I have practice in like 30 minutes, but I'll scribble down the thoughts I have on the team rankings real quick before I go
1- O'Hara
2- Henderson ... Not changing til after Briarwood then maybe we can talk
3- NA- Really showed off their depth, and those young guys are going to come on strong, I feel like they may be lead by 3 sophomores and districts. They are going to be a sick pack this year.
4- Pennsbury- Defeated the defending champs and CRN the last two weeks. Harriman is a legit state title contender and their pack has developed fairly nicely to this point. If they don't burn out they are going to be a very solid D1 team.
5- Lower Dauphin- obviously the top 2 guys are pretty sick, but they seem to have developed a lot more of a pack than I thought they would. They are a young team in their own right. High on Groh and Nissley this year.
6- LaSalle- they haven't raced yet but the rumors make it look like they won't be racing impressively any time soon. Missing 3 guys from your top 5 hurts badly. Especially when you have to beat O'Hara to get a bid to states.
7- North Penn- they are the defending state champs and yeah they lost but they actually kind of impressed me in the loss. Some guys look like they are ready to step up and become legit contibutors. They are always good when it counts so I'm not too phased by the loss.
8- Mount Lebanon- Still not completely sold on these guys, but that was a very nice opening win. They have a solid pack and are developing some front runners.
9- Fox Chapel- They look dangerous and they had a nice piece in the JV race that should move up to Varsity and contribute. Martin is the real deal out front.
10- Cumberland Valley- I see much more potential here than what they showed. Despite an off day they were still very close to Lower Dauphin
10.5- West Chester East- I copped out here. They had a very nice race and I didn't have the heart to put them in the top 10, but I thought they deserved some love. That was a solid win and hopefully they continue to improve. I know CRN and GV will.
Also major props to Hershey! Did not see that coming at all! Nice opener for them.
That's a good ranking Etrain. I like the nod to WC East too, as they've run very well early. I'd have Henderson #1 but can see why you don't. Briarwood should clear things up.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great Ches-Mont's dual meet scheduled tomorrow. Henderson vs. WC East vs. Downingtown West. East/West have to be gunning for Henderson so despite Briarwood on Sat., this should be an all out effort.
Can you post the results when you get them from the dual meet?
Delete-RTJ
I have to admitt, NA surprised me but then again they are always competitive. they might just sneek and give COH and WCH a run... i like pensbury but their depth maybe in question. they will be one of the top team in the state. NP has 3 very strong runners. im little concerned with 4-5 (too bad last year 6th isn't running this yr) but they've been in the trenches before so they might find a way to be a top 5. WCE, might be a sleeper. I don't know much about LD and Fox Chapel but a great start for them and maybe they can build on it... I have LaSalle as one of the dangerous teams. Hopefully injuries wouldn't prevent them from achieving their goals...good luck to all the team
ReplyDeleteI agree that NA has the ability to compete with Ohara and Henderson, or at least give them a run for their money. Im not sure what your talking about with Pennsbury's depth...they have a close pack from 3-7 which is why they have been winning so much. I don't think their JV is bad either. I think North Penn's 4 and 5 will be up near the top by the end of the season, they are always good when they need to be. What does everyone else think?
DeleteI definitely think NA is separating from the rest of the team's talent wise. Although I still don't think they can be near Henderson or Ohara. Henderson has too much depth and Ohara has too much fire power up front. Although, if Ohara has an injury or a guy with an off day then maybe it'll be close between then and NA. Yet, still not enough to overtake Ohara.
DeleteAs for the rest of the ranks-
LaSalle- I say that as of right now, LaSalle should be either near the top of the list or off of it. You take your top 2 runners out and then a critical 5th guy? 3 solid varsity runners that make your team what they are are banged up. Not exactly top 10 worthy. Not right now. I do hope and predict that they'll rebound and be the ones with fresher legs come post season.
Lower Dauphin- Nissely and Groh are teaming up to be a great duo and very dangerous. They are talented and will get some low points for their team. However, 5th place?! The team is pretty good and had a respectable race at PTXC, but there is not nearly enough to say that they are the 5th best team in the state right now.
Pennsbury- They really impressed me. They deserve that #4 spot. I knew they would be good, but not this good. Sam Webb is developing extremely well and compliments Harriman nicely. They have a tight pack from 3-7. I just hope they wont burn out. They can contend this season if they keep it up.
North Penn- I'll admit, for some reason I haven't really been part of this North Penn craze that everyone is on. I always thought that Jack Macauley could only run so well for a team that didn't have any other big names. Yet, their 2 and 3 guys placed 5th and 9th overall at the CB East invite. Grace beat out Chris Berry and ran a nice 16:41. Roughly about 12 seconds off Webb. Then Malloy at 17:07. So, ok not a bad race for them. However, I want to see how they do against better/more competition of their caliber (Briarwood!). Also, if they're 4-5th guys stay where they are at, it'll be tough for NP come champs season. *Just for the record- I am never against nor do I wish bad luck or misfortune on any team. I always hope every team can prosper and do well. Im sure these guys will. I am just giving my opinion. Hopefully they can show me up.*
WCE- Really impressed me. Where did this Cummings kid come from? Looking at his stats on PTXC he hasn't even gone below 10 min in a 2 mile and now he's hitting 16:30's?! He certainly made some noise. Along with him is a nice duo in Diestelow (sophomore) and Rodgers (a senior). Both did really well. However, the greatest aspect after seeing the results is their depth. Top 5 in the top 20? How can this team not be a top 10 team? Hopefully they have some big things to come for them. They could be a big sleeper. I would put them in my top 10.
No team can keep up with Henderson. They'll run away with it all, literally.
DeleteA few things:
Delete1. How can you say that you're doubting NA's 4&5 runners after that performance at Red, White, and Blue? The #5 was 17 seconds behind the #1. That's unbelievable, I doubt even O'Hara/Henderson could put together a spread like that. NA's 4&5 runners are a strength, not a weakness.
2. I don't understand your characterization of people's support for North Penn as a "craze." They're the defending state champions, and not a single person would have picked them. If anything, they're underrated as a team.
3. Lower Dauphin won an extremely competitive PTXC race over Cumberland Valley, a team everybody's been high on since spring. That's impressive. I think, at this point in the season, it's certainly fair to leave them where they are.
Fair enough. However, I never said im doubting NA's 4 and 5 runners. I gave them all compliments....if that was not addressed for me then my apologies.
DeleteAs for your second point. Maybe "craze" was not the right word. However, I have seen people on this forum specifically say that they think NP would be better than NA and that NP can really reload and find some others and be a super competitive team and so on. I personally don't believe they are as good as some say. Obviously I don't think anyone was picking them to win the state championship again this season. However, from what I saw, many seemed to be very big on NP and I personally just don't see it. I even gave them some credit in my above argument. Let's put it this way then. Let's compare them with CRN right now. A team not even ranked. CRN wins that battle. They have a much stronger and better front 3 than NP's and, what I believe to be, a better 4 and 5 man for their team. That's a win that goes to CRN who is not even ranked. Now that's all hypothetical but you get the gist. NP is a good team. They've shown that over the years and they are constantly dangerous. I'm just not convinced right now is all.
Im not taking anything away from their win. They ran very well and they should get some heads to turn towards them. All I am saying is that I don't think that they should be ranked 5th in the state. 8th? 9th? maybe 7th? (pushing it a tad). Then yes. Just not too sure about 5th.
This is how my top 10 would be after this week:
1)Henderson
2)Ohara
3)NA
4)Pennsbruy
5)Mt. Leb
6)WCE
7)CRN
8)Lower Dauphin
9) North Penn
10) Cumberland Valley
Very fair. Somebody above said North Penn's 4 & 5 were shaky (a true statement) and I somehow grouped that into your comment and read it as North Allegheny. Lolwtf. I would agree with your top 10 with the possible exception of WCE
DeleteAh ok I see what meant about that NP/NA thing. But yes I might be a bit too much on WCE bandwagon right now. We will see!
Deletei agree with the top 10 above. can't wait for briarwood with many to the top teams competing.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteSECTION 5!!!!!, lol roflcopter
ReplyDeleteNot sure of the team scores but top 6 were Russell in first in high 16:20s followed by Barchet in low 16:30's then Steadman around 16:35 and Leidel a second or two back. Then came WCE's first runner I believe Cummings in the 16:40's/50's. 6th was Rimkis not sure on time
ReplyDeleteW.C. Henderson 21, Downingtown West 36
DeleteW.C. Henderson 21, W.C. East 35
W.C. East 26, Downingtown West 29
No times/places yet.
Downingtown West's 3rd guy did not race, he was away. With him in the race, they would of probably beaten WC East
DeleteEast will burn out, they always do.
DeleteRussell H 16:20, Barchet H 16:32, Steadman DW 16:35, Leidel DW 16:39, Cummings WCE 16:47, Rimkis H 16:56, Chaborek H 16:58, Diestelow WCE 17:01, Rogers WCE 17:08, Dages WCE 17:09, Knapp H 17:10, Collins H 17:26, Stratman H 17:27, Maucha DW 17:27, Crump WCE 17:41
DeleteNot sure how anyone could doubt NA, they don't even peak till wpials. And Scott seel and cordon louco went 9-10 in wpial last year in that mess. And I'm sure they CAN'T WAIT to beat o'hara and henderson this year.
ReplyDeleteCan you please throw out some double A and single A team rankings?
ReplyDeleteWait so why is NA 1st on the penn track rankings?
ReplyDelete