Paul Short Preview

Trying to keep my absurd amount of posting that I have been doing, I'm going to lay down the notable entries for Paul Short and then give you some names to be on the look out for. Here are the online team entries worth noting:
Cumberland Valley
Easton Area
Germantown Academy
Great Valley
Hatboro Horsham
Haverford
Hershey
Holy Cross
Holy Ghost Prep
Holy Redeemer
Methacton
Pottsgrove
Strath Haven
West Chester East
Bensalem (White)
Lower Moreland (White)
South Western (White)
Penn Charter (White)

The thing that I am most excited about this weekend is some of the team battles we are about to see. In the Brown Race the red hot West Chester East team seems to be in the best shape they have been since way back when the team was defending state champions in 2006. Chris Cummings, currently coming off a big win at Rose Tree, leads a tight pack of guys who are looking to burst onto the scene is surprising fashion, much the way Zach Trama did last spring. This will be West Chester East's first battle with ranked teams since they took down Great Valley and CR North in the same race at the Abington Invitational. But said Great Valley team is looking for revenge this year, after a disappointing 4th place finish last year at this meet. Great Valley peaked at the right time running a great race at Districts to beat North Penn and take second behind Henderson. In that race Matt Willig and Garrett Zatlin, currently Juniors, had break out performances. Billy Wolffe, the anchor of the state champion DMR squad, has been a strong leader for this year's team as well.

But there is more than just a few D1 rivalries to be settled. Hershey and Cumberland Valley, who tied in their opening invitational at PTXC will square off with one another looking, CV looking for some sweet revenge and Hershey looking to prove that PTXC wasn't a fluke. Nate Hamilton will look to lead a tight knit pack for Hershey against Cumberland Valley, who has Alec Kunzweiler, 1:51 800m runner and 14th place finisher at last year's state championship, as well as fellow 4x800m relay memeber Alex Coburn, who ran in the 16:20s a few years back on this very course as a freshman.

The real sleeper team among all this is Methacton. They quietly ran to a 6th place finish, less than 50 points off Lower Dauphin and ahead of teams like Unionville and Grove City (in combined scoring). Chris Watro was the big breakout performer for Methacton last meet, and don't be surprised to hear his name out front again. Methacton has a chance to surprise though D1 teams out front if they have another big day.

Plus Pottsgrove, coming off a convincing win at Foundation, looks to maintain their AA powerhouse ranking as they go up against Holy Redeemer once again as well as new challenges from Holy Ghost Prep and Germantown Academy. Holy Ghost is lead by Christian Kardish, coming off a rare off race at Rose Tree. Holy Ghost Prep has run the Hershey course very well over the past couple years, leading to a few state berths and multiple sub 16s. Pottsgrove is led by Ian Yanusko who ran a solid top 10 AA performance last weekend. Germantown Academy has the Ritz boys to lead them, although Ben did not race in the team's opener and would be a key loss going into this meet.

Also watch out for Penncharter in the White race, they are a very solid team this year.

As for the individuals, we will see another Brendan Shearn v. Conner Quinn match up in a battle of the state champions, only this time it seems both boys are rolling much better than they were at PTXC. Quinn certainly runs the hills better than the fast Lehigh course, but still has a sub 15:40 PR on the trials here. Shearn was third here a year ago, but proved on the track that he has the ability to run a very fast 5k, breaking the 15 minute mark at nationals. Shearn also has the sting of a tough loss to Dan Jaskowak to think about on the home stretch of this race. He is going to be tough to beat.

However, Shearn will have his hands full with old rival Rico Galassi of Holy Cross with whom he dualed at the outdoor states 3200m final. Galassi was 3rd at AA states last year and opened up his season with a quality win over Deluca, Williams, Jewett and Jones, all very impressive names thus far this year. Galassi will look to prove he deserves to be mentioned with the best in the state as he makes his first trip out to Lehigh for the race. His solid track speed should help him in a race of this caliber on this fast of a course.

Alec Kunzweiler, who was a top finisher in last years race, is back and has high expectations to bounce back after PTXC. He also has a team to race for which certainly helps motivate you when the going gets tough. I expect him to be with the leaders in this race. The Ritz boys took it out very hard last year trying to hang on to Dustin Wilson. This year they may be better suited for a fast race after both boys dropped great track PRs this spring. Sam, as just a freshman, finished 9th last year in 16:11 in very muddy conditions.

Some sleepers to mix it up with the top group would be guys like Chris Watro of Methacton and Adam Bodine of Haverford. Bodine had a very solid race at Belmont Plateau mixing it up with Alec Brand in the Division I race. Colin Abert of Easton is just a sophomore but opened up his season in 16:14. He is a name to watch and a potential D11 champion this year.

Jack Huemmler will look to bounce back after a somewhat disappointing opener at Rose Tree. His 1600m speed should benefit him on this course. He was an impressively high finisher at the D1 Championships last year and will look to harness that late season magic again here at Paul Short.

In the White race, Ryan Hertzog, a top finisher at the District 3 Championships last fall, headlines the field. He was 2nd in the White race last year in 16:21. Kyle Francis of Bensalem, Dan Alexander of Lower Moreland, and the Penncharter Boys should all compete for a top spot.