Weekend Action

A lot happened this weekend! Let's see if we can narrow it down to one reasonably sized post. First off, a lot of people are starting to make it more obvious what they will be going for at the state championship. There's almost no shot that Jaskowak goes for the 2 mile like I hoped. He will definitely go for the 16, maybe doubling in the 800 just to see what happens. Baily may be going 1600 and 800 at states based on the WPIALs. That's a tough double for sure, but there also is the 4x8 in their that Penn Hills can consider. It looks like Macauley may opt for the mile now after a tough run in the 2 mile this weekend, but its not quite clear. Trimble also looks like a miler now after his 4:17.

The big speculation, however, is that I don't think Drew is going for the 1600 at states. He has the meet record already, he rolled to a 4:07 last year, and although he is clearly in the best mile shape of everyone in the state (Penn Relays is the PA #1), he has chosen to race this distance so few times it is hard for me to imagine him going after it as the season continues. He has mastered racing the 800 this year and he can definitely get the state meet record. He may help his 4x8 qualify for states at Districts as well. He seems like a team player and if he is passing on the 16, the 4x8 is a logical replacement. However, he ran about a 1:51 split on their 8:01 so the question would be is it worth it to run the 4x8? I'm not guaranteeing he won't run the 16, but there are a decent amount of signs that he is going to skip it.

Now on to the actual races rather than speculation.

Starting in the suburban one league, big win for Sam Hibbs with a 4:15. That's a great sign for the 32, and he was just .02 off his brother's 1600m PR that helped him medal at states. Hibbs puts himself out there as one of the best milers in the state now which means in theory there is a chance he will try the double at districts in a week's time. I hope he focuses on the 32, but the 32 is first so he would only have a round of 16 trials to deal with before the 32 if he adds it. And Conner Quinn? Showed great signs at his off distance. He is definitely better longer, but a 4:21 win over Logue and a 2 flat double is a great sign for the defending state champ. He can certainly run a solid 32 right now with Hibbs, the two working together. Think Fischer and Burkhardt.

Nice race from Trimble at 1600m and a great race from Metzler as well. Finally, the race I was hoping for for a while from Metzler. Great races makes both of those guys favorites to go to states out of D1 and compete for a medal.

There a couple of guys from D1 who have run under the SQS now that fly under the radar and will make everything crazier at states, the Quakertown guy whose name is escaping me, Garton, Scripture, Brooks, Cox-Finn, etc.

Speaking of Bensalem, they had a solid championship meet, no crazy times, but solid performances. Wiseman again beats Rivera by less than a hundredth of a second. Crazy. Wiseman is another nice sleeper in the 800m. When I do my district preview, I'll let you know about everybody I see going where.

Now let's go out to D3 which had a killer weekend. Ever heard of Drew Gerberich? Well he is a 1:55 monster exploding on to the scene from Eastern Lebanon who was probably one of the key legs on their surprising 4x8 from a year ago. This fast with this kind of competition suggests he could be a 1:53 guy at states if he continues this progression. Cedar Crest and McCaskey ran solid 4x8s, 7:59 and 8:01. At a very fast D3 meet they may surprise time wise.

Why is the D3 meet going to be so fast? Flash forward to Mid-Penns. Cumberland Valley a blazing 7:49 with a 1:53 anchor by Kunzweiler. Chambersburg a close second in 7:50. Chambersburg first loss to CV of the season I believe, as CV and Chambersburg flip flop as state favorites. Kunzweiler doubles off his 1:53 with an open 1:54 win over his teammate who dropped a 1:55 (following a 1:56 split). Also Coburn had a split of about 1:58 and he has split closer to 1:56 in the past. That's a good sign that they can drop down a lot of time. They have to be state favorites now, no offense to Chambersburg or Pennridge.  But I could definitely see splits of about 1:54-1:59-1:56-1:53 for CV which puts them in the 7:44 realm right now. That looks like it could be good enough to win.

The D3 800 race also will include a freshman from Carlisle who dropped a 1:56 and Jake Brodeur from Hershey who is a low 1:57 man. Holder will be running the open 8 at states as well I'd imagine to pursue his state championship goal. Throw in Ditzler, Gerberich and the two CV kids, this is a very solid field.

Vinny Todaro has quickly become one of the favorites for state champ in the 16. A lack of Magaha and Willig projected in the field (obviously the Magaha thing is speculatory) means that Huemmler and Coyle become the favorites. Todaro, however, should be mentioned in the conversation. A 4:16 PR and lots of solid wins this year, he might be undefeated in the mile. He should be in the tier just below Huemmler and Coyle, most likely with guys like Baily maybe Moran.

Nice win for Strynkowski in the 32. He's making solid progress. Groh and Nissley (4:22 as well) both ran solid 32s running about 9:40. They have potential to sneak up and surprise. Mitchell Coakley surprises as a soph with a 9:36. A lot of guys who have mid 9:30s ability in D3 right now. It will make the meet interesting. 5 guys go automatically, regardless of time.

I'm sure I missed some stuff but that's all I got to say for right now. Districts are coming my friends. Get pumped.