Weekend Action and Looking Ahead

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.