--train and CRN
Joe Logue Interview
We did a quick interview with Joe Logue of Pennridge this past weekend. Hope you guys enjoy! We'll be trying to do 2 or so each weekend after this.
--train and CRN
--train and CRN
The DMR: What a Hot Mess
Now look, calling a high school track even a hot mess seems like a bit of an over exaggeration at this point to the average reader out there. But goodness, it's the only way I can think to define it. Trying to deduce who is going to run what is harder than trying to guess what order North Allegheny's top 5 were going to finish in during a given XC meet. Probably harder even than trying to out kick Drew Magaha while your carrying Haneef Hardy on your back. But I digress.
A quick scan of the DMR list shows that we have 12 teams who have already hit the SQS and two more that are well under the 11 minute mark. Meanwhile, Cumberland Valley and State College are gearing up to drop a sick DMR mark in a matter of weeks and the TSTCA meets have been more inconsistent than me during this past cross country season. Sorry enough with the comparisons. Usually by this time of year we are wondering if the state is going to have to add 4 or 6 teams to make the field a reasonable size. Couple that with the fact that 4x8 has just 3 teams that have run sub 8:10 in the 4x8 over the course of the entire year. And two of those three teams were wearing Cardinal O'Hara jerseys. In the past two weeks the teams that I ranked as top 2 in the state in the 4x8 have both run crazy fast DMRs with potential to even drop more time. Yikes.
So what does this mean going forward? Which teams will ultimately end up picking this DMR race while others opt for the 4x8? Remember last year when we had a stacked DMR race in the making? Well everyone bolted as an overcorrection to go try and take down the 4x8 state title. And ultimately all those teams came up short of the big dogs of the 4x8 Pennridge and Penncrest. Hopefully, the same thing doesn't happen this year, but I can't help but imagine it will.
We will get a good luck at what LaSalle is thinking after this weekend coming up. They get to race PA #1 Pennsbury at the Armory in the 4x8. Pennsbury too may be tempted to jump ship to the 4x8 so this will be an interesting moment for them.
Now it's still early, but I guess we should talk logistics Who do I think will end up on the starting line for states in the DMR?
I'll work from the bottom up. Let's look first at teams like Great Valley and West Chester East. All the pieces are there for those teams to make a DMR push. Both are much more DMR built than 4x8 built in my mind and at MoC I expect these two teams to drop into the range it takes to make states and punch their ticket. Count those two squads in. Next we have UD and CBE who just punched their tickets last night. Both of these teams have been DMR all the way and I don't expect things to change now. Count those boys in as well.
Then things get a tad more interesting. We move the GFS and O'Hara boys next. I expect to see GFS line up a DMR at the state championships, they have for the past forever anyway. I don't remember the last time a state championship DMR did not feature the boys from GFS. However, I don't anticipate this relay to make a ton of noise. I'm banking on Aziz and Wistar in the 3k which may toss both of them out of the DMR. If they do run both, they are going to have some work to do on real tired legs. As for O'Hara, the 4x8 seems to be all but confirmed for their future. With the field as weak as it as and they guys they have who can qualify for the 3k, the DMR just seems unlikely. They probably will stack a 4xMile and DMR at Nationals a couple weeks after and we should see some dirty marks there, but I don't expect it at states.
Strath Haven is an interesting squad with Butera and Huemmler both mile qualifiers who might get the ok to go for the double (Huemmler definitely, Butera ?). That makes their DMR a bit more shaky. All that being said, I think that they are much better off in the DMR than the 4x8 (which I believe they have yet to qualify for but likely will). Even on the double I'd be afraid of Huemmler on the anchor.
Bonner, CRN and DTWest are the next few teams here to consider. Bonner I think is a definite to compete for the DMR. The only question is whether they will be a top DMR squad or not and that depends on Will McDermott and his decision to double in the 3k or not. The 3k DMR is all but impossible and leaves Bonner somewhat out of it if he goes for it. But either way I expect them to toe the line. CRN has usually been a DMR team as well. The problem will stem from guys like Ross Wilson who is likely to qualify in the 3k any day now. He takes out a valuable piece of their DMR. But they have no shot at competing in the 4x8 in my opinion so I expect CRN to be back on the line for the DMR once more. DTWest is a bit trickier. They definitely have the pieces to run a nice 4x8 for the second straight year. Leidal is going to compete in the open mile it seems and a 4x8 double may be easier on him, especially considering the field they are racing against. They haven't qualified yet, but my gut says DTWest will be a 4x8 squad at states. No way to know for sure, but they can compete for a top 5 spot in either race.
That gives us in the DMR now:
WCEast
Great Valley
GFS
UD
CBE
Strath Haven
CRN
Bonner
8 teams thus far. And now we come to the big dogs. LaSalle, Pennsbury, Henderson, and Bensalem. I'll start by throwing this out there: I'd be stunned to see Henderson stack their relay, whatever they choose. That being said, I think they opt for the DMR. It's just the kind of team they have been over the years. The only way I can see them choosing 4x8 is if they are making a legit push for a team title and Chaborek can lead this team to some points.
Which leaves LaSalle, Pennsbury and Bensalem. Goodness. This is tricky because my gut right now says everybody is going 4x8. Bensalem has pushed the DMR this week, but I feel like they are just waiting to drop a big bomb on the rest of the state with their 4x8 and 4x4 teams. Both those squads are really dangerous. But heck, maybe I am misreading these guys. They ran a great DMR and that kind of race would not be hard to duplicate for them at all. Sacrifices a bit of their 4x4 wheels but they could come out with state gold in the DM. All the same I'm calling 4x8 for them in the end. Just my gut again.
Then you have Pennsbury. Great team for the DMR with all the different pieces they can sub in, but they ran 8 flat in the 4x8 which is easily PA #1. I think they go to the armory this weekend and if they beat LaSalle it's 4x8 for sure. If they get rocked a little bit than they end up in the DMR. Personally, I see Pennsbury's pieces being better suited for a solid DMR run and that's where I believe they end up.
Lastly, there is LaSalle. The big dogs of the DMR and one of PA's two bright hopes for a Penn Relays DMR title once again. They have two killer 12 and mile legs and are built for a great DMR. That being said, I think this team ends up in the 4x8 once again. Coyle and Stone have big individual event goals and Billotta and Magee proved they won't be weak links on a 4x8 relay which may be under 7:50 this weekend. I expect LaSalle in the 4x8 competing for state gold.
This now gives us the following 10 teams:
WCEast
Great Valley
GFS
UD
CBE
Strath Haven
CRN
Bonner
Henderson
Pennsbury
To finish off my projected field I think State College and Kiski we hit the SQS and choose to run the DMR at states as well. CV I expect to see lined up in the 4x8.
Should be fun to see who goes where and who jumps up and surprises to grab a ticket to states. Certainly, its going to be a hot mess.
-train
A quick scan of the DMR list shows that we have 12 teams who have already hit the SQS and two more that are well under the 11 minute mark. Meanwhile, Cumberland Valley and State College are gearing up to drop a sick DMR mark in a matter of weeks and the TSTCA meets have been more inconsistent than me during this past cross country season. Sorry enough with the comparisons. Usually by this time of year we are wondering if the state is going to have to add 4 or 6 teams to make the field a reasonable size. Couple that with the fact that 4x8 has just 3 teams that have run sub 8:10 in the 4x8 over the course of the entire year. And two of those three teams were wearing Cardinal O'Hara jerseys. In the past two weeks the teams that I ranked as top 2 in the state in the 4x8 have both run crazy fast DMRs with potential to even drop more time. Yikes.
So what does this mean going forward? Which teams will ultimately end up picking this DMR race while others opt for the 4x8? Remember last year when we had a stacked DMR race in the making? Well everyone bolted as an overcorrection to go try and take down the 4x8 state title. And ultimately all those teams came up short of the big dogs of the 4x8 Pennridge and Penncrest. Hopefully, the same thing doesn't happen this year, but I can't help but imagine it will.
We will get a good luck at what LaSalle is thinking after this weekend coming up. They get to race PA #1 Pennsbury at the Armory in the 4x8. Pennsbury too may be tempted to jump ship to the 4x8 so this will be an interesting moment for them.
Now it's still early, but I guess we should talk logistics Who do I think will end up on the starting line for states in the DMR?
I'll work from the bottom up. Let's look first at teams like Great Valley and West Chester East. All the pieces are there for those teams to make a DMR push. Both are much more DMR built than 4x8 built in my mind and at MoC I expect these two teams to drop into the range it takes to make states and punch their ticket. Count those two squads in. Next we have UD and CBE who just punched their tickets last night. Both of these teams have been DMR all the way and I don't expect things to change now. Count those boys in as well.
Then things get a tad more interesting. We move the GFS and O'Hara boys next. I expect to see GFS line up a DMR at the state championships, they have for the past forever anyway. I don't remember the last time a state championship DMR did not feature the boys from GFS. However, I don't anticipate this relay to make a ton of noise. I'm banking on Aziz and Wistar in the 3k which may toss both of them out of the DMR. If they do run both, they are going to have some work to do on real tired legs. As for O'Hara, the 4x8 seems to be all but confirmed for their future. With the field as weak as it as and they guys they have who can qualify for the 3k, the DMR just seems unlikely. They probably will stack a 4xMile and DMR at Nationals a couple weeks after and we should see some dirty marks there, but I don't expect it at states.
Strath Haven is an interesting squad with Butera and Huemmler both mile qualifiers who might get the ok to go for the double (Huemmler definitely, Butera ?). That makes their DMR a bit more shaky. All that being said, I think that they are much better off in the DMR than the 4x8 (which I believe they have yet to qualify for but likely will). Even on the double I'd be afraid of Huemmler on the anchor.
Bonner, CRN and DTWest are the next few teams here to consider. Bonner I think is a definite to compete for the DMR. The only question is whether they will be a top DMR squad or not and that depends on Will McDermott and his decision to double in the 3k or not. The 3k DMR is all but impossible and leaves Bonner somewhat out of it if he goes for it. But either way I expect them to toe the line. CRN has usually been a DMR team as well. The problem will stem from guys like Ross Wilson who is likely to qualify in the 3k any day now. He takes out a valuable piece of their DMR. But they have no shot at competing in the 4x8 in my opinion so I expect CRN to be back on the line for the DMR once more. DTWest is a bit trickier. They definitely have the pieces to run a nice 4x8 for the second straight year. Leidal is going to compete in the open mile it seems and a 4x8 double may be easier on him, especially considering the field they are racing against. They haven't qualified yet, but my gut says DTWest will be a 4x8 squad at states. No way to know for sure, but they can compete for a top 5 spot in either race.
That gives us in the DMR now:
WCEast
Great Valley
GFS
UD
CBE
Strath Haven
CRN
Bonner
8 teams thus far. And now we come to the big dogs. LaSalle, Pennsbury, Henderson, and Bensalem. I'll start by throwing this out there: I'd be stunned to see Henderson stack their relay, whatever they choose. That being said, I think they opt for the DMR. It's just the kind of team they have been over the years. The only way I can see them choosing 4x8 is if they are making a legit push for a team title and Chaborek can lead this team to some points.
Which leaves LaSalle, Pennsbury and Bensalem. Goodness. This is tricky because my gut right now says everybody is going 4x8. Bensalem has pushed the DMR this week, but I feel like they are just waiting to drop a big bomb on the rest of the state with their 4x8 and 4x4 teams. Both those squads are really dangerous. But heck, maybe I am misreading these guys. They ran a great DMR and that kind of race would not be hard to duplicate for them at all. Sacrifices a bit of their 4x4 wheels but they could come out with state gold in the DM. All the same I'm calling 4x8 for them in the end. Just my gut again.
Then you have Pennsbury. Great team for the DMR with all the different pieces they can sub in, but they ran 8 flat in the 4x8 which is easily PA #1. I think they go to the armory this weekend and if they beat LaSalle it's 4x8 for sure. If they get rocked a little bit than they end up in the DMR. Personally, I see Pennsbury's pieces being better suited for a solid DMR run and that's where I believe they end up.
Lastly, there is LaSalle. The big dogs of the DMR and one of PA's two bright hopes for a Penn Relays DMR title once again. They have two killer 12 and mile legs and are built for a great DMR. That being said, I think this team ends up in the 4x8 once again. Coyle and Stone have big individual event goals and Billotta and Magee proved they won't be weak links on a 4x8 relay which may be under 7:50 this weekend. I expect LaSalle in the 4x8 competing for state gold.
This now gives us the following 10 teams:
WCEast
Great Valley
GFS
UD
CBE
Strath Haven
CRN
Bonner
Henderson
Pennsbury
To finish off my projected field I think State College and Kiski we hit the SQS and choose to run the DMR at states as well. CV I expect to see lined up in the 4x8.
Should be fun to see who goes where and who jumps up and surprises to grab a ticket to states. Certainly, its going to be a hot mess.
-train
Etrain11 Show #2: 1/26 Weekend
Sorry for the last video posting! We'll have an interview up tomorrow morning. Had some editting system issues that have been worked out which will make the upload of next show be much smoother, with better edits and quality.
We cannot stress enough the need for show name along with T-Shirt Design idea's :)
--train and CRN
We cannot stress enough the need for show name along with T-Shirt Design idea's :)
--train and CRN
T-Shirts
Quick question out there.
I was thinking that it might be cool to make some blog related t-shirts (at the very least just for me) to bring with me to the Lehigh Meet of Champions (if they would be ready in time, which may be unlikely) and other meets I can get myself too.
If I did would anyone be interested? It would cost money, enough to cover the cost I would have to pay for making them, but hopefully it would be a cool shirt.
We also need an idea for what we are going to put on my shirt so if you have any ideas on the subject let me know on here. Also if you know a good place where I could look to get these made let me know.
So yeah just a thought, give me some feedback.
Hopefully the vids are coming soon. We filmed them already so I can assure you that's not the issue, my tech team just has to put everything together.
-train
I was thinking that it might be cool to make some blog related t-shirts (at the very least just for me) to bring with me to the Lehigh Meet of Champions (if they would be ready in time, which may be unlikely) and other meets I can get myself too.
If I did would anyone be interested? It would cost money, enough to cover the cost I would have to pay for making them, but hopefully it would be a cool shirt.
We also need an idea for what we are going to put on my shirt so if you have any ideas on the subject let me know on here. Also if you know a good place where I could look to get these made let me know.
So yeah just a thought, give me some feedback.
Hopefully the vids are coming soon. We filmed them already so I can assure you that's not the issue, my tech team just has to put everything together.
-train
What's Up
So we are facing a little bit of technical difficulties at the moment that is delaying the posting of our show, but it will be up sometime in the near future is our hope. To hold you over until then, I realized that in our video we didn't cover the Susquehanna meet, the results of which were not out at the time of our filming.
So I'm going to cover the Susquehanna meet now.
At Susquehanna there were two teams that I wanted to keep an eye on: State College and Cumberland Valley. State College, a 7:50 relay team last year, is led by one of the states best up and coming stars in Will Cather who proved he has great range running an 8:58 3k to crush the field that included Jordan Crawford (2nd in 9:10) and Alec Kunzweiler of Cumberland Valley (4th in 9:17). Cather also was a leg on the State College 4x4 that just edged out Cumberland Valley 3:40 to 3:41. Will Cather's 3k win he has now qualified for states in each of the three distance events and has helped his 4x8 run the SQS in 8:13. Cather is the only runner to qualify in all 3 individual distance events so far this season. Kyle Adams, another key leg for this team and their DMR hopes, ran a 2:04 for 2nd in the 800m.
As for Cumberland Valley, they had some flashes of prominence at Susquehanna. They ran a modest 8:37 to crush the field in the 4x8, but Alex Coburn had a nice run of 2:02.03 to dominate the field and give himself his best open race of the season.
The Northeast Bradford boys had a nice run in the mile with a 4:34-4:36 1-2 performance by Curt Jewett and Sam Williams respectively. For Williams, who just ran the steeplechase at the Armory, this was a pretty nice two day performance. Jewett continues to prove he has got some mile credentials and will be a factor at states. The boys are both still in their first real races of indoor track.
Nice run in the 3k by Grant Fey of Chambersburg who dropped a 9:12 mark to get his name out on the radar for sleeper picks to qualify in the 3k if he can ever get on a fast enough track.
So I'm going to cover the Susquehanna meet now.
At Susquehanna there were two teams that I wanted to keep an eye on: State College and Cumberland Valley. State College, a 7:50 relay team last year, is led by one of the states best up and coming stars in Will Cather who proved he has great range running an 8:58 3k to crush the field that included Jordan Crawford (2nd in 9:10) and Alec Kunzweiler of Cumberland Valley (4th in 9:17). Cather also was a leg on the State College 4x4 that just edged out Cumberland Valley 3:40 to 3:41. Will Cather's 3k win he has now qualified for states in each of the three distance events and has helped his 4x8 run the SQS in 8:13. Cather is the only runner to qualify in all 3 individual distance events so far this season. Kyle Adams, another key leg for this team and their DMR hopes, ran a 2:04 for 2nd in the 800m.
As for Cumberland Valley, they had some flashes of prominence at Susquehanna. They ran a modest 8:37 to crush the field in the 4x8, but Alex Coburn had a nice run of 2:02.03 to dominate the field and give himself his best open race of the season.
The Northeast Bradford boys had a nice run in the mile with a 4:34-4:36 1-2 performance by Curt Jewett and Sam Williams respectively. For Williams, who just ran the steeplechase at the Armory, this was a pretty nice two day performance. Jewett continues to prove he has got some mile credentials and will be a factor at states. The boys are both still in their first real races of indoor track.
Nice run in the 3k by Grant Fey of Chambersburg who dropped a 9:12 mark to get his name out on the radar for sleeper picks to qualify in the 3k if he can ever get on a fast enough track.
SHEtrain Sunday- Demetrius McCary
Yes we CAIN! CAIN’T touch this. Catch her if you CAIN. Okay, I’m done with the lame puns, but seriously...
Mary Cain is ridiculous. She just broke the national 3k record last week, and yesterday she just set a new aMaryCain (Okay, last one, I swear) record. The girl is a monster. She’s 16 years old and she’s beating professionals. She could have held her own against the boys at Indoor States last year and would have been 5 seconds off a medal spot... and that’s when they’re at their sharpest while she’s a little over halfway there. If she was a guy, she would be the 21st best in the State and 65th nationally in the 3k.. For a 16-year-old girl, that’s something to brag about.
Back to PA news...
Out in Lancaster at F&M Lindsley Greta opened up her indoor season with a 5:17. This is her first indoor season, so for her to come out and run that and completely dominate the field shows that when she gets used to indoor and has competition she’ll be ready to compete. She came back and ran 2:25, again dominating the field. She’s looking solid to start the year.
The DVGTCA meet held impressive results as usual. Emma Keenan looks to be rounding into top form. Her 57 is the second fastest all year on a flat track. The speeds clearly there, if she can decently pace herself I can see her breaking 2:10 at the State meet and maybe even as low as 2:08 by Nationals.
Marissa Sheva’s 2:16 is about where I’d expect. Great run, but judging by the interview she had after Millrose, she now considers herself a miler and will run that at States and probably the DMR. Nice 800 speed though. Swenson again showing their strength with Imani Harris running a 2:20 in the 800. Only a handful of girls can beat her at this distance... and it’s not even her event! It’s way, way over distance. This is a team that is looking to maintain their status of Indoor State Champions.
Meredith Reiche and Kaitlin Poeisz battled it out in the mile running solid times. What caught my attention the most was third and fourth place, Marisa Hawley of CB East and Caitlin Sheva of Pennridge. Both teams have amazing DMR potential. Pennridge especially with Marissa Sheva dropping fast miles already. With her anywhere near striking distance of first, she has the speed to run them down.
CB West and CR North ran nice DMR’s. CB West is a young squad too. Nice time, but I think they would benefit more in the 4x800. They don’t quite have the anchor that would be needed to place high in the DMR, but the 4x800’s a different story. Gretchen Krause has the experience and speed needed to lead this young team in the wide open 4x800 field. Don’t let her “PR” on Penntrack fool you, she has split lower quite often, getting as low as 2:16 I believe.
On to the big meet of the weekend, New Balance Games.
First off, big congratulations to Sara Sargent for making Millrose for the third straight year! That is incredible. She went out and made it so that she didn’t have to get the auto bid. After watching the video, it wasn’t easy and required a massive kick. She was boxed in almost the entire race and had to continuously put on surges and weaving through lanes. This kick was one of her most impressive ones yet. She was in 7th place on the bell lap and just turned it on with 150 to go. I clocked it at 32 high/33 low. Wow.
Strath Haven ran a nice 4x800, but this is a team that would definitely benefit from a DMR. They don’t have the big miler, but they have a huge 1200/800 legs that could get their miler a lead and then try to maintain the lead. They have two legs back from their State record breaking DMR (even though Notre Dame beat them and broke the State record by more) and two solid other legs to complete the relay. This is my sleeper pick for the DMR.
Garnet Valley ran a good 4x800 as well, but I know they can do better. They have three great legs and if they just get one more leg, they would be in contention for the gold in my opinion. No team has showed 4x800 dominance as of yet, so I’m waiting for someone to step up to the plate.
Lastly, O’Hara taking a huge leap forward in the DMR! That 12:14 came out of nowhere. I have an idea on the legs, but it’s still a shock to see that time. I guess the girls got tired of the boys getting all the attention. The DMR is getting interesting.
That’s all for this edition of SHEtrain Sunday, as a very awesome poster put it.
-RTJ
Mary Cain is ridiculous. She just broke the national 3k record last week, and yesterday she just set a new aMaryCain (Okay, last one, I swear) record. The girl is a monster. She’s 16 years old and she’s beating professionals. She could have held her own against the boys at Indoor States last year and would have been 5 seconds off a medal spot... and that’s when they’re at their sharpest while she’s a little over halfway there. If she was a guy, she would be the 21st best in the State and 65th nationally in the 3k.. For a 16-year-old girl, that’s something to brag about.
Back to PA news...
Out in Lancaster at F&M Lindsley Greta opened up her indoor season with a 5:17. This is her first indoor season, so for her to come out and run that and completely dominate the field shows that when she gets used to indoor and has competition she’ll be ready to compete. She came back and ran 2:25, again dominating the field. She’s looking solid to start the year.
The DVGTCA meet held impressive results as usual. Emma Keenan looks to be rounding into top form. Her 57 is the second fastest all year on a flat track. The speeds clearly there, if she can decently pace herself I can see her breaking 2:10 at the State meet and maybe even as low as 2:08 by Nationals.
Marissa Sheva’s 2:16 is about where I’d expect. Great run, but judging by the interview she had after Millrose, she now considers herself a miler and will run that at States and probably the DMR. Nice 800 speed though. Swenson again showing their strength with Imani Harris running a 2:20 in the 800. Only a handful of girls can beat her at this distance... and it’s not even her event! It’s way, way over distance. This is a team that is looking to maintain their status of Indoor State Champions.
Meredith Reiche and Kaitlin Poeisz battled it out in the mile running solid times. What caught my attention the most was third and fourth place, Marisa Hawley of CB East and Caitlin Sheva of Pennridge. Both teams have amazing DMR potential. Pennridge especially with Marissa Sheva dropping fast miles already. With her anywhere near striking distance of first, she has the speed to run them down.
CB West and CR North ran nice DMR’s. CB West is a young squad too. Nice time, but I think they would benefit more in the 4x800. They don’t quite have the anchor that would be needed to place high in the DMR, but the 4x800’s a different story. Gretchen Krause has the experience and speed needed to lead this young team in the wide open 4x800 field. Don’t let her “PR” on Penntrack fool you, she has split lower quite often, getting as low as 2:16 I believe.
On to the big meet of the weekend, New Balance Games.
First off, big congratulations to Sara Sargent for making Millrose for the third straight year! That is incredible. She went out and made it so that she didn’t have to get the auto bid. After watching the video, it wasn’t easy and required a massive kick. She was boxed in almost the entire race and had to continuously put on surges and weaving through lanes. This kick was one of her most impressive ones yet. She was in 7th place on the bell lap and just turned it on with 150 to go. I clocked it at 32 high/33 low. Wow.
Strath Haven ran a nice 4x800, but this is a team that would definitely benefit from a DMR. They don’t have the big miler, but they have a huge 1200/800 legs that could get their miler a lead and then try to maintain the lead. They have two legs back from their State record breaking DMR (even though Notre Dame beat them and broke the State record by more) and two solid other legs to complete the relay. This is my sleeper pick for the DMR.
Garnet Valley ran a good 4x800 as well, but I know they can do better. They have three great legs and if they just get one more leg, they would be in contention for the gold in my opinion. No team has showed 4x800 dominance as of yet, so I’m waiting for someone to step up to the plate.
Lastly, O’Hara taking a huge leap forward in the DMR! That 12:14 came out of nowhere. I have an idea on the legs, but it’s still a shock to see that time. I guess the girls got tired of the boys getting all the attention. The DMR is getting interesting.
That’s all for this edition of SHEtrain Sunday, as a very awesome poster put it.
-RTJ
300,000 views
Sometime around 7 am this morning, the blog passed the 300,000 all time views mark. I'm really grateful to everyone who has made this number grow so rapidly in the past year. Thanks for all the support and get excited for the future because I think things are only going to be getting better from here.
Word.
-train
Word.
-train
What to Look Forward to this Weekend
If all goes right by early next week we will have a first version of our weekly show out, two skype video interviews with some of PAs top athletes, and a girls weekly wrap up courtesy of the one and only RTJ (if he wants to continue his job, which has been excitingly successful).
And we should have a lot to talk about.
We have the usual TFCAofGP meets which always produce some solid marks and break out performances. I always enjoy checking out the results of this meet. Hopefully, guys like Norris are back to racing after their XC haitus. One of the other guys I'm hoping to see back is Brent Kennedy from Kiski. He has a boat load of potential obviously given his crazy doubling and triplinig last year. Think about the times Will Cather has been dropping, Kennedy remains me of Cather with maybe a bit less speed and more strength. He could run a very nice mile/3k and they have some nice pieces for a DMR again. All the TSTCA guys can drop a lot of time still. I'm really excited to see who begins to break out. Watch out for my boy, sleeper pick, Tyler Rigby.
Out at the Armory we should see some fast times and I guarentee you we will see a new PA #1.
Sam Williams will be running a 1 mile steeple chase race at the armory this weekend. It will be the first ever indoor steeplechase race by a PA runner so he will set the state record assuming he finishes the race! We are hoping to have Sam on a show in the coming week to share his experience.
In the mile Connor Harriman, the current PA #1 will face off against Jack Huemmler from Strath Haven (the current PA #2) in a battle of 2 top 5 runners in the extremely competitive PA mile scene. Both have Millrose games aspirations. Ed Cheserek and Jack Boyle highlight some of the other names in the field. Cheserek should keep things fast, but Huemmler (and we believe Harriman) have both proven that they have dangerous kicks and that could help get them a trip to the Armory down the line. Harriman will then likely double back some 5 hours later for the DMR where Pennsbury will take on the likes of Regional XC champs CBA and defending national indoor champions St. Benedict's led by super star anchor leg Ed Cheserek. Holy Ghost Prep is also slated to race in the meet with a healthy Christian Kardish coming off one of his best races of the year at Kevin Dare.
At F&M there's an outside chance we will see guys like Shawn Wolfe, Jeff Groh and Cole Nissley on the track. Keep your eyes on those results for possible sleepers heading into championship season.
Keep making suggestions and such for the show and keep dropping hot times so I got stuff to talk about.
Stay classy.
-train
And we should have a lot to talk about.
We have the usual TFCAofGP meets which always produce some solid marks and break out performances. I always enjoy checking out the results of this meet. Hopefully, guys like Norris are back to racing after their XC haitus. One of the other guys I'm hoping to see back is Brent Kennedy from Kiski. He has a boat load of potential obviously given his crazy doubling and triplinig last year. Think about the times Will Cather has been dropping, Kennedy remains me of Cather with maybe a bit less speed and more strength. He could run a very nice mile/3k and they have some nice pieces for a DMR again. All the TSTCA guys can drop a lot of time still. I'm really excited to see who begins to break out. Watch out for my boy, sleeper pick, Tyler Rigby.
Out at the Armory we should see some fast times and I guarentee you we will see a new PA #1.
Sam Williams will be running a 1 mile steeple chase race at the armory this weekend. It will be the first ever indoor steeplechase race by a PA runner so he will set the state record assuming he finishes the race! We are hoping to have Sam on a show in the coming week to share his experience.
In the mile Connor Harriman, the current PA #1 will face off against Jack Huemmler from Strath Haven (the current PA #2) in a battle of 2 top 5 runners in the extremely competitive PA mile scene. Both have Millrose games aspirations. Ed Cheserek and Jack Boyle highlight some of the other names in the field. Cheserek should keep things fast, but Huemmler (and we believe Harriman) have both proven that they have dangerous kicks and that could help get them a trip to the Armory down the line. Harriman will then likely double back some 5 hours later for the DMR where Pennsbury will take on the likes of Regional XC champs CBA and defending national indoor champions St. Benedict's led by super star anchor leg Ed Cheserek. Holy Ghost Prep is also slated to race in the meet with a healthy Christian Kardish coming off one of his best races of the year at Kevin Dare.
At F&M there's an outside chance we will see guys like Shawn Wolfe, Jeff Groh and Cole Nissley on the track. Keep your eyes on those results for possible sleepers heading into championship season.
Keep making suggestions and such for the show and keep dropping hot times so I got stuff to talk about.
Stay classy.
-train
Surprise! Girls Weekend Recap by RTJ
Hey, everyone! This is RunThrowJump (RTJ) and I’m about to enlighten you on a subject that I enjoy very much. Etrain has asked me to do a weekly update on girls track, I excitedly accepted. I was thrilled that the blog will finally include some girl updates, PA has some of the best girls in the nation, but I was more excited that Etrain asked me to write for him! I feel like royalty or something. Thanks for the opportunity, bud!
So here’s what went down these last few weeks for girls track...
It’s only appropriate that we start with the biggest thing: Millrose Games trials. PA represented big at this meet by taking 1-2-3! Kennedy Weisner and Marissa Sheva qualified for the prestigious Millrose mile with Sara Sargent just missing! Unfortunate for Sargent, but luckily she’s right on the cusp of being invited, meaning after the qualifying meets have finished, the chairmen will meet and select three athletes to fill the field of twelve. They go by last year’s indoor times, so hopefully Sargent’s 4:59.07 gets her that auto bid. I watched the video of this race and Weisner straight dominated. She lead from the beginning to the end and looked smooth doing it. I think she may scare Angel Piccirillo’s State record at State’s this year. In my opinion she is severely underrated. She had to live in Piccirillo’s shadow for the last two years (her whole career). She had the second best 1600 last year and fourth best 800. Now that Piccirillo is gone, Weisner can show just how good she is. Sheva and Sargent looked good as well. They put on monster kicks the last 250 and ran solid times. Those three girls have the top three mile times in the state. Abington Height’s Tessa Barrett was also in that race, running a 5:07 which is a solid time.
The DVGTCA meet had impressive results as always. The girls combine divisions and many more teams come, so earning a medal is a pretty difficult thing to do. Rachel Flynn of Archbishop Carroll won the 800 in 2:21 which is a solid mark for this point in the season. She is a runner that starts off slowly and snowballs as the season progresses. She has a 2:13 to her name so come States she should be in great shape.
Solid 3k race by Tess Meehan of Haverford and Kate Scott of CRN. Meehan has 10:15 speed to her name which is good... but she also has the strange habit of not completing a season track season. Last year she was one of the best in the state in the 3k indoors and 1600 outdoors, but she didn’t complete either season. I assume it’s injury, so let’s hope this doesn’t happen again. Kate Scott was the 8th place medalist in the 3200 outdoor (10:53) and 15th place in XC. She’s a strong racer and continues to look good thus far.
North Penn had a nice 4x800, but I’m more impressed with Swenson! This team is a sprint powerhouse and then goes out and runs a 9:40 (18 seconds under the SQS) and beats solid squads like CB West and CB South. This team won states last year indoors and second outdoor... and no one graduated. They completed this without Markeeta Thomas ( LSU star LaTavia Thomas’ little sister). These girls have range from 60m-800... that’s impressive.
At Kutztown Regan Rome (FL finalist) and Paige Stoner ran solid 3k’s with 10:19 and 10:23, respectively. Both girls have a sub 10:50 3200m/5:03 mile . Both of these girls should be top five at States.
On to the two big meets of the weekend, Kevin Dare and Yale.
Kevin Dare
Allison Wilson and Kristin Miller of Strath Haven’s second place 4x800 last year ran great 800 marks to place 2nd and 4th running 2:16 and 2:18. Methacton’s Seline Tan-Torres ran a 2:17 to break them up. Katie Cassidy of Saint Basil ran 2:18 also to place 6th.
Jamie Costarino ran a 5:13 to win and run 8th best time in the State. Hannah Grubb of State College was right on her.
Veronica Eder had her breakout season last year and continues to carry the momentum. I’m not sure if even splitting is what the CB East coach drills in your head, but with his last three stars (Kinkead, Guidara, Eder) they seem to do it so well. Her 10:08 3k is fast and she may break the 10 minute barrier at States. Freshman xc star Mady Clahane ran a solid 10:22 to place second. She was in no man’s land so when she has competition near her, she can drop that 10:22.
The girls from State College came back off the double/triple to run a solid 9:38 4x800.
Yale
On Friday, the girls from Great Valley ran a 9:35 (PA#3) 4x800. Even more impressively, they ran that 9:35 with only one of the runners in their “A” 4x800, the rest were in the DMR. Sadly, are in the same boat as Henderson boys... run a top time, but can’t go to States because of the 4x800-DMR rule. Still a great time to run.
In the unseeded DMR, GFS ran a 12:37 to place 2nd. This team would be my sleeper pick to sneak into the top 5 at States.
Great Valley (12:10) and West Chester Henderson (12:13) ran PA#1-2 and US#3 and #5 marks in the seeded DMR. Both teams may break 12 at States if fresh.
On Saturday Anna Willig ran 10:21 in the 3k which was a 26 second PR from two weeks ago. She was also in the 4x800 that ran the day before. Eliza Yukens-Day ran a 10:23. She was in their DMR the day before.
Sarah Hipwell and Nicole Hajnik ran 2:17 and 2:18. They are two great pieces of the top in the State DMR and 4x800. Natalie Deacon was right behind them in 2:18. Bad race for Deacon who ran a 2:17 on a flat track a few weeks prior. All three were in the loaded DMR the night before.
Stephanie Aldrich ran a 5:09 to place 4th. She’s more of a 3k runner, so that 5:09 shows she has mile speed to her.
At Lavino Relays Pennsbury ran a 12:34 which is good... but Pennsbury can definitely do better. I’m not sure of the line up, but Pennsbury could run a sick DMR with the combination of people in it.
Emma Keenan went MIA this weekend, hopefully it’s not due to injury.
This is always one of the best weekends with these intense meets. New Balance Games should hold fast results as well. I’m sure PA will take over the armory again when that meet comes. PA don’t play.
-RTJ
So here’s what went down these last few weeks for girls track...
It’s only appropriate that we start with the biggest thing: Millrose Games trials. PA represented big at this meet by taking 1-2-3! Kennedy Weisner and Marissa Sheva qualified for the prestigious Millrose mile with Sara Sargent just missing! Unfortunate for Sargent, but luckily she’s right on the cusp of being invited, meaning after the qualifying meets have finished, the chairmen will meet and select three athletes to fill the field of twelve. They go by last year’s indoor times, so hopefully Sargent’s 4:59.07 gets her that auto bid. I watched the video of this race and Weisner straight dominated. She lead from the beginning to the end and looked smooth doing it. I think she may scare Angel Piccirillo’s State record at State’s this year. In my opinion she is severely underrated. She had to live in Piccirillo’s shadow for the last two years (her whole career). She had the second best 1600 last year and fourth best 800. Now that Piccirillo is gone, Weisner can show just how good she is. Sheva and Sargent looked good as well. They put on monster kicks the last 250 and ran solid times. Those three girls have the top three mile times in the state. Abington Height’s Tessa Barrett was also in that race, running a 5:07 which is a solid time.
The DVGTCA meet had impressive results as always. The girls combine divisions and many more teams come, so earning a medal is a pretty difficult thing to do. Rachel Flynn of Archbishop Carroll won the 800 in 2:21 which is a solid mark for this point in the season. She is a runner that starts off slowly and snowballs as the season progresses. She has a 2:13 to her name so come States she should be in great shape.
Solid 3k race by Tess Meehan of Haverford and Kate Scott of CRN. Meehan has 10:15 speed to her name which is good... but she also has the strange habit of not completing a season track season. Last year she was one of the best in the state in the 3k indoors and 1600 outdoors, but she didn’t complete either season. I assume it’s injury, so let’s hope this doesn’t happen again. Kate Scott was the 8th place medalist in the 3200 outdoor (10:53) and 15th place in XC. She’s a strong racer and continues to look good thus far.
North Penn had a nice 4x800, but I’m more impressed with Swenson! This team is a sprint powerhouse and then goes out and runs a 9:40 (18 seconds under the SQS) and beats solid squads like CB West and CB South. This team won states last year indoors and second outdoor... and no one graduated. They completed this without Markeeta Thomas ( LSU star LaTavia Thomas’ little sister). These girls have range from 60m-800... that’s impressive.
At Kutztown Regan Rome (FL finalist) and Paige Stoner ran solid 3k’s with 10:19 and 10:23, respectively. Both girls have a sub 10:50 3200m/5:03 mile . Both of these girls should be top five at States.
On to the two big meets of the weekend, Kevin Dare and Yale.
Kevin Dare
Allison Wilson and Kristin Miller of Strath Haven’s second place 4x800 last year ran great 800 marks to place 2nd and 4th running 2:16 and 2:18. Methacton’s Seline Tan-Torres ran a 2:17 to break them up. Katie Cassidy of Saint Basil ran 2:18 also to place 6th.
Jamie Costarino ran a 5:13 to win and run 8th best time in the State. Hannah Grubb of State College was right on her.
Veronica Eder had her breakout season last year and continues to carry the momentum. I’m not sure if even splitting is what the CB East coach drills in your head, but with his last three stars (Kinkead, Guidara, Eder) they seem to do it so well. Her 10:08 3k is fast and she may break the 10 minute barrier at States. Freshman xc star Mady Clahane ran a solid 10:22 to place second. She was in no man’s land so when she has competition near her, she can drop that 10:22.
The girls from State College came back off the double/triple to run a solid 9:38 4x800.
Yale
On Friday, the girls from Great Valley ran a 9:35 (PA#3) 4x800. Even more impressively, they ran that 9:35 with only one of the runners in their “A” 4x800, the rest were in the DMR. Sadly, are in the same boat as Henderson boys... run a top time, but can’t go to States because of the 4x800-DMR rule. Still a great time to run.
In the unseeded DMR, GFS ran a 12:37 to place 2nd. This team would be my sleeper pick to sneak into the top 5 at States.
Great Valley (12:10) and West Chester Henderson (12:13) ran PA#1-2 and US#3 and #5 marks in the seeded DMR. Both teams may break 12 at States if fresh.
On Saturday Anna Willig ran 10:21 in the 3k which was a 26 second PR from two weeks ago. She was also in the 4x800 that ran the day before. Eliza Yukens-Day ran a 10:23. She was in their DMR the day before.
Sarah Hipwell and Nicole Hajnik ran 2:17 and 2:18. They are two great pieces of the top in the State DMR and 4x800. Natalie Deacon was right behind them in 2:18. Bad race for Deacon who ran a 2:17 on a flat track a few weeks prior. All three were in the loaded DMR the night before.
Stephanie Aldrich ran a 5:09 to place 4th. She’s more of a 3k runner, so that 5:09 shows she has mile speed to her.
At Lavino Relays Pennsbury ran a 12:34 which is good... but Pennsbury can definitely do better. I’m not sure of the line up, but Pennsbury could run a sick DMR with the combination of people in it.
Emma Keenan went MIA this weekend, hopefully it’s not due to injury.
This is always one of the best weekends with these intense meets. New Balance Games should hold fast results as well. I’m sure PA will take over the armory again when that meet comes. PA don’t play.
-RTJ
First Show continued: 3k field possibilities
Wouldn't really call this a sleeper video, because a lot of these guys can be contenders. But the field is huge and these are all guys currently outside of the top 5. One mistake is that Lavino 3200 for the CRN boys is in 3 weeks, not next week. Tony Russell was not discussed at length in the top 5 video, but we covered him during the DMR and Mile sections, so we didn't want to constantly discuss him.
--Train and CRN
Also, the fun pictures for the CRN guys were all approved, for later videos if you guys would like to send in fun pictures of your friends for us to use that could provide extra entertainment.
Also, the fun pictures for the CRN guys were all approved, for later videos if you guys would like to send in fun pictures of your friends for us to use that could provide extra entertainment.
First Show continued: 3k top 5
--Train and CRN
First Show continued: DMR
All of these videos were filmed back to back to back, so may suggestions will not be added into these videos. Forrest is putting in some pictures similar to RunJunkie, a group who does video's for flotrack.org. I hope you enjoy this one and please continue to give feedback.
Thanks!
-Train and CRN
P.S. 800m will be up very soon
Thanks!
-Train and CRN
P.S. 800m will be up very soon
Official Show Production Post
I'm making this post as kind of like a forum for constructive criticism and creative and innovative ideas to improve the show. These first couple we are putting out are kind of test runs. We wanted to get something out there fast to show people we mean business and get some analysis out there. Now we are looking to improve our idea and make it more interesting and appealing to a variety of readers. Here are some of the ideas we are looking to implement in the future:
-Adding pictures and race videos to show who we are talking about while we are talking about them (we need copies of race videos from people, however)
-Getting some whiteboards involved to create a better visual for rankings and names
-Video interviews with some of the states best and up and coming performers (suggestions and volunteers now being accepted)
-Possibly changing our location, standing/sitting arrangement, something like that (personally I liked the set up but I want to get your feed back out there)
-Continuing to try and answer questions that you are asking and improve the show based on your suggestions, this blog works best off your input
Any suggestions to improve the show should be made under the comments here. I ask you to please restrict comments to this post only so that I can track improvements best. The other video posts can be strictly track and field discussion based which is I think what we all like the most.
More videos coming in the very near future.
-Adding pictures and race videos to show who we are talking about while we are talking about them (we need copies of race videos from people, however)
-Getting some whiteboards involved to create a better visual for rankings and names
-Video interviews with some of the states best and up and coming performers (suggestions and volunteers now being accepted)
-Possibly changing our location, standing/sitting arrangement, something like that (personally I liked the set up but I want to get your feed back out there)
-Continuing to try and answer questions that you are asking and improve the show based on your suggestions, this blog works best off your input
Any suggestions to improve the show should be made under the comments here. I ask you to please restrict comments to this post only so that I can track improvements best. The other video posts can be strictly track and field discussion based which is I think what we all like the most.
More videos coming in the very near future.
First Show: 4x800 Video
Sorry for the late post, it took much longer to upload than we would have liked.
Video Show
So I have good news everyone, we filmed our videos to keep you up to date on the weekend action and our thoughts going forward. We hope we answered most of your burning questions (maybe next week you will get love life info) and we tried to make it as interesting as possible. We split it up into multiple videos for each event and we will have them posted up to the blog itself ASAP. Stay tuned and stay classy.
-train and CRN
P.S. The video quality is less than ideal, we will have a better camera in the weeks to come.
-train and CRN
P.S. The video quality is less than ideal, we will have a better camera in the weeks to come.
Weekend Preview
So unfortunately due to some weird renting rules for cameras here on campus at Muhlenberg we are going to have to push are first show back a week. But we hope to have it all set up and ready to go so that you can view it by Monday night. We don't want it to be too long and hopefully it isn't really boring. We will do are best to make it interesting for all of you out there.
Let's talk about what races we are going to be talking about.
Last night at the Millrose Games Trials we saw a great run by Pennsbury's Connor Harriman as he crossed the line in about 4:20 exactly (4:20.32). Its a huge run for Harriman that puts him comfortably ahead of the rest of the state (for now), while unfortunately probably won't get him in to the Millrose games. Harriman certainly has a chance to mix it up at states and an outside chance at the gold, but this is also a good sign for the Pennsbury DMR squad which has flown under the radar during the Henderson v. LaSalle hype. Right now I still think Coyle, Huemmler and even Russell are favorites over Harriman for the mile, but he is pretty close to their level at this point. He can be down around 4:17 by states.
The PA girls killed it just saying.
Looking ahead, I'm very excited for Kevin Dare.
Here is how the events should play out order wise (distance events exclusively):
Mile
800
3000
4x800
Essentially the same order they will be in at states.
Here are the big names I saw in those events (sorry if I excluded someone, don't take offense to not being included).
1 Mile
Dylan Butera, Strath Haven
Will Cather, State College
Alex Coburn, CV
Jeff Groh, LDauphin
Pat Hopkins, Methacton
Jack Huemmler, Strath Haven
Curt Jewett, NE Bradford
Christian Kardish, HGPrep
Ryan Smathers, NEast
Curtis Watro, Methacton
Sam Williams, NE Bradford
The mile looks like it has the potential to be very exciting this weekend. What makes the mile interesting to me is the implications it has for DMRs down the road. CV has a bit of a sleeper DMR chance if they chose to run something fancy with Kunzweiler to 400 to St. Peter to Coburn. That relay could surprise some people. But they are much more likely to stay 4x8. Strath Haven's two stud legs are in this race coming off a great DMR performance. Butera hopefully can scare the SQS and we all know about Huemmler. He will be chasing Harriman's mark this weekend. Huemmler has been training to get out hard and push the pace so no doubt this will be a fast race. Smathers will be the guy to watch for the upset in my mind as he has the most potential off his outdoor season last year. He certainly has something to prove. Watch out for Will Cather as well, he ran a great double on this track last weekend and we will find out how legit he is after this race.
Getting back to those sleeper pick DMRs watch for the Methacton boys as a deep sleeper pick in the DM. This race will show if they are state qualifying material. And of course the NE Bradford boys have big potential as a DMR and as individuals. I secretly hope Williams just runs the 3k rather than the mile, but both guys hopefully can have a good day and land themselves in around 4:24 which would be great marks for this point indoors.
800m
Jake Brodeur, Hershey
Nate Hamilton, Hershey
Curt Jewett, NE Bradford
Tyler Johnston, NP
Alec Kunzweiler, CV
Joe Logue, Pennridge
Joe Masgai, Pennridge
Colin Meyers, Penncrest
Ryan Smathers, North East
Scott St. Peter, CV
The 800m will be interesting to me for a lot of reasons. First, we should see what kind of Kunzweiler is in relative to the best guys in the state. Logue is my state title favorite at this point and this is his first chance to run really fast. If the pace stays quick I would expect Logue to dip under 1:55. Kunzweiler did his best work outdoors last season and CV has a legit shot to repeat as outdoor 4x8 state champions. That is their main goal. We will see how serious their indoor 4x8 hopes are after this weekend with Kunzweiler and St. Peter needing to set some big marks. Pennridge has Masgai in the open 8 as well, their potential #2 4x8 leg. We can learn a lot about Pennridge's pieces after this weekend as well. Hershey was a solid team in XC, there is potential for a 4x8 if things pan out well at this meet.
3000m
Jon Colwell, Mifflin County
Jordan Crawford, Cedar Cliff
Matt Kazanjian, Penncrest
Jack Macauley, NP
Cole Nissley, LDauphin
Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham
Patrick Reilly, Dallastown
Sam Williams, Northeast Bradford
Looking for sleeper picks? Well a bunch of the guys on my sleeper list just popped up on the 3k roster for this weekend. Jack Macauley may not qualify as a sleeper in a lot of cases, but he is a sleeper for the state title. North Penn knows how to train their guys for track and he ran a 9:15 last year. He followed that up with a killer XC season. Although I expect the Henderson guys to both drop big 3k PRs this weekend, as of right now the 3k is still pretty wide open. Macauley should challenge the PA #1 mark this weekend. Sam Williams could be scary in this race, sub 9 is possible, but off the double I'm a little worried. I am convinced Conner Quinn is in pretty good shape. I like that 4:33 he ran earlier. Don't sleep on the former state champ.
Patrick Reilly, Jon Colwell and Jordan Crawford all were on my sleeper list after their most recent performances. These guys are on a much faster track this weekend than they were last weekend. Keep an eye on what they run.
4x800m
CValley
Hershey
Methacton
North Penn
State College
Strath Haven
I only listed the teams that had their hot relays listed. There are a few teams like Central Dauphin and Red Lion who have potential but I don't know their guys well enough to list them. Keep those squads in mind going forward, especially outdoors. Doubling will be the key for these teams as a lot of guys will be running on tired legs. CV vs. Strath Haven is the big match up for me personally. I think Haven is trying to run a pretty solid mark in this relay, they may opt for the 4x8 over the DMR at states so they need a big run here. North Penn, although seemingly nicely built for a DM, is going 4x8. They always do. So they need some big runs here to prove themselves.
Yale Invitational
At Yale there should be a lot of exciting performances. Willig dropped his 1:51 here last year.
Here are some entries worth noting.
DTown East in the 4x8. They haven't done much since their bout with DTWest early in the season, but this team is a solid sleeper for a 4x8 medal at states.
DTown West in the DMR. They could hit the SQS in the DM this weekend which is no joke. They were a 4x8 school last year, but they seem to be willingly making the transfer the DMR. Leidal and Steadman are nice 12-16 pieces for this relay.
Henderson in the DMR championship. Henderson finally has the chance to assert their dominance over the field. They should have good competition and they should have their best 4 legs on the track. There is potential here for a 10:20-10:25ish mark depending on if these guys are in speed shape yet or not. After this race we will know a lot more about the Henderson relays.
Great Valley in the DMR. They are another team with a shot at the SQS. Somebody needs to have a step up day for this quad if they are going to hit it. They have 3-4 guys who could potentially have that day with Willig and Wolffe being the most likely but Zatlin and even Doran are nice pieces as well. Willig was the guy to do it at XC states this fall.
Henderson and GFS have 4x8 entries but I feel these are likely B teams. Maybe we will see something dramatic here but I'm not getting my hopes up.
The 3k is stacked. Shearn, Aziz, Barchet and Russell will toe the line, all individual national qualifiers in XC. Shearn got a nice little tune up race last weekend and now is thrown into the fray with the big dogs. He is at a slight disadvantage because he hasn't had the chance to race as hard as the other 3 have. I think Russell may still be remembering that Briarwood meet in XC. He is my pick to win out of the PA guys with a time probably around 8:43 is what I want to say. That mark would be killer for this time of year, but the 3k is very good this year so a time in the 8:30s wouldn't surprise me. Shearn could be anywhere from 8:35 to 9 flat in my mind. I'm guessing in the upper 8:40s for him. Next I have Barchet in the low 8:50s and Aziz right behind him. Both those guys have potential to run a bunch faster, especially Aziz who is in his element.
Watch out for Lyle Wistar in this race as well. If he keeps his head and uses his kick, he could be under 9 minutes here as well, potentially even low 8:50s with Aziz. The rest of the Henderson guys, Willig, Szuhaj and Steadman all could challenge the 9:05 mark. Szuhaj ran 9 flat a while back. He is a nice sleeper here. Collins has been rolling for Henderson early, but Rimkis is the true long distance guy of the bunch. Stratman is no joke either.
Wolfee and Markle in the 8, Liedal in the mile. Could be interesting depending on how well these guys can double back from the relays which I believe are the day before.
Deep, deep sleeper is Abington in an uncrowded 4x8.
Let's talk about what races we are going to be talking about.
Last night at the Millrose Games Trials we saw a great run by Pennsbury's Connor Harriman as he crossed the line in about 4:20 exactly (4:20.32). Its a huge run for Harriman that puts him comfortably ahead of the rest of the state (for now), while unfortunately probably won't get him in to the Millrose games. Harriman certainly has a chance to mix it up at states and an outside chance at the gold, but this is also a good sign for the Pennsbury DMR squad which has flown under the radar during the Henderson v. LaSalle hype. Right now I still think Coyle, Huemmler and even Russell are favorites over Harriman for the mile, but he is pretty close to their level at this point. He can be down around 4:17 by states.
The PA girls killed it just saying.
Looking ahead, I'm very excited for Kevin Dare.
Here is how the events should play out order wise (distance events exclusively):
Mile
800
3000
4x800
Essentially the same order they will be in at states.
Here are the big names I saw in those events (sorry if I excluded someone, don't take offense to not being included).
1 Mile
Dylan Butera, Strath Haven
Will Cather, State College
Alex Coburn, CV
Jeff Groh, LDauphin
Pat Hopkins, Methacton
Jack Huemmler, Strath Haven
Curt Jewett, NE Bradford
Christian Kardish, HGPrep
Ryan Smathers, NEast
Curtis Watro, Methacton
Sam Williams, NE Bradford
The mile looks like it has the potential to be very exciting this weekend. What makes the mile interesting to me is the implications it has for DMRs down the road. CV has a bit of a sleeper DMR chance if they chose to run something fancy with Kunzweiler to 400 to St. Peter to Coburn. That relay could surprise some people. But they are much more likely to stay 4x8. Strath Haven's two stud legs are in this race coming off a great DMR performance. Butera hopefully can scare the SQS and we all know about Huemmler. He will be chasing Harriman's mark this weekend. Huemmler has been training to get out hard and push the pace so no doubt this will be a fast race. Smathers will be the guy to watch for the upset in my mind as he has the most potential off his outdoor season last year. He certainly has something to prove. Watch out for Will Cather as well, he ran a great double on this track last weekend and we will find out how legit he is after this race.
Getting back to those sleeper pick DMRs watch for the Methacton boys as a deep sleeper pick in the DM. This race will show if they are state qualifying material. And of course the NE Bradford boys have big potential as a DMR and as individuals. I secretly hope Williams just runs the 3k rather than the mile, but both guys hopefully can have a good day and land themselves in around 4:24 which would be great marks for this point indoors.
800m
Jake Brodeur, Hershey
Nate Hamilton, Hershey
Curt Jewett, NE Bradford
Tyler Johnston, NP
Alec Kunzweiler, CV
Joe Logue, Pennridge
Joe Masgai, Pennridge
Colin Meyers, Penncrest
Ryan Smathers, North East
Scott St. Peter, CV
The 800m will be interesting to me for a lot of reasons. First, we should see what kind of Kunzweiler is in relative to the best guys in the state. Logue is my state title favorite at this point and this is his first chance to run really fast. If the pace stays quick I would expect Logue to dip under 1:55. Kunzweiler did his best work outdoors last season and CV has a legit shot to repeat as outdoor 4x8 state champions. That is their main goal. We will see how serious their indoor 4x8 hopes are after this weekend with Kunzweiler and St. Peter needing to set some big marks. Pennridge has Masgai in the open 8 as well, their potential #2 4x8 leg. We can learn a lot about Pennridge's pieces after this weekend as well. Hershey was a solid team in XC, there is potential for a 4x8 if things pan out well at this meet.
3000m
Jon Colwell, Mifflin County
Jordan Crawford, Cedar Cliff
Matt Kazanjian, Penncrest
Jack Macauley, NP
Cole Nissley, LDauphin
Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham
Patrick Reilly, Dallastown
Sam Williams, Northeast Bradford
Looking for sleeper picks? Well a bunch of the guys on my sleeper list just popped up on the 3k roster for this weekend. Jack Macauley may not qualify as a sleeper in a lot of cases, but he is a sleeper for the state title. North Penn knows how to train their guys for track and he ran a 9:15 last year. He followed that up with a killer XC season. Although I expect the Henderson guys to both drop big 3k PRs this weekend, as of right now the 3k is still pretty wide open. Macauley should challenge the PA #1 mark this weekend. Sam Williams could be scary in this race, sub 9 is possible, but off the double I'm a little worried. I am convinced Conner Quinn is in pretty good shape. I like that 4:33 he ran earlier. Don't sleep on the former state champ.
Patrick Reilly, Jon Colwell and Jordan Crawford all were on my sleeper list after their most recent performances. These guys are on a much faster track this weekend than they were last weekend. Keep an eye on what they run.
4x800m
CValley
Hershey
Methacton
North Penn
State College
Strath Haven
I only listed the teams that had their hot relays listed. There are a few teams like Central Dauphin and Red Lion who have potential but I don't know their guys well enough to list them. Keep those squads in mind going forward, especially outdoors. Doubling will be the key for these teams as a lot of guys will be running on tired legs. CV vs. Strath Haven is the big match up for me personally. I think Haven is trying to run a pretty solid mark in this relay, they may opt for the 4x8 over the DMR at states so they need a big run here. North Penn, although seemingly nicely built for a DM, is going 4x8. They always do. So they need some big runs here to prove themselves.
Yale Invitational
At Yale there should be a lot of exciting performances. Willig dropped his 1:51 here last year.
Here are some entries worth noting.
DTown East in the 4x8. They haven't done much since their bout with DTWest early in the season, but this team is a solid sleeper for a 4x8 medal at states.
DTown West in the DMR. They could hit the SQS in the DM this weekend which is no joke. They were a 4x8 school last year, but they seem to be willingly making the transfer the DMR. Leidal and Steadman are nice 12-16 pieces for this relay.
Henderson in the DMR championship. Henderson finally has the chance to assert their dominance over the field. They should have good competition and they should have their best 4 legs on the track. There is potential here for a 10:20-10:25ish mark depending on if these guys are in speed shape yet or not. After this race we will know a lot more about the Henderson relays.
Great Valley in the DMR. They are another team with a shot at the SQS. Somebody needs to have a step up day for this quad if they are going to hit it. They have 3-4 guys who could potentially have that day with Willig and Wolffe being the most likely but Zatlin and even Doran are nice pieces as well. Willig was the guy to do it at XC states this fall.
Henderson and GFS have 4x8 entries but I feel these are likely B teams. Maybe we will see something dramatic here but I'm not getting my hopes up.
The 3k is stacked. Shearn, Aziz, Barchet and Russell will toe the line, all individual national qualifiers in XC. Shearn got a nice little tune up race last weekend and now is thrown into the fray with the big dogs. He is at a slight disadvantage because he hasn't had the chance to race as hard as the other 3 have. I think Russell may still be remembering that Briarwood meet in XC. He is my pick to win out of the PA guys with a time probably around 8:43 is what I want to say. That mark would be killer for this time of year, but the 3k is very good this year so a time in the 8:30s wouldn't surprise me. Shearn could be anywhere from 8:35 to 9 flat in my mind. I'm guessing in the upper 8:40s for him. Next I have Barchet in the low 8:50s and Aziz right behind him. Both those guys have potential to run a bunch faster, especially Aziz who is in his element.
Watch out for Lyle Wistar in this race as well. If he keeps his head and uses his kick, he could be under 9 minutes here as well, potentially even low 8:50s with Aziz. The rest of the Henderson guys, Willig, Szuhaj and Steadman all could challenge the 9:05 mark. Szuhaj ran 9 flat a while back. He is a nice sleeper here. Collins has been rolling for Henderson early, but Rimkis is the true long distance guy of the bunch. Stratman is no joke either.
Wolfee and Markle in the 8, Liedal in the mile. Could be interesting depending on how well these guys can double back from the relays which I believe are the day before.
Deep, deep sleeper is Abington in an uncrowded 4x8.
Weekend Action 1/12
So we are having a little technical difficulties for the show, but to hold you over I'm going to just post up some thoughts on the weekend action with some more in depth thoughts and analysis to come when we can get the video stuff together. Here are some things I noticed from the weekend.
A couple nice wins from Jordan Crawford this past weekend at F&M. Uncontested he just missed the mile state qualifier in what I believe is his first race of indoors. He then doubled back to win the 800m. You may hear this kids name a bit later.
Nice win for Lucas Elek in the open 8 at TFCA. He ran some solid marks in the high 1:50s last year indoors and he just needs to put the pieces together for a breakout race. Interesting to see Wissahickon's Stellato move up to the 800m. There could be potential there over time for some impressive marks. He is a 48 guy outdoors keep in mind.
Nick Scarpato has been quietly winning races and mixing it up with some solid guys. If he gets in the right race he may be pulled along to a state qualifying time in the near future. The 3k was pretty impressive as well. Pastore and Cummings both ran above what I thought their fitness was. O'Hara legitimately can have 5 guys scare the SQS. Cummings has really taken a lot of nice steps including a solid XC season and he seems to be carrying the momentum to track. His squad ran a 10:55 without him as well. Chris Kazanjian ran the 3k as well. He has to do some work to get down to the SQS, but this was his first real 3k so he has time.
Upper Merion dropped a nice 4x8, probably would be best off as a relay in the DMR, although the DMR state standard is much tougher. Harriton ran an 8:35 for second. I don't know if Norris is back racing, but maybe there are some pieces there for a DMR as well. We are talking about two pretty deep sleepers in the relays but you never know. The DMR was sick. Huemmler I assume ran a pretty sick anchor leg in response to all of his criticisms of late. His surrounding cast is probably the worst on paper out of the LaSalle, GFS, O'Hara and Pennsbury teams that have made pushes for the SQS, but still Haven dropped a sick mark and a big win. I would be interested to know who toed the line for O'Hara in this race. They have a lot of different pieces that could do a solid job in the DMR. I am curious as to when Savage is coming back as well.
In the D1 races we saw Andrew Stone assert his dominance over Jeff Wiseman. For Wiseman, this is a tough loss after his big win over Rivera, and it puts Stone as one of the favorites in the 800m at this point in the season if not the favorite over Logue. It drops Wiseman to about 4th on my list of favorites for the title, but he is still in the title conversation. He has had better days than this in the past. The Pennsbury boys continue to roll. Their 3rd and 4th best guys ran very nice individual races this weekend. Seeing Pennsbury also drop a 3:33 4x4 makes me feel that this team is considering a team title push of their own. That's something to watch going forward. Interesting to see Bodine back in the open races for the first time, hopefully he can drop close to that SQS as the season moves on, he was strong during XC this year. Billotta is also running very well for LaSalle right now and he and Magee seem to be enough to give this squad a legit 4x8 just as much as a legit DMR.
Nice race for Mac Emery. The 3k is clearly his best event and he needs to carry the momentum from this race through to any race against a solid field so he can get carried a bit towards the SQS. Pennridge ran a very nice 4x8. Logue is going to be busy at states, however, with the open 8, 4x8 and 4x4 all competing for state gold. There is potential for Pennridge to surprise again in a wide open 4x8, no team has really grabbed my attention to date. Also would like to point out the 4x4 is stacked. Neshaminy looks very good as does Pennwood and Cheltenham.
Interesting results at Kutztown this weekend. Having run on that track I can say first hand its slow. Think Glenn Mills track for all you who know that one but perhaps slower. Good to see the Northeast Bradford boys running indoors. They have a shot to sneak into the DMR if they get in the right race. I give them a pass for the lack of fast times opening weekend especially considering the track. Jon Colwell, however, looked very good in his opening performance. That was very impressive, especially given the track. He has the potential to surprise and compete for a medal. A little disappointed with Abert, but Williams is a 9:20 guy outdoors so being in contention with him isn't too bad. He still has a solid mile to open the year to get him into states and he has proven already he can run with the big boys.
CV will be interesting to follow going forward. There was so much doubling and tripling its hard to say exactly what to make of their races. Kevin Dare will be where I will decide how good this team is. They do, however, have some work to do to push towards an indoor state title. Brendan was back running as well. He put up a solid 1600m mark against Matt Calem who, if he is a PA guy, ran a very nice mark for a guy I've never heard of. For Shearn, his strength will always be the longer stuff. He can run the mile of strength for sure but he lacks the natural speed to open up the season in the low 4:20s. The 3k will be his key event, after he runs a couple of those I'll know what kind of shape he will be in for the state title 3k push.
In D7 action, Tyler Rigby opened up with a nice mile and beat out some quality runners in Smathers and the Archers among others. D7 always has guys who can roll and if you can consistently win TSTCA meets you are a candidate to compete for a state championship. Which brings me to Ethan Martin who had a great opening 3k and beat a very solid field. He has consistently been improving on the state level and he may finally be ready to push for a state title in the 3k indoors. Jaskowak had a bit of a rough start, but I expect him to bounce back. The Archers had a great string of races that they should definitely be proud of. Zemet and Luoco both had solid openers and may have the potential to drop time and surprise in the DMR down the line.
Will Cather had a sick double (possibly triple). He had the luxury of running on PSUs track which is really fast, but he also completely dominated two fields in very fast times. At states he will have a bit of home field advantage which can't be overlooked.
Another solid win for Shawn Wolfe over D3 rival Jeff Groh who seems to be bouncing back well off XC. I'd like to see Groh and Nissley at PSU for Kevin Dare. Shawn Wolfe is running very well at under the radar meets thus far this year, certainly keep an eye out for him once he gets on a track that is actually fast.
A couple nice wins from Jordan Crawford this past weekend at F&M. Uncontested he just missed the mile state qualifier in what I believe is his first race of indoors. He then doubled back to win the 800m. You may hear this kids name a bit later.
Nice win for Lucas Elek in the open 8 at TFCA. He ran some solid marks in the high 1:50s last year indoors and he just needs to put the pieces together for a breakout race. Interesting to see Wissahickon's Stellato move up to the 800m. There could be potential there over time for some impressive marks. He is a 48 guy outdoors keep in mind.
Nick Scarpato has been quietly winning races and mixing it up with some solid guys. If he gets in the right race he may be pulled along to a state qualifying time in the near future. The 3k was pretty impressive as well. Pastore and Cummings both ran above what I thought their fitness was. O'Hara legitimately can have 5 guys scare the SQS. Cummings has really taken a lot of nice steps including a solid XC season and he seems to be carrying the momentum to track. His squad ran a 10:55 without him as well. Chris Kazanjian ran the 3k as well. He has to do some work to get down to the SQS, but this was his first real 3k so he has time.
Upper Merion dropped a nice 4x8, probably would be best off as a relay in the DMR, although the DMR state standard is much tougher. Harriton ran an 8:35 for second. I don't know if Norris is back racing, but maybe there are some pieces there for a DMR as well. We are talking about two pretty deep sleepers in the relays but you never know. The DMR was sick. Huemmler I assume ran a pretty sick anchor leg in response to all of his criticisms of late. His surrounding cast is probably the worst on paper out of the LaSalle, GFS, O'Hara and Pennsbury teams that have made pushes for the SQS, but still Haven dropped a sick mark and a big win. I would be interested to know who toed the line for O'Hara in this race. They have a lot of different pieces that could do a solid job in the DMR. I am curious as to when Savage is coming back as well.
In the D1 races we saw Andrew Stone assert his dominance over Jeff Wiseman. For Wiseman, this is a tough loss after his big win over Rivera, and it puts Stone as one of the favorites in the 800m at this point in the season if not the favorite over Logue. It drops Wiseman to about 4th on my list of favorites for the title, but he is still in the title conversation. He has had better days than this in the past. The Pennsbury boys continue to roll. Their 3rd and 4th best guys ran very nice individual races this weekend. Seeing Pennsbury also drop a 3:33 4x4 makes me feel that this team is considering a team title push of their own. That's something to watch going forward. Interesting to see Bodine back in the open races for the first time, hopefully he can drop close to that SQS as the season moves on, he was strong during XC this year. Billotta is also running very well for LaSalle right now and he and Magee seem to be enough to give this squad a legit 4x8 just as much as a legit DMR.
Nice race for Mac Emery. The 3k is clearly his best event and he needs to carry the momentum from this race through to any race against a solid field so he can get carried a bit towards the SQS. Pennridge ran a very nice 4x8. Logue is going to be busy at states, however, with the open 8, 4x8 and 4x4 all competing for state gold. There is potential for Pennridge to surprise again in a wide open 4x8, no team has really grabbed my attention to date. Also would like to point out the 4x4 is stacked. Neshaminy looks very good as does Pennwood and Cheltenham.
Interesting results at Kutztown this weekend. Having run on that track I can say first hand its slow. Think Glenn Mills track for all you who know that one but perhaps slower. Good to see the Northeast Bradford boys running indoors. They have a shot to sneak into the DMR if they get in the right race. I give them a pass for the lack of fast times opening weekend especially considering the track. Jon Colwell, however, looked very good in his opening performance. That was very impressive, especially given the track. He has the potential to surprise and compete for a medal. A little disappointed with Abert, but Williams is a 9:20 guy outdoors so being in contention with him isn't too bad. He still has a solid mile to open the year to get him into states and he has proven already he can run with the big boys.
CV will be interesting to follow going forward. There was so much doubling and tripling its hard to say exactly what to make of their races. Kevin Dare will be where I will decide how good this team is. They do, however, have some work to do to push towards an indoor state title. Brendan was back running as well. He put up a solid 1600m mark against Matt Calem who, if he is a PA guy, ran a very nice mark for a guy I've never heard of. For Shearn, his strength will always be the longer stuff. He can run the mile of strength for sure but he lacks the natural speed to open up the season in the low 4:20s. The 3k will be his key event, after he runs a couple of those I'll know what kind of shape he will be in for the state title 3k push.
In D7 action, Tyler Rigby opened up with a nice mile and beat out some quality runners in Smathers and the Archers among others. D7 always has guys who can roll and if you can consistently win TSTCA meets you are a candidate to compete for a state championship. Which brings me to Ethan Martin who had a great opening 3k and beat a very solid field. He has consistently been improving on the state level and he may finally be ready to push for a state title in the 3k indoors. Jaskowak had a bit of a rough start, but I expect him to bounce back. The Archers had a great string of races that they should definitely be proud of. Zemet and Luoco both had solid openers and may have the potential to drop time and surprise in the DMR down the line.
Will Cather had a sick double (possibly triple). He had the luxury of running on PSUs track which is really fast, but he also completely dominated two fields in very fast times. At states he will have a bit of home field advantage which can't be overlooked.
Another solid win for Shawn Wolfe over D3 rival Jeff Groh who seems to be bouncing back well off XC. I'd like to see Groh and Nissley at PSU for Kevin Dare. Shawn Wolfe is running very well at under the radar meets thus far this year, certainly keep an eye out for him once he gets on a track that is actually fast.
First Show
Clearly Penntrack reads the blog and was trying to beat us to the punch by putting out a show this week. But that's quite alright, we plan to go through with filming later today so post up any questions/topics you want us to discuss as comments on this video and we will do our best to answer and discuss those things that you would like to know.
Chestmont Champs
We saw in XC this year that the Chestmont League is a very powerful league. They had 4 teams qualify for states out of the toughest district in the state and all of those teams proved themselves very well at states including state champs West Chester Henderson. For that reason I was interested to see how things unfolded at this meet.
The Henderson guys are just starting to creep back into shape. A nice mark for Russell for sure, but obviously after his XC season I'm not all too impressed with a 4:24. That's the burden of being really good (see Magaha, Drew). That being said, it is a very solid win and I believe it is PA #1 if you convert the 1600s at Haverford to miles.
Right behind Russell is where the story begins to develop. Ken Leidal is really looking strong. After his 1:56 last year outdoors he has kept on rolling. He really impressed me in XC proving he could handle the Hershey hills better than I expected and he followed up that XC season with a great opener in 4:26 on a flat track. This sets DTWest up really nicely for a DMR in my mind. Leidal can double mile DMR 1200 leg, Steadman runs the anchor (he won the 3k) and than perhaps Ryan Markle in the 800m leg. He really surprised with that mile. 4:35 is pretty solid for early January. He should hit a mark around sub 4:30 by seasons end. This team could even have a nice 4xmile at nats if they choose to go for it. The 4x8 seems like a lot of underdistance for these guys, but if Mucha makes some drop over the course of the next couple weeks their 4x8 could also be pretty impressive. Don't sleep on DTWest like I did this past XC season.
Henderson looks deep as always. Barchet ran a very nice mile for a guy who should have his best day in the 3k when that time comes. Then their DMR ran very nice to win with 4 different guys and 57 400m leg. Clearly this team is a distance power house. Also a team that would excel at a 4xmile.
Great Valley just had some poor luck getting unpushed in the 4x8. This team will be interesting to watch. They have potential for some solid relays, I just haven't decided which realy (4x8 or DMR) best suits their talents. Probably DMR, but the 4x8 could be interesting to watch. Once again a team that has a great 4xmile on paper.
The GFS boys were somewhat underwhelming in their first performance behind Aziz and Wistar, but those two guys should not be underestimated going forward. I'd be very surprised if they are not under 9 minutes in the 3k by the middle of February.
West Chester East is another team that would really benefit from a 4xmile at states. Trey Crump had a great race to run that 4:36 and is yet another piece to throw together with Diestelow and Cummings and try to find enough speed to grab a spot in the DMR. It may just be best to split these guys up and go for individual qualifying spots at this point unless some guys really develop as potential 2 flat 800m guys. To run a solid DMR you need 3 guys around that mark in the 800m, the 12, 8 and 4 really require speed and you can't underestimate speed over the course of mile.
All these teams are very good. Should be fun to watch.
The Henderson guys are just starting to creep back into shape. A nice mark for Russell for sure, but obviously after his XC season I'm not all too impressed with a 4:24. That's the burden of being really good (see Magaha, Drew). That being said, it is a very solid win and I believe it is PA #1 if you convert the 1600s at Haverford to miles.
Right behind Russell is where the story begins to develop. Ken Leidal is really looking strong. After his 1:56 last year outdoors he has kept on rolling. He really impressed me in XC proving he could handle the Hershey hills better than I expected and he followed up that XC season with a great opener in 4:26 on a flat track. This sets DTWest up really nicely for a DMR in my mind. Leidal can double mile DMR 1200 leg, Steadman runs the anchor (he won the 3k) and than perhaps Ryan Markle in the 800m leg. He really surprised with that mile. 4:35 is pretty solid for early January. He should hit a mark around sub 4:30 by seasons end. This team could even have a nice 4xmile at nats if they choose to go for it. The 4x8 seems like a lot of underdistance for these guys, but if Mucha makes some drop over the course of the next couple weeks their 4x8 could also be pretty impressive. Don't sleep on DTWest like I did this past XC season.
Henderson looks deep as always. Barchet ran a very nice mile for a guy who should have his best day in the 3k when that time comes. Then their DMR ran very nice to win with 4 different guys and 57 400m leg. Clearly this team is a distance power house. Also a team that would excel at a 4xmile.
Great Valley just had some poor luck getting unpushed in the 4x8. This team will be interesting to watch. They have potential for some solid relays, I just haven't decided which realy (4x8 or DMR) best suits their talents. Probably DMR, but the 4x8 could be interesting to watch. Once again a team that has a great 4xmile on paper.
The GFS boys were somewhat underwhelming in their first performance behind Aziz and Wistar, but those two guys should not be underestimated going forward. I'd be very surprised if they are not under 9 minutes in the 3k by the middle of February.
West Chester East is another team that would really benefit from a 4xmile at states. Trey Crump had a great race to run that 4:36 and is yet another piece to throw together with Diestelow and Cummings and try to find enough speed to grab a spot in the DMR. It may just be best to split these guys up and go for individual qualifying spots at this point unless some guys really develop as potential 2 flat 800m guys. To run a solid DMR you need 3 guys around that mark in the 800m, the 12, 8 and 4 really require speed and you can't underestimate speed over the course of mile.
All these teams are very good. Should be fun to watch.
Happy New Year
Better late than never I suppose. Haven't made a post in a while for the usual reasons but rather than waste your time with excuses I'll just get down to business.
I'll start with the District that I know the best, District One Pennsylvania. There are some serious teams emerging as relay threats now that I didn't have on my radar before. We knew about Bensalem and LaSalle (District 12) who I will get to later, but most people were not giving love to the boys at Pennsbury. Pennsbury is developing into a nice squad after a breakout XC season. Had they run states as a team I bet they would have been top 10, District 1 was just stacked this year. Pennsbury ran that nice DMR in the early season and then dropped a very solid 8:05 4x8 relay with a group of guys headlined by I believe two mile-2 mile guys in Harriman and Webb. Those two legs are sick 12 and 16 legs for the DMR. Especially considering that Webb just lowered his open mile to a surprisingly quick 4:30 right behind Ross Wilson. As mentioned in the comments, they capped off their hot start with a sub 11 minute DMR without Harriman and Webb! Very good sign for them. If they keep their legs fresh they will challenge the top teams at states in the DMR. However, they do have to be careful. They started off hot in XC as well and couldn't quite close out the postseason. But I still like this team because their big dogs showed up at states when it counted most as Webb and Harriman were both in the top 14 spots at states.
Other relays emerging are teams like DTWest who ran a nice DMR on a banked track earlier this year as well. Steadman were both strong during XC plus they return some other nice pieces from the 4x8 mix last season. They have potential to stay hot. Great Valley certainly is a threat after their nice early season DMR mark but I still need to see a bit more of their legs as individuals. They have nice pieces but someone needs to step up and become the stud leg for them to take the next step to a top team in the state. And lastly you have to talk about the CRN squad. Zingarini is starting to round into really nice shape for this early in the year. He usually comes on late and does his best work at season's end so to see him mix it up with the LaSalle guys already and finish ahead of Rivera is a nice confidence booster. Plus Wilson has proven he can run a nice mile leg and they ran a sub 11 DMR with two other emerging talents in the 8 and 12 legs. They almost surely won't have a fresh relay squad at states which will hold them back a bit, but they should run a really fast time when they put it all together. Emery is off to a bit of a slow start, but he really didn't come on until outdoors last season when he ran his big 9:11 mark to cap off the year. If he can gain some confidence he is another nice piece for the relay. North Penn may be able to piece together a relay as too can Strath Haven, but the strength of those teams rests on the individuals.
Now on to the big dogs. Although Pennsbury easily boasts the top 4x8 mark this year, Bensalem is quickly emerging as the relay favorite led by big dog Brad Rivera. The Bensalem squad has been running A LOT of races so far this season. It kind of worries me to see them all over the place racing, but I think they are trying to build up their strength to run some crazy doubles at the state championship meet. My early bet is that Bensalem may be thinking about the chance of a team title either indoors or outdoors this year. They have a lot of pieces in that 4-8 range and Francis opened with a pretty solid mile to boot. Rivera is looking really strong, backed by that 1:55 which you have to remember is a really solid time for this early. We were spoiled last year by Willig and Magaha. Rivera could be 1:52 in a fresh 8 at seasons end and that usually leads to a state title.
LaSalle broke out this past weekend. Their 10:33 thrashing of the field was impressive. Not to mention they won the 4x8 going away in 8:30 at the same meet with 4 different guys. Billotta has the early lead on running the 800m leg of the relay as he has come out the gate very strong. With his development this team has 4 strong legs for a 4x8 as well, which may be the direction they choose to go. Stone and Coyle are both in great shape. Coyle, especially looks strong. He would have a shot at winning the mile and 3k this year if he trained specifically for it. Meanwhile Stone has shown great strength, he may opt for the mile this year over the 800m at states. He could probably run 1:52-1:53 by seasons end but that still may be good for only 3rd or 4th or so in that stacked field. In the mile as of now he can sit in and run 4:18 and compete for silver behind his teammate. Plus this would maximize his rest time for the relays. Its still early, but both guys are in great shape.
Of course the guy that jumps to mind for breaking up that 1-2 LaSalle mile bunch is Jack Huemmler, but he has had some little injury bugs here and there which worries me. If he can stay healthy, he is a monster, but he needs to show some consistent races before I rank him ahead of Stone in my mind. Stone is red hot right now after his XC season closed out so well.
The other interesting development will be Henderson who ran two solid 4x8s on a very slow track and had the individual mile champ to boot. This team can obviously put together a good relay but, like LaSalle, they need to get some races under their belt. Still early to say much about what Henderson has. As usual they are playing the cards close to the vest. Should be fun to watch.
Don't count out defending 4x8 champs Pennridge. Joey Logue ran an uncontested 1:57 already this year that absolutely dominated the field. It's better than Rivera's time in my opinion because it was on a flat track in such little competition (of course I think Rivera's 8 may have been on the double from the mile which makes it more impressive than Logue's probably). Logue is showing signs that he can click off a 1:51 at seasons end in the right race once again. He is dangerous and Pennridge has run some nice 4x4s and had some solid individual performances of late: Masgai just ran a 2:03 at Lehigh and Nick Stenderowicz ran 52.03 in the quarter. Not jaw dropping times but with a great anchor and proper peaking this team will compete.
CB East is another team to watch out for. They have had some very underrated DMRs over the year and some solid 4x8s as well. They always seem to fly under the radar but put up very solid times. They have Jake Brophy, the super frosh, but his brother just recently dropped a solid 2:01.83 open 8 behind Harriman. Plus Alec Brand pulled out a great 4:32 SQS mile that was very impressive. That looks like the makings of a great DMR squad.
WC East is also looking strong. They had an XC season that was very impressive where they overcame a lot of doubt from people (like me) and finished the season strong. Diestelow has been very solid this season so far and Cummings had a nice 3k battling with Kevin James who was impressive in his own right as James ran 9:05 to Cummings' 9:06.
Christian Sanders ran 51 high in the open quarter. This is a 16:00 5k runner who continues to show all sorts of range. Don't forget his name.
I want to see Conner Quinn hop in a 3k, he can challenge 9 minutes in the right race. That 2:06 1st place and 4:33 actually impressed me a decent amount. He has never been a speed guy and he has little speed training in his legs so far which means those marks are pretty impressive for him this early. Watch out.
Chris Berry is a monster in the 3k this year, his Burdette win was impressive. Running that time this early is very nice. He still needs to work a bit on the shorter stuff. In a championship race, its going to go out in the low 4:30s. He didn't break 4:35 this past weekend. But Berry's 3k mark is great.
Will McDermott is also starting off strong with a very impressive mark. His 8:52 flat track would have been good for about 5th last year at indoor states when you convert the mark. He had Berry to work off but you still have to run the race even in perfect conditions and he did just that. Those marks for him and Berry are both very quick for this early. I hope they can keep progessing.
On a side note did anyone notice the D2 TFCAofGP DMR? Those results look sick! Tight race all around with some solid teams in there as well.
Also how about the nice 1:57 mark by Cheltenham's John Lewis? This guy is a true 4-8 kinda guy. If he develops enough strength he could be scary in the 800m down the line.
Hopefully I didn't forget much. Solid mark by Abert in there as well, I'd like to see him move up and try a 3k though.
Lastly, keep the comments coming they have been awesome! I read all of them! And we are going to try and have our first show posted up on the blog after next weekends action so if you have viewer questions for us than post them up Saturday after the races are done and we will do our best to talk about what you want to hear about.
Sweet.
I'll start with the District that I know the best, District One Pennsylvania. There are some serious teams emerging as relay threats now that I didn't have on my radar before. We knew about Bensalem and LaSalle (District 12) who I will get to later, but most people were not giving love to the boys at Pennsbury. Pennsbury is developing into a nice squad after a breakout XC season. Had they run states as a team I bet they would have been top 10, District 1 was just stacked this year. Pennsbury ran that nice DMR in the early season and then dropped a very solid 8:05 4x8 relay with a group of guys headlined by I believe two mile-2 mile guys in Harriman and Webb. Those two legs are sick 12 and 16 legs for the DMR. Especially considering that Webb just lowered his open mile to a surprisingly quick 4:30 right behind Ross Wilson. As mentioned in the comments, they capped off their hot start with a sub 11 minute DMR without Harriman and Webb! Very good sign for them. If they keep their legs fresh they will challenge the top teams at states in the DMR. However, they do have to be careful. They started off hot in XC as well and couldn't quite close out the postseason. But I still like this team because their big dogs showed up at states when it counted most as Webb and Harriman were both in the top 14 spots at states.
Other relays emerging are teams like DTWest who ran a nice DMR on a banked track earlier this year as well. Steadman were both strong during XC plus they return some other nice pieces from the 4x8 mix last season. They have potential to stay hot. Great Valley certainly is a threat after their nice early season DMR mark but I still need to see a bit more of their legs as individuals. They have nice pieces but someone needs to step up and become the stud leg for them to take the next step to a top team in the state. And lastly you have to talk about the CRN squad. Zingarini is starting to round into really nice shape for this early in the year. He usually comes on late and does his best work at season's end so to see him mix it up with the LaSalle guys already and finish ahead of Rivera is a nice confidence booster. Plus Wilson has proven he can run a nice mile leg and they ran a sub 11 DMR with two other emerging talents in the 8 and 12 legs. They almost surely won't have a fresh relay squad at states which will hold them back a bit, but they should run a really fast time when they put it all together. Emery is off to a bit of a slow start, but he really didn't come on until outdoors last season when he ran his big 9:11 mark to cap off the year. If he can gain some confidence he is another nice piece for the relay. North Penn may be able to piece together a relay as too can Strath Haven, but the strength of those teams rests on the individuals.
Now on to the big dogs. Although Pennsbury easily boasts the top 4x8 mark this year, Bensalem is quickly emerging as the relay favorite led by big dog Brad Rivera. The Bensalem squad has been running A LOT of races so far this season. It kind of worries me to see them all over the place racing, but I think they are trying to build up their strength to run some crazy doubles at the state championship meet. My early bet is that Bensalem may be thinking about the chance of a team title either indoors or outdoors this year. They have a lot of pieces in that 4-8 range and Francis opened with a pretty solid mile to boot. Rivera is looking really strong, backed by that 1:55 which you have to remember is a really solid time for this early. We were spoiled last year by Willig and Magaha. Rivera could be 1:52 in a fresh 8 at seasons end and that usually leads to a state title.
LaSalle broke out this past weekend. Their 10:33 thrashing of the field was impressive. Not to mention they won the 4x8 going away in 8:30 at the same meet with 4 different guys. Billotta has the early lead on running the 800m leg of the relay as he has come out the gate very strong. With his development this team has 4 strong legs for a 4x8 as well, which may be the direction they choose to go. Stone and Coyle are both in great shape. Coyle, especially looks strong. He would have a shot at winning the mile and 3k this year if he trained specifically for it. Meanwhile Stone has shown great strength, he may opt for the mile this year over the 800m at states. He could probably run 1:52-1:53 by seasons end but that still may be good for only 3rd or 4th or so in that stacked field. In the mile as of now he can sit in and run 4:18 and compete for silver behind his teammate. Plus this would maximize his rest time for the relays. Its still early, but both guys are in great shape.
Of course the guy that jumps to mind for breaking up that 1-2 LaSalle mile bunch is Jack Huemmler, but he has had some little injury bugs here and there which worries me. If he can stay healthy, he is a monster, but he needs to show some consistent races before I rank him ahead of Stone in my mind. Stone is red hot right now after his XC season closed out so well.
The other interesting development will be Henderson who ran two solid 4x8s on a very slow track and had the individual mile champ to boot. This team can obviously put together a good relay but, like LaSalle, they need to get some races under their belt. Still early to say much about what Henderson has. As usual they are playing the cards close to the vest. Should be fun to watch.
Don't count out defending 4x8 champs Pennridge. Joey Logue ran an uncontested 1:57 already this year that absolutely dominated the field. It's better than Rivera's time in my opinion because it was on a flat track in such little competition (of course I think Rivera's 8 may have been on the double from the mile which makes it more impressive than Logue's probably). Logue is showing signs that he can click off a 1:51 at seasons end in the right race once again. He is dangerous and Pennridge has run some nice 4x4s and had some solid individual performances of late: Masgai just ran a 2:03 at Lehigh and Nick Stenderowicz ran 52.03 in the quarter. Not jaw dropping times but with a great anchor and proper peaking this team will compete.
CB East is another team to watch out for. They have had some very underrated DMRs over the year and some solid 4x8s as well. They always seem to fly under the radar but put up very solid times. They have Jake Brophy, the super frosh, but his brother just recently dropped a solid 2:01.83 open 8 behind Harriman. Plus Alec Brand pulled out a great 4:32 SQS mile that was very impressive. That looks like the makings of a great DMR squad.
WC East is also looking strong. They had an XC season that was very impressive where they overcame a lot of doubt from people (like me) and finished the season strong. Diestelow has been very solid this season so far and Cummings had a nice 3k battling with Kevin James who was impressive in his own right as James ran 9:05 to Cummings' 9:06.
Christian Sanders ran 51 high in the open quarter. This is a 16:00 5k runner who continues to show all sorts of range. Don't forget his name.
I want to see Conner Quinn hop in a 3k, he can challenge 9 minutes in the right race. That 2:06 1st place and 4:33 actually impressed me a decent amount. He has never been a speed guy and he has little speed training in his legs so far which means those marks are pretty impressive for him this early. Watch out.
Chris Berry is a monster in the 3k this year, his Burdette win was impressive. Running that time this early is very nice. He still needs to work a bit on the shorter stuff. In a championship race, its going to go out in the low 4:30s. He didn't break 4:35 this past weekend. But Berry's 3k mark is great.
Will McDermott is also starting off strong with a very impressive mark. His 8:52 flat track would have been good for about 5th last year at indoor states when you convert the mark. He had Berry to work off but you still have to run the race even in perfect conditions and he did just that. Those marks for him and Berry are both very quick for this early. I hope they can keep progessing.
On a side note did anyone notice the D2 TFCAofGP DMR? Those results look sick! Tight race all around with some solid teams in there as well.
Also how about the nice 1:57 mark by Cheltenham's John Lewis? This guy is a true 4-8 kinda guy. If he develops enough strength he could be scary in the 800m down the line.
Hopefully I didn't forget much. Solid mark by Abert in there as well, I'd like to see him move up and try a 3k though.
Lastly, keep the comments coming they have been awesome! I read all of them! And we are going to try and have our first show posted up on the blog after next weekends action so if you have viewer questions for us than post them up Saturday after the races are done and we will do our best to talk about what you want to hear about.
Sweet.
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