Well there will be much more opinions to come but real quick I'll let you know about my first thoughts reviewing the races. Also just want to say thanks to everybody who I talked to up at the meet. It really meant a lot to hear from you guys and I hope you enjoyed the state experience.
A
The first of 3 races in which I was wrong about the winners, but one of the only ones where I can say I got something right. Northeast Bradford was clearly a team on a mission this year and they proved it at states. Nice bounce back for Elk Lake, however, they had a very strong showing in a "rebuilding" year. Rico you are a bold man. When I saw you coming down the last down hill before Poop Hill I thought for sure Luke was going to run you down. But you held on with a wire to wire win and I am very impressed. Not many can do that on this course. But Luke Jones is certainly a big time racer when it matters most. That is an achievement that can't be overlooked as well. Barrett Kemp really came back strong. I picked him to be in the top 3 or so last year and he had an off day and a lot of signs indicated he wasn't anywhere near top speed this year, but he came on very strong to end the season and capitalized at the most important meet of the season. Very impressive. His team didn't do too bad either. Griffin Molino is another name to remember. I was really impressed with the way he ran, he is going to be a serious title contender next year. Although the Parson boys are pretty good, as they proved during this race. Hunter Johnston a nice bounce back race from Districts again. I guess worth noting, 17:11 was 25th in A.
AA
Grove City came so close to the upset, but couldn't quite get there. Admittedly, I think Pottsgrove was a little off their game. They didn't have a single state medalist, but proved that true pack running can prevail. The top 5 or so were not all that surprising to me, but of course I didn't expect that Todaro would pull of the win. Incredibly impressive performance by him, he ran a perfect tactical race where he was patient and made his move at the right time. Shearn is gutsy and a strong runner but when he got to the hill Todaro just had more left. I imagine one of these 3 guys is going to make it to San Diego for Footlocker (throwing Jaskowak in there). The D3 course hasn't effected the AA champs as Todaro becomes the 4th in 5 years or something like that (only Shearn has broken it up). Shawn Wolfe, however, felt the previous weeks hills, he is better than that finish. He didn't help Anville Celona, however, to an impressive team finish. Deluca may have made too much of a move from 1 to 2 miles, he had nothing left for the final hill. But he will be dangerous next year. Props to Tunkhannock for a nice states race as well, they show up well on this course. Avery Scripture a nice race as well in there. Should be a name to remember come track season.
AAA
And finally ... to all those Henderson guys who I saw at the meet yesterday: Congrats to Henderson for proving me wrong on two accounts. Last year you could make the argument that O'Hara choked and lost to a team they were definitely better than. This year, O'Hara ran very well, they maybe could have had a few more points here or there, but they had 5 guys in the top 50! 3 State medalists and 2 top 10 finishers! Henderson was the better team (not by much) but the better team and they took the title with their own 3 state medalists and their own 5 in the top 50. My heart feels for O'Hara because obviously this is a tough way to lose back to back years, but they have nothing to be ashamed of. They are a great team that just ran into an even greater team. Major props to Ernie Pitone, heck of a race.
But really the story here has got to be Tony Russell. He easily won the state championship yesterday in record time. He ran a perfect race, very smart, not taking the lead sooner than he had to and breaking away from the field in time to leave nothing in doubt. Tony is one of the best I've seen in all my years of covering the sport (which is like 7 but still) and he made a huge statement on Saturday with that win. Austin Pondel, you represented my fantasy team well, you had a great race. Kennedy too was awesome in his performance, and Macauley made a gutsy move in the middle of the race that I respect. Harriman unleashed a killer kick again as did James Zingarini who helped CRN to the surprise upset. I give credit to those guys for performing well. I am sorry to see NA go down, Seamus Love lost a shoe apparently in the race and that cost the squad. They paid for their youth, but next year they will be up there competing for a title. Although it is hard to doubt Henderson at this point.
The big thing I take away from this is that District 1 is truly the best district in AAA. I'm sorry to all of you out there who hate me for saying that, but I think if you are honest with yourself, I do a fairly good job of not being biased towards my own District. But look at the history of the state meet! With the exception of NA squeaking a team and individual in there, the winners in my years of following the sport have been D1 teams and D1 individuals. 15 of the top 30 individuals in the race 5 of the top 10 teams (top 9 technically). It's crazy and it goes to show you that if you are District 1 guy who didn't make states, keep your head up. You may be on the medal stand next year.
There are other things I know I'm leaving out, like how WCEast exceeded my 10th place finish and proved plenty of people (although to be fair they did finally fall victim to Great Valley), how D3 again suffered in both the individual category and the team category for their race a weekend ago, about Colin Abert taking the race from the gun and still somehow hanging on for that medal, and much much more. But those were what I saw as the highlights.
To end with I'm going to address something that is going to sound a lot like an excuse (and that is because it kind of is) about my big theory on state champions. The switch to three classes this year led to two new state champions who were not state medalists the year before: Todaro and Russell, who were 26th and 27th last year in the AAA race, just off the medal stand.
However, if you recombine the races into AAA and AA and A each would have been medalists in their respective new class. So technically the theory wasn't invalidated.
Anyway, congrats to everyone who ran at the meet, you left it all out there!
Later in the week, I will try to have some rankings in place and I'll look at all the posts I've made over the past year and comment on what I've gotten right and what I have gotten oh so wrong.
Talk to you guy soon.
You were right about D1. They had all 5 teams in the top 9. Thats insane
ReplyDeleteThe Chesmont league had 4 in the top 9. This was a very strong league this year.
ReplyDeleteMax Norris had a heck of a bounce back year.
On to XC nats... and then indoor track!
-RTJ
Let's just skip Nats. Indoor Track is the place to be. Can't wait until some of us sprint guys no longer have to do more than 2 laps!
ReplyDeleteBut I am looking forward to watching some Regionals and Nationals. I could see any number of the following guys make a national race:
Nike:
Russell
Barchet, and well all of WCH
Savage
Pitone
James, and well all of O'hara
NA
Kennedy(Kiski ran this last year)
these are the team oriented people I could see going here, more individuals to be placed in the FL race preview could move to this race.
FL:
Todaro
Jaskowak
Shearn
Pondel
Galassi
Jones
Quinn (he has always pulled together some magical races)
Norris
I'm sure I misssed people, but expect some monster performances at regionals, especially O'hara. It sounded like Nationals is their major goal. WATCH OUT
This may be a controversial question but I believe it is valid.
ReplyDeleteDid O’Hara get outcoached? Kennedy and Kelly are two of the best in the business and obviously doing a lot of things right. But with a tie score and so many “what-if’s” to look at and the championship literally decided by half a second on one of those what-if’s, it’s tough not to wonder.
O’Hara ran hard at Delco’s in early October, Henderson ran hard in Manhattan. The next week O’Hara went all out at Catholic and won with 17 points. Meanwhile Henderson rested guys and won Chestmonts with 45, without Russell/Barchet killing it. The week after at Districts, O’hara backed off just a little, by maybe 15 seconds per man, except for James who seems to have went for the victory and lost to Coyle. They won with 20 points. Henderson meanwhile rested some guys again, and won districts with 67 points.
O’hara trains hard during the summer, then they run some top invitationals in September to get into good racing shape. It’s a long season. But if the goal is to win States, it begs the questions, was it necessary that O’Hara win Catholics with a record 17 points? Could they have backed off a little more at Districts? Would it have made a difference?
Grant it O’Hara doesn’t have the crazy depth Henderson does, but they have enough. They certainly could have rested a couple of guys at Catholics and still won rather easily. The District 12 race was a little trickier with only won team state slot up for grabs and LaSalle on the rise. But they could have rested at least one, or backed their entire pack off another 20 seconds more and reeled James in, and still have won.
O’hara was the clear favorite going into States but they knew Henderson was dangerous. O’hara had the lead until that final poop-out hill. It seems very possible that Henderson’s backing off where they could the past two weeks and O’hara running all out might have made the difference in that last 200 yards where the race ended up being decided. Sorry for the lengthy post and again, not criticizing as both teams were fantastic....just wondering about one of those “what-if” questions and if it made the difference.
You actually bring up an excellent point and a valid argument. Now obviously Henderson has the depth to basically do whatever the heck they want. However, Ohara ran some tough races and a lot of them for that matter. I believe I remember reading on the blog somewhere that the Boys team winner at the Foundation meet has never won a state championship? if true it looks like that trend continues. Now lets not say that Ohara choked or was off their game or burned out. They ran one of the most impressive races a team can run on that course. Yet, Henderson just happened to be a couple points more impressive. However, I wouldn't be surprised if things got switched around at regionals/nationals.
Delete-RunFaster
well to someone looking at stats it may look that way. obviously Henderson deserves all the credit. they improved a ton from briarwood. however Ohara didn't get worse, they still got better as the year went on. same applies to last year. look at great teams like CBA, not saying Ohara or Henderson is on their level, but they win everything: invitationals, dual meets, and meets like states and nationals. Now Henderson like I said before deserves all the credit because they won and they were the best, but you can't say anyone was out coached. it all depends on the program and more importantly the runners. If Ohara rebounds to make Nikes than their plan worked in some sense. Hendersons already has. It will be interesting to see if these two teams are as close on a course that none of them have raced on before: that will be fun!
DeleteMS
Ohara takes pride in winning their invitationals, it means a lot to the team as a whole. They look at the whole picture rather than just one meet. Sure states should of and probably was the biggest thing on their mind, but if they look back and see all of the meets they ran well in they should be happy with the accomplishments and the accomplishments to come.
DeleteAlso the Philadelphia Catholic League and the City championships are big races for O'hara and any Philly catholic or Philly Public league team, because of the great pride and tradition there is in the city. It's certainly a different culture in the PCL, it's hard to exactly put into words but it's very special.
DeleteAnd winning chesmont isnt something that is a big deal to henderson? Chesmont has a greater tradition of bringing better teams to states. This year alone they had four of the five district one team qualifiers and four in the top nine at states. Being the best team in that league is very special
DeleteO'hara could have won all of their invitationals and still rested for States. They may be planning to peak at nationals like their coaches said, but right now it looks like the peaked at Catholics.
DeleteAlso, the culture in the PCL is 'O'hara vs LaSalle'. No other team has won it since 1999. I don't know if resting some runners like Henderson did would have helped them, however, they do have a heavy schedule. There really was no need to try to shut out the field at Catholics with states only two weeks out, other than to make a statement. They made it, but it might have cost them.
Jake Brophy CB East freshman with a top 30 finish.... impressive stuff watch out for him in the future.
ReplyDeleteDistrict 12 had 5 medalist in AAA and only had 12 runners at the meet, that's also pretty impressive.
ReplyDeleteD 12 !!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteO'Hara and Lasalle are really in District 1. They are not in the city. It's a joke that they're in district 12. They're not in the city. That would make district really sick.
DeleteYour not in the city!!!!!^^^^
DeleteI dont understand you're point/what you're complaining about, only about 9 of the 18 schools in the pcl are actually in the city. Lasalle is about a 2 minute walk from the city's borders and O'hara is about a 10 minute walk from the city's limits. D12 isnt Philly, D12 is the philly catholic league and the philly public league
DeleteYour geography is way off, nobody on O'hara's XC team could get O'hara from the city limits in 10 minutes. Not even in a car.
DeleteOk, then you are just proving my point even more because district 12 isnt only the schools in the city. Thanks
Deleteyeah you're right, D1 isn't big enough as it is, we need more teams in it!
DeleteI know I'm not the only one wondering this, but when do you plan on posting your indoor preseason favorites for state titles? My biggest question is this: Who will be the next state champ miler? Now that Willig has gone to college, who will succeed him? My preseason favorite is Tom Coyle. He just missed out on first last year and I'm willing to bet he's hungry for that title. But that's just my opinion.
ReplyDelete-I'm working on a cool running name
I think Huemmler is just as hungry maybe even more! Hoping to see the two battle it out in indoor and outdoor.
DeleteMore often then not, the top juniors duals in track don't pan out as seniors. Injuries creep up as they work harder to try to surpass the prior years success. Senior year brings a ton of good non-running distractions, not everyone manages them while focusing on running. We never did get the Willig/Magaha duals last year and chances are the Coyle/Huemmler battles won't happen either. I hope they do, but the up and coming juniors may be the ones to take the stage.
DeleteRussell vs. Kennedy then? but I still think either Huemmler or Coyle will take it. But, in the rare chance that those two don't perform as expected. I think Russell could come back for the indoor win in the Mile, maybe even the 2 mile if he decides to switch to that. Expect great things from the Henderson dmr and 4xmile though, (Henderson might be able to take second this year at nationals, possibly a win once the class of 2014 makes it to their senior year)
DeleteHenderson's DMR and 4xMile will both be sick. But just putting it out there if Henderson keeps getting better faster than O'Hara is and they just passed them this week isn't it to be expected that they beat them at regionals? either way i say CBA wins and henderson and O'Hara go 2 3 not sure the order and the third team gets a wildcard pick.
DeleteAnd as for the Henderson DMR remark, I still think that Great Valley is capable of defending their title. Yes, they have to fill the spot Ned had, which won't be easy, but it isn't impossible. I think that a Henderson 4xMile would be killer. Those guys would dominate in the 4xMile and probably the 4x800 as well. Should be interesting to watch.
DeleteThere are so many combinations for a Henderson Dmr that would still dominate. Russell in the 1200, Chaboreck in the 800, Hall in the 400 (ran a sub 50 second 400 split) and maybe even Barchet in the mile. OR Aj in the 1200, Miller in the 800 (ran a 1:57 in the 800 during outdoor) Hall in the 400, and Russell in the 1600. Then there is the 4xMile. all of Hendersons top times are 4:18(russell), 4:22(Chaboreck)4:26(barchet), 4:27(collins), and 2 4:29's(rimkis and Stratman). This team is dirty.
DeleteAre you guys forgetting about the LaSalle DMR that ran 10:10 outdoor and got 3rd at Penn relays? Stone and Coyle are back, and after Stone's great performace for 23rd place I think he can run much faster in the 1200 than he did last year. And obviously Coyle is the best anchor.
DeleteAlso don't forget about Strath Haven's DMR. Huemmler is a great anchor and Dylan Butera got injured last year, but was sub 4:30 in the mile and sub 2:00 splits, so he's got a great 1200 leg potental. and Strath Haven always has a solid group of 4/8 guys.
Not saying Henderson won't be great, but those are the other good teams. As for 4xMile They're definently the top team, but O'Hara could probably have a killer squad and if CRN gets one more breakout miler they could run really fast. Zingarini 4:18, Emery 4:24, Wilson 4:28.
--ForrestCRN
LaSalle, CRN, Henderson, Great Valley, and Strath Haven (they usually put together a decent relay) will be very good and its going to be fun watching them compete. Other sleeper relays with potential are Ohara (although they usually focus on the 3k), Germantown Friends, Germantown Academy, D-West, NA, and Kiski have potential to put together some good relays as well.
DeleteNot sure what the Martin twins run in the mile, but they could be two good potential legs on a DMR team as well. (Fox Chapel)
Delete--ForrestCRN
I agree with the 2nd guy to answer. Coyle has already had to deal with injuries during XC, I know from experience that certain injuries come back to haunt you and I'm afraid that Coyle may have to fight off the injury sustained in XC. As for Huemmler, I think that he is a strong contender, but I like Russell for my early miler champ (it could be because he just won states, but anyways) All I know is that it will be exciting to watch!
ReplyDeleteResponces for a few things:
ReplyDelete1. Winning invitationals isn't really a huge deal. It's great to win races, but winning invites in august and september really aren't that satisfying since they mean nothing.
2. O'Hara coaches claim there team is peaking for nationals which is amazing to me. It's extremely difficult for NE runners to peak and run well in Oregon and California due to time zone differences and because it's 3 weeks to a month after states. I have always seen regionals and nationals as extra accomplishments. I'm not a top tier runner by any means, but from being friends with Chris Campbell he seemed to want the state title more than making it to nationals, which makes sense to me.
3. For the indoor mile I'm hoping both Coyle and Huemmler have gotten there injuries out of the way. Don't forget about Max Norris. He ran 4:19 as a sophomore and made state finals (4:33 at state finals), but then again Magaha was 5:03 as a sophomore at states. Do NOT forget about him, I think he can be in the sub 4:10 conversation in spring with those two.
4. It should be interesting who chooses the 3k/2 mile this year. I'll probably work on a preview for it. But just a couple things.
a. Last year Sam Hibbs finished 13th at XC states. This year Conner Quinn finishes 13th at XC states. Could this mean a breakout 3200 year for him as well?
b. Will the young milers of last year turn to the two mile after great XC seasons. This list includes, but is not limited to: Russell, Kennedy, and Zingarini.
c. How will the two milers of last year fair? Emery and Ferruzzi will be looking for blood after finishing 26th and 27th. MaCauley and Harriman had successful campaigns as well.
d. Where do the new breakout XC stars fit in like Todaro and Pondel?
--ForrestCRN
Definently more to come for indoor previews.
One last bit since I put together a list to help CRN decide about NX regionals. Hawks TC from RI finished 4th last year and return allof their runners including their top guy who was a freshmen last year (finished 15th). They haven't been talked about at all on Milesplit, but look out for them to mix it up with Henderson and O'Hara for that 2nd place bid.
Also will O'Hara be able to race level headed? I think that's the biggest challenge for the coaching staff and that group of runners. It's 1.5 miles of hills and then down hill. I know they like going out hard, but will it cause they to blow up if they go out looking to beat Henderson, while runners like Russell will have the clear advantage on this course due to his sit back 1st mile style. I think he's going to win this race.
(sorry that post got long really quickly)
Saw that interview where O'Hara coaches claimed the team was designed to peak at Nat's. & thought it sounded a little off, like an excuse maybe? They're a great team-hope they do well post-states. But to the same degree, couldn't an argument be made that by resting & rotating their top 10 guys all season Henderson is also "getting ready" to peak?
ReplyDeleteIt's not an excuse, they've been saying that all season if you actually paid attention
ReplyDeleteIf this is about that Penntrack interview with O'Hara's coaches, it did come off like they were blowing off States. Like what? Their too big for a measly State Championship and didn't factor it into their training? Arrogant.
DeleteIt was a little unfortunate what they said, it sounded as if they were diminishing Henderson's victory. It was like a team being upset in the Super Bowl and walking off the field with the #1 sign going.
DeleteOur sole purpose during this season was to win. Every team sets goals and ours were very lofty this year. Last year was terrible and I felt extremely bad for the seniors on our team then. We had intentions of going to Regionals last year, but with Kevin and Christian Ostrowski having broken backs we decided not to. We made it our goal to go to Regionals and NXN this season. With that in mind our coaches planned our training so that we would peak for States-NXN(possibly). States was our first and most important goal. We were trying to win that state title for our school, the PCL, and D12. We wanted that State Championship and by no means is it "measly" to us.
DeleteWe followed our coaches plan which started us late and we talked all season about what we could accomplish. Losing the tie-braker to North Penn was the focal point and we never overlooked anyone because XC is about who shows up on race day. We never took any race for granted because we learned last year that anything can happen. We never overlooked any team whether it was in our league, county, state, or nation.
Our coaches do more than we could ever ask them to do. They were probably even more devastated than us that we lost.
I would ask you not to say things about our coaches. They have helped me with my training and so much more. For the second year in a row, O'Hara is not the number one team in the state after the first week in November. We hope that we can prove all our hard work and dedication at Regionals.
I talked to a few of the Henderson guys and they are all very gifted runners and deserved to win as a team, as did North Penn last year. Our coach always says "These are no excuses races." He is right, and no matter what I can't go back to the final straight-away at states and start my kick early so I could pass Sam.
I hope that no one will say O'Hara or anyone talked about on this blog is cocky or arrogant because we were taught to show respect to our competitors. I look forward to running against Henderson later in the month and I hope that PA will be well represented in the team race and individually.
Class act. Whatever they're teaching over there at Ohara they're doing a good job.
DeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteWhat you're failing to recognize is that, whether your team intended it or not, o'hara seemed to make more excuses than they did congratulations leaving states. It's sad to see such a well-respected team in PA not be able to acknowledge another team's accomplishments. All of you and your teammates kept saying' "we'll get em at regionals! who even cares!" You were demeaning the state championship and disrespecting a competent team in WC Henderson.
Js we went up to the Henderson team and congratulated them and we're not making excuses Henderson deserved the win and were okay with that and the people who said tht were our JV guys trying to be positive around us cause we were crushed after losing again so it's obviously not tht we don't care our teammates were beating positive and we have no excuses we all ran good races Henderson was just the better team And beat us at the meet that was our biggest goal of the season
Delete-Kevin James
If said person was a WCH kid that I or any of my teammates did not shake your hand personally before and after the race I am sorry, we show no disrespect to Henderson or any state in PA. Henderson is a better and more historically rich program than us and that is a fact. I hope that I started a culture like that at O'Hara. If you are just some person not Henderson I wish you well and I am deeply sorry that we may come off as demeaning.
ReplyDeleteImpressive answer, kid.
DeleteGuys, settle down. Don’t take what you read on blogs too seriously. When people make comments on blogs they are usually alone and not hearing/considering the other point of view. Trust me, there’s thousands of runners in PA who would gladly trade places with you guys to have had the shot at winning. Losing that close at any level is disappointing, and you might not believe it now, but it’s really not that big of a deal. In fact, there’s a good argument that the humility learned may be a better life lesson. Not to get too deep, but at some point, everyone loses a race. Life’s full of disappointments and setbacks. And it is just a race in the end. Nobody choked, nobody let anyone down. You guys are young, you’re dedicated, you worked you butts off for a goal and you got beat by what, two inches over 3.1 miles x 5 runners. In the grand scheme of things, yeah it sucks, but what’s it’s more important what you’re learning. Hard work, team work, friendships, respect for the competition, they all have their rewards as you move on. Almost every cross country runner, winning team or not, gets to share in what's great about this sport. Most ex-XC guys know this and I’d be shocked if your coaches aren’t reminding you of it too. - RJJL
DeleteOkay okay, just to clear things up, there is no bad blood between our two teams. Those guys raced their hearts out and they showed me and my team the utmost respect that day at states. They should not be held accountable for the actions of kids on the JV team or friends and family who came up to watch them. After states, a couple of the O'hara guys even added me on facebook to congratulate me and I plan on keeping in touch with them too. Not one of the O'hara boys who raced that day showed any type of disrespect to my teammates and I ensured that they got the same respect back. I'm vouching for these guys now because I know that nothing they say will change some of your minds. (It's happened to my team multiple times in the beginning of the season and I know how difficult people can be) We have been each other's major competition this entire XC season, but that doesn't mean our teams hate each other. That's just not how our sport works, I respect those guys for being how good they are. Of course each time we face each other both of our teams hope to come out on top, but we still have a mutual respect between us. I'm happy to be apart of a great community of guys like them who I've met and raced against this year. This is just one of the many instances showing how we look out for each other.
ReplyDeleteI just want to commend Chris and Tony for such respectable responses to this ridiculous and Anonymous criticism. I was at the meet and spend most of the time with my teammate and friend Etrain. It was a day of wonderful racing and of really classy individuals. Just stand-up performances and character by everyone at the meet. I witnessed great comradery by members of all three divisions congratulating each other after races, ect. Both WCH and O'Hara proved to be great races but also outstanding individuals. These are the mature high school students that it is wonderful to see out there. I was standing and talking after the races with Wilson and Zingarini (from CRN) who sought out Harriman and Webb (there league rivals of Pennsbury) to congratulate them on their races. And this was going all around with people from all divisions and classes.
ReplyDeleteIt is unacceptable to comment on a situation that you are not part of and to do it from an anonymous is the exact opposite of the Henderson and O'Hara teams, and really the majority of the runners that I was fortunate enough to watch this year and run against the previous two seasons.
--ForrestCRN
I know I'm a little late but .. Whoever commented that Ohara and lasalle should be in D1 should be banned from this blog
ReplyDelete