at states to help him the long run. He is only a junior. Kuchta relatively unsurprising kind of time considering, but still very nice to see him run fast yet again and lock up a spot at states. He's been consistent and he has run as fast as 9:16 in the 3200m. That kind of time can give you confidence at the state championship.
Steiner, Martin, Wakeley and Mountain looked solid, nothing exceptional but at least they are down around the state time which means they are one hurdle away from being there if they have their race at the right time. I'd say Steiner is most likely to hit the time out of the group and Wakeley. right behind him. Considering Steiner has hit it last year, had the best XC season out of the group and has been dropping a lot of time as of late, he seems like a logical choice to excel at TSTCA Championships.
And of course the DMRs were quick, only NA hits the SQS, but the other teams definitely can get in if they put it together at the right time. I'm not sure how exactly the meet is ordered, but either way this is a very nice double for Steiner and Kuchta. If the DMR is first, Steiner should definitely make states in the near future, if the 3k is first than both Baldwin and Altoona should be hitting the SQS in the near future. The DMR at states is going to be really awesome, I can't wait honestly. Interesting to see Bobby Bishop's name back on the Baldwin relays.
The Slippery Rock results aren't in yet, but I saw Westwood and Fox run nice miles in a better poor field. Also, it looked like Westwood ran with stitches in his leg.
ReplyDeleteJaskowak also ran at the Youngstown State Invite on Sun. Ran a 52.1ish 400 and won the 800. Kid looks really good.
ReplyDeleteAre the TSTCA meets on a 200m track, banked track, or 300m track? Also, are spikes allowed?
ReplyDeleteTSTCA's meets are at Edinboro this year which is 236.x meters. You are allowed to wear spikes. As far the the TSTCA 3k goes: Wakeley really had a strong race- he did alot of work (he was 2nd to shearn(right on him) for a pretty long time and led the next group (Steiner, kuctha, etc) until roughly 400 left. He could really lay down some good time later if he gets in the right race. Maybe not quite on the level of Kuchta on the track, but should be right there. I see a real fast 3k next week- maybe 3 NEW qualifiers (Steiner, Martin, Wakeley)
ReplyDeleteI take it Mountain has been injured because he has not ran at any of the meets altoona has been to until this one. Look for him to drop a lot of time considering this was his first real race for indoor.
ReplyDeleteyea he had a hip injury
ReplyDeleteyeah i figured.... definately watch out for dylan mountain to run a time nice enough to get into states and then more than likely mixing it up for a medal.
ReplyDelete