I'll save you all from a huge rant I almost posted up last night about how angry I am about the PIAA stuff and how it is going to affect the state meet this year in a big way (not to mention my prediction ability will be completely thrown off ... but I mean that's not the important part here ....), and I'll tell you a bit about what I'm hoping to do in the time before states.
I want to get out a Central League and PCL Preview before the week is done. We shall see how that goes, but hopefully both will be done tomorrow.
Then the big plan is for District 3, 7 and 1 at least (hopefully also District 2, 4, 11, 6 etc.) I am going to put my entire projected state qualifying line ups up on the blog. Now some places I will be way off, but hey, I'll have some fun with it and see what goes down.
Here is where you guys get to join in on the fun. I'm going to need help deciding who to place where and what not, but mere anonymous comments on this blog are not going to cut it for me. So if you want to talk track with me, anytime I'm on facebook, I'm probably not doing serious work, so just hit me up and we can talk stats. I don't know if you noticed but I like to crunch #s ....
The main problem I face right now is that this week is going to be brutal school work wise, especially at the front part of the week when I need to be pounding out the research ...
So the other thing you guys can do is hit me up with a message on facebook and let me know what you think about the Districts (maybe even give me your own updated version of how you rank the individuals/teams in the districts). It's very possible I will mess up who is AA and who is AAA and all that crap as well so feel free to help me out with that stuff if I'm messing up somewhere along the way. I'm gonna try and bring up a list, but if anyone has one handy send it along.
Lastly, quick shout out to Corry Area. I know that more teams than these guys probably have this attitude, but since I don't know any other teams, I'll just put this out there. Major props to Corry for staying AAA even though they are a smaller school. It really shows that the runners in this state don't want to be handed a trip to states or a state medal or anything like that, they want to run fast and race the best people. Good luck to this squad at Districts.
(Hopefully no one misconstrues what I'm saying and takes offense, because ironically the better individual fields in the top 5 spots are so may be AA and A this year and not AAA but that is not a common thing ... so yeah, everyone rocks and continue to do so)
-A very not happy about homework Train
PS Kind of shameless plug, but if there is anyone out there who reads this and is interested in Muhlenberg College as a part of future down the line, let me know. I'd be happy to help out.
Chesmont update-
ReplyDeleteHenderson wins with Barchet winning and Russel close behind. Steadman then leidal then Willig. Those were the top 5. (could be wrong but I'm pretty sure).
Henderson takes the title but their 3-7 guys weren't super impressive.
Within 5 pts of each other were WCE, GV, and DWest. WCE gets second with 2 pt victory over GV. GV gets third with 3 pt victory over West.
Is that a matchup or what?! Excited to see districts!
West's 5th fastest time came from the JV race too. They would of tied WC East if he was in Varsity race with the same time. Should be interesting to watch those three teams battle it out for 1, maybe 2 spots to states
DeleteThe course was a total wet,muddy, sloppy mess, tons of fun. Probably measured too long though, the times were too slow even with the conditions.
DeleteDon't forget the stretch through the horse farm. I understand the mud was 3-4 inches thick and runners slowed down to make sure they didn't fall.
DeleteJudging for these results and the SOL results, could Chesmonts have four teams going to states?
The horse farm wasn't bad at all, it was the playing fields that were trampled by warm ups and spectators that was the worst.
DeleteI don't think Chesmonts is going to send four to states. Max 3. Council Rock North looks strong to take a spot but either North Penn or Pennsbury will surely beat at least one of the other Chesmonts teams. But 3 from one league is still ridiculous.
Deletehttp://runhigh.com/2012RESULTS/R101912AH.html If Berry runs better at districts (I believe he will) and gets top 10 CBW could sneak into the top 5.
DeleteI doubt it will happen, but just a thought.
Update: West didn't actually run their Varsity squad. They decided to save their legs for Nationals
ReplyDeleteToo bad they held back, henderson was beatable today.
DeleteHenderson didn't run their 3rd runner (Rimkis) and Collins, their 4th or 5th man.
ReplyDeleteWest ran 3 of their Varsity guys on JV to beat Henderson by only 12 points in the JV race. If West ran their normal JV squad, it would've been cool to see which team has a deeper stronger JV. I'd be willing to bet Henderson nd possibly West may have some of the strongest kids on their JV teams that could beat other state varsity contenders.
ReplyDeleteO'Hara swept all races at Delcos. JV was 1-2-3-4-5-6. Morro won Novice race by over a minute. Talk about strong JV!
DeleteDelcos are no Chesmonts.
DeleteIf only there were JV states too. I'd love to see Ohara, West, and Henderson's JV go against each other in addition to watching their varsitys go toe to toe. Great next few weeks in store for some great high school runners
DeleteWest ran their varsity. Some of their JV guys had good races and some of their varsity guys had bad races, which explains the difference in times. Because of their depth, varsity has changed all season for DTW.
Deleteto the 2nd from the top...Delcos aren't like Chestmonts...Delcos is a lot harder
DeleteI'd like to hear that rant about the PIAA
ReplyDeleteThe first qualifiers are in from district eight.
DeleteHenderson didn't race Rimkis or Collins and Knapp had a bad race. The conditions today definitely made them beatable. Why were the times slower than expected for Unionville's course? I remember their course being relatively flat, especially compared to the westtown's 5k. Even wet, I'd think times would be faster. I'm assuming a slow first mile because of the conditions and no one taking charge after that?
ReplyDelete-RTJ
It was slow because of the depth of mud. They got 2+ inches of rain on Monday and 2+ more on Friday morning. The course was a mess. Footing was bad on the fields. The horse steeplechase was very spongy. Every XC season should have one race like that.
DeleteThe course was probably measured too long. The times seem to be off by about a minute. It was soft, wet and muddy, but that maybe slows it down 20 seconds. The course itself on a dry day, if measured accurate, would probably be a fast course, similar to Lehigh.
DeleteTimes are off by more like 45 seconds. It might have been off to long.
Deleteand heres another excuse from henderson...
DeleteEvery meet has been a workout or a tune-up. They haven't even tried yet.
Deletehey, I'm a nobody and not a henderson guy either. running that Chesmont course on friday was like running through quick sand-one of the worst mudbaths I've had in the last 4 years of xc. And that course had to be longer than 3.1
DeleteI love all the excuses for why they ran SLOW
Delete"not a henderson guy" is really a WCH troll
DeleteDefinitely longer then 3.1 which is a shame because it was a decent course.
DeleteTimes don't matter here, its placing, do you really think if Russell and Barchet were racing for a time they would be running in a group of 6 or 7 at the 2 mile?
DeleteHenderson still won though. If they were beatable, then why didn't West beat them? Even if they ran slow, they still beat everyone else in chestmonts, so every other team must've run slow as well. Being from shanahan, I understand how tough the course was, so I have respect for the winners. Show some respect too.
DeleteIt was probably the 2.1 mile mark since the course was likley off. And that group of 6 or 7 had some pretty good runners that you guys are discounting. They called the race another tune up. Talk about showing some respect?
Deletewhy would henderson need excuses? I don't see how you need an excuse for winning by 30 points with 2 or 3 varsity runners out, especially when sitting their 3rd and 4th guy. I don't really think Russell or Barchet had to try too hard either. There isn't a single kid in the chest mont area in their league. The rest of their guys had to put up a fight but Reiny and Russell took off at the 3200 and came in together. I doubt either russell or Barchet cared which one of them won chest monts. It's really annoying how people accuse O'hara and henderson of talking themselves up. Obviously people from other teams are going to be debating for and against either team. Just because you're against one doesn't mean you should use the cop out "that's obviously a (insert team name) runner vouching for themselves"
DeleteAnyone who didnt run Friday cant comment on people making excuses, it wasnt just that it was slippery, you were literally fighting the mud for a good mile. It ended up taking a lot out of you and probably accounted for some of the slower times. The first mile was deceivingly slow, the mud around the 1200 mark really slowed people up. The second mile wasn't much better. Between the conditions and a possibly long course, no one needs to make excuses, they already have them.
DeleteOhara went 1,2,3,5,6,7,12
ReplyDeleteits 1,2,3,5,6,7,15...17 points all time PCL low score
ReplyDeleteO'hara kid trying to talk up his team
DeleteIdt they rely need to talk themselves up
DeleteIdt I rely need to talk myself up*
ReplyDeleteThe course did feel long, and yes the conditions were complete crap. It was a good test of mental toughness, and others stepped up while some didn't. But the Chesmobt league is very competitive, and it was still a good race to watch. GV stepped it up, East is still looking strong, DWest didn't look bad, and Henderson.... Well yeah... The fact that they didn't run 2 of their guys and still won by almost 30 points shows how hard they've worked this season.
ReplyDeleteThe course had to be off. The wch guys said in interviews 5:07 first mile and then like 10:40 at the two. There's no way it slowed that much or there would have been a bigger lead pack and a tighter finish.
DeleteAs of yesterday's PCL results, for AAA District 12 O'hara would have won, and Lasalle would send 4 individuals while Eric Murray of Father Judge would be the 5th individual, meaning Lasalle would have no team at states. Brendan Bilotta appeared to have an off day, so hopefully he or someone on Lasalle steps up to the 5th individual spot, itd be a shame for these guys to not have a squad at states
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely an interesting day at Chesmonts. Chris Coates (Rustin) and Stephen Dages (WCE) stepped it up. A lot of close finishes that could've dramatically changed the team results. What are your thoughts/reactions etrain? Or really what are anyones thoughts/reactions to some of the results?
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how close WCE, Dwest and GV were. Each team seemed like the top 3 came through and some of the 4-7's were a little off their game.
DeleteDistricts will be tough to predict. Henderson is an obvious lock. CRN, Pennsbury, WCE, GV and Dwest are five team real close for just four spots. Going in Pennsbury is probably the odd team out but WCE might be the most vulnerable. They've been solid all year but the drop off after the top 5 means everyone has to be on, again.
If any team is the odd one out, its gotta be Dwest. Yes, they ran well at Chesmonts, but they don't have the front runners that teams like CRN and Pennsbury has and at districts where displacement comes into play, this will definitely hurt them
DeleteLeidel and Steadman are decent front runners, they went 3 4 at chesmonts, this is bld but im saying WCE will be the odd one out, no front runners and they're falling apart
DeleteAnyone know what the "record" is for the most teams out of the chesmont league making it to states?
DeleteKeep in mind, if one of DTW's JV runners ran in the JV race, they would have tied WCE for 2nd and beat Great Valley. The matchup between DTW, GV, and WCE is gonna be really close. My guess for top 5 district 1 teams in this order is WCH, Council Rock North, Pennsbury, and then DTW and WCE in 4th and 5th (either).
Delete3 teams made it in '04, '05, and '06. '05 was probably the "deepest" the Chesmont has ever been (excluding teams like Unionville and GV who weren't yet a part of it). Although, in '06 Coatesville was national champs and Henderson scored only 86 points as state runner-up.
ReplyDeleteI think you need five runners under 17:00 to make states out of District 1 this year. Unless PB's pack runs better that at SOL, they may be odd man out.
DeleteA few WCE runners have been off their game, I'm just hoping it's due to poor conditions rather than injury. Sean Dougherty seems to be out for the year, so that's a huge hit, but we will see how they do. As of now, I believe it will be WCH, CRN, GV, WCE, and PB (not in this order). In my opinion DTW doesn't have the fifth guy to do it (or the fifth guy with a 16 min PR to do it) and Steadman/Leidel just aren't top runners enough to get it done. Don't take any of the league championship times to heart, they were pretty poor conditions and some people run badly in muddy conditions. Come districts, anything goes.
ReplyDelete-RTJ
Your opinion was wrong.
Delete