I wish I knew more about the other guys in the field, but quite frankly I don't. It's a bit of a let down, but I guess we will deal. My bet for the PA guys is:
Wilson 8:28
Shearn 8:39
Hibbs 8:41
Just rough guesses, but I'll take a shot and each and see if I hit at all. I think Wilson is definitely in great shape and he ran 8:30 as a soph, Shearn is in good shape as well, but it will be hard for him to find better racing competition than he did in California, and Hibbs has something to prove after his defeat the PTFCA meet, but he hasn't had any races that indicate to me he has the ability to run that kind of race at Penn. The goal for these guys is states (in Wilson's case nats), and that's still a ways away. So if they aren't impressive, don't be surprised. If they are impressive, get excited.
DMR Preview
So I decided to make a new post for the DMR stuff because the 4x800m one (see below) was kind of long.
Let's get down to business.
The story of this race will be out front with CBA the XC national champions against Ed Cheserek and St. Benedict's. That race will be fun to watch for sure.
But I'm a PA guy, so the race I'm looking forward to, is the race between these 4 teams: North Penn, LaSalle, Great Valley, and O'Hara.
I think LaSalle will take this one. They have run very well at the DMR all season they are honestly built perfectly for it. They have the right piece to fill every slot. Coyle can run 4:15s, Stone can definitely hand off close to lead if the field isn't insanely stacked at 1200 (which it usually is not), and the middle legs can keep it close. I think Magee could have a big race this weekend. We finally get to see what this DMR could have done after an indoor season where the magic was lost as the team had to double back in the 4x8 after great individual efforts. I see them running around 10:10-10:15 and that should be good enough to out do the other teams.
Next I'm going with the indoor state champs. This was a tough pick because it is clear North Penn is ready to roll after their most recent race at the association meet where they were bested by a great effort from Strath Haven. However, I think Great Valley has some solid momentum now with Willig back and confident and with something to prove after all the Magaha talk. Chasing down at Penn, there is a chance Willig could hit 4:10 in a split. Andrews ran 4:05ish here and Forys ran 4:04 so it is not unheard of for an anchor to go bananas here at Franklin Field. I'd be interested to see how they plan out the rest of the legs. Young Willig hasn't quite proven he has the 800m chops to be the leg they need, so they may try him at 12 and Wolffe at 800 which isn't a bad idea. Heck, I don't know how deep they are at 400m, but they could even try McCary in the 8 and Wolffe in the 12. Probably won't get fancy though. I wouldn't even mind seeing Willig in the 12. Through 2 legs the team would be in the lead and they would just try to hang on for a top 3-5 finish. It could work. Ultimately I see these guys around 10:15-10:20 with Ned getting the job done to pass North Penn at the end.
Nothing against North Penn, but I'm not quite sure how they pulled off the DMR that they did the other weekend. Trimble hasn't quite looked like the Trimble from a year ago, and Macauley hasn't posted anything jaw dropping of late. In fact, their open times have been few and far between. But we know they have the potential to run under 10:20 because unlike these other teams, they have proven it. There is potential here for them to really surprise and be the CB South of 2012, but I am not jumping on board. I think they will be right around where they were a couple weeks back. I think that might have been as fast as they could get. But hey, XC states should tell you something.
Speaking of XC states, right behind North Penn I have O'Hara. See my point above about, I think a couple weeks ago may have been as fast as they can go. I don't see Savage dropping a 4:15ish split and I don't think Billotta can get much faster. Their middle legs also had great days. Maybe Hamilton can go a tiny bit quicker in the right situation. But that being said, I think these guys got pulled to a great time last race, and that they aren't going to be pulled anymore this weekend like LaSalle and Great Valley will be. I've underestimated Savage and Billotta before, like at XC states (I'm noticing a trend), so they can definitely prove me wrong, but these guys are cross runners in my mind, and that means we probably won't see anything faster than 10:20.
Let's get down to business.
The story of this race will be out front with CBA the XC national champions against Ed Cheserek and St. Benedict's. That race will be fun to watch for sure.
But I'm a PA guy, so the race I'm looking forward to, is the race between these 4 teams: North Penn, LaSalle, Great Valley, and O'Hara.
I think LaSalle will take this one. They have run very well at the DMR all season they are honestly built perfectly for it. They have the right piece to fill every slot. Coyle can run 4:15s, Stone can definitely hand off close to lead if the field isn't insanely stacked at 1200 (which it usually is not), and the middle legs can keep it close. I think Magee could have a big race this weekend. We finally get to see what this DMR could have done after an indoor season where the magic was lost as the team had to double back in the 4x8 after great individual efforts. I see them running around 10:10-10:15 and that should be good enough to out do the other teams.
Next I'm going with the indoor state champs. This was a tough pick because it is clear North Penn is ready to roll after their most recent race at the association meet where they were bested by a great effort from Strath Haven. However, I think Great Valley has some solid momentum now with Willig back and confident and with something to prove after all the Magaha talk. Chasing down at Penn, there is a chance Willig could hit 4:10 in a split. Andrews ran 4:05ish here and Forys ran 4:04 so it is not unheard of for an anchor to go bananas here at Franklin Field. I'd be interested to see how they plan out the rest of the legs. Young Willig hasn't quite proven he has the 800m chops to be the leg they need, so they may try him at 12 and Wolffe at 800 which isn't a bad idea. Heck, I don't know how deep they are at 400m, but they could even try McCary in the 8 and Wolffe in the 12. Probably won't get fancy though. I wouldn't even mind seeing Willig in the 12. Through 2 legs the team would be in the lead and they would just try to hang on for a top 3-5 finish. It could work. Ultimately I see these guys around 10:15-10:20 with Ned getting the job done to pass North Penn at the end.
Nothing against North Penn, but I'm not quite sure how they pulled off the DMR that they did the other weekend. Trimble hasn't quite looked like the Trimble from a year ago, and Macauley hasn't posted anything jaw dropping of late. In fact, their open times have been few and far between. But we know they have the potential to run under 10:20 because unlike these other teams, they have proven it. There is potential here for them to really surprise and be the CB South of 2012, but I am not jumping on board. I think they will be right around where they were a couple weeks back. I think that might have been as fast as they could get. But hey, XC states should tell you something.
Speaking of XC states, right behind North Penn I have O'Hara. See my point above about, I think a couple weeks ago may have been as fast as they can go. I don't see Savage dropping a 4:15ish split and I don't think Billotta can get much faster. Their middle legs also had great days. Maybe Hamilton can go a tiny bit quicker in the right situation. But that being said, I think these guys got pulled to a great time last race, and that they aren't going to be pulled anymore this weekend like LaSalle and Great Valley will be. I've underestimated Savage and Billotta before, like at XC states (I'm noticing a trend), so they can definitely prove me wrong, but these guys are cross runners in my mind, and that means we probably won't see anything faster than 10:20.
Penn Relays Predictions- Relays
Slightly out of order here, I'm hoping to do the 3k today as well but as of right now I want to get these relays done because I feel they are more important points. Ironically, right now the girls 4x800m Prelims are about to go off, and the guys 4x8s are exactly 24 hours away.
It will be interesting to see which teams can pull their way through to the Championship of America in the 4x800m. In 2010, we watched Penn Hills, LaSalle, Henderson, and Abington find a way in. In 2011, CB West, LaSalle, Abington, and Wissahickon were all participating. I may have missed a team here or there, but the numbers show, as of late PA has been represented well in the finals at this event, and I think the trend will continue. So I expect 4 teams from PA to qualify for the COA in the 4x800m.
But who?
Well my first choice is the obvious one: Pennridge. They are the defending indoor state champions, have an All-American squad indoors, and if not for a couple of teams in 2011 would be indoor state record holders. Outdoors Kohler has shown all the signs of being ready to step up and become a stud. If the other 3 can just split around what they did indoors they should soar through to the finals in low 7:50s, high 7:40s. That's a good sign to have proof like that. I am a little nervous that I haven't seen many fast times outside of Kohler so far outdoors while so many other squads on paper seem to be dropping time, but the fact of the matter is they don't have the stats on paper, they have the stats on reality. So I put them through, and expect them to be the top PA team in the prelims.
My second choice may surprise you but I'm going DT West in this one. I was on the bandwagon indoors for this team to be a sleeper pick, but I think we are passed the point of calling this team a sleeper. These guys had a 1:54, 1:56, and 1:57 leg in the OPEN 800m last weekend. Not many teams can say that (in fact I'd wager a guess that almost no other team in PA can say that for two legs thus far outdoors, certainly not three). And their 4th leg is either going to be Quinn Devlin, who has run 1:57 before and just ran 4:27 recently to bolster his credentials as being back in shape, or a 2:01 guy indoors who hopefully can raise to the occasion at Penn and dip under 2 minutes. On paper this squad is a 7:40s team waiting to happen. They have to put it together for a relay admittedly, but I see this happening tomorrow at Penn. I'm giving them low 7:50s and a trip to the COA.
My third choice was a tough one, but I have decided to go Chambersburg on this one. A 7:53 effort not too long ago shows this team is ready to roll. I like Holder, my indoor state champ pick in the 800m, and he should have people to run with this time which will only make the relay faster. They have two very solid legs, and although I usually prefer a bit more balance, this relay should still be strong. Again low 7:50s is a real possibility. They have to stay in it long enough on those 2 flatish legs to keep Rotz and Holder out of no mans land and in competition out front. I think they can do it, but that would be their downfall if it doesn't happen.
My fourth choice was fairly agonizing again. I went with Strath Haven on this one. They could easily be the top PA team. They have 4 fresh legs and Huemmler is coming off a 4:13 split while Seelaus has split 1:55 before. Those two legs alone with two 2 flat guys put you at 7:50. Huemmler is going to most likely have to do a bunch of chasing, and they will definitely need a fast split from Seelaus in the middle, if he is above 1:57 I don't see how they can quite get in the COA. Things are going to be very competitive around their spot and Huemmler may run out of room to catch the top group and qualify. However, he also has the potential to split 1:52s and land this team under 7:50. That's why I dropped them in here as my fourth team.
BUT I do think there are a few other teams I left out with realistic COA possibilities.
First off what about Penncrest? They were second indoors and they should still be strong. I stayed away from them because I haven't seen any outdoor results that make me excited to see this team go to Penn. Plenty of potential to surprise, but also way to much potential to underwhelm.
And how about CV? They have been under 8 minutes a bunch now this year and have a solid smattering of guys across the board. Their top 3 legs are all very solid with Kunzweiler, Coburn, the other guy whose name is escaping me right now who has broken 2 minutes in the open a couple times now are all very nice pieces. Kunzweiler definitely has the potential to break out at states. They would be my 5th team right now, just barely behind these other schools I listed above. Definitely don't count these guys out.
And how about Altoona? Didn't think Dylan Mountain had 1:55 speed, but apparently he does and that's a good sign considering Replogle should therefore have 1:56 ability or better. But I don't know much about the other Altoona legs. I'd have to bet this team will be mid to high 7:50s, but there is always potential if the lesser known legs drop some PRs to sneak their way into the COA.
GFS has a couple 4:19 guys and another guy right around 2 flat. They could crack 8 minutes for sure.
Lower Moreland would be a deep sleeper with their 2 guys under 2 in the open and Dan Alexander around 1:56.
Rivera is the guy to watch on Bensalem's squad. He has 1:53 ability and may be able to pull those guys to a big relay PR for the season. They ran 3:21 as a 4x4 so they have some great pieces.
CB West surprised me indoors in a big way down the stretch. If those guys can come back and do it again at Penn they will be under 8 minutes and that means they won't be far off COA most years.
Spring Ford has already run down around 8 flat more than once and Joe O'Such has been a powerful anchor leg for the relay. He has run 1:56 open in a winning effort so may be able to dip under 1:55 in a chasing posistion.
Henderson! Well how can you ever count these guys out. Well coached and competing hard year after year. Russell seems to be back in the line up and Chaborek is running very well. Maybe they will surprise here with a 7:50 mid run.
And lastly State College. I don't know who is on their relay at all if I'm being perfectly honest, but they have done what few teams on this list have: run under 8 minutes so far outdoors. Don't sleep too much on these guys because who knows if they are on the verge of breaking out in a big way at Penn.
It will be interesting to see which teams can pull their way through to the Championship of America in the 4x800m. In 2010, we watched Penn Hills, LaSalle, Henderson, and Abington find a way in. In 2011, CB West, LaSalle, Abington, and Wissahickon were all participating. I may have missed a team here or there, but the numbers show, as of late PA has been represented well in the finals at this event, and I think the trend will continue. So I expect 4 teams from PA to qualify for the COA in the 4x800m.
But who?
Well my first choice is the obvious one: Pennridge. They are the defending indoor state champions, have an All-American squad indoors, and if not for a couple of teams in 2011 would be indoor state record holders. Outdoors Kohler has shown all the signs of being ready to step up and become a stud. If the other 3 can just split around what they did indoors they should soar through to the finals in low 7:50s, high 7:40s. That's a good sign to have proof like that. I am a little nervous that I haven't seen many fast times outside of Kohler so far outdoors while so many other squads on paper seem to be dropping time, but the fact of the matter is they don't have the stats on paper, they have the stats on reality. So I put them through, and expect them to be the top PA team in the prelims.
My second choice may surprise you but I'm going DT West in this one. I was on the bandwagon indoors for this team to be a sleeper pick, but I think we are passed the point of calling this team a sleeper. These guys had a 1:54, 1:56, and 1:57 leg in the OPEN 800m last weekend. Not many teams can say that (in fact I'd wager a guess that almost no other team in PA can say that for two legs thus far outdoors, certainly not three). And their 4th leg is either going to be Quinn Devlin, who has run 1:57 before and just ran 4:27 recently to bolster his credentials as being back in shape, or a 2:01 guy indoors who hopefully can raise to the occasion at Penn and dip under 2 minutes. On paper this squad is a 7:40s team waiting to happen. They have to put it together for a relay admittedly, but I see this happening tomorrow at Penn. I'm giving them low 7:50s and a trip to the COA.
My third choice was a tough one, but I have decided to go Chambersburg on this one. A 7:53 effort not too long ago shows this team is ready to roll. I like Holder, my indoor state champ pick in the 800m, and he should have people to run with this time which will only make the relay faster. They have two very solid legs, and although I usually prefer a bit more balance, this relay should still be strong. Again low 7:50s is a real possibility. They have to stay in it long enough on those 2 flatish legs to keep Rotz and Holder out of no mans land and in competition out front. I think they can do it, but that would be their downfall if it doesn't happen.
My fourth choice was fairly agonizing again. I went with Strath Haven on this one. They could easily be the top PA team. They have 4 fresh legs and Huemmler is coming off a 4:13 split while Seelaus has split 1:55 before. Those two legs alone with two 2 flat guys put you at 7:50. Huemmler is going to most likely have to do a bunch of chasing, and they will definitely need a fast split from Seelaus in the middle, if he is above 1:57 I don't see how they can quite get in the COA. Things are going to be very competitive around their spot and Huemmler may run out of room to catch the top group and qualify. However, he also has the potential to split 1:52s and land this team under 7:50. That's why I dropped them in here as my fourth team.
BUT I do think there are a few other teams I left out with realistic COA possibilities.
First off what about Penncrest? They were second indoors and they should still be strong. I stayed away from them because I haven't seen any outdoor results that make me excited to see this team go to Penn. Plenty of potential to surprise, but also way to much potential to underwhelm.
And how about CV? They have been under 8 minutes a bunch now this year and have a solid smattering of guys across the board. Their top 3 legs are all very solid with Kunzweiler, Coburn, the other guy whose name is escaping me right now who has broken 2 minutes in the open a couple times now are all very nice pieces. Kunzweiler definitely has the potential to break out at states. They would be my 5th team right now, just barely behind these other schools I listed above. Definitely don't count these guys out.
And how about Altoona? Didn't think Dylan Mountain had 1:55 speed, but apparently he does and that's a good sign considering Replogle should therefore have 1:56 ability or better. But I don't know much about the other Altoona legs. I'd have to bet this team will be mid to high 7:50s, but there is always potential if the lesser known legs drop some PRs to sneak their way into the COA.
GFS has a couple 4:19 guys and another guy right around 2 flat. They could crack 8 minutes for sure.
Lower Moreland would be a deep sleeper with their 2 guys under 2 in the open and Dan Alexander around 1:56.
Rivera is the guy to watch on Bensalem's squad. He has 1:53 ability and may be able to pull those guys to a big relay PR for the season. They ran 3:21 as a 4x4 so they have some great pieces.
CB West surprised me indoors in a big way down the stretch. If those guys can come back and do it again at Penn they will be under 8 minutes and that means they won't be far off COA most years.
Spring Ford has already run down around 8 flat more than once and Joe O'Such has been a powerful anchor leg for the relay. He has run 1:56 open in a winning effort so may be able to dip under 1:55 in a chasing posistion.
Henderson! Well how can you ever count these guys out. Well coached and competing hard year after year. Russell seems to be back in the line up and Chaborek is running very well. Maybe they will surprise here with a 7:50 mid run.
And lastly State College. I don't know who is on their relay at all if I'm being perfectly honest, but they have done what few teams on this list have: run under 8 minutes so far outdoors. Don't sleep too much on these guys because who knows if they are on the verge of breaking out in a big way at Penn.
Penn Predictions- Individuals
Friday Night 6:05 Boys Mile
Obviously the PA headline here is Magaha off that 1:48.82. Lots of speculation coming in about just how fast he can go. These kind of races due to tend to turn tactical, but then again my Senior year at Penn I watched Pat Schellburg just take off against a field full of kickers and run away from everyone to the Penn Relays record. Magaha will get the headlines and get the talk, but don't forget about Jack Huemmler. He will be at least fairly recovered from the 4x800m in the AM and he has 4:13 split under his belt already (faster than Magaha ran last year at this point in the season I believe) which makes him potentially a 4:14y guy at this race if it plays out to his strengths. But he has to be able to double well and maybe even get lucky in the 4x8 that his team can qualify fairly easily or something like that. But just remember Huemmler is in the race as well.
In terms of the overall race, Watkins and Malone are definitely my favorites and I think Malone is going to pull this one out. Magaha, of course, has all the momentum and more than enough potential to win. Jacob Burcham also is name worth mentioning because he has 4:07 ability as well (I think for a full mile even), but I know that Malone and Watkins have filthy finishing speed and I don't anticipate this race being much more than a kickers race. I think Watkins is a little too 800 based, but Malone has got XC street cred as well which is why I see him pulling off the win. He did what no one had ever done in history indoors, breaking 1:50 as a Junior. Magaha has yet to be in race this indoor or outdoor season where he has felt 63s for 1200m and I think that may be his downfall. Obviously if the pace is really slow, Magaha's pure speed has to be the best, and his kick is lights out. If he feels good and is still in the mix at 200 to go he can win, but there is also the potential for him to fall way out of it and then find a kick when it is too late. That's what makes this race fun to watch I suppose.
Obviously the PA headline here is Magaha off that 1:48.82. Lots of speculation coming in about just how fast he can go. These kind of races due to tend to turn tactical, but then again my Senior year at Penn I watched Pat Schellburg just take off against a field full of kickers and run away from everyone to the Penn Relays record. Magaha will get the headlines and get the talk, but don't forget about Jack Huemmler. He will be at least fairly recovered from the 4x800m in the AM and he has 4:13 split under his belt already (faster than Magaha ran last year at this point in the season I believe) which makes him potentially a 4:14y guy at this race if it plays out to his strengths. But he has to be able to double well and maybe even get lucky in the 4x8 that his team can qualify fairly easily or something like that. But just remember Huemmler is in the race as well.
In terms of the overall race, Watkins and Malone are definitely my favorites and I think Malone is going to pull this one out. Magaha, of course, has all the momentum and more than enough potential to win. Jacob Burcham also is name worth mentioning because he has 4:07 ability as well (I think for a full mile even), but I know that Malone and Watkins have filthy finishing speed and I don't anticipate this race being much more than a kickers race. I think Watkins is a little too 800 based, but Malone has got XC street cred as well which is why I see him pulling off the win. He did what no one had ever done in history indoors, breaking 1:50 as a Junior. Magaha has yet to be in race this indoor or outdoor season where he has felt 63s for 1200m and I think that may be his downfall. Obviously if the pace is really slow, Magaha's pure speed has to be the best, and his kick is lights out. If he feels good and is still in the mix at 200 to go he can win, but there is also the potential for him to fall way out of it and then find a kick when it is too late. That's what makes this race fun to watch I suppose.
Ned v. Magaha, this again
Well for the start of indoors it was a nice little anything you can do I can do better Gatorade commercial as I commented previously on this blog between the MJ and Mia Hamm of track and field, Ned Willig and Drew Magaha (I'll let you decide who is who).
As we hit spring the story is surprisingly similar. Ned, who has hit 1:51 more times in the last year than most people dream of, boasts yet another 1:51 800m in his first race back from his shoulder injury. Its a good sign that shouldn't go over looked. It is the first piece that Ned has put into place to say something along the lines of, "Remember when everyone was like, Magaha just had mono and now he is a boss .... well now I am about to do the same thing off this shoulder injury. Watch out." In his first 800m back he did run a 1:51.7 ... maybe just a coincidence but if he jumps off like Magaha he will run 1:48 next week.
For his first 800 of his 1200m leg at Penn, as he goes on to finish in 2:43.
But in all seriousness, I doubt Ned or Drew is really that concerned about one upping the other. And considering I've met both fellas before, I doubt Ned would ever say the quote I just put above. He's a nice soft spoken guy.
But I am concerned about who will one up the other as the weeks go on as the two super stars of PA track and field get set to (hopefully) finally face off in head to head competition at Districts and States. Amazingly, both may be better at 800m right now than 1600m. Never thought I'd say it, but right now it feels like its true.
Drew's biggest glaring weakness right now is that lack of proof that he has the mile strength to get the job done at Penn. That field is stacked full of kickers, good sign for somebody like Drew who is more of a kicker than a karate black belt, but it doesn't mean those guys can't kick off 4:12ish pace. Drew has yet to run fast in the mile since last May when he ran 4:07. I'm not saying he can't, I'm just saying that's the weakness he has right now. The mile is a different animal than the 8, it requires much more focus. Take it from a guy who had a lot of mental blocks at that event until this past weekend when I ran my first big PR ever at that race.
Ned hasn't exactly blown our minds in the mile. He had a near national record in the 1k before the DQ, set the state record in the 800m and ran 1:51 twice indoors after a gutsy nationals performance where he made the race for Zavon and Malone (the two big headliners against Magaha at Penn ironically) and ran a couple of 3 flat 1200 legs. But his mile time of 4:15 was pretty unsurprising given his ability at the other distances and he didn't really make any big pushes for the record. Fluke race at Millrose probably cost him his only chance.
So needless to say there apparent weaknesses for both guys in the mile. BUT both guys can easily fix that.
Drew has the big knockout punch right now with that 1:48 and he has all the momentum going into Penn. But Ned has the advantage of consistency. Check out this stat for ya. Off the top of my head these are all the 1:51-1:52 800s Ned has ran in the past year or so:
Henderson Distance Festival '11
SMR Nationals Split '11
Open 800m at Nationals Outdoors '11
Indoor Association Meet Split '12
Yale Track Classic '12
Closing the 1k at the Armory (not exact here, but pretty darn close) '12
Indoor Nationals '12
Great Valley Relays '12
7-8 1:51 or 1:52 performances in the past year (that I know of anyway). I'm not sure even Tom Mallon can boast numbers like that, and he was state record holder at 800m until a couple nights ago.
Ultimately, things will be decided at Penn. I'd like to think both gents will run the "mile" (Ned's will be a 16 technically), and we will have a nice little comparison point. Ned, however, may run the 1200 which would be nice (especially if he broke 3 minutes) but not quite the comparison that we all want to see.
If Ned runs under 2:58 or under 4:12 we got a race on our hands for outdoors. If Magaha runs 4:07y then I'm not sure Ned has any sort of shot on him. Everything else in the middle ... eh, talk to me if that happens and I'll decide what it means.
Thanks sports fans.
As we hit spring the story is surprisingly similar. Ned, who has hit 1:51 more times in the last year than most people dream of, boasts yet another 1:51 800m in his first race back from his shoulder injury. Its a good sign that shouldn't go over looked. It is the first piece that Ned has put into place to say something along the lines of, "Remember when everyone was like, Magaha just had mono and now he is a boss .... well now I am about to do the same thing off this shoulder injury. Watch out." In his first 800m back he did run a 1:51.7 ... maybe just a coincidence but if he jumps off like Magaha he will run 1:48 next week.
For his first 800 of his 1200m leg at Penn, as he goes on to finish in 2:43.
But in all seriousness, I doubt Ned or Drew is really that concerned about one upping the other. And considering I've met both fellas before, I doubt Ned would ever say the quote I just put above. He's a nice soft spoken guy.
But I am concerned about who will one up the other as the weeks go on as the two super stars of PA track and field get set to (hopefully) finally face off in head to head competition at Districts and States. Amazingly, both may be better at 800m right now than 1600m. Never thought I'd say it, but right now it feels like its true.
Drew's biggest glaring weakness right now is that lack of proof that he has the mile strength to get the job done at Penn. That field is stacked full of kickers, good sign for somebody like Drew who is more of a kicker than a karate black belt, but it doesn't mean those guys can't kick off 4:12ish pace. Drew has yet to run fast in the mile since last May when he ran 4:07. I'm not saying he can't, I'm just saying that's the weakness he has right now. The mile is a different animal than the 8, it requires much more focus. Take it from a guy who had a lot of mental blocks at that event until this past weekend when I ran my first big PR ever at that race.
Ned hasn't exactly blown our minds in the mile. He had a near national record in the 1k before the DQ, set the state record in the 800m and ran 1:51 twice indoors after a gutsy nationals performance where he made the race for Zavon and Malone (the two big headliners against Magaha at Penn ironically) and ran a couple of 3 flat 1200 legs. But his mile time of 4:15 was pretty unsurprising given his ability at the other distances and he didn't really make any big pushes for the record. Fluke race at Millrose probably cost him his only chance.
So needless to say there apparent weaknesses for both guys in the mile. BUT both guys can easily fix that.
Drew has the big knockout punch right now with that 1:48 and he has all the momentum going into Penn. But Ned has the advantage of consistency. Check out this stat for ya. Off the top of my head these are all the 1:51-1:52 800s Ned has ran in the past year or so:
Henderson Distance Festival '11
SMR Nationals Split '11
Open 800m at Nationals Outdoors '11
Indoor Association Meet Split '12
Yale Track Classic '12
Closing the 1k at the Armory (not exact here, but pretty darn close) '12
Indoor Nationals '12
Great Valley Relays '12
7-8 1:51 or 1:52 performances in the past year (that I know of anyway). I'm not sure even Tom Mallon can boast numbers like that, and he was state record holder at 800m until a couple nights ago.
Ultimately, things will be decided at Penn. I'd like to think both gents will run the "mile" (Ned's will be a 16 technically), and we will have a nice little comparison point. Ned, however, may run the 1200 which would be nice (especially if he broke 3 minutes) but not quite the comparison that we all want to see.
If Ned runs under 2:58 or under 4:12 we got a race on our hands for outdoors. If Magaha runs 4:07y then I'm not sure Ned has any sort of shot on him. Everything else in the middle ... eh, talk to me if that happens and I'll decide what it means.
Thanks sports fans.
Weekend Action
First thing is first here folks. Drew Magaha. Amazing. An animal. My roommate has mono right now and to think than in a month he could times that he never before dreamed of is beyond me. Magaha looks unbeatable right now seeing as it is only April and he already has broken a legendary state record in the 800m from Tom Mallon and my former coach Paul Vandegrift. Obviously Willig came back this weekend as well and that's a good sign. He could have easily split like a 1:51. But no one will care. Its all about Magaha right now, and quite frankly it should be. To cruise to this kind of time with this limited of training tells met that the sky is the limit for Drew. He may pass on the mile at states to win the 8 if he doesn't feel like he is in good enough shape to do the double. He still hasn't thrown down anything since his 4:07 that makes me at all impressed about his mile credentials. But if the 800 time is any indication, I can't imagine Ned having any sort of shot of being him at states. Ned's awesome. You ask me at the end of indoors, I would have said Drew has a long way to go to just get close to Ned. But he has already covered that distance and more, while Ned has not advanced his cause. Wow is all I have to say. This blew my mind. Major props to Drew.
Needless to say I have to update my list now.
But that's enough about that, on to the rest of the performances that people should also pay a lot of attention to. Plenty of other great performances this past weekend, and I'm not talking about Josh Elkan's 54 4x4 split because none of you know who that is but that was pretty darn impressive in it's own right.
At the Abington invite, it was a nice bounce back race for Brad Rivera who also helped Bensalem rocket a 3:21 4x4 and an 8:05 4x8. Very nice looking triple for the guy. A let down for Haneef Hardy who managed only a 1:56, but still has time to turn things around.
Its getting to be Penn Relays time and although Bensalem made a nice push to be kept in the back of everyone's mind at Penn, you should also remember the boys from Downingtown West. Alex Jenkins explodes for a 1:54.84 (second to a nice time for Steve Yannocane who ran just lower in the 1:54s and is obviously doing very well for himself, but won't get any more of a mention here because I'm talking about DT West, but I definitely think he should run the mile soon because he'd be fast), and Leidal drops a 1:56 in pursuit. Meanwhile Chris Graham also finds a big PR and runs 1:57. Down the results a ways you can see Quinn Devlin inching closer to ready to go mode with that 4:27 and Ryan Markle, their not yet mentioned 4th leg from indoors, ran about 3 seconds under his seed time in the 16, so he is also making solid improvements.
Never heard of Garton from Perk Valley but a very nice run for him at 1:57.0, that's under the SQS. Nice run for the GFS boys who are running very solid right now in the 16. Also good to see Tony Russell back. He and Chaborek should go nicely with those two 2:01ish guys in the open 8 and maybe scare 8 minutes in the 4x8 at Penn.
Great Valley 7:53. Fast for sure. Splits? And order at Penn? Then we can talk specifics. Haven nice SMR. 4x8 should be interesting at Penn.
Hey, have you heard of this kid Dan Jaskowak? Another big win at 800m! 1:56.99 to beat out Ryan Smathers. Both runners also dueled in the 1600m earlier pushing Jaskowak to a 4:17. Both look very strong, but Jaskowak continues to run superior than everyone else he has competed against and is looking like a real state contender at any of the distance races he chooses to focus on.
Nice day for CV in the open 8 with Kunzweiler and Soliman delivering nice times. Holder obviously still a force. Coburn a pretty solid 1600. All those races must have come on the double from the 4x8 as well which makes them more impressive.Strynkowski back to killing it with that runner up finish, looking poised to break out in the near future. Replogle and Moutain continue to run studly, but this is nothing we haven't seen from them the last few weeks. Bigger race for Strynkowski in my mind. Great 4x8s for both squads out front. Chambersburg will be in the mid 7:40s at states and so too should Cumberland Valley. I want to watch Holder and Kunzweiler drop a sick split side by side sometime soon. Maybe districts. Both could definitely hit 1:53s. Nice win for Todaro over Mountain (who had a nice double after being beaten in that 32).
Big kicker win for Baily over Moran and Culley (nice race, XC potential starting to come out perhaps). Moran still kind of streaky with his wins and losses (admittedly did double with the 4x8 which influences things), but hopefully will round into form at the right time. Baily I don't think can run outrageously fast in the 16. He wins when it is slow and he can kick, but its tough to imagine him laying down a 4:15 anytime soon. May be wrong, but I think his future will be in the 800 where he can definitely run 1:53 in the open race at WPIALs.
Curt Jewett did the AA crew proud with a very solid 4:24-9:33 double gold. Aaron Valoroso and Luke Jones also ran great sub 9:40 performances. Combined with Tallada's 9:42 it was a very nice weekend for the AA boys in the 32. Josef Di also got the double win in the distance delight 16-32. Sorry Luke Munyan I think I just butchered your saying, but I tried.
Whose Jon Harper? Yeah I don't know either, but a nice 4:21 1600m for the win. And oh yeah, Tunkhannock is a big sleeper pick in the 4x8. Returning a 1:55ish guy and having 2 guys under 2 in the open and Ben Robinson at 4:21 already this year. They could surprise as things go on.
That's all I got for now. Live it up.
Needless to say I have to update my list now.
But that's enough about that, on to the rest of the performances that people should also pay a lot of attention to. Plenty of other great performances this past weekend, and I'm not talking about Josh Elkan's 54 4x4 split because none of you know who that is but that was pretty darn impressive in it's own right.
At the Abington invite, it was a nice bounce back race for Brad Rivera who also helped Bensalem rocket a 3:21 4x4 and an 8:05 4x8. Very nice looking triple for the guy. A let down for Haneef Hardy who managed only a 1:56, but still has time to turn things around.
Its getting to be Penn Relays time and although Bensalem made a nice push to be kept in the back of everyone's mind at Penn, you should also remember the boys from Downingtown West. Alex Jenkins explodes for a 1:54.84 (second to a nice time for Steve Yannocane who ran just lower in the 1:54s and is obviously doing very well for himself, but won't get any more of a mention here because I'm talking about DT West, but I definitely think he should run the mile soon because he'd be fast), and Leidal drops a 1:56 in pursuit. Meanwhile Chris Graham also finds a big PR and runs 1:57. Down the results a ways you can see Quinn Devlin inching closer to ready to go mode with that 4:27 and Ryan Markle, their not yet mentioned 4th leg from indoors, ran about 3 seconds under his seed time in the 16, so he is also making solid improvements.
Never heard of Garton from Perk Valley but a very nice run for him at 1:57.0, that's under the SQS. Nice run for the GFS boys who are running very solid right now in the 16. Also good to see Tony Russell back. He and Chaborek should go nicely with those two 2:01ish guys in the open 8 and maybe scare 8 minutes in the 4x8 at Penn.
Great Valley 7:53. Fast for sure. Splits? And order at Penn? Then we can talk specifics. Haven nice SMR. 4x8 should be interesting at Penn.
Hey, have you heard of this kid Dan Jaskowak? Another big win at 800m! 1:56.99 to beat out Ryan Smathers. Both runners also dueled in the 1600m earlier pushing Jaskowak to a 4:17. Both look very strong, but Jaskowak continues to run superior than everyone else he has competed against and is looking like a real state contender at any of the distance races he chooses to focus on.
Nice day for CV in the open 8 with Kunzweiler and Soliman delivering nice times. Holder obviously still a force. Coburn a pretty solid 1600. All those races must have come on the double from the 4x8 as well which makes them more impressive.Strynkowski back to killing it with that runner up finish, looking poised to break out in the near future. Replogle and Moutain continue to run studly, but this is nothing we haven't seen from them the last few weeks. Bigger race for Strynkowski in my mind. Great 4x8s for both squads out front. Chambersburg will be in the mid 7:40s at states and so too should Cumberland Valley. I want to watch Holder and Kunzweiler drop a sick split side by side sometime soon. Maybe districts. Both could definitely hit 1:53s. Nice win for Todaro over Mountain (who had a nice double after being beaten in that 32).
Big kicker win for Baily over Moran and Culley (nice race, XC potential starting to come out perhaps). Moran still kind of streaky with his wins and losses (admittedly did double with the 4x8 which influences things), but hopefully will round into form at the right time. Baily I don't think can run outrageously fast in the 16. He wins when it is slow and he can kick, but its tough to imagine him laying down a 4:15 anytime soon. May be wrong, but I think his future will be in the 800 where he can definitely run 1:53 in the open race at WPIALs.
Curt Jewett did the AA crew proud with a very solid 4:24-9:33 double gold. Aaron Valoroso and Luke Jones also ran great sub 9:40 performances. Combined with Tallada's 9:42 it was a very nice weekend for the AA boys in the 32. Josef Di also got the double win in the distance delight 16-32. Sorry Luke Munyan I think I just butchered your saying, but I tried.
Whose Jon Harper? Yeah I don't know either, but a nice 4:21 1600m for the win. And oh yeah, Tunkhannock is a big sleeper pick in the 4x8. Returning a 1:55ish guy and having 2 guys under 2 in the open and Ben Robinson at 4:21 already this year. They could surprise as things go on.
That's all I got for now. Live it up.
AA stuff?
Basically folks right now I am being a classic college student and sitting on the computer looking over my blog and facebook and penntrack, and just trying to write a post about anything interesting I can find. For starters I stumbled across the performance lists for the LHU invite this weekend. Should be interesting to see how Sam Williams can do in the steeple this weekend. I have no idea what's good for 2000, but I know guys like Chris Aldrich and Chris Fischer have done it in the past. Aldrich ran 6:09 in 08, the year he went on to become a 9:07 3200m runner. Chris Fischer ran 6:11, but his high school 3200m best was barely under 9:50. He did also place 10th at XC states his senior year for AAA. AA studs Curt Jewett and Jordan Jackson will make an appearance in the 1600m as will Aaron Valoroso. Jackson is set to double back in the 800m later in the meet, while Jewett and Valoroso will double back into a field that includes Sam Williams and AA XC state runner up Luke Jones. Also in the race will be Addison Monroe from Mifflin County who is a sleeper pick of sorts here.
All this talk of AA got me to thinking about what could happen this year outdoors in the 3200m. Well for starters, I looked back at AA 3200m's of the past. In 2007, Ben Hahn won the race in 9:18, well off his season best of 9:09 and was followed by 5 other guys under 9:40, one under 9:30. The AAA race required about a 9:19 to medal. But in 2008 Joe Beveridge stepped to the plate and dropped a sick last 400m of the race to drop Jim Spisak and race his way to 9:11 (the AA meet record is just 9:04). Spisak also was quick, running 9:18. But after the big two out front, just 2 others managed to crack the 9:40 mark, and 8th was just 9:42. That being said 8th in the AAA race was just 9:30, and the rest of the top 7 was under 9:20 with only three guys out front cracking the 9:20 barrier, so things were closer. The following year in 2009, Beveridge took it out hard, but wasn't followed closely so he pulled up and ran his way to a fairly easy win in 9:19 over Matt Brooker who raced hard and found himself at 9:23. 4 runners were under 9:30 in the race, and 4 more were at 9:41 or better to round out the medal spots. It took 9:23 to medal in the AAA race, but again AA was making things a bit closer than in 2007.
In 2010 and 2011 one can argue that AA took a step back from AAA. In 2010 13 AAA boys broke the 9:20 barrier and 16 finished under the time of Alex Beardsley, the AA winner, who ran 9:25. 6 AA runners broke 9:40, but an astounding 21 AAA runners did the same. In 2011 AA winner Jon Trueman won off a slow pace throughout in a finishing kick and managed a 9:31 victory. Following him were 6 guys under the 9:40 barrier. It took 9:43 to medal. In the AAA race, the top 14 finishers ran under Trueman's mark in the 3200m and 19 guys were under the 9:43 mark Luke Jones posted to grab 8th.
But in 2012 the stage is set for a different story. For starters the AA group of young studs has managed to garner some XC respect this past season as Shearn and Jones both ran times that would have placed roughly top 5-10 in the AAA race. Smathers has run 4:17 over 1600m already and Shearn has run 9:15, both PA leads. In addition, the AA race returns the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishers as well as the 8th place finisher, who were all just Sophomores last year when they ran their marks. Finishers 9 through 13 include AA state XC medalists like Jack Bagamery and Josef Dipietrantonio, indoor 3000m medalist Ryan DeBarberie, Curt Jewett from Northeast Bradford, teammate of 4th place finisher in 2010 Sam Williams who can seem to beat him or at least run with him every race but states, and finally Xavier Sauvageau, Ryan Archer, Nate Tallada, and Asa Equels.
Meanwhile the AAA race returns only Sam Hibbs and Connor Strynkowski, who both had disappoint XC seasons, although Hibbs bounced back nicely indoors, and Strynkowski is getting over his injuries, from their top 10 finishers (7th and 9th). Their XC state champion Conner Quinn also struggled indoors. Amongst the other returners from the AAA race are Logan Steiner and Andrew Kuchta, who have both had up and down moments in the past two seasons but have been generally very good at 3200m, Quinn Devlin, who is getting back from an injury that kept him out of each of the past two seasons, and then sleeper picks Dylan Mountain and Sean Burke. Plus top XC up and comers like Dan Jaskowak and Tom Coyle may opt for the 1600m over the 3200m.
Now don't get it twisted, I expect the AAA race to be deeper top to bottom than the AA race. It just is the nature of the beast, there are more people to choose from in AAA than AA and there are more top races to push yourself to the best you can be.
However, I do expect the gap to narrow slightly. Depending on Shearn's desire to attempt the double again at states, he may or may not be able to match the AAA winning time. After that, I'm hoping to see around 5 AA guys under 9:30, but that might be a tad ambitious. In the AAA race, I expect it to take under 9:30 to medal, and maybe closer to 9:20 depending on the weather and the events that unfold here in the future. But all things considered that would not be too bad of a gap at all compared to the last two years.
Just something to think about AA. You guys don't get talked about much on here so I gave it my best shot.
All this talk of AA got me to thinking about what could happen this year outdoors in the 3200m. Well for starters, I looked back at AA 3200m's of the past. In 2007, Ben Hahn won the race in 9:18, well off his season best of 9:09 and was followed by 5 other guys under 9:40, one under 9:30. The AAA race required about a 9:19 to medal. But in 2008 Joe Beveridge stepped to the plate and dropped a sick last 400m of the race to drop Jim Spisak and race his way to 9:11 (the AA meet record is just 9:04). Spisak also was quick, running 9:18. But after the big two out front, just 2 others managed to crack the 9:40 mark, and 8th was just 9:42. That being said 8th in the AAA race was just 9:30, and the rest of the top 7 was under 9:20 with only three guys out front cracking the 9:20 barrier, so things were closer. The following year in 2009, Beveridge took it out hard, but wasn't followed closely so he pulled up and ran his way to a fairly easy win in 9:19 over Matt Brooker who raced hard and found himself at 9:23. 4 runners were under 9:30 in the race, and 4 more were at 9:41 or better to round out the medal spots. It took 9:23 to medal in the AAA race, but again AA was making things a bit closer than in 2007.
In 2010 and 2011 one can argue that AA took a step back from AAA. In 2010 13 AAA boys broke the 9:20 barrier and 16 finished under the time of Alex Beardsley, the AA winner, who ran 9:25. 6 AA runners broke 9:40, but an astounding 21 AAA runners did the same. In 2011 AA winner Jon Trueman won off a slow pace throughout in a finishing kick and managed a 9:31 victory. Following him were 6 guys under the 9:40 barrier. It took 9:43 to medal. In the AAA race, the top 14 finishers ran under Trueman's mark in the 3200m and 19 guys were under the 9:43 mark Luke Jones posted to grab 8th.
But in 2012 the stage is set for a different story. For starters the AA group of young studs has managed to garner some XC respect this past season as Shearn and Jones both ran times that would have placed roughly top 5-10 in the AAA race. Smathers has run 4:17 over 1600m already and Shearn has run 9:15, both PA leads. In addition, the AA race returns the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishers as well as the 8th place finisher, who were all just Sophomores last year when they ran their marks. Finishers 9 through 13 include AA state XC medalists like Jack Bagamery and Josef Dipietrantonio, indoor 3000m medalist Ryan DeBarberie, Curt Jewett from Northeast Bradford, teammate of 4th place finisher in 2010 Sam Williams who can seem to beat him or at least run with him every race but states, and finally Xavier Sauvageau, Ryan Archer, Nate Tallada, and Asa Equels.
Meanwhile the AAA race returns only Sam Hibbs and Connor Strynkowski, who both had disappoint XC seasons, although Hibbs bounced back nicely indoors, and Strynkowski is getting over his injuries, from their top 10 finishers (7th and 9th). Their XC state champion Conner Quinn also struggled indoors. Amongst the other returners from the AAA race are Logan Steiner and Andrew Kuchta, who have both had up and down moments in the past two seasons but have been generally very good at 3200m, Quinn Devlin, who is getting back from an injury that kept him out of each of the past two seasons, and then sleeper picks Dylan Mountain and Sean Burke. Plus top XC up and comers like Dan Jaskowak and Tom Coyle may opt for the 1600m over the 3200m.
Now don't get it twisted, I expect the AAA race to be deeper top to bottom than the AA race. It just is the nature of the beast, there are more people to choose from in AAA than AA and there are more top races to push yourself to the best you can be.
However, I do expect the gap to narrow slightly. Depending on Shearn's desire to attempt the double again at states, he may or may not be able to match the AAA winning time. After that, I'm hoping to see around 5 AA guys under 9:30, but that might be a tad ambitious. In the AAA race, I expect it to take under 9:30 to medal, and maybe closer to 9:20 depending on the weather and the events that unfold here in the future. But all things considered that would not be too bad of a gap at all compared to the last two years.
Just something to think about AA. You guys don't get talked about much on here so I gave it my best shot.
A Little Help
If you or someone you know has ever run under 1:55.0, 4:17.0 or 9:20.0 at some point in high school for 800, 1600, or 3200 respectively let me know so I can add them to the list. Most people are going to already be on there seeing as I have approximately 500 names currently in the file from the All Time History of PA. I'm trying to update this thing to be exact as possible. If you would like to see the file to check if I have you/someone you know in there already with accurate times let me know, I can forward you the document as an attachment in the email. If you have any questions about what I include in the document or what a certain symbol means let me know. Splits count too, and those are the most important things.
Spread the word and let me know.
Also if you just want the document for the sake of having the document let me know. I think it's kinda cool.
-train
Spread the word and let me know.
Also if you just want the document for the sake of having the document let me know. I think it's kinda cool.
-train
Penn Relays!
So I'm trying to get back on track to post everyday. No guarantees.
Needless to say, I'm excited to hop online and see the official Penn entries and start planning out the early parts of predictions and analysis.
On Friday at 9:20, the first heat of the 4x8 trials will kick off and it will feature Penn Hills from PA to mix it up with other top teams from out of state. Penn Hills is an interesting team who has success before at 4x8 in the Penn Relays, making the COA two years ago in 2010 with Rumble and Anderson. Squirees was absent from the results this past weekend which worries me because he is a key #2 leg behind Will Baily. Baily should have one of the fastest splits of the weekend for PA if he runs to his potential after crushing a 1:55 solo effort this past weekend. He has split 1:53 before and I wouldn't be surprised if he back down around there at Penn. Penn Hills ran about 7:51 last year and 7:45 or so the year before that, both at the state championships so they are not easily overlooked here.
In the second heat PA will have much more representation as Strath Haven, Penncrest, Henderson, GFS and Lower Moreland all will be taking on the best from out of state. I thought Henderson could have gotten into the DMR on time, but appearently not as they will battle to prove themselves in a nice heat of PA talent. Out front Haven has to be a favorite coming off their huge DMR run, but I'm worried about their two legs that aren't Seelaus and Huemmler. The big duo have PRs that are both at 1:55 or faster and definitely have the ability to pull the team into the low 7:50s, but I can't see much more than that. Huemmler has the mile later that night to think about and if his team is out of it, that may play on his mind. That being said, he could go off for a 1:52 split like Cho and Lefebure have in years past and pull his team to the COA. For Penncrest, the heartbreak of indoors is over and their squad will be back with a vengeance. They have 4 fairly even splits which I think may help. If one guy has a breakout day (Emmanuel seems most likely, but Miller is no slouch) they could surprise in the upper 7:40s. Most likely, however, I see them in the mid 7:50s and battling their way to try and sneak into the COA. Henderson is interesting because it looks like there will be no Tony Russell who seems to have been injured, which kind of ruined their DMR shot. But AJ has proven he is a very capable 800m runner after a 1:55 split down in VA. The Penn Relays website last year said he split 1:53 on their DMR, so maybe magic is going to happen again for him and his team of unknowns in the 4x8. GFS has some solid legs like Aziz and Wistar. They may surprise here, but I think they'd be hard pressed to break 8 minutes. Wistar is on the only guy I could see on their squad running well under 2 minutes. Lastly, Lower Moreland should mix it up. If they lead off Dan Alexander, their 1:56 leg indoors, they'd be in the race from the gun. I know they also have a 2 flatish guy from outdoors so far so they have some talent and will be a AA force, but I can't really see them going anywhere below like 8:05 if I'm being perfectly honest.
In the first large schools heat, Pennridge, PA's super squad will take center stage, with Cumberland Valley, Altoona, Bensalem, Spring Ford and Chambersburg all also in the heat. These are a lot of really compelling teams. Starting of course with the reigning state champs Pennridge, who have Austin Kohler out front, dropping a 1:54 PR this past weekend. He definitely has 1:53 ability in him. Joey Logue already has been in the 1:55ish realm indoors in 2012 so if he is healthy and ready to roll that gives this team two very powerful back legs. And remember, although we haven't seen much from their front legs this outdoor season, indoors they were very capable, running around 1:58-1:57 splits. IF everyone is healthy they are lock for the COA. BUT proceed with caution because besides Kohler, there haven't been a whole lot of great signs in recent invites that all of 4 of these boys are where they were indoors. As for the other squads, Cumberland Valley has been the talk of the town recently after their dropped baton win. Now I didn't see the race so I don't know if 6 seconds is really an accurate estimate for how much time they can drop, but undeniably they can drop time. Kunzweiler had a big weekend last time weekend and dropped a 1:55 split. They had another guy double back under 2 minutes in the open. Both good signs. I'd guestimate they are going to run 7:53ish and maybe sneak into COA, but it's hard to say for sure. Chambersburg has Ryun Holder, who I'm a big supporter of, and they have Nick Rotz who is an unsung indoor state medalist in the mile. Plus they beat CV indoors. Haven't seen much from this squad outdoors, but Holder is a 1:52 split waiting to happen. Altoona surprised me this past weekend. I didn't think Mountain had the speed to be in the 1:55 range. That's a good sign. Replogle should also have 1:56ish ability that would mean in theory. So there is potential for Altoona to spring an upset in this race. The boys from Bensalem have had some solid 4x8s and 4x4s recently and if Rivera can return to 1:53 shape like last year outdoors, they could scare the 8 minute barrier as well. Then of course there is Spring Ford with Joe O'Such to watch out for. He's been hot as of late, coming off a 1:56 from scratch. He is used to anchoring on the big stage, last year he was Spring Fords anchor at Districts when they pulled off a top finish.
And last but not least, CB West, State College, and DT West will all toe the line in the final heat to try and mix it up for a top spot. CB West really surprised me at the end of indoors last year, but I haven't seen anything from their guys outdoors that makes my jaw drop. I'm a big Metzler fan, but the other guys haven't given me anything to make me believe this isn't an 8 flatish team. State College was already under 8 minutes despite the fact that I have no idea who anyone on their relay is. I'd just be interested to see if they can repeat their feat and learn who is splitting what on this up and coming squad. Lastly DT West, a team that was definitely on my sleeper radar indoors, as Leidal coming off a 4:23ish 1600 and Jenkins an open 1:57 race to lead the back end of their team. Devlin is back and I'm not sure if he is going to be able to make this relay, but the thought of him being back and hungry for a spot, should make those 2 flat guys work a bit harder. They could definitely sneak their way into the COA or at least find a way to run in the 7:55s and be pretty happy with their effort.
Look at all these PA guys with the potential for impressive splits in these 4 races:
Baily
Squirees
Kohler
Logue
Chaborek
Huemmler
Seelaus
Miller
Emmanuel
Wistar
Aziz
Alexander
Mountain
Replogle
Rivera
O'Such
Metzler
Jenkins
Leidal
And who knows who else will step up?
Anybody who gets any of their splits, be sure to let me know.
In the DMR the absence of top teams like Haven, Henderson, Holy Ghost and Altoona is certainly noticeable, but North Penn, O'Hara, Great Valley and LaSalle will all be teams to watch in the event. The talk in this race will revolve around Ed Cheserek taking on the national champion XC squad from CBA, but the PA guys should hold their own. North Penn obviously took a great step this past weekend hanging tough with O'Hara. Trimble on the 12 leg has serious potential to run with the race leaders and have a big day. Macauley has always been a tough runner as well and indoors did basically all the work to get to the podium as mile individual medalist. Here the team has 4 fresh legs unlike indoor states in the 4x8 and should run another solid time. Great Valley was the state champion indoors! People seem to be forgetting. But the GV squad, despite a solid sub 2 and 49 open performance from McCary and a PR from Willig at 1600m, has fallen of the radar without stud 12/16 leg Ned Willig. Wolffe hasn't shown signs that as anchor he can hold his own with a field of guys who will be in the 4 teens and Willig hasn't raced at all. It will be interesting to see if they opt to stick with Ned on the lead of leg, as the team may be out front in the early stages, but in the back two legs they really could get chewed up and spit out. One of the teams that could do the chewing would be LaSalle. Andrew Stone ran 4:19 this past weekend and has split 1:55 already outdoors. He is in 3:05-3:07 shape it seems at this point on this stage. That leg puts this team in the top pack, Magee is on the verge of a breakout race, and then Coyle has the ability to bring it home in 4:13ish if he runs smart. Lastly, O'Hara will most likely fly under the radar, but they ran a very nice time of 10:22 recently and Billotta ran a lot faster than I expected on the 1200 leg. They are essentially running this fast with 2 milers on either end of the DMR and a 400 runner who I think is very talent and an apparent up and comer in the 8. In theory if they have their day and run sub 10:20 that could give them a top 5 finish in years past, but assuming GV has 4 healthy legs on the line, its hard not to predict O'Hara will be the last PA team across the line, even if they do throw down a 10:18.
Quick side note, congrats to Brendan Shearn who managed to get into the Penn Relays 3k and will be alongside Hibbs and Wilson representing PA.
Needless to say, I'm excited to hop online and see the official Penn entries and start planning out the early parts of predictions and analysis.
On Friday at 9:20, the first heat of the 4x8 trials will kick off and it will feature Penn Hills from PA to mix it up with other top teams from out of state. Penn Hills is an interesting team who has success before at 4x8 in the Penn Relays, making the COA two years ago in 2010 with Rumble and Anderson. Squirees was absent from the results this past weekend which worries me because he is a key #2 leg behind Will Baily. Baily should have one of the fastest splits of the weekend for PA if he runs to his potential after crushing a 1:55 solo effort this past weekend. He has split 1:53 before and I wouldn't be surprised if he back down around there at Penn. Penn Hills ran about 7:51 last year and 7:45 or so the year before that, both at the state championships so they are not easily overlooked here.
In the second heat PA will have much more representation as Strath Haven, Penncrest, Henderson, GFS and Lower Moreland all will be taking on the best from out of state. I thought Henderson could have gotten into the DMR on time, but appearently not as they will battle to prove themselves in a nice heat of PA talent. Out front Haven has to be a favorite coming off their huge DMR run, but I'm worried about their two legs that aren't Seelaus and Huemmler. The big duo have PRs that are both at 1:55 or faster and definitely have the ability to pull the team into the low 7:50s, but I can't see much more than that. Huemmler has the mile later that night to think about and if his team is out of it, that may play on his mind. That being said, he could go off for a 1:52 split like Cho and Lefebure have in years past and pull his team to the COA. For Penncrest, the heartbreak of indoors is over and their squad will be back with a vengeance. They have 4 fairly even splits which I think may help. If one guy has a breakout day (Emmanuel seems most likely, but Miller is no slouch) they could surprise in the upper 7:40s. Most likely, however, I see them in the mid 7:50s and battling their way to try and sneak into the COA. Henderson is interesting because it looks like there will be no Tony Russell who seems to have been injured, which kind of ruined their DMR shot. But AJ has proven he is a very capable 800m runner after a 1:55 split down in VA. The Penn Relays website last year said he split 1:53 on their DMR, so maybe magic is going to happen again for him and his team of unknowns in the 4x8. GFS has some solid legs like Aziz and Wistar. They may surprise here, but I think they'd be hard pressed to break 8 minutes. Wistar is on the only guy I could see on their squad running well under 2 minutes. Lastly, Lower Moreland should mix it up. If they lead off Dan Alexander, their 1:56 leg indoors, they'd be in the race from the gun. I know they also have a 2 flatish guy from outdoors so far so they have some talent and will be a AA force, but I can't really see them going anywhere below like 8:05 if I'm being perfectly honest.
In the first large schools heat, Pennridge, PA's super squad will take center stage, with Cumberland Valley, Altoona, Bensalem, Spring Ford and Chambersburg all also in the heat. These are a lot of really compelling teams. Starting of course with the reigning state champs Pennridge, who have Austin Kohler out front, dropping a 1:54 PR this past weekend. He definitely has 1:53 ability in him. Joey Logue already has been in the 1:55ish realm indoors in 2012 so if he is healthy and ready to roll that gives this team two very powerful back legs. And remember, although we haven't seen much from their front legs this outdoor season, indoors they were very capable, running around 1:58-1:57 splits. IF everyone is healthy they are lock for the COA. BUT proceed with caution because besides Kohler, there haven't been a whole lot of great signs in recent invites that all of 4 of these boys are where they were indoors. As for the other squads, Cumberland Valley has been the talk of the town recently after their dropped baton win. Now I didn't see the race so I don't know if 6 seconds is really an accurate estimate for how much time they can drop, but undeniably they can drop time. Kunzweiler had a big weekend last time weekend and dropped a 1:55 split. They had another guy double back under 2 minutes in the open. Both good signs. I'd guestimate they are going to run 7:53ish and maybe sneak into COA, but it's hard to say for sure. Chambersburg has Ryun Holder, who I'm a big supporter of, and they have Nick Rotz who is an unsung indoor state medalist in the mile. Plus they beat CV indoors. Haven't seen much from this squad outdoors, but Holder is a 1:52 split waiting to happen. Altoona surprised me this past weekend. I didn't think Mountain had the speed to be in the 1:55 range. That's a good sign. Replogle should also have 1:56ish ability that would mean in theory. So there is potential for Altoona to spring an upset in this race. The boys from Bensalem have had some solid 4x8s and 4x4s recently and if Rivera can return to 1:53 shape like last year outdoors, they could scare the 8 minute barrier as well. Then of course there is Spring Ford with Joe O'Such to watch out for. He's been hot as of late, coming off a 1:56 from scratch. He is used to anchoring on the big stage, last year he was Spring Fords anchor at Districts when they pulled off a top finish.
And last but not least, CB West, State College, and DT West will all toe the line in the final heat to try and mix it up for a top spot. CB West really surprised me at the end of indoors last year, but I haven't seen anything from their guys outdoors that makes my jaw drop. I'm a big Metzler fan, but the other guys haven't given me anything to make me believe this isn't an 8 flatish team. State College was already under 8 minutes despite the fact that I have no idea who anyone on their relay is. I'd just be interested to see if they can repeat their feat and learn who is splitting what on this up and coming squad. Lastly DT West, a team that was definitely on my sleeper radar indoors, as Leidal coming off a 4:23ish 1600 and Jenkins an open 1:57 race to lead the back end of their team. Devlin is back and I'm not sure if he is going to be able to make this relay, but the thought of him being back and hungry for a spot, should make those 2 flat guys work a bit harder. They could definitely sneak their way into the COA or at least find a way to run in the 7:55s and be pretty happy with their effort.
Look at all these PA guys with the potential for impressive splits in these 4 races:
Baily
Squirees
Kohler
Logue
Chaborek
Huemmler
Seelaus
Miller
Emmanuel
Wistar
Aziz
Alexander
Mountain
Replogle
Rivera
O'Such
Metzler
Jenkins
Leidal
And who knows who else will step up?
Anybody who gets any of their splits, be sure to let me know.
In the DMR the absence of top teams like Haven, Henderson, Holy Ghost and Altoona is certainly noticeable, but North Penn, O'Hara, Great Valley and LaSalle will all be teams to watch in the event. The talk in this race will revolve around Ed Cheserek taking on the national champion XC squad from CBA, but the PA guys should hold their own. North Penn obviously took a great step this past weekend hanging tough with O'Hara. Trimble on the 12 leg has serious potential to run with the race leaders and have a big day. Macauley has always been a tough runner as well and indoors did basically all the work to get to the podium as mile individual medalist. Here the team has 4 fresh legs unlike indoor states in the 4x8 and should run another solid time. Great Valley was the state champion indoors! People seem to be forgetting. But the GV squad, despite a solid sub 2 and 49 open performance from McCary and a PR from Willig at 1600m, has fallen of the radar without stud 12/16 leg Ned Willig. Wolffe hasn't shown signs that as anchor he can hold his own with a field of guys who will be in the 4 teens and Willig hasn't raced at all. It will be interesting to see if they opt to stick with Ned on the lead of leg, as the team may be out front in the early stages, but in the back two legs they really could get chewed up and spit out. One of the teams that could do the chewing would be LaSalle. Andrew Stone ran 4:19 this past weekend and has split 1:55 already outdoors. He is in 3:05-3:07 shape it seems at this point on this stage. That leg puts this team in the top pack, Magee is on the verge of a breakout race, and then Coyle has the ability to bring it home in 4:13ish if he runs smart. Lastly, O'Hara will most likely fly under the radar, but they ran a very nice time of 10:22 recently and Billotta ran a lot faster than I expected on the 1200 leg. They are essentially running this fast with 2 milers on either end of the DMR and a 400 runner who I think is very talent and an apparent up and comer in the 8. In theory if they have their day and run sub 10:20 that could give them a top 5 finish in years past, but assuming GV has 4 healthy legs on the line, its hard not to predict O'Hara will be the last PA team across the line, even if they do throw down a 10:18.
Quick side note, congrats to Brendan Shearn who managed to get into the Penn Relays 3k and will be alongside Hibbs and Wilson representing PA.
Weekend Action
So I know this is late and that I haven't been posting much lately, but work has been piling up a bit so I have to stay on top of it. But enough about that let's get to business.
We will start with the big association meet. Nice runs out front for the Wissahickon boys. If they had Hairston back their 4x4 could have most likely taken down gold. I wonder if Stiles is also missing from Pennwood? I don't think I saw him in any of the open events.
Magaha is back ladies and gents after a dominating 1:51 performance over quite the impressive field. For Drew it's an overall PR at 800m (because as stated we think the indoor 1:51.0 split is a little outrageous) and he proves he is in top shape going into the Penn Relays mile. Technically speaking Drew has underwhelmed at 1500 and 1600 this year. Nothing outside the 4:20s indoors and a mere 4:19ish equivalent outdoors, maybe more 4:18ish, but all the same nothing near 1:51 level. So I still have doubts about him winning at Penn against studs like Ben Malone, but he should be in at least 4:15y shape at this point. Another big race for Kohler and an open PR. Pennridge now has two guys who realistically can split in the 1:53s at Penn. Their other two legs were in the 1:58-1:57 range indoors from what I could see in splits, so they should have the potential to run under 7:40 by the end of the year. I haven't seen much from the other two legs so far outdoors, however, so I will reserve judgment on any bold predictions just yet. Coyle is clearly just more of a miler. Great 800m performance but nothing jaw dropping. Huemmler on the double off a 4:13 so he gets a pass for "only" 1:56 here. Brooks a nice PR as well, a little disappointed with Wolffe and Broadwater here because I know they can go faster.
A little slow of a mile for Kelly, solid race for Wilson, but nothing surprising considering his ability level at 3200m. Stone had a nice race as well and would be a very dangerous 1200m leg at Penn if LaSalle goes that route. MaGee had a solid performance as well in this race at arguably an off distance for him, so the relay sets up very nicely right now.
The hurdle races were sick, but for the sake of time I'll pass on these, but make sure you note those results.
Sick DMRs. Haven running very solid with a 3:09-3:10 lead off from Seelaus and 4:13 anchor from Huemmler. Very impressive legs for those guys, although the middle legs weren't outstanding. Its a shame that they won't race this event at Penn with Huemmler entered in the mile. Unless something dramatic happens like Andrews did a little ways back. North Penn also ran great and finally started to live up to the hype after a quiet indoors and a huge upset win at XC states after a relatively disappointing season in my opinion. I'd be interested to know their splits, but they could be very dangerous in the DMR at Penn for sure. O'Hara not bad either flying under the radar with a 10:22. Also would like to know splits here, but clearly O'Hara should be fun to watch at Penn as well. I honestly don't even know who would be on that relay besides I assume Savage on the anchor.
At Pan Ram there were some nice results including great 4x8 splits by Kunzweiler and Mountain who both ran around 1:55. State College mixed it up well with these squads as well and may be a sleeper going forward. Good to see Strynkowski back racing, solid 1600 for him in his first race back. Then in the 3200, a nice double for Mountain but some great breakout performances from Jordan Crawford and Nathan Repetz from Cedar Cliff who came out of essentially no where to run 9:32 and 9:41, both very solid times. These guys will be interesting to watch as we continue on this season.
Solid 1:56 for Joe O'Such with quality wins over indoor state medalist Dan Alexander and Tom Damiani who was 1:55 last year. SpringFord has a few nice pieces for a 4x800m come district season. They were a great team last year and they returned a few key pieces so they are someone to be on the look out for as we continue on.
AA state medalist Josef DiPie ... I can't spell it, had a nice double gold at the Warrior Invite with a 4:23 and 9:41. He will be a factor for the top spots in AA it seems. Also never heard of Ryan Thompson before but he hammered down a 1:57 solo so that's a great start for him.
At Bensaelm there were some solid performances by some up and coming youngsters. Jeff Wiseman beat Brad Rivera (who ran 1:53 last year) in the final meters before Rivera was dq'd. Time wasn't that fast, but the win is impressive. Wiseman has had a string of nice races as of late and is likely gaining confidence. Harriman busted out a 4:18 to make him a favorite to go to states out of D1 in the 16 and to mix it up with the guys not named Willig and Magaha. He showed great finishing speed in the race closing very fast over the final 400. Zingarini posted a nice time as well. He could be under 4:19 by Districts and thus should have a shot at punching a ticket to states and outside chance at medaling. This field looks pretty good early on. CRN's teammate Emery hammered a 9:26 3200m for one of the PA leading times which is very impressive, especially considering unlike the other leaders, he did a lot of work himself. He will be dangerous in a wide open 3200m field at states.
Trama, one of those guys who wants to mix it up in the 32, took a small step back losing in the 3200 this week. Hopefully his recent breakout was not a fluke race and he should get back on track now that he had a bit of a wake up call.
Dan Jaskowak continues to bolster his reputation as top state runner, showing great range down at 800m, covering the two lap race in 1:57 to win handily. This was (I am guessing) after another 1600m victory running 4:22 to beat out Ethan Martin who ran a nice time as well in 4:23. For Martin it was his second nice performance of the day, coupled with a solid 9:39 performance in the 32. The youngster Wakeley also ran solid with a 9:42. I'm still hoping for a bit more from him in the near future, but signs are there that he could break out. As for Moran, it was nice bounce back win at 3200m over Kuchta who won the last time they faced off. Moran may be thinking 3200 instead of 1600 come state time which may make his road to state gold a lot easier. He would have one of the best kicks and wouldn't have to go through Drew Magaha and Willig (who is almost definitely hurt right now, I just don't know exactly what or how bad).
Kiski clocked a solid 4x8 running 8 flat. Not sure if that will get them into Penn, but they are at least in the talks for a team to mix it up for a medal outdoors. They have Kennedy leading the way after his big 9:31 3200m finish over Logan Steiner who ran solid in 9:35, but is looking much less sharp this year than last. Even indoors was relatively quiet besides a very nice states race in the mile. But in XC he turned it on at the right time, and here he looks poised to do the same or he will not be a top runner in the 32 and may not even make the medal stand. I think it is much more likely the first. Will Baily killed the 800m and he and Tonzo should be in for a good race at WPIALs. 1:55 for Baily.
Perhaps flying completely under the radar was Ryan Smather's 4:17 and 1:57 double. Two PRs or close to it in the 800 anyway, for Smathers in this race. Its a big win for Smathers who struggled in cross after being the top AA returner. Smathers looks poised to grab gold in the 1600m for AA and may run in the 4:15s or lower by seasons end. I hope he goes to Baldwin and mixes it up there with those other guys out west and runs fast. Worth noting is the fact that Smathers ran his 4:17 winning by 14 seconds.
This weekend was big for PA as a lot of guys had big step up performances. Good work gents.
We will start with the big association meet. Nice runs out front for the Wissahickon boys. If they had Hairston back their 4x4 could have most likely taken down gold. I wonder if Stiles is also missing from Pennwood? I don't think I saw him in any of the open events.
Magaha is back ladies and gents after a dominating 1:51 performance over quite the impressive field. For Drew it's an overall PR at 800m (because as stated we think the indoor 1:51.0 split is a little outrageous) and he proves he is in top shape going into the Penn Relays mile. Technically speaking Drew has underwhelmed at 1500 and 1600 this year. Nothing outside the 4:20s indoors and a mere 4:19ish equivalent outdoors, maybe more 4:18ish, but all the same nothing near 1:51 level. So I still have doubts about him winning at Penn against studs like Ben Malone, but he should be in at least 4:15y shape at this point. Another big race for Kohler and an open PR. Pennridge now has two guys who realistically can split in the 1:53s at Penn. Their other two legs were in the 1:58-1:57 range indoors from what I could see in splits, so they should have the potential to run under 7:40 by the end of the year. I haven't seen much from the other two legs so far outdoors, however, so I will reserve judgment on any bold predictions just yet. Coyle is clearly just more of a miler. Great 800m performance but nothing jaw dropping. Huemmler on the double off a 4:13 so he gets a pass for "only" 1:56 here. Brooks a nice PR as well, a little disappointed with Wolffe and Broadwater here because I know they can go faster.
A little slow of a mile for Kelly, solid race for Wilson, but nothing surprising considering his ability level at 3200m. Stone had a nice race as well and would be a very dangerous 1200m leg at Penn if LaSalle goes that route. MaGee had a solid performance as well in this race at arguably an off distance for him, so the relay sets up very nicely right now.
The hurdle races were sick, but for the sake of time I'll pass on these, but make sure you note those results.
Sick DMRs. Haven running very solid with a 3:09-3:10 lead off from Seelaus and 4:13 anchor from Huemmler. Very impressive legs for those guys, although the middle legs weren't outstanding. Its a shame that they won't race this event at Penn with Huemmler entered in the mile. Unless something dramatic happens like Andrews did a little ways back. North Penn also ran great and finally started to live up to the hype after a quiet indoors and a huge upset win at XC states after a relatively disappointing season in my opinion. I'd be interested to know their splits, but they could be very dangerous in the DMR at Penn for sure. O'Hara not bad either flying under the radar with a 10:22. Also would like to know splits here, but clearly O'Hara should be fun to watch at Penn as well. I honestly don't even know who would be on that relay besides I assume Savage on the anchor.
At Pan Ram there were some nice results including great 4x8 splits by Kunzweiler and Mountain who both ran around 1:55. State College mixed it up well with these squads as well and may be a sleeper going forward. Good to see Strynkowski back racing, solid 1600 for him in his first race back. Then in the 3200, a nice double for Mountain but some great breakout performances from Jordan Crawford and Nathan Repetz from Cedar Cliff who came out of essentially no where to run 9:32 and 9:41, both very solid times. These guys will be interesting to watch as we continue on this season.
Solid 1:56 for Joe O'Such with quality wins over indoor state medalist Dan Alexander and Tom Damiani who was 1:55 last year. SpringFord has a few nice pieces for a 4x800m come district season. They were a great team last year and they returned a few key pieces so they are someone to be on the look out for as we continue on.
AA state medalist Josef DiPie ... I can't spell it, had a nice double gold at the Warrior Invite with a 4:23 and 9:41. He will be a factor for the top spots in AA it seems. Also never heard of Ryan Thompson before but he hammered down a 1:57 solo so that's a great start for him.
At Bensaelm there were some solid performances by some up and coming youngsters. Jeff Wiseman beat Brad Rivera (who ran 1:53 last year) in the final meters before Rivera was dq'd. Time wasn't that fast, but the win is impressive. Wiseman has had a string of nice races as of late and is likely gaining confidence. Harriman busted out a 4:18 to make him a favorite to go to states out of D1 in the 16 and to mix it up with the guys not named Willig and Magaha. He showed great finishing speed in the race closing very fast over the final 400. Zingarini posted a nice time as well. He could be under 4:19 by Districts and thus should have a shot at punching a ticket to states and outside chance at medaling. This field looks pretty good early on. CRN's teammate Emery hammered a 9:26 3200m for one of the PA leading times which is very impressive, especially considering unlike the other leaders, he did a lot of work himself. He will be dangerous in a wide open 3200m field at states.
Trama, one of those guys who wants to mix it up in the 32, took a small step back losing in the 3200 this week. Hopefully his recent breakout was not a fluke race and he should get back on track now that he had a bit of a wake up call.
Dan Jaskowak continues to bolster his reputation as top state runner, showing great range down at 800m, covering the two lap race in 1:57 to win handily. This was (I am guessing) after another 1600m victory running 4:22 to beat out Ethan Martin who ran a nice time as well in 4:23. For Martin it was his second nice performance of the day, coupled with a solid 9:39 performance in the 32. The youngster Wakeley also ran solid with a 9:42. I'm still hoping for a bit more from him in the near future, but signs are there that he could break out. As for Moran, it was nice bounce back win at 3200m over Kuchta who won the last time they faced off. Moran may be thinking 3200 instead of 1600 come state time which may make his road to state gold a lot easier. He would have one of the best kicks and wouldn't have to go through Drew Magaha and Willig (who is almost definitely hurt right now, I just don't know exactly what or how bad).
Kiski clocked a solid 4x8 running 8 flat. Not sure if that will get them into Penn, but they are at least in the talks for a team to mix it up for a medal outdoors. They have Kennedy leading the way after his big 9:31 3200m finish over Logan Steiner who ran solid in 9:35, but is looking much less sharp this year than last. Even indoors was relatively quiet besides a very nice states race in the mile. But in XC he turned it on at the right time, and here he looks poised to do the same or he will not be a top runner in the 32 and may not even make the medal stand. I think it is much more likely the first. Will Baily killed the 800m and he and Tonzo should be in for a good race at WPIALs. 1:55 for Baily.
Perhaps flying completely under the radar was Ryan Smather's 4:17 and 1:57 double. Two PRs or close to it in the 800 anyway, for Smathers in this race. Its a big win for Smathers who struggled in cross after being the top AA returner. Smathers looks poised to grab gold in the 1600m for AA and may run in the 4:15s or lower by seasons end. I hope he goes to Baldwin and mixes it up there with those other guys out west and runs fast. Worth noting is the fact that Smathers ran his 4:17 winning by 14 seconds.
This weekend was big for PA as a lot of guys had big step up performances. Good work gents.
Penn Relays PA History
Now the Penntrack databases don't go back forever, but I will do my best to lay out for you some of the PA highlights at Penn over the last decade or so.
2001
The boys from Butler finished 3rd in the Championship of America 4x800m Championships with a time of 7:48.76. Alan Webb's squad took home the gold and a Jamaican squad took second. Butler was the tops of 5 PA teams that qualified for the COA that year.
2002
The North Penn boys were back in the COA for the second straight year and ran their way to a 7:49.67 clocking to take down 3rd in the finals. The 7:49 clocking came despite a lead of leg of 2:05 for North Penn. NP was also the top non-Jamaican squad in the race. North Penn also were champions in the DMR clocking a 10:17.47 victory. Steve Craig anchored both squads.
2003
O'Hara highlighted the boys Distance relays with their 3rd place finish in the DMR. The relay clocked a 10:21.14 to earn the bronze. In the 3k Ian Fitzgerald mixed it up out front and came up just short, crossing the line in 8:30.16 for second place. He led the way for the 4 PA qualifiers in the event.
2004
North Penn ran 7:50 in qualifying but had an unfortunate display in the finals as the only team representing PA in a deep Penn Relays 4x8. Also highlighting the prelims was the 1:52.6 split of PA's Chris Spooner, as Lewisburg just missed qualifying for the COA. Cumberland Valley raced their way to an impressive 10:12.03 to snag third in a fast race in the DMR. O'Hara also ran under 10:20 in the race, their 10:18 landed them 6th. Hallinan anchored in 4:15. Spooner would be back again for the individual mile at Penn where he won the individual championship in a very quick time of 4:09.91. In the 3k, 2003 runner up Ian Fitzgerald of North Hills found himself in first place on the podium, racing his was to an 8:22.42 victory. Again PA was well represented with 5 qualifiers.
2005
North Penn and Conestoga Valley ran their way into the COA, but failed to have their best day once they made it there. Conestoga Valley clocked a 7:51.92 and North Penn ran 7:49.09. North Penn did it with almost perfectly even splits. In the DMR CR North managed to snag 4th place with a 10:15.98. Pomerantz anchored the team in 4:15. North Penn's lead off leg Sean Doyle was 5th in the individual mile in 4:15.83, while Emmaus's Sam Luff ran his way to second in the 3k with an 8:33.45. Behind him were Jeff Weiss and Colin Leak who both cracked 8:40 and took 5th and 6th. 8 PA runners represented the state well in the 3000m.
2006
5 PA team's qualified for the Championship of America in the DMR highlighted out front by North Penn and Simon Gratz. Gratz's balanced attack and anchor Khaliff Featherstone brought home the silver and a 7:45.66 clocking. North Penn was just off the pace with a 7:46.38. Wissahickon was 6th in the DMR after a great top 3 legs the team fell of a bit on anchor Paul Thistle's 4:23.1, but the team still ran a very quick 10:15.19. Henderson's 10:17 took them to 9th in the race. In the 3k Championship PA gave it their best against future world medalist Matt Centrowitz and came away with 3rd, 4th, and 5th with Jake Walker leading the way in 8:21.94 and Kieth Capecci following 8:27.22. Paul Springer rounded out the group with his 8:28.65. Curtis Bixler was also under 8:35 for PA and 6 total PA boys raced in the championship.
2007
North Penn's 7:50.77 was the lone PA rep in the COA, taking down 4th place. Coatesville behind Kyle Dawson's hard fought anchor leg win over Craig Forys's 4:04 led Coatesville to a 10:08.51 and Championship plaque. Paul Springer's 4:10.98 was a brilliant race that had him crossing the line second to only Matt Centrowitz's 4:08.38 record push. Jason Weller and Rob Speare took 4th and 5th in the 3k respectively.
Unfortunately I have to go to a group meeting for econ right now, but I hope you enjoyed this little trip into the history books.
2001
The boys from Butler finished 3rd in the Championship of America 4x800m Championships with a time of 7:48.76. Alan Webb's squad took home the gold and a Jamaican squad took second. Butler was the tops of 5 PA teams that qualified for the COA that year.
2002
The North Penn boys were back in the COA for the second straight year and ran their way to a 7:49.67 clocking to take down 3rd in the finals. The 7:49 clocking came despite a lead of leg of 2:05 for North Penn. NP was also the top non-Jamaican squad in the race. North Penn also were champions in the DMR clocking a 10:17.47 victory. Steve Craig anchored both squads.
2003
O'Hara highlighted the boys Distance relays with their 3rd place finish in the DMR. The relay clocked a 10:21.14 to earn the bronze. In the 3k Ian Fitzgerald mixed it up out front and came up just short, crossing the line in 8:30.16 for second place. He led the way for the 4 PA qualifiers in the event.
2004
North Penn ran 7:50 in qualifying but had an unfortunate display in the finals as the only team representing PA in a deep Penn Relays 4x8. Also highlighting the prelims was the 1:52.6 split of PA's Chris Spooner, as Lewisburg just missed qualifying for the COA. Cumberland Valley raced their way to an impressive 10:12.03 to snag third in a fast race in the DMR. O'Hara also ran under 10:20 in the race, their 10:18 landed them 6th. Hallinan anchored in 4:15. Spooner would be back again for the individual mile at Penn where he won the individual championship in a very quick time of 4:09.91. In the 3k, 2003 runner up Ian Fitzgerald of North Hills found himself in first place on the podium, racing his was to an 8:22.42 victory. Again PA was well represented with 5 qualifiers.
2005
North Penn and Conestoga Valley ran their way into the COA, but failed to have their best day once they made it there. Conestoga Valley clocked a 7:51.92 and North Penn ran 7:49.09. North Penn did it with almost perfectly even splits. In the DMR CR North managed to snag 4th place with a 10:15.98. Pomerantz anchored the team in 4:15. North Penn's lead off leg Sean Doyle was 5th in the individual mile in 4:15.83, while Emmaus's Sam Luff ran his way to second in the 3k with an 8:33.45. Behind him were Jeff Weiss and Colin Leak who both cracked 8:40 and took 5th and 6th. 8 PA runners represented the state well in the 3000m.
2006
5 PA team's qualified for the Championship of America in the DMR highlighted out front by North Penn and Simon Gratz. Gratz's balanced attack and anchor Khaliff Featherstone brought home the silver and a 7:45.66 clocking. North Penn was just off the pace with a 7:46.38. Wissahickon was 6th in the DMR after a great top 3 legs the team fell of a bit on anchor Paul Thistle's 4:23.1, but the team still ran a very quick 10:15.19. Henderson's 10:17 took them to 9th in the race. In the 3k Championship PA gave it their best against future world medalist Matt Centrowitz and came away with 3rd, 4th, and 5th with Jake Walker leading the way in 8:21.94 and Kieth Capecci following 8:27.22. Paul Springer rounded out the group with his 8:28.65. Curtis Bixler was also under 8:35 for PA and 6 total PA boys raced in the championship.
2007
North Penn's 7:50.77 was the lone PA rep in the COA, taking down 4th place. Coatesville behind Kyle Dawson's hard fought anchor leg win over Craig Forys's 4:04 led Coatesville to a 10:08.51 and Championship plaque. Paul Springer's 4:10.98 was a brilliant race that had him crossing the line second to only Matt Centrowitz's 4:08.38 record push. Jason Weller and Rob Speare took 4th and 5th in the 3k respectively.
Unfortunately I have to go to a group meeting for econ right now, but I hope you enjoyed this little trip into the history books.
The Mile
Consider by some the glamor event of high school distance running because of its rich history and the powerful pursuit of the sub 4 minute mile, the mile is interesting event to follow as the years go by. 2 milers can move down and excel or 800m runners can move up and challenge themselves on an endurance level. It is a good mix and a good comparing point amongst runners.
Therefore, let us examine the results of the mile at indoor states over the past few years and see how these have compared to outdoors. First the last 6 years at indoor states results posted for you to see (medalists only):
1 Springer, Paul Unionville 4:12.61
2 Weller, Jason Boyertown 4:15.14
3 Zarzeczny, Lucas Avonworth/Northg 4:16.32
4 Alderich, Chris Henderson 4:19.59
5 Bryan, Isaac Pennridge 4:20.18
6 Buck, Ed Cardinal O'Hara 4:21.37
7 Hobart, TJ Baldwin 4:22.37
8 McNally, Vince Conestoga Valley 4:22.83
1 Kaulbach, Max Germantown Frien 4:15.80 10
2 Crits, Nick Wissahickon 4:17.47 8
3 Mallon, Sean Archbishop Ryan 4:18.66 6
4 McNally, Vince Conestoga Valley 4:19.31 5
5 Finucane, James Mercersburg Acad 4:20.58 4
6 Ortiz, Isaac Germantown Frien 4:24.65 3
7 Steller, Sean Unionville 4:27.00 2
8 Milic-Strkalj, Ivo Friends' Central 4:27.09 1
1 Milic-Strkalj, Ivo Friends' Central 4:21.19
2 McCullough, Matthew Malvern Prep 4:21.46
3 Chylak, Matthew Holy Ghost Prep 4:22.37
4 Horning, Dustin Elizabethtown Ar 4:22.65
5 Furcht, Ben Lower Merion 4:23.45
6 Perozze, Vince Perkiomen Valley 4:23.89
7 Eubanks, David Chambersburg 4:24.73
8 Tarsnane, Jimmy Perkiomen Valley 4:24.85
1 Mallon, Tom 12 Central Buck 4:16.21
2 Kehl, Tom 12 Father Judge 4:16.68
3 Endress, Wade 11 Altoona Area 4:18.37
4 Scarpello, Nick 12 Central Buck 4:18.87
5 Gil, Ryan 11 North Allegh 4:19.18
6 Perozze, Vince 12 Perkiomen Va 4:20.10
7 O'Kane, Tom 12 LaSalle Coll 4:20.23
8 O'Sullivan, Chris 12 Saint Joseph 4:21.64
1 Endress, Wade Altoona Area 4:20.90 4:13.34 10
2 Mcclafferty, Nate Conrad Weiser 4:20.12 4:15.24 8
3 Campbell, Chris CR North 4:20.73 4:18.30 6
4 Schrom, Ed Central Dauphin 4:20.85 4:19.10 5
5 Magaha, Drew Upper Moreland 4:23.40 4:19.51 4
6 Gregor, Austin CB South 4:26.10 4:20.44 3
7 Moran, Alex Mount Lebanon 4:26.37 4:21.50 2
8 Libbi, Nick WC East 4:28.41 4:23.28 1
1 Willig, Ned Great Valley 4:15.66
2 Coyle, Tom LaSalle College 4:16.42
3 Huemmler, Jack Strath Haven 4:16.50
4 Steiner, Logan North Allegh 4:20.76
5 Jaskowak, Daniel Grove City 4:22.82
6 Moran, Alex Mount Lebanon 4:23.15
7 Macauley, Jack North Penn 4:23.22
8 Rotz, Nick Chambersburg 4:23.45
Now looking down these results it is interesting to first note the most obvious feature: the champions. For starters Springer, Kaulbach, and Mallon all went on to focus on other events outdoors. Endress was hurt and Ivo was an independent league runner. None of these individuals finished with the fastest mile time of the season outdoors and none of them claimed a state championship at 1600m at outdoor states.
Next let us look at those who did win state championships outdoors. The 1600m champions of the past five years outdoors are widely represented indoors. McNally was 8th before his win, Crits 2nd, Palmisano and Kellar didn't race and Magaha was 5th. Weller won the 3200m (2nd), Mallon the 800m (1st), and Tarsnane the 3200m (8th). So many medalists have went on to have more success than the champions.
In fact, technically speaking (discounting 1500s) Kaulbach, Endress, and Mallon failed to run faster than they did in the mile at indoor states. Also able to boast that statistic is Zarzeczny, Buck, Sean Mallon, McCullough, Eubanks, Scarpello (sort of, if you discount the dual meet), O'Kane, and Libbi (I think but I'd have to double check the 1600m to mile conversion). So needless to say the indoor state medalists are not all huge successes outdoors.
Things vary here and are far from certain. There are also cases of those like TJ Hobart who followed up his 7th indoors with a 4:16 performance outdoors in a breakout race. Chylak also dropped from low 4:20s to 4:16, Horning into the 4:15s, Perozze into the 4:14s and then the 4:12s the next year, Kehl into the 4:09 range, O'Sullivan to 4:15, McClafferty to 4:11, Schrom to 4:14, Moran to 4:13.
And oh yeah, Magaha from 4:19 to 4:07.
Interesting to note also that about half the time, the winner in the next year did not medal in the previous. Kaubalch, Mallon, and Willig all can claim that in the past six years and Ivo was a few tenths away from joining them in a bit of a down year. Springer won the year before he repeated with a meet record in 2007.
So what to make of this next year's bunch? Well it looks fairly certain that at least one or two of these guys will take the leap from under the radar to stud. And it also, unfortunately, seems certain that one of them will fail to hit the same time they did indoors come outdoors. Ned Willig will have a hard time repeating as champion come outdoors, as none of the previous six winners have done so.
In terms of a percentage out of the indoor medalists, the one's who finished spring track with a PR under 4:18 for 1600m is 75% or 30/40. Meaning we can estimate that 6 of these guys will finish the season under 4:18. 4 already are technically (Huemmler, Coyle, Moran and Willig) so there would have to be two additional to fit the average.
One other fact worth considering, of this group only 20/40 (i.e. 50%) competed in the finals of the AAA 1600m outdoors. And 7 of those 20 came from last year, meaning that before then just 13 of 32 fit the bill.
Likely, Willig will be back to run the 16 (assuming all goes well with his health, I think he is hurt right now?) and Huemmler and Coyle will have to choose between the 4x8 and individual glory once again. Meanwhile Steiner, Jaskowak and Macauley both have excellent 3200m credentials and may opt to race there in a less competitive setting.
Also although there are 8 runners who have medaled that were not a part of the PIAA outdoors (none since 2009 when Ivo and McCullough took one-two however) there has not been a single AA medalist in the mile indoors over the past 6 years.
But remember folks I can throw all the stats at you I want, but it doesn't mean anything once the feet hit the track. Let's see what you got gents.
-train
Therefore, let us examine the results of the mile at indoor states over the past few years and see how these have compared to outdoors. First the last 6 years at indoor states results posted for you to see (medalists only):
1 Springer, Paul Unionville 4:12.61
2 Weller, Jason Boyertown 4:15.14
3 Zarzeczny, Lucas Avonworth/Northg 4:16.32
4 Alderich, Chris Henderson 4:19.59
5 Bryan, Isaac Pennridge 4:20.18
6 Buck, Ed Cardinal O'Hara 4:21.37
7 Hobart, TJ Baldwin 4:22.37
8 McNally, Vince Conestoga Valley 4:22.83
1 Kaulbach, Max Germantown Frien 4:15.80 10
2 Crits, Nick Wissahickon 4:17.47 8
3 Mallon, Sean Archbishop Ryan 4:18.66 6
4 McNally, Vince Conestoga Valley 4:19.31 5
5 Finucane, James Mercersburg Acad 4:20.58 4
6 Ortiz, Isaac Germantown Frien 4:24.65 3
7 Steller, Sean Unionville 4:27.00 2
8 Milic-Strkalj, Ivo Friends' Central 4:27.09 1
1 Milic-Strkalj, Ivo Friends' Central 4:21.19
2 McCullough, Matthew Malvern Prep 4:21.46
3 Chylak, Matthew Holy Ghost Prep 4:22.37
4 Horning, Dustin Elizabethtown Ar 4:22.65
5 Furcht, Ben Lower Merion 4:23.45
6 Perozze, Vince Perkiomen Valley 4:23.89
7 Eubanks, David Chambersburg 4:24.73
8 Tarsnane, Jimmy Perkiomen Valley 4:24.85
1 Mallon, Tom 12 Central Buck 4:16.21
2 Kehl, Tom 12 Father Judge 4:16.68
3 Endress, Wade 11 Altoona Area 4:18.37
4 Scarpello, Nick 12 Central Buck 4:18.87
5 Gil, Ryan 11 North Allegh 4:19.18
6 Perozze, Vince 12 Perkiomen Va 4:20.10
7 O'Kane, Tom 12 LaSalle Coll 4:20.23
8 O'Sullivan, Chris 12 Saint Joseph 4:21.64
1 Endress, Wade Altoona Area 4:20.90 4:13.34 10
2 Mcclafferty, Nate Conrad Weiser 4:20.12 4:15.24 8
3 Campbell, Chris CR North 4:20.73 4:18.30 6
4 Schrom, Ed Central Dauphin 4:20.85 4:19.10 5
5 Magaha, Drew Upper Moreland 4:23.40 4:19.51 4
6 Gregor, Austin CB South 4:26.10 4:20.44 3
7 Moran, Alex Mount Lebanon 4:26.37 4:21.50 2
8 Libbi, Nick WC East 4:28.41 4:23.28 1
1 Willig, Ned Great Valley 4:15.66
2 Coyle, Tom LaSalle College 4:16.42
3 Huemmler, Jack Strath Haven 4:16.50
4 Steiner, Logan North Allegh 4:20.76
5 Jaskowak, Daniel Grove City 4:22.82
6 Moran, Alex Mount Lebanon 4:23.15
7 Macauley, Jack North Penn 4:23.22
8 Rotz, Nick Chambersburg 4:23.45
Now looking down these results it is interesting to first note the most obvious feature: the champions. For starters Springer, Kaulbach, and Mallon all went on to focus on other events outdoors. Endress was hurt and Ivo was an independent league runner. None of these individuals finished with the fastest mile time of the season outdoors and none of them claimed a state championship at 1600m at outdoor states.
Next let us look at those who did win state championships outdoors. The 1600m champions of the past five years outdoors are widely represented indoors. McNally was 8th before his win, Crits 2nd, Palmisano and Kellar didn't race and Magaha was 5th. Weller won the 3200m (2nd), Mallon the 800m (1st), and Tarsnane the 3200m (8th). So many medalists have went on to have more success than the champions.
In fact, technically speaking (discounting 1500s) Kaulbach, Endress, and Mallon failed to run faster than they did in the mile at indoor states. Also able to boast that statistic is Zarzeczny, Buck, Sean Mallon, McCullough, Eubanks, Scarpello (sort of, if you discount the dual meet), O'Kane, and Libbi (I think but I'd have to double check the 1600m to mile conversion). So needless to say the indoor state medalists are not all huge successes outdoors.
Things vary here and are far from certain. There are also cases of those like TJ Hobart who followed up his 7th indoors with a 4:16 performance outdoors in a breakout race. Chylak also dropped from low 4:20s to 4:16, Horning into the 4:15s, Perozze into the 4:14s and then the 4:12s the next year, Kehl into the 4:09 range, O'Sullivan to 4:15, McClafferty to 4:11, Schrom to 4:14, Moran to 4:13.
And oh yeah, Magaha from 4:19 to 4:07.
Interesting to note also that about half the time, the winner in the next year did not medal in the previous. Kaubalch, Mallon, and Willig all can claim that in the past six years and Ivo was a few tenths away from joining them in a bit of a down year. Springer won the year before he repeated with a meet record in 2007.
So what to make of this next year's bunch? Well it looks fairly certain that at least one or two of these guys will take the leap from under the radar to stud. And it also, unfortunately, seems certain that one of them will fail to hit the same time they did indoors come outdoors. Ned Willig will have a hard time repeating as champion come outdoors, as none of the previous six winners have done so.
In terms of a percentage out of the indoor medalists, the one's who finished spring track with a PR under 4:18 for 1600m is 75% or 30/40. Meaning we can estimate that 6 of these guys will finish the season under 4:18. 4 already are technically (Huemmler, Coyle, Moran and Willig) so there would have to be two additional to fit the average.
One other fact worth considering, of this group only 20/40 (i.e. 50%) competed in the finals of the AAA 1600m outdoors. And 7 of those 20 came from last year, meaning that before then just 13 of 32 fit the bill.
Likely, Willig will be back to run the 16 (assuming all goes well with his health, I think he is hurt right now?) and Huemmler and Coyle will have to choose between the 4x8 and individual glory once again. Meanwhile Steiner, Jaskowak and Macauley both have excellent 3200m credentials and may opt to race there in a less competitive setting.
Also although there are 8 runners who have medaled that were not a part of the PIAA outdoors (none since 2009 when Ivo and McCullough took one-two however) there has not been a single AA medalist in the mile indoors over the past 6 years.
But remember folks I can throw all the stats at you I want, but it doesn't mean anything once the feet hit the track. Let's see what you got gents.
-train
Line Ups
So like I said a lot of work recently, not a lot of time to blog and keep up with all the projects I have got so let me throw down a couple of line ups for the upcoming races and maybe I will even throw in a post after this if I have time before class and can think of something to say.
In the 4x3200m Championship in no particular order:
1. Lower Merion- Furcht, Berman, McGowan, Ingerman
2. North Hills- Hebda, Vlah, Silenieks, Kush
3. North Allegheny- Gil, Steiner, Jacob, Taylor
4. Coatesville- Dawson, Dawson, Ward, Panulla
5. GFS- Kaulbach, McKenzie, McKenzie, Ortiz
6. Unionville- Springer, Burkhardt, Fischer, Stellar
7. Boyertown- Dennin, Weller, Kelly, Moyer
8. Henderson- Aldrich, Khattabi, Jervis, Collins
9. Horsham- Hibbs, Hibbs, Hibbs, Quinn
10. O'Hara- Savage, Pitone, Destefano, Billotta
11. North Penn- Hoagland, Macauley, Bernitt, Miles
12. Baldwin- Kuchta, Adley, DeGregorio, Bishop
13. Upper Dublin- Ferruzzi, Lorenzo, Dorris, McLaughlin
14. Carlisle- Hurston, Dennison, Pope, Padgett
15. CR North- Mahoney, Campbell, Wallace, Emery
4x800m Championship in no particular order
Heat 1
1. Central Dauphin
2. Quaker Valley
3. Trinity
4. Penncrest
5. Altoona
6. Chambersburg
7. Souderton
8. Cumberland Valley
9. Penn Hills
10. Norristown
11. Father Judge
12. Pennridge
Heat 2
1. CB South
2. CR North
3. Wissahickon
4. Baldwin
5. North Penn
6. Cedar Crest
7. CB West
8. Abington
9. Upper Dublin
10. Henderson
11. LaSalle
12. E and S
4x1600m Championship in no order
Heat 1
1. CB West
2. CB South
3. CR North
4. Pennridge
5. Horsham
6. Cumberland Valley
7. HG Prep
8. North Penn
9. Great Valley
10. Upper Dublin
11. Canon Mac
12. Wissahickon
Heat 2
1. Haven
2. GFS
3. Perk Valley
4. Coatesville
5. Baldwin
6. Unionville
7. Boyertown
8. LaSalle
9. Mt. Lebanon
10. Henderson
11. North Allegheny
12. North Hills
Let me know if you have any questions
In the 4x3200m Championship in no particular order:
1. Lower Merion- Furcht, Berman, McGowan, Ingerman
2. North Hills- Hebda, Vlah, Silenieks, Kush
3. North Allegheny- Gil, Steiner, Jacob, Taylor
4. Coatesville- Dawson, Dawson, Ward, Panulla
5. GFS- Kaulbach, McKenzie, McKenzie, Ortiz
6. Unionville- Springer, Burkhardt, Fischer, Stellar
7. Boyertown- Dennin, Weller, Kelly, Moyer
8. Henderson- Aldrich, Khattabi, Jervis, Collins
9. Horsham- Hibbs, Hibbs, Hibbs, Quinn
10. O'Hara- Savage, Pitone, Destefano, Billotta
11. North Penn- Hoagland, Macauley, Bernitt, Miles
12. Baldwin- Kuchta, Adley, DeGregorio, Bishop
13. Upper Dublin- Ferruzzi, Lorenzo, Dorris, McLaughlin
14. Carlisle- Hurston, Dennison, Pope, Padgett
15. CR North- Mahoney, Campbell, Wallace, Emery
4x800m Championship in no particular order
Heat 1
1. Central Dauphin
2. Quaker Valley
3. Trinity
4. Penncrest
5. Altoona
6. Chambersburg
7. Souderton
8. Cumberland Valley
9. Penn Hills
10. Norristown
11. Father Judge
12. Pennridge
Heat 2
1. CB South
2. CR North
3. Wissahickon
4. Baldwin
5. North Penn
6. Cedar Crest
7. CB West
8. Abington
9. Upper Dublin
10. Henderson
11. LaSalle
12. E and S
4x1600m Championship in no order
Heat 1
1. CB West
2. CB South
3. CR North
4. Pennridge
5. Horsham
6. Cumberland Valley
7. HG Prep
8. North Penn
9. Great Valley
10. Upper Dublin
11. Canon Mac
12. Wissahickon
Heat 2
1. Haven
2. GFS
3. Perk Valley
4. Coatesville
5. Baldwin
6. Unionville
7. Boyertown
8. LaSalle
9. Mt. Lebanon
10. Henderson
11. North Allegheny
12. North Hills
Let me know if you have any questions
Some Facts
Yeah, I know I have really decreased my posts as of late but I'm fairly swamped this week in school work and I was on break with my friend visiting last weekend so I couldn't really blog all the time. So I'm going to try to throw together this post real quick during my breaks in the day, and we will see how this goes.
Here are some facts you have to keep in mind for this upcoming outdoor season, I'm just listing these straight off the top of my head in no particular order so if I mess up my bad.
1. The AAA Boys XC State Champion has broken 9:20 the following spring every year since Ian Gottesfield in 2002.
2. The AAA Boys 3200m State Champion has been from District One every year since Curtis Bixler won the title in 2005.
3. At states, the AA 3200m State Champion has not run faster than the AAA state champion while I have been following the sport. I think Jake Walker would have been the most likely candidate but I haven't looked it up.
4. A PA runner hasn't won the mile at Penn since Chris Spooner. During that time Dennin and Micikas both have won the 3k.
5. In the DMR at Penn, Coatesville, GFS and Upper Dublin combined to win three straight championships. Then CB South just missed a 4th in 5 years for the DMR at Penn.
6. PA has had multiple 4x800m finalists in the Championship of America.
7. Despite Henderson's XC dominance and great individual performances, they have not won the 4x8000m at states this century (unless they won in 2000? not sure)
8. The Suburban One American Conference has had the 1600m Champion 3 out of the past 4 years with Crits, Palmisano and Magaha winning. The District One 1600m Champion has come from the Suburban One American conference each of the last four years.
9. PA has had at least one runner under 9:05 in the 3200m every year I have been following the sport (so at least 2006).
10. 21 PA runners have broken 9:10 for 3200m or the 3k equivalent in the past 5 years. That's over 4 different runners per year. With Wilson already on the sub 9:10 list, if history continues 4 new runners will be under 9:10 for 3200m this year.
11. 10 different runners have broken 1:52 in the open 800m or in a relay split in the past 5 years. If you count Magaha's indoor split of 1:51.0 that he claims he had in his most recent penntrack post, that puts the number up to 11.
12. At least one sophomore has cracked 1:55, 4:17 and 9:20 each over the past three years highlighted by Dustin Wilson, Wade Endress, and Drew Magaha.
13. Only two PA runners have run under 4:05. The last guy two guys to run under 4:10 as high school juniors didn't run faster as seniors (McNally, Miller)
14. North Penn hasn't had a medalist over 1600m in the past five years. Bernitt and Miles both had near misses in the 3200m in 2010.
15. In the AAA Distance Relays and Individual Events at states over the past five years outdoors (a total of 20 events) District One has taken down 17 of those state championships. District 3 has the remaining 3, two of which came in 2007. Only Cedar Crest has broken up the District One distance dominance with their 2010 4x800m win in the past four years.
16. The cross country state champion for AAA has won at least one state championship either indoors or outdoors each of the past eight years with the exception of Brad Miles.
17. Last year Kush, Silenieks, Kildoo, Trainer, Gil and Ayers (6 runners) failed to match their junior year 3200m PR outdoors after sub 9:20 performances the previous spring. Joe Beveridge and Greg Kareis are amongst the only other runners to have similar misfortune.
18. After the outdoor AAA XC state champion won the 3200m outdoors at states in 2007, 2008 and 2009, Matt Fischer and Glenn Burkhardt (24th and DNQ for states in XC) have won the last two titles.
19. Outside of the big three conferences D1, D3 and D7, there are few runners to break the 9:20, 4:17 and 1:55 barriers. D12 and D11 tend to be the next two biggest as well as the independent league.
20. At outdoor states, Sam Havko doubled 1600m and 800m for the double gold, but is the only one in recent years to have accomplished the feat. Endress has medaled in both the past two years, but not won either. The 3200m-1600m double has not been accomplished in quite some time either.
That's all I got. I bet some of these I forgot someone, like I said I just did all this from memory so feel free to correct me where I am wrong.
Thanks boys, now go break the trend.
Here are some facts you have to keep in mind for this upcoming outdoor season, I'm just listing these straight off the top of my head in no particular order so if I mess up my bad.
1. The AAA Boys XC State Champion has broken 9:20 the following spring every year since Ian Gottesfield in 2002.
2. The AAA Boys 3200m State Champion has been from District One every year since Curtis Bixler won the title in 2005.
3. At states, the AA 3200m State Champion has not run faster than the AAA state champion while I have been following the sport. I think Jake Walker would have been the most likely candidate but I haven't looked it up.
4. A PA runner hasn't won the mile at Penn since Chris Spooner. During that time Dennin and Micikas both have won the 3k.
5. In the DMR at Penn, Coatesville, GFS and Upper Dublin combined to win three straight championships. Then CB South just missed a 4th in 5 years for the DMR at Penn.
6. PA has had multiple 4x800m finalists in the Championship of America.
7. Despite Henderson's XC dominance and great individual performances, they have not won the 4x8000m at states this century (unless they won in 2000? not sure)
8. The Suburban One American Conference has had the 1600m Champion 3 out of the past 4 years with Crits, Palmisano and Magaha winning. The District One 1600m Champion has come from the Suburban One American conference each of the last four years.
9. PA has had at least one runner under 9:05 in the 3200m every year I have been following the sport (so at least 2006).
10. 21 PA runners have broken 9:10 for 3200m or the 3k equivalent in the past 5 years. That's over 4 different runners per year. With Wilson already on the sub 9:10 list, if history continues 4 new runners will be under 9:10 for 3200m this year.
11. 10 different runners have broken 1:52 in the open 800m or in a relay split in the past 5 years. If you count Magaha's indoor split of 1:51.0 that he claims he had in his most recent penntrack post, that puts the number up to 11.
12. At least one sophomore has cracked 1:55, 4:17 and 9:20 each over the past three years highlighted by Dustin Wilson, Wade Endress, and Drew Magaha.
13. Only two PA runners have run under 4:05. The last guy two guys to run under 4:10 as high school juniors didn't run faster as seniors (McNally, Miller)
14. North Penn hasn't had a medalist over 1600m in the past five years. Bernitt and Miles both had near misses in the 3200m in 2010.
15. In the AAA Distance Relays and Individual Events at states over the past five years outdoors (a total of 20 events) District One has taken down 17 of those state championships. District 3 has the remaining 3, two of which came in 2007. Only Cedar Crest has broken up the District One distance dominance with their 2010 4x800m win in the past four years.
16. The cross country state champion for AAA has won at least one state championship either indoors or outdoors each of the past eight years with the exception of Brad Miles.
17. Last year Kush, Silenieks, Kildoo, Trainer, Gil and Ayers (6 runners) failed to match their junior year 3200m PR outdoors after sub 9:20 performances the previous spring. Joe Beveridge and Greg Kareis are amongst the only other runners to have similar misfortune.
18. After the outdoor AAA XC state champion won the 3200m outdoors at states in 2007, 2008 and 2009, Matt Fischer and Glenn Burkhardt (24th and DNQ for states in XC) have won the last two titles.
19. Outside of the big three conferences D1, D3 and D7, there are few runners to break the 9:20, 4:17 and 1:55 barriers. D12 and D11 tend to be the next two biggest as well as the independent league.
20. At outdoor states, Sam Havko doubled 1600m and 800m for the double gold, but is the only one in recent years to have accomplished the feat. Endress has medaled in both the past two years, but not won either. The 3200m-1600m double has not been accomplished in quite some time either.
That's all I got. I bet some of these I forgot someone, like I said I just did all this from memory so feel free to correct me where I am wrong.
Thanks boys, now go break the trend.
Weekend Action
So fans, I've got plenty of weekend action to recap so let's get down to business.
Starting off with Brendan Shearn running his way into the state lead with a 9:15 3200m. It was a nice run, a big PR for sure, and a time that assures his status as favorite outdoors in the 3200m even more than it already had been confirmed. I'm honestly not that surprised, in a race like that with all that competition around him the whole race I probably would have guessed somewhere around this time for the AA state champ who ran 15:06 indoors for 5k. He will have a tough time matching this time at the state meet if the competition is what's expected and the race is at all tactical. Maybe at Henderson he will challenge the 9:10 mark, which would be an impressive mark for a Junior, but he like I said he won't see competition like this the rest of the way most likely.
Obviously, don't misinterpret what I'm trying to say here. It's a very impressive time and he is one of the best 2 milers in the state this year, probably only behind Wilson right now.
Over at Bruce Dallas we saw some nice performances. I feel like Avery Scripture is a name that goes completely under the radar, but he's just a break through away from being a top level guy. Another solid 4:20s performance in a winning performance over XC studs Jeff Groh and Aaron Wilkinson. He then doubled back with a second place 1:59 finish. Not bad. Not saying he's going to be a state champ, but he has a shot to run high 4 teens some time in the near future and I don't think most people have heard of him. Kunzweiler and Nissley got solid wins for each. Nice confidence boosters for both guys, not really fast times or wins over big names, but a win is a win.
CR Kiwanis, we saw some very nice 5ks. Hibbs bounces back and Conner Quinn shows everybody why he is a good cross guy. He just seems to lack a bit too much speed to run very quick in the 3200. I hope that those two working together will lead to great performances down the line by districts perhaps like Burkhardt and Fischer. Solid 5ks for the rest of the top group. Pitone continues to impress, he may be on the verge of a breakthrough in the near future if he can ever beat Savage. Ross Wilson goes from not even being recognized by last name on this blog, to easily best the 16 minute mark. Very nice performance for him as well, maybe a sleeper in the 32 later on down the line, certainly a cross country force in the future as well.
Northeast Bradford pulled out a solid 10:39 DMR. Not quite Penn worthy, but depending on how many guys return, they could be there next year. I'd imagine at least their most important two legs are coming back in Williams and Jewett. Bensalem with two solid relays as well. 4x8 and 4x4 wins highlighted by that 8:03.
I was hoping to see a little faster from the 15 guys. Metzler's time is probably worth mid 4:20s or so and Magaha's is worth high 4 teens. Solid times but I was hoping for a bit more. Kardish has really come on strong as of late and is potentially sub 4:20 by the end of the season as just a sophomore.
The Pennridge boys continue to burn up the track. Kohler wins the open 8 in a bit slower than expected (he has run 1:55 twice in dual meets) but still a very fast time. Logue hangs tough for second in a solid 1:57. Pennridge also had an individual 400m champion. Tough to see Horgan and Dickson go down like that in a race where it appears they had a pretty good shot to run fast with that kind of competition. We will see if they bounce back sometime soon or if they had indoor seasons that will overshadow their outdoor ones.
Lastly GFS looks like they are due for a big DMR run at Penn, maybe the CB South of a year ago. Two guys under 8:55 in the 3k working together out front and taking 1st fairly easily. I'm excited to see how they pan out as the season progresses.
Just want to throw in killer day for Hynes and Hamilton in the sprints. Kids were killing it.
Lastly, LaSalle takes down the DMR in the 10:20s in Virginia over Henderson and a Willigless Great Valley. Are they thinking DMR at Penn as well? They would definitely have a shot to mix it up out front, it usually only takes a 10:10ish to win and LaSalle has the legs to run that kind of time.
So I just wanted to throw to this in at the bottom of this post, I didn't want to bore you with it, but I just wanted to say it. I really want to thank everybody who has helped support me with my quest to achieve on the track. Yesterday was a very exciting day for me and it was made much better by sharing it with all of you guys. My status got over 75 likes and I don't think my other status's combined have ever gotten that much. Thanks to my training partner Josh Elkan who has really helped me get to where I am at this spring, my girlfriend Nicki Cronin who gave me the best advice to help me mentally be ready to run, my roommate Charlie Kline for being the guy at the starting line to make me smile right before the gun went off and all my teammates and coaches not just from college but from high school as well.
Much love to all you guys, I could never have done it without you.
So everybody go break some barriers.
Starting off with Brendan Shearn running his way into the state lead with a 9:15 3200m. It was a nice run, a big PR for sure, and a time that assures his status as favorite outdoors in the 3200m even more than it already had been confirmed. I'm honestly not that surprised, in a race like that with all that competition around him the whole race I probably would have guessed somewhere around this time for the AA state champ who ran 15:06 indoors for 5k. He will have a tough time matching this time at the state meet if the competition is what's expected and the race is at all tactical. Maybe at Henderson he will challenge the 9:10 mark, which would be an impressive mark for a Junior, but he like I said he won't see competition like this the rest of the way most likely.
Obviously, don't misinterpret what I'm trying to say here. It's a very impressive time and he is one of the best 2 milers in the state this year, probably only behind Wilson right now.
Over at Bruce Dallas we saw some nice performances. I feel like Avery Scripture is a name that goes completely under the radar, but he's just a break through away from being a top level guy. Another solid 4:20s performance in a winning performance over XC studs Jeff Groh and Aaron Wilkinson. He then doubled back with a second place 1:59 finish. Not bad. Not saying he's going to be a state champ, but he has a shot to run high 4 teens some time in the near future and I don't think most people have heard of him. Kunzweiler and Nissley got solid wins for each. Nice confidence boosters for both guys, not really fast times or wins over big names, but a win is a win.
CR Kiwanis, we saw some very nice 5ks. Hibbs bounces back and Conner Quinn shows everybody why he is a good cross guy. He just seems to lack a bit too much speed to run very quick in the 3200. I hope that those two working together will lead to great performances down the line by districts perhaps like Burkhardt and Fischer. Solid 5ks for the rest of the top group. Pitone continues to impress, he may be on the verge of a breakthrough in the near future if he can ever beat Savage. Ross Wilson goes from not even being recognized by last name on this blog, to easily best the 16 minute mark. Very nice performance for him as well, maybe a sleeper in the 32 later on down the line, certainly a cross country force in the future as well.
Northeast Bradford pulled out a solid 10:39 DMR. Not quite Penn worthy, but depending on how many guys return, they could be there next year. I'd imagine at least their most important two legs are coming back in Williams and Jewett. Bensalem with two solid relays as well. 4x8 and 4x4 wins highlighted by that 8:03.
I was hoping to see a little faster from the 15 guys. Metzler's time is probably worth mid 4:20s or so and Magaha's is worth high 4 teens. Solid times but I was hoping for a bit more. Kardish has really come on strong as of late and is potentially sub 4:20 by the end of the season as just a sophomore.
The Pennridge boys continue to burn up the track. Kohler wins the open 8 in a bit slower than expected (he has run 1:55 twice in dual meets) but still a very fast time. Logue hangs tough for second in a solid 1:57. Pennridge also had an individual 400m champion. Tough to see Horgan and Dickson go down like that in a race where it appears they had a pretty good shot to run fast with that kind of competition. We will see if they bounce back sometime soon or if they had indoor seasons that will overshadow their outdoor ones.
Lastly GFS looks like they are due for a big DMR run at Penn, maybe the CB South of a year ago. Two guys under 8:55 in the 3k working together out front and taking 1st fairly easily. I'm excited to see how they pan out as the season progresses.
Just want to throw in killer day for Hynes and Hamilton in the sprints. Kids were killing it.
Lastly, LaSalle takes down the DMR in the 10:20s in Virginia over Henderson and a Willigless Great Valley. Are they thinking DMR at Penn as well? They would definitely have a shot to mix it up out front, it usually only takes a 10:10ish to win and LaSalle has the legs to run that kind of time.
So I just wanted to throw to this in at the bottom of this post, I didn't want to bore you with it, but I just wanted to say it. I really want to thank everybody who has helped support me with my quest to achieve on the track. Yesterday was a very exciting day for me and it was made much better by sharing it with all of you guys. My status got over 75 likes and I don't think my other status's combined have ever gotten that much. Thanks to my training partner Josh Elkan who has really helped me get to where I am at this spring, my girlfriend Nicki Cronin who gave me the best advice to help me mentally be ready to run, my roommate Charlie Kline for being the guy at the starting line to make me smile right before the gun went off and all my teammates and coaches not just from college but from high school as well.
Much love to all you guys, I could never have done it without you.
So everybody go break some barriers.
Team Standings
I added up all the team totals I could find real quick to give you an idea of who is in the lead and such. I didn't put it in order, so you will have to control f for your team or just scroll and look around. Boyertown currently leads by one point of Henderson, with Altoona, North Penn, and Unionville the big chasers over 40 behind them. GFS sits at 39, NA 37, CHA 35, and Conestoga Valley at 31. Coatesville has 29 heading into the longer track events, and Wissahickon has amassed 27 points, all of which came from track events (the highest ranked team to only score points in track events).
North Penn 30+14 == 44
CHA 28+7 == 35
Boyertown 26+24+8+5+1 == 64
Unionville 22+12+8 == 42
North Allegheny 20+16+1 == 37
Altoona 19+6+7+12+3 == 47
North Hills 18+2+2 == 22
Henderson 17+5+24+5+12 = 63
GFS 16+12+10+1 == 39
Conestoga Valley 15+6+10 == 31
Bishop McDevitt 14 == 14
Mt. Lebanon 13 == 13
Perk Valley 12+3 == 15
CR North 11 == 11
Horsham 10+10 == 20
Coatesville 9+20 == 29
Lower Merion 8+4 == 12
Grove City 7+4 == 11
LaSalle 6+8+10 == 24
Malvern Prep 3 == 3
Friend's Central 1 == 1
O'Hara 4+6 == 10
CB South 12+10 == 22
Wissahickon 10+5+5+7 == 27
Great Valley 8+2 == 10
CB West 6 == 6
CDauphin 4+4 == 8
Fairview 3+8 == 11
E and S 2+7+6 == 15
Gratz 1 == 1
Crestwood 2 == 2
Father Judge 8+6 = 14
Upper Moreland 4+12 == 16
Upper Dublin 3+2 == 5
Penncrest 2 == 2
Norristown 1 == 1
Baldwin 7 == 7
Strath Haven 3 == 3
Conrad Weiser 5 == 5
Red Lion 4 == 4
North Penn 30+14 == 44
CHA 28+7 == 35
Boyertown 26+24+8+5+1 == 64
Unionville 22+12+8 == 42
North Allegheny 20+16+1 == 37
Altoona 19+6+7+12+3 == 47
North Hills 18+2+2 == 22
Henderson 17+5+24+5+12 = 63
GFS 16+12+10+1 == 39
Conestoga Valley 15+6+10 == 31
Bishop McDevitt 14 == 14
Mt. Lebanon 13 == 13
Perk Valley 12+3 == 15
CR North 11 == 11
Horsham 10+10 == 20
Coatesville 9+20 == 29
Lower Merion 8+4 == 12
Grove City 7+4 == 11
LaSalle 6+8+10 == 24
Malvern Prep 3 == 3
Friend's Central 1 == 1
O'Hara 4+6 == 10
CB South 12+10 == 22
Wissahickon 10+5+5+7 == 27
Great Valley 8+2 == 10
CB West 6 == 6
CDauphin 4+4 == 8
Fairview 3+8 == 11
E and S 2+7+6 == 15
Gratz 1 == 1
Crestwood 2 == 2
Father Judge 8+6 = 14
Upper Moreland 4+12 == 16
Upper Dublin 3+2 == 5
Penncrest 2 == 2
Norristown 1 == 1
Baldwin 7 == 7
Strath Haven 3 == 3
Conrad Weiser 5 == 5
Red Lion 4 == 4
1600m
Heat 1
400m
1. Zarzeczny 61.3
2. Wilson 61.6
3. Lee 61.6
4. Mallon 61.7
5. Gibson 61.8
6. Donnelly 62.0
7. Hilton 62.1
8. O'Sullivan 62.2
9. Hull 62.3
10. Bryan 62.3
11. Scarpello 62.4
12. Palmisano 62.6
800m
1. Wilson 2:05.0
2. Hilton 2:05.3
3. Gibson 2:05.6
4. Donnelly 2:05.8
5. Zarzeczny 2:06.0
6. Scarpello 2:06.1
7. Bryan 2:06.1
8. Lee 2:06.2
9. Hull 2:06.3
10. Mallon 2:06.3
11. O'Sullivan 2:06.4
12. Palmisano 2:06.6
1200m
1. Wilson 3:09.1
2. Donnelly 3:09.7
3. Bryan 3:10.6
4. Scarpello 3:10.7
5. Gibson 3:10.8
6. Hilton 3:10.8
7. Lee 3:10.9
8. Mallon 3:11.0
9. Hull 3:11.0
10. Palmisano 3:11.6
11. Zarzeczny 3:11.7
12. O'Sullivan 3:12.1
1600m Finish
1. Mike Palmisano 4:13.11
2. Dustin Wilson 4:13.18
3. Sean Mallon 4:13.27
4. Nick Hilton 4:13.67
5. Terrence Lee 4:13.96
6. Ed Donnelly 4:13.99
7. Nick Gibson 4:14.12
8. Lucas Zarzeczny 4:14.15
9. Kevin Hull 4:14.20
10. Isaac Bryan 4:14.87
11. Nick Scarpello 4:14.91
12. Chris O'Sullivan 4:14.92
Heat 2
400m
1. Moran 62.4
2. Endress 62.5
3. Magaha 62.5
4. McNally 62.6
5. Perozze 62.6
6. Kehl 62.7
7. Havko 62.8
8. Kareis 62.8
9. Weller 62.8
10. Willig 62.9
11. Crits 63.0
12. McClafferty 63.0
800m
1. Endress 2:05.7
2. McNally 2:05.8
3. Magaha 2:05.8
4. Willig 2:05.9
5. Kehl 2:06.0
6. Moran 2:06.1
7. Weller 2:06.2
8. Kareis 2:06.3
9. Crits 2:06.4
10. McClafferty 2:06.5
11. Perozze 2:06.5
12. Havko 2:06.6
1200m
1. McNally 3:06.5
2. Willig 3:06.8
3. Kehl 3:07.4
4. Weller 3:08.0
5. Endress 3:08.0
6. Magaha 3:08.1
7. Havko 3:08.9
8. McClafferty 3:09.5
9. Moran 3:10.1
10. Kareis 3:10.4
11. Perozze 3:10.7
12. Crits 3:11.1
1600m Finish
1. Magaha, Upper Moreland 4:07.33 12
2. McNally, Conestoga Valley 4:07.86 10
3. Havko, Fairview 4:10.09 8
4. Crits, Wissahickon 4:10.87 7
5. Kehl, Father Judge 4:10.88 6
6. McClafferty, Conrad Weiser 4:11.31 5
7. Kareis, Red Lion 4:11.77 4
8. Endress, Altoona 4:11.79 3
9. Willig, Great Valley 4:11.82 2
10. Weller, Boyertown 4:11.95 1
11. Perozze, Perk Valley 4:12.10
12. Moran, Mt. Lebanon 4:12.88
400m
1. Zarzeczny 61.3
2. Wilson 61.6
3. Lee 61.6
4. Mallon 61.7
5. Gibson 61.8
6. Donnelly 62.0
7. Hilton 62.1
8. O'Sullivan 62.2
9. Hull 62.3
10. Bryan 62.3
11. Scarpello 62.4
12. Palmisano 62.6
800m
1. Wilson 2:05.0
2. Hilton 2:05.3
3. Gibson 2:05.6
4. Donnelly 2:05.8
5. Zarzeczny 2:06.0
6. Scarpello 2:06.1
7. Bryan 2:06.1
8. Lee 2:06.2
9. Hull 2:06.3
10. Mallon 2:06.3
11. O'Sullivan 2:06.4
12. Palmisano 2:06.6
1200m
1. Wilson 3:09.1
2. Donnelly 3:09.7
3. Bryan 3:10.6
4. Scarpello 3:10.7
5. Gibson 3:10.8
6. Hilton 3:10.8
7. Lee 3:10.9
8. Mallon 3:11.0
9. Hull 3:11.0
10. Palmisano 3:11.6
11. Zarzeczny 3:11.7
12. O'Sullivan 3:12.1
1600m Finish
1. Mike Palmisano 4:13.11
2. Dustin Wilson 4:13.18
3. Sean Mallon 4:13.27
4. Nick Hilton 4:13.67
5. Terrence Lee 4:13.96
6. Ed Donnelly 4:13.99
7. Nick Gibson 4:14.12
8. Lucas Zarzeczny 4:14.15
9. Kevin Hull 4:14.20
10. Isaac Bryan 4:14.87
11. Nick Scarpello 4:14.91
12. Chris O'Sullivan 4:14.92
Heat 2
400m
1. Moran 62.4
2. Endress 62.5
3. Magaha 62.5
4. McNally 62.6
5. Perozze 62.6
6. Kehl 62.7
7. Havko 62.8
8. Kareis 62.8
9. Weller 62.8
10. Willig 62.9
11. Crits 63.0
12. McClafferty 63.0
800m
1. Endress 2:05.7
2. McNally 2:05.8
3. Magaha 2:05.8
4. Willig 2:05.9
5. Kehl 2:06.0
6. Moran 2:06.1
7. Weller 2:06.2
8. Kareis 2:06.3
9. Crits 2:06.4
10. McClafferty 2:06.5
11. Perozze 2:06.5
12. Havko 2:06.6
1200m
1. McNally 3:06.5
2. Willig 3:06.8
3. Kehl 3:07.4
4. Weller 3:08.0
5. Endress 3:08.0
6. Magaha 3:08.1
7. Havko 3:08.9
8. McClafferty 3:09.5
9. Moran 3:10.1
10. Kareis 3:10.4
11. Perozze 3:10.7
12. Crits 3:11.1
1600m Finish
1. Magaha, Upper Moreland 4:07.33 12
2. McNally, Conestoga Valley 4:07.86 10
3. Havko, Fairview 4:10.09 8
4. Crits, Wissahickon 4:10.87 7
5. Kehl, Father Judge 4:10.88 6
6. McClafferty, Conrad Weiser 4:11.31 5
7. Kareis, Red Lion 4:11.77 4
8. Endress, Altoona 4:11.79 3
9. Willig, Great Valley 4:11.82 2
10. Weller, Boyertown 4:11.95 1
11. Perozze, Perk Valley 4:12.10
12. Moran, Mt. Lebanon 4:12.88
Post
So I'm sitting here at Muhlenberg sitting in my room with three recruits and of course after we sat here and talked about the blog I can't just not make a post today. So needless to say I'm going to try to make a post. I was going to sit here and ramble about the first thing I saw on facebook when I logged on was a post between two guys about my blog. It was super exciting. And Kenny Leidal I am sorry for spelling your name wrong. I hope that time it was right because I already forgot how to spell it not gonna lie.
Quick shout out for Drew Magaha who won the poll and was voted by you all as the best runner of the past 6 years or so. Pretty sick honor for him. He recently celebrated by dual meet racing Francis Ferruzzi, sitting on him for 3 laps and then outkicking him by 11 seconds on the final lap. 58 to 69. 4:19 to 4:30. Shoot.
Also I was looking at penntrack today, unfortunately I still need to go to that site to find info, even if I don't have an account anymore. I was checking out the results of the Rustin Invite. Not bad for Yannacone (another kid whose name I can't spell) but nothing shocking. Trama coming back to other after his absurd 32. I think 4:32 is still probably a nice PR.
This weekend watch out for Kiwanis invite should produce some solid times. Israel, Savage, Pitone, Wilson in the 5k. Magaha, Kardish, Pastore and James in the 15. Horgan, Kardish, Belfatto (maybe doubling), Zingarini and Felt (also most likely doubling). The 3k should be quite fun indeed with Sam Williams and Curt Jewett making the trip down to take a shot at Penn against DeBarbarie. Throw in Emery and Israel on the double.
Anyway we are watching dodgeball and I love this movie so I gotta make like Usain and stop blogging so I can watch the movie and bond with my recruits.
Oh wait make like Usain and Bolt! That's what the saying is. My bad friends.
PS
1600m Entries
1. Drew Magaha, Upper Moreland
2. Vince McNally, Conestoga Valley
3. Tom Kehl, Father Judge
4. Sam Havko, Fairview
5. Nate McClafferty, Conrad Weiser
6. Nick Crits, Wissahickon
7. Wade Endress, Altoona
8. Ned Willig, Great Valley
9. Jason Weller, Boyertown
10. Vince Perozze, Perk Valley
11. Greg Kareis, Red Lion
12. Alex Moran, Mt. Lebanon
13. Nick Hilton, Exeter
14. Mike Palmisano, Upper Dublin
15. Ed Donnelly, Haverford
16. Dustin Wilson, CHA
17. Terrence Lee, E and S
18. Nick Gison, Canon Mac
19. Lucas Zarzeczny, Avonworth
20. Sean Mallon, Archbishop Ryan
21. Kevin Hull, Hempfield
22. Isaac Bryan, Pennridge
23. Nick Scarpello, CB West
24. Chris O’Sullivan, St. Joe’s Prep
Quick shout out for Drew Magaha who won the poll and was voted by you all as the best runner of the past 6 years or so. Pretty sick honor for him. He recently celebrated by dual meet racing Francis Ferruzzi, sitting on him for 3 laps and then outkicking him by 11 seconds on the final lap. 58 to 69. 4:19 to 4:30. Shoot.
Also I was looking at penntrack today, unfortunately I still need to go to that site to find info, even if I don't have an account anymore. I was checking out the results of the Rustin Invite. Not bad for Yannacone (another kid whose name I can't spell) but nothing shocking. Trama coming back to other after his absurd 32. I think 4:32 is still probably a nice PR.
This weekend watch out for Kiwanis invite should produce some solid times. Israel, Savage, Pitone, Wilson in the 5k. Magaha, Kardish, Pastore and James in the 15. Horgan, Kardish, Belfatto (maybe doubling), Zingarini and Felt (also most likely doubling). The 3k should be quite fun indeed with Sam Williams and Curt Jewett making the trip down to take a shot at Penn against DeBarbarie. Throw in Emery and Israel on the double.
Anyway we are watching dodgeball and I love this movie so I gotta make like Usain and stop blogging so I can watch the movie and bond with my recruits.
Oh wait make like Usain and Bolt! That's what the saying is. My bad friends.
PS
1600m Entries
1. Drew Magaha, Upper Moreland
2. Vince McNally, Conestoga Valley
3. Tom Kehl, Father Judge
4. Sam Havko, Fairview
5. Nate McClafferty, Conrad Weiser
6. Nick Crits, Wissahickon
7. Wade Endress, Altoona
8. Ned Willig, Great Valley
9. Jason Weller, Boyertown
10. Vince Perozze, Perk Valley
11. Greg Kareis, Red Lion
12. Alex Moran, Mt. Lebanon
13. Nick Hilton, Exeter
14. Mike Palmisano, Upper Dublin
15. Ed Donnelly, Haverford
16. Dustin Wilson, CHA
17. Terrence Lee, E and S
18. Nick Gison, Canon Mac
19. Lucas Zarzeczny, Avonworth
20. Sean Mallon, Archbishop Ryan
21. Kevin Hull, Hempfield
22. Isaac Bryan, Pennridge
23. Nick Scarpello, CB West
24. Chris O’Sullivan, St. Joe’s Prep
DMR Finals Heat 2
Sorry for the delay with all these, I'm trying to get to them as fast as I can but obviously work and stuff piles up. Plus we have 4 recruits coming today and tomorrow and one of them I am hosting so I kind of will be busy and have to get my HW out of the way when I can. But I'd much rather be doing this stuff which is why I am procrastinating right now. Plus my 20 page econ paper is finally off my back. Fun stuff. But to the reason you are reading this ....
400m
1. Rotz 58.9
2. Rhodes 59.1
3. Coyle 59.5
4. Huemmler 59.8
5. Hull 59.9
6. Reilly 60.2
7. Adley 60.4
8. Ferry 60.5
9. McKenzie 60.7
10. Waddington 61.0
11. Yannocane 61.2
12. Farrell 61.4
800m
1. Huemmler 2:00.5
2. Coyle 2:00.5
3. Ferry 2:00.8
4. Hull 2:01.2
5. Reilly 2:01.3
6. Rotz 2:01.3
7. Rhodes 2:01.4
8. Adley 2:01.7
9. McKenzie 2:01.8
10. Yannocane 2:03.8
11. Waddington 2:03.8
12. Farrell 2:03.9
1200m Split
1. Hull 56.5/63.5 60 3:01.1
2. Coyle 57/63.5 60.25 3:01.4
3. Huemmler 57/63.5 60.25 3:01.6
4. Rotz 55.5/65 60.25* 3:02.4
5. Ferry 56.5/64.5 60.5 3:02.6
6. Rhodes 56/66 61 3:02.6
7. McKenzie 58/64 61 3:03.1
8. Adley 58.5/64 61.25 3:04.4
9. Reilly 56.5/66 61.25 3:04.7
10. Yannocane 58/65 61.5 3:04.9
11. Waddington 58/65 61.5 3:05.3
12. Farrell 58.5/65 61.75 3:06.0
1600m (400m Split)
1. Akers 48.1 (3:49.2)
2. Collins 47.9 (3:49.5)
3. Perron 48.1 (3:50.7)
4. Flythe 48.4 (3:50.8)
5. Scott 49.7 (3:51.1)
6. Shea 49.5 (3:52.1)
7. Ulatowski 47.4 (3:52.3)
8. May 49.5 (3:52.6)
9. Wolfe 49.0 (3:53.4)
10. Melton 48.8 (3:53.5)
11. Poiesz 48.3 (3:53.6)
12. Hairston 48.4 (3:54.4)
2000m
1. Jones 54.8
2. Kontra 56.5
3. Seelaus 56.4
4. Golden 55.5
5. James 53.0
6. Stone 56.0
7. Lefebure 55.2
8. Ellison 54.2
9. Mallon 54.2
10. Cho 54.9
11. Allen 57.0
12. Waterman 56.9
2400m (800m Split)
1. Jones 1:52.7 (5:43.4)
2. Kontra 1:54.2 (5:43.4)
3. Lefebure 1:51.4 (5:43.5)
4. Golden 1:53.3 (5:44.1)
5. Stone 1:53.3 (5:44.4)
6. Mallon 1:51.0 (5:44.6)
7. Seelaus 1:55.2 (5:44.7)
8. James 1:52.1 (5:45.5)
9. Ellison 1:52.6 (5:46.1)
10. Cho 1:52.2 (5:46.6)
11. Waterman 1:54.9 (5:47.5)
12. Allen 1:55.8 (5:48.1)
2800m
1. Lee 61.8
2. Kellar 62.4
3. Groff 62.7
4. Schrom 62.2
5. Lowry 61.9
6. Gregor 62.5
7. Fink 62.7
8. Hobart 62.1
9. Palmisano 62.5
10. Crits 62.3
11. Kaulbach 61.9
12. Springer 61.7
3200m
1. Lee 2:05.0
2. Kellar 2:05.2
3. Lowry 2:04.6
4. Schrom 2:05.0
5. Groff 2:06.8
6. Gregor 2:06.8
7. Hobart 2:06.1
8. Fink 2:06.5
9. Springer 2:03.5
10. Crits 2:05.6
11. Kaulbach 2:05.3
12. Palmisano 2:06.7
3600m
1. Lowry 3:08.0
2. Lee 3:10.4
3. Kellar 3:10.8
4. Schrom 3:10.4
5. Springer 3:07.8
6. Hobart 3:10.5
7. Groff 3:12.9
8. Gregor 3:12.4
9. Kaulbach 3:09.9
10. Crits 3:10.8
11. Palmisano 3:11.3
12. Fink 3:12.9
4000m Finish
1. Kellar 4:11.5, West Chester Henderson(9:55.0) 12
2. Lowry 4:10.9, LaSalle (9:55.3) 10
3. Springer 4:08.8, Unionville (9:56.3) 8
4. Hobart 4:11.0, Baldwin (9:56.5) 7
5. Lee 4:13.1, E and S (9:56.5) 6
6. Crits 4:10.3, Wissahickon (9:56.9) 5
7. Schrom 4:13.4, Central Dauphin (9:57.5) 4
8. Fink 4:13.2, Strath Haven (9:57.9) 3
9. Palmisano 4:12.2, UD (9:58.3) 2
10. Kaulbach 4:11.4, GFS (9:58.9) 1
11. Groff 4:16.1, Hempfield (9:59.5)
12. Gregor 4:15.7, CBSouth (10:00.3)
Team Standings
Boyertown 63
Henderson 63
Altoona 44
North Penn 44
Unionville 42
400m
1. Rotz 58.9
2. Rhodes 59.1
3. Coyle 59.5
4. Huemmler 59.8
5. Hull 59.9
6. Reilly 60.2
7. Adley 60.4
8. Ferry 60.5
9. McKenzie 60.7
10. Waddington 61.0
11. Yannocane 61.2
12. Farrell 61.4
800m
1. Huemmler 2:00.5
2. Coyle 2:00.5
3. Ferry 2:00.8
4. Hull 2:01.2
5. Reilly 2:01.3
6. Rotz 2:01.3
7. Rhodes 2:01.4
8. Adley 2:01.7
9. McKenzie 2:01.8
10. Yannocane 2:03.8
11. Waddington 2:03.8
12. Farrell 2:03.9
1200m Split
1. Hull 56.5/63.5 60 3:01.1
2. Coyle 57/63.5 60.25 3:01.4
3. Huemmler 57/63.5 60.25 3:01.6
4. Rotz 55.5/65 60.25* 3:02.4
5. Ferry 56.5/64.5 60.5 3:02.6
6. Rhodes 56/66 61 3:02.6
7. McKenzie 58/64 61 3:03.1
8. Adley 58.5/64 61.25 3:04.4
9. Reilly 56.5/66 61.25 3:04.7
10. Yannocane 58/65 61.5 3:04.9
11. Waddington 58/65 61.5 3:05.3
12. Farrell 58.5/65 61.75 3:06.0
1600m (400m Split)
1. Akers 48.1 (3:49.2)
2. Collins 47.9 (3:49.5)
3. Perron 48.1 (3:50.7)
4. Flythe 48.4 (3:50.8)
5. Scott 49.7 (3:51.1)
6. Shea 49.5 (3:52.1)
7. Ulatowski 47.4 (3:52.3)
8. May 49.5 (3:52.6)
9. Wolfe 49.0 (3:53.4)
10. Melton 48.8 (3:53.5)
11. Poiesz 48.3 (3:53.6)
12. Hairston 48.4 (3:54.4)
2000m
1. Jones 54.8
2. Kontra 56.5
3. Seelaus 56.4
4. Golden 55.5
5. James 53.0
6. Stone 56.0
7. Lefebure 55.2
8. Ellison 54.2
9. Mallon 54.2
10. Cho 54.9
11. Allen 57.0
12. Waterman 56.9
2400m (800m Split)
1. Jones 1:52.7 (5:43.4)
2. Kontra 1:54.2 (5:43.4)
3. Lefebure 1:51.4 (5:43.5)
4. Golden 1:53.3 (5:44.1)
5. Stone 1:53.3 (5:44.4)
6. Mallon 1:51.0 (5:44.6)
7. Seelaus 1:55.2 (5:44.7)
8. James 1:52.1 (5:45.5)
9. Ellison 1:52.6 (5:46.1)
10. Cho 1:52.2 (5:46.6)
11. Waterman 1:54.9 (5:47.5)
12. Allen 1:55.8 (5:48.1)
2800m
1. Lee 61.8
2. Kellar 62.4
3. Groff 62.7
4. Schrom 62.2
5. Lowry 61.9
6. Gregor 62.5
7. Fink 62.7
8. Hobart 62.1
9. Palmisano 62.5
10. Crits 62.3
11. Kaulbach 61.9
12. Springer 61.7
3200m
1. Lee 2:05.0
2. Kellar 2:05.2
3. Lowry 2:04.6
4. Schrom 2:05.0
5. Groff 2:06.8
6. Gregor 2:06.8
7. Hobart 2:06.1
8. Fink 2:06.5
9. Springer 2:03.5
10. Crits 2:05.6
11. Kaulbach 2:05.3
12. Palmisano 2:06.7
3600m
1. Lowry 3:08.0
2. Lee 3:10.4
3. Kellar 3:10.8
4. Schrom 3:10.4
5. Springer 3:07.8
6. Hobart 3:10.5
7. Groff 3:12.9
8. Gregor 3:12.4
9. Kaulbach 3:09.9
10. Crits 3:10.8
11. Palmisano 3:11.3
12. Fink 3:12.9
4000m Finish
1. Kellar 4:11.5, West Chester Henderson(9:55.0) 12
2. Lowry 4:10.9, LaSalle (9:55.3) 10
3. Springer 4:08.8, Unionville (9:56.3) 8
4. Hobart 4:11.0, Baldwin (9:56.5) 7
5. Lee 4:13.1, E and S (9:56.5) 6
6. Crits 4:10.3, Wissahickon (9:56.9) 5
7. Schrom 4:13.4, Central Dauphin (9:57.5) 4
8. Fink 4:13.2, Strath Haven (9:57.9) 3
9. Palmisano 4:12.2, UD (9:58.3) 2
10. Kaulbach 4:11.4, GFS (9:58.9) 1
11. Groff 4:16.1, Hempfield (9:59.5)
12. Gregor 4:15.7, CBSouth (10:00.3)
Team Standings
Boyertown 63
Henderson 63
Altoona 44
North Penn 44
Unionville 42
DMR Heat 1
400m
1. Chylak 59.2
2. DiFlorio 59.5
3. Troxell 59.8
4. Montijo 60.0
5. Dawson 60.0
6. Ivo 60.4
7. Mahoney 60.7
8. Addis 60.8
9. Fulton 61.1
10. Eubanks 61.1
11. Dennison 61.4
12. Bee 61.6
13. Steiner 61.8
800m
1. Chylak 2:00.7
2. Ivo 2:01.2
3. DiFlorio 2:01.4
4. Dawson 2:01.5
5. Mahoney 2:01.6
6. Montijo 2:01.7
7. Addis 2:02.4
8. Fulton 2:02.5
9. Troxell 2:03.2
10. Dennison 2:04.0
11. Steiner 2:04.0
12. Eubanks 2:04.2
13. Bee 2:04.8
1200m Split
1. Dawson 3:02.8
2. DiFlorio 3:03.0
3. Fulton 3:03.3
4. Chylak 3:03.4
5. Montijo 3:03.6
6. Ivo 3:03.9
7. Troxell 3:04.2
8. Addis 3:04.5
9. Mahoney 3:04.8
10. Eubanks 3:05.5
11. Bee 3:05.7
12. Steiner 3:06.4
13. Dennison 3:08.1
1600m (400m Split)
1. Dempster 47.5 (3:50.5)
2. Crutchfield 49.0 (3:51.8)
3. Bookheimer 48.2 (3:51.8)
4. Leonard 49.1 (3:52.4)
5. Lupica 49.3 (3:52.7)
6. Bordner 48.5 (3:52.7)
7. Mindlin 48.5 (3:53.3)
8. McCary 49.2 (3:53.7)
9. Manley 48.1 (3:53.8)
10. Killing 50.1 (3:54.0)
12. Grove 49.1 (3:54.6)
13. Luoco 48.8 (3:55.2)
13. Obertson 50.2 (3:58.3)
2000m
Horgan 54.8
Burns 57.1
Franks 56.0
Cline 57.4
Jackson 56.7
Wikler 56.3
McGarvey 56.3
Gentile 58.4
Holder 56.2
Wolffe 57.9
Tonzo 56.4
Sheltzler 57.6
West 55.5
2400m (800m Split)
1. Franks 1:53.2 (5:45.0)
2. Horgan 1:53.1 (5:45.8)
3. Wikler 1:52.9 (5:46.2)
4. Burns 1:55.8 (5:46.3)
5. McGarvey 1:52.9 (5:46.7)
6. Jackson 1:54.2 (5:46.9)
7. Holder 1:53.0 (5:47.6)
8. Sheltzer 1:54.3 (5:48.3)
9. Cline 1:56.5 (5:48.3)
10. Tonzo 1:53.6 (5:48.8)
11. Wolffe 1:57.0 (5:50.7)
12. Gentile 1:58.5 (5:51.2)
13. West 1:54.5 (5:52.8)
2800m
1. Miles 62.5
2. Campbell 61.8
3. Hibbs 62.8
4. Arnold 63.4
5. Scarpello 62.5
6. Galli 62.5
7. Dawson 62.5
8. Grove 63.2
9. DeSabato 63.4
10. Gil 62.9
11. Willig 61.2
12. McCullough 63.6
13. Hurston 62.6
3200m
1. Miles 2:06.8
2. Campbell 2:05.8
3. Hibbs 2:06.3
4. Scarpello 2:06.1
5. Galli 2:06.7
6. Dawson 2:05.9
7. Gil 2:06.1
8. Arnold 2:09.2
9. Willig 2:04.6
10. Grove 2:08.1
11. DeSabato 2:08.2
12. Hurston 2:05.9
13. McCullough 2:07.6
3600m
1. Campbell 3:10.8
2. Miles 3:12.0
3. Hibbs 3:12.1
4. Scarpello 3:11.8
5. Gil 3:10.1
6. Willig 3:08.3
7. Dawson 3:10.8
8. Galli 3:14.4
9. Arnold 3:15.6
10. DeSabato 3:13.9
11. Grove 3:14.6
12. McCullough 3:12.9
13. Hurston 3:11.4
4000m
1. Campbell 4:13.1, CR North (9:59.3)
2. Miles 4:15.7, North Penn (10:00.7)
3. Scarpello 4:14.2, CB West (10:00.9)
4. Dawson 4:13.2, Coatesville (10:01.5)
5. Willig 4:10.8, G Valley (10:01.5)
6. Hibbs 4:15.4, Horsham (10:01.7)
7. Gil 4:13.2, NA (10:02.0)
8. Galli 4:16.9, Cedar Crest (10:03.8)
9. Grove 4:16.3, Chambersburg (10:03.9)
10. Arnold 4:19.7, HG Prep (10:05.5)
11. DeSabato 4:17.8, Friend's Central (10:06.1)
12. McCullough 4:15.3, Malvern Prep (10:06.5)
13. Hurston 4:14.3, Carlisle (10:07.1)
1. Chylak 59.2
2. DiFlorio 59.5
3. Troxell 59.8
4. Montijo 60.0
5. Dawson 60.0
6. Ivo 60.4
7. Mahoney 60.7
8. Addis 60.8
9. Fulton 61.1
10. Eubanks 61.1
11. Dennison 61.4
12. Bee 61.6
13. Steiner 61.8
800m
1. Chylak 2:00.7
2. Ivo 2:01.2
3. DiFlorio 2:01.4
4. Dawson 2:01.5
5. Mahoney 2:01.6
6. Montijo 2:01.7
7. Addis 2:02.4
8. Fulton 2:02.5
9. Troxell 2:03.2
10. Dennison 2:04.0
11. Steiner 2:04.0
12. Eubanks 2:04.2
13. Bee 2:04.8
1200m Split
1. Dawson 3:02.8
2. DiFlorio 3:03.0
3. Fulton 3:03.3
4. Chylak 3:03.4
5. Montijo 3:03.6
6. Ivo 3:03.9
7. Troxell 3:04.2
8. Addis 3:04.5
9. Mahoney 3:04.8
10. Eubanks 3:05.5
11. Bee 3:05.7
12. Steiner 3:06.4
13. Dennison 3:08.1
1600m (400m Split)
1. Dempster 47.5 (3:50.5)
2. Crutchfield 49.0 (3:51.8)
3. Bookheimer 48.2 (3:51.8)
4. Leonard 49.1 (3:52.4)
5. Lupica 49.3 (3:52.7)
6. Bordner 48.5 (3:52.7)
7. Mindlin 48.5 (3:53.3)
8. McCary 49.2 (3:53.7)
9. Manley 48.1 (3:53.8)
10. Killing 50.1 (3:54.0)
12. Grove 49.1 (3:54.6)
13. Luoco 48.8 (3:55.2)
13. Obertson 50.2 (3:58.3)
2000m
Horgan 54.8
Burns 57.1
Franks 56.0
Cline 57.4
Jackson 56.7
Wikler 56.3
McGarvey 56.3
Gentile 58.4
Holder 56.2
Wolffe 57.9
Tonzo 56.4
Sheltzler 57.6
West 55.5
2400m (800m Split)
1. Franks 1:53.2 (5:45.0)
2. Horgan 1:53.1 (5:45.8)
3. Wikler 1:52.9 (5:46.2)
4. Burns 1:55.8 (5:46.3)
5. McGarvey 1:52.9 (5:46.7)
6. Jackson 1:54.2 (5:46.9)
7. Holder 1:53.0 (5:47.6)
8. Sheltzer 1:54.3 (5:48.3)
9. Cline 1:56.5 (5:48.3)
10. Tonzo 1:53.6 (5:48.8)
11. Wolffe 1:57.0 (5:50.7)
12. Gentile 1:58.5 (5:51.2)
13. West 1:54.5 (5:52.8)
2800m
1. Miles 62.5
2. Campbell 61.8
3. Hibbs 62.8
4. Arnold 63.4
5. Scarpello 62.5
6. Galli 62.5
7. Dawson 62.5
8. Grove 63.2
9. DeSabato 63.4
10. Gil 62.9
11. Willig 61.2
12. McCullough 63.6
13. Hurston 62.6
3200m
1. Miles 2:06.8
2. Campbell 2:05.8
3. Hibbs 2:06.3
4. Scarpello 2:06.1
5. Galli 2:06.7
6. Dawson 2:05.9
7. Gil 2:06.1
8. Arnold 2:09.2
9. Willig 2:04.6
10. Grove 2:08.1
11. DeSabato 2:08.2
12. Hurston 2:05.9
13. McCullough 2:07.6
3600m
1. Campbell 3:10.8
2. Miles 3:12.0
3. Hibbs 3:12.1
4. Scarpello 3:11.8
5. Gil 3:10.1
6. Willig 3:08.3
7. Dawson 3:10.8
8. Galli 3:14.4
9. Arnold 3:15.6
10. DeSabato 3:13.9
11. Grove 3:14.6
12. McCullough 3:12.9
13. Hurston 3:11.4
4000m
1. Campbell 4:13.1, CR North (9:59.3)
2. Miles 4:15.7, North Penn (10:00.7)
3. Scarpello 4:14.2, CB West (10:00.9)
4. Dawson 4:13.2, Coatesville (10:01.5)
5. Willig 4:10.8, G Valley (10:01.5)
6. Hibbs 4:15.4, Horsham (10:01.7)
7. Gil 4:13.2, NA (10:02.0)
8. Galli 4:16.9, Cedar Crest (10:03.8)
9. Grove 4:16.3, Chambersburg (10:03.9)
10. Arnold 4:19.7, HG Prep (10:05.5)
11. DeSabato 4:17.8, Friend's Central (10:06.1)
12. McCullough 4:15.3, Malvern Prep (10:06.5)
13. Hurston 4:14.3, Carlisle (10:07.1)
DMR Relay Legs
The official entries for the DMR relay line ups are in.
Heat 1
1. Carlisle: Dennison to Obertson to West to Hurston
2. CR North: Mahoney to Mindlin to Wikler to Campbell
3. Horsham: DiFlorio to Dempster to Burns to Hibbs
4. Great Valley: Addis to McCary to Wolffe to Willig
5. North Allegheny: Steiner to Luoco to Tonzo to Gil
6. Malvern Prep: Fulton to Anderson to Gentile to McCullough
7. Cedar Crest: Troxell to Bordner to Jackson to Galli
8. Chambersburg: Eubanks to Grove to Holder to Grove
9. Friend's Central: Ivo to Killing to Sheltzer to DeSabato
10. CB West: Bee to Manley to McGarvey to Scarpello
11. North Penn: Montijo to Bookheimer to Franks to Miles
12. Coatesville: Dawson to Crutchfield to Cline to Dawson
Heat 2:
1. Wissahickon: Farrell to Hairston to Cho to Crits
2. CB South: Waddington to Poiesz to Mallon to Gregor
3. GFS: McKenzie to May to Waterman to Kaulbach
4. Upper Dublin: Reilly to Melton to Ellison to Palmisano
5. E and S: Rhodes to Perron to Jones to Lee
6. Baldwin: Adley to Wolfe to James to Hobart
7. Hempfield: Hull to Akers to Kontra to Groff
8. Unionville: Yannocane to Ulatowski to Allen to Springer
9. Strath Haven: Huemmler to Collins to Seelaus to Fink
10. Central Dauphin: Rotz to Flythe to Golden to Schrom
11. LaSalle: Coyle to Scott to O'Kane to Lowry
12. Henderson: Ferry to Shea to Lefebure to Kellar
Heat 1
1. Carlisle: Dennison to Obertson to West to Hurston
2. CR North: Mahoney to Mindlin to Wikler to Campbell
3. Horsham: DiFlorio to Dempster to Burns to Hibbs
4. Great Valley: Addis to McCary to Wolffe to Willig
5. North Allegheny: Steiner to Luoco to Tonzo to Gil
6. Malvern Prep: Fulton to Anderson to Gentile to McCullough
7. Cedar Crest: Troxell to Bordner to Jackson to Galli
8. Chambersburg: Eubanks to Grove to Holder to Grove
9. Friend's Central: Ivo to Killing to Sheltzer to DeSabato
10. CB West: Bee to Manley to McGarvey to Scarpello
11. North Penn: Montijo to Bookheimer to Franks to Miles
12. Coatesville: Dawson to Crutchfield to Cline to Dawson
Heat 2:
1. Wissahickon: Farrell to Hairston to Cho to Crits
2. CB South: Waddington to Poiesz to Mallon to Gregor
3. GFS: McKenzie to May to Waterman to Kaulbach
4. Upper Dublin: Reilly to Melton to Ellison to Palmisano
5. E and S: Rhodes to Perron to Jones to Lee
6. Baldwin: Adley to Wolfe to James to Hobart
7. Hempfield: Hull to Akers to Kontra to Groff
8. Unionville: Yannocane to Ulatowski to Allen to Springer
9. Strath Haven: Huemmler to Collins to Seelaus to Fink
10. Central Dauphin: Rotz to Flythe to Golden to Schrom
11. LaSalle: Coyle to Scott to O'Kane to Lowry
12. Henderson: Ferry to Shea to Lefebure to Kellar
Weekend Action
First off, the final poll to decide the bracket champion is up now and closes on the 4th so if you want to pick a winner get your votes in soon.
Now on to this weekend's action.
Let's start in Downingtown on Friday night where there were some impressive early season performances. Now I hate to lead with this comment because a lot of guys ran great but my real question here is now Devlin just yet? A lot of talk about this guy being the winner of the outdoor gold in the 32, but meanwhile three guys are already under 9:30 and another 5+ are knocking on the door. I don't feel like Burkhardt and Fischer were still completely off the radar at this point last year but I don't really remember for sure to be fair.
Now that being said, if Devlin is in decent shape I honestly don't expect it to be a fast year in the 3200m for AAA. The guy who was a pretty big favorite lost this weekend and a kid from West Chester that has been off everybody's radar is amongst the new favorites as a result. Of course my favorite isn't even on that side of the state (which could be a problem because D1 has straight dominated the 3200 for a while now) but we will touch on all this later.
But I digress, back to Downingtown. One of my personal biggest surprises of the weekend came from Unionville's Steve Yannocane who had a solid, but fairly expected, indoor campaign but dropped a 1:56.15 PR on the field to open up his spring track season. He remembers just missing the finals at states outdoors last year I'm sure and Unionville tends to churn out some pretty good runners. Kid's a junior as well.
Nice PRs for AJ and Liedel. Both should be under 4:20 sometime soon (Henderson Distance Festival perhaps?) and AJ looks really good fitting into the mile role. Might be a surprise outdoor state medalist if he keeps this up in a very solid mile field for AAA boys. DT West continues to show great 4x8 potential with Liedal and Jenkins running nice opening marks. Also nice to see Barchet back in the picture for Henderson. Scary XC squad in 2011.
As we move west, I'll take a brief pit stop at the Altoona Invite. Don't have much to say here. Nice 4x8 for Kiski but not incredibly unsurprising unless Kennedy is in teh 1:56s already. Nice races by Mountain. Big 1600m PR and then a solid 800 upset win. Replogle ran solid too, but Mountain was the surprise and shows signs that a breakout 32 may be in his future.
8:01 4x8 from Chambersburg, solid runs for Holder in the 4 and Rotz but nothing really crazy there. Thought we would see a bit more out of Moon after his big state meet, but still early in the season of course.
Out west at South Hills, the big names out west were throwing down. At 800m it was the stunner and new PA leader Vincent Tonzo laying down a filthy 1:54 opener. 1:54.26 for this early in the year is a great sign for the North Allegheny harrier who not only clocked over a second PR, but also beat indoor state medalist Will Baily fairly handily (over 3 seconds). But I'm assuming Baily was on the double from a solid 1600m effort which takes away slighly from the quality of the win but the time is very fast for this early.
In the 1600m, Ryan Smathers surprised with the 4:21 victory barely edging out Jaskowak. Steiner took 3rd with Baily 4th. Lawtin Tellin getting into the action with a 4:38. A little slow, but didn't see much of him indoors so may be recovering from some type of injury. He is a potential sleeper in the later part of the season if he drops time. Bojarski also has room to drop, he came up a little short of his PR this week. State medalist Ean Disilivio dropped a 4:52 as well in early season action.
I'm assuming the 32 came before the 16, but either way it is one heck of a double for state runner up Dan Jaskowak who was runner up in the 3200 as well as the 16 with his 9:33-4:22 low double. Really great strength for the man from Grove City and in my opinion, he is the favorite for the 32 outdoors at AAA states if he chooses to go for it fresh. He has really made an impression on me with his ability to show up big and run great races. He's made me into a believer.
But he didn't win the 32, that belonged to the man with the 2nd fastest PR in the state behind Dustin Wilson, Andrew Kuchta, who ran a very nice 9:32 to open his season. He will be amongst the favorites at WPIALs, but Baldwin has struggled to find gold at states. DeGregorio, Kuchta, Hobart, Logan, James, the 4x8, the DMR, Bishop, Wolfe, the 4x4 have all had near misses or below average performances at states in the past for Baldwin so hopefully their luck is about to change.
Moran with a 9:35 to open up, again running overdistance here in the early going. Respectable performance to mix it up with those guys and hang tough. I think in the mile he will be a factor. This isn't jaw dropping, but by no means is it a bad loss.
Lastly we go to the Track Classic. First off nice races by O'Such and Belfatto (the soph who should be a nice replacement for that XC squad next year that will once again be very good) but let's face it the story here is the 32.
Although the dream race didn't pan out as expected with the absence of two time indoor state champion Ned Willig, we still had all the rest of the big names including state runner up Sam Hibbs, state champion Conner Quinn, and state runner up O'Hara's top 5. But in the end it was two guys who got limited love and absolutely no love who made the race.
First off, gotta apologize to Zach Trama who didn't even get a mention in etrain's preview and made the race, taking over when the going got tough and barely getting outkicked for 1st and 2nd. Huge PR and goes from being a virtual nobody on the PA scene to a potential state medalist in the 3200 and maybe even a potential state champion.
But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here.
Sam Hibbs still did take care of early season business by finding a gear to get Trama at the end and still is the favorite outdoors in the 32 (not my pick, but the favorite). 9:29 for the end of March is still sick and usually senior experience prevails in the big meets and Hibbs is one of the few top guys who can say that.
But tell that to Conner Quinn, who is coming off the state championship in XC as a Junior and dropped a 9:35 3 second PR in his first real race in a while. He should be dangerous as things progress. The XC state champion has found his way under 9:20 the following spring a startlingly high percentage of the time.
How about the O'Hara boys as well? They all work together so well. Savage was #1 once again and seems to be the consistent top guy of the group with an overall outdoor PR for him as well, dropping a 9:33 but behind him was a studly race from Pitone, a solid day by Pastore, a surprisingly fast time from the freshman James, and an off day for Billotta that still landed him under 9:43. They may have 5 guys qualify for states in the 3200m outdoors. It is a bit of a stretch but all five have the potential to run under 9:31 if they work together. They have a huge advantage in practice every day.
And lastly I should probably talk about the winner. I purposely put this in at the end because I know I will end up sounding pretty biased and I hope that some people haven't even read this far and won't judge me. Obviously I didn't expect this considering my most recent post about the meet before this, so I just have to say big congrats to Francis Ferruzzi on a huge win. 9:28.70, an 8 second PR, coming early season in March in less than ideal conditions. He closed in 65 seconds. I also know that Ferruzzi has missed a lot of time in practice lately as he has tried to fight off some injuries.
The guy is coming around and has a lot of potential. He is the only guy in AAA who has a win over Hibbs this spring, and Hibbs was one of the hottest runners in the state at the end of indoors. Ferruzzi also knows how to race, run even pace, and not loose his head. He could be dangerous at the state meet if his easy first mile turns from low 4:40s to mid to low 4:30s. Needs to do a little work on his mile PR, but could turn heads and surprise come outdoors with another top 5 finish or so.
A lot of depth in the 3200 this year, even if there are no superstars.
Now on to this weekend's action.
Let's start in Downingtown on Friday night where there were some impressive early season performances. Now I hate to lead with this comment because a lot of guys ran great but my real question here is now Devlin just yet? A lot of talk about this guy being the winner of the outdoor gold in the 32, but meanwhile three guys are already under 9:30 and another 5+ are knocking on the door. I don't feel like Burkhardt and Fischer were still completely off the radar at this point last year but I don't really remember for sure to be fair.
Now that being said, if Devlin is in decent shape I honestly don't expect it to be a fast year in the 3200m for AAA. The guy who was a pretty big favorite lost this weekend and a kid from West Chester that has been off everybody's radar is amongst the new favorites as a result. Of course my favorite isn't even on that side of the state (which could be a problem because D1 has straight dominated the 3200 for a while now) but we will touch on all this later.
But I digress, back to Downingtown. One of my personal biggest surprises of the weekend came from Unionville's Steve Yannocane who had a solid, but fairly expected, indoor campaign but dropped a 1:56.15 PR on the field to open up his spring track season. He remembers just missing the finals at states outdoors last year I'm sure and Unionville tends to churn out some pretty good runners. Kid's a junior as well.
Nice PRs for AJ and Liedel. Both should be under 4:20 sometime soon (Henderson Distance Festival perhaps?) and AJ looks really good fitting into the mile role. Might be a surprise outdoor state medalist if he keeps this up in a very solid mile field for AAA boys. DT West continues to show great 4x8 potential with Liedal and Jenkins running nice opening marks. Also nice to see Barchet back in the picture for Henderson. Scary XC squad in 2011.
As we move west, I'll take a brief pit stop at the Altoona Invite. Don't have much to say here. Nice 4x8 for Kiski but not incredibly unsurprising unless Kennedy is in teh 1:56s already. Nice races by Mountain. Big 1600m PR and then a solid 800 upset win. Replogle ran solid too, but Mountain was the surprise and shows signs that a breakout 32 may be in his future.
8:01 4x8 from Chambersburg, solid runs for Holder in the 4 and Rotz but nothing really crazy there. Thought we would see a bit more out of Moon after his big state meet, but still early in the season of course.
Out west at South Hills, the big names out west were throwing down. At 800m it was the stunner and new PA leader Vincent Tonzo laying down a filthy 1:54 opener. 1:54.26 for this early in the year is a great sign for the North Allegheny harrier who not only clocked over a second PR, but also beat indoor state medalist Will Baily fairly handily (over 3 seconds). But I'm assuming Baily was on the double from a solid 1600m effort which takes away slighly from the quality of the win but the time is very fast for this early.
In the 1600m, Ryan Smathers surprised with the 4:21 victory barely edging out Jaskowak. Steiner took 3rd with Baily 4th. Lawtin Tellin getting into the action with a 4:38. A little slow, but didn't see much of him indoors so may be recovering from some type of injury. He is a potential sleeper in the later part of the season if he drops time. Bojarski also has room to drop, he came up a little short of his PR this week. State medalist Ean Disilivio dropped a 4:52 as well in early season action.
I'm assuming the 32 came before the 16, but either way it is one heck of a double for state runner up Dan Jaskowak who was runner up in the 3200 as well as the 16 with his 9:33-4:22 low double. Really great strength for the man from Grove City and in my opinion, he is the favorite for the 32 outdoors at AAA states if he chooses to go for it fresh. He has really made an impression on me with his ability to show up big and run great races. He's made me into a believer.
But he didn't win the 32, that belonged to the man with the 2nd fastest PR in the state behind Dustin Wilson, Andrew Kuchta, who ran a very nice 9:32 to open his season. He will be amongst the favorites at WPIALs, but Baldwin has struggled to find gold at states. DeGregorio, Kuchta, Hobart, Logan, James, the 4x8, the DMR, Bishop, Wolfe, the 4x4 have all had near misses or below average performances at states in the past for Baldwin so hopefully their luck is about to change.
Moran with a 9:35 to open up, again running overdistance here in the early going. Respectable performance to mix it up with those guys and hang tough. I think in the mile he will be a factor. This isn't jaw dropping, but by no means is it a bad loss.
Lastly we go to the Track Classic. First off nice races by O'Such and Belfatto (the soph who should be a nice replacement for that XC squad next year that will once again be very good) but let's face it the story here is the 32.
Although the dream race didn't pan out as expected with the absence of two time indoor state champion Ned Willig, we still had all the rest of the big names including state runner up Sam Hibbs, state champion Conner Quinn, and state runner up O'Hara's top 5. But in the end it was two guys who got limited love and absolutely no love who made the race.
First off, gotta apologize to Zach Trama who didn't even get a mention in etrain's preview and made the race, taking over when the going got tough and barely getting outkicked for 1st and 2nd. Huge PR and goes from being a virtual nobody on the PA scene to a potential state medalist in the 3200 and maybe even a potential state champion.
But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here.
Sam Hibbs still did take care of early season business by finding a gear to get Trama at the end and still is the favorite outdoors in the 32 (not my pick, but the favorite). 9:29 for the end of March is still sick and usually senior experience prevails in the big meets and Hibbs is one of the few top guys who can say that.
But tell that to Conner Quinn, who is coming off the state championship in XC as a Junior and dropped a 9:35 3 second PR in his first real race in a while. He should be dangerous as things progress. The XC state champion has found his way under 9:20 the following spring a startlingly high percentage of the time.
How about the O'Hara boys as well? They all work together so well. Savage was #1 once again and seems to be the consistent top guy of the group with an overall outdoor PR for him as well, dropping a 9:33 but behind him was a studly race from Pitone, a solid day by Pastore, a surprisingly fast time from the freshman James, and an off day for Billotta that still landed him under 9:43. They may have 5 guys qualify for states in the 3200m outdoors. It is a bit of a stretch but all five have the potential to run under 9:31 if they work together. They have a huge advantage in practice every day.
And lastly I should probably talk about the winner. I purposely put this in at the end because I know I will end up sounding pretty biased and I hope that some people haven't even read this far and won't judge me. Obviously I didn't expect this considering my most recent post about the meet before this, so I just have to say big congrats to Francis Ferruzzi on a huge win. 9:28.70, an 8 second PR, coming early season in March in less than ideal conditions. He closed in 65 seconds. I also know that Ferruzzi has missed a lot of time in practice lately as he has tried to fight off some injuries.
The guy is coming around and has a lot of potential. He is the only guy in AAA who has a win over Hibbs this spring, and Hibbs was one of the hottest runners in the state at the end of indoors. Ferruzzi also knows how to race, run even pace, and not loose his head. He could be dangerous at the state meet if his easy first mile turns from low 4:40s to mid to low 4:30s. Needs to do a little work on his mile PR, but could turn heads and surprise come outdoors with another top 5 finish or so.
A lot of depth in the 3200 this year, even if there are no superstars.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)