Weekend Update

So folks I, as always, have some stuff to say about the events of this weekend that didn't occur on Muhlenberg College's track, and there were plenty of interesting things on my radar from this past 10-12 weekend.

Let's start, as would only make sense, on the scene at the Armory for the Millrose games. Well folks on a big stage with great competition we saw what Strath Haven can put together with 4 fresh legs in the 4x8. It wasn't much faster than Penncrest, but it was faster, a 7:54.31 1st place finish. I missed the race unfortunately, so I don't know splits or how things played out, but from the looks of the result sheet, just like Penncrest they had good competition throughout. This time does not, however, make me believe a doubling Haven is better than a fresh Penncrest. This does say to me that a doubling Haven is better than a doubling Penncrest. We will see how things go come states.

And of course it hurts me to say that Ned did not perform out of this world at Millrose and did not even scare any state records in the process. He never really looked comfortable out there, tripping early in the race and not really knowing which pack to stay in. I know he could have definitely ran what Zavon did, but he wasn't close by the time it mattered. I don't know the full story (sickness, nerves whatever), but I do know that no matter what happened, the rest of the field in the mile got excited. This guy isn't invincible, and I see it as much more likely that he will be upset at states now, than I did yesterday.

Now we move back a night to the show at Lehigh on Friday at the last chance meet. First off two nice relay performances from GFS and DT West to punch another ticket to states. DT West is a big sleeper in the relays this year, they were the surprise here, not GFS who has gotten a huge boost in support after the recent runs by Aziz and Wistar. Still going to need a faster time than that to compete for top 3 or so at states, but a great start for GFS. In the mile I was really happy to see a performance like that from Hibbs. Pretty fast time for that track and beat Brett Kelly in the process. Should boost Hibbs' confidence and hopefully help him drop a faster 3k at the state meet. Nice run by Metzler to get in to states as well. His name hasn't popped up for a while, but he's no slouch. Nice run by Logue again and also good to see Rivera's name under 2. He's rounding into shape at the right time to make noise at states. Great runs by Emery and MacCauley (and Kelly on the double is impressive as well). I don't expect MacCauley to run this at states, but it is a good sign that he is in great shape and will be a top anchor in the DMR. No Trimble in the results for a while now. Hope all is well health wise for him. As for Emery, it's a tough near miss on states time, but he's got the DMR anyway so the 3k would most likely not be on his agenda. All the same, a top 8 or so time in the state is impressive and adds to the power of his relay come states.

The next day at the Carnival .... First off brief hurdle shout out, nice run by Willet. He could surprise at states if Williams is off his game. I doubt it, but in that short of a hurdle race, you never know what will happen. TJ Elliot was also straight killing it at Lehigh. A couple very nice times. Niager Mathis looked good too. Nice piece for the Swenson relays. Todaro and Rotz qualify in the mile. Solid, nothing great, nothing unexpected. Nissley a little disappointing, but most likely he was running the 3k fresh at states regardless. Not a good sign that he is going to drop a lot from 8:58 however. Nice run by Stiles in the 4. Not sure what happened to Shisler? If he didn't fall this is a tough blow to his confidence. He goes from being one of the state favorites to trying to hang on for a medal. Shows how fast PSU's track is. Holder pulled it out in the 800m, rounding into top shape at this point which is a great sign for those of you who picked him in the late rounds of your fantasy drafts. I stand by my pick for him as a major sleeper at states this year. Not a super fast time, but he did beat one of the best 600m runners in the nation in Haneef Hardy. How about the run by Ryan Dickson? I've been waiting for this since May as he finally rounds back into sub 2 shape. This guy will be a deep sleeper for the medals at states as well. CB South as a bit of a history with guys stepping up. Not sure what happened to Kunzweiler. Bit of a let down, but a lot of hype is falling on his shoulders after one great XC race. The rest of his season wasn't the same as his 14th finish. Hopefully he bounces back in the coming weeks. Nice run for Ferruzzi in the 3k. No competition however. So no states 3k for him, good shot at the mile next weekend. Lastly, no Futch in the opens? I know he split super fast, but I still worry about him undertaking a busy schedule at states if he hasn't been racing much of late. If they ran 3:26.86 without him, however, that would be very impressive, so I assume he at least ran that relay.

And finally we journey back to Lehigh one more time for the PCL championships. Nice run by Hamilton in the 200. Not what Elliot and Mathis did but definitely has his name in the state champion conversation. He won his race by over a second and set the meet record. Good run by Jack Magee to take home a SQS (on the double from the mile by the way) and give LaSalle 3 guys under the mark. That DMR looks record setting if they keep the group fresh. Coyle and Stone in the mile doing what they've done all year, run fast and finish 1st and 2nd. Both guys are really ready to move fast. Coyle's 4:21 on Lehigh's track makes him the favorite for 2nd if he opts for the open mile in my mind. And if Ned doesn't have his day again, there is no reason to think Coyle can't win. I stand by my opinion that Stone's best shot to make noise is the 800. If he runs the mile, I can't guarentee he will get a medal with the way the field has been shaping up of late. And oh yeah Coyle on the double in 8:55 on a flat track? Very impressive effort as he and Dan Savage (who also ran a great time of 8:56) are forming quite the rivalry with Coyle winning all but their states battle recently (the one that matters the most ironically). Great sign for Savage who punches his ticket to states and has a legit chance at medaling/top 5 (especially if the field only has 8 runners or so). I feel real bad for the Landsdale Catholic bloke. 9:00.27. Missed it by .04 in the 3k, the toughest event there is. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the meet doesn't get enough entries to fill the field and this guy gets in. Great run to emerge onto the scene for Ryan DeBarberie.