Key Returners: Tom Coyle (Sr), Andrew Stone (Sr), Jack Magee (Sr), Brendan Bilotta (Jr)
Key Losses: Kevin Quinn
Notable Track Performances: Coyle 1:51/4:11, Stone 1:52/4:19, Bilotta 9:44, Greco (Sr) 9:53
LaSalle returns all three of their top runners from last year's 7th place team and 5 of their top 7 runners overall. LaSalle, who came into the year trying to bounce back from their worst finish as a member of the PIAA (10th place), returned no runners under 17 minutes at the state meet and just one of their top 4 runners. Amazingly that team ended up getting things rolling when Tom Coyle emerged as a top class XC runner and Andrew Stone joined the varsity squad. LaSalle ended up finishing 3 spots higher at states than the previous year with just one medalist and one member of the top 50 at states (Coyle). Their top returner from the previous season ended up being their 7th man at states.
LaSalle has always been an excellent XC team with consistent top finishes and excellent pack running. During their 3rd place effort in 2009 they had an outrageously close spread of just 15 seconds. The year before a team on nobody's radar whatsoever finished 2nd at the state meet over eventual national qualifiers North Allegheny (I think that NA team finished top 16 or so as well). There is no doubt in my mind that this LaSalle squad can surprise this year. However, they need to find a way to get 5 guys to states in the 5 qualifying spots or beat O'Hara. That's a very, very tough task either way you spin it.
On the track LaSalle added momentum as they finished the year with 3 returners under 10 minutes for 2 miles, two runners at 1:52 or faster and three guys under 4:25 in the 1600m. Coyle added a state title for the crew which was also indoor state medalists in the 4x8 and the top PA team at Penn Relay (all returners). 5 different runners are included in this group above which makes up a very solid top five group of runners for LaSalle.
In my opinion, Tom Coyle is my early pick to win the state title and honestly it has nothing to do with his 1:51 800m (although that is quite the nice little bonus). Coyle clearly has speed, but he also has strength. He has the endurance strength to drop a 4:11 1600m with a big kick at the finish, but more importantly he made constant impressive doubles over 1600m and 3200m indoors and outdoors where he would run with, and beat, the O'Hara boys in the second of those two events. His indoor PCL 3k really jumps to mind. Obviously it's hard to make a big conclusion like this without proof, but I believe if Coyle focused on the 3200m this past season he could have run 9:12 or faster (which means he would be one of the top returners in the event). Don't forget that Coyle beat Savage two weeks in a row before Savage bested him at states in XC and also remember that Coyle, tactically, was not at his best at the XC state meet. He tried to break away too early in the race and it cost him. The XC state meet was the deepest and most pressure packed race Coyle had ever faced, and the pressure of state gold had never before braced his shoulders. Now that's just a past memory.
Stone also made a lot of strides. Sure he improved his 800m substantially, but more important he showed he was running the 800m off mile strength not 400 speed. He proved he had great mile ability to go with his fantastic 800m speed. Magee too has improved. Qualifying for the state meet as an individual in the 1600m out of District 12.
The biggest thing holding LaSalle back from a top finish might be their horrible situation in District 12 where it is beat O'Hara or stay home that weekend essentially (technically if LaSalle takes the top 5 non-O'Hara spots but does not beat O'Hara they can also qualify for states as a team, but the chances of that are fairly slim, but not impossible). LaSalle has some solid pieces in the middle of their line up at the 4-5 spots that aren't big names but have track times comparable to the 4-5 guys on other top teams and better than some others. There are some great pieces here and if they can turn themselves from track guys to cross guys effectively this fall, they will surprise people and maybe even surprise O'Hara.
My projected top 5 at season's end in order:
Coyle (ET #4), Stone (ET #45), Magee, Greco, Bilotta
XC Talk: Council Rock North
Key Returners: Mac Emery (Sr), Ross Wilson (Jr), James Zingarini (Sr)
Key Losses: Jack Felt, Forrest Kentwell
Notable Track Performances: Zingarini 4:18/9:50, Emery 4:28/9:11, Wilson 9:30/15:49
Council Rock North last year finished 6th place at the State Championship and returns their entire top 5, but that is just a small portion of why they have big upside this season. CR North had their best race at the end of the cross country season where they finished just 34 points back of Henderson at Hershey (compared to a roughly 150 point gap a week earlier). CR North was 4th at the District Championships at Lehigh but bested 2nd place Great Valley at the state meet by almost 20 points. When looking at the results, CR North's finish is even more impressive considering, due to sickness, Mac Emery finished outside the top 50 at the state championships. Zingarini came on strong at the end of the season becoming a very capable #2 runner for the team by states finishing in the top 40 and as just a sophomore Ross Wilson led the team with a top 20 finish at Districts and a top 40 finish at states.
On the track things continued to get better for CRN's big three. Emery rolled all season long leading to a huge 9:11 3200m mark this past spring. Zingarini continued to prove he was a top caliber guy and ran 4:18 on multiple occasions for 1600m. Wilson, who is clearly better over longer distances, added a sub 16 5k on the track early in the spring and ended his season under the SQS but unfortunately out of the top 8 in a deep field at Districts in the 3200m.
Council Rock North, a team that has made more state championships in a row than any other team in District One, has consistently found talent and trained it well. CR North's big three are all headed in the right direction and have had virtually 0 set backs besides Emery's sickness in the past year. I'm a huge fan of Zingarini this upcoming fall. He's my sleeper pick out of the big three, although I am a fan of all of them this spring. He has been rolling ever since Districts in XC and he continues to get better with every season.
But the big question people will have about CR North is will they be strong enough after the big three to win a state title. I see CR North as similar to this year's North Penn team but with a arguably a much stronger front 3. CR North, like North Penn, is well coached and trains hard and guys like Zac Keller and Marty Leonard may develop into the kind of finishers that Ryan Grace and Matt Molloy were for North Penn this past fall.
But CR North does not have a group of young JV runners who look like they are about to break out. The top 4 on their JV squad last year were all Juniors or Seniors and none of those top 4 runners finished under 17:50 on Lehigh's fast course. Henderson's entire top 8 from their JV squad did last year and that group included 6 freshman or sophomores. This makes Keller and Leonard (who will be a Junior next year and has potential to take the next step) the most likely guys to be the 4 and 5 men for CRNorth. Each man ran 17:08 last year at Districts and will need to drop into roughly the 16:30s range to help this team win a state championship is my guess. The CR North squad does have an up and coming youngster, Sean Griswold, who ran 10:21 for 3200m as a Freshman this past spring. If he has a big sophomore jump, which is not unheard of, he could be a nice piece to the puzzle.
Ultimately, the big three will make this team a contender, but they will go as far as their 4 and 5 guys can carry them. I can't see them competing at the same level as Henderson or O'Hara at this stage of the game unless O'Hara is struck by injury out front (Henderson seems to have enough depth to recover from an injury to anyone but Barchet and Russell and still compete for a state title). The advantage is at the state meet depth matters less because there are not as many runners as districts who are scoring in the team race and can push the 4 and 5 guys points up.
This is my projected top 5 by season's end for CR North:
Emery (ET #12), Zingarini (ET #26), Wilson (ET #25), Leonard, Keller
Key Losses: Jack Felt, Forrest Kentwell
Notable Track Performances: Zingarini 4:18/9:50, Emery 4:28/9:11, Wilson 9:30/15:49
Council Rock North last year finished 6th place at the State Championship and returns their entire top 5, but that is just a small portion of why they have big upside this season. CR North had their best race at the end of the cross country season where they finished just 34 points back of Henderson at Hershey (compared to a roughly 150 point gap a week earlier). CR North was 4th at the District Championships at Lehigh but bested 2nd place Great Valley at the state meet by almost 20 points. When looking at the results, CR North's finish is even more impressive considering, due to sickness, Mac Emery finished outside the top 50 at the state championships. Zingarini came on strong at the end of the season becoming a very capable #2 runner for the team by states finishing in the top 40 and as just a sophomore Ross Wilson led the team with a top 20 finish at Districts and a top 40 finish at states.
On the track things continued to get better for CRN's big three. Emery rolled all season long leading to a huge 9:11 3200m mark this past spring. Zingarini continued to prove he was a top caliber guy and ran 4:18 on multiple occasions for 1600m. Wilson, who is clearly better over longer distances, added a sub 16 5k on the track early in the spring and ended his season under the SQS but unfortunately out of the top 8 in a deep field at Districts in the 3200m.
Council Rock North, a team that has made more state championships in a row than any other team in District One, has consistently found talent and trained it well. CR North's big three are all headed in the right direction and have had virtually 0 set backs besides Emery's sickness in the past year. I'm a huge fan of Zingarini this upcoming fall. He's my sleeper pick out of the big three, although I am a fan of all of them this spring. He has been rolling ever since Districts in XC and he continues to get better with every season.
But the big question people will have about CR North is will they be strong enough after the big three to win a state title. I see CR North as similar to this year's North Penn team but with a arguably a much stronger front 3. CR North, like North Penn, is well coached and trains hard and guys like Zac Keller and Marty Leonard may develop into the kind of finishers that Ryan Grace and Matt Molloy were for North Penn this past fall.
But CR North does not have a group of young JV runners who look like they are about to break out. The top 4 on their JV squad last year were all Juniors or Seniors and none of those top 4 runners finished under 17:50 on Lehigh's fast course. Henderson's entire top 8 from their JV squad did last year and that group included 6 freshman or sophomores. This makes Keller and Leonard (who will be a Junior next year and has potential to take the next step) the most likely guys to be the 4 and 5 men for CRNorth. Each man ran 17:08 last year at Districts and will need to drop into roughly the 16:30s range to help this team win a state championship is my guess. The CR North squad does have an up and coming youngster, Sean Griswold, who ran 10:21 for 3200m as a Freshman this past spring. If he has a big sophomore jump, which is not unheard of, he could be a nice piece to the puzzle.
Ultimately, the big three will make this team a contender, but they will go as far as their 4 and 5 guys can carry them. I can't see them competing at the same level as Henderson or O'Hara at this stage of the game unless O'Hara is struck by injury out front (Henderson seems to have enough depth to recover from an injury to anyone but Barchet and Russell and still compete for a state title). The advantage is at the state meet depth matters less because there are not as many runners as districts who are scoring in the team race and can push the 4 and 5 guys points up.
This is my projected top 5 by season's end for CR North:
Emery (ET #12), Zingarini (ET #26), Wilson (ET #25), Leonard, Keller
XC Talk: West Chester Henderson
**Since the last post had 52 comments and I have tough time following all the changes in conversation, I strongly encourage people to go to www.tracktalk.net, make an account, and scroll down to the PA thread and talk about O'Hara v. Henderson or whatever else you would like to talk about on there. You can feel free to comment here still, but a forum would be a better place for these comments in most instances.**
Key Returners: Tony Russell (Jr), Sam Haugh (Jr), Reiny Barchet (Jr), Bobby Rimkis (Sr), Seamus Collins (Jr), AJ Chaborek (Sr)
Key Losses: Charlie Grab, Mike Salach
Notable Track Performances: Russell 4:18/9:31, Chaborek 4:22/9:40, Barceht 4:26/9:28, Stratman (Jr) 4:29/9:47, Rimkis 9:40, Collins 9:44
The Henderson boys bested eventual state champions North Penn by an impressive margin at the District One Championships at Lehigh in 2011, but unfortunately were unable to repeat the magic and came up short at the state meet where the team took 5th. But Henderson rebounded on the track, especially in the spring, where a healthy Reiny Barchet exploded back onto everyone's radar with an impressive 9:28 clocking at the District Championships.
Despite the struggles on the state course, Henderson did post solid marks at hilly courses throughout the season. Out in New Jersey Tony Russell and Charlie Grab (now graduated) helped lead the way to a top finish. The injuries to Charlie Grab and Reiny Barchet hindered this Henderson team and weakened their experience factor at the state meeet where the team led by mostly underclassmen had a disappointing day. Keep in mind before the championship season, Charlie Grab was the leader of this Henderson squad and losing him down the stretch hurt in more ways than just the spots he lost.
The boys from Henderson are very well coached and have consistently produced top level talent over the years and are always competitive for a state and district title. This team kind of reminds me of the Coatesville team that won the national championship a few years back. That Coatesville team had a top 5 of all Juniors in 2005, when they, again, failed to pull out the state title despite being one of the favorites. However, in 2006 when the group were all seniors, they left no doubt who the dominate team was. Now I'm not saying Henderson can't win this year or is going to be national champions or anything like that, but I do think this team's best year will be 2013.
Tony Russell has now consistently been a top level runner in District One. He is without a doubt a contender for a top 10 finish at the AAA state championship meet. He showed off some solid 1600 strength to go along with a killer XC season. Reiny Barchet, in my mind, is the guy to watch this season for Henderson. Even after his injuries and set backs during the crucial XC training period, Barchet had a great spring, headlined by his 9:28. He has had success at the District and State meets before as just a Freshman and has arguably been the clutchest runner on Henderson's squad this year. I'm not sure Chaborek's awesome track season is going to transfer to a killer XC year. I think he could end up kind of like an Achraf Khattabi this year if things go well, but he could also just as easily end up like a Sam Zengel. Don't forget about Collins whose brother was a top contributor for this team when they finished 2nd at states.
Plus the JV depth of Henderson is outstanding. They once again took most of the top spots at a very talented JV race at Districts. Their JV squad also features a lot of freshman who could potential become the next Tony Russell as a breakout sophomore.
There is potential here, crazy potential, but ultimately the critics will always point to the past state meets where Henderson has ran solid, but has not blown anyone away. People may make the argument that O'Hara choked at the state meet as well, but as stated by others, O'Hara had 4 guys who placed very well and their 5th man simply had an off day. Henderson had few bright spots at the state meet in XC and took home no individual medals from states in track or XC. I believe Henderson has a very good shot at winning states. They are well coached and heading in right direction. But the fact of the matter is I project that 4 out of their top 5 guys will be Juniors. In XC especially, Seniors are the main reason for big wins.
But tell that to Conner Quinn.
Here are my projected top 5 by states in order:
Barchet (ET #24), Russell (ET #18), Rimkis, Stratman, Haugh
Key Returners: Tony Russell (Jr), Sam Haugh (Jr), Reiny Barchet (Jr), Bobby Rimkis (Sr), Seamus Collins (Jr), AJ Chaborek (Sr)
Key Losses: Charlie Grab, Mike Salach
Notable Track Performances: Russell 4:18/9:31, Chaborek 4:22/9:40, Barceht 4:26/9:28, Stratman (Jr) 4:29/9:47, Rimkis 9:40, Collins 9:44
The Henderson boys bested eventual state champions North Penn by an impressive margin at the District One Championships at Lehigh in 2011, but unfortunately were unable to repeat the magic and came up short at the state meet where the team took 5th. But Henderson rebounded on the track, especially in the spring, where a healthy Reiny Barchet exploded back onto everyone's radar with an impressive 9:28 clocking at the District Championships.
Despite the struggles on the state course, Henderson did post solid marks at hilly courses throughout the season. Out in New Jersey Tony Russell and Charlie Grab (now graduated) helped lead the way to a top finish. The injuries to Charlie Grab and Reiny Barchet hindered this Henderson team and weakened their experience factor at the state meeet where the team led by mostly underclassmen had a disappointing day. Keep in mind before the championship season, Charlie Grab was the leader of this Henderson squad and losing him down the stretch hurt in more ways than just the spots he lost.
The boys from Henderson are very well coached and have consistently produced top level talent over the years and are always competitive for a state and district title. This team kind of reminds me of the Coatesville team that won the national championship a few years back. That Coatesville team had a top 5 of all Juniors in 2005, when they, again, failed to pull out the state title despite being one of the favorites. However, in 2006 when the group were all seniors, they left no doubt who the dominate team was. Now I'm not saying Henderson can't win this year or is going to be national champions or anything like that, but I do think this team's best year will be 2013.
Tony Russell has now consistently been a top level runner in District One. He is without a doubt a contender for a top 10 finish at the AAA state championship meet. He showed off some solid 1600 strength to go along with a killer XC season. Reiny Barchet, in my mind, is the guy to watch this season for Henderson. Even after his injuries and set backs during the crucial XC training period, Barchet had a great spring, headlined by his 9:28. He has had success at the District and State meets before as just a Freshman and has arguably been the clutchest runner on Henderson's squad this year. I'm not sure Chaborek's awesome track season is going to transfer to a killer XC year. I think he could end up kind of like an Achraf Khattabi this year if things go well, but he could also just as easily end up like a Sam Zengel. Don't forget about Collins whose brother was a top contributor for this team when they finished 2nd at states.
Plus the JV depth of Henderson is outstanding. They once again took most of the top spots at a very talented JV race at Districts. Their JV squad also features a lot of freshman who could potential become the next Tony Russell as a breakout sophomore.
There is potential here, crazy potential, but ultimately the critics will always point to the past state meets where Henderson has ran solid, but has not blown anyone away. People may make the argument that O'Hara choked at the state meet as well, but as stated by others, O'Hara had 4 guys who placed very well and their 5th man simply had an off day. Henderson had few bright spots at the state meet in XC and took home no individual medals from states in track or XC. I believe Henderson has a very good shot at winning states. They are well coached and heading in right direction. But the fact of the matter is I project that 4 out of their top 5 guys will be Juniors. In XC especially, Seniors are the main reason for big wins.
But tell that to Conner Quinn.
Here are my projected top 5 by states in order:
Barchet (ET #24), Russell (ET #18), Rimkis, Stratman, Haugh
XC Talk: Cardinal O'Hara
**Keep in mind that it is only June and a lot can and will change. But these are my best guesses as of this point**
Key Returners: Dan Savage (Sr), Ernie Pitone (Sr), Chris Pastore (Sr), Kevin James (So), Nick Smart (Jr)*
Key Losses: Mike Bilotta
Notable Track Performances: Kevin James 4:29/9:40, Dan Savage 4:27y/9:30, Ernie Pitone 4:29/9:33, Chris Pastore 9:40, Jim Belfatto (Jr) 1:57/4:30, Jimmy Boyle (Sr) 1:59, Nick Smart 1:59
The O'Hara boys tied for the AAA team title in 2011 and came up short in the tie breaker, but O'Hara did finish the season as etrain's top team in the state due to their dominating performances in their previous meets. At states, unfortunately, their young 5th man Kevin James had a rare off day and O'Hara's lack of depth outside its top 5 showcased itself. The team returns three of their four runners who were in the top 50 at states last fall including last year's 4th place finisher Dan Savage. Returners Ernie Pitone and Dan Savage competed at both the indoor and outdoor state championships in the 3000m/3200m. Pastore and Savage ran sub 16 minute 5k marks in 2011. With the addition of Nick Smart (16:26 at Lehigh in 2011) from Garnet Valley, the team returns 3 guys with sub 2 minute open 800m marks. Smart is the only one who managed real XC success in 2011, but O'Hara has a good program and consistently churns out XC talent.
The strength of the Cardinal O'Hara squad the last two seasons has been pack running. They gang up together and feed off each others strengths to push themselves. Behind their consistent #1 Savage last season they had rotating order and great inter-squad competition. That is the recipe for success in cross country ask any coach. This season looks promising with a group of runners experienced in this system and this style of running. Kevin James has looked great as a freshman dropping a 9:40 3200m and a 4:29 1600m proving that he is ready to be a key contributor in 2012. Nick Smart is also a great addition which now gives them a solid harrier to round out their top 5.
I personally really liked the season Pitone had this past spring and he is my early pick as the sleeper on this team. I also think Kevin James is ready for a break out season. I project the top 5 looking something like this by season's end:
Savage (ET #7), Pitone (ET #28), Smart, James, Pastore
I see both Savage and Pitone being medalists in this new ramped down AAA field and I see O'Hara competing for the state championship once again. I'm not ready to call them champions, but they certainly are the most experienced team the favorite as of right now.
O'Hara will be fighting hard against the LaSalle boys in the PCL and District 12 Championships. As of now I expect O'Hara to take both of those titles relatively easily.
Key Returners: Dan Savage (Sr), Ernie Pitone (Sr), Chris Pastore (Sr), Kevin James (So), Nick Smart (Jr)*
Key Losses: Mike Bilotta
Notable Track Performances: Kevin James 4:29/9:40, Dan Savage 4:27y/9:30, Ernie Pitone 4:29/9:33, Chris Pastore 9:40, Jim Belfatto (Jr) 1:57/4:30, Jimmy Boyle (Sr) 1:59, Nick Smart 1:59
The O'Hara boys tied for the AAA team title in 2011 and came up short in the tie breaker, but O'Hara did finish the season as etrain's top team in the state due to their dominating performances in their previous meets. At states, unfortunately, their young 5th man Kevin James had a rare off day and O'Hara's lack of depth outside its top 5 showcased itself. The team returns three of their four runners who were in the top 50 at states last fall including last year's 4th place finisher Dan Savage. Returners Ernie Pitone and Dan Savage competed at both the indoor and outdoor state championships in the 3000m/3200m. Pastore and Savage ran sub 16 minute 5k marks in 2011. With the addition of Nick Smart (16:26 at Lehigh in 2011) from Garnet Valley, the team returns 3 guys with sub 2 minute open 800m marks. Smart is the only one who managed real XC success in 2011, but O'Hara has a good program and consistently churns out XC talent.
The strength of the Cardinal O'Hara squad the last two seasons has been pack running. They gang up together and feed off each others strengths to push themselves. Behind their consistent #1 Savage last season they had rotating order and great inter-squad competition. That is the recipe for success in cross country ask any coach. This season looks promising with a group of runners experienced in this system and this style of running. Kevin James has looked great as a freshman dropping a 9:40 3200m and a 4:29 1600m proving that he is ready to be a key contributor in 2012. Nick Smart is also a great addition which now gives them a solid harrier to round out their top 5.
I personally really liked the season Pitone had this past spring and he is my early pick as the sleeper on this team. I also think Kevin James is ready for a break out season. I project the top 5 looking something like this by season's end:
Savage (ET #7), Pitone (ET #28), Smart, James, Pastore
I see both Savage and Pitone being medalists in this new ramped down AAA field and I see O'Hara competing for the state championship once again. I'm not ready to call them champions, but they certainly are the most experienced team the favorite as of right now.
O'Hara will be fighting hard against the LaSalle boys in the PCL and District 12 Championships. As of now I expect O'Hara to take both of those titles relatively easily.
Olympic Trials Preview
Obviously not my area of expertise, but seeing as it is a pretty big event in the track and field community and it starts tomorrow (sort of, I mean hammer throw stuff does but ....) I figured I'd get on it.
The important thing to remember for this time around is you need to have the A standard by the time the olympic trials are over to go to London. Meaning the 5k and 10k guys who don't have the standard need a quick pace (and how often does that happen) and they need to come out in the top 3 finishers of said quick pace. The 15 is always tactical as well and they have to run rounds in the 8, 15, 5k and steeple. So the guys heading to London are most likely the ones who already have that precious A standard.
In the 800m, Nick Symmonds, who has dominated the 800m scene in the U.S. since the last Olympic trials, is joined by a handful of top youngsters and experienced veterans in the field. Symmonds has to be the heavy favorite for this race once again coming off his strong early season 1:43.83. He also had a solid split at the Penn Relays and ran a 1500m PR. He is a strong runner with the strength to get through the rounds and I expect him to come out on top barring some type of disaster. Khadevius Robinson, still going strong at a climbing age, has run 1:44.0 this season and has a life time best in the 1:43s. He is experienced in these kind of meets with 3 rounds and that experience should help him.
Without Robby Andrews in the field, it looks like Charles Jock, who was on the team last summer at the World Championships in Daegu, will be back again. He has run 1:44 this year and won the NCAA title over 800m leading wire to wire. His front running style could hurt him if the kickers are running strong at the end of the race, but Jock has used his front running very well in many top caliber 800ms so I don't expect him to make a mistake and falter in the home stretch.
Ryan Martin, who ran a 1:44 PR right behind Jock at the two's conference championships. He could slip into the mix with another big day. Cas Loxsom seems to be just starting to peak as we approach the summer. I'm sure he has had London on his mind since last year's world team trials and will be ready to go. Mike Rutt is high on my sleeper team as well. He has run some very solid 800m runs and bested my boy Robby Andrews already this spring. He had a runner up finish in the indoor 800m while at UCONN two years back. Erik Sowinski, the runner up at outdoor NCAA's this year could be in the mix as well. Andrew Wheating is entered in the race, but he may not run if he decides to put his eggs into the 1500m basket. Elijah Greer is always a threat if he can get to the finals. He runs fantastic finals, but sometimes struggles in the prelims. PA alumn Benn Scheetz made it into the meet as one of the last few entries to qualify.
In the 1500m, I'll be pulling for my boy Robby Andrews whose kick almost led to a shocking upset of Mo Farah and Galen Rupp (but didn't, maybe went too early?). We saw last year that a guy with a kick can mix it up in the tactical races and surprise for gold at the trials. That man who proved it to as all, however, is back. Matt Centrowitz will be looking to defend his US title and bronze medal from worlds. However, Centrowitz has struggled of late at the Prefontaine mile and will have to work hard to utilize his kick in this field of kickers. Amongst the stud kickers in this race are Leonel Manzano who has made his fair share of international teams in the past but has yet to take a U.S. championship. He has a 3:33 seed time coming in and should punch his ticket to London. Russell Brown boasts a 3:34.11 seed and has had a series of solid marks in the middle distance. David Torrence may be the guy to watch. He has got the A standard and has run 1:45 and 13 teens this season. He is putting all his chips in the pot for the 1500 and that is why I see him taking the third spot to London. I've got Robby winning because I am incredibly biased and blind sided by him being my favorite runner. What are you gonna do?
Also in the mix will be guys like Will Leer and Andrew Wheating who were both within .01 of each other at last year's meet with Wheating getting the spot to Daegu. Wheating has a 3:30 PR that many here in the US hope he can duplicate. He seems to be rounding into form as of late. He was at the Olympics in 2008 as a College sophomore in the 800m. He may look to duplicate that magic, he is entered in that race as well. Jeff See and PA alumn Craig Miller have run solid 1500s throughout their pro career and Oregonian Jordan MacNamara has danced around the A standard on multiple occasions as well. AJ Acosta and his beard will also run. Then there are the collegians, headlined by Kyle Merber and his 3:35, but also Miles Batty, Andy Bayer, Riley Masters, Erik Van Ingen, Rob Finnerty and German Fernandez! It will be interesting to see how all these collegian boys handle the big stage.
At 5000m, Bernard Lagat, still going strong even at his old age, is essentially a lock to get back to London, especially with his focus entirely on the 5000m. He has run solid marks this year including his indoor American Record around 13:07. But he will have his hands full with Galen Rupp who is attempting the 5k-10k double. Rupp has training partner Mo Farah to boast about and recent PRs at 1500m and 5000m. And oh yeah he has the American Record at 10000m after he smashed Chris Solinsky's mark last summer. I got Rupp taking the next step this year, but I just don't think he has the wheels to hang when it is kick time and I think it an epic finish, Lagat will pull it out. Then of course there is Lopez Lomong who has a 13:11 mark after he miscounted his laps and managed to hold on after his epic kick and drop ... an epic kick. Dathan Ritz has been rounding into great shape as well. He is entered in the 5k and the 10k, however, which could complicate matters. But he does boast a 13:14 this year. Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Derrick are other guys with top marks who have 10k and 5k duties to pull at the meet. Andrew Bambalough, Ben True, Ryan Hill, and PA's own Dan Lowry are other guys with solid marks this season in the mix.
At 10k, Rupp seems a lock to defend his title. As mentioned earlier he is clearly in top notch shape. Behind him are guys like Ritz, Tegenkamp and Derrick with great marks at 5k and 10k this year who are trying to battle it out behind Rupp and come out in the top 3 and head to London. Also in the mix at 10k are Rob Curtis and Tim Nelson who have marks under 27:30 this year already. Hassan Mead, Jacob Reilly, Girma Micheso and Luke Puskedra are all big name college guys trying to take the next step. I'd like to see Ritz pull out a big performance here at make the team, but he is going to have a tough time, especially considering he is still chasing the olympic A standard he needs to punch his ticket to London.
Lastly in the steeplechase, converted 15/5k guy Evan Jager is looking to redeem himself after his fall at Oxy. He still is one, if not the, favorites for this event as the Americans have piled on some great steeple times this year. Collegiate Don Cabral, who won that Oxy meet in the steeplechase after the fall and also added an NCAA title to his resume this spring, is another one of the pre race favorites. Will Nelson and Ben Bruce are the top two seeds in the race, headlining the field of 12 guys under 8:30. Craig Forys and Cory Leslie who finish close to Cabral at NCAA's, taking advantage of Leilei fall, will be looking to fight their way into the final and into contention with the top group.
The important thing to remember for this time around is you need to have the A standard by the time the olympic trials are over to go to London. Meaning the 5k and 10k guys who don't have the standard need a quick pace (and how often does that happen) and they need to come out in the top 3 finishers of said quick pace. The 15 is always tactical as well and they have to run rounds in the 8, 15, 5k and steeple. So the guys heading to London are most likely the ones who already have that precious A standard.
In the 800m, Nick Symmonds, who has dominated the 800m scene in the U.S. since the last Olympic trials, is joined by a handful of top youngsters and experienced veterans in the field. Symmonds has to be the heavy favorite for this race once again coming off his strong early season 1:43.83. He also had a solid split at the Penn Relays and ran a 1500m PR. He is a strong runner with the strength to get through the rounds and I expect him to come out on top barring some type of disaster. Khadevius Robinson, still going strong at a climbing age, has run 1:44.0 this season and has a life time best in the 1:43s. He is experienced in these kind of meets with 3 rounds and that experience should help him.
Without Robby Andrews in the field, it looks like Charles Jock, who was on the team last summer at the World Championships in Daegu, will be back again. He has run 1:44 this year and won the NCAA title over 800m leading wire to wire. His front running style could hurt him if the kickers are running strong at the end of the race, but Jock has used his front running very well in many top caliber 800ms so I don't expect him to make a mistake and falter in the home stretch.
Ryan Martin, who ran a 1:44 PR right behind Jock at the two's conference championships. He could slip into the mix with another big day. Cas Loxsom seems to be just starting to peak as we approach the summer. I'm sure he has had London on his mind since last year's world team trials and will be ready to go. Mike Rutt is high on my sleeper team as well. He has run some very solid 800m runs and bested my boy Robby Andrews already this spring. He had a runner up finish in the indoor 800m while at UCONN two years back. Erik Sowinski, the runner up at outdoor NCAA's this year could be in the mix as well. Andrew Wheating is entered in the race, but he may not run if he decides to put his eggs into the 1500m basket. Elijah Greer is always a threat if he can get to the finals. He runs fantastic finals, but sometimes struggles in the prelims. PA alumn Benn Scheetz made it into the meet as one of the last few entries to qualify.
In the 1500m, I'll be pulling for my boy Robby Andrews whose kick almost led to a shocking upset of Mo Farah and Galen Rupp (but didn't, maybe went too early?). We saw last year that a guy with a kick can mix it up in the tactical races and surprise for gold at the trials. That man who proved it to as all, however, is back. Matt Centrowitz will be looking to defend his US title and bronze medal from worlds. However, Centrowitz has struggled of late at the Prefontaine mile and will have to work hard to utilize his kick in this field of kickers. Amongst the stud kickers in this race are Leonel Manzano who has made his fair share of international teams in the past but has yet to take a U.S. championship. He has a 3:33 seed time coming in and should punch his ticket to London. Russell Brown boasts a 3:34.11 seed and has had a series of solid marks in the middle distance. David Torrence may be the guy to watch. He has got the A standard and has run 1:45 and 13 teens this season. He is putting all his chips in the pot for the 1500 and that is why I see him taking the third spot to London. I've got Robby winning because I am incredibly biased and blind sided by him being my favorite runner. What are you gonna do?
Also in the mix will be guys like Will Leer and Andrew Wheating who were both within .01 of each other at last year's meet with Wheating getting the spot to Daegu. Wheating has a 3:30 PR that many here in the US hope he can duplicate. He seems to be rounding into form as of late. He was at the Olympics in 2008 as a College sophomore in the 800m. He may look to duplicate that magic, he is entered in that race as well. Jeff See and PA alumn Craig Miller have run solid 1500s throughout their pro career and Oregonian Jordan MacNamara has danced around the A standard on multiple occasions as well. AJ Acosta and his beard will also run. Then there are the collegians, headlined by Kyle Merber and his 3:35, but also Miles Batty, Andy Bayer, Riley Masters, Erik Van Ingen, Rob Finnerty and German Fernandez! It will be interesting to see how all these collegian boys handle the big stage.
At 5000m, Bernard Lagat, still going strong even at his old age, is essentially a lock to get back to London, especially with his focus entirely on the 5000m. He has run solid marks this year including his indoor American Record around 13:07. But he will have his hands full with Galen Rupp who is attempting the 5k-10k double. Rupp has training partner Mo Farah to boast about and recent PRs at 1500m and 5000m. And oh yeah he has the American Record at 10000m after he smashed Chris Solinsky's mark last summer. I got Rupp taking the next step this year, but I just don't think he has the wheels to hang when it is kick time and I think it an epic finish, Lagat will pull it out. Then of course there is Lopez Lomong who has a 13:11 mark after he miscounted his laps and managed to hold on after his epic kick and drop ... an epic kick. Dathan Ritz has been rounding into great shape as well. He is entered in the 5k and the 10k, however, which could complicate matters. But he does boast a 13:14 this year. Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Derrick are other guys with top marks who have 10k and 5k duties to pull at the meet. Andrew Bambalough, Ben True, Ryan Hill, and PA's own Dan Lowry are other guys with solid marks this season in the mix.
At 10k, Rupp seems a lock to defend his title. As mentioned earlier he is clearly in top notch shape. Behind him are guys like Ritz, Tegenkamp and Derrick with great marks at 5k and 10k this year who are trying to battle it out behind Rupp and come out in the top 3 and head to London. Also in the mix at 10k are Rob Curtis and Tim Nelson who have marks under 27:30 this year already. Hassan Mead, Jacob Reilly, Girma Micheso and Luke Puskedra are all big name college guys trying to take the next step. I'd like to see Ritz pull out a big performance here at make the team, but he is going to have a tough time, especially considering he is still chasing the olympic A standard he needs to punch his ticket to London.
Lastly in the steeplechase, converted 15/5k guy Evan Jager is looking to redeem himself after his fall at Oxy. He still is one, if not the, favorites for this event as the Americans have piled on some great steeple times this year. Collegiate Don Cabral, who won that Oxy meet in the steeplechase after the fall and also added an NCAA title to his resume this spring, is another one of the pre race favorites. Will Nelson and Ben Bruce are the top two seeds in the race, headlining the field of 12 guys under 8:30. Craig Forys and Cory Leslie who finish close to Cabral at NCAA's, taking advantage of Leilei fall, will be looking to fight their way into the final and into contention with the top group.
Ask Etrain
So I'll keep it simple, I'm looking for stuff to talk about here on the blog, if you've got a question I'll do my best to give you an answer as in depth as possible. Leave the question as a comment here on the blog and I'll see what I can do.
Scouting for Interest
*I re-posted this to the top of the page, the original post with comments is still below.*
Alright folks, so obviously its the summer and my blog is not as popular as it was in May and certainly the fact that I have failed to update the blog at all during this last few stretch is not helping, but I figured I'd post this up anyway and see what we find.
Now I live in Upper Dublin, more specifically Willow Grove, and am currently training for what will be my Junior Cross Country Season at Muhlenberg College, located in Allentown PA. As part of our summer training, I'm running a 3k time trial on July 28th at 8 P.M. at the Upper Dublin High School track. It is a cool, fun way for me to check up on what kind of shape I am in and compare it to previous years. Last year I had the help of one of my friends Michael Fuery from CHA who raced with me and helped push me to a dramatic improvement from my Freshman summer.
So why I am telling you all this? Well I was thinking that I like running this 3k time trial and I like having other people racing with me so I decided to try and enlist some guys I know of similar ability to come run with me. Then I decided the more the merrier so I invited all my friends, regardless of ability, to train and come out and run with me.
Logically, my train of thought then led me to etrain. Pun intended. I decided I post up on here and see if there is anyone who wanted to come out to the Upper Dublin track on that night to race the 3k and see where their mid summer training is at.
It doesn't matter your ability at all, I don't care if you are 100m ahead of me, behind me, whatever, I just like running with people. The distance I'm sure is too far from some people and I'm sure most people don't really want to go race with somebody who they only know through the internet but if anyone is interested please talk to me. Any age is welcome: post college, in college, pre college, doesn't matter.
I encourage you to talk with your other running friends in the community and plan to meet up, if not for this then for something else, to catch up and run together and gain some confidence or learn other training tactics or just have fun.
If there somehow is a sizeable contigent of people interested I will make sure I reserve the track, but if it is just going to be me and my buddies from school I'm not going to do anything like that. I'll just hop the fence and get somebody to time me and save the trouble.
So in conclusion, if you have any interest or questions in this run, either leave a comment here, email me at jf245031@muhlenberg.edu, or text or call me at 215-450-1099, also you can facebook me, I'm Jarrett Felix.
Heat 4 of 4: 4x800m
Baldwin: Logan, James, Wolfe, Hobart
LaSalle: O'Kane, Stone, Lowry, Coyle
Henderson: Chaborek, Kellar, Ferry, Lefebure
CB West: Pregler, McGarvey, Bee, Manley
Abington: Smith, Taylor, Ross, Moran
Upper Dublin: Reilly, Ellison, Reilly, Palmisano
Chambersburg: Rotz, Eubanks, Grove, Holder
Wissahickon: Bray, Crits, Brooks, Cho
CR North: Wilker, Mahoney, Salome, Capecci
North Penn: Quintrell, Franks, Bookheimer, Montijo
Cumberland Valley: Somallah, Flynn, Fuller, Kunzweiler
CB South: Dickson, Poeisz, Manion, Mallon
800m (1st Exchange)
1. Wilker 1:53.1
2. Pregler 1:53.5
3. Quintrell 1:53.5
4. O'Kane 1:53.6
5. Rotz 1:53.9
6. Chaborek 1:54.1
7. Logan 1:54.1
8. Somallah 1:55.0
9. Smith 1:55.1
10. Dickson 1:55.6
11. Bray 1:55.8
12. Reilly 1:56.1
1600m (2nd Exchange)
1. Stone 1:52.2 (3:45.8)
2. James 1:52.1 (3:46.2)
3. McGarvey 1:53.1 (3:46.6)
4. Franks 1:53.2 (3:46.7)
5. Kellar 1:52.8 (3:46.9)
6. Mahoney 1:54.0 (3:47.1)
7. Crits 1:51.5 (3:47.3)
8. Flynn 1:52.9 (3:47.9)
9. Taylor 1:53.0 (3:48.1)
10. Ellison 1:52.1 (3:48.2)
11. Poiesz 1:52.8 (3:48.4)
12. Eubanks 1:55.3 (3:49.2)
2400m (3rd Exchange)
1. Lowry 1:53.5 (5:39.3)
2. Wolfe 1:53.8 (5:40.0)
3. Ferry 1:53.3 (5:40.2)
4. Bee 1:53.7 (5:40.3)
5. Bookheimer 1:53.6 (5:40.3)
6. Ross 1:52.4 (5:40.5)
7. Salome 1:53.7 (5:40.8)
8. Reilly 1:53.0 (5:41.2)
9. Fuller 1:54.0 (5:41.9)
10. Grove 1:54.0 (5:43.2)
11. Manion 1:55.0 (5:43.4)
12. Brooks 1:56.3 (5:43.6)
3200m (Finish)
1. Coyle 1:51.7 (7:31.0)
2. Lefebure 1:50.8 (7:31.0)
3. Manley 1:50.8 (7:31.1)
4. Hobart 1:51.7 (7:31.7)
5. Mallon 1:48.6 (7:32.0)
6. Moran 1:51.8 (7:32.3)
7. Palmisano 1:51.8 (7:33.0)
8. Montijo 1:52.8 (7:33.1)
9. Kunzweiler 1:51.5 (7:33.4)
10. Cho 1:50.3 (7:33.7)
11. Capecci 1:52.9 (7:33.7)
12. Holder 1:51.0 (7:34.2)
LaSalle: O'Kane, Stone, Lowry, Coyle
Henderson: Chaborek, Kellar, Ferry, Lefebure
CB West: Pregler, McGarvey, Bee, Manley
Abington: Smith, Taylor, Ross, Moran
Upper Dublin: Reilly, Ellison, Reilly, Palmisano
Chambersburg: Rotz, Eubanks, Grove, Holder
Wissahickon: Bray, Crits, Brooks, Cho
CR North: Wilker, Mahoney, Salome, Capecci
North Penn: Quintrell, Franks, Bookheimer, Montijo
Cumberland Valley: Somallah, Flynn, Fuller, Kunzweiler
CB South: Dickson, Poeisz, Manion, Mallon
800m (1st Exchange)
1. Wilker 1:53.1
2. Pregler 1:53.5
3. Quintrell 1:53.5
4. O'Kane 1:53.6
5. Rotz 1:53.9
6. Chaborek 1:54.1
7. Logan 1:54.1
8. Somallah 1:55.0
9. Smith 1:55.1
10. Dickson 1:55.6
11. Bray 1:55.8
12. Reilly 1:56.1
1600m (2nd Exchange)
1. Stone 1:52.2 (3:45.8)
2. James 1:52.1 (3:46.2)
3. McGarvey 1:53.1 (3:46.6)
4. Franks 1:53.2 (3:46.7)
5. Kellar 1:52.8 (3:46.9)
6. Mahoney 1:54.0 (3:47.1)
7. Crits 1:51.5 (3:47.3)
8. Flynn 1:52.9 (3:47.9)
9. Taylor 1:53.0 (3:48.1)
10. Ellison 1:52.1 (3:48.2)
11. Poiesz 1:52.8 (3:48.4)
12. Eubanks 1:55.3 (3:49.2)
2400m (3rd Exchange)
1. Lowry 1:53.5 (5:39.3)
2. Wolfe 1:53.8 (5:40.0)
3. Ferry 1:53.3 (5:40.2)
4. Bee 1:53.7 (5:40.3)
5. Bookheimer 1:53.6 (5:40.3)
6. Ross 1:52.4 (5:40.5)
7. Salome 1:53.7 (5:40.8)
8. Reilly 1:53.0 (5:41.2)
9. Fuller 1:54.0 (5:41.9)
10. Grove 1:54.0 (5:43.2)
11. Manion 1:55.0 (5:43.4)
12. Brooks 1:56.3 (5:43.6)
3200m (Finish)
1. Coyle 1:51.7 (7:31.0)
2. Lefebure 1:50.8 (7:31.0)
3. Manley 1:50.8 (7:31.1)
4. Hobart 1:51.7 (7:31.7)
5. Mallon 1:48.6 (7:32.0)
6. Moran 1:51.8 (7:32.3)
7. Palmisano 1:51.8 (7:33.0)
8. Montijo 1:52.8 (7:33.1)
9. Kunzweiler 1:51.5 (7:33.4)
10. Cho 1:50.3 (7:33.7)
11. Capecci 1:52.9 (7:33.7)
12. Holder 1:51.0 (7:34.2)
Heat 3 of 4: 4x800m
Penn Hills: Rumble, Squirees, Baily, Anderson
E and S: Lamour, Lee, Rhodes, Jones
Penncrest: Cassey, Miller, Moore, Batch
Altoona: Gehret, Mountain, Replogle, Endress
Unionville: Allen, Fischer, Springer, Yannacone
Cedar Crest: Galli, Feinstein, Jackson, Troxell
Central Dauphin: Golden, Golden, Schrom, Rotz
GFS: Waterman, McKenzie, Waterman, Kaulbach
Great Valley: Wolffe, Addis, Turney, Willig
Strath Haven: Collins, Seelaus, Fink, Huemmler
Pennridge: Musiowski, Kohler, Kirsch, Logue
Souderton: Jacwah, Portock, Muelners, Heckman
800m (1st Exchange)
1. Gehret 1:54.1
2. Galli 1:54.2
3. Rumble 1:54.6
4. Waterman 1:54.9
5. Cassey 1:55.1
6. Musiowski 1:55.9
7. Allen 1:56.0
8. Collins 1:56.2
9. Jacwah 1:56.2
10. Lamour 1:56.3
11. Golden 1:56.8
12. Wolffe 1:56.8
1600m (2nd Exchange)
Feinstein 1:54.9 (3:49.1)
Mountain 1:55.4 (3:49.5)
McKenzie 1:55.0 (3:49.9)
Koehler 1:54.2 (3:50.1)
Golden 1:53.4 (3:50.2)
Miller 1:55.4 (3:50.5)
Squirees 1:56.2 (3:50.8)
Addis 1:54.1 (3:50.9)
Seelaus 1:55.5 (3:51.7)
Fischer 1:56.1 (3:52.1)
Portock 1:56.1 (3:52.3)
Lee 1:56.0 (3:52.3)
2400m (3rd Exchange)
1. Baily 1:51.6 (5:42.4)
2. Moore 1:52.5 (5:43.0)
3. Springer 1:51.0 (5:43.1)
4. Jackson 1:54.5 (5:43.6)
5. Rhodes 1:52.0 (5:44.3)
6. Replogle 1:55.5 (5:45.0)
7. Fink 1:53.6 (5:45.3)
8. Muelners 1:53.1 (5:45.4)
9. Kirsch 1:55.3 (5:45.4)
10. Schrom 1:55.2 (5:45.4)
11. Waterman 1:56.5 (5:46.4)
12. Turney 1:57.3 (5:48.2)
3200m (Finish)
1. Endress 1:51.1 (7:35.1)
2. Troxell 1:51.6 (7:35.2)
3. Jones 1:51.5 (7:35.8)
4. Batch 1:52.8 (7:35.8)
5. Rotz 1:51.2 (7:36.6)
6. Logue 1:51.4 (7:36.8)
7. Yannacone 1:53.7 (7:36.8)
8. Anderson 1:54.5 (7:36.9)
9. Huemmler 1:52.6 (7:37.9)
10. Heckman 1:52.6 (7:38.0)
11. Kaulbach 1:51.7 (7:38.1)
12. Willig 1:50.7 (7:38.9)
E and S: Lamour, Lee, Rhodes, Jones
Penncrest: Cassey, Miller, Moore, Batch
Altoona: Gehret, Mountain, Replogle, Endress
Unionville: Allen, Fischer, Springer, Yannacone
Cedar Crest: Galli, Feinstein, Jackson, Troxell
Central Dauphin: Golden, Golden, Schrom, Rotz
GFS: Waterman, McKenzie, Waterman, Kaulbach
Great Valley: Wolffe, Addis, Turney, Willig
Strath Haven: Collins, Seelaus, Fink, Huemmler
Pennridge: Musiowski, Kohler, Kirsch, Logue
Souderton: Jacwah, Portock, Muelners, Heckman
800m (1st Exchange)
1. Gehret 1:54.1
2. Galli 1:54.2
3. Rumble 1:54.6
4. Waterman 1:54.9
5. Cassey 1:55.1
6. Musiowski 1:55.9
7. Allen 1:56.0
8. Collins 1:56.2
9. Jacwah 1:56.2
10. Lamour 1:56.3
11. Golden 1:56.8
12. Wolffe 1:56.8
1600m (2nd Exchange)
Feinstein 1:54.9 (3:49.1)
Mountain 1:55.4 (3:49.5)
McKenzie 1:55.0 (3:49.9)
Koehler 1:54.2 (3:50.1)
Golden 1:53.4 (3:50.2)
Miller 1:55.4 (3:50.5)
Squirees 1:56.2 (3:50.8)
Addis 1:54.1 (3:50.9)
Seelaus 1:55.5 (3:51.7)
Fischer 1:56.1 (3:52.1)
Portock 1:56.1 (3:52.3)
Lee 1:56.0 (3:52.3)
2400m (3rd Exchange)
1. Baily 1:51.6 (5:42.4)
2. Moore 1:52.5 (5:43.0)
3. Springer 1:51.0 (5:43.1)
4. Jackson 1:54.5 (5:43.6)
5. Rhodes 1:52.0 (5:44.3)
6. Replogle 1:55.5 (5:45.0)
7. Fink 1:53.6 (5:45.3)
8. Muelners 1:53.1 (5:45.4)
9. Kirsch 1:55.3 (5:45.4)
10. Schrom 1:55.2 (5:45.4)
11. Waterman 1:56.5 (5:46.4)
12. Turney 1:57.3 (5:48.2)
3200m (Finish)
1. Endress 1:51.1 (7:35.1)
2. Troxell 1:51.6 (7:35.2)
3. Jones 1:51.5 (7:35.8)
4. Batch 1:52.8 (7:35.8)
5. Rotz 1:51.2 (7:36.6)
6. Logue 1:51.4 (7:36.8)
7. Yannacone 1:53.7 (7:36.8)
8. Anderson 1:54.5 (7:36.9)
9. Huemmler 1:52.6 (7:37.9)
10. Heckman 1:52.6 (7:38.0)
11. Kaulbach 1:51.7 (7:38.1)
12. Willig 1:50.7 (7:38.9)
Heat 2 of 4: 4x800m
Carlisle- Brehm, Dennison, Hurston, West
CR South- Wiseman, Doyle, Garfield, Dreeman
Father Judge- Jermaine Lowery, Jerome Lowery, Joniec, Kehl
Norristown- Sadehpour, Gryffyn-Byrd, Hargrove, Hadrick
Boyertown- Wilkinson, Dennin, Kelly, Weller
North Allegheny- Hoover, Appman, Gil, Tonzo
Coatesville- Ward, Cline, Kyle Dawson, Owen Dawson
Hempfield- Kontra, Groff, Boirk, Hull
O'Hara- Conn, Garrity, McAndress, Buck
Trinity- Smith, Seymour, Pawlush, Gruschow
Horsham- Burns, Dempster, Hibbs, DiFlorio
Quaker Valley- Fox, Pegg, Hyjek, Westwood
800m (1st Exchange)
1. Wiseman 1:54.2
2. Kontra 1:54.3
3. Brehm 1:54.8
4. Lowery 1:55.8
5. Burns 1:55.9
6. Conn 1:56.0
7. Sadehpour 1:56.2
8. Fox 1:56.5
9. Wilkinson 1:56.8
10. Ward 1:57.1
11. Smith 1:57.1
12. Hoover 1:57.8
1600m (2nd Exchange)
1. Doyle 1:55.8 (3:50.0)
2. Groff 1:56.2 (3:50.5)
3. Dennison 1:56.7 (3:51.5)
4. Dempster 1:55.8 (3:51.6)
5. Gryffyn-Byrd 1:56.1 (3:52.3)
6. Garrity 1:56.6 (3:52.6)
7. Lowery 1:56.9 (3:52.7)
8. Seymour 1:55.9 (3:53.0)
9. Dennin 1:56.3 (3:53.1)
10. Cline 1:56.5 (3:53.6)
11. Pegg 1:57.2 (3:53.7)
12. Appman 1:57.7 (3:55.5)
2400m (3rd Exchange)
1. Hargrove 1:52.9 (5:45.2)
2. Hurston 1:54.2 (5:45.7)
3. Hyjek 1:52.4 (5:46.1)
4. Garfield 1:56.1 (5:46.1)
5. Hibbs 1:56.0 (5:47.6)
6. Pawlush 1:55.3 (5:48.3)
7. Birk 1:58.0 (5:48.5)
8. Gil 1:53.5 (5:49.0)
9. McAndress 1:56.5 (5:49.1)
10. Dawson 1:55.9 (5:49.5)
11. Kelly 1:56.6 (5:49.7)
12. Joniec 1:57.4 (5:50.1)
3200m (Finish)
1. Dreeman 1:53.6 (7:39.7)
2. Westwood 1:53.7 (7:39.8)
3. West 1:54.1 (7:39.8)
4. Hadrick 1:54.7 (7:39.9)
5. Kehl 1:50.8 (7:40.9)
6. Hull 1:52.6 (7:41.1)
7. Gruschow 1:53.0 (7:41.3)
8. DiFlorio 1:53.8 (7:41.4)
9. Tonzo 1:53.0 (7:42.0)
10. Buck 1:52.9 (7:42.0)
11. Weller 1:53.0 (7:42.7)
12. Dawson 1:53.3 (7:42.8)
CR South- Wiseman, Doyle, Garfield, Dreeman
Father Judge- Jermaine Lowery, Jerome Lowery, Joniec, Kehl
Norristown- Sadehpour, Gryffyn-Byrd, Hargrove, Hadrick
Boyertown- Wilkinson, Dennin, Kelly, Weller
North Allegheny- Hoover, Appman, Gil, Tonzo
Coatesville- Ward, Cline, Kyle Dawson, Owen Dawson
Hempfield- Kontra, Groff, Boirk, Hull
O'Hara- Conn, Garrity, McAndress, Buck
Trinity- Smith, Seymour, Pawlush, Gruschow
Horsham- Burns, Dempster, Hibbs, DiFlorio
Quaker Valley- Fox, Pegg, Hyjek, Westwood
800m (1st Exchange)
1. Wiseman 1:54.2
2. Kontra 1:54.3
3. Brehm 1:54.8
4. Lowery 1:55.8
5. Burns 1:55.9
6. Conn 1:56.0
7. Sadehpour 1:56.2
8. Fox 1:56.5
9. Wilkinson 1:56.8
10. Ward 1:57.1
11. Smith 1:57.1
12. Hoover 1:57.8
1600m (2nd Exchange)
1. Doyle 1:55.8 (3:50.0)
2. Groff 1:56.2 (3:50.5)
3. Dennison 1:56.7 (3:51.5)
4. Dempster 1:55.8 (3:51.6)
5. Gryffyn-Byrd 1:56.1 (3:52.3)
6. Garrity 1:56.6 (3:52.6)
7. Lowery 1:56.9 (3:52.7)
8. Seymour 1:55.9 (3:53.0)
9. Dennin 1:56.3 (3:53.1)
10. Cline 1:56.5 (3:53.6)
11. Pegg 1:57.2 (3:53.7)
12. Appman 1:57.7 (3:55.5)
2400m (3rd Exchange)
1. Hargrove 1:52.9 (5:45.2)
2. Hurston 1:54.2 (5:45.7)
3. Hyjek 1:52.4 (5:46.1)
4. Garfield 1:56.1 (5:46.1)
5. Hibbs 1:56.0 (5:47.6)
6. Pawlush 1:55.3 (5:48.3)
7. Birk 1:58.0 (5:48.5)
8. Gil 1:53.5 (5:49.0)
9. McAndress 1:56.5 (5:49.1)
10. Dawson 1:55.9 (5:49.5)
11. Kelly 1:56.6 (5:49.7)
12. Joniec 1:57.4 (5:50.1)
3200m (Finish)
1. Dreeman 1:53.6 (7:39.7)
2. Westwood 1:53.7 (7:39.8)
3. West 1:54.1 (7:39.8)
4. Hadrick 1:54.7 (7:39.9)
5. Kehl 1:50.8 (7:40.9)
6. Hull 1:52.6 (7:41.1)
7. Gruschow 1:53.0 (7:41.3)
8. DiFlorio 1:53.8 (7:41.4)
9. Tonzo 1:53.0 (7:42.0)
10. Buck 1:52.9 (7:42.0)
11. Weller 1:53.0 (7:42.7)
12. Dawson 1:53.3 (7:42.8)
Scouting for Interest
Alright folks, so obviously its the summer and my blog is not as popular as it was in May and certainly the fact that I have failed to update the blog at all during this last few stretch is not helping, but I figured I'd post this up anyway and see what we find.
Now I live in Upper Dublin, more specifically Willow Grove, and am currently training for what will be my Junior Cross Country Season at Muhlenberg College, located in Allentown PA. As part of our summer training, I'm running a 3k time trial on July 28th at 8 P.M. at the Upper Dublin High School track. It is a cool, fun way for me to check up on what kind of shape I am in and compare it to previous years. Last year I had the help of one of my friends Michael Fuery from CHA who raced with me and helped push me to a dramatic improvement from my Freshman summer.
So why I am telling you all this? Well I was thinking that I like running this 3k time trial and I like having other people racing with me so I decided to try and enlist some guys I know of similar ability to come run with me. Then I decided the more the merrier so I invited all my friends, regardless of ability, to train and come out and run with me.
Logically, my train of thought then led me to etrain. Pun intended. I decided I post up on here and see if there is anyone who wanted to come out to the Upper Dublin track on that night to race the 3k and see where their mid summer training is at.
It doesn't matter your ability at all, I don't care if you are 100m ahead of me, behind me, whatever, I just like running with people. The distance I'm sure is too far from some people and I'm sure most people don't really want to go race with somebody who they only know through the internet but if anyone is interested please talk to me. Any age is welcome: post college, in college, pre college, doesn't matter.
I encourage you to talk with your other running friends in the community and plan to meet up, if not for this then for something else, to catch up and run together and gain some confidence or learn other training tactics or just have fun.
If there somehow is a sizeable contigent of people interested I will make sure I reserve the track, but if it is just going to be me and my buddies from school I'm not going to do anything like that. I'll just hop the fence and get somebody to time me and save the trouble.
So in conclusion, if you have any interest or questions in this run, either leave a comment here, email me at jf245031@muhlenberg.edu, or text or call me at 215-450-1099, also you can facebook me, I'm Jarrett Felix.
Now I live in Upper Dublin, more specifically Willow Grove, and am currently training for what will be my Junior Cross Country Season at Muhlenberg College, located in Allentown PA. As part of our summer training, I'm running a 3k time trial on July 28th at 8 P.M. at the Upper Dublin High School track. It is a cool, fun way for me to check up on what kind of shape I am in and compare it to previous years. Last year I had the help of one of my friends Michael Fuery from CHA who raced with me and helped push me to a dramatic improvement from my Freshman summer.
So why I am telling you all this? Well I was thinking that I like running this 3k time trial and I like having other people racing with me so I decided to try and enlist some guys I know of similar ability to come run with me. Then I decided the more the merrier so I invited all my friends, regardless of ability, to train and come out and run with me.
Logically, my train of thought then led me to etrain. Pun intended. I decided I post up on here and see if there is anyone who wanted to come out to the Upper Dublin track on that night to race the 3k and see where their mid summer training is at.
It doesn't matter your ability at all, I don't care if you are 100m ahead of me, behind me, whatever, I just like running with people. The distance I'm sure is too far from some people and I'm sure most people don't really want to go race with somebody who they only know through the internet but if anyone is interested please talk to me. Any age is welcome: post college, in college, pre college, doesn't matter.
I encourage you to talk with your other running friends in the community and plan to meet up, if not for this then for something else, to catch up and run together and gain some confidence or learn other training tactics or just have fun.
If there somehow is a sizeable contigent of people interested I will make sure I reserve the track, but if it is just going to be me and my buddies from school I'm not going to do anything like that. I'll just hop the fence and get somebody to time me and save the trouble.
So in conclusion, if you have any interest or questions in this run, either leave a comment here, email me at jf245031@muhlenberg.edu, or text or call me at 215-450-1099, also you can facebook me, I'm Jarrett Felix.
What Could Have Been?
So a lot of my rules about medalists are going to be thrown off a bit by this new shake up in the classification conversation. So because I was curious I decided to break down what the medalists would have looked like last year under the new classification system. Obviously not a perfect system here, but it is the only one we have. The AA kids most likely would have ran faster in the AAA race last year so keep that in the back of your mind.
AAA
1. Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham
2. Brett Kelly, Boyertown
3. Dan Savage, O'Hara
4. Logan Steiner, North Allegheny
5. Brent Kennedy, Kiski Area
6. Tom Coyle, LaSalle
7. Ned Willig, Great Valley
8. Connor Harriman, Pennsbury
9. Mike Billotta, O'Hara
10. Sean Burke, Abington Heights
11. Sam Hibbs, Hatboro Horsham
12. Alec Kunzweiler, Cumberland Valley
13. Alex Moran, Mt. Lebanon
14. Jack Macauley, North Penn
15. Chris Culley, Moon Area
16. Tim Appman, North Allegheny
17. Dylan Mountain, Altoona
18. Ean DiSilvio, Allerdice
19. Korey Replogle, Altoona
20. Caleb Wakeley, Shaler Area
21. Tony Russel, Henderson
22. Lawtin Tellin, Mt Lebanon
23. Andrew Kuchta, Baldwin
24. Dan Davis, North Penn
25. Jon Colwell, Mifflin County
AA
1. Dan Jaskowak, Grove City*
2. Drew Magaha, Upper Moreland*
3. Brendan Shearn, North Schuylkill
4. Zach Israel, Holy Ghost Prep*
5. Aaron Wilkinson, Valley View*
6. Austin Pondel, Corry Area*
7. Vinny Todaro, Big Spring*
8. Josef Dipietrantinio, Beaver Area
9. Aaron Valerosa, Towanda
10. Chris Muldoon, Archbishop Wood*
11. Nat Fox, Quaker Valley
12. Connor Strynkowski, Palmyra*
13. Tyler Stelmack, Northwestern Lehigh
14. Jake Seigel, Tunkhannock*
15. Dominic Deluca, Dallas*
16. Tim Flanagan, Archbishop Wood*
17. Jared Schatz, Lancaster Mennonite
18. Aziz Yousif, Bradford*
19. Dan Alexander, Lower Moreland
20. Ryan McGuire, Trinity Christian
21. Jaryd Flank, Wilson Area*
22. Roy Hadfield, Quaker Valley
23. Gordon Phipps, Oil City*
24. Ian Yankuso, Pottsgrove*
25. Xaiver Sauvageau, Littlestown
A
1. Luke Jones, Elk Lake*
2. Rico Galassi, Holy Cross*
3. Sam Williams, Northeast Bradford*
4. Ryan Smathers, North East*
5. Jordan Jackson, Wellsboro*
6. Nate Tallada, Saegertown*
7. Ryan Archer, Vincentian Academy*
8. Barrett Kemp, Oswayo Valley*
9. Alex Archer, Vincentian Academy*
10. Shawn Wolfe, Anville-Cleona*
11. Curt Jewett, Northeast Bradford*
12. Kelby Mullen, Sullivan County*
13. Keaton Naff, Masterman*
14. Jason Parsons, Maplewood*
15. Mark Bachman, Anville-Cleona*
16. Hunter Johnston, Saegertown*
17. Carter Smith, Eden Christian Academy*
18. Ethan Wilson, Laurel*
19. Bob Owlett, Wellsboro*
20. Trey Powell, West Middlesex*
21. Ryan Brown, PennsValley*
22. Jack Bagamery, Shady Side Academy*
23. Wes Roberts, Freedom Area*
24. Kevin Dailey, Westmont Hilltop*
25. Spencer Cole, Oswayo Valley*
25th in A was 43rd in AA in 2011, 25th in AA was 26th in AA in 2011 and 25th in AAA was 31st in AAA in 2011. The * indicates a team that changed class. Naturally all A teams changed class and all AAA teams didn't. The AA ones are the interesting ones.
AAA
1. Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham
2. Brett Kelly, Boyertown
3. Dan Savage, O'Hara
4. Logan Steiner, North Allegheny
5. Brent Kennedy, Kiski Area
6. Tom Coyle, LaSalle
7. Ned Willig, Great Valley
8. Connor Harriman, Pennsbury
9. Mike Billotta, O'Hara
10. Sean Burke, Abington Heights
11. Sam Hibbs, Hatboro Horsham
12. Alec Kunzweiler, Cumberland Valley
13. Alex Moran, Mt. Lebanon
14. Jack Macauley, North Penn
15. Chris Culley, Moon Area
16. Tim Appman, North Allegheny
17. Dylan Mountain, Altoona
18. Ean DiSilvio, Allerdice
19. Korey Replogle, Altoona
20. Caleb Wakeley, Shaler Area
21. Tony Russel, Henderson
22. Lawtin Tellin, Mt Lebanon
23. Andrew Kuchta, Baldwin
24. Dan Davis, North Penn
25. Jon Colwell, Mifflin County
AA
1. Dan Jaskowak, Grove City*
2. Drew Magaha, Upper Moreland*
3. Brendan Shearn, North Schuylkill
4. Zach Israel, Holy Ghost Prep*
5. Aaron Wilkinson, Valley View*
6. Austin Pondel, Corry Area*
7. Vinny Todaro, Big Spring*
8. Josef Dipietrantinio, Beaver Area
9. Aaron Valerosa, Towanda
10. Chris Muldoon, Archbishop Wood*
11. Nat Fox, Quaker Valley
12. Connor Strynkowski, Palmyra*
13. Tyler Stelmack, Northwestern Lehigh
14. Jake Seigel, Tunkhannock*
15. Dominic Deluca, Dallas*
16. Tim Flanagan, Archbishop Wood*
17. Jared Schatz, Lancaster Mennonite
18. Aziz Yousif, Bradford*
19. Dan Alexander, Lower Moreland
20. Ryan McGuire, Trinity Christian
21. Jaryd Flank, Wilson Area*
22. Roy Hadfield, Quaker Valley
23. Gordon Phipps, Oil City*
24. Ian Yankuso, Pottsgrove*
25. Xaiver Sauvageau, Littlestown
A
1. Luke Jones, Elk Lake*
2. Rico Galassi, Holy Cross*
3. Sam Williams, Northeast Bradford*
4. Ryan Smathers, North East*
5. Jordan Jackson, Wellsboro*
6. Nate Tallada, Saegertown*
7. Ryan Archer, Vincentian Academy*
8. Barrett Kemp, Oswayo Valley*
9. Alex Archer, Vincentian Academy*
10. Shawn Wolfe, Anville-Cleona*
11. Curt Jewett, Northeast Bradford*
12. Kelby Mullen, Sullivan County*
13. Keaton Naff, Masterman*
14. Jason Parsons, Maplewood*
15. Mark Bachman, Anville-Cleona*
16. Hunter Johnston, Saegertown*
17. Carter Smith, Eden Christian Academy*
18. Ethan Wilson, Laurel*
19. Bob Owlett, Wellsboro*
20. Trey Powell, West Middlesex*
21. Ryan Brown, PennsValley*
22. Jack Bagamery, Shady Side Academy*
23. Wes Roberts, Freedom Area*
24. Kevin Dailey, Westmont Hilltop*
25. Spencer Cole, Oswayo Valley*
25th in A was 43rd in AA in 2011, 25th in AA was 26th in AA in 2011 and 25th in AAA was 31st in AAA in 2011. The * indicates a team that changed class. Naturally all A teams changed class and all AAA teams didn't. The AA ones are the interesting ones.
NBON
Keep in mind folks it is hard to peak at the state meet and then again weeks later at a Championship like this. Don't get too excited about the potential for dropped times. I think the Independent League guys probably have the best shot because they don't have as big of a state meet at the PIAA kids. I'm sure that these other guys are in good shape, but just keep the facts I said above in mind. Moran has also been to these national meets a lot so keep him in mind. Shearn hasn't really run a competitive 2 mile since Arcadia so keep it in mind that he could potentially drop a lot of time. I think assuming he's healthy Wilson is the guy to watch. He is just rounding into top shape and is always at his best at these meets. He should be ready to have a great 5k race at Nats.
PA Entries for the Distance Events
Haneef Hardy 800m
Ben Ritz Mile
Dustin Wilson 2 mile
Sam Hibbs 2 mile
Brendan Shearn 5000m
Dustin Wilson 5000m
GFS 4xMile
Great Valley SMR
Great Valley DMR
GFS DMR
Tom Damiani EE 800m
Curt Jewett EE Mile
Alex Moran EE Mile
Lyle Wistar EE 2 Mile
Curt Jewett EE 2 Mile
Brendan Shearn EE 2 Mile
Sami Aziz EE 2 Mile
GFS EE 4x800m
CHA SMR EE SMR
Haverford School EE SMR
Sam Ritz Freshman Mile
PA Entries for the Distance Events
Haneef Hardy 800m
Ben Ritz Mile
Dustin Wilson 2 mile
Sam Hibbs 2 mile
Brendan Shearn 5000m
Dustin Wilson 5000m
GFS 4xMile
Great Valley SMR
Great Valley DMR
GFS DMR
Tom Damiani EE 800m
Curt Jewett EE Mile
Alex Moran EE Mile
Lyle Wistar EE 2 Mile
Curt Jewett EE 2 Mile
Brendan Shearn EE 2 Mile
Sami Aziz EE 2 Mile
GFS EE 4x800m
CHA SMR EE SMR
Haverford School EE SMR
Sam Ritz Freshman Mile
4x8 Heat 1
Alright did the best with the splits and times I could find. Here is the first heat of 4.
Heat 1
Kiski- Kennedy, Lednak, Miller, Kennedy
McCaskey- Walker, Martin, Walston, Witmer
DT West- Graham, Leidal, Devlin, Jenkins
Spring Ford- Marchewski, Magolon, Boham, O'Such
Bensalem- Cox-Finn, Pryce, Klauptauskus, Rivera
Perk Valley- Gross, Dollago, Garton, Perozze
Hershey- Brodeur, DeWille, Reichert, Bekelja
Methacton- Quinlan, Swann, Mansuy, Morhard
WC East- Zamadics, LaColla, Libbi, Lobb
North East- Gray, Denne, Elchynski, Smathers
HG Prep- Arnold, Chylak, Pierce, Horgan
State College- Gainer, Jordan, Cather, Wandell
800m
1. Marchewski 1:56.0
2. Cox-Finn 1:56.7
3. Zamadics 1:56.9
4. Brodeur 1:56.9
5. Gainer 1:57.0
6. Graham 1:57.1
7. Gross 1:57.2
8. Kennedy 1:57.4
9. Arnold 1:57.4
10. Quinlan 1:57.5
11. Walker 1:57.7
12. Gray 1:57.9
1600m (2nd Exchange)
1. DeWille 1:55.7 (3:52.6)
2. Chylak 1:55.4 (3:52.8)
3. Pryce 1:56.9 (3:52.9)
4. Jordan 1:56.0 (3:53.0)
5. Magolon 1:57.4 (3:53.4)
6. Leidal 1:56.4 (3:53.5)
7. Dollago 1:56.4 (3:53.6)
8. Denne 1:55.8 (3:53.7)
9. Martin 1:56.1 (3:53.8)
10. Lednak 1:56.9 (3:54.3)
11. Swann 1:57.2 (3:54.7)
12. LaColla 1:58.2 (3:55.1)
2400m (3rd Exchange)
1. Garton 1:54.9 (5:48.5)
2. Boham 1:55.7 (5:49.1)
3. Klaptauskus 1:56.4 (5:49.3)
4. Cather 1:56.3 (5:49.3)
5. Reichert 1:57.3 (5:49.9)
6. Miller 1:56.0 (5:50.3)
7. Pierce 1:57.6 (5:50.4)
8. Devlin 1:57.0 (5:50.5)
9. Elchynski 1:57.9 (5:51.6)
10. Mansuy 1:57.4 (5:51.9)
11. Walston 1:58.3 (5:52.1)
12. Libbi 1:57.6 (5:52.7)
3200m (Finish)
Perozze 1:53.6 (7:42.1)
Rivera 1:53.4 (7:42.7)
Bekelja 1:53.1 (7:43.0)
O'Such 1:54.8 (7:43.9)
Lobb 1:51.8 (7:44.5)
Horgan 1:54.2 (7:44.6)
Jenkins 1:54.2 (7:44.7)
Smathers 1:53.2 (7:44.8)
Wandell 1:55.9 (7:45.2)
Witmer 1:53.9 (7:46.0)
Kennedy 1:55.8 (7:46.1)
Morhard 1:54.7 (7:46.6)
Heat 1
Kiski- Kennedy, Lednak, Miller, Kennedy
McCaskey- Walker, Martin, Walston, Witmer
DT West- Graham, Leidal, Devlin, Jenkins
Spring Ford- Marchewski, Magolon, Boham, O'Such
Bensalem- Cox-Finn, Pryce, Klauptauskus, Rivera
Perk Valley- Gross, Dollago, Garton, Perozze
Hershey- Brodeur, DeWille, Reichert, Bekelja
Methacton- Quinlan, Swann, Mansuy, Morhard
WC East- Zamadics, LaColla, Libbi, Lobb
North East- Gray, Denne, Elchynski, Smathers
HG Prep- Arnold, Chylak, Pierce, Horgan
State College- Gainer, Jordan, Cather, Wandell
800m
1. Marchewski 1:56.0
2. Cox-Finn 1:56.7
3. Zamadics 1:56.9
4. Brodeur 1:56.9
5. Gainer 1:57.0
6. Graham 1:57.1
7. Gross 1:57.2
8. Kennedy 1:57.4
9. Arnold 1:57.4
10. Quinlan 1:57.5
11. Walker 1:57.7
12. Gray 1:57.9
1600m (2nd Exchange)
1. DeWille 1:55.7 (3:52.6)
2. Chylak 1:55.4 (3:52.8)
3. Pryce 1:56.9 (3:52.9)
4. Jordan 1:56.0 (3:53.0)
5. Magolon 1:57.4 (3:53.4)
6. Leidal 1:56.4 (3:53.5)
7. Dollago 1:56.4 (3:53.6)
8. Denne 1:55.8 (3:53.7)
9. Martin 1:56.1 (3:53.8)
10. Lednak 1:56.9 (3:54.3)
11. Swann 1:57.2 (3:54.7)
12. LaColla 1:58.2 (3:55.1)
2400m (3rd Exchange)
1. Garton 1:54.9 (5:48.5)
2. Boham 1:55.7 (5:49.1)
3. Klaptauskus 1:56.4 (5:49.3)
4. Cather 1:56.3 (5:49.3)
5. Reichert 1:57.3 (5:49.9)
6. Miller 1:56.0 (5:50.3)
7. Pierce 1:57.6 (5:50.4)
8. Devlin 1:57.0 (5:50.5)
9. Elchynski 1:57.9 (5:51.6)
10. Mansuy 1:57.4 (5:51.9)
11. Walston 1:58.3 (5:52.1)
12. Libbi 1:57.6 (5:52.7)
3200m (Finish)
Perozze 1:53.6 (7:42.1)
Rivera 1:53.4 (7:42.7)
Bekelja 1:53.1 (7:43.0)
O'Such 1:54.8 (7:43.9)
Lobb 1:51.8 (7:44.5)
Horgan 1:54.2 (7:44.6)
Jenkins 1:54.2 (7:44.7)
Smathers 1:53.2 (7:44.8)
Wandell 1:55.9 (7:45.2)
Witmer 1:53.9 (7:46.0)
Kennedy 1:55.8 (7:46.1)
Morhard 1:54.7 (7:46.6)
XC Classifications
So here is what I have deduced:
This is the link to the enrollment numbers: http://www.piaa.org/assets/web/documents/Cross_Country_Boys.pdf
And then based on the penntrack forum the new classifications will be:
Boys A- 1 to 217 Boys
Boys AA- 218 to 417 Boys
Boys AAA- 418 and Above Boys
If the numbers are wrong than everything I am about to say means squat so yeah let's hope they are right.
So what does this mean? Well ...
Magaha just left, and now Upper Moreland is on it's way down to AA next year. Phoenixville, Upper Perk, and Holy Ghost Prep are moving with them. HGP returns ET ranked Christian Kardish. One of this year's best AA 4x8s, Christopher Dock is moving down to A.
In District 2, Valley View, Dallas and Tunkhannock will move from the AAA class to the AA class. Dallas returns ET ranked Dominic Deluca. Elk Lake and Holy Cross (Rico Galassi) are moving down to A.
District 3 will feature a move of Vinny Todaro of Big Spring down into the AA class. In District 4, Sam Williams and Curt Jewett will take their Northeast Bradford class down a level to A. Meanwhile in District 7 the Archer boys will transition down to the A ranks as well when Vincentian drops. Oswayo Valley will also dip their hand in the A field with Barrett Kemp the main name on their squad.
From what I can see Jaskowak and Pondel are both AA guys as Corry and Grove City move down.
This is the link to the enrollment numbers: http://www.piaa.org/assets/web/documents/Cross_Country_Boys.pdf
And then based on the penntrack forum the new classifications will be:
Boys A- 1 to 217 Boys
Boys AA- 218 to 417 Boys
Boys AAA- 418 and Above Boys
If the numbers are wrong than everything I am about to say means squat so yeah let's hope they are right.
So what does this mean? Well ...
Magaha just left, and now Upper Moreland is on it's way down to AA next year. Phoenixville, Upper Perk, and Holy Ghost Prep are moving with them. HGP returns ET ranked Christian Kardish. One of this year's best AA 4x8s, Christopher Dock is moving down to A.
In District 2, Valley View, Dallas and Tunkhannock will move from the AAA class to the AA class. Dallas returns ET ranked Dominic Deluca. Elk Lake and Holy Cross (Rico Galassi) are moving down to A.
District 3 will feature a move of Vinny Todaro of Big Spring down into the AA class. In District 4, Sam Williams and Curt Jewett will take their Northeast Bradford class down a level to A. Meanwhile in District 7 the Archer boys will transition down to the A ranks as well when Vincentian drops. Oswayo Valley will also dip their hand in the A field with Barrett Kemp the main name on their squad.
From what I can see Jaskowak and Pondel are both AA guys as Corry and Grove City move down.
Back in Business
Sorry for the wait folks, I had some things going on this weekend that took up a lot of my time and there was no room for blogging. I did manage to catch a few things in the results feeds and I watched a few of the races at NCAAs. Congrats to Dan Lowry, Mark Dennin, Brady Gehret and Sam Ellison who represented PA pretty darn well at the NCAA meet. Brady split in the 44s twice! I think he is going to representing PA at the Olympic Trials which is pretty exciting. So when all was said and done here were some of the top PA performances according to TFRRS:
Sam Ellison 1:47.76
Owen Dawson 1:48.97, 3:42.54
Brian Fulton 1:49.49
Luke Lefebure 1:49.92
Alex Zubey 1:50.23, 3:46.01
Ben Scheetz 1:50.24
Trevor VanAckeren 1:50.46, Somewhere under 3:40
Sam Negley 1:50.83
Nick Crits 3:43.99
Matt Gillette 3:46.66
Jim Spisak 3:48.01, 13:50
Dan Lowry 13:34, 29:35
Mark Dennin 13:58, 29:31
Josh Izewski 14:02, 29:51
Kyle Dawson 14:04, 28:55
Vince McNally 14:06
Alfredo Santana 29:52
Chris Cirpo 29:53
Unfortunately after this weekend's action, I do have to make a few tweaks to the dream races that I have been constructing. Sorry to put yet another small delay on that but if I get bored, things will start being up tonight.
Speaking of said Henderson results, I'd like to take a moment to talk about some of them. Obviously fantastic work by Austin Pondel, a returning XC state medalist, to run a quick 15:32 uncontested at the Henderson distance festival. I believe he, like D10 rival Dan Jaskowak, is one of the guys moving into that middle classification this season. He could be dangerous in that top group chasing Shearn, Jaskowak and maybe Jones, Smathers, Williams, etc. I'd have to look a little more closely at who moves where. But keep Pondel in mind. His strength is clearly in the longer distances over the 3200m and shorter that are contested on the track. Certainly an XC sleeper this upcoming season.
The mile kind of turned out to be a little underwhelming at best, the field didn't develop with the same depth as the 800m and not too many guys ended up making this into a real fast field. Solid run by Yannacane but you figured he had an effort like that in him after the year he had at 800m. Probably wishes he ran that again, but I think he made the right choice to try and see what he could do in the mile. Aziz kind leveling off in the mile around the 4:18-4:20 mark. Would like to see some longer stuff from him, Wistar and Ritz in the 3200m. Nice race for Billotta as well. Looked like he had a good 800m split at states and caps off his season with a solid mile PR. He was a big contributor to O'Hara's success this year and it was nice to see him cap off his career there in a positive way.
The 800m was of course the main event of the day at Henderson for High School fans and a fantastic kick by Joey Logue made him the story. He is just a sophomore who dropped his open PR by about 3 seconds. It was a fantastic race where he and Coyle and Stone all split roughly even splits through the 400m. Logue had something around this in him after his anchor leg at states, but this was even faster than I could have possibly hoped. If he can hold this kind of effort he could be a 46/1:49 guy next year which would be scary. Mallon only ran 1:52 the year before he split sub 1:50 to anchor CB South to the state record as a Junior
Two other Juniors also ran PRs worth noting. And they both were wearing LaSalle jerseys. The boys Coyle and Stone rocked the race and Coyle was in position to win on the home stretch which makes his race perhaps more impressive than Logue's who was chasing (but also had to swing out wide). Coyle drops a massive PR, again something that we probably thought could happen, but not to this degree. I would have thought he could split in the 1:52s in the right race. 1:51 open is killer. Stone right behind in a slight PR for him. Those two legs by themselves would have put LaSalle roughly 16 seconds under two minute pace at states. Two 2 flat guys gives you 7:44. Their DMR for next year should be very fun to watch.
A couple other shout outs to Haneef Hardy and Ben Ritz. Ritz, coming off an absurdly huge PR in the 1600m added a big 800m PR and ran 1:54. Again, his 1600m time indicates that he had potential for this kind of time, but it is nice to see the guy go out and take what he deserves when some fail to do so. I think his best race may be the 3200m down the line, but we shall see. As for Hardy, he wasn't an 800 guy much this year, opting for team goals in the later part of the season and thus running the 400m to save his energy. Swenson put together quite the relay as a result. He was a true team player. But he had something to prove at this meet after being indoor state champion and he didn't want people to forget his name. He ran a killer 1:52 race and dropped his PR from indoors. He proved he can still mix it up with the top guys. Gotta give him props for that.
Sam Ellison 1:47.76
Owen Dawson 1:48.97, 3:42.54
Brian Fulton 1:49.49
Luke Lefebure 1:49.92
Alex Zubey 1:50.23, 3:46.01
Ben Scheetz 1:50.24
Trevor VanAckeren 1:50.46, Somewhere under 3:40
Sam Negley 1:50.83
Nick Crits 3:43.99
Matt Gillette 3:46.66
Jim Spisak 3:48.01, 13:50
Dan Lowry 13:34, 29:35
Mark Dennin 13:58, 29:31
Josh Izewski 14:02, 29:51
Kyle Dawson 14:04, 28:55
Vince McNally 14:06
Alfredo Santana 29:52
Chris Cirpo 29:53
Unfortunately after this weekend's action, I do have to make a few tweaks to the dream races that I have been constructing. Sorry to put yet another small delay on that but if I get bored, things will start being up tonight.
Speaking of said Henderson results, I'd like to take a moment to talk about some of them. Obviously fantastic work by Austin Pondel, a returning XC state medalist, to run a quick 15:32 uncontested at the Henderson distance festival. I believe he, like D10 rival Dan Jaskowak, is one of the guys moving into that middle classification this season. He could be dangerous in that top group chasing Shearn, Jaskowak and maybe Jones, Smathers, Williams, etc. I'd have to look a little more closely at who moves where. But keep Pondel in mind. His strength is clearly in the longer distances over the 3200m and shorter that are contested on the track. Certainly an XC sleeper this upcoming season.
The mile kind of turned out to be a little underwhelming at best, the field didn't develop with the same depth as the 800m and not too many guys ended up making this into a real fast field. Solid run by Yannacane but you figured he had an effort like that in him after the year he had at 800m. Probably wishes he ran that again, but I think he made the right choice to try and see what he could do in the mile. Aziz kind leveling off in the mile around the 4:18-4:20 mark. Would like to see some longer stuff from him, Wistar and Ritz in the 3200m. Nice race for Billotta as well. Looked like he had a good 800m split at states and caps off his season with a solid mile PR. He was a big contributor to O'Hara's success this year and it was nice to see him cap off his career there in a positive way.
The 800m was of course the main event of the day at Henderson for High School fans and a fantastic kick by Joey Logue made him the story. He is just a sophomore who dropped his open PR by about 3 seconds. It was a fantastic race where he and Coyle and Stone all split roughly even splits through the 400m. Logue had something around this in him after his anchor leg at states, but this was even faster than I could have possibly hoped. If he can hold this kind of effort he could be a 46/1:49 guy next year which would be scary. Mallon only ran 1:52 the year before he split sub 1:50 to anchor CB South to the state record as a Junior
Two other Juniors also ran PRs worth noting. And they both were wearing LaSalle jerseys. The boys Coyle and Stone rocked the race and Coyle was in position to win on the home stretch which makes his race perhaps more impressive than Logue's who was chasing (but also had to swing out wide). Coyle drops a massive PR, again something that we probably thought could happen, but not to this degree. I would have thought he could split in the 1:52s in the right race. 1:51 open is killer. Stone right behind in a slight PR for him. Those two legs by themselves would have put LaSalle roughly 16 seconds under two minute pace at states. Two 2 flat guys gives you 7:44. Their DMR for next year should be very fun to watch.
A couple other shout outs to Haneef Hardy and Ben Ritz. Ritz, coming off an absurdly huge PR in the 1600m added a big 800m PR and ran 1:54. Again, his 1600m time indicates that he had potential for this kind of time, but it is nice to see the guy go out and take what he deserves when some fail to do so. I think his best race may be the 3200m down the line, but we shall see. As for Hardy, he wasn't an 800 guy much this year, opting for team goals in the later part of the season and thus running the 400m to save his energy. Swenson put together quite the relay as a result. He was a true team player. But he had something to prove at this meet after being indoor state champion and he didn't want people to forget his name. He ran a killer 1:52 race and dropped his PR from indoors. He proved he can still mix it up with the top guys. Gotta give him props for that.
New Post?
Well I'm sure a lot of you are saying about time and frankly I kind of am too. This one is going to be about the upcoming NCAA Championships, for which the heat sheets have just recently been revealed. I finished separating the heats for the dream 4x8s as well. May be appropriate to start releasing those when the dream mile is all said and done? Also one more thing before I get into the NCAA stuff, girls running shorts are quite the deal. I got three for the same I pay for one pair of guys short shorts. They are much more colorful and they breath so well. I love them. My advice to you is, if you like short shorts (and c'mon boys, if you are real runners you gotta love the short shorts) you should consider getting a pair of girls one's. Don't judge.
So anyway onto the NCAA. Now I will not pretend to be an expert on this but I'll give you my two sense about the distance races and what to watch out for. In the 800m there is no Robby Andrews anymore to really grab my attention, but the field is still filled with names, and should once again be one of the most exciting races of the weekend. In the first heat of prelims stud Freshman Austin Mudd has his work cut out for him. Cas Loxsom, Charles Jock, Ryan Martin and Lance Roller are all in this stacked heat. From this heat Jock and Loxsom I think will take the auto bids to the finals with Ryan Martin and Austid Mudd taking the only two non auto bids to get into the finals. In the middle heat, Curtis Beach, normally a decathlete, has committed to mid distance and will duel with Aaron Evans and PA's own Sam Ellison. Also in the mix is Columbia's Harry McFann who is been running solid times in the shadow of teammate Kyle Merber and Felix Kitur from VMI. I hope that Sam can represent PA well, but I think Aaron Evans and Curtis Beach will take the two spots into the finals. The final heat is headlined by Elijah Greer, an all-american from Oregon who just missed Andrews and Jock in the 800m final last year. He should get through, but he will have to duel with two of the top time qualifiers in Eric Sowinski and Ricky West. One of those two should get in to the finals, I'll bet on Sowinski.
In the 800m finals, I see Jock taking out the pace hard as always and Loxsom and Martin trying to hang tough with him. As the race continues with Jock out front, Loxsom will make a move on the backstretch to challenge, but ultimately with 200m to go Elijah Greer will come on with a furious kick and look to control of the race and edge out Jock, who will have done all the work out front. Beach also has a killer kick and if he can hang tough he will be a factor in the finish. If Ryan Martin can hang tough from a tough prelim, he has a 1:44 800m PR and will be dangerous. He has raced Jock plenty of times before and has beaten him before as well.
In the 1500m, from the first heat Kyle Merber headlines the group after his big 3:35 mark at Swarthmore which I had the privilege of witnessing in person. Also in his heat, and expected to make the finals, is indoor national champions Chris O'Hara from Tulsa and Miles Batty from BYU. Batty is the indoor collegiate mile record holder who ran 3:54 in the winter. Andy Bayer from Indiana has consistently been one of the top runners for Indiana's DMR and now is looking to establish himself as an idividual title contender. Ryan Hill from NC State is my pick to take the last auto spot to the finals. Also worth noting in the heat is German Fernandez, who won the NCAA 1500m championships a long time ago in his freshman campaign. When healthy he was a 3:55 indoor miler with 13:20s 5k strength. In the 2nd heat, Lawi Lalang, indoor 5000m collegiate record holder and 3:55 indoor miler, headlines the group looking to go through to finals. With him I expect Erik Van Ingen, Rob Finnerty and Sam McEntee to qualify. Patrick Casey and Patrick McGregor are guys I expect to get the at large qualifying times. In the heat also is PA alumn Trevor Van Ackeren from Princeton and Liberty High School who boasts a sub 3:40 1500m PR.
In the 1500m final, you have to imagine a tactical race, which favors a guy with a kick like Merber, but leaves this race open enough that anything can happen. O'Hare knows how to win a kickers race as well, he did it indoors. Ultimately, I think I'll pass on the Merber hype and go with Andy Bayer to pull out the victory. I think he is due for a break out race. I see O'Hare taking second, Merber for 3rd and Van Ingen for 4th. Lalang and McEntee are both very dangerous and of course so is Miles Batty from BYU. The last 800m should be very fast, don't be surprised if it's around 1:51 or so.
In the Steeplechase, stud Don Cabral headlines the field. We might see Cabral wearing a US uniform in London in the upcoming months. Craig Forys seems to be one of Cabral's biggest rivals for the title as he has run some impressive steeples this spring. Henry Lelei from Texas A and M and Cory Leslie are two other runners with potential to surprise in the Steeple race. Ben Torotich from Eastern Kentucky comes in with the fastest time from the Regional meets and could be a sleeper. I've got Cabral to take the win and Forys to fight hard for Silver with Leslie the Bronze.
The 5000m field will feature Cam Levins, the super mileage man, outfront doubling back from the 10k. He has a furious kick and has bested the likes of Lalang and Derrick already this outdoor season with his finish. Lalang is in 5k as well, doubling up with the 1500m. He is the indoor 3000m and 5000m champion. Lalang's Arizona teammate Steven Sambu will certainly run out front as well for as long as he can. The two of them could make a challenging pace for the field. Paul Chelimo from UNC-Greensboro has a low 13:20s 5k PR as well. Wisconsin stud Mo Ahmed should represent well in the 5k and be a sleeper pick for a top finish. He has great 10k strength and was clutch at XC nationals this year. Oregon's boys Trevor Dunbar and Parker Stintson can't be overlooked either. Girma Mecheso from OK State is a factor as is Dan Lowry, from Brown, graduated from LaSalle High School in 2008 and has a 13:30s 5k PR. I've got Lalang getting some revenge on Levins as the two take the top 2 spots. I think Ahmed will surprise for 3rd and Chelimo and Dunbar will round out the top 5.
In the 10,000m, Chris Derrick, one of my favorite runners from Stanford, will have a rematch with Cam Levins who beat him at the Payton Jordan 10k at Stanford on Derrick's home track. Derrick has been second fiddle for the whole year, sporting 3 silver medals all to Lawi Lalang in XC and indoor track. A lot of names overlap with the 5k here like Sambu, Levins and Mecheso, but the 10k is first. That's why, unfortunately, I have to pick Levins to beat out Derrick using his kick. But I'll be rooting hard for CD. After those two there is a lot of talent. I think Sambu takes down third place, and Puskedra takes 4th, capping off quite a comeback effort. It's hard to say after that for me, but amongst the contenders is Princeton's Brian Leung, Michael Fout, the former foot locker champion over Derrick, Puskedra, Fernandez, Finnerty, Leung, and Dennin who are all contenders at this NCAA meet. Dennin, the PA alum from Georgetown, is in the 10k and will look to surprise his way to an All-American certificate in the 10k.
So anyway onto the NCAA. Now I will not pretend to be an expert on this but I'll give you my two sense about the distance races and what to watch out for. In the 800m there is no Robby Andrews anymore to really grab my attention, but the field is still filled with names, and should once again be one of the most exciting races of the weekend. In the first heat of prelims stud Freshman Austin Mudd has his work cut out for him. Cas Loxsom, Charles Jock, Ryan Martin and Lance Roller are all in this stacked heat. From this heat Jock and Loxsom I think will take the auto bids to the finals with Ryan Martin and Austid Mudd taking the only two non auto bids to get into the finals. In the middle heat, Curtis Beach, normally a decathlete, has committed to mid distance and will duel with Aaron Evans and PA's own Sam Ellison. Also in the mix is Columbia's Harry McFann who is been running solid times in the shadow of teammate Kyle Merber and Felix Kitur from VMI. I hope that Sam can represent PA well, but I think Aaron Evans and Curtis Beach will take the two spots into the finals. The final heat is headlined by Elijah Greer, an all-american from Oregon who just missed Andrews and Jock in the 800m final last year. He should get through, but he will have to duel with two of the top time qualifiers in Eric Sowinski and Ricky West. One of those two should get in to the finals, I'll bet on Sowinski.
In the 800m finals, I see Jock taking out the pace hard as always and Loxsom and Martin trying to hang tough with him. As the race continues with Jock out front, Loxsom will make a move on the backstretch to challenge, but ultimately with 200m to go Elijah Greer will come on with a furious kick and look to control of the race and edge out Jock, who will have done all the work out front. Beach also has a killer kick and if he can hang tough he will be a factor in the finish. If Ryan Martin can hang tough from a tough prelim, he has a 1:44 800m PR and will be dangerous. He has raced Jock plenty of times before and has beaten him before as well.
In the 1500m, from the first heat Kyle Merber headlines the group after his big 3:35 mark at Swarthmore which I had the privilege of witnessing in person. Also in his heat, and expected to make the finals, is indoor national champions Chris O'Hara from Tulsa and Miles Batty from BYU. Batty is the indoor collegiate mile record holder who ran 3:54 in the winter. Andy Bayer from Indiana has consistently been one of the top runners for Indiana's DMR and now is looking to establish himself as an idividual title contender. Ryan Hill from NC State is my pick to take the last auto spot to the finals. Also worth noting in the heat is German Fernandez, who won the NCAA 1500m championships a long time ago in his freshman campaign. When healthy he was a 3:55 indoor miler with 13:20s 5k strength. In the 2nd heat, Lawi Lalang, indoor 5000m collegiate record holder and 3:55 indoor miler, headlines the group looking to go through to finals. With him I expect Erik Van Ingen, Rob Finnerty and Sam McEntee to qualify. Patrick Casey and Patrick McGregor are guys I expect to get the at large qualifying times. In the heat also is PA alumn Trevor Van Ackeren from Princeton and Liberty High School who boasts a sub 3:40 1500m PR.
In the 1500m final, you have to imagine a tactical race, which favors a guy with a kick like Merber, but leaves this race open enough that anything can happen. O'Hare knows how to win a kickers race as well, he did it indoors. Ultimately, I think I'll pass on the Merber hype and go with Andy Bayer to pull out the victory. I think he is due for a break out race. I see O'Hare taking second, Merber for 3rd and Van Ingen for 4th. Lalang and McEntee are both very dangerous and of course so is Miles Batty from BYU. The last 800m should be very fast, don't be surprised if it's around 1:51 or so.
In the Steeplechase, stud Don Cabral headlines the field. We might see Cabral wearing a US uniform in London in the upcoming months. Craig Forys seems to be one of Cabral's biggest rivals for the title as he has run some impressive steeples this spring. Henry Lelei from Texas A and M and Cory Leslie are two other runners with potential to surprise in the Steeple race. Ben Torotich from Eastern Kentucky comes in with the fastest time from the Regional meets and could be a sleeper. I've got Cabral to take the win and Forys to fight hard for Silver with Leslie the Bronze.
The 5000m field will feature Cam Levins, the super mileage man, outfront doubling back from the 10k. He has a furious kick and has bested the likes of Lalang and Derrick already this outdoor season with his finish. Lalang is in 5k as well, doubling up with the 1500m. He is the indoor 3000m and 5000m champion. Lalang's Arizona teammate Steven Sambu will certainly run out front as well for as long as he can. The two of them could make a challenging pace for the field. Paul Chelimo from UNC-Greensboro has a low 13:20s 5k PR as well. Wisconsin stud Mo Ahmed should represent well in the 5k and be a sleeper pick for a top finish. He has great 10k strength and was clutch at XC nationals this year. Oregon's boys Trevor Dunbar and Parker Stintson can't be overlooked either. Girma Mecheso from OK State is a factor as is Dan Lowry, from Brown, graduated from LaSalle High School in 2008 and has a 13:30s 5k PR. I've got Lalang getting some revenge on Levins as the two take the top 2 spots. I think Ahmed will surprise for 3rd and Chelimo and Dunbar will round out the top 5.
In the 10,000m, Chris Derrick, one of my favorite runners from Stanford, will have a rematch with Cam Levins who beat him at the Payton Jordan 10k at Stanford on Derrick's home track. Derrick has been second fiddle for the whole year, sporting 3 silver medals all to Lawi Lalang in XC and indoor track. A lot of names overlap with the 5k here like Sambu, Levins and Mecheso, but the 10k is first. That's why, unfortunately, I have to pick Levins to beat out Derrick using his kick. But I'll be rooting hard for CD. After those two there is a lot of talent. I think Sambu takes down third place, and Puskedra takes 4th, capping off quite a comeback effort. It's hard to say after that for me, but amongst the contenders is Princeton's Brian Leung, Michael Fout, the former foot locker champion over Derrick, Puskedra, Fernandez, Finnerty, Leung, and Dennin who are all contenders at this NCAA meet. Dennin, the PA alum from Georgetown, is in the 10k and will look to surprise his way to an All-American certificate in the 10k.
Independent League, Penntrack and More
I'm not sure if Sam Hibbs is going to be taking his show on the road to nationals in a few weeks, but I hope he does. He did the strong work out front to make that race happen and his strength is definitely longer. Hibbs also ran his last two 3200s of the season relatively uncontested so there seems to more room to improve if he wants to go for it.
But the real story here is not Sam Hibbs, but Dustin Wilson and more importantly perhaps Ben Ritz. Ritz, the Junior who appears perhaps a few spots too low on etrain's top 50 list, dropped a 4:12 massive PR when he beat out Dustin Wilson over 1600m. Ritz had a nice 3200m PR around 9:22ish and some solid races on the track, but this really comes from out of left field. He has made steady improvements all year long and could be very dangerous in an independent league that looks pretty deep out front next year. Wistar and the little Ritz, added PRs to the mix as well.
As for Wilson this time is significant for him as well. He is definitely a 5k guy, and almost certainly is shooting for that come nationals, but having 4:13 speed in the open 1600m is a nice weapon to have in your back pocket. He hasn't really thrown down any really fast times so far this spring, which makes me think he is working hard to peak at Nationals. He could run a very scary 5k or 3200m. Possibly sub 9 over 2 miles considering he ran 9:02 last year and he PR was only roughly 4:16 in the open (indoors over a full mile he ran 4:17 and I converted it down). He had a couple splits around 4:14 and 4:13 chasing people in DMR's for CHA, but there is a difference between chasing on a relay leg and running a tough 1600m effort like this.
Great work all around for these guys in a meet that may go right over some people's heads. Major props.
Hopefully we will see some good performance's at Henderson as well. If anyone has a Henderson Distance Festival Performance list for the high schoolers let me know.
Anyway I just wanted to say that I wish I had a penntrack account so I could defend CatSmasher. If he reads my blogs at all, I would just like to say that you are getting some unnecessary lip from the PTXC guy on there. It should say Ben Ritz and Dustin Wilson, no offense to Sam Ritz, he ran a great race, but Ben was the winner of the race! And PTXC talked to CatSmasher like he was oblivious, not the other way around. I support you CatSmasher, and if Penntrack hadn't deleted both of my accounts I would have posted to your support I promise, but unfortunately I can't.
Lastly, I came to the exciting conclusion recently that a lot of schools have different readers on the blog. So I thought it might be cool if I tried to make a ongoing list of schools the blog reaches. If you are interested I'm going to make a blank post and comment on that one with what school you go to/graduated from and we will see what kind of readership we have here on the blog. You don't need to leave your name unless you want to.
Thanks,
Peace
But the real story here is not Sam Hibbs, but Dustin Wilson and more importantly perhaps Ben Ritz. Ritz, the Junior who appears perhaps a few spots too low on etrain's top 50 list, dropped a 4:12 massive PR when he beat out Dustin Wilson over 1600m. Ritz had a nice 3200m PR around 9:22ish and some solid races on the track, but this really comes from out of left field. He has made steady improvements all year long and could be very dangerous in an independent league that looks pretty deep out front next year. Wistar and the little Ritz, added PRs to the mix as well.
As for Wilson this time is significant for him as well. He is definitely a 5k guy, and almost certainly is shooting for that come nationals, but having 4:13 speed in the open 1600m is a nice weapon to have in your back pocket. He hasn't really thrown down any really fast times so far this spring, which makes me think he is working hard to peak at Nationals. He could run a very scary 5k or 3200m. Possibly sub 9 over 2 miles considering he ran 9:02 last year and he PR was only roughly 4:16 in the open (indoors over a full mile he ran 4:17 and I converted it down). He had a couple splits around 4:14 and 4:13 chasing people in DMR's for CHA, but there is a difference between chasing on a relay leg and running a tough 1600m effort like this.
Great work all around for these guys in a meet that may go right over some people's heads. Major props.
Hopefully we will see some good performance's at Henderson as well. If anyone has a Henderson Distance Festival Performance list for the high schoolers let me know.
Anyway I just wanted to say that I wish I had a penntrack account so I could defend CatSmasher. If he reads my blogs at all, I would just like to say that you are getting some unnecessary lip from the PTXC guy on there. It should say Ben Ritz and Dustin Wilson, no offense to Sam Ritz, he ran a great race, but Ben was the winner of the race! And PTXC talked to CatSmasher like he was oblivious, not the other way around. I support you CatSmasher, and if Penntrack hadn't deleted both of my accounts I would have posted to your support I promise, but unfortunately I can't.
Lastly, I came to the exciting conclusion recently that a lot of schools have different readers on the blog. So I thought it might be cool if I tried to make a ongoing list of schools the blog reaches. If you are interested I'm going to make a blank post and comment on that one with what school you go to/graduated from and we will see what kind of readership we have here on the blog. You don't need to leave your name unless you want to.
Thanks,
Peace
XC Talk
I personally haven't spotted a Henderson Performance List yet. If anyone has one/finds one, if you could leave the link up on here for me that would be fantastic. So now I'm going to try and lay down some of my thoughts for the upcoming cross country season.
Certainly the big punches are going to come from the top teams. In the past there is almost always a 1-2 punch with the potential to place two guys in the top 5 at states. Weller and Dennin, anyone on Coatesville the year they won nationals, Montijo and Miles, Furcht and Berman, Bernitt and Miles, Perozze and Tarsnane, Hebda, Silenieks and Kush, and Hibbs and Quinn are all recent big time performers. This year I have a few obvious ones and maybe a few sleepers. As mentioned Nissley and Groh is a great one-two punch from outside the big names/the big district, District One. Sam Williams and Curt Jewett as well from Northeast Bradford are going to be warriors and on the AA scene are going to be a very capable one-two. O'Hara is built with a 3 headed monster, as too is CR North. Savage, Pastore and Pitone v. Emery, Zingarini and Wilson. CR North's boys had the better track season, but the O'Hara trio had the better cross season, mostly (one could argue entirely) because of Savage's excellent cross country season. Connor Harriman came into his own this past year with top finishes at XC states and outdoor states. He has a young teammate in Sam Webb who looked very strong as just a freshman this past year. Then of course Henderson has the potential for a bunch of different combinations of duos. They have Russell and Barchet out front who look to be contenders for possibly top 10 spots and then also they have Chaborek, Haugh, Collins, Rimkis, Stratman, etc.
Looking at the top 4x8s, I don't see much there beyond Cumberland Valley. Cumby obviously is a great team that is one of the favorites for the district 3 title and a contender for the state title. They return a lot of runners led by 1:51 guy Kunzweiler. Past those guys, Chambersburg had a solid season last year but will really miss Rotz and Holder, not to mention Harringer. They have some young guys who may be able to step up but they are not really on my radar. Pennridge's relay was mostly 400 studs who had great strength and moved up, similar to Bensalem, although Bensalem just had great depth in the 4 and the 8. Kyle Francis went to states a year ago in XC and do expect him to be back. Maybe Rivera can go too, but I don't see enough there to think they are a legitimate team contender in a very strong D1 this year. Quaker Valley is always good at XC, but they will lose a decent amount out front so even they will struggle to return to the elite teams. Kiski should have success on the trials. Kennedy is a very strong leader for that team and Miller dropping a 1:56 in his own right is very impressive. I like the fact that they did so much last year with a young team. They should rise well to the occasion.
It's obviously very early to be speculating about the big meets down the line like Footlocker and NXN, but I could definitely see Henderson going as a team if they can put it all together this season. They have so much talent on paper and are well coached. Plus they go to NXN almost every year, so I would bet a large amount they'd be back again. As for O'Hara they passed on it last year and if I'm being honest, I think last year was their best shot to go considering how many big meets they had ran in and won. They didn't have depth past 5 last year which ultimately was there downfall. I'm sure they will improve on that this year, however. James already looks much better and had a nice track season. He should develop into a very capable 4th or maybe even 3rd man depending on his improvements.
But the team race isn't exactly just between Henderson and O'Hara. I think right now those two teams are the class of the state and they have the experience and coaching that shows they have succeeded at the top level before. But CR North is very dangerous. They have 3 big guns and are very well coached in their own right. Right now, they just have to prove they can translate a great track season into a great XC season. The key will be Emery. You need at least one state medalist in order to win the state championship and if things go well for him, his potential is top 5 in the state. No one else to me, so far, has shown they have the depth to match Henderson or 3-4 studs out front to match O'Hara. But I am almost positive last year at this time I didn't realize O'Hara had most of the studs they ended up having so a lot can change without a doubt.
As for individuals who can go to nationals I'd say the only guys I can think of right now with any sort of shot are Quinn, Jaskowak and Shearn. They all ran there last year and gained the experience, plus they have all placed very well at big meets and Shearn and Quinn each have state titles. Regionals is a hilly course and I think that hurts someone like Coyle or Smathers who have killer 1600m speed that benefits them on flatter courses. But obviously it's still way to early to tell. Nobody had Jaskowak pegged for the top finish of any PIAA runner at regionals this year I'm sure.
In the WPIAL, it's hard to imagine NA not pulling out the win. It's unreal that they can year in and year out find the talent to win the big one. Last year early on I thought NA would pull it out again, then doubted them after a rough race at Tri States, only to watch them run amazing against a very good Mt. Lebanon team to close out the season. I'm picking NA again to win. But Kiski should be no slouch competition. Lebo should be solid, maybe getting back to states but they have to watch out for teams like Fox Chapel who return one of my sleepers Ethan Martin and his twin brother out front and a total of 6 of their top 7.
Individually and team wise this will be a down year for the WPIAL most likely after having a stretch of fantastic years in XC where they were arguably better than D1, especially out front. It is a young district with the top 6 returners from WPIALs last year being either sophomores or freshman. Chris Culley, a state medalist last year, is amongst the top returning seniors and may be on the verge of a break out year.
Lastly, I'll try to throw down some sleeper picks who were left off my list. Alex Coburn, the #2 man in CValley is coming off a season that featured a string of 1:56s and 4:24ish times and gold medal relay. He also was the top freshman in the state as a freshman and is once again healthy for one of the first times since then. The two young NA boys are definitely sleepers. Seel and Louco were top 15 guys at WPIALs last year and just struggled to avoid the pressure of the state meet in their first trip there. But you can bet the youngsters are growing up fast, trying to lead NA this year and their experience should pay off. Roy Hadfield, a returning AA state medalist, is the top guy returning on a Quaker Valley squad that won a state title a year ago. He had a solid track season and will have great coaching as he looks to improve in a very deep group of AA individuals. Most of my other big sleepers like Will Cather and Ethan Martin are already on my list. If we are talking real deep sleepers keep an eye on Aziz Yousif out of Bradford. He won the 8 the 16 and the 32 at the AAA District 9 Championships this past year, was a solid 55th at XC states last year, and churned out a 1:57 this past spring. A few years back a sleeper pick from District 9 ended up turning out pretty well, Bud Plaszenski finished 3rd at the state meet in 2008. The previous year he was 71st.
Certainly the big punches are going to come from the top teams. In the past there is almost always a 1-2 punch with the potential to place two guys in the top 5 at states. Weller and Dennin, anyone on Coatesville the year they won nationals, Montijo and Miles, Furcht and Berman, Bernitt and Miles, Perozze and Tarsnane, Hebda, Silenieks and Kush, and Hibbs and Quinn are all recent big time performers. This year I have a few obvious ones and maybe a few sleepers. As mentioned Nissley and Groh is a great one-two punch from outside the big names/the big district, District One. Sam Williams and Curt Jewett as well from Northeast Bradford are going to be warriors and on the AA scene are going to be a very capable one-two. O'Hara is built with a 3 headed monster, as too is CR North. Savage, Pastore and Pitone v. Emery, Zingarini and Wilson. CR North's boys had the better track season, but the O'Hara trio had the better cross season, mostly (one could argue entirely) because of Savage's excellent cross country season. Connor Harriman came into his own this past year with top finishes at XC states and outdoor states. He has a young teammate in Sam Webb who looked very strong as just a freshman this past year. Then of course Henderson has the potential for a bunch of different combinations of duos. They have Russell and Barchet out front who look to be contenders for possibly top 10 spots and then also they have Chaborek, Haugh, Collins, Rimkis, Stratman, etc.
Looking at the top 4x8s, I don't see much there beyond Cumberland Valley. Cumby obviously is a great team that is one of the favorites for the district 3 title and a contender for the state title. They return a lot of runners led by 1:51 guy Kunzweiler. Past those guys, Chambersburg had a solid season last year but will really miss Rotz and Holder, not to mention Harringer. They have some young guys who may be able to step up but they are not really on my radar. Pennridge's relay was mostly 400 studs who had great strength and moved up, similar to Bensalem, although Bensalem just had great depth in the 4 and the 8. Kyle Francis went to states a year ago in XC and do expect him to be back. Maybe Rivera can go too, but I don't see enough there to think they are a legitimate team contender in a very strong D1 this year. Quaker Valley is always good at XC, but they will lose a decent amount out front so even they will struggle to return to the elite teams. Kiski should have success on the trials. Kennedy is a very strong leader for that team and Miller dropping a 1:56 in his own right is very impressive. I like the fact that they did so much last year with a young team. They should rise well to the occasion.
It's obviously very early to be speculating about the big meets down the line like Footlocker and NXN, but I could definitely see Henderson going as a team if they can put it all together this season. They have so much talent on paper and are well coached. Plus they go to NXN almost every year, so I would bet a large amount they'd be back again. As for O'Hara they passed on it last year and if I'm being honest, I think last year was their best shot to go considering how many big meets they had ran in and won. They didn't have depth past 5 last year which ultimately was there downfall. I'm sure they will improve on that this year, however. James already looks much better and had a nice track season. He should develop into a very capable 4th or maybe even 3rd man depending on his improvements.
But the team race isn't exactly just between Henderson and O'Hara. I think right now those two teams are the class of the state and they have the experience and coaching that shows they have succeeded at the top level before. But CR North is very dangerous. They have 3 big guns and are very well coached in their own right. Right now, they just have to prove they can translate a great track season into a great XC season. The key will be Emery. You need at least one state medalist in order to win the state championship and if things go well for him, his potential is top 5 in the state. No one else to me, so far, has shown they have the depth to match Henderson or 3-4 studs out front to match O'Hara. But I am almost positive last year at this time I didn't realize O'Hara had most of the studs they ended up having so a lot can change without a doubt.
As for individuals who can go to nationals I'd say the only guys I can think of right now with any sort of shot are Quinn, Jaskowak and Shearn. They all ran there last year and gained the experience, plus they have all placed very well at big meets and Shearn and Quinn each have state titles. Regionals is a hilly course and I think that hurts someone like Coyle or Smathers who have killer 1600m speed that benefits them on flatter courses. But obviously it's still way to early to tell. Nobody had Jaskowak pegged for the top finish of any PIAA runner at regionals this year I'm sure.
In the WPIAL, it's hard to imagine NA not pulling out the win. It's unreal that they can year in and year out find the talent to win the big one. Last year early on I thought NA would pull it out again, then doubted them after a rough race at Tri States, only to watch them run amazing against a very good Mt. Lebanon team to close out the season. I'm picking NA again to win. But Kiski should be no slouch competition. Lebo should be solid, maybe getting back to states but they have to watch out for teams like Fox Chapel who return one of my sleepers Ethan Martin and his twin brother out front and a total of 6 of their top 7.
Individually and team wise this will be a down year for the WPIAL most likely after having a stretch of fantastic years in XC where they were arguably better than D1, especially out front. It is a young district with the top 6 returners from WPIALs last year being either sophomores or freshman. Chris Culley, a state medalist last year, is amongst the top returning seniors and may be on the verge of a break out year.
Lastly, I'll try to throw down some sleeper picks who were left off my list. Alex Coburn, the #2 man in CValley is coming off a season that featured a string of 1:56s and 4:24ish times and gold medal relay. He also was the top freshman in the state as a freshman and is once again healthy for one of the first times since then. The two young NA boys are definitely sleepers. Seel and Louco were top 15 guys at WPIALs last year and just struggled to avoid the pressure of the state meet in their first trip there. But you can bet the youngsters are growing up fast, trying to lead NA this year and their experience should pay off. Roy Hadfield, a returning AA state medalist, is the top guy returning on a Quaker Valley squad that won a state title a year ago. He had a solid track season and will have great coaching as he looks to improve in a very deep group of AA individuals. Most of my other big sleepers like Will Cather and Ethan Martin are already on my list. If we are talking real deep sleepers keep an eye on Aziz Yousif out of Bradford. He won the 8 the 16 and the 32 at the AAA District 9 Championships this past year, was a solid 55th at XC states last year, and churned out a 1:57 this past spring. A few years back a sleeper pick from District 9 ended up turning out pretty well, Bud Plaszenski finished 3rd at the state meet in 2008. The previous year he was 71st.
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