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.