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.