Weekend Action

Nice marks for Zaza, Mathis and Malik Jones this weekend. Certainly state title favorites at this point. John Lewis, however, is quite the sleeper developing here.

And that's all the sprinting talk I've got for you.

A nice upset in the 800m from Tyler Johnston of North Penn. James Zingarini from CRN a nice second place finish. Both times solid but not eye popping.  Zingarini always comes on strong at the end of the season so this is a nice start for him. What makes the win interesting is that Johnston may make a nice 1200 leg for a NP DMR attempt. North Penn has not run a DMR in the entire history of indoor states, however, which makes this idea slightly less probable.

In the 800m and the mile UD had a couple medalists, neither of which were named Francis Ferruzzi. Outside chance that they will have a decent DMR down the line as well. Sorry, homer pick, couldn't resist.

Ross Wilson cruises in the 3k in his first ever indoor track race. Solid time for him and I expect him to make states down the line for sure. Big runs by Billotta and Johnson, each of which is often overshadowed by the other big names on their team. Those are a couple of nice 3ks for this early. They could be in the mid 9:30s for 2 miles outdoors if they keep up this kind of pace which would be a nice improvement for both. Its still very early, however. I'd watch out for Balla from Quakertown down the line as well.

Big win for Bensalem in the 4x8. I think LaSalle can drop a lot of time in that relay, but Bensalem has some very underrated legs. Rivera is clearly already very sharp as indicated by his two early individual runs and his convincing anchor to hold a nice lead over LaSalle. Penn Wood a pretty solid mark for this early as well, considering the lack of depth thus far.

And lastly a very nice DMR for Pennsbury. I like Harriman leading off this squad. The way he runs with that big kick, it makes much more sense for me to lead him off like they did. Webb has pretty solid ability behind him. They could be a sleeper for the title depending on who doubles and what not at the state meet. I think Methacton should get a bit more play. Some solid XC results and some nice returners in the mile and such. They could surprise some people with Hopkins and Watro. CB East as mentioned earlier is a threat in both the DMR and 4x8 with the pieces they return. I think as Brophy develops with Kane and older Brophy their DMR could hit the SQS. CB East has been consistently solid in the DMR over the years.

In Division II I was surprised to see this quick mark for Christian Sanders, but considering the stretch run he had to his XC season, this guy is just beginning to scrath the surface of his potential. In a three week period he went from a 17 minute guy at his league championship meet at Lehigh to a 16 flat 5k runner qualifying for states to in medal contention through 2 miles at the state meet. Now he drops a solid fairly uncontested 2:02. I think he can do some serious damage as a sleeper in the mile or 800m depending on what his true event is. Interested to know how the race played out for guys like Wolffe and Smart who will be ones to watch going forward.

Nice run by Jimmy Boyle from O'Hara in the mile. Another nice DMR piece. But I was stunned to see Will McDermott drop the hammer on the mile field. He ran to the SQS and it looks like he pulled the rest of the field to a bunch of PRs. McDermott excelled early last indoor season as well, hopefully he can continue to carry the momentum. This is a great start. The Bonner relay may be a sleeper as well. They qualified in the DMR last year. And heck Upper Merion has proven they have two solid legs with Austin Cooper running a nice 4:37. Upper Merion is no joke this year after winning their league in XC. The sophomore Ben Szuhaj ran a great 3k not too long ago. This mile is a nice mark but the 3k seems to be his main event. He will be dangerous with some extra speed in his legs, however.

Matt Willig still a boss for GV in the 3k. He is continuing to pick up steam and may develop into a nice mile/3k guy for a DMR/individual performance going forward. Not much of note in the relays. Maybe potential for a Penn Charter DMR. They ran fairly solid without Szuhaj on the relay.