Some interesting things to look at for this weekend, starting and ending with ... gosh I have no idea what to do after #3. Yeah its a hard job but that's why I make the big bucks (for those of you keeping score at home that would be $0). But here is what I got for my fans out there:
1. O'Hara- I have nothing bad to say at all honestly. They are a team on a mission after last year's let down. They should be very competitive this year with a great top 3 (hopefully becoming a great top 4 with Pastore's recent improvement). Belfatto is a nice #5 and they don't have the drop off they did last year after him. Going to be a tough team to beat.
2. North Allegheny- I went there this week, I'm on the Wexford bandwagon. Look, I don't think they will beat Henderson at states but I do think this team is on the rise with the kind of spread they had again, even without their top guy Zemet. The sophomores are rounding into sick shape, McGoey, Seel and Love should all be very dangerous. Through in Luoco and you have 4 very talented youngsters. And oh yeah, those 4 may end up being their 3-6 when it counts. I anticipate 3rd at states as I have mentioned, but my bold call right now is that this team is heading to nationals after they beat O'Hara at Nike Regionals.
3. Henderson- Off weekend hurts them in the rankings again, but I haven't forgotten Carlisle. They were very dominate there and their two front runners are hard to underestimate in the big meets like states where they are extremely important. I think they will get a good chance to show off their dominance at D1 as most of their competition seems to be crumbling under injuries/high expectations.
4. Um .... LaSalle- Here is the deal folks, I feel like no one really is fully deserving of the #4 spot at this point of the season, but LaSalle to me seems most deserving. With everyone back this weekend they showed a nice pack, not a front running pack, but a nice pack. After Briarwood I actually was more confident in their team than I was over the summer. However, I wasn't sure when Stone, Coyle and Greco would be back to their old self. That moment doesn't seem far around the corner. Good luck taking the top 5 individual qualifying spots, however.
5. Mt. Lebanon- They are the 5th best team I can see right now. Good pack, solid front runners, they are the 2nd best team in arguably the 2nd best district so they deserve a top spot on the list. Nice race this weekend, nothing jaw dropping, but solid.
6. Pennsbury- Everyone is allowed an off day for sure, esepcially on a brutal course in a state you have never raced in before. Harriman is still money out front and Webb is a real solid #2 guy. However, there are some holes after that and the pieces have to stay strong for the final stretch in a tough division.
7. West Chester East- Bump them up to 4 if the injuries rumors aren't true. They are the only team that has been consistent and showed solid depth so far this year. They aren't nearly on the level of the top teams, but they can beat anyone above them on this middle list if they are healthy.
8. Cumberland Valley- Kunzweiler had an off day, but Coburn stepped up. They've got some nice weapons here and they just need to stay consistent and keep a strong pack led by good front runners.
9. Hershey- Good pack, haven't seen enough for me to make up my mind about how good they are yet. I just don't know the names on their squad well enough yet. But I know they have shown up when it counts in the big meets and that puts them here.
10. Lower Dauphin- Good 1-2 punch, solid depth at times. They earn this spot just barely over CRN. North still needs to show me what they got against other stud teams IMO. But I heard Pennsbury made some shirts that should help them get motivated.
Just pointing out your wording: you said NA still had a close spread without there top guy Zemet. Zemet not being there actually helps the spread because Zemet for sure would have been 10 seconds ahead of the next runner so the spread will still be under 30. That is still extremely impressive, especially since NA has done that at least twice. Henderson definitely should have there hands full next year with them running like this.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking more along the lines of Zemet being in the race and finishing right with Mcgoey and Meehan helps their spread ... unless he is their #1 by more so than their #4 last week was ahead of their #5 he helps the spread
DeleteI thought of it like:
Zemet, McGoey, Meehan 16:13-14
Love 16:17
Luoco 16:20
Now we are looking at a 7ish second spread 1-5 vs. the 14 second spread 1-5 they had previously
LaSalle ahead of WCE, by three spots? That's a little rough. East hasn't had a bad race all year.
ReplyDeleteWhat good teams has East beaten?
DeleteCV, Hershey, CRN, GValley ... and they have won all their invites so far this year including a couple of fairly competitive meets like Paul Short ... You can't discount those performances when you look at who is at the portion of the list they are
Deletealso like I said in the post, WCE is ranked lower because of their alleged injuries that they have suffered ... it says right in my post if those injuries are untrue they would be #4 on the rankings
also just want to throw out there that Great Valley was 11 on my list this week and CRN was 12, Great Valley should have gotten more love than I gave them for their work this weekend, honestly just kind of forgot about them
DeleteFox Chapel at 13, a well deserved high place for them as well, rude of me not to give them at least a mention
WCE beat Downingtown West is a dual meet too, and DTW has been top 10 on Penn Track rankings all year. They're not real deep though so if they have injuries they'll need some big performances from others.
DeleteWCE also beat DTW at Bulldog too. WCE had lost their number 7 (whose back) and their number 5 (who isn't). Yet they won both Bulldog and Paul Short without them.
DeleteETRAIN- The WCE injury rumor is true. Their 4 or 5 runner missed the last two invitationals and is probably out for the rest of the season. The good news for East is that they already back filled and won Bull Dog and Paul Short without him in the line up. Everyone who ran in those meets is healthy. You might have been a little rough on the ranking.
DeleteWait a sec. I am on Pennsbury. What shirts did we make? I am not aware of this.
ReplyDeletesomebody told me that pennsbury made beat crn shirts or something like that
DeleteHaha. Oh. Yeah, we didnt make those. I think there is only one and it just says "Beat North". I think its from some other school's homecoming. But it works for us too
DeleteHow'd PB do against South in the Duel meet today? Harriman/Webb under 16?
DeleteNo. We just sat back and surged the last half mile to go 1-2. I think we were something like 16:40.
DeletePennsbury won over both South and Neshaminy
-Harriman
The Henderson Invitational in tonight. It's a two miler on the track. Maybe we'll get an idea if WCH is getting any healthier as Haugh and Chaborek have been missing lately.
ReplyDeleteHenderson and DTW will be doing the mile race and then the 2 mile race, so the times might not be an accurate reflection of their true 2 mile times.
DeleteThere's no high school mile, only a middle school and elementary school mile race.
DeleteCommunity mile
DeleteThe community mile is not for the high school runners. Even if it was, there's no way Henderson/West would run that and come back 15 minutes later for the two mile. Cross country meets do not have doubling. Doing so would be treating it like a practice, which would be a slap in the face to the other teams. Not to mention a ripoff since they charge the teams an entrance fee and spectators admission. Who would want to go to, pay for and/or participate in a Henderson/West practice. There's no way they're running both.
Deletethey are
DeleteThat would be surprising, since they are running in Manhattan on Saturday.
Deleteits a low key meet, i doubt that they will try at there full potential
DeleteWhy would they try at a meet like this? it's too late in the season to waist energy racing it hard. I agree that they're probably treating this as a workout. But good for them, if I was a coach of a team who could win states I wouldn't bother racing this meet because manhattan his right after then all the other meets. The meet is the same whether those runners try hard or not. What parents would bother paying to see their children get shut out by Reiny Russell Liedel and Steadman in the 2 mile??? Seriously, they'd be over 10 seconds away from everyone else who's going to the meet. People pay to see their friends relatives and children run, I doubt anyone cares what those guys are doing. I'm pretty sure anyone else running the race just sees it as a chance to win a race. Because they sure as hell wouldn't with those 4 running hard. I don't see why people get worked up over stuff like this, someone said the same thing about the immaculata invitational and henderson not running their best guys together. Get your panties out of a bunch it's not a big deal.
Deleteisnt yannacone running in the invitational from unionville?
DeleteUm, they're the host of the meet. With that comes expectations, maybe even responsiblity. If it's a Henderson practice in disguise they should say so up front. Call it the Henderson Practice Invitational. Bill it as a chance to practice with the great Henderson/West teams that would shut you out if they felt like it.
DeleteYannacone is signed up but if Henderson and West aren't trying and the meet is really a joke, maybe he'll run backwards for kicks.
DeleteHenderson's coach let all the other schools there know what his top guys were doing and invited other teams to join the "workout". Even with them running a "workout" it probably became a more competitive race instead of an utter blowout by Henderson's and DWest's top guys. Most of Henderson's and DWest's team raced only the 2 mile besides a select few. Get your facts straight before making accusations.
Deleteyeah right. It's showing off, like a baseball player standing at the plate watching a home run. An Invitational is not a "workout", or at least it never was before.
DeleteResults:http://runccrs.com/results/west-chester-henderson-cross-country-invitational-2012/
DeleteYannacone looked good outkicking Leidel in 9:36. 13 guys under 10:00. Looked like big breakthroughs for Mucha(DTW) and Waltz(WCH). Haugh looks to be on the way back. He rolled up nicely. Uville girls looked really good.
DeleteThe WCH coaches and staff put on a great meet, as usual. The Unionville girls were outstanding, running a hard, full effort race with no patronizing mile time trial right in front of the competitors while they warmed up.
DeleteThe Unionville girls are a legit PA #1, as are the O'Hara boys.
DeleteHenderson seems pretty healthy. Haugh ran at Carlisle.
ReplyDeleteCv had to run this past weekend to qualify for districts. Same for Carlisle and a few other D3 teams. I don't think they had an off day just that it wasn't needed for cv to run fast to crush that meet.
ReplyDeleteComplete change of subject
ReplyDeletehttp://suburbanonesports.com/article/content/sol-boysgirls-xc-wrap-10-10-12-0029069
Check out North Penn vs. Hatboro
At yesterday's PCL final regular season meet at Belmont Lasalle had 4 guys under 17, top 6 in their race, and 7 of the top 8 for their race. They looked very strong. complete results on the link
ReplyDeletehttp://thepcl.org/2012xc/boysnorth2012.htm
And the ohara guys cruised in their race sweeping 1-8 and goin 17:00-1701 for all 8 men
ReplyDelete4 guys under 17:00 is great for any other team, except in District 12. O'Hara has the only state team spot locked up. 4 Lasalle runners under 17 at this point is just not gonna get it done to take the 5 individual spots. That's a serious injustice, LaSalle is legitimately a PA top 10 team and they have practically no shot of making states.
ReplyDeleteI disagree cause coyle will be in better shape and will challenge savage and James and stone and Greco will be getting better they'll at least get the top 5 spots
ReplyDeleteIt'd be a long shot for them to beat O'Hara even if they still had a month to tune up. There's just not enough time. Unfortunately injuries happen, they're the variable in every sport. But D12 should have at least two slots for States.
DeleteIt will be difficult for Lasalle to get the top 5 spots. I heard Coyle just started training after not running for 6 weeks. He has a lot of work to do to catch up. O’hara will get the team spot and everyone else in District 12 will be gunning for the 5 spots. District 12 is not only the PCL but will have all the public schools competing as well. That is a lot of runners for 5 spots. I think for Lasalle to grab all 5 spots is a stretch. They are a solid team and are probably worthy to compete at the state level unfortunately for them they are in District 12.
DeleteAll of the runners that made it to states from D 12 last year were from the PCL. After Catholics it should be clear if Lasalle can take the 5 individual spots or not.
DeleteBoth LaSalle and Ohara scored 15 points yesterday in their divisional champs. LaSalle took the first 6 spots and Ohara took the top 8 spots. Both teams appeared to be working out or doing a tempo run, so the times don't mean a whole lot, but it is looking a little better for LaSalle, because Ohara is sure to take the top District 12 spot, but those next 5 individual spots look like they could be going LaSalle. The next best AAA District 12 runners include Jadon Sargent from St. Joe's Prep and Eric Murray from Judge neither of which has beaten a LaSalle runner this year. It should be interesting to see how it unfolds.
ReplyDeletePersonally if LaSalle doesn't get in to the state meet there should be a big petition like the one sent around for Futch. I'd sign it and I'd bet a lot of other people on here would too.
ReplyDeleteif all 5 runners qualify for states but the team does not,they can score as a team at states..
ReplyDeleteOn a much different scale - AA Boys District 1 will be the same issue with Pottsgrove vs Holy Ghost. Only one of these Penntrack top 5 teams will go to states but there is an outside chance the 2nd place team will qualify 5 (though Dan Alexander of Lower Moreland will likely eliminate that possibility with a high finish)
ReplyDeleteToday should have a great race at Mid-Penn Championships: 3 E-train top 10 teams (LD, Hershey, CV) plus State College, Central Dauhpin and others. Individually, Todaro and Groh will battle up front with a pack of Coburn, Nissley, Kunzweiler, Padgett, Brehm, Wood, Lauer, Cather, Colwell, Monroe, Manning, and Klink all looking to break up the top 2.
ReplyDeleteLook for a preview of the District 3 race to come today, count Mifflin County and State College as the rest of the district with a few more front runners joining the front pack in 10 days.
Where are the results? I saw that Todaro won and Coburn was 2nd. Hersey won with 96 points I believe.
DeleteCoburn was not second overall...
ReplyDeletehttp://pa.milesplit.com/meets/122927/results/221502
You have wch at three? They are quickly catching up to O'hara.
ReplyDelete