So I know I have been lame with the meet recaps but I have been super busy as of late and I'm probably neglecting a little too much work right now but I figure I owe you guys a little something to recap and look ahead. I figured you would rather have me right something like this than try and half-heartedly finish the bracket meet recaps, some of which have already been eliminated from the bracket. I'm a big fan of the NCAA tourney right now (I was actually just at 2 games in Philly last night and was sitting a few rows back from LaSalle alumn Tom Trainer but he had no idea I was there) so I'm hoping we can see some upsets in the March Madness Bracket we got going on here. Keep on voting! Also the fantasy info is coming, I'm just not quite sure when. I am looking to do some type of draft starting maybe this Friday? I still have to figure out I'm going to make the draft in the most efficient way because I have people both with and without facebooks but we have a great group now up close to 10 people! If you want to get in on the draft I will need to know no later than MARCH 26th @ MIDNIGHT. If you don't let me know by then you won't be involved. I'll be sending out an email/facebook message soon to those who have already contacted me to let you know what is happening.
But anyway let's talk about the real stuff and get out of the fantasy.
First off at Tim Cook we saw a nice early season duel between Jon Colwell and Zach Brehm to the tune of 4:28 to 4:29 with Colwell taking the victory. A solid time for cold conditions and early season running. Brehm looks to have had a busy day with the 800m and 4x8 also likely on his schedule. Liam Corcoran is a name to watch this outdoor season, he was third in that 1600m with a 4:39 but was sub 9:30 last year in the 3200m and an XC state medalist. A surprising run by Williamsport Area who narrowly beat out Carlisle in the 4x8, both squads running 8:19. Hershey was third in 8:27.
At Upper Darby relays West Chester East easily won the 4x1600 in 18:56. Meanwhile Starth Haven ran a solid 8:18.15 to beat out a state squad in St. Joe's Prep (8:23). Father Judge, a state qualifier in the 4x8 indoors, ran 11:05 to win the DMR.
At the Pirate Invite, the Pennridge boys showed they are still in sick shape. They easily won the 4x8 with a B squad running around 8:40, 1-2'd the mile with Logue dominating in 4:25 and Masgai running 4:41 for second, and added the top 4 spots in the individual 800m for good measure behind Matt Shulberger's 2:04.
In other news around the state, Christian Kardish opened up in a dominating 2:04 800m mark and his teammates ran an uncontested 8:29 without him. Possibly a team that can hit a Penn Relays mark in the 4x8 going forward because of their small school status.
Now, let's look ahead to PW. I'll be home a day late to catch the races live, but the meet should be a good one. A lot of guys on the verge of break out performances should have a chance to shine in a competitive meet. The prize of the meet should again be the 3200m where any mark under 9:25 would be incredibly impressive. Remember, last year Sam Hibbs was beat at this meet in a sub 9:30 mark. He went on to become the dominant state champion.
The hype around the meet should center around the boys with O'Hara across their chest as Dan Savage, indoor state 3k medalist with a sub 8:40 mark, will battle his teammate Kevin James to headline the show. Savage is also coming off a 4:16 split on the DMR anchor. The O'Hara boys both have 3200m PRs down around low 9:20s, but both were beat in the last 3200m they ran by their teammate Jim Belfatto, who is hoping to hold on to his O'Hara school record in the 32. He will also be in the race fresh of an indoor season down around 1:55-56 and 4:20 in the mile. He has a low 9:20s Pr as well. Ernie Pitone and Chris Pastore will also toe the line for O'Hara. Pitone has dramatic improved his speed this indoors with a great 4xMile split at NBIN. He was also sub 9 indoors in the 3k. Chris Pastore is an XC stud who can run well under 9:40 in the right race. Not to be forgotten, Matt Hayes from O'Hara will look to help the squad but an absurd 6 guys under 9:45 in the 32 in March. Very fast.
But the race isn't just about the 5th team in the nation in XC. Conner Quinn will look to follow in his former teammate Sam Hibbs footsteps this outdoor season, and has the potential to do so after easily the best indoor season of his career. He ran an 8:40 at the state meet and showed off some improving speed. He has a 9:19 PR, but may still be up in mileage and training intensity considering it is early in the season. Quinn's rival and friend Jack Macauley who sports a 9:15 PR will also jump in the race looking to get a fast time. Macauley was up and down this outdoors battling injury and sickness but has the best PR of anyone in the field and can be dangerous in a kickers race.
But perhaps the biggest name in the field is Ben Ritz, fresh off another out of nowhere mile bombshell, Ritz dropped a 4:14y at NBIN for the fastest open mile of anyone in the state. Ritz ran 4:12 and 1:54 last year outdoors but also added on a low 9:20s mark early on at Henderson last year. He has the wheels to run away from the O'Hara boys if he lets them do the work out front. If Ritz is fit enough to handle a grueling and fast pace at PW this weekend he could surprise everyone and be around 9:20 with a finishing kick.
Also in the field are guys like Chris Cummings and Matt Willig who were great in XC as well as sleeper picks like Thomas Doran who has really come on strong in recent weeks with a solid indoor season and a great finish to XC. Ryan Grace and Pat Hopkins are a few other names that could surprise. Remember this was the race Zach Trama broke out in a year ago. I'm sure Chris Cummings has that in the back of his mind.
But there is more exciting distance action to be undertaken. In the 1600m we will see some of O'Hara's other middle distance runners moving a tad up in distance with Peter Biche, Nick Smart and Jimmy Boyle toeing the line. It is a similar move to what Belfatto did a year ago when he won the race and also Hong Cho who won it before Belfatto. Trey Crump and Eric Diestelow both were very solid in the mile this year indoors and although they didn't quite pull out the SQS they will toe the line in a solid field of 1600m runners with goals of winning. The class of the field may be Nick Scarpato from Springfield Delco who had a very nice indoor season and helped his 4x8 get on the radar as well. he has some wheels and is waiting for a breakout day. Sam Ritz, Ben's younger brother, should look to make some noise. He has a low 4:20s PR which is the best in the field. UD's Francis Ferruzzi won the 32 at this meet last year and will look to recapture that momentum with a win in the 1600m at this year's meet. Pat Hopkins, Adam Mussetti and Jabari Freeman should all mix it up with the group as well.
In the 800m, Jeff Wiseman is the headliner of the field, coming off a big 1:53 PR run at indoor states for 3rd. He is joined by fellow state medalist Jon Lewis who is looking to drop his 1:56 PR in early season action. Lewis should push the pace and help keep things fast given his 400m background and fast PR. That may open the door for someone else to hang on to the quick pace and take home a big personal best. Among the runners in contention are Graham Allen from Springside, Jae Kim from Upper Dublin, Adam Musetti from Spring Ford, Nafees Norris from Del Val, and Nathan Willis from Friend's Central. Billy Wolffe seems to fall inbetween the Wiseman and Lewis group and the group of potential break out performers, having already accomplished a decent amount over his years at GValley. It will be interesting to see if he can take the next step into 1:55 range at this meet.
Overall it should be an exciting meet with a lot of potential to meet the new stars of the outdoors season! Let the games begin.
March Madness: Meet Recaps
Just to remind you about some of the races we have to vote on out here today I typed up some summaries. I'll continue to update this throughout the day as I have time.
1 XC States AAA 2012 (Sean)
In the first state meet to ever have three classes, AAAs talent pool was still incredibly deep. Out front Tony Russell used a well timed move to easily out run the field over the final mile, pulling away from the group to finish in a new course record time of 15:45. Behind him was where things got interesting as one of the most competitive team title races in state history unfolded. O'Hara and Henderson each had three medalists and had their entire scoring 5 inside the top 50 at the state meet. But in the end, for the second straight year, O'Hara missed out on the state championship in a tie breaker, as Henderson's 6th man was also in the top 50 at the mean. Both teams scored an incredibly low 69 points. The individual race out front was deep behind Russell with 5 total guys at 16 flat or better and 27 guys at 16:30 or better. 22nd the previous year was 16:31.
8 Indoor States 4x8 2013 (Sean)
See Below
4 NBIN 4xMile 2013 (Sean)
PA started out the 4xMile race on the right foot, as CRN dominated the first field behind power closing legs Mac Emery and James Zingarini (solo sub 4:20 effort). Unfortunately in this deep field CRN ended up finishing 9th. It was still an extremely impressive mark. In the fast heat the boys from O'Hara showed no fear mixing it up with defending NE Regional champions CBA. Kevin James, Ernie Pitone and Dan Savage gave the first 3 legs for CBA all they could handle, all running great mile times. Lurking behind was WC Henderson with solid legs out of Barchet and Collins they climbed back into it when Tony Russell got the baton. For O'Hara it was Jim Belfatto and for CBA it was Tommy Rooney. Russell put on a huge charge to make up the massive gap to the leaders and ultimately came up just short of beating out CBA in the final kick, running a 4:11 anchor split for the full mile. Belfatto of O'Hara dropped a massive PR as well, keeping O'Hara hanging tough and finishing third. The marks for Henderson and O'Hara are both in the top 10 ever for the indoor 4xMile.
5 Outdoor States AAA 1600m 2012 (Sean)
The hype going into the race centered around Upper Moreland's defending champ and state meet record holder Drew Magaha, but things drastically changed early in the race. For the second time in Magaha's state careeer, he struggled, sickly around the track for an above 5 minute mile. He had mono the season before and it caught up to him in the intense heat. Between the Magaha sickness and the Willig injury, the doors were wide open for a new state champion and Jack Huemmler charged to the front early to try and take down the title. He did most of the work as a tough field of runners battled behind him. Alex Moran broke away from the pack to push the pace and he pulled Tom Coyle of LaSalle along with him. In the end, it was Coyle's massive kick that would break the other two and give him his first state title in a blazing 4:11.97. Huemmler was second in 4:12 and Moran 3rd in 4:14. The last 5 medal spots were decided by about a second.
6 Briarwood XC Invitational 2012 (Sean)
In the early XC season, we don't often get to see two future national finalists battling head to head. Nor do we usually get a preview of the state and regional team championship races. But we did at the Briarwood Invite. Tony Russell and Brendan Shearn battled it out over the grueling Briarwood course to some of the fastest times ever run on its trials, both were clocked at 15:41 and only Brendan's epic sprint to the finish could beat out Russell right at the very end. The finish itself was too close to call, but Russell valiantly called out the result and gave the win to Shearn. O'Hara took 4-5-6 behind Russell's big time performance outfront and took the team title on that day over Henderson. The field featured a ton of future state medalists (9) and two guys who just missed the cut (26th and 27th) with a slew of national qualifiers and a future All American (Reiny Barchet).
3 800m Henderson Distance Festival 2012 (Sean)
When 10th place in an 800m after states is over is 1:56.16, you know the race is good. Up front the race was very quick with teammates Tom Coyle and Andrew Stone out front hammering away. The two were big names on the track scene with Coyle just coming off his first state gold. But both guys didn't see the speedy sophomore from Pennridge coming up behind them. Joe Logue outkicked the field in route to a massive 1:51 PR. Coyle was also under 1:52 and Stone and indoor state champ Haneef Hardy were in the 1:52 range. Ben Ritz dropped a 1:54 in the race as well. The top 3 PA runners and 4 of the top 5 PA runners are back this year.
7 WPIAL XC Championships 2011 (Sean)
How many district titles do you know that have been won in about 17 minutes? How about how many WPIAL titles? Logan Steiner, who would go on to finish 5th at states the following week, treked through the mud, rain, wind and cold on his way to his first WPIAL XC individual title for North Allegheny. Because of the horrible conditions, he ran a 17:04 mark. He beat out Andrew Kuchta and Mike Runco for the win who were each within a few seconds of Steiner and his kick. In the team title race, Steiner's NA team beat Mt. Lebanon for the first time all season. And they beat them big, dropping a stunning turn around from the week before to take another XC titlte in the WPIAL. Kiski Area beat out Fox Chapel by just 10 points for the final state spot.
2 Jack Armstrong 800m 2012 (Sean)
Mono sucks. But apparently nobody told Drew Magaha. In the most impressive one month turnaround in state history, Magaha went from struggling to get through the indoor season to running an amazingly fast roughly 3 second PR of 1:48.82 to take down the state record in a race he won by roughly 6 seconds on April 20th, over a month before he had to be in peak shape for states and just a month after he was finally getting back to consistent training. Behind him were the past indoor state champions in the 800m: Brad Rivera (1:54.09) and Haneef Hardy (1:56) who Magaha destroyed en route to the record.
1 4x800m Outdoor States 2012 (Forrest)
The 4x8 is always the glamour event of the PA state championships outdoors, and at the 2012 meet we got see an epic rivalry culminated in the most dramatic way. Cumberland Valley and Chambersburg were both Mid Penn rivals throughout the year trading off wins at various big meets. When it came time to see who would take the state championship, both squads were on top of their games. The race culminated in an epic anchor leg between CV and Chambersburg as well as D1 champs Bensalem and indoor state champs Pennridge. The anchor legs of Ryun Holder, Alec Kunzweiler, Joe Logue and Brad Rivera all ran blazing splits while Kunzweiler and Holder were both clocked at 1:51. Kunzweiler out-leaned Holder in a dramatic finish to take down Gold for CV.
8 District One XC Championships 2012 (Forrest)
See Below
4 800m Indoor States 2012 (Forrest)
The field was wide open at the 2012 Indoor state championsips when everyone toed the line to run the 800m. No one came into the race with anything blazing fast, but everyone left with something. Haneef Hardy finished the race out front in 1:53 leading against a slew of up and comers including Ryun Holder, Ryan Horgan and Andrew Stone. The race was tight throughout but Hardy ultimately pulled off the upset with his superior speed reigning supreme. The race featured 4 under 1:55 and Will Baily was 1:55 right behind.
5 A XC States 2012 (Forrest)
Rico Galassi burst out to the early lead in the first ever A XC state championship. He left the field chasing him over the course and never looked back. Towards the end of the race it seemed like he was slowing down and that Luke Jones would take down the title. But Galassi managed to hold him off over the final straightaway in an epic 1 second finish for the state title. Galassi was under 16 minutes on the challenging states course.
6 AA XC States 2011 (Forrest)
In a field filled with a slew of quality Juniors, there was a slew of jockeying for position through the first 2 miles with a multitude of runners jumping to the front. The large pack spread out over the final mile as Brendan Shearn launched into his finishing stretch to take down the title over the late surge of Luke Jones. Only 6 of the top 30 finishers were Seniors.
3 Yale Invite 800m 2012 (Forrest)
After an impressive DMR anchor leg for Great Valley, Ned Willig came back the next day with one goal in mind: the 800m state record. Willig went to the front and dominated the field winning by over 4 seconds in a blazing fast 1:51.25.
7 Carlisle XC Invitational 2012 (Forrest)
Coming Soon
2 Indoor States 3k 2013 (Forrest)
The indoor states 3000m was the deepest in meet history with an amazing 8 guys under 8:43, all times converting to close to 9:20 for 3200m. Ross Wilson and Tony Russell (on tired legs) combined to force a gutsy pace through the start of the race, stringing out the nearly 20 man field. Ultimately the pack slowly began to shrink until Max Norris unleashed a sub 30 second sprint to the finish to win the race in the 3rd fastest time in PA history with an 8:28.93.
1 NXN Northeast Regional (RJJL)
For the first time in state history, PA took the top spot at the Nike Regional Championships as Tony Russell dominated his second straight championship. To put icing on the cake his teammate Reiny Barchet crossed the line second to give Henderson a 1-2 finish at the meet and a memorable picture to go with it. Ultimately, this finish led to a national qualifying bid for Henderson. Behind them the O'Hara pack was doing work as their top 5 guys worked together to nab second place in the region behind solid races from Kevin James, Dan Savage and Ernie Pitone outfront with a breakout performance from Jim Belfatto to seal the deal.
8 Penn Relays DMR 2011 (RJJL)
See Below
4 800m Indoor States 2013 (RJJL)
We had seen some fast 800m races in the past at the indoor state meet, but never had we seen an 800m race quite as deep as this one. Out front Brad Rivera took the race from the gun and let everyone battle it out behind him. As the race moved on, the kickers behind Rivera winded up to go after him, but ultimately Brad held strong and powered through to the finish line in a top 5 PA time all time, running 1:52.43. He was followed by a spectacular 3 more guys under 1:54 and two more under 1:56. The marks of 2-4 are good enough to compete for the win most years indoors and were all massive indoor PRs including 2nd place finisher Christian Sanders who ran 1:53.5 to drop his PR by roughly 7 seconds in two weeks.
5 3200m Pre-Regionals @ Henderson 2012 (RJJL)
Was it a track race or a cross country race? Time trial or full out brawl? It's hard to say for sure exactly how to classify this race, but it certainly had some fast marks. Out front Tony Russell hammered away the pace and ran a massive PR of 9:16. He was bested only by GFS's Sami Aziz who ran 9:14. Behind this group out front were a slew of guys under the 9:30 mark including the biggest surprise of all, Jim Belfatto, who beat out all of his O'Hara teammates en route to a school record in the event. He had been their 5th man at XC states and had never run a serious two mile even close to that 9:22 mark he ran that day. He was, and maybe still is, at 800m runner.
6 District 10 XC Championships 2012 (RJJL)
It was a muddy, horrible day at the District 10 championships, but it was also a day for Austin Pondel and Dan Jaskowak to decide who would be the best runner in the District. Although they were in different classes (AA and AAA) the two toed the line against one another in a combined race. Both runners pulled away from the field and finished in a dead sprint to run 16:23 apiece. Ultimately it was Jaskowak who was awarded the narrow victory in a very epic environment at the district championships.
3 AAA XC States 2011 (RJJL)
In one of the most wide open individual races in recent memory, a slew of underclassmen and upperclassmen toed the line with championship aspirations. Drew Magaha came in as the pre-race favorite after his big district one win but it was another speed man, Tom Coyle who would charge to the front and try and keep things fast. Coyle led the pack, but there were plenty of runners still around at 2 miles. Ultimately, it was Conner Quinn, considered by many coming into the season the second best Quinn and second best Horsham runner, who bested the field over the final mile and held off Dan Jaskowak of Grove City en route to one of the most stunning upsets in state meet history. Couple that with one of the most stunning team title wins in state meet history. North Penn, after finishing 3rd at Districts the week before, came back to stun everyone by beating out the favorites, O'Hara, on a 6th man tie breaker. Jack Macauley, Dan Davis and Chris Trimble led the way for North Penn in the 132-132 score. The race was unbelievable close with as many as 5 teams that had a realistic shot to win the meet.
1 XC States AAA 2012 (Sean)
In the first state meet to ever have three classes, AAAs talent pool was still incredibly deep. Out front Tony Russell used a well timed move to easily out run the field over the final mile, pulling away from the group to finish in a new course record time of 15:45. Behind him was where things got interesting as one of the most competitive team title races in state history unfolded. O'Hara and Henderson each had three medalists and had their entire scoring 5 inside the top 50 at the state meet. But in the end, for the second straight year, O'Hara missed out on the state championship in a tie breaker, as Henderson's 6th man was also in the top 50 at the mean. Both teams scored an incredibly low 69 points. The individual race out front was deep behind Russell with 5 total guys at 16 flat or better and 27 guys at 16:30 or better. 22nd the previous year was 16:31.
8 Indoor States 4x8 2013 (Sean)
See Below
4 NBIN 4xMile 2013 (Sean)
PA started out the 4xMile race on the right foot, as CRN dominated the first field behind power closing legs Mac Emery and James Zingarini (solo sub 4:20 effort). Unfortunately in this deep field CRN ended up finishing 9th. It was still an extremely impressive mark. In the fast heat the boys from O'Hara showed no fear mixing it up with defending NE Regional champions CBA. Kevin James, Ernie Pitone and Dan Savage gave the first 3 legs for CBA all they could handle, all running great mile times. Lurking behind was WC Henderson with solid legs out of Barchet and Collins they climbed back into it when Tony Russell got the baton. For O'Hara it was Jim Belfatto and for CBA it was Tommy Rooney. Russell put on a huge charge to make up the massive gap to the leaders and ultimately came up just short of beating out CBA in the final kick, running a 4:11 anchor split for the full mile. Belfatto of O'Hara dropped a massive PR as well, keeping O'Hara hanging tough and finishing third. The marks for Henderson and O'Hara are both in the top 10 ever for the indoor 4xMile.
5 Outdoor States AAA 1600m 2012 (Sean)
The hype going into the race centered around Upper Moreland's defending champ and state meet record holder Drew Magaha, but things drastically changed early in the race. For the second time in Magaha's state careeer, he struggled, sickly around the track for an above 5 minute mile. He had mono the season before and it caught up to him in the intense heat. Between the Magaha sickness and the Willig injury, the doors were wide open for a new state champion and Jack Huemmler charged to the front early to try and take down the title. He did most of the work as a tough field of runners battled behind him. Alex Moran broke away from the pack to push the pace and he pulled Tom Coyle of LaSalle along with him. In the end, it was Coyle's massive kick that would break the other two and give him his first state title in a blazing 4:11.97. Huemmler was second in 4:12 and Moran 3rd in 4:14. The last 5 medal spots were decided by about a second.
6 Briarwood XC Invitational 2012 (Sean)
In the early XC season, we don't often get to see two future national finalists battling head to head. Nor do we usually get a preview of the state and regional team championship races. But we did at the Briarwood Invite. Tony Russell and Brendan Shearn battled it out over the grueling Briarwood course to some of the fastest times ever run on its trials, both were clocked at 15:41 and only Brendan's epic sprint to the finish could beat out Russell right at the very end. The finish itself was too close to call, but Russell valiantly called out the result and gave the win to Shearn. O'Hara took 4-5-6 behind Russell's big time performance outfront and took the team title on that day over Henderson. The field featured a ton of future state medalists (9) and two guys who just missed the cut (26th and 27th) with a slew of national qualifiers and a future All American (Reiny Barchet).
3 800m Henderson Distance Festival 2012 (Sean)
When 10th place in an 800m after states is over is 1:56.16, you know the race is good. Up front the race was very quick with teammates Tom Coyle and Andrew Stone out front hammering away. The two were big names on the track scene with Coyle just coming off his first state gold. But both guys didn't see the speedy sophomore from Pennridge coming up behind them. Joe Logue outkicked the field in route to a massive 1:51 PR. Coyle was also under 1:52 and Stone and indoor state champ Haneef Hardy were in the 1:52 range. Ben Ritz dropped a 1:54 in the race as well. The top 3 PA runners and 4 of the top 5 PA runners are back this year.
7 WPIAL XC Championships 2011 (Sean)
How many district titles do you know that have been won in about 17 minutes? How about how many WPIAL titles? Logan Steiner, who would go on to finish 5th at states the following week, treked through the mud, rain, wind and cold on his way to his first WPIAL XC individual title for North Allegheny. Because of the horrible conditions, he ran a 17:04 mark. He beat out Andrew Kuchta and Mike Runco for the win who were each within a few seconds of Steiner and his kick. In the team title race, Steiner's NA team beat Mt. Lebanon for the first time all season. And they beat them big, dropping a stunning turn around from the week before to take another XC titlte in the WPIAL. Kiski Area beat out Fox Chapel by just 10 points for the final state spot.
2 Jack Armstrong 800m 2012 (Sean)
Mono sucks. But apparently nobody told Drew Magaha. In the most impressive one month turnaround in state history, Magaha went from struggling to get through the indoor season to running an amazingly fast roughly 3 second PR of 1:48.82 to take down the state record in a race he won by roughly 6 seconds on April 20th, over a month before he had to be in peak shape for states and just a month after he was finally getting back to consistent training. Behind him were the past indoor state champions in the 800m: Brad Rivera (1:54.09) and Haneef Hardy (1:56) who Magaha destroyed en route to the record.
1 4x800m Outdoor States 2012 (Forrest)
The 4x8 is always the glamour event of the PA state championships outdoors, and at the 2012 meet we got see an epic rivalry culminated in the most dramatic way. Cumberland Valley and Chambersburg were both Mid Penn rivals throughout the year trading off wins at various big meets. When it came time to see who would take the state championship, both squads were on top of their games. The race culminated in an epic anchor leg between CV and Chambersburg as well as D1 champs Bensalem and indoor state champs Pennridge. The anchor legs of Ryun Holder, Alec Kunzweiler, Joe Logue and Brad Rivera all ran blazing splits while Kunzweiler and Holder were both clocked at 1:51. Kunzweiler out-leaned Holder in a dramatic finish to take down Gold for CV.
8 District One XC Championships 2012 (Forrest)
See Below
4 800m Indoor States 2012 (Forrest)
The field was wide open at the 2012 Indoor state championsips when everyone toed the line to run the 800m. No one came into the race with anything blazing fast, but everyone left with something. Haneef Hardy finished the race out front in 1:53 leading against a slew of up and comers including Ryun Holder, Ryan Horgan and Andrew Stone. The race was tight throughout but Hardy ultimately pulled off the upset with his superior speed reigning supreme. The race featured 4 under 1:55 and Will Baily was 1:55 right behind.
5 A XC States 2012 (Forrest)
Rico Galassi burst out to the early lead in the first ever A XC state championship. He left the field chasing him over the course and never looked back. Towards the end of the race it seemed like he was slowing down and that Luke Jones would take down the title. But Galassi managed to hold him off over the final straightaway in an epic 1 second finish for the state title. Galassi was under 16 minutes on the challenging states course.
6 AA XC States 2011 (Forrest)
In a field filled with a slew of quality Juniors, there was a slew of jockeying for position through the first 2 miles with a multitude of runners jumping to the front. The large pack spread out over the final mile as Brendan Shearn launched into his finishing stretch to take down the title over the late surge of Luke Jones. Only 6 of the top 30 finishers were Seniors.
3 Yale Invite 800m 2012 (Forrest)
After an impressive DMR anchor leg for Great Valley, Ned Willig came back the next day with one goal in mind: the 800m state record. Willig went to the front and dominated the field winning by over 4 seconds in a blazing fast 1:51.25.
7 Carlisle XC Invitational 2012 (Forrest)
Coming Soon
2 Indoor States 3k 2013 (Forrest)
The indoor states 3000m was the deepest in meet history with an amazing 8 guys under 8:43, all times converting to close to 9:20 for 3200m. Ross Wilson and Tony Russell (on tired legs) combined to force a gutsy pace through the start of the race, stringing out the nearly 20 man field. Ultimately the pack slowly began to shrink until Max Norris unleashed a sub 30 second sprint to the finish to win the race in the 3rd fastest time in PA history with an 8:28.93.
1 NXN Northeast Regional (RJJL)
For the first time in state history, PA took the top spot at the Nike Regional Championships as Tony Russell dominated his second straight championship. To put icing on the cake his teammate Reiny Barchet crossed the line second to give Henderson a 1-2 finish at the meet and a memorable picture to go with it. Ultimately, this finish led to a national qualifying bid for Henderson. Behind them the O'Hara pack was doing work as their top 5 guys worked together to nab second place in the region behind solid races from Kevin James, Dan Savage and Ernie Pitone outfront with a breakout performance from Jim Belfatto to seal the deal.
8 Penn Relays DMR 2011 (RJJL)
See Below
4 800m Indoor States 2013 (RJJL)
We had seen some fast 800m races in the past at the indoor state meet, but never had we seen an 800m race quite as deep as this one. Out front Brad Rivera took the race from the gun and let everyone battle it out behind him. As the race moved on, the kickers behind Rivera winded up to go after him, but ultimately Brad held strong and powered through to the finish line in a top 5 PA time all time, running 1:52.43. He was followed by a spectacular 3 more guys under 1:54 and two more under 1:56. The marks of 2-4 are good enough to compete for the win most years indoors and were all massive indoor PRs including 2nd place finisher Christian Sanders who ran 1:53.5 to drop his PR by roughly 7 seconds in two weeks.
5 3200m Pre-Regionals @ Henderson 2012 (RJJL)
Was it a track race or a cross country race? Time trial or full out brawl? It's hard to say for sure exactly how to classify this race, but it certainly had some fast marks. Out front Tony Russell hammered away the pace and ran a massive PR of 9:16. He was bested only by GFS's Sami Aziz who ran 9:14. Behind this group out front were a slew of guys under the 9:30 mark including the biggest surprise of all, Jim Belfatto, who beat out all of his O'Hara teammates en route to a school record in the event. He had been their 5th man at XC states and had never run a serious two mile even close to that 9:22 mark he ran that day. He was, and maybe still is, at 800m runner.
6 District 10 XC Championships 2012 (RJJL)
It was a muddy, horrible day at the District 10 championships, but it was also a day for Austin Pondel and Dan Jaskowak to decide who would be the best runner in the District. Although they were in different classes (AA and AAA) the two toed the line against one another in a combined race. Both runners pulled away from the field and finished in a dead sprint to run 16:23 apiece. Ultimately it was Jaskowak who was awarded the narrow victory in a very epic environment at the district championships.
3 AAA XC States 2011 (RJJL)
In one of the most wide open individual races in recent memory, a slew of underclassmen and upperclassmen toed the line with championship aspirations. Drew Magaha came in as the pre-race favorite after his big district one win but it was another speed man, Tom Coyle who would charge to the front and try and keep things fast. Coyle led the pack, but there were plenty of runners still around at 2 miles. Ultimately, it was Conner Quinn, considered by many coming into the season the second best Quinn and second best Horsham runner, who bested the field over the final mile and held off Dan Jaskowak of Grove City en route to one of the most stunning upsets in state meet history. Couple that with one of the most stunning team title wins in state meet history. North Penn, after finishing 3rd at Districts the week before, came back to stun everyone by beating out the favorites, O'Hara, on a 6th man tie breaker. Jack Macauley, Dan Davis and Chris Trimble led the way for North Penn in the 132-132 score. The race was unbelievable close with as many as 5 teams that had a realistic shot to win the meet.
Play In Games
You have two days left so vote now on which 8 seeds will get their shot at the 1 seeds!
PCL Indoor 3k 2013 vs. PIAA Foundation Meet 2012
At the PCL Championships this year we saw a slew of top performance, but perhaps no race was more exciting than the men's 3000m. The O'Hara boys were looking to stay competitive in the men's team title race and put in their big XC studs to try and take the race. But LaSalle's Tom Coyle, doubling back from the mile, had other ideas. Coyle put on a blazing kick to sprint away from O'Hara's Dan Savage, throwing down a very quick 8:46.88 to beat out Savage by about a second and half. Kevin James completed a nice double running 8:54 and Will McDermott also broke 9 minutes. O'Hara's top runner runners Ernie Pitone and Chris Pastore took 5th and 6th.
In what can only be described as the kick of the season, Pennsbury's Connor Harriman approached the final hill well out of contention. It was Ean DiSilvio's race to lose it seemed. But Harriman had other plans. He put on a huge kick to storm back over the final meters to beat out DiSilvio by a mere second. Behind him, Cardinal O'Hara asserted serious dominance, running to the win with 6 guys in the top 15 in the race. The beat out a very good NA team by 35 points.
District One XC Championships 2012 vs. AA Outdoor States 3200m 2012
West Chester Henderson toed the line with some big names and a great team going into the District One Championships, but I'm not sure anyone expected the performance their front runners would throw down. After a blazing fast opening mile, Tony Russell and Reiny Barchet were in the middle of the pack. But it didn't last long. The two surged their way through the field and went on to take 1st and 3rd in the race for Henderson with Russell winning in 15:11. The group led 5 guys under 15:30 and 14 guys to 15:50 or better. Not to mention 23 guys under 16 minutes. In the team race, it took a 16:23 average to make states, DT West upset Pennsbury for the last spot.
Coming into the AA States race, there was much talk about Brendan Shearn, defending XC state champion, being surprised by one of the other talented up and comers on the AA scene, headlined by Rico Galassi. Shearn pushed the pace early to try and take out Rico's kick on a brutally hot day. He really pushed the race from roughly 800m out and broke Galassi enough to take home his second state title of the year. Shearn's efforts on a hot day led to one of the deepest AA 3200m races ever. 9:44 was 9th in the race and the top 4 finishers were under 9:30. 7 of the top 9 return this year.
AA Outdoor States 1600m 2011 vs. Penn Relays DMR 2011
Tommy Gruschow was coming off an amazing series of races at the District 3 championships the week before states and had already run a great split on the 4x8 for Trinity. It made him a tired racer when he went up against North East's Ryan Smathers at the AA outdoor state championship. Smathers pushed the pace early, but Gruschow unleashed an unbelievable kick over the final stretch to take down the title. Both guys were under 4:20.
In 2011, there was a lot of buzz around some of the PA teams that would be competing at the Penn Relays like Henderson, Great Valley, Abington, CB West, LaSalle and Wissahickon. But no one expected CB South to come up and steal the show. After losing the greatest 800m runner in state history, Tom Mallon, CB South flew under the radar for most of the year. However, a great lead off leg by Joey Waddington and strong runner by Ryan Dickson but Austin Gregor in a position to mix it up with NJ powerhouse CBA. Although Gregor ultimately came up just short, it was an inspirational under dog performance by the boys in blue.
District One Outdoor 800m 2011 vs. 4x800m Indoor States 2013
Drew Magaha led the qualifying for the finals with a 1:53.5. So right away you knew the District One Championships 800m would be a fast race. Ultimately, Hong Cho didn't disappoint as he led the field around the track in a blazing fast 1:50.92 to break the meet record. Behind him, a doubling Connor Manley also eclipsed the old record in 1:51.50. Cho outsprinted Manley down the stretch of the race. 10 guys in the race ran 1:56.11 or faster as Mike Doyle got the last spot to states by just .04 seconds. The race featured 5 guys under 1:54.
At this year's indoor state championship meet, Bensalem came into the race underrated and under appreciated Coming off an open championship in the 800m, Brad Rivera stormed to the front for Bensalem and set the tone for the race. Pennsbury hung tough, however, matching the Bensalem legs with great runs by Harriman and Webb. O'Hara was also in the mix for much of the race. When it came down to the anchor Liam O'Connell and Kyle Francis, a couple suburban one rivals, went toe to toe, by AJ Chaborek from Henderson made a case for his squad as well with a big sprint into the pack. But when the teams hit the bell, Bensalem let the hammer down and broke away from the field with huge last lap from Kyle Francis to win in 7:51.
PCL Indoor 3k 2013 vs. PIAA Foundation Meet 2012
At the PCL Championships this year we saw a slew of top performance, but perhaps no race was more exciting than the men's 3000m. The O'Hara boys were looking to stay competitive in the men's team title race and put in their big XC studs to try and take the race. But LaSalle's Tom Coyle, doubling back from the mile, had other ideas. Coyle put on a blazing kick to sprint away from O'Hara's Dan Savage, throwing down a very quick 8:46.88 to beat out Savage by about a second and half. Kevin James completed a nice double running 8:54 and Will McDermott also broke 9 minutes. O'Hara's top runner runners Ernie Pitone and Chris Pastore took 5th and 6th.
In what can only be described as the kick of the season, Pennsbury's Connor Harriman approached the final hill well out of contention. It was Ean DiSilvio's race to lose it seemed. But Harriman had other plans. He put on a huge kick to storm back over the final meters to beat out DiSilvio by a mere second. Behind him, Cardinal O'Hara asserted serious dominance, running to the win with 6 guys in the top 15 in the race. The beat out a very good NA team by 35 points.
District One XC Championships 2012 vs. AA Outdoor States 3200m 2012
West Chester Henderson toed the line with some big names and a great team going into the District One Championships, but I'm not sure anyone expected the performance their front runners would throw down. After a blazing fast opening mile, Tony Russell and Reiny Barchet were in the middle of the pack. But it didn't last long. The two surged their way through the field and went on to take 1st and 3rd in the race for Henderson with Russell winning in 15:11. The group led 5 guys under 15:30 and 14 guys to 15:50 or better. Not to mention 23 guys under 16 minutes. In the team race, it took a 16:23 average to make states, DT West upset Pennsbury for the last spot.
Coming into the AA States race, there was much talk about Brendan Shearn, defending XC state champion, being surprised by one of the other talented up and comers on the AA scene, headlined by Rico Galassi. Shearn pushed the pace early to try and take out Rico's kick on a brutally hot day. He really pushed the race from roughly 800m out and broke Galassi enough to take home his second state title of the year. Shearn's efforts on a hot day led to one of the deepest AA 3200m races ever. 9:44 was 9th in the race and the top 4 finishers were under 9:30. 7 of the top 9 return this year.
AA Outdoor States 1600m 2011 vs. Penn Relays DMR 2011
Tommy Gruschow was coming off an amazing series of races at the District 3 championships the week before states and had already run a great split on the 4x8 for Trinity. It made him a tired racer when he went up against North East's Ryan Smathers at the AA outdoor state championship. Smathers pushed the pace early, but Gruschow unleashed an unbelievable kick over the final stretch to take down the title. Both guys were under 4:20.
In 2011, there was a lot of buzz around some of the PA teams that would be competing at the Penn Relays like Henderson, Great Valley, Abington, CB West, LaSalle and Wissahickon. But no one expected CB South to come up and steal the show. After losing the greatest 800m runner in state history, Tom Mallon, CB South flew under the radar for most of the year. However, a great lead off leg by Joey Waddington and strong runner by Ryan Dickson but Austin Gregor in a position to mix it up with NJ powerhouse CBA. Although Gregor ultimately came up just short, it was an inspirational under dog performance by the boys in blue.
District One Outdoor 800m 2011 vs. 4x800m Indoor States 2013
Drew Magaha led the qualifying for the finals with a 1:53.5. So right away you knew the District One Championships 800m would be a fast race. Ultimately, Hong Cho didn't disappoint as he led the field around the track in a blazing fast 1:50.92 to break the meet record. Behind him, a doubling Connor Manley also eclipsed the old record in 1:51.50. Cho outsprinted Manley down the stretch of the race. 10 guys in the race ran 1:56.11 or faster as Mike Doyle got the last spot to states by just .04 seconds. The race featured 5 guys under 1:54.
At this year's indoor state championship meet, Bensalem came into the race underrated and under appreciated Coming off an open championship in the 800m, Brad Rivera stormed to the front for Bensalem and set the tone for the race. Pennsbury hung tough, however, matching the Bensalem legs with great runs by Harriman and Webb. O'Hara was also in the mix for much of the race. When it came down to the anchor Liam O'Connell and Kyle Francis, a couple suburban one rivals, went toe to toe, by AJ Chaborek from Henderson made a case for his squad as well with a big sprint into the pack. But when the teams hit the bell, Bensalem let the hammer down and broke away from the field with huge last lap from Kyle Francis to win in 7:51.
Selection Sunday
Play in Games will be had in each region to advance the field to a solid 36 games. Voting starts soon. Questions, comments concerns let me know. Also fantasy track draft is starting soon! We are up to a solid 7 teams and this has a chance to be a really cool thing! Get involved now email me at jf245031@muhlenberg.edu or facebook me.
I kinda rushed this so hopefully there aren't too many type-os but if you catch one let me know.
Sean Region
1 XC AAA States 2012
8 District One Outdoors 800m 2011
8 4x800m Indoor States 2013
4 NBIN 4xMile 2013
5 Outdoor States AAA 1600m 2012
6 Briarwood XC Invitational 2012
3 800m Henderson Distance Festival
7 WPIAL XC Championships 2011
2 Jack Armstrong 800m 2012
Forrest CRN Region
1 4x8 Outdoor States 2012
8 District One XC Championships 2012
8 AA States Outdoor 3200m 2012
4 800m Indoor States 2012
5 A XC States 2012
6 AA XC States 2011
3 Yale Invite 800m 2012
7 Carlisle XC Invitational 2012
2 Indoor States 3k 2013
RJJL Region
1 NXN Northeast Regionals 2012
8 AA 1600m Outdoor States 2011
8 Penn Relays DMR 2011
4 800m Indoor States 2013
5 3200m Pre Regionals @ Henderson
6 District 10 XC Championships 2012
3 AAA XC States 2011
7 District 7 AAA 3200m 2011
2 4x8 Outdoor States 2011
RTJ Region
1 AAA 1600m Outdoor States 2011
8 PCL Indoor 3k 2013
8 PIAA Foundation XC Meet 2012
4 NXN Nationals 2012
5 Outdoor States AAA 3200m 2011
6 Indoor States DMR 2013
3 AA XC States 2012
7 AAA Outdoor States 800m 2012
2 Footlocker Northeast Regional 2012
I kinda rushed this so hopefully there aren't too many type-os but if you catch one let me know.
Sean Region
1 XC AAA States 2012
8 District One Outdoors 800m 2011
8 4x800m Indoor States 2013
4 NBIN 4xMile 2013
5 Outdoor States AAA 1600m 2012
6 Briarwood XC Invitational 2012
3 800m Henderson Distance Festival
7 WPIAL XC Championships 2011
2 Jack Armstrong 800m 2012
Forrest CRN Region
1 4x8 Outdoor States 2012
8 District One XC Championships 2012
8 AA States Outdoor 3200m 2012
4 800m Indoor States 2012
5 A XC States 2012
6 AA XC States 2011
3 Yale Invite 800m 2012
7 Carlisle XC Invitational 2012
2 Indoor States 3k 2013
RJJL Region
1 NXN Northeast Regionals 2012
8 AA 1600m Outdoor States 2011
8 Penn Relays DMR 2011
4 800m Indoor States 2013
5 3200m Pre Regionals @ Henderson
6 District 10 XC Championships 2012
3 AAA XC States 2011
7 District 7 AAA 3200m 2011
2 4x8 Outdoor States 2011
RTJ Region
1 AAA 1600m Outdoor States 2011
8 PCL Indoor 3k 2013
8 PIAA Foundation XC Meet 2012
4 NXN Nationals 2012
5 Outdoor States AAA 3200m 2011
6 Indoor States DMR 2013
3 AA XC States 2012
7 AAA Outdoor States 800m 2012
2 Footlocker Northeast Regional 2012
March Madness and Fantasy Track
We are getting in the spirit of the times here on the blog and we are hoping you will join us. First off, it is March, and that means it's March Madness time! I'll be pulling out the brackets while I'm at school and scoring all the College Basketball Action, but it doesn't mean we can't have some fun here on the blog.
What I will be doing is collecting the 32 best distance races from the past two years (Outdoor Track 2011 to Winter Track 2013) and will put them together into a bracket to be voted on by you, the fans, and we will determine a winner based on the votes.
What I need from you is some ideas for the bracket! The races should highlight PA talent on the distance side, but the races don't have to be all PA races or even HS races as long as they show off that PA don't play. Some of the top nominees already coming to mind are: XC States 2012, Footlocker Regionals 2012, NBIN 4xMile, PTFCA 3000m and the AAA Outdoor States 1600m in 2011. Post up nominees as comments and I will have the bracket made up, ideally, by selection Sunday at 6pm on March 17th.
I also wanted to introduce a new fantasy track system that I would like to put in place. This will be a season long event that should be a lot of fun. Here is how it works.
Your team consists of 12 runners of your choosing. There will be a draft on a chosen night to determine who gets each runner, similar to other fantasy drafts done in the other sports and in the past through the blog. The goal is to draft the fastest team. The question is, how do we decide which squad is fastest? Well, I'll tell you. Using only open times through the season at Invitational meets with results posted online, we will create a total time for each team. Each team is scored using the following:
2 3200m
3 1600m
4 800m
1 4x800m
Each individual runner can only account for one event. As you can see you will have 2 "bench" runners as extras. The standings are updated throughout the season. The team with the fastest time after the STATE MEET wins. No other post season marks will be counted. You can chose which runner's you would like to count for each event and you can change which runner counts for each event throughout the season as many times as you'd like. For example if Tom Coyle opens up the season in 1:53 he can count for your 800m, but then if he later runs 4:15 or 9:02 you may want to switch him around. If you don't specifically tell me where you want each runner to count I will do my best to give you the fastest possible combination of your runners.
If you have any other questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, blah, blah, technical stuff feel free to comment it up here or hit me up on facebook. If you want to join the league, send me a facebook message. My name is Jarrett Felix for those of you who don't know. Tell your friends and get involved! I'll update the standings weekly and post up results on the blog so everyone can get a feel for how the fantasy season is going.
The draft will most likely take place online on March 27th so I need all entries by then.
Send feedback on the fantasy draft and on the bracket below! I'm hoping to work with Forrest and make some cool videos to help promote this stuff as well! Hope you guys are as excited as I am about this outdoor season.
Peace.
What I will be doing is collecting the 32 best distance races from the past two years (Outdoor Track 2011 to Winter Track 2013) and will put them together into a bracket to be voted on by you, the fans, and we will determine a winner based on the votes.
What I need from you is some ideas for the bracket! The races should highlight PA talent on the distance side, but the races don't have to be all PA races or even HS races as long as they show off that PA don't play. Some of the top nominees already coming to mind are: XC States 2012, Footlocker Regionals 2012, NBIN 4xMile, PTFCA 3000m and the AAA Outdoor States 1600m in 2011. Post up nominees as comments and I will have the bracket made up, ideally, by selection Sunday at 6pm on March 17th.
I also wanted to introduce a new fantasy track system that I would like to put in place. This will be a season long event that should be a lot of fun. Here is how it works.
Your team consists of 12 runners of your choosing. There will be a draft on a chosen night to determine who gets each runner, similar to other fantasy drafts done in the other sports and in the past through the blog. The goal is to draft the fastest team. The question is, how do we decide which squad is fastest? Well, I'll tell you. Using only open times through the season at Invitational meets with results posted online, we will create a total time for each team. Each team is scored using the following:
2 3200m
3 1600m
4 800m
1 4x800m
Each individual runner can only account for one event. As you can see you will have 2 "bench" runners as extras. The standings are updated throughout the season. The team with the fastest time after the STATE MEET wins. No other post season marks will be counted. You can chose which runner's you would like to count for each event and you can change which runner counts for each event throughout the season as many times as you'd like. For example if Tom Coyle opens up the season in 1:53 he can count for your 800m, but then if he later runs 4:15 or 9:02 you may want to switch him around. If you don't specifically tell me where you want each runner to count I will do my best to give you the fastest possible combination of your runners.
If you have any other questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, blah, blah, technical stuff feel free to comment it up here or hit me up on facebook. If you want to join the league, send me a facebook message. My name is Jarrett Felix for those of you who don't know. Tell your friends and get involved! I'll update the standings weekly and post up results on the blog so everyone can get a feel for how the fantasy season is going.
The draft will most likely take place online on March 27th so I need all entries by then.
Send feedback on the fantasy draft and on the bracket below! I'm hoping to work with Forrest and make some cool videos to help promote this stuff as well! Hope you guys are as excited as I am about this outdoor season.
Peace.
PTFCA Track Classic
In about 2 weeks this meet will be happening at PW High School. It is the first real chance we will have to see a lot of the state's best open up their season. Last year it had some nice highlights worth noting and some fast times. Any idea who is planning on coming this year?
Based on last year's entries ...
In the 800m, both Jeff Wiseman and Lucas Elek open their season at the wet and cold PW meet with solid marks at 2:00, Elek beating out Wiseman for 2nd and 3rd behind Joe O'Such from Spring Ford. Jimmy Boyle from O'Hara was in the race last year as well, running 2:02. Based on which teams have come to this meet in the past we could see any of the following in the race:
Christian Sanders, Upper Merion
Jeffery Wiseman, CR South
Jon Lewis, Cheltenham
Lucas Elek, Haverford School
Danny Ferraiaolo, Malvern Prep
Adam Musetti, Spring Ford
Billy Wolffe, Great Valley
Jim Belfatto, Cardinal O'Hara
Nathan Willis, Friend's Central
In the 1600m, the returning champ Jim Belfatto of O'Hara is coming off a fantastic indoor season that included a low 1:56 high 1:55 split at nationals and a 4:20ish mile split the next day. He was through it about 1:23 or so on that 800m which must have made his legs heavy for the next day. If he runs an individual event he can really have a break through. In the 1600m this year we will likely see some of the WC East boys including Trey Crump, Eric Diestelow and Chris Cummings. The oldest two ran the race a year ago, but they have really had a breakthrough XC and indoors which should lead to much faster marks this year. Again based on past entries this is the kind of field we could see:
Kevin James, O'Hara
Lyle Wistar, GFS
Sami Aziz, GFS
Christian Kardish, HGP
Ernie Pitone, O'Hara
Dan Savage, O'Hara
Pat Hopkins, Methacton
Curtis Watro, Methacton
Jim Belfatto, O'Hara
Eric Diestelow, West Chester East
Chris Cummings, West Chester East
Trey Crump, West Chester East
Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham
The main event a year ago at this meet was the 3200m which featured two of the biggest surprises of the year in Francis Ferruzzi (1st) and Zach Trama (3rd) who split eventual state champ Sam Hibbs in an epic race to the finish. Ferruzzi's winning mark of 9:28.70 was followed by 9 other guys under 10 minutes for 3200m including a slew of returners. Ferruzzi has been struggling with injuries ever since, but he should be returning to this meet with goals of repeating as champion. He will likely be chased by the other top returners: Ernie Pitone, Dan Savage, Kevin James, Chris Pastore and Conner Quinn (the only guy not sporting an O'Hara jersey). I wouldn't be surprised if Belfatto jumped up to defend his school 3200m record which may be in jeopardy of going down if this race is fast. Here's what we might get to see:
Francis Ferruzzi, Upper Dublin
Kevin James, O'Hara
Dan Savage, O'Hara
Chris Pastore, O'Hara
Ernie Pitone, O'Hara
Jim Belfatto, O'Hara
Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham
Matt Willig, Great Valley
Thomas Doran, Great Valley
Garrett Zatlin, Great Valley
Sami Aziz, GFS
Lyle Wistar, GFS
Chris Cummings, WCE
Eric Diestelow, WCE
Pat Hopkins, Methacton
The relays should feature some solid teams as well.
GFS and HGPrep put together some solid teams last year to try and lock up spots for Penn. With so many teams on the bubble that may be the case again this year. Don't be surprised to Germantown Academy make some noise at this meet either. They have some up and coming talent in the distance events.
If you know your team is coming to this meet, let us know and give us some insight into what we can look forward to.
Based on last year's entries ...
In the 800m, both Jeff Wiseman and Lucas Elek open their season at the wet and cold PW meet with solid marks at 2:00, Elek beating out Wiseman for 2nd and 3rd behind Joe O'Such from Spring Ford. Jimmy Boyle from O'Hara was in the race last year as well, running 2:02. Based on which teams have come to this meet in the past we could see any of the following in the race:
Christian Sanders, Upper Merion
Jeffery Wiseman, CR South
Jon Lewis, Cheltenham
Lucas Elek, Haverford School
Danny Ferraiaolo, Malvern Prep
Adam Musetti, Spring Ford
Billy Wolffe, Great Valley
Jim Belfatto, Cardinal O'Hara
Nathan Willis, Friend's Central
In the 1600m, the returning champ Jim Belfatto of O'Hara is coming off a fantastic indoor season that included a low 1:56 high 1:55 split at nationals and a 4:20ish mile split the next day. He was through it about 1:23 or so on that 800m which must have made his legs heavy for the next day. If he runs an individual event he can really have a break through. In the 1600m this year we will likely see some of the WC East boys including Trey Crump, Eric Diestelow and Chris Cummings. The oldest two ran the race a year ago, but they have really had a breakthrough XC and indoors which should lead to much faster marks this year. Again based on past entries this is the kind of field we could see:
Kevin James, O'Hara
Lyle Wistar, GFS
Sami Aziz, GFS
Christian Kardish, HGP
Ernie Pitone, O'Hara
Dan Savage, O'Hara
Pat Hopkins, Methacton
Curtis Watro, Methacton
Jim Belfatto, O'Hara
Eric Diestelow, West Chester East
Chris Cummings, West Chester East
Trey Crump, West Chester East
Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham
The main event a year ago at this meet was the 3200m which featured two of the biggest surprises of the year in Francis Ferruzzi (1st) and Zach Trama (3rd) who split eventual state champ Sam Hibbs in an epic race to the finish. Ferruzzi's winning mark of 9:28.70 was followed by 9 other guys under 10 minutes for 3200m including a slew of returners. Ferruzzi has been struggling with injuries ever since, but he should be returning to this meet with goals of repeating as champion. He will likely be chased by the other top returners: Ernie Pitone, Dan Savage, Kevin James, Chris Pastore and Conner Quinn (the only guy not sporting an O'Hara jersey). I wouldn't be surprised if Belfatto jumped up to defend his school 3200m record which may be in jeopardy of going down if this race is fast. Here's what we might get to see:
Francis Ferruzzi, Upper Dublin
Kevin James, O'Hara
Dan Savage, O'Hara
Chris Pastore, O'Hara
Ernie Pitone, O'Hara
Jim Belfatto, O'Hara
Conner Quinn, Hatboro Horsham
Matt Willig, Great Valley
Thomas Doran, Great Valley
Garrett Zatlin, Great Valley
Sami Aziz, GFS
Lyle Wistar, GFS
Chris Cummings, WCE
Eric Diestelow, WCE
Pat Hopkins, Methacton
The relays should feature some solid teams as well.
GFS and HGPrep put together some solid teams last year to try and lock up spots for Penn. With so many teams on the bubble that may be the case again this year. Don't be surprised to Germantown Academy make some noise at this meet either. They have some up and coming talent in the distance events.
If you know your team is coming to this meet, let us know and give us some insight into what we can look forward to.
Top 11 Reasons to Get Pumped For Outdoors
Indoors is now officially over, but there is a lot to be excited about looking ahead to outdoors! To get you guys pumped up I put this little thing together for ya.
11. 'AA' Studs
How many guys from single A had a real indoor season? Well I'll tell you straight up two of the big names didn't race once: Rico Galassi and Luke Jones. Both were the cream of the crop in XC regardless of their A ranking and were in the hunt for a spot at Footlocker Nationals this year. Both are also sub 9:30 2 milers, while Rico is a sub 9:20 and 4:20 man. Plus, indoors isn't a real season for a lot of the other single A guys like Sam Williams, Curt Jewett and Ryan Smathers although they all raced very competitively. But I imagine they are going to have serious drops when they get to run in quality races week in and week out. Throw Shearn into the group with the Archers and the AA races should be very impressive. Shawn Wolfe, Barrett Kemp, Aaron Valerosa, Jordan Jackson and Dan Alexander should all also be remembered when considering the AA talent crop.
10. Finding Drew Gerberich
Anybody remember Drew Gerberich? Well I certainly do. The man came out of nowhere at the end of outdoors last year. I didn't remember him in XC results or indoor results virtually at all, but he ran 4:16 and then 1:53.55 to finish 4th at states in the 800m. It was a great finish to his senior year. Now it is only a matter of time before we find the next out of nowhere star who will mix it up with the top guns and run some blazing times. I look forward to that moment and it will come this outdoors like it always does.
9. Rising Sophomores
Kevin James was on fire at the end of indoors. He ran some really quality lead off legs at Nationals and looked like a real pro out there. He also has a 4:22 and 8:54 double on a flat track to his name. He leads what is quickly becoming a killer class of break out sophomores. Sam Webb is another big name with his 4:21 mark. Eric Diestelow and Zach Brehm are a couple studs ready to burst out of their shell and contribute on the big stage. Brehm notched a 1:55 last year. Throw in some names like Jonathan Pearlman, Aaron Gebhardt, Matt McGoey and a few more I probably haven't even heard of yet and we will see the future state champs start to take shape.
8. Return of the Wounded
I'm going to assume it's not just me, I hate all the sickness going around. Huemmler and Coyle got it bad and struggled to close out the indoor season to say the least. Plus it affected a lot of the other big names at some point or another. AJ Chaborek will come back at full health for a full season which could make him very dangerous in the 800m. Plus we have all the top guns who are returning from injury. The big name for me is Vinny Todaro who I think could surprise with a 4:12ish mark if he is in the shape he was in during XC. Steve Yannacone from Unionville was a breakout performer last year outdoors and is finally back healthy and racing. Ken Leidal should be back to full strength for DT West after a breakthrough indoors. Plus Brendan Shearn should be recovered more from his injury and have steady training. If he ran those other times hurt, imagine what he can do healthy.
7. Henderson Invite
It's the biggest meet of the HS season in my mind and things should only get bigger this year. Hopefully the weather holds up and gives us a chance to see the states best go at it in the Distance events. Over the past few years at this meet we have seen a state record in the 2 mile, a sub 1:50 800m and a slew of PRs in the distance events. Last year the meet produced 23 sub 4:30 marks, 25 sub 2 minute marks (2 1:52s), and 31 sub 10 3200s despite the event being rescheduled. Guys like Andrew Stone, Tom Coyle, Tony Russell, Ben Ritz, Sami Aziz, Curt Jewett and Brendan Shearn have already shown interest about coming out to the meet based on past results.
6. The Return of the West Coast
Let's face it. Indoors is made for the east coast Philly area schools who get into it the most. Out west guys are just licking their chops ready to make their mark outdoors. Brent Kennedy immediately springs to mind as a guy who can mix it up with the best in the state come outdoors. We also have all the NA boys ready to roll and some sleepers like Brian Shields from Hampton. Plus Footlocker Finalist Austin Pondel should be back to racing after an extremely impressive XC campaign.
5. 1600m Mayhem
Who's the best miler in the state? The debate will continue after this weekend at nationals. Coyle is the returning AAA state champ and Huemmler is the indoor state champ while Ryan Smathers ran to his own state title as well outdoors. However, Tony Russell has eclipsed all of their PRs with a 4:10-11 full mile split on the anchor of the 4xMile while Ben Ritz dropped a 4:14 open mile for the fastest open mark this year indoors. So who is the best? Well the title will be up for grabs this outdoor season and not just between these few names. James Zingarini of CRN as well as Curt Jewett from Northeast Bradford have serious cases for sleeper state championships. Dan Jaskowak and Brent Kennedy believe they too can be in the hunt. Unfortunately, we may not get a race where all of these guys are in the same race, but hey, it will still be fun to watch and debate.
4. The 1:50 Barrier
Few have ever eclipsed this elusive mark but Tom Mallon and Drew Magaha have made it seem relatively routine after their assaults on the record books over the years. This year the group of returns with solid 800m credentials is high. Joe Logue, Tom Coyle and Alec Kunzweiler all boast 1:51 PRs (Kunzweiler's being a split). Right behind them are 1:52 guys Andrew Stone and Brad Rivera, who is the indoor state champ. Throw in a slew of 1:53 guys (Christian Sanders, Jeff Wiseman, AJ Chaborek) and the defending District 1 Champion Steve Yannacone and you've got yourself a pretty darn good final. Will Cather, Zach Brehm, Lucas Elek and maybe a few surprises can sneak up into the mix as well. Sub 1:50 is certainly a stretch, but to think of this year's group as being incredibly deep is an understatement.
3. 4x800m
The 4x800m has been unbelievable the past 5 years or so in the state of PA. There are always a large amount of teams under 7:50 and a few chasing the 7:40 barrier. This year the group is headlined by defending champs Cumberland Valley, who return 3 from their state title run a year ago including stud anchor Alec Kunzweiler and Bensalem, led by indoor state champion Brad Rivera and rising star Kyle Francis. Bensalem looked very strong indoors while CV looked past indoors for a chance at a repeat. A few other teams have the potential to run a very fast relay but may chose not to do so at states. The teams that jump to mind immeaditley are LaSalle and Henderson. LaSalle already has two killer legs in Stone and Coyle, plus break out starts Billotta and Magee. Henderson is led by Chaborek and Russell with a slew of other sub 2 minute men behind them. Pennsbury, O'Hara, State College, Kiski Area and Central Dauphin (8 flat at NBIN) are teams that also have the potential to run well under 7:50. Penncrest and North Penn always have very dangerous squads. Upper Darby could be a big surprise, they showed flashes of brilliance indoors. So too did DT East. And of course we can't count out the District 3 teams in the 4x8, as they have consistently put up title contenders so maybe Carlisle or another team will step up big. Regardless, the race will be fun to watch come states.
2. Deepest 3200m Year in State History??
Yes very well might be the answer. Indoors in the 3k we saw the deepest race the state meet has ever seen, headlined by Max Norris's huge run under 8:30. Norris and Tony Russell headline the group of guys who have to have sub 9 minutes on their mind, but there is a large, large group behind them knocking at the door of greatness. Ethan Martin headlines the runners out of D7 but we also have Footlocker Finalist Brendan Shearn, the defending AA state champ to worry about in the sub 9 chase. We can't forget about Mac Emery and Jack Macauley either, both of whom have run very quick for 3200m in 9:11 and 9:15 respectively. Connor Harriman and Dan Jaskowak are the top two AAA returners from last year's state meet. Then we have guys like Conner Quinn, Jon Colwell, Ross Wilson, Rico Galassi and Sami Aziz who have serious sub 9:15 goals. That list doesn't even include guys like Dan Savage, Reiny Barchet, Lyle Wistar and Sam Williams who may be looking to play spoiler and pull off a big upset. Milers Sam Ritz and Tom Coyle could certainly go up in distance and run a quick time. Kevin James and Jim Belfatto are already well under 9:30 from this past XC season. You can't forget about Jeff Groh or even Francis Ferruzzi, who beat Sam Hibbs early in the year last year before suffering through injury. Will McDermott, Chris Berry and many, many more guys are serious sub 9:20 contenders. In 2010 the state saw roughly 20 runners under 9:20 over the course of the season. In 2013 we could see that mark go down. The state has also never seen two men under 9 in the same season. That mark may go down. Even the state record of 8:48 or so is in jeopardy.
1. Penn Relays
Only one thing could beat a loaded 32 field: the greatest track meet that happens every year! The Penn Relays is an amazing experience and PA usually rises to the occassion. The DMR will be where PA will have to leave its mark with a slew of great teams set to be in attendance. LaSalle and Henderson headline the field with talk of sub 10 minute times being thrown out. The anchors for both teams are serious sub 4:10 threats, Russell having already done it for 1600m (convert the mile). Jack Huemmler is another potential 4:10 man who could be anchoring while James Zingarini and the CRN boys will also be in the mix. Throw in the #5 XC team in the nation with a 10:13 Pr and 4:16 anchor leg in Dan Savage and you have quite the race on your hands. Maybe Pennsbury will decide to jump in the DMR as well, which could be fun. The 4x8 should be well represented, Bensalem should put their chips in and go for a fast time with ideal competition. And hopefully the 3k will be loaded up with PA names as Max Norris is the big one to watch but Ethan Martin, Conner Quinn, Brendan Shearn, Sami Aziz and more names may make the cut. In the mile we may see Huemmler mix it up, but it seems we will likely see Ben Ritz after a break out 4:14 mark to end his indoor season. It's a great chance to show PA don't play.
11. 'AA' Studs
How many guys from single A had a real indoor season? Well I'll tell you straight up two of the big names didn't race once: Rico Galassi and Luke Jones. Both were the cream of the crop in XC regardless of their A ranking and were in the hunt for a spot at Footlocker Nationals this year. Both are also sub 9:30 2 milers, while Rico is a sub 9:20 and 4:20 man. Plus, indoors isn't a real season for a lot of the other single A guys like Sam Williams, Curt Jewett and Ryan Smathers although they all raced very competitively. But I imagine they are going to have serious drops when they get to run in quality races week in and week out. Throw Shearn into the group with the Archers and the AA races should be very impressive. Shawn Wolfe, Barrett Kemp, Aaron Valerosa, Jordan Jackson and Dan Alexander should all also be remembered when considering the AA talent crop.
10. Finding Drew Gerberich
Anybody remember Drew Gerberich? Well I certainly do. The man came out of nowhere at the end of outdoors last year. I didn't remember him in XC results or indoor results virtually at all, but he ran 4:16 and then 1:53.55 to finish 4th at states in the 800m. It was a great finish to his senior year. Now it is only a matter of time before we find the next out of nowhere star who will mix it up with the top guns and run some blazing times. I look forward to that moment and it will come this outdoors like it always does.
9. Rising Sophomores
Kevin James was on fire at the end of indoors. He ran some really quality lead off legs at Nationals and looked like a real pro out there. He also has a 4:22 and 8:54 double on a flat track to his name. He leads what is quickly becoming a killer class of break out sophomores. Sam Webb is another big name with his 4:21 mark. Eric Diestelow and Zach Brehm are a couple studs ready to burst out of their shell and contribute on the big stage. Brehm notched a 1:55 last year. Throw in some names like Jonathan Pearlman, Aaron Gebhardt, Matt McGoey and a few more I probably haven't even heard of yet and we will see the future state champs start to take shape.
8. Return of the Wounded
I'm going to assume it's not just me, I hate all the sickness going around. Huemmler and Coyle got it bad and struggled to close out the indoor season to say the least. Plus it affected a lot of the other big names at some point or another. AJ Chaborek will come back at full health for a full season which could make him very dangerous in the 800m. Plus we have all the top guns who are returning from injury. The big name for me is Vinny Todaro who I think could surprise with a 4:12ish mark if he is in the shape he was in during XC. Steve Yannacone from Unionville was a breakout performer last year outdoors and is finally back healthy and racing. Ken Leidal should be back to full strength for DT West after a breakthrough indoors. Plus Brendan Shearn should be recovered more from his injury and have steady training. If he ran those other times hurt, imagine what he can do healthy.
7. Henderson Invite
It's the biggest meet of the HS season in my mind and things should only get bigger this year. Hopefully the weather holds up and gives us a chance to see the states best go at it in the Distance events. Over the past few years at this meet we have seen a state record in the 2 mile, a sub 1:50 800m and a slew of PRs in the distance events. Last year the meet produced 23 sub 4:30 marks, 25 sub 2 minute marks (2 1:52s), and 31 sub 10 3200s despite the event being rescheduled. Guys like Andrew Stone, Tom Coyle, Tony Russell, Ben Ritz, Sami Aziz, Curt Jewett and Brendan Shearn have already shown interest about coming out to the meet based on past results.
6. The Return of the West Coast
Let's face it. Indoors is made for the east coast Philly area schools who get into it the most. Out west guys are just licking their chops ready to make their mark outdoors. Brent Kennedy immediately springs to mind as a guy who can mix it up with the best in the state come outdoors. We also have all the NA boys ready to roll and some sleepers like Brian Shields from Hampton. Plus Footlocker Finalist Austin Pondel should be back to racing after an extremely impressive XC campaign.
5. 1600m Mayhem
Who's the best miler in the state? The debate will continue after this weekend at nationals. Coyle is the returning AAA state champ and Huemmler is the indoor state champ while Ryan Smathers ran to his own state title as well outdoors. However, Tony Russell has eclipsed all of their PRs with a 4:10-11 full mile split on the anchor of the 4xMile while Ben Ritz dropped a 4:14 open mile for the fastest open mark this year indoors. So who is the best? Well the title will be up for grabs this outdoor season and not just between these few names. James Zingarini of CRN as well as Curt Jewett from Northeast Bradford have serious cases for sleeper state championships. Dan Jaskowak and Brent Kennedy believe they too can be in the hunt. Unfortunately, we may not get a race where all of these guys are in the same race, but hey, it will still be fun to watch and debate.
4. The 1:50 Barrier
Few have ever eclipsed this elusive mark but Tom Mallon and Drew Magaha have made it seem relatively routine after their assaults on the record books over the years. This year the group of returns with solid 800m credentials is high. Joe Logue, Tom Coyle and Alec Kunzweiler all boast 1:51 PRs (Kunzweiler's being a split). Right behind them are 1:52 guys Andrew Stone and Brad Rivera, who is the indoor state champ. Throw in a slew of 1:53 guys (Christian Sanders, Jeff Wiseman, AJ Chaborek) and the defending District 1 Champion Steve Yannacone and you've got yourself a pretty darn good final. Will Cather, Zach Brehm, Lucas Elek and maybe a few surprises can sneak up into the mix as well. Sub 1:50 is certainly a stretch, but to think of this year's group as being incredibly deep is an understatement.
3. 4x800m
The 4x800m has been unbelievable the past 5 years or so in the state of PA. There are always a large amount of teams under 7:50 and a few chasing the 7:40 barrier. This year the group is headlined by defending champs Cumberland Valley, who return 3 from their state title run a year ago including stud anchor Alec Kunzweiler and Bensalem, led by indoor state champion Brad Rivera and rising star Kyle Francis. Bensalem looked very strong indoors while CV looked past indoors for a chance at a repeat. A few other teams have the potential to run a very fast relay but may chose not to do so at states. The teams that jump to mind immeaditley are LaSalle and Henderson. LaSalle already has two killer legs in Stone and Coyle, plus break out starts Billotta and Magee. Henderson is led by Chaborek and Russell with a slew of other sub 2 minute men behind them. Pennsbury, O'Hara, State College, Kiski Area and Central Dauphin (8 flat at NBIN) are teams that also have the potential to run well under 7:50. Penncrest and North Penn always have very dangerous squads. Upper Darby could be a big surprise, they showed flashes of brilliance indoors. So too did DT East. And of course we can't count out the District 3 teams in the 4x8, as they have consistently put up title contenders so maybe Carlisle or another team will step up big. Regardless, the race will be fun to watch come states.
2. Deepest 3200m Year in State History??
Yes very well might be the answer. Indoors in the 3k we saw the deepest race the state meet has ever seen, headlined by Max Norris's huge run under 8:30. Norris and Tony Russell headline the group of guys who have to have sub 9 minutes on their mind, but there is a large, large group behind them knocking at the door of greatness. Ethan Martin headlines the runners out of D7 but we also have Footlocker Finalist Brendan Shearn, the defending AA state champ to worry about in the sub 9 chase. We can't forget about Mac Emery and Jack Macauley either, both of whom have run very quick for 3200m in 9:11 and 9:15 respectively. Connor Harriman and Dan Jaskowak are the top two AAA returners from last year's state meet. Then we have guys like Conner Quinn, Jon Colwell, Ross Wilson, Rico Galassi and Sami Aziz who have serious sub 9:15 goals. That list doesn't even include guys like Dan Savage, Reiny Barchet, Lyle Wistar and Sam Williams who may be looking to play spoiler and pull off a big upset. Milers Sam Ritz and Tom Coyle could certainly go up in distance and run a quick time. Kevin James and Jim Belfatto are already well under 9:30 from this past XC season. You can't forget about Jeff Groh or even Francis Ferruzzi, who beat Sam Hibbs early in the year last year before suffering through injury. Will McDermott, Chris Berry and many, many more guys are serious sub 9:20 contenders. In 2010 the state saw roughly 20 runners under 9:20 over the course of the season. In 2013 we could see that mark go down. The state has also never seen two men under 9 in the same season. That mark may go down. Even the state record of 8:48 or so is in jeopardy.
1. Penn Relays
Only one thing could beat a loaded 32 field: the greatest track meet that happens every year! The Penn Relays is an amazing experience and PA usually rises to the occassion. The DMR will be where PA will have to leave its mark with a slew of great teams set to be in attendance. LaSalle and Henderson headline the field with talk of sub 10 minute times being thrown out. The anchors for both teams are serious sub 4:10 threats, Russell having already done it for 1600m (convert the mile). Jack Huemmler is another potential 4:10 man who could be anchoring while James Zingarini and the CRN boys will also be in the mix. Throw in the #5 XC team in the nation with a 10:13 Pr and 4:16 anchor leg in Dan Savage and you have quite the race on your hands. Maybe Pennsbury will decide to jump in the DMR as well, which could be fun. The 4x8 should be well represented, Bensalem should put their chips in and go for a fast time with ideal competition. And hopefully the 3k will be loaded up with PA names as Max Norris is the big one to watch but Ethan Martin, Conner Quinn, Brendan Shearn, Sami Aziz and more names may make the cut. In the mile we may see Huemmler mix it up, but it seems we will likely see Ben Ritz after a break out 4:14 mark to end his indoor season. It's a great chance to show PA don't play.
New Balance Nationals Results
EE 800
Kyle Adams- 1:58.93
Will Cather- 1:56.81
EE 2 Mile
Sami Aziz- 9:20.31
Lyle Wistar- 9:26.95
EE SMR
HGPrep 3:40.95
DMR
DTW 10:38.91
Pennsbury 10:22 (3:11/49/2:00/4:21 unofficially)
Strath Haven 10:29
O'Hara 10:13.13 5th (3:08/51/1:56/4:16 unofficially)
5k
Max Norris 2nd 14:55.41 (27-28 close)
Brendan Shearn 15:25.56
4xMile
CRN 17:40.38 (Zingarini 4:19.9 unofficially)
WCH 17:23 2nd (Russell 4:09ish anchor almost pulled out the win, but faded on the final straight)
O'Hara 17:25 3rd (James sub 4:20, Pitone around 4:24, Savage and Belfatto around 4:20)
I'll post up here the splits from Delta Timing, not sure if they are perfect but they seem at least reasonable for most races compared to my timing from watching the video and I'm sure I'm off. Some of the other ones from milesplit seem a little funky. The SMR ones are the ones I am least comfortable with what Delta Timing says, but hey its the best I got. If you have hand time splits from coaches post them up as a point of reference. Also in many cases the order Delta Timing lists is wrong so just kinda ignore that. In the 4xMile I'm almost 100% positive the lead off splits are off. I'm not sure which other splits those effect, but I know James did not split 4:25, he was likely under 4:20.
Kyle Adams- 1:58.93
Will Cather- 1:56.81
EE 2 Mile
Sami Aziz- 9:20.31
Lyle Wistar- 9:26.95
EE SMR
HGPrep 3:40.95
DMR
DTW 10:38.91
Pennsbury 10:22 (3:11/49/2:00/4:21 unofficially)
Strath Haven 10:29
O'Hara 10:13.13 5th (3:08/51/1:56/4:16 unofficially)
5k
Max Norris 2nd 14:55.41 (27-28 close)
Brendan Shearn 15:25.56
4xMile
CRN 17:40.38 (Zingarini 4:19.9 unofficially)
WCH 17:23 2nd (Russell 4:09ish anchor almost pulled out the win, but faded on the final straight)
O'Hara 17:25 3rd (James sub 4:20, Pitone around 4:24, Savage and Belfatto around 4:20)
I'll post up here the splits from Delta Timing, not sure if they are perfect but they seem at least reasonable for most races compared to my timing from watching the video and I'm sure I'm off. Some of the other ones from milesplit seem a little funky. The SMR ones are the ones I am least comfortable with what Delta Timing says, but hey its the best I got. If you have hand time splits from coaches post them up as a point of reference. Also in many cases the order Delta Timing lists is wrong so just kinda ignore that. In the 4xMile I'm almost 100% positive the lead off splits are off. I'm not sure which other splits those effect, but I know James did not split 4:25, he was likely under 4:20.
DMR
5 Dtown West Tc-Pa 'A' 10:38.61
1) Joey Steadman 13 2) Leon Williams 14
3) Ryan Markle 13 4) Ken Leidal 13
3:21.76 (3:21.76) 4:17.66 (55.90) 6:15.36 (1:57.70)
10:38.61 (4:23.25)
4 Pennsbury Tc-Pa 'A' 10:22.58 1) Connor Harriman 13 2) Charles Snorweah 15 3) Alek Sauer 15 4) Samuel Webb 15 3:11.11 (3:11.11) 4:01.21 (50.10) 6:01.21 (2:00.00) 10:22.58 (4:21.37)7 Strath Haven Tc-Pa 'A' 10:29.50 1) Dylan Butera 14 2) Paul Somaru 15 3) Greg Kotchick 15 4) Jack Huemmler 13 3:14.01 (3:14.01) 4:06.51 (52.50) 6:08.41 (2:01.90) 10:29.50 (4:21.09)4 Cardinal O'Hara T+F Club- 'A' 10:13.13 1) Kevin James 15 2) Jimmy Boyle 13 3) Jim Belfatto 14 4) Dan Savage 13 3:09.26 (3:09.26) 4:00.26 (51.00) 5:56.16 (1:55.90)10:13.13 (4:16.97)SMR EE3 Germantown Friends Tc-Pa 'A' 3:43.691) Jeremy Wright 13 2) Dean Whitaker 16 3) Jonathan Bailey 13 4) James Finney 1445.59 (45.59) 1:39.29 (53.70) 3:43.69 (2:04.40)5 Chestnut Hill Acad Tc-Pa 'A' 3:46.21 1) Mac Concannon 13 2) Pat Feighery 14 3) Jamil Poole 13 4) Graham Allen 1447.03 (47.03) 1:41.03 (54.00) 3:46.21 (2:05.18)14 Holy Ghost Alumni Tc-Pa 'A' 3:40.95 4 1) Bradford Detrick 15 2) Kevin Feeney 13 3) Brandon Davis 14 4) Christian Kardish 1444.61 (44.61) 1:37.31 (52.70) 3:40.95 (2:03.64)4xMile1 Council Rock North Tc-Pa 'A' 17:40.38 1) Mac Emery 13 2) Ross Wilson 14 3) Rob Simmons 14 4) James Zingarini 13 4:28.42 (4:28.42) 8:59.42 (4:31.00) 13:22.12 (4:22.70)17:40.38 (4:18.26) 10 Warrior Tc-Pa 'B' 18:22.701) Robert Miller 13 2) Kevin Moy 14 3) Eric Stratman 14 4) Steven Thompson 14 4:41.70 (4:41.70) 9:11.50 (4:29.80) 13:40.30 (4:28.80)18:22.70 (4:42.40) 2 Warrior Tc-Pa 'A' 17:23.431) AJ Chaborek 13 2) Reiny Barchet 14 3) Seamus Collins 14 4) Tony Russell 14 4:31.35 (4:31.35) 8:51.15 (4:19.80) 13:12.85 (4:21.70)17:23.44 (4:10.59) 3 Cardinal O'Hara T+F Club- 'A' 17:25.281) Kevin James 15 2) Dan Savage 13 3) Ernie Pitone 13 4) Jim Belfatto 14 4:25.75 (4:25.75) 8:46.55 (4:20.80) 13:05.95 (4:19.40)17:25.28 (4:19.33)
So College
Maybe it is the fact that I just watched Animal House at my friend's house, but I feel like we could use some NCAA preview action. First off I want to give a quick shout out to Matt Gillette, Sam Ellison, Dan Lowry, Brandon Bennett-Green, Alex Monroe, Ivo Milic, Dan Dreeman and Joel Flott who will be representing PA at the national meets this weekend. Also props to anybody else from PA who I missed that will be toeing the line for us.
And of course a special shout out to the girls from Muhlenberg competing at nationals. Their 1200 lead off leg is ... um ... a good friend of mine and I wish her the best.
But you guys don't want to hear about my love life. Let's get down to business.
How about an NCAA D1 Distance Preview?
Let's start at 800m. Arkansas, the favorite for the team title, has an astounding 4 representatives in the 800m including the 1 and 3 seeds coming. Those top two seeds essentially time trialed 1:46s on their home track with Momoh from Arkansas leading the way with a 1:46.07. However, I'm not sure either of these Arkansas guys can match these astounding performances in a prelim-final tactical environment.
The other big names in the 800m include Cas Loxsom from Penn State, who set an American Record for 600m (although because it is an oversized track it will not officially be a record) in 1:15 and has run 1:46 himself this year indoors. Elijah Greer from Oregon is another favorite having made a slew of USA and NCAA finals and competed valiantly in those events. If he can get through to the final he will be dangerous going for his first national title. Loxsom is another one who has struggled in the past with the prelims, but if he makes the finals he has 1:45 PR speed like Greer and is very dangerous for the title.
Other names to keep in mind are Edward Kemboi from Iowa State (1:47.43), Harun Abda from Minnesota (1:48.14) and Sean Obinowa from Florida (1:47.90). Obinowa had a big breakthrough last weekend at Notre Dame while Abda is one of the best 600m men in the world. Sam Ellison is the 15th seed and is a UD alumn and an All-American last year outdoors.
In the mile, Chris O'Hare of Tulsa is the defending NCAA champion and now the college mile record holder after a blazing fast 3:52.98 mile at the Millrose Games. He is an easy favorite in this race to repeat as champion. Chasing O'Hare will be two of the same guys who chased him at Millrose: Lawi Lalang and Ryan Hill, both boast 3:54 mile credentials from this season and are sub 7:50 for 3k. They are both more of strength milers who would benefit from a fast pace. It is unlikely we will see this fast pace in what is normally a tactical final. Lawi and Hill will both be doubling mile-3k.
Also in the race are Robby Creese of PSU (3:57.11) and Mike Atchoo of Standford (3:57.14) who are both top milers in the nation as well as two of the best anchors on DMRs this year. Both will pull double duty in this meet and that may catch up to them in the difficult NCAA competition. Austin Mudd from Wisconsin is a name to watch as well. He had a big 3:58 win over Mac Fleet of Oregon who is also in this NCAA field. Fleet was 2nd as a true freshman but has struggled with injuries for the last 3 years. He is just now starting to round back into form. His teammate Brett Johnson (3:58) and Joe Stillin from Texas (3:58) will be in the mix as well after their DMRs missed out of making NCAAs. They will be very hungry and much fresher.
In the 3k Lawi Lalang comes in with the top seed of 7:42 and also a 3:54 mile mark. However, it remains to be seen how he will handle the double. One of his main competitors Ryan Hill is trying the same double. Behind Lalang are 5k types Diego Estrada and Kennedy Kithuka, the reigning national champion in cross country. Both of these men will be doubling from the previous day's 5000m and will have a serious test of closing speed in the 3k. Lawi is the defending champion in this event coming off double gold last year in the 5k and 3k. Looking to break up the repeat will be runners like Henry Lelei from Texas A&M (7:47) who is one of the best steeplechasers in the nation. Eric Jenkins from Northeastern passed on the mile to focus on the 3k, he is a sleeper with a 7:50 PR. Andy Bayer (7:51) is the reigning outdoor champion in the 1500m and will try to double back to the 3k after the DMR finals the previous day. He has the speed to compete with this field and is looking to continue the roll he ended on last spring where he was 4th at the USA championships at Hayward Field.
Over 5000m we will see a lot of the same names. Kennedy Kithuka comes in as the top seed in this event with his 13:26 mark which he ran completely uncontested, lapping the field. Kithuka will be challenged by Olympic 10k man Diego Estrada from NAU as well as Shadrick Kipchirchir from Ok State. Both men are under 13:40. Jeremy Elkiam from Oregon and Mo Ahmed from Wisco have impressive credentials in varying distances. Elkiam is a sub 4 miler and Ahmed is an Olympic 10k man as well and a top XC talent. PA's own Dan Lowry will mix it up with this group in a Michigan uniform. He comes in with a 13:42 seed and has an outdoor PR down around 13:30.
Lastly we come to the DMR. This DMR is one of the deepest fields the NCAA has ever seen. An amazing 7 teams come in with times under 9:30. The other 5 teams are at 9:31.23 or faster. And to top it off, all these teams ran those blazing fast marks last weekend at the same meet! (spread among 3 seperate heats). Now all the heats are united and that should make for a different dynamic. Villanova dominated their heat and has the most room to drop out of all teams in the race. With the exception of Ellison in the 4, the distance men will be all fresh. Chris Fitzsimons is starting to round back into 1:47 shape which he ran in HS. Jordy Williamsz is about a 2:52 12 leg and McEntee boasts Prs around 3:57. Nova is my pick to pull out the win.
However, Nova is far from the favorite. The boys at PSU are at 9:26 and have a killer pair of freshman on the 12 and 8 legs. Creese will be on the double from the mile prelims and that may make his anchor carry a little dicey. Princeton is another team to watch. I think this is many expert's pick to win the DM behind the awesome kick of anchor Peter Callahan. OK State will use some of their 5 sub 4 milers to challenge teams in the DMR as well. Stanford has a great team with a lot of proven winners including the doubling Atchoo on the anchor. Oklahoma's Patrick Casey sacrificed all his individual goals in hopes of anchoring his team to victory. He is a 3:56 miler this year.
Plenty of exciting races so I suggest you watch it.
Also in D3 news, the Haverford 5k guys are sick. There is a shot at sub 14 indoors from this group in a true race. Represent the Centennial Conference well, D3 is no joke.
Word.
And of course a special shout out to the girls from Muhlenberg competing at nationals. Their 1200 lead off leg is ... um ... a good friend of mine and I wish her the best.
But you guys don't want to hear about my love life. Let's get down to business.
How about an NCAA D1 Distance Preview?
Let's start at 800m. Arkansas, the favorite for the team title, has an astounding 4 representatives in the 800m including the 1 and 3 seeds coming. Those top two seeds essentially time trialed 1:46s on their home track with Momoh from Arkansas leading the way with a 1:46.07. However, I'm not sure either of these Arkansas guys can match these astounding performances in a prelim-final tactical environment.
The other big names in the 800m include Cas Loxsom from Penn State, who set an American Record for 600m (although because it is an oversized track it will not officially be a record) in 1:15 and has run 1:46 himself this year indoors. Elijah Greer from Oregon is another favorite having made a slew of USA and NCAA finals and competed valiantly in those events. If he can get through to the final he will be dangerous going for his first national title. Loxsom is another one who has struggled in the past with the prelims, but if he makes the finals he has 1:45 PR speed like Greer and is very dangerous for the title.
Other names to keep in mind are Edward Kemboi from Iowa State (1:47.43), Harun Abda from Minnesota (1:48.14) and Sean Obinowa from Florida (1:47.90). Obinowa had a big breakthrough last weekend at Notre Dame while Abda is one of the best 600m men in the world. Sam Ellison is the 15th seed and is a UD alumn and an All-American last year outdoors.
In the mile, Chris O'Hare of Tulsa is the defending NCAA champion and now the college mile record holder after a blazing fast 3:52.98 mile at the Millrose Games. He is an easy favorite in this race to repeat as champion. Chasing O'Hare will be two of the same guys who chased him at Millrose: Lawi Lalang and Ryan Hill, both boast 3:54 mile credentials from this season and are sub 7:50 for 3k. They are both more of strength milers who would benefit from a fast pace. It is unlikely we will see this fast pace in what is normally a tactical final. Lawi and Hill will both be doubling mile-3k.
Also in the race are Robby Creese of PSU (3:57.11) and Mike Atchoo of Standford (3:57.14) who are both top milers in the nation as well as two of the best anchors on DMRs this year. Both will pull double duty in this meet and that may catch up to them in the difficult NCAA competition. Austin Mudd from Wisconsin is a name to watch as well. He had a big 3:58 win over Mac Fleet of Oregon who is also in this NCAA field. Fleet was 2nd as a true freshman but has struggled with injuries for the last 3 years. He is just now starting to round back into form. His teammate Brett Johnson (3:58) and Joe Stillin from Texas (3:58) will be in the mix as well after their DMRs missed out of making NCAAs. They will be very hungry and much fresher.
In the 3k Lawi Lalang comes in with the top seed of 7:42 and also a 3:54 mile mark. However, it remains to be seen how he will handle the double. One of his main competitors Ryan Hill is trying the same double. Behind Lalang are 5k types Diego Estrada and Kennedy Kithuka, the reigning national champion in cross country. Both of these men will be doubling from the previous day's 5000m and will have a serious test of closing speed in the 3k. Lawi is the defending champion in this event coming off double gold last year in the 5k and 3k. Looking to break up the repeat will be runners like Henry Lelei from Texas A&M (7:47) who is one of the best steeplechasers in the nation. Eric Jenkins from Northeastern passed on the mile to focus on the 3k, he is a sleeper with a 7:50 PR. Andy Bayer (7:51) is the reigning outdoor champion in the 1500m and will try to double back to the 3k after the DMR finals the previous day. He has the speed to compete with this field and is looking to continue the roll he ended on last spring where he was 4th at the USA championships at Hayward Field.
Over 5000m we will see a lot of the same names. Kennedy Kithuka comes in as the top seed in this event with his 13:26 mark which he ran completely uncontested, lapping the field. Kithuka will be challenged by Olympic 10k man Diego Estrada from NAU as well as Shadrick Kipchirchir from Ok State. Both men are under 13:40. Jeremy Elkiam from Oregon and Mo Ahmed from Wisco have impressive credentials in varying distances. Elkiam is a sub 4 miler and Ahmed is an Olympic 10k man as well and a top XC talent. PA's own Dan Lowry will mix it up with this group in a Michigan uniform. He comes in with a 13:42 seed and has an outdoor PR down around 13:30.
Lastly we come to the DMR. This DMR is one of the deepest fields the NCAA has ever seen. An amazing 7 teams come in with times under 9:30. The other 5 teams are at 9:31.23 or faster. And to top it off, all these teams ran those blazing fast marks last weekend at the same meet! (spread among 3 seperate heats). Now all the heats are united and that should make for a different dynamic. Villanova dominated their heat and has the most room to drop out of all teams in the race. With the exception of Ellison in the 4, the distance men will be all fresh. Chris Fitzsimons is starting to round back into 1:47 shape which he ran in HS. Jordy Williamsz is about a 2:52 12 leg and McEntee boasts Prs around 3:57. Nova is my pick to pull out the win.
However, Nova is far from the favorite. The boys at PSU are at 9:26 and have a killer pair of freshman on the 12 and 8 legs. Creese will be on the double from the mile prelims and that may make his anchor carry a little dicey. Princeton is another team to watch. I think this is many expert's pick to win the DM behind the awesome kick of anchor Peter Callahan. OK State will use some of their 5 sub 4 milers to challenge teams in the DMR as well. Stanford has a great team with a lot of proven winners including the doubling Atchoo on the anchor. Oklahoma's Patrick Casey sacrificed all his individual goals in hopes of anchoring his team to victory. He is a 3:56 miler this year.
Plenty of exciting races so I suggest you watch it.
Also in D3 news, the Haverford 5k guys are sick. There is a shot at sub 14 indoors from this group in a true race. Represent the Centennial Conference well, D3 is no joke.
Word.
Trackmas: A Poem By Brendan Shearn
Twas the night before Trackmas, when all through the house
Not a runner was stirring, not even a mouse.
The trainers were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Trackmas would soon be there.
The runners were nestled all snug in their beds,
With dreams of mile repeats clogging their heads
With mama in her kerchief and I in my cap,
We had just settled down for a post long run nap.
When out on the lawn their arouse such a clatter
I sprung from my bed to see what was the matter
Away to the window I ran like a flash
Tore open the shutters and shot put up the sash
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of gold medals to objects below
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
but 2 4x8 relays of people running like deer
With a little old runner so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be saint Trackmas
More rapid then sprinters his runner they came,
And he wistled and shouted and called them by name;
Now, Solinsky, now Jaeger, now Lomong, now Levin....s
On, Rupp, on Hall, on Lagat, and Ritzen
To the top of the Track, to the top of the wall
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!
As frontrunners before the wild kicker fly,
When they meet with a barrier, they mount to the sky
So up to house top the runner they flew,
With a relay full of spikes, and St. Trackmas too
And then in a millisecond, I heard on the roof
The stretching and jumping of each little shoe...f
As I stretched my calf, and was turning around.
Down the chimney St. Trackmas came with a hop skip and a bound.
He was dressed all in coldgear from his head to his foot
and his clothes were all tarnished with sand and soot
A bundle of spikes he had flung on his back
And he looked like a runner just opening his pack
His legs how they flexed, His smile how merry
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.
His strong quads were drawn up like a bow
and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow
The stump of his spike wrench he held tight in his teeth
And all around his head was encircled by a footlocker wreath
He had a slim face and no round belly
He looked like he could use a few bowls of jelly
He was thin and cut a right defined old elf
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of my self
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread
He had a quick stretch then went straight to his work
And filled all the trainers and turned with a jerk,
Laying his fingers aside of his toes,
and pushing with his quads up the chimney he rose
He sprinted to his relay and to his team gave a whistle
Away they all ran at the speed of a missile
But I heard him exclaim as he ran out of sight
Merry Trackmas to all and to all a good night!
Not a runner was stirring, not even a mouse.
The trainers were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Trackmas would soon be there.
The runners were nestled all snug in their beds,
With dreams of mile repeats clogging their heads
With mama in her kerchief and I in my cap,
We had just settled down for a post long run nap.
When out on the lawn their arouse such a clatter
I sprung from my bed to see what was the matter
Away to the window I ran like a flash
Tore open the shutters and shot put up the sash
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of gold medals to objects below
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
but 2 4x8 relays of people running like deer
With a little old runner so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be saint Trackmas
More rapid then sprinters his runner they came,
And he wistled and shouted and called them by name;
Now, Solinsky, now Jaeger, now Lomong, now Levin....s
On, Rupp, on Hall, on Lagat, and Ritzen
To the top of the Track, to the top of the wall
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!
As frontrunners before the wild kicker fly,
When they meet with a barrier, they mount to the sky
So up to house top the runner they flew,
With a relay full of spikes, and St. Trackmas too
And then in a millisecond, I heard on the roof
The stretching and jumping of each little shoe...f
As I stretched my calf, and was turning around.
Down the chimney St. Trackmas came with a hop skip and a bound.
He was dressed all in coldgear from his head to his foot
and his clothes were all tarnished with sand and soot
A bundle of spikes he had flung on his back
And he looked like a runner just opening his pack
His legs how they flexed, His smile how merry
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.
His strong quads were drawn up like a bow
and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow
The stump of his spike wrench he held tight in his teeth
And all around his head was encircled by a footlocker wreath
He had a slim face and no round belly
He looked like he could use a few bowls of jelly
He was thin and cut a right defined old elf
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of my self
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread
He had a quick stretch then went straight to his work
And filled all the trainers and turned with a jerk,
Laying his fingers aside of his toes,
and pushing with his quads up the chimney he rose
He sprinted to his relay and to his team gave a whistle
Away they all ran at the speed of a missile
But I heard him exclaim as he ran out of sight
Merry Trackmas to all and to all a good night!
NBIN Preview
Hey everyone! ForrestCRN here, just hacking Etrain’s account
to bring you guys a NBIN (New Balance Indoor Nationals) Preview. The starting
line list has been changing a bit recently and I want to walk through some of
the distance races, this has been a great year for PA, especially at the state
meet and I hope ya’ll are excited as I am about PA representing at Nat’s.
Just going in order of events by day and time so you can
check in to watch the livestream if they have one again last year.
3/8 @ 1:05 -- Emerging Elite 800: Kyle Adams and Will Cather
from State College are the two PA guys in this race. They’re not running a
4x800 from what I can see, which I was a bit surprised by, but hopefully we can
see Adams break 2:00. Cather will be in the fast heat, most likely, and sitting
on a fast pace could run low 1:55’s maybe even 1:54 high. Last year 4 guys
broke 1:55 in the EE group, so he will have good competition.
3/8 @ 2:30—Emerging Elite 2 Mile: Sami Aziz and Lyle Wistar.
Both GFS guys who didn’t have the best days at states in the Mile, they will be
moving up in distance which I think benefits them both. Aziz had that 9:16
during XC, and I think he’s got low 9:20’s in him. Wistar is a big sit and
kicker, which helped him grab a medal at states in the mile and I think he’ll
be towed by Aziz to about 9:25 in this race. These guys have the chance to go
1-2.
3/8 @ 5:10 – Distance Medley Relay: Cardinal O’Hara T+F Club
(O’Hara), Dtown West TC (DTW), Pennsbury TC, and Strath Haven TC (SH). Really
excited about this race, there are the most PA teams out of all the distance
events and the opportunity for 3 of them to break 10:20. Huemmler will be free
of sickness and I think can split 4:13 or fast on the anchor leg. He went out
in 2:04 at states on the double and finished in 4:17. If everything comes
together for them look for SH to be around 10:15. O’Hara and PB could be right
there. Both teams have 1200 legs that can go sub 3:10, 800 legs under 1:58, and
anchor legs with sub 4:20 mile capabilities (I expect Harriman to be fresh and
Kevin James with a quick pace can definitely split sub 4:20). I would be
surprised if all 3 of these teams didn’t break 10:17. Last year 10:10-10:12
were places 1-7, and I expect to see similar results this year. I see SH 4th,
PB 7th, and O’Hara 9th.
3/8 @ 7:00 – 5000m: Max Norris and Brendan Shearn. Shearn
seemed to surprise himself in this event last year running 15:06 for 8th
place. He knows how to run during championship season and he came back strong
at states from injury, and I bet he’ll be even better at Nationals. He and
Norris both could run sub 15:00 and I fully expect Norris to do so. I’d be
surprised if they both didn’t medal (top 8). The field didn’t seem as deep as
last year (Cheserk will take the win I’d have to guess) Jake Feinstein is
another name that stands out to mix it up (from Conn.)
3/9 @ 1:05 – 4x 1 Mile: Warrior TC A and B (WCH), Council
Rock North TC (CRN), Cardinal O’Hara T+F Club (O’Hara). I’m fairly bias here,
but the 4x 1 Mile is my favorite event after the DMR. I think it should be run
more often (4x8 and 4x1600 @ outdoor state?!?!). Enough of my ranting, this
race should be pretty special as these 3 teams will be mixing it up for the top
5 spots (always sub 17:40). All teams have 4 guys under sub 4:32 or so in the
mile with possibility of all splits under 4:30, an incredible feat. I’m
interested to see what shape Chaborek’s shape is in for the mile, but I see
most of these teams within 5 seconds of each other. I’ll have to go with WCH
pulling it out as the #1 PA team over CRN and O’Hara about 3 seconds behind
(most guys will be on the double from the DMR the day before). This race is
stacked with Xcb TC being anchored by Sean McGorty, XC runner-up, Don Bosco is
always solid, CBA (Brothers TC) has 2 squads and both medaled last year,
Arcadia the NXN champs coming up from California, and Bishop Hendrickson from
RI.
3/9 @5:00 – Emerging Elite Mile: Curt Jewett. Alex Moran won
this and set the meet record in low 4:17 last year, I don’t see Jewett doing
that well, but I think he finishes top 3 in a sub 4:20 time. He’s setting himself
up well for outdoors.
3/9 7:40 – 4x800: Cardinal O’Hara T+F Club (O’Hara),
Pennsbury TC (PB), and Central Dauphin. Missed CD making this in the other
post, hopefully we’ll see 8:05ish from them. O’Hara and PB will be going at it
again in the 4x800, but O’Hara will have some tired legs (3rd event
for some guys) and PB will be on the double from the day before. If PB
continues to roll, after proving they hadn’t peaked early at states, they could
scare the 7:50 mark if they have even splits of 1:58 and a 1:56 from Harriman.
O’Hara should be able to compete, but I see tired legs putting them around 7:55/56.
Lower Section’s 3/10 @ 10:10 and Fast Section 3/10 @ 2:18 for
the 800m: -- Jeffery Wiseman, Joe Logue, and Brad Rivera. Brad got switched
from the EE race, which is great to see. With these open events you can enter
times from outdoors last year, and I’m not sure how they calculate those kids
into the heats. The heats will come out on Wednesday, but looking at the list
of 26 kids, it looks like Rivera will be the on PA guy in the fast heat. As of
right now Rivera is 6th, Wiseman 9th, and Logue is 10th;
the final last year had 8 runners. Ben Malone has not run the 800 yet this season,
but is in the championship, and I bet that he will be in the fast section since
he is the defending NBIN champion in this event. Hopefully Wiseman and Logue
get a front runner in there heat, seeing as they run better while kicking.
Rivera on the other hand will have people to push with and I bet he goes 1:51
high. I see Wiseman and Logue going 1:53 low to 1:52 high, depending on the
pace they get.
Lower Section 3/10 @ 11:20 and Fast Section 3/10 @ 2:04 1
Mile -- Jack Huemmler and Ben Ritz. Ritz got in with his 4:12.76 PR from
outdoors last year, and I’m not sure where that puts him, but I would guess he’ll
be in the slower section. Huemmler is 12th right now based on indoor
times and last year only 7 guys were in the fast section, not sure why that
was. I hope they extend it this year to a top 12, which makes more sense to me,
but I doubt they go higher than a top 8, meaning he’ll be in a slower section. I
bet Huemmler wins his section in 4:13 to get on the podium. No idea what to
expect from Ritz, but if he entered he must feel as though he is in good shape,
so possibly sub 4:15 from him, although I see him about 4:18.
3/10 12:51 -- 2 Mile: Jon Colwell, Ethan and Colin Martin,
Brendan Shearn, and Max Norris. A stacked PA event for sure and hopefully we’ll
see sub 9:20 from all of these guys. Norris looked really good, running a 62 or
so last 400 at states in the 3k, I’d love to see him go sub 9:05 here and
getting his second medal. 9:08 was 8th last year in this event. I
don’t think Ethan Martin or Shearn will be able to go sub 9:10, but I bet they
hit around 9:12. If Colwell and Colin Martin can hold onto a faster pace they
should both be able to break 9:20, but it’ll be close.
Just wanted to say good luck to all the athletes competing
at NBIN and remember,
PA Don’t Play
States Recap: The Relays
I grouped these together partly because time is not quite on my side this week, but also because outdoors there is only one distance relay (I do miss the DMR) although Penn Relays will be an interesting topic in the future for this blog. After Nats we will have a better idea of what kinda teams are going to be able to get into Penn.
So let's start with the 4x8. Obviously Bensalem really stepped up to plate, but the race was perhaps a little tighter than I expected having seen the results. Rivera on the double didn't quite really take off on the field on the lead off leg, but doubling is tough. Kyle Francis had a fantastic double, the last 200m he really destroyed the field, AJ worked hard to catch back up but Francis clearly was saving up. Looking ahead for outdoors Bensalem is a clear cut favorite for the state title in the 4x8. I'm assuming LaSalle will opt for the individual races, although if LaSalle wanted to they could run a great a 4x8. Henderson and Pennsbury, the two biggest pieces of biggest competition for Bensalem likely won't be putting their absolute best team on the track.
I think Bensalem, adding in Correy to the equation and with 4 fresh legs can probably split something around 1:52-1:57-1:57-1:53 depending on much they are pushed. That could put them under 7:40 which is pretty impressive, it would put them in an elite class. If we did get to see them matched up against LaSalle we could see LaSalle around 1:52-1:52-1:55-1:58 or something like that would also could put them under 7:40 and close to the Abington and CB West marks from a few years back.
And that doesn't even include CValley who are the defending state champions. CValley ran a solid DM indoors to grab 4th but they still gotta turn things around quickly to get to sbu 7:40 ability. Kunzweiler is a great anchor, but he has to make up 3 seconds on Rivera already and Coburn has to make up a couple seconds on Francis.
AJ is really coming along well for Henderson. He went from mono to 1:55 in no time. He would be a sick 800m leg for Henderson on the DMR right now and may even become the 1200 leg depending on how he continues to develop. Now obviously this is a serious extrapolation, but he could be a 1:51 split by seasons end. IF Henderson can have 3 legs keep them in, Chaborek, Kunzweiler and Rivera would make for a sick race outdoors. I'm not sure Henderson has the pieces right now on paper to even necessarily try and run a 4x8 at states and cost Chaborek individually Their absolute A team with Russell and maybe Barchet could probably be pretty sick. There is a lot of potential for fast relays this year.
Looking down the list, Pennsbury really had a big race at states. I was really impressed by how well they bounced back from some tough races in the past couple weeks. O'Connell ran a very solid leg and Sauer bounced back very well from Millrose. Plus Harriman had a great leg, I was really surprised he could run 1:57 on the triple. And Sam Webb is a guy who runs with a lot of guts. He was working really hard to keep his team up front even though he is probably way down on his range at 800m. Pennsbury is a very solid team and I hope they go DMR at Penn, but likely individuals will rule the day for them late in the spring.
O'Hara can run a solid relay as well, but they are going to have to find a piece that isn't Savage for the anchor. Just too much to ask him to hang with those true 800m guys on the double from the 3k. That's an incredibly tough double to do and outdoors its no easier. Belfatto should develop into a nice 800m leg for them and I think he can anchor the team home to a fast time. I expect these guys to have a nice DMR at Penn as well.
State College should opt for the 4x8 outdoors as well. They ran 7:51 last year and I bet they can cut down on that as well. Cather is obviously a quality anchor, he ran a sick leg on the 4x8, around a 1:56 split for him to completely change the race on the anchor. North Penn is just always good at the 4x8. I can't believe they could run that time out of nowhere with Macauley, their best leg in my mind. Penncrest as well seems to always pull together a great 4x8. Even when Penncrest lost just about everybody from their 7:50 performance last year they dropped a sick mark in the 4x8 at states. DT East and Upper Darby will be better outdoors. They both are adjusting to being at the top. I'm a big fan of Caudwell, he is going to a factor outdoors.
As for the DMR, killer 1200m leg by Mac Emery. A man close to my heart now because of his running form similar to my own. Emery ran a very nice 3:09 leg with a gutsy move in the middle of the race. That was clutch and that is what set up the rest of the race. Rob Simmons was on the verge of a breakout to begin with and he really came up big with a 1:56. And Zingarini is solid.
Huemmler is a very tough guy, he fought hard and almost got his team a W. Coyle was pretty vulnerable on that anchor leg. To look at both of those guy and know they have been sick is pretty impressive to see what Huemmler did. Butera is a solid leg, hopefully he can develop as an individual, because Huemmler's individuals should trump the 4x8 outdoors.
GFS was a solid, but I think I underestimated the effects of the double on their mile legs. Wistar and Aziz are probably more 3200 guys than anything it seems. They may be able to sneak into Penn depending on how the season ends up.
Looking down the list that was a clutch race from Bonner. Nice double by McDermott but big stepping up by the middle legs and Sullivan. Those were the no name guys coming in and they stepped up to carry the team to their finish. I was impressed by DTWest hanging tough with Leidal out of the line up. That team healthy and fresh would have had a chance at being right with the teams in first.
Overall I think there are a lot of great 4x8s potentially outdoors, but it will just be a matter of which teams chose to put their pieces together for it.
So let's start with the 4x8. Obviously Bensalem really stepped up to plate, but the race was perhaps a little tighter than I expected having seen the results. Rivera on the double didn't quite really take off on the field on the lead off leg, but doubling is tough. Kyle Francis had a fantastic double, the last 200m he really destroyed the field, AJ worked hard to catch back up but Francis clearly was saving up. Looking ahead for outdoors Bensalem is a clear cut favorite for the state title in the 4x8. I'm assuming LaSalle will opt for the individual races, although if LaSalle wanted to they could run a great a 4x8. Henderson and Pennsbury, the two biggest pieces of biggest competition for Bensalem likely won't be putting their absolute best team on the track.
I think Bensalem, adding in Correy to the equation and with 4 fresh legs can probably split something around 1:52-1:57-1:57-1:53 depending on much they are pushed. That could put them under 7:40 which is pretty impressive, it would put them in an elite class. If we did get to see them matched up against LaSalle we could see LaSalle around 1:52-1:52-1:55-1:58 or something like that would also could put them under 7:40 and close to the Abington and CB West marks from a few years back.
And that doesn't even include CValley who are the defending state champions. CValley ran a solid DM indoors to grab 4th but they still gotta turn things around quickly to get to sbu 7:40 ability. Kunzweiler is a great anchor, but he has to make up 3 seconds on Rivera already and Coburn has to make up a couple seconds on Francis.
AJ is really coming along well for Henderson. He went from mono to 1:55 in no time. He would be a sick 800m leg for Henderson on the DMR right now and may even become the 1200 leg depending on how he continues to develop. Now obviously this is a serious extrapolation, but he could be a 1:51 split by seasons end. IF Henderson can have 3 legs keep them in, Chaborek, Kunzweiler and Rivera would make for a sick race outdoors. I'm not sure Henderson has the pieces right now on paper to even necessarily try and run a 4x8 at states and cost Chaborek individually Their absolute A team with Russell and maybe Barchet could probably be pretty sick. There is a lot of potential for fast relays this year.
Looking down the list, Pennsbury really had a big race at states. I was really impressed by how well they bounced back from some tough races in the past couple weeks. O'Connell ran a very solid leg and Sauer bounced back very well from Millrose. Plus Harriman had a great leg, I was really surprised he could run 1:57 on the triple. And Sam Webb is a guy who runs with a lot of guts. He was working really hard to keep his team up front even though he is probably way down on his range at 800m. Pennsbury is a very solid team and I hope they go DMR at Penn, but likely individuals will rule the day for them late in the spring.
O'Hara can run a solid relay as well, but they are going to have to find a piece that isn't Savage for the anchor. Just too much to ask him to hang with those true 800m guys on the double from the 3k. That's an incredibly tough double to do and outdoors its no easier. Belfatto should develop into a nice 800m leg for them and I think he can anchor the team home to a fast time. I expect these guys to have a nice DMR at Penn as well.
State College should opt for the 4x8 outdoors as well. They ran 7:51 last year and I bet they can cut down on that as well. Cather is obviously a quality anchor, he ran a sick leg on the 4x8, around a 1:56 split for him to completely change the race on the anchor. North Penn is just always good at the 4x8. I can't believe they could run that time out of nowhere with Macauley, their best leg in my mind. Penncrest as well seems to always pull together a great 4x8. Even when Penncrest lost just about everybody from their 7:50 performance last year they dropped a sick mark in the 4x8 at states. DT East and Upper Darby will be better outdoors. They both are adjusting to being at the top. I'm a big fan of Caudwell, he is going to a factor outdoors.
As for the DMR, killer 1200m leg by Mac Emery. A man close to my heart now because of his running form similar to my own. Emery ran a very nice 3:09 leg with a gutsy move in the middle of the race. That was clutch and that is what set up the rest of the race. Rob Simmons was on the verge of a breakout to begin with and he really came up big with a 1:56. And Zingarini is solid.
Huemmler is a very tough guy, he fought hard and almost got his team a W. Coyle was pretty vulnerable on that anchor leg. To look at both of those guy and know they have been sick is pretty impressive to see what Huemmler did. Butera is a solid leg, hopefully he can develop as an individual, because Huemmler's individuals should trump the 4x8 outdoors.
GFS was a solid, but I think I underestimated the effects of the double on their mile legs. Wistar and Aziz are probably more 3200 guys than anything it seems. They may be able to sneak into Penn depending on how the season ends up.
Looking down the list that was a clutch race from Bonner. Nice double by McDermott but big stepping up by the middle legs and Sullivan. Those were the no name guys coming in and they stepped up to carry the team to their finish. I was impressed by DTWest hanging tough with Leidal out of the line up. That team healthy and fresh would have had a chance at being right with the teams in first.
Overall I think there are a lot of great 4x8s potentially outdoors, but it will just be a matter of which teams chose to put their pieces together for it.
Nationals Entries
This is what we saw for entries for Nationals. I'm scrambling around a bit at the moment, so I can't really preview it at the moment, but this is at least a list of names to be on the lookout for on the distance side.
Jeffery Wiseman and Joe Logue in the open 800
Jack Huemmler and Ben Ritz in the Mile
Jon Colwell, Ethan and Colin Martin, Brendan Shearn in the 2
Mile
Max Norris and Brendan Shearn in the 5000m
Warrior TC A and B (WCH), Council Rock North TC (CRN), Cardinal
O’Hara T+F Club (O’Hara) in the 4xMile
Cardinal O’Hara T+F Club (O’Hara), Pennsbury TC (PB) in the
4x800
Cardinal O’Hara T+F Club (O’Hara), Dtown West TC (DTW) –
Leidal is listed as the anchor, Pennsbury TC, Strath Haven TC (SH) in the DMR
Emerging Elite 800: Brad Rivera, Kyle Adams, and Will
Cather. I hope they put Rivera in the fast 800 heat, he deserves it.
Curt Jewett in the EE Mile (this was won last year by Alex
Moran)
Sami Aziz and Lyle Wistar in the EE 2 Mile
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