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.