So over the next couple days my posts will be about predictions for the state championships. First off I just want to throw this out there. I am a distance guy at heart (at which point everyone reading this screams out duh) and so I will try to preview all the events on the blog but honestly I know that my girls predictions and my boys predictions for everything below 800 meters will probably kinda suck. But I'll hit you guys with my best shot.
I also wanted to just throw this out there. If you think you can name more state medalists than etrain, get in on the prediction contest. I will predict every events state medalist on both the boys and girls side. Your job is to pick however many events you would like to predict, pick 8 names from each event that you think will medal, and then post up your predictions up here on the blog. Just like in XC order doesn't matter (but it makes it more fun if you predict in order) so throw down the names and see if you can get more medalists than me. Should be a fun time. Also the fantasy draft deadline is midnight to tonight, so let me know before then if you are interested.
Thanks.
So today I will start off my predictions with those which I don't really know much about. Which means I will be do all my girls predictions right here, right now. I won't give too many reasons for why I have certain girls where I do so feel free to ask me about it in a comment, but no guarentees I'll have a good answer. I'll leave brief comments next to picks that might seem a little out there.
Word.
Here we go. This is going to be ugly.
Girls 60m Hurdles
1. Coley
2. Hicks
3. Williams
4. Kerns
5. Yankelev
6. Lowe
7. Thomas
8. Goodyear
Girls 60m Dash
1. Evans
2. Steward
3. Nesmith
4. Jackson
5. Belt
6. Mitchell
7. Richardson
8. Dangerfield (Not gonna lie, purely for the name)
Girls 200m Dash
1. Evans
2. Davis
3. Steward
4. Harris
5. Jackson
6. Matthews
7. Daniels
8. Nesmith
Girls 400m Dash
1. Brown
2. Thomas
3. Sharkey
4. Williams
5. Harris
6. Valentine (Home field advantage)
7. Witmer
8. Green
Girls 800m
1. Keenan
2. Deacon
3. Weisner
4. Hampson
5. Nappi
6. Tan-Torres
7. Cousins
8. Carr (Muhlenberg recruit, you can't help it)
Girls Mile
1. Piccirillo
2. Malone (Margo)
3. Seykora
4. Grossman
5. Weisner
6. Holl (Upper Dublin bias coming through, but she was 3rd at states last year)
7. Sheva
8. Malone (Mary)
Girls 3000m
1. Picirillo (really hoping all this doubling pays off)
2. Sargent
3. Gerlach
4. McGovern
5. Darlington
6. Speakman
7. Rome
8. Herman
Girls 4x200m
1. Swenson
2. Pennridge
3. CD East
4. CB East
5. Coatesville
6. Cheltenham
7. Easton
8. Villa Joesph Marie
Girls 4x400m
1. Swenson
2. Paul Robeson
3. Pennwood
4. Cheltenham
5. Strath Haven
6. CB West
7. DT East
8. Abington (a meet where Abington doesn't medal in the 4x4? that would be new)
Girls 4x800m
1. Strath Haven
2. West Chester Henderson
3. St Basil (they have a 6:47 seed time so they must be pretty good)
4. DT East
5. Methacton
6. Pennsbury (probably wishful thinking here considering the close proximity of the 3k)
7. CR North
8. Garnety Valley
Girls DMR
1. Notre Dame
2. Haverford
3. Pennridge
4. North Penn
5. North Hills
6. CB West
7. O'Hara
8. GFS
Girls HJ
1. McColskey
2. Richardson
3. Morgan
4. Thomas
5. Rittleman
6. Shiffler
7. Gross
8. McCoy
Girls Pole Vault
1. Debich
2. LaMacchia
3. Benninghoff
4. Giampetro
5. Loy
6. Petty
7. Love
8. Kalsey
Girls Long Jump
1. Hodge
2. Matthews
3. Catiana
4. Hope
5. Nesmith
6. Brenker
7. Worrell
8. Sullivan
Girls Triple Jump
1. Bowman
2. Hodge
3. Newsome
4. Newkirk
5. Catiana
6. Johnson
7. Burns
8. Jacques
Girls Shot Put
1. Neider
2. Woods
3. Fatherly
4. Stevenson
5. Lubarski
6. McCartney
7. Milcec
8. Bonetti
Please don't laugh at me when these turn out badly, mostly just pick favorites gonna be honest here. I just wanted to put these down so that people could predict whatever events they liked and try and beat me (which hopefully you all will). But yea, enjoy the performance list and get pumped for states.
Weekend Action: Last Time It's Not States!
So this is a very exciting time for me as track addict because both the PTFCA state meet and the Centennial conference meet are both on the verge of posting performance lists for their respective meets. That's usually the most exciting time for me, seeing what everyone chose to run in, and predicting where they will all finish. The sleepers, the favorites, the upsets, you get to call them ahead of time and either look a genius or fail horribly (most of the time it's the second one but who cares).
But those lists aren't up quite yet, so it's time to talk about the results that will inch us closer to that result.
We start off at the Meet of Champions race at Lehigh where the day started with a statement race by Ned Willig in the 1200, running 3:01. Blazing fast for the lehigh track and shows Millrose was a fluke. Great Valley ran 10:26 in a non optimum order. It will be interesting to see if they try and keep this order come states. Against a LaSalle team with Coyle on the anchor, I'm not sure if you want Willig/Wolffe having to be chased down by that guy. Strath Haven (with I'm assuming their A team if not close to it) kind of got handled at this race (North Penn beat them to before the DQ). After this I can't imagine Haven running the DMR at the state championship. They were double their big guns and come back in the 4x8. No other schools hit the time, and based on some of the other stuff that went down this weekend I think only the runners who hit the time will get in.
The mile was kind of a let down, nice race for Kardish but I think a lot of people were hoping to see a lot more guys under the SQS. Hibbs gets another solid win in the mile, but obviously I think the 3k is in his immeadiate future. Probably then doubling back to anchor his DMR.
The 800 was pretty sick. Horgan dropped a very fast time with Rivera and Dickson also having huge season bests. Those guys were both high on my pre season list, then dropped off my lists, and now are back on high. They are peaking at the right time. THe race was incredibly deep, 6 guys under 2, 10 guys under the SQS. Paul Robeson has 2 very nice 800 pieces so maybe a sleeper pick later on in the 4x8.
Worth noting, nice upset win by Stiles over Hardy, nice runs by Futch in the hurdles and the 200, and of course a great relay in the 4x4.
In the 3k it was a big day for Billotta and Brett Kelly, both of whom may go on to run this race at the state championships. Tough misses for a few other guys, Israel was kind of disappointing, but he should still be a good leg for the DMR later. Will be interesting to see how HGPrep decides to double their legs. Also interested to see what Kelly decides to do as he has run the 3k the last two weekends so obviously he feels there is some potential there. However, it is tough to run the 3 three weekends in a row and have success. Oh yeah Dustin Wilson won. Nothing too surprising there, nothing super fast. We will see what happens at states.
DeBarbarie, my heart goes out to you man, two very, very close misses in the 3k. He's in for the mile which is nice, and I do think if he enters the 3k he will be the last guy in.
Lastly (sorry Wissahickon's 4x4, you guys ran great but I don't have time for a paragraph about it) have to talk about the 4x8. LaSalle ran very fast, there should be a bit more of a story there perhaps, but in my eyes I was distracted by the huge race by Pennridge. This team (assuming they keep 4 fresh legs) has to be in state title discusion. Within two seconds of a team that set a meet of champs record in the 4x8 with 4 fresh legs on both ends. I think Logue and Kohler (who I hope will both bail on the 8 to run the relay) are underrated 4x8 guys and Pennridge has a chance to surprise, especially if doubling plays a factor on other teams and the DMR continues to be the hot event. LaSalle of course ran very fast and it is a meet record, but it's nothing outrageous given their legs on paper. Obviously, if they choose to run a fresh relay they are the favorites for gold. If they double in the individuals we will have a very interesting weekend.
Lastly, I'll discuss the action over at the TSTCA championships.
First off great sign in the mile for a couple big time guys in Moran and Smathers as they take down Jaskowak who had been simply on fire this year with a big mile win. I'm really surprised Jaskowak never seriously considered the 3k, I think it would have been a better event for him. He's definitely a name to watch at states in the mile, but the fact of the matter is I don't know if he has the speed to hang with some of these guys in a kickers race. I said it this time last year and it didn't quite work out, but Moran is rounding into shape and has to be the big sleeper in this years race. He has an outside shot at the win if Ned doesn't have his day. Tonzo nice race as well, a fresh NA DMR would just add to the fun, because they can go fast.
How about the Penn Hills boys? Baily upset by his teammate Squirees as now both have run very solid times. Kind of reminds me of Anderson and Rumble (who went on to take 2-4 at states that year I believe). It's a shame we won't see their 4x8 in action fresh because they would have a shot at the win in my eyes. Both these guys are serious podium contenders in the open 8 however.
Ethan Martin runs a nice 3k, Wakeley a miss again. It's a shame for him because I thought he would do it. Martin has an outisde chance at getting in to the state meet if enough guys don't enter. Coyle and Willig are the only guys I can say with confidence will not enter, so it is pretty up in the air right now.
And how about those DMRs? Nice runs by Altoona and Trinity to punch their ticket to states in the DMR. Kiski is the next team in if the PTFCA decides to add a squad. Altoona now has to be talked about in the DMR title contender conversation at the very least. Trinity will be looking to mix it up for a medal.
Just one comment about the DMR. Potentially a really amazing race. This isn't what I think will happen, but it's possible:
Great Valley with Willig on the anchor after just the mile
Fresh Altoona
Fresh LaSalle
Fresh North Allegheny
Fresh North Penn
Fresh Henderson
Holy Ghost with only Horgan doubling
Fresh GFS
Fresh CR North
It would be quite the race. Kiski, Hatboro, Trinity, and DT West would all be compelling story lines as well. Of course if Strath Haven was in this group it would be pretty awesome, but like I said above I can see no situation where they run the DMR at this point in the contest.
Perfomance lists out soon. Yay.
But those lists aren't up quite yet, so it's time to talk about the results that will inch us closer to that result.
We start off at the Meet of Champions race at Lehigh where the day started with a statement race by Ned Willig in the 1200, running 3:01. Blazing fast for the lehigh track and shows Millrose was a fluke. Great Valley ran 10:26 in a non optimum order. It will be interesting to see if they try and keep this order come states. Against a LaSalle team with Coyle on the anchor, I'm not sure if you want Willig/Wolffe having to be chased down by that guy. Strath Haven (with I'm assuming their A team if not close to it) kind of got handled at this race (North Penn beat them to before the DQ). After this I can't imagine Haven running the DMR at the state championship. They were double their big guns and come back in the 4x8. No other schools hit the time, and based on some of the other stuff that went down this weekend I think only the runners who hit the time will get in.
The mile was kind of a let down, nice race for Kardish but I think a lot of people were hoping to see a lot more guys under the SQS. Hibbs gets another solid win in the mile, but obviously I think the 3k is in his immeadiate future. Probably then doubling back to anchor his DMR.
The 800 was pretty sick. Horgan dropped a very fast time with Rivera and Dickson also having huge season bests. Those guys were both high on my pre season list, then dropped off my lists, and now are back on high. They are peaking at the right time. THe race was incredibly deep, 6 guys under 2, 10 guys under the SQS. Paul Robeson has 2 very nice 800 pieces so maybe a sleeper pick later on in the 4x8.
Worth noting, nice upset win by Stiles over Hardy, nice runs by Futch in the hurdles and the 200, and of course a great relay in the 4x4.
In the 3k it was a big day for Billotta and Brett Kelly, both of whom may go on to run this race at the state championships. Tough misses for a few other guys, Israel was kind of disappointing, but he should still be a good leg for the DMR later. Will be interesting to see how HGPrep decides to double their legs. Also interested to see what Kelly decides to do as he has run the 3k the last two weekends so obviously he feels there is some potential there. However, it is tough to run the 3 three weekends in a row and have success. Oh yeah Dustin Wilson won. Nothing too surprising there, nothing super fast. We will see what happens at states.
DeBarbarie, my heart goes out to you man, two very, very close misses in the 3k. He's in for the mile which is nice, and I do think if he enters the 3k he will be the last guy in.
Lastly (sorry Wissahickon's 4x4, you guys ran great but I don't have time for a paragraph about it) have to talk about the 4x8. LaSalle ran very fast, there should be a bit more of a story there perhaps, but in my eyes I was distracted by the huge race by Pennridge. This team (assuming they keep 4 fresh legs) has to be in state title discusion. Within two seconds of a team that set a meet of champs record in the 4x8 with 4 fresh legs on both ends. I think Logue and Kohler (who I hope will both bail on the 8 to run the relay) are underrated 4x8 guys and Pennridge has a chance to surprise, especially if doubling plays a factor on other teams and the DMR continues to be the hot event. LaSalle of course ran very fast and it is a meet record, but it's nothing outrageous given their legs on paper. Obviously, if they choose to run a fresh relay they are the favorites for gold. If they double in the individuals we will have a very interesting weekend.
Lastly, I'll discuss the action over at the TSTCA championships.
First off great sign in the mile for a couple big time guys in Moran and Smathers as they take down Jaskowak who had been simply on fire this year with a big mile win. I'm really surprised Jaskowak never seriously considered the 3k, I think it would have been a better event for him. He's definitely a name to watch at states in the mile, but the fact of the matter is I don't know if he has the speed to hang with some of these guys in a kickers race. I said it this time last year and it didn't quite work out, but Moran is rounding into shape and has to be the big sleeper in this years race. He has an outside shot at the win if Ned doesn't have his day. Tonzo nice race as well, a fresh NA DMR would just add to the fun, because they can go fast.
How about the Penn Hills boys? Baily upset by his teammate Squirees as now both have run very solid times. Kind of reminds me of Anderson and Rumble (who went on to take 2-4 at states that year I believe). It's a shame we won't see their 4x8 in action fresh because they would have a shot at the win in my eyes. Both these guys are serious podium contenders in the open 8 however.
Ethan Martin runs a nice 3k, Wakeley a miss again. It's a shame for him because I thought he would do it. Martin has an outisde chance at getting in to the state meet if enough guys don't enter. Coyle and Willig are the only guys I can say with confidence will not enter, so it is pretty up in the air right now.
And how about those DMRs? Nice runs by Altoona and Trinity to punch their ticket to states in the DMR. Kiski is the next team in if the PTFCA decides to add a squad. Altoona now has to be talked about in the DMR title contender conversation at the very least. Trinity will be looking to mix it up for a medal.
Just one comment about the DMR. Potentially a really amazing race. This isn't what I think will happen, but it's possible:
Great Valley with Willig on the anchor after just the mile
Fresh Altoona
Fresh LaSalle
Fresh North Allegheny
Fresh North Penn
Fresh Henderson
Holy Ghost with only Horgan doubling
Fresh GFS
Fresh CR North
It would be quite the race. Kiski, Hatboro, Trinity, and DT West would all be compelling story lines as well. Of course if Strath Haven was in this group it would be pretty awesome, but like I said above I can see no situation where they run the DMR at this point in the contest.
Perfomance lists out soon. Yay.
Fantasy Stuff
So I am not going to go in depth about this weekend's performances just yet, I first want to see the full line up of weekend action before I talk about some things, but there are plenty of things I want to talk about, including Great Valley's DMR, LaSalle, Pennridge and much, much more. But I want to see TSTCA results and such and figure out a few more things about who is running what this pivotal week before states.
Then of course once the performance list comes out, its prediction time here on the blog, and once again you guys can join in on the action to try and beat yours truly in a prediction contest. But we will get to that.
What I wanted to talk about right now for anyone interested his how the Fantasy Indoor Track competition is going to work. Anyone who still wants in let me know ASAP. Right now there are 4 of us in the pool.
Teams will be around 10 guys per team. You can draft anyone competing at the state championships.
Here is how scoring works. If your individual that you picked scores at the state championship, the amount of points he scores/she scores goes to your total.
Now there are a couple things we can debate for those in the league. We can either use just distance, just guys, just sprints etc. We can count relays as you draft a school and get all their relay teams, you draft an individual and his points on a relay count at 1/4 value, or you draft each individual relay the same as you would draft each individual person. Get back to me on what you think and if you want to join in, feel free but tell me soon.
Stay classy, San Diego
Then of course once the performance list comes out, its prediction time here on the blog, and once again you guys can join in on the action to try and beat yours truly in a prediction contest. But we will get to that.
What I wanted to talk about right now for anyone interested his how the Fantasy Indoor Track competition is going to work. Anyone who still wants in let me know ASAP. Right now there are 4 of us in the pool.
Teams will be around 10 guys per team. You can draft anyone competing at the state championships.
Here is how scoring works. If your individual that you picked scores at the state championship, the amount of points he scores/she scores goes to your total.
Now there are a couple things we can debate for those in the league. We can either use just distance, just guys, just sprints etc. We can count relays as you draft a school and get all their relay teams, you draft an individual and his points on a relay count at 1/4 value, or you draft each individual relay the same as you would draft each individual person. Get back to me on what you think and if you want to join in, feel free but tell me soon.
Stay classy, San Diego
Fast Post
So not going to lie to you folks I have class in like 10 minutes and after that I have kind of a busy day that includes lunch, getting my hair cut and preparing for a meet tonight that I probably won't get back from until close to midnight which means my post streak is definitely on line and honestly right now this sentence is a total run on, but I'm kind of just typing whatever comes to mind at this very moment to try and fill up space so this post will look more like a real post and less like a dinky post that I only made to keep my post streak going because I didn't have time to make a real post that actually had positive information and well thought out sentence structure.
But I will actually say something with some value right now. Here are my brief predictions for meet of champs tomorrow. I'll give a top 3. I'm assuming that everyone entered is running for the sake of not over complicating things although this is extremely unlikely.
400m
1. Futch
2. Hamilton
3. Hardy
4. Stiles
5. Reice
800m
1. Horgan
2. Huemmler
3. Trimble
4. Harriman
5. Rivera
Mile
1. MaCauley
2. Hibbs
3. Trimble
4. Scarpato
5. Ferruzzi
3k
1. Wilson
2. Kelly
3. Billotta
4. Israel
5. Pastore
4x8
1. LaSalle
2. Penncrest
3. DT West
4. CB East
5. Lower Moreland
DMR
1. Great Valley
2. GFS
3. CB West
4. CB East
5. CHA
It's tough to know who exactly is doubling where and what they are doing so these predictions will almost definitely be off, but since this is the abridged version, this is the best I can do. Good luck to everyone running.
There's lots of sleepers in all these races which makes things very exciting. A lot of SQS standards should be hit this weekend so be prepared to update your fantasy draft board.
Which reminds me!
If anyone is interested in doing a fantasy draft for the state championships you can sign up now by facebook messaging me about it or commenting on this post. In order to do the draft, however, you will need a facebook account because we will use that site in order to draft teams. Thank you that is all.
I'm gonna run to class now. Literally. Peace.
But I will actually say something with some value right now. Here are my brief predictions for meet of champs tomorrow. I'll give a top 3. I'm assuming that everyone entered is running for the sake of not over complicating things although this is extremely unlikely.
400m
1. Futch
2. Hamilton
3. Hardy
4. Stiles
5. Reice
800m
1. Horgan
2. Huemmler
3. Trimble
4. Harriman
5. Rivera
Mile
1. MaCauley
2. Hibbs
3. Trimble
4. Scarpato
5. Ferruzzi
3k
1. Wilson
2. Kelly
3. Billotta
4. Israel
5. Pastore
4x8
1. LaSalle
2. Penncrest
3. DT West
4. CB East
5. Lower Moreland
DMR
1. Great Valley
2. GFS
3. CB West
4. CB East
5. CHA
It's tough to know who exactly is doubling where and what they are doing so these predictions will almost definitely be off, but since this is the abridged version, this is the best I can do. Good luck to everyone running.
There's lots of sleepers in all these races which makes things very exciting. A lot of SQS standards should be hit this weekend so be prepared to update your fantasy draft board.
Which reminds me!
If anyone is interested in doing a fantasy draft for the state championships you can sign up now by facebook messaging me about it or commenting on this post. In order to do the draft, however, you will need a facebook account because we will use that site in order to draft teams. Thank you that is all.
I'm gonna run to class now. Literally. Peace.
New States Standards- The Relays
Last year I didn't think they should have added anyone to the 4x8 field (and maybe even the DMR field, I'd have to check exactly how many teams had hit the standard) but someone must have done a great job complaining to the ptfca, as two full heats of the 4x8 were granted. This may mean we can expect the same thing this year. I hope not, I'm hoping we will see a field of around 12 and 10 for the 4x8 and DMR respectively, but the way things were last year I can make no guarentees.
So let's assume that they end up doing something similar to last year when a whopping 23 teams were in the 4x8 (out of which 8 teams were added who did not actually hit the standard) and the DMR had 13 teams (out of which roughly 4 didn't hit the time? I don't know the standard off the top of my head with the flat to bank conversion, but the point is a decent amount didn't hit the standard). This makes me thing they will probably fill a field to about 20 in the 4x8 and 12 in the DMR this year. There is a still chance we will see the 12 and 10 of olden times, but don't get your hopes up.
So what does that mean?
Well first off we have to estimate who is running which relay, which does make things a bit tricky. Let's go down the list of top ranked teams who have so far qualified in both and have a decision on their hands. Here's how I think it ends up.
Strath Haven- 4x8, would have really liked to have seen a DMR, but in a team title race the smart move is to double back in the 4x8 with tired legs and try to pull out the win (they are seeded first admittedly) rather than battle some hungry DMR squads
Great Valley- DMR, I said before that they may have a better shot to win the 4x8 than the DMR depending on how the races play out, but this team has been about the DMR since last indoors. They will definitely go for Gold here.
Henderson- DMR, distance powerhouse with distance oriented legs, have to imagine they will go DMR.
North Penn- DMR, may even have all fresh legs. Trimble not running recently is still scary in my head, but I think this team has had DMR state gold on their mind for a while as well.
LaSalle- 4x8, it pains my heart, but the potential DMR showdown won't happen between all the top teams. LaSalle will most likely double their guys, they are very talented and ultimately individual chances at the medals usually prevail over a team record attempt. Especially when these guys still have a shot at gold on the way back in the 4x8.
When all is said and done out of teams who have hit the standard in each relay, here is who I think wil enter:
4x8
1. Strath Haven
2. Penncrest
3. Cardinal O'Hara
4. Penn Hills
5. Bensalem
6. Pennridge
7. Robeson
8. Chambersburg
9. CB East**
10. Cumberland Valley
11. CB West**
12. LaSalle (obviously have to improve this seed time this weekend and I expect they will)
13. Spring Ford
14. Upper Darby
The two teams marked with ** I think would opt for the DMR if they got in, they just don't have the standard yet. I expect both relays to go for it at MoC this coming weekend. If the two CB squads do not hit the standard 14 entries in the 4x8 SHOULD be enough to have one heat of the 4x8 decide the whole thing. Will the PTFCA have it this way? If last year was any indication as said above NO. But we will get to the extra teams later.
The teams who have hit the standard in the DMR that I expect to enter are:
1. Great Valley
2. HG Prep
3. Henderson
4. North Penn
5. GFS
6. North Allegheny
7. DT West
8. CR North
9. Hatboro Horsham
Now this field is at 9 which in theory should also be good enough to cap the field here and have one race out of only teams that have hit the standard. Altoona and CB East have the next two fastest times, and plenty of teams will probably seize this weekend as their big chance to go after the standards.
Overall the PTFCA will most likely add to both races if teams do not hit the SQS this weekend. In both races, I think there are teams who can hit the standard that have not before.
Here's the performance list for the relays at Lehigh at the Meet of Champs:
http://www.tfcaofgp.org/performancelist.html
A few teams like Lower Moreland and Bonner will probably shoot for the states time in the 4x8. In a packed DMR race of 19 teams CHA with Wilson on the anchor, CB East, CB West, Penncrest and Pennridge will probably all be hovering around the standard in a potentially very fast race. The DMR comes at the beginning of this meet.
Over on the west coast, Altoona, Baldwin, Trinity, and Penn Hills will most likely all aim for the standard.
My hope is enough teams hit botht that they don't have to add teams to the field. It should be an interesting weekend. I think enough teams will hit the standard in both the PTFCA will have enough reason to not add teams. So if you are on the cusp, you gotta seize the day this weekend boys.
Good luck gentlemen.
-train
So let's assume that they end up doing something similar to last year when a whopping 23 teams were in the 4x8 (out of which 8 teams were added who did not actually hit the standard) and the DMR had 13 teams (out of which roughly 4 didn't hit the time? I don't know the standard off the top of my head with the flat to bank conversion, but the point is a decent amount didn't hit the standard). This makes me thing they will probably fill a field to about 20 in the 4x8 and 12 in the DMR this year. There is a still chance we will see the 12 and 10 of olden times, but don't get your hopes up.
So what does that mean?
Well first off we have to estimate who is running which relay, which does make things a bit tricky. Let's go down the list of top ranked teams who have so far qualified in both and have a decision on their hands. Here's how I think it ends up.
Strath Haven- 4x8, would have really liked to have seen a DMR, but in a team title race the smart move is to double back in the 4x8 with tired legs and try to pull out the win (they are seeded first admittedly) rather than battle some hungry DMR squads
Great Valley- DMR, I said before that they may have a better shot to win the 4x8 than the DMR depending on how the races play out, but this team has been about the DMR since last indoors. They will definitely go for Gold here.
Henderson- DMR, distance powerhouse with distance oriented legs, have to imagine they will go DMR.
North Penn- DMR, may even have all fresh legs. Trimble not running recently is still scary in my head, but I think this team has had DMR state gold on their mind for a while as well.
LaSalle- 4x8, it pains my heart, but the potential DMR showdown won't happen between all the top teams. LaSalle will most likely double their guys, they are very talented and ultimately individual chances at the medals usually prevail over a team record attempt. Especially when these guys still have a shot at gold on the way back in the 4x8.
When all is said and done out of teams who have hit the standard in each relay, here is who I think wil enter:
4x8
1. Strath Haven
2. Penncrest
3. Cardinal O'Hara
4. Penn Hills
5. Bensalem
6. Pennridge
7. Robeson
8. Chambersburg
9. CB East**
10. Cumberland Valley
11. CB West**
12. LaSalle (obviously have to improve this seed time this weekend and I expect they will)
13. Spring Ford
14. Upper Darby
The two teams marked with ** I think would opt for the DMR if they got in, they just don't have the standard yet. I expect both relays to go for it at MoC this coming weekend. If the two CB squads do not hit the standard 14 entries in the 4x8 SHOULD be enough to have one heat of the 4x8 decide the whole thing. Will the PTFCA have it this way? If last year was any indication as said above NO. But we will get to the extra teams later.
The teams who have hit the standard in the DMR that I expect to enter are:
1. Great Valley
2. HG Prep
3. Henderson
4. North Penn
5. GFS
6. North Allegheny
7. DT West
8. CR North
9. Hatboro Horsham
Now this field is at 9 which in theory should also be good enough to cap the field here and have one race out of only teams that have hit the standard. Altoona and CB East have the next two fastest times, and plenty of teams will probably seize this weekend as their big chance to go after the standards.
Overall the PTFCA will most likely add to both races if teams do not hit the SQS this weekend. In both races, I think there are teams who can hit the standard that have not before.
Here's the performance list for the relays at Lehigh at the Meet of Champs:
http://www.tfcaofgp.org/performancelist.html
A few teams like Lower Moreland and Bonner will probably shoot for the states time in the 4x8. In a packed DMR race of 19 teams CHA with Wilson on the anchor, CB East, CB West, Penncrest and Pennridge will probably all be hovering around the standard in a potentially very fast race. The DMR comes at the beginning of this meet.
Over on the west coast, Altoona, Baldwin, Trinity, and Penn Hills will most likely all aim for the standard.
My hope is enough teams hit botht that they don't have to add teams to the field. It should be an interesting weekend. I think enough teams will hit the standard in both the PTFCA will have enough reason to not add teams. So if you are on the cusp, you gotta seize the day this weekend boys.
Good luck gentlemen.
-train
New States Standards: 3k
First off all I just want to say I'm really pumped to see a bunch of new posters joining up on track talk. Already some solid discussion there and I'm really hoping we can keep that going and get a really solid forum going. Not to beat a dead horse, but if you know penntrack posters who are frustrated with the lack of action on penntrack just send 'em over. Word.
Now on to what I actually wanted to talk about today which is the new ptfca rule they make basically every year where they are concerned about how many people have hit the time/standard for all the different events and are going to now try and fill the field with the next few fastest times. This really is only going to effect two things in terms of the track: the 3k, the 4x8 and the DMR.
So let's take a look see at what this means in the 3k. First off let me just say that last year they had 13 guys who ran in the 3k (all hit the standard) and this was run in just one heat. The previous year a field of 21 was run in two different sections. Therefore, my expectation for a "full field" in this race is about 10-12 runners.
Now obviously not everyone in the top 10-12 in the state are going to choose to run the 3k at states and additionally, runners will try and hit the SQS this weekend and if the field hits a total of 9 or more runners I don't think they will add to the field. One year they even ran a field of just 8 runners (I think it was 2007). So keep that in mind as I go on. Guys like Steiner and Mountain and Replogle as well as maybe some TFCAofGP guys will probably shoot for the time this coming weekend and are more than capable of hitting it.
But looking at the situation as it stands right now, here is what I see. On the men's side 10 have hit the SQS. Dustin Wilson is the #1 ranked and I would be utterly stunned if he doesn't race the 3k at states. Hibbs at #3 and Shearn at #4 would also be big surprises. Hibbs ran a fast mile this past weekend, but that should only indicate he is in great 3k shape, not a sharp change to the mile at states. He does have a solid DMR he can double back on, but I see it as Ryan Gil like situation from a year ago and he will almost certainly double with the 3k. Savage, Kuchta and Nissley should also all punch their tickets into states for the 3k. Savage and Kuchta each have border line DMR teams, but I don't expect either to make it, and even if their teams did, I think they would still have the chance to run the open 3k and double or (in O'Hara's case) be replaced by some other pieces originally not on the relay. This gives a field of 6 so far.
I'd be pretty shocked to see either Coyle or MacCauley entered in this race given their relay hype. If they were going to choose an event to double back from, it would not be the 3k (the mile in both cases would be the obvious choice). Willig is essentially a lock to not run the 3k. He has enough on his plate right now to be thinking of hopping into the 3k. Aziz is tough call here. I think GFS believes they have a good DMR (because they do) but Aziz in the 3k would really hurt their shots of placing high in a deep field (expected to be a deep field anyway). That being said Aziz may not even be a leg on this relay if GFS has some unforseen depth. GFS has managed to pull out a lot of surprising state medals (including when they ran a B squad without their 3 best runners) so maybe Aziz isn't a piece of this team's A squad. Even if he is, I think odds are he will be in the 3k at states. So the field is up to 7 now.
7 is just enough so that if anyone hits the SQS this weekend and wants to run the event at states, they may not add to the field. That being said, let's see who else is in the ball park of states time.
Ryan DeBarbarie 9:00.27 F
Mac Emery 9:01.92 F
Logan Steiner 9:03.53 B
Francis Ferruzzi 9:05.11 F
Ernie Pitone 9:05.49 F
Ethan Martin 9:05.59 B
Brett Kelly 9:05.83 F
Caleb Wakeley 9:06.40 B
Dan Davis 9:06.58 B
Mike Bilotta 9:07.36 F
Zach Israel 9:07.68 F
Now I expect Steiner, Pitone, Martin, Wakeley, Davis, Bilotta and Israel to go after this mark this coming weekend along with some other guys I mentioned above who may be able to hit the time but are not farther up on the list. Bilotta and Steiner did both just run very solid qualifying times in the mile this past weekend and both may have relays (O'Hara's 8:12's legs is very much up in the air) with medal aspirations. Steiner ran a great mile and his NA DMR has to be a big sleeper team in this whole race for the win. Him running the 3k at states would really hurt their chances. I expect him to not run the 3k come states unless he drops a low 8:50s time this weekend, then he will have a tough choice. Emery and Isreal are interesting to consider as well. Both have a potential top 5 DMR come states, but both are also replacable. Emery has Zingarini and Felt who can run the 16 and 12 respectively, and if they are deep enough at 800, Emery would be free to try and compete for a medal in the 3k. Israel has Kardish and Horgan who both are good enough to run the 12 and the 16, so depending on their other 800 guys, they also could replace Israel. That being said I don't see either of those guys opting for the 3k at states.
So what does this mean? Well my top guys on time right now are therefore:
1. Wilson
2. Aziz
3. Hibbs
4. Shearn
5. Savage
6. Kuchta
7. Nissley
8. DeBarbarie
9. Wakeley
10. Ferruzzi
11. Pitone
12. Mountain
I think Wakeley drops a pretty nice time that's not quite SQS that moves him the list. Pitone doesn't drop a faster than 3k than the previous weekend, Mountain doesn't quite run fast enough to edge out the other guys on the list. No one else chooses to enter the 3k that is ranked higher than these guys.
I think they cap the field at 10 and the top 10 guys on that list get in.
It's pretty speculative at this point, but this is my prediction. Only one more weekend to find out.
Enjoy.
Now on to what I actually wanted to talk about today which is the new ptfca rule they make basically every year where they are concerned about how many people have hit the time/standard for all the different events and are going to now try and fill the field with the next few fastest times. This really is only going to effect two things in terms of the track: the 3k, the 4x8 and the DMR.
So let's take a look see at what this means in the 3k. First off let me just say that last year they had 13 guys who ran in the 3k (all hit the standard) and this was run in just one heat. The previous year a field of 21 was run in two different sections. Therefore, my expectation for a "full field" in this race is about 10-12 runners.
Now obviously not everyone in the top 10-12 in the state are going to choose to run the 3k at states and additionally, runners will try and hit the SQS this weekend and if the field hits a total of 9 or more runners I don't think they will add to the field. One year they even ran a field of just 8 runners (I think it was 2007). So keep that in mind as I go on. Guys like Steiner and Mountain and Replogle as well as maybe some TFCAofGP guys will probably shoot for the time this coming weekend and are more than capable of hitting it.
But looking at the situation as it stands right now, here is what I see. On the men's side 10 have hit the SQS. Dustin Wilson is the #1 ranked and I would be utterly stunned if he doesn't race the 3k at states. Hibbs at #3 and Shearn at #4 would also be big surprises. Hibbs ran a fast mile this past weekend, but that should only indicate he is in great 3k shape, not a sharp change to the mile at states. He does have a solid DMR he can double back on, but I see it as Ryan Gil like situation from a year ago and he will almost certainly double with the 3k. Savage, Kuchta and Nissley should also all punch their tickets into states for the 3k. Savage and Kuchta each have border line DMR teams, but I don't expect either to make it, and even if their teams did, I think they would still have the chance to run the open 3k and double or (in O'Hara's case) be replaced by some other pieces originally not on the relay. This gives a field of 6 so far.
I'd be pretty shocked to see either Coyle or MacCauley entered in this race given their relay hype. If they were going to choose an event to double back from, it would not be the 3k (the mile in both cases would be the obvious choice). Willig is essentially a lock to not run the 3k. He has enough on his plate right now to be thinking of hopping into the 3k. Aziz is tough call here. I think GFS believes they have a good DMR (because they do) but Aziz in the 3k would really hurt their shots of placing high in a deep field (expected to be a deep field anyway). That being said Aziz may not even be a leg on this relay if GFS has some unforseen depth. GFS has managed to pull out a lot of surprising state medals (including when they ran a B squad without their 3 best runners) so maybe Aziz isn't a piece of this team's A squad. Even if he is, I think odds are he will be in the 3k at states. So the field is up to 7 now.
7 is just enough so that if anyone hits the SQS this weekend and wants to run the event at states, they may not add to the field. That being said, let's see who else is in the ball park of states time.
Ryan DeBarbarie 9:00.27 F
Mac Emery 9:01.92 F
Logan Steiner 9:03.53 B
Francis Ferruzzi 9:05.11 F
Ernie Pitone 9:05.49 F
Ethan Martin 9:05.59 B
Brett Kelly 9:05.83 F
Caleb Wakeley 9:06.40 B
Dan Davis 9:06.58 B
Mike Bilotta 9:07.36 F
Zach Israel 9:07.68 F
Now I expect Steiner, Pitone, Martin, Wakeley, Davis, Bilotta and Israel to go after this mark this coming weekend along with some other guys I mentioned above who may be able to hit the time but are not farther up on the list. Bilotta and Steiner did both just run very solid qualifying times in the mile this past weekend and both may have relays (O'Hara's 8:12's legs is very much up in the air) with medal aspirations. Steiner ran a great mile and his NA DMR has to be a big sleeper team in this whole race for the win. Him running the 3k at states would really hurt their chances. I expect him to not run the 3k come states unless he drops a low 8:50s time this weekend, then he will have a tough choice. Emery and Isreal are interesting to consider as well. Both have a potential top 5 DMR come states, but both are also replacable. Emery has Zingarini and Felt who can run the 16 and 12 respectively, and if they are deep enough at 800, Emery would be free to try and compete for a medal in the 3k. Israel has Kardish and Horgan who both are good enough to run the 12 and the 16, so depending on their other 800 guys, they also could replace Israel. That being said I don't see either of those guys opting for the 3k at states.
So what does this mean? Well my top guys on time right now are therefore:
1. Wilson
2. Aziz
3. Hibbs
4. Shearn
5. Savage
6. Kuchta
7. Nissley
8. DeBarbarie
9. Wakeley
10. Ferruzzi
11. Pitone
12. Mountain
I think Wakeley drops a pretty nice time that's not quite SQS that moves him the list. Pitone doesn't drop a faster than 3k than the previous weekend, Mountain doesn't quite run fast enough to edge out the other guys on the list. No one else chooses to enter the 3k that is ranked higher than these guys.
I think they cap the field at 10 and the top 10 guys on that list get in.
It's pretty speculative at this point, but this is my prediction. Only one more weekend to find out.
Enjoy.
Valentine's Day
So I guess you guys didn't love my idea of going over to track talk to start up some forums on there and make it our stomping ground, but that's ok, I only cried for 45 minutes.
It's Valentine's Day today so I was trying desperately to think of a good valentine's day themed post for today but the only things that came to mind were posts that I would only make if I was Lobster and would never make if I was me (which last time I checked, I still am). So that put me into a bit of a predicament.
I would say I love running I suppose, but not enough to buy it flowers or chocolates. Its kind of more of a love hate thing if I'm being perfectly honest. There are some days I just go out for my run and the whole time I wish I was somewhere else.
But there are other days where I can't help but lose myself in the thrill of the long run, 13 or so miles without anything to worry about just myself and my thoughts. Its nice to get away, relax and unwind sometimes.
Running is kind of a fickle girlfriend. I wouldn't say she gets jealous, although I know it some peoples cases it does. If he play another sport too often like basketball or football, than running is more likely to injure them in their legs so they can't go cheating behind her back anymore.
I'll tell you one thing, what they say is true, Running needs a lot of shoes. She needs racing shoes and training shoes and training flats and its like a new shoe every two months. I swear the money I spend on shoes for Running is outrageous.
But being with Running has it's rewards. There are very few people that I would lay my health and well being on the line for week after week, but I do it without hesistation for Running. I enjoy it actually. And there is nothing like the thrill I get when Running rewards me for giving everything to her. I'm happy for at least a few days, maybe a whole week. And Running has given me a lifetime of memories.
Its hard to imagine us ever breaking up. Most people know me only because of her. She kinda gets around. But I guess I don't mind. I'm not gonna say I haven't been jealous when people get farther with Running than I do, but that's the thing, Running is kind of what you make of it. You can have your own successes and failures.
And like they say, what you put into a relationship is what you get out of it.
Well anyway sorry I couldn't come up with anything Valentine's Day related to talk about. Have a great holiday trainstation.
It's Valentine's Day today so I was trying desperately to think of a good valentine's day themed post for today but the only things that came to mind were posts that I would only make if I was Lobster and would never make if I was me (which last time I checked, I still am). So that put me into a bit of a predicament.
I would say I love running I suppose, but not enough to buy it flowers or chocolates. Its kind of more of a love hate thing if I'm being perfectly honest. There are some days I just go out for my run and the whole time I wish I was somewhere else.
But there are other days where I can't help but lose myself in the thrill of the long run, 13 or so miles without anything to worry about just myself and my thoughts. Its nice to get away, relax and unwind sometimes.
Running is kind of a fickle girlfriend. I wouldn't say she gets jealous, although I know it some peoples cases it does. If he play another sport too often like basketball or football, than running is more likely to injure them in their legs so they can't go cheating behind her back anymore.
I'll tell you one thing, what they say is true, Running needs a lot of shoes. She needs racing shoes and training shoes and training flats and its like a new shoe every two months. I swear the money I spend on shoes for Running is outrageous.
But being with Running has it's rewards. There are very few people that I would lay my health and well being on the line for week after week, but I do it without hesistation for Running. I enjoy it actually. And there is nothing like the thrill I get when Running rewards me for giving everything to her. I'm happy for at least a few days, maybe a whole week. And Running has given me a lifetime of memories.
Its hard to imagine us ever breaking up. Most people know me only because of her. She kinda gets around. But I guess I don't mind. I'm not gonna say I haven't been jealous when people get farther with Running than I do, but that's the thing, Running is kind of what you make of it. You can have your own successes and failures.
And like they say, what you put into a relationship is what you get out of it.
Well anyway sorry I couldn't come up with anything Valentine's Day related to talk about. Have a great holiday trainstation.
Proposistion for You
So my post streak has continued and I have made a bunch of posts on here that have led to some interesting discussion and debate and what not, but the fact of the matter is I can do a lot more damage in terms of answer individual questions and trying to gain splits if we have a big network of posters like we did back in the day on penntrack.
But quite frankly, Penntrack has been sucking in the forum department of late. They have solid articles and they are great for finding meet results and looking up times and stuff like that, but the forums have been lacking. Plus I don't have an account on there anymore seeing as mine gone deleted, so I can't help in that respect either.
So here is my proposistion for all of you guys who love to talk track.
There is a little known website called www.tracktalk.net which has forums similar to the dyestat forums of old about all the major states, the national scene, the college scene, the pro scene, nething you can think of. I have an account on there and I really like the forum set up. But the PA forum sucks because no one posts in it.
That is why I would encourage everyone who reads my blog, loves to talk track, or wishes we had the penntrack of old back to make an account on this site and start up the forums on here and get back into the big discussions and conversations of old. It takes like two seconds to get an account and I think this can really improve the quality of conversation based off ideas originating here on the blog or on penntrack and results of any kind.
Spread the word! Tell people to join in! It would be great to have a real lot of people come take over this site and make it big.
If you're not interested it's cool, but I'm about to start a forum over there so feel free to jump in, just go to www.tracktalk.net, make an account and scroll down to where it says Pennsylvania and look for my threads I started up.
-train
But quite frankly, Penntrack has been sucking in the forum department of late. They have solid articles and they are great for finding meet results and looking up times and stuff like that, but the forums have been lacking. Plus I don't have an account on there anymore seeing as mine gone deleted, so I can't help in that respect either.
So here is my proposistion for all of you guys who love to talk track.
There is a little known website called www.tracktalk.net which has forums similar to the dyestat forums of old about all the major states, the national scene, the college scene, the pro scene, nething you can think of. I have an account on there and I really like the forum set up. But the PA forum sucks because no one posts in it.
That is why I would encourage everyone who reads my blog, loves to talk track, or wishes we had the penntrack of old back to make an account on this site and start up the forums on here and get back into the big discussions and conversations of old. It takes like two seconds to get an account and I think this can really improve the quality of conversation based off ideas originating here on the blog or on penntrack and results of any kind.
Spread the word! Tell people to join in! It would be great to have a real lot of people come take over this site and make it big.
If you're not interested it's cool, but I'm about to start a forum over there so feel free to jump in, just go to www.tracktalk.net, make an account and scroll down to where it says Pennsylvania and look for my threads I started up.
-train
Weekend Update
So folks I, as always, have some stuff to say about the events of this weekend that didn't occur on Muhlenberg College's track, and there were plenty of interesting things on my radar from this past 10-12 weekend.
Let's start, as would only make sense, on the scene at the Armory for the Millrose games. Well folks on a big stage with great competition we saw what Strath Haven can put together with 4 fresh legs in the 4x8. It wasn't much faster than Penncrest, but it was faster, a 7:54.31 1st place finish. I missed the race unfortunately, so I don't know splits or how things played out, but from the looks of the result sheet, just like Penncrest they had good competition throughout. This time does not, however, make me believe a doubling Haven is better than a fresh Penncrest. This does say to me that a doubling Haven is better than a doubling Penncrest. We will see how things go come states.
And of course it hurts me to say that Ned did not perform out of this world at Millrose and did not even scare any state records in the process. He never really looked comfortable out there, tripping early in the race and not really knowing which pack to stay in. I know he could have definitely ran what Zavon did, but he wasn't close by the time it mattered. I don't know the full story (sickness, nerves whatever), but I do know that no matter what happened, the rest of the field in the mile got excited. This guy isn't invincible, and I see it as much more likely that he will be upset at states now, than I did yesterday.
Now we move back a night to the show at Lehigh on Friday at the last chance meet. First off two nice relay performances from GFS and DT West to punch another ticket to states. DT West is a big sleeper in the relays this year, they were the surprise here, not GFS who has gotten a huge boost in support after the recent runs by Aziz and Wistar. Still going to need a faster time than that to compete for top 3 or so at states, but a great start for GFS. In the mile I was really happy to see a performance like that from Hibbs. Pretty fast time for that track and beat Brett Kelly in the process. Should boost Hibbs' confidence and hopefully help him drop a faster 3k at the state meet. Nice run by Metzler to get in to states as well. His name hasn't popped up for a while, but he's no slouch. Nice run by Logue again and also good to see Rivera's name under 2. He's rounding into shape at the right time to make noise at states. Great runs by Emery and MacCauley (and Kelly on the double is impressive as well). I don't expect MacCauley to run this at states, but it is a good sign that he is in great shape and will be a top anchor in the DMR. No Trimble in the results for a while now. Hope all is well health wise for him. As for Emery, it's a tough near miss on states time, but he's got the DMR anyway so the 3k would most likely not be on his agenda. All the same, a top 8 or so time in the state is impressive and adds to the power of his relay come states.
The next day at the Carnival .... First off brief hurdle shout out, nice run by Willet. He could surprise at states if Williams is off his game. I doubt it, but in that short of a hurdle race, you never know what will happen. TJ Elliot was also straight killing it at Lehigh. A couple very nice times. Niager Mathis looked good too. Nice piece for the Swenson relays. Todaro and Rotz qualify in the mile. Solid, nothing great, nothing unexpected. Nissley a little disappointing, but most likely he was running the 3k fresh at states regardless. Not a good sign that he is going to drop a lot from 8:58 however. Nice run by Stiles in the 4. Not sure what happened to Shisler? If he didn't fall this is a tough blow to his confidence. He goes from being one of the state favorites to trying to hang on for a medal. Shows how fast PSU's track is. Holder pulled it out in the 800m, rounding into top shape at this point which is a great sign for those of you who picked him in the late rounds of your fantasy drafts. I stand by my pick for him as a major sleeper at states this year. Not a super fast time, but he did beat one of the best 600m runners in the nation in Haneef Hardy. How about the run by Ryan Dickson? I've been waiting for this since May as he finally rounds back into sub 2 shape. This guy will be a deep sleeper for the medals at states as well. CB South as a bit of a history with guys stepping up. Not sure what happened to Kunzweiler. Bit of a let down, but a lot of hype is falling on his shoulders after one great XC race. The rest of his season wasn't the same as his 14th finish. Hopefully he bounces back in the coming weeks. Nice run for Ferruzzi in the 3k. No competition however. So no states 3k for him, good shot at the mile next weekend. Lastly, no Futch in the opens? I know he split super fast, but I still worry about him undertaking a busy schedule at states if he hasn't been racing much of late. If they ran 3:26.86 without him, however, that would be very impressive, so I assume he at least ran that relay.
And finally we journey back to Lehigh one more time for the PCL championships. Nice run by Hamilton in the 200. Not what Elliot and Mathis did but definitely has his name in the state champion conversation. He won his race by over a second and set the meet record. Good run by Jack Magee to take home a SQS (on the double from the mile by the way) and give LaSalle 3 guys under the mark. That DMR looks record setting if they keep the group fresh. Coyle and Stone in the mile doing what they've done all year, run fast and finish 1st and 2nd. Both guys are really ready to move fast. Coyle's 4:21 on Lehigh's track makes him the favorite for 2nd if he opts for the open mile in my mind. And if Ned doesn't have his day again, there is no reason to think Coyle can't win. I stand by my opinion that Stone's best shot to make noise is the 800. If he runs the mile, I can't guarentee he will get a medal with the way the field has been shaping up of late. And oh yeah Coyle on the double in 8:55 on a flat track? Very impressive effort as he and Dan Savage (who also ran a great time of 8:56) are forming quite the rivalry with Coyle winning all but their states battle recently (the one that matters the most ironically). Great sign for Savage who punches his ticket to states and has a legit chance at medaling/top 5 (especially if the field only has 8 runners or so). I feel real bad for the Landsdale Catholic bloke. 9:00.27. Missed it by .04 in the 3k, the toughest event there is. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the meet doesn't get enough entries to fill the field and this guy gets in. Great run to emerge onto the scene for Ryan DeBarberie.
Let's start, as would only make sense, on the scene at the Armory for the Millrose games. Well folks on a big stage with great competition we saw what Strath Haven can put together with 4 fresh legs in the 4x8. It wasn't much faster than Penncrest, but it was faster, a 7:54.31 1st place finish. I missed the race unfortunately, so I don't know splits or how things played out, but from the looks of the result sheet, just like Penncrest they had good competition throughout. This time does not, however, make me believe a doubling Haven is better than a fresh Penncrest. This does say to me that a doubling Haven is better than a doubling Penncrest. We will see how things go come states.
And of course it hurts me to say that Ned did not perform out of this world at Millrose and did not even scare any state records in the process. He never really looked comfortable out there, tripping early in the race and not really knowing which pack to stay in. I know he could have definitely ran what Zavon did, but he wasn't close by the time it mattered. I don't know the full story (sickness, nerves whatever), but I do know that no matter what happened, the rest of the field in the mile got excited. This guy isn't invincible, and I see it as much more likely that he will be upset at states now, than I did yesterday.
Now we move back a night to the show at Lehigh on Friday at the last chance meet. First off two nice relay performances from GFS and DT West to punch another ticket to states. DT West is a big sleeper in the relays this year, they were the surprise here, not GFS who has gotten a huge boost in support after the recent runs by Aziz and Wistar. Still going to need a faster time than that to compete for top 3 or so at states, but a great start for GFS. In the mile I was really happy to see a performance like that from Hibbs. Pretty fast time for that track and beat Brett Kelly in the process. Should boost Hibbs' confidence and hopefully help him drop a faster 3k at the state meet. Nice run by Metzler to get in to states as well. His name hasn't popped up for a while, but he's no slouch. Nice run by Logue again and also good to see Rivera's name under 2. He's rounding into shape at the right time to make noise at states. Great runs by Emery and MacCauley (and Kelly on the double is impressive as well). I don't expect MacCauley to run this at states, but it is a good sign that he is in great shape and will be a top anchor in the DMR. No Trimble in the results for a while now. Hope all is well health wise for him. As for Emery, it's a tough near miss on states time, but he's got the DMR anyway so the 3k would most likely not be on his agenda. All the same, a top 8 or so time in the state is impressive and adds to the power of his relay come states.
The next day at the Carnival .... First off brief hurdle shout out, nice run by Willet. He could surprise at states if Williams is off his game. I doubt it, but in that short of a hurdle race, you never know what will happen. TJ Elliot was also straight killing it at Lehigh. A couple very nice times. Niager Mathis looked good too. Nice piece for the Swenson relays. Todaro and Rotz qualify in the mile. Solid, nothing great, nothing unexpected. Nissley a little disappointing, but most likely he was running the 3k fresh at states regardless. Not a good sign that he is going to drop a lot from 8:58 however. Nice run by Stiles in the 4. Not sure what happened to Shisler? If he didn't fall this is a tough blow to his confidence. He goes from being one of the state favorites to trying to hang on for a medal. Shows how fast PSU's track is. Holder pulled it out in the 800m, rounding into top shape at this point which is a great sign for those of you who picked him in the late rounds of your fantasy drafts. I stand by my pick for him as a major sleeper at states this year. Not a super fast time, but he did beat one of the best 600m runners in the nation in Haneef Hardy. How about the run by Ryan Dickson? I've been waiting for this since May as he finally rounds back into sub 2 shape. This guy will be a deep sleeper for the medals at states as well. CB South as a bit of a history with guys stepping up. Not sure what happened to Kunzweiler. Bit of a let down, but a lot of hype is falling on his shoulders after one great XC race. The rest of his season wasn't the same as his 14th finish. Hopefully he bounces back in the coming weeks. Nice run for Ferruzzi in the 3k. No competition however. So no states 3k for him, good shot at the mile next weekend. Lastly, no Futch in the opens? I know he split super fast, but I still worry about him undertaking a busy schedule at states if he hasn't been racing much of late. If they ran 3:26.86 without him, however, that would be very impressive, so I assume he at least ran that relay.
And finally we journey back to Lehigh one more time for the PCL championships. Nice run by Hamilton in the 200. Not what Elliot and Mathis did but definitely has his name in the state champion conversation. He won his race by over a second and set the meet record. Good run by Jack Magee to take home a SQS (on the double from the mile by the way) and give LaSalle 3 guys under the mark. That DMR looks record setting if they keep the group fresh. Coyle and Stone in the mile doing what they've done all year, run fast and finish 1st and 2nd. Both guys are really ready to move fast. Coyle's 4:21 on Lehigh's track makes him the favorite for 2nd if he opts for the open mile in my mind. And if Ned doesn't have his day again, there is no reason to think Coyle can't win. I stand by my opinion that Stone's best shot to make noise is the 800. If he runs the mile, I can't guarentee he will get a medal with the way the field has been shaping up of late. And oh yeah Coyle on the double in 8:55 on a flat track? Very impressive effort as he and Dan Savage (who also ran a great time of 8:56) are forming quite the rivalry with Coyle winning all but their states battle recently (the one that matters the most ironically). Great sign for Savage who punches his ticket to states and has a legit chance at medaling/top 5 (especially if the field only has 8 runners or so). I feel real bad for the Landsdale Catholic bloke. 9:00.27. Missed it by .04 in the 3k, the toughest event there is. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the meet doesn't get enough entries to fill the field and this guy gets in. Great run to emerge onto the scene for Ryan DeBarberie.
True Inspiration
I have a story for all of you out there about one of the most amazing races I have ever witnesed in person. There was only one person in this race. Not anyone famous on a global, national, or even state scale. A man with just a 2:08 800m PR from a small college known as Muhlenberg. His name, for the sake of protection, will be Kid.
Now it was an ordinary Friday night at Muhlenberg College. Some members were relaxing around after a solid workout, others were enjoying the taste of an alcoholic beverage. It is college after all and that stuff goes on a lot. So Kid was drinking, played a few drinking games, and was about 8 beers deep when our crew took a walk over to our on campus eating establishment GQ. Now Kid sat down and, the tank that he is, ate a hardy helping of a quesdilla. Somehow the conversation at the table turned, as most often it does when sitting at a table with me, to running.
The exact conversation that led up to this point was shaky, but, ultimately, I said something to Kid to the effect of, I would give you 50 dollars if you ran a 2:12 right now. Well folks in Allentown, PA at around 1 o'clock on a snowy night you would not expect someone to take you up on a half joking offer. But Kid was confident that he could do it. Was this confidence from his liquid confidence he had ingested earlier that night? That much was not quite clear, but the confidence was undeniable.
So Kid proceeeded to go outside to go for a warm up accompanied by his good friend 3s company who had had a similar amount to drink that night. 3s company could not make it very far into the warm up, maybe 2 mintues, before turning around and coming back. So my confidence that Kid would fail at the task of running 2:12 was all but affirmed.
But Kid continued to warm up, and after deciding breaking in to the school lockeroom was not the smartest idea, decided to go to his friend Lion Paw's room. Lion Paw was in the middle of entertaining a lady friend by Kid was unpreturbed. He borrowed spikes from Lion Paw that were missing 6 out of the 10 spikes from the bottom, including all of them on his left foot.
But still Kid was confident. He came back to our table at GQ and gathered us up to head over to our outdoor track. My friend Space Jam decided to split the pay off with me 25 and 25 if he succeeded, but obviously we were both fairly confident he would not. The bets as we walked over to the track as our group were not how fast he would go, but how far would he make it before he gave up.
It was chilly and snowy for all of us as we walked to the track. Kid hopped the fence. The rest of us realized the gate was open and went around. We stood at the track in the dark. It is important also to realize that our track currently has a sink hole being fixed in lane one. Meaning there were barriers out to lane three on the home stretch for about 10m. This would only add to the problems Kid was facing.
He did a stride and some high knees and approached the line. He took off both his sweatshirt and sweat pants to reveal neon yellow women's running shorts and a shirtless musclar figure approach the line. My friend Sam borrowed a camera phone from Girl to film.
I started my watch when Kid took off and all of us together started to cheer. Ahead of time we had agreed that we would tell him his 400 split was 65 regardless in order to ensure maximum effort. As Kid ran he looked like he was moving quick, estimating the 200m split at about 32-33 seconds. As he approached the line I read off 63, 64, 65. My friends looked at me, questioning if I had lied. I turned back and said, nope he's actually on pace!
The crowd of us 4 was jumping around and screaming as he ran around the track. The official split was 65 high so he would really have to push. He came around on to the final straightaway still on pace, our section going crazy. Sam gave out a cheer of "Do You Believe in Miracles" as Kid ran to the line and the watch stopped. 2:10.84. A negative split performance within 2 seconds of his PR in not at all ideal conditions.
Never before had I wanted to run like did just then. It was a true gutsy performance that admittedly probably wasn't the smartest move for Kid or any of us, but it was worth every cent that we paid up after he ran. Kid is looking forward to using this money for his Metallica concert.
Now it was an ordinary Friday night at Muhlenberg College. Some members were relaxing around after a solid workout, others were enjoying the taste of an alcoholic beverage. It is college after all and that stuff goes on a lot. So Kid was drinking, played a few drinking games, and was about 8 beers deep when our crew took a walk over to our on campus eating establishment GQ. Now Kid sat down and, the tank that he is, ate a hardy helping of a quesdilla. Somehow the conversation at the table turned, as most often it does when sitting at a table with me, to running.
The exact conversation that led up to this point was shaky, but, ultimately, I said something to Kid to the effect of, I would give you 50 dollars if you ran a 2:12 right now. Well folks in Allentown, PA at around 1 o'clock on a snowy night you would not expect someone to take you up on a half joking offer. But Kid was confident that he could do it. Was this confidence from his liquid confidence he had ingested earlier that night? That much was not quite clear, but the confidence was undeniable.
So Kid proceeeded to go outside to go for a warm up accompanied by his good friend 3s company who had had a similar amount to drink that night. 3s company could not make it very far into the warm up, maybe 2 mintues, before turning around and coming back. So my confidence that Kid would fail at the task of running 2:12 was all but affirmed.
But Kid continued to warm up, and after deciding breaking in to the school lockeroom was not the smartest idea, decided to go to his friend Lion Paw's room. Lion Paw was in the middle of entertaining a lady friend by Kid was unpreturbed. He borrowed spikes from Lion Paw that were missing 6 out of the 10 spikes from the bottom, including all of them on his left foot.
But still Kid was confident. He came back to our table at GQ and gathered us up to head over to our outdoor track. My friend Space Jam decided to split the pay off with me 25 and 25 if he succeeded, but obviously we were both fairly confident he would not. The bets as we walked over to the track as our group were not how fast he would go, but how far would he make it before he gave up.
It was chilly and snowy for all of us as we walked to the track. Kid hopped the fence. The rest of us realized the gate was open and went around. We stood at the track in the dark. It is important also to realize that our track currently has a sink hole being fixed in lane one. Meaning there were barriers out to lane three on the home stretch for about 10m. This would only add to the problems Kid was facing.
He did a stride and some high knees and approached the line. He took off both his sweatshirt and sweat pants to reveal neon yellow women's running shorts and a shirtless musclar figure approach the line. My friend Sam borrowed a camera phone from Girl to film.
I started my watch when Kid took off and all of us together started to cheer. Ahead of time we had agreed that we would tell him his 400 split was 65 regardless in order to ensure maximum effort. As Kid ran he looked like he was moving quick, estimating the 200m split at about 32-33 seconds. As he approached the line I read off 63, 64, 65. My friends looked at me, questioning if I had lied. I turned back and said, nope he's actually on pace!
The crowd of us 4 was jumping around and screaming as he ran around the track. The official split was 65 high so he would really have to push. He came around on to the final straightaway still on pace, our section going crazy. Sam gave out a cheer of "Do You Believe in Miracles" as Kid ran to the line and the watch stopped. 2:10.84. A negative split performance within 2 seconds of his PR in not at all ideal conditions.
Never before had I wanted to run like did just then. It was a true gutsy performance that admittedly probably wasn't the smartest move for Kid or any of us, but it was worth every cent that we paid up after he ran. Kid is looking forward to using this money for his Metallica concert.
Upsets
So since yesterday I talked about how there could be a lot of favorite dominated events by indoor states I decided I'd talk about some of the great upsets that have happened at indoor states in past years.
Let's start in 2007. In the 60m Dash state favorite Brandon Bing (who went on to win the 200m later in the meet and the 200 and the 400 outdoors) was DQd for a false start in the finals after qualifying first in the semis. As a results Kashif Smith ran to a surprising win in 6.96. In the 400m dash the hot heat featured big names like Khaliff Featherstone, Chad Sargent and Josh Potts, but a tangle up in the final heat led to Featherstone fall and 75 second 400m, while the rest of the group all stayed above 50 seconds when the dust cleared. Therefore, Austin Perron of Engineering and Science's surprised with a state gold from the 3rd of 4 heats. Although he didn't win the race, Corey Grove pulled out a great upset of sorts in the 800m when his time of 1:54.91 ended up being fast enough to beat out Chris Ferry and defending outdoor state champion Andrew Lobb on the podium.
In 2008, the meet was started off with a bang as Max Kaulbach surprised Vince McNally and Nick Crits with a furious kick to stun Crits and take gold at the state championships in his off event, the Mile. In 3000m with names like Dennin, Kaulbach, Lee and Aldrich in the race, it was Josh Izewski and Chris Bodary who turned heads taking 1-2 at the meet with very fast times of 8:30 and 8:32. Chris Bodary's 2nd place finish was even more impressive because he was one of two members of the top 9 finishers in the race who never received a gold medal at states. In the 4x4 final, a tired group of kids from Engineering and Science's fresh of a DMR upset, ran to the win on the legs of a hobbled Austin Perron who managed to hold off some big charges by guys like Justin Bookheimer and Khaliff Featherstone's Simon Gratz squad. The favorite before the race, Harrisburg ran to a disappointing 3:32. In the DMR E and S was the heavy favorite but a fresh LaSalle team and a close to fresh Penncrest team hopped in and upended the party taking one-two with great legs from guys like Pat Meyers and Dan Lowry. An upset of sorts also came from the GFS squad. The team ran without their 3 best runners and still found themselves on the medal stand, placing 7th.
In 2009 it was an upset of sorts when Alex Kenney found himself in 5th place in the 60m dash finals, a disappointing finish for a state title contender since his freshman year. It was an upset on the record book in the men's 800. In a race that some chose Palmisano and some chose Mallon, Mallon not only surprised with a dominating sprint to the finish, but also shocked the state with a 6 second seasonal best to smash Paul Vandegrift's indoor state record as just a Junior, and put himself in the top 15 (at the time) on the national all time list. The mile was essentially a who's who of upsets. The top 4 spots were taken by guys with little experience this close to the podium. A slow time in the fast heat paved the way as Ivo Milic upset both Ben Furcht and TJ Hobart in order to take the victory in the mile. In the slow section Matt McCullough, Matt Chylak and Dustin Horning ran to 2-4 finishes with great efforts. Furcht was a disappoint 5th, Tarsnane, the defending XC state champion, was 8th, Wade Endress was 15th and TJ Hobart DNFed. In the 3k there was a bit of a surprise as well when Bobby Micikas outkicked Ben Furcht and the two ran very quick times of 8:35 and 8:36.
In 2010, the biggest story after the meet was over was the big upset run by Luke Lefebure. A tired Tom Mallon let the pace slow too much in his final heat and as a result Luke Lefebure, Dorian Rumble and Tres Moore all ran their way onto the podium's top 3 posistions. Lefebure wasn't even regarded on the top runner on his team and broke through relative unknown status to cross the line with a gold. In the DMR Wade Endress came within 3 one hundreths of a second of pulling off a big upset win. Endress just missed nipping Will Kellar at the line for the victory as an Altoona team, known for its sprinting powerhouse, nearly walked away with gold in the distance medley relay.
In 2011, the 60m Dash presented us with another great upset run as defending state champion in the 100m Tyler Smith was surprised by TJ Elliot by 2 hundreths of a second to take the gold. Smith had run faster than anyone else in the semis by over a tenth of a second. In the 800m, defending state champion Luke Lefebure and a fresh group that included stud Kyle Moran and up and comer Hong Cho were all dropped by Wade Endress and a record setting performance on the double from a PR in the mile. Endress closed hard after an early fast pace by Moran and ran his way just under the state record that Mallon had set just two years before. In the 4x8 the upset came in a big way as CB West, who had yet to break 8 flat on the season, stunned the new state record holders of Abington by breaking Abington's record with a 7:45.06 wire to wire victory. Boyertown clocked a bit of an upset of their own when they surprised the DMR field taking second over highly praised West Chester Henderson, CR North and others.
Let's start in 2007. In the 60m Dash state favorite Brandon Bing (who went on to win the 200m later in the meet and the 200 and the 400 outdoors) was DQd for a false start in the finals after qualifying first in the semis. As a results Kashif Smith ran to a surprising win in 6.96. In the 400m dash the hot heat featured big names like Khaliff Featherstone, Chad Sargent and Josh Potts, but a tangle up in the final heat led to Featherstone fall and 75 second 400m, while the rest of the group all stayed above 50 seconds when the dust cleared. Therefore, Austin Perron of Engineering and Science's surprised with a state gold from the 3rd of 4 heats. Although he didn't win the race, Corey Grove pulled out a great upset of sorts in the 800m when his time of 1:54.91 ended up being fast enough to beat out Chris Ferry and defending outdoor state champion Andrew Lobb on the podium.
In 2008, the meet was started off with a bang as Max Kaulbach surprised Vince McNally and Nick Crits with a furious kick to stun Crits and take gold at the state championships in his off event, the Mile. In 3000m with names like Dennin, Kaulbach, Lee and Aldrich in the race, it was Josh Izewski and Chris Bodary who turned heads taking 1-2 at the meet with very fast times of 8:30 and 8:32. Chris Bodary's 2nd place finish was even more impressive because he was one of two members of the top 9 finishers in the race who never received a gold medal at states. In the 4x4 final, a tired group of kids from Engineering and Science's fresh of a DMR upset, ran to the win on the legs of a hobbled Austin Perron who managed to hold off some big charges by guys like Justin Bookheimer and Khaliff Featherstone's Simon Gratz squad. The favorite before the race, Harrisburg ran to a disappointing 3:32. In the DMR E and S was the heavy favorite but a fresh LaSalle team and a close to fresh Penncrest team hopped in and upended the party taking one-two with great legs from guys like Pat Meyers and Dan Lowry. An upset of sorts also came from the GFS squad. The team ran without their 3 best runners and still found themselves on the medal stand, placing 7th.
In 2009 it was an upset of sorts when Alex Kenney found himself in 5th place in the 60m dash finals, a disappointing finish for a state title contender since his freshman year. It was an upset on the record book in the men's 800. In a race that some chose Palmisano and some chose Mallon, Mallon not only surprised with a dominating sprint to the finish, but also shocked the state with a 6 second seasonal best to smash Paul Vandegrift's indoor state record as just a Junior, and put himself in the top 15 (at the time) on the national all time list. The mile was essentially a who's who of upsets. The top 4 spots were taken by guys with little experience this close to the podium. A slow time in the fast heat paved the way as Ivo Milic upset both Ben Furcht and TJ Hobart in order to take the victory in the mile. In the slow section Matt McCullough, Matt Chylak and Dustin Horning ran to 2-4 finishes with great efforts. Furcht was a disappoint 5th, Tarsnane, the defending XC state champion, was 8th, Wade Endress was 15th and TJ Hobart DNFed. In the 3k there was a bit of a surprise as well when Bobby Micikas outkicked Ben Furcht and the two ran very quick times of 8:35 and 8:36.
In 2010, the biggest story after the meet was over was the big upset run by Luke Lefebure. A tired Tom Mallon let the pace slow too much in his final heat and as a result Luke Lefebure, Dorian Rumble and Tres Moore all ran their way onto the podium's top 3 posistions. Lefebure wasn't even regarded on the top runner on his team and broke through relative unknown status to cross the line with a gold. In the DMR Wade Endress came within 3 one hundreths of a second of pulling off a big upset win. Endress just missed nipping Will Kellar at the line for the victory as an Altoona team, known for its sprinting powerhouse, nearly walked away with gold in the distance medley relay.
In 2011, the 60m Dash presented us with another great upset run as defending state champion in the 100m Tyler Smith was surprised by TJ Elliot by 2 hundreths of a second to take the gold. Smith had run faster than anyone else in the semis by over a tenth of a second. In the 800m, defending state champion Luke Lefebure and a fresh group that included stud Kyle Moran and up and comer Hong Cho were all dropped by Wade Endress and a record setting performance on the double from a PR in the mile. Endress closed hard after an early fast pace by Moran and ran his way just under the state record that Mallon had set just two years before. In the 4x8 the upset came in a big way as CB West, who had yet to break 8 flat on the season, stunned the new state record holders of Abington by breaking Abington's record with a 7:45.06 wire to wire victory. Boyertown clocked a bit of an upset of their own when they surprised the DMR field taking second over highly praised West Chester Henderson, CR North and others.
All Favorites Isn't My Favorite
The state championships is always exciting because of the element of mystery involved. Who will capture the title? Who will be on their game for the big events? Where will the upsets be? The debates can rage on about who has the advantage in this event or this relay, how the doubling will come into effect, race strategy, you name it. It's a great time to blog and be the predicter for the big meets.
However, this year I COULD see a situation where there is a massive favorite in every single race.
Now before I get into this situation, I would like to just say I think this situation will almost definitely not happen, but technically speaking it is possible. Also I would like to say just because someone is the overwhelming favorite does not mean they will win. Plenty of guys who have been the favorite have lost in the past. Plus what I see as overwhelming favorites may not be your overwhelming favorites.
But for the sake of fun, let's say the following situation occurs.
The first final of the day is the 1 mile run. Drew is out with Mono at this point so he won't be in the race. Let's assume Dustin passes on the mile in order to pursue the 3k record. Thus, Ned Willig is even more the overwhelming favorite than he was prior to the start of the race. He has a 4:11 PR that is roughly 10 seconds faster than the rest of the field and his seed time of 4:15 is going to be roughly 7 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Plus he is the new state record holder in the 800m and has a great kick that he has used to win many races in the past. In this situation I think there is no denying Willig is an overwhelming favorite.
The next final is the 400m dash. Let's say Futch passes on running the 400m in favor of the 200m fresh and looking to win and then coming back to run key legs on both relays. This is the point where you kind of have to suspend your disbelief a little. This leaves Haneef Hardy and (1:19 600m) as the favorite. He came through that 6 in right around the state lead in the 400m. The field for the 400m is kind of soft right now. Only one guy under 50 seconds and that is just barely under. Hardy fresh in this field without Futch seems like he would have to be a heavy favorite. You can make some arguements for guys like Stiles, Daniel or Shisler, but I say Hardy is an overwhelming favorite in this case.
The next final is the 60m Hurdles. A race this short and this hurdley is extremely unpredictable. A lot can happen. But based on the information we know (we don't expect anyone to fall or false start or have a bad start) Chris Williams is the heavy favorite. Almost a full 2 tenths ahead of the rest of his field (which is led by teammate Wellington Zaza), Williams has been pretty dominate this year at the hurdles. He is the defending outdoor champion at the 110m hurdles as well. In this case we are assuming no Futch in the race which still leaves a great field (Hairston, Willet, Zaza) but ultimatley William's times and resume on paper make him a step above the field (.27 above Hairston, .31 above Willet, .5 for the rest) in experience and ability. His biggest is a guy he sees and competes with every day in practice, so he knows what he is up against. Williams has to be the overwhelming favorite in this race.
After the 60m Hurdles final, comes the dash. Again, with these races anything can happen. It's the nature of the beast. But TJ Elliot is the defending state champion in this race and his best time is from December. He and Shippen are the only guys under 7 seconds so far this year. Shippen has been good as well with a 6.99 PR but Elliot has been the best on the scene for almost 2 years now and has proven he can run the rounds he needs to win before. Although this may be considered a bit of a stretch, I think Elliot is the overwhelming favorite to win the 60m.
Next comes the 800m run. This field will be tricky in most situations, but under this situation Ned looks like the big favorite. First off his PR of 1:51.25 this season is miles ahead of the field. The second and third best guys in PA right now either have mono or have dropped this race in favor of a 400m state championship. That leaves the next best seed as Ryan Horgan (assuming he doesn't drop the 800m and just run the mile like I think he will) at 1:56.98 to WIllig's 1:51.25. You do the math. There are guys I like in this field a bunch, but I don't see any of them seriously challenging Willig. Especially if he gets to kick off a slow pace in the mile. He ran his 1:51 the day after a huge DMR anchor at Yale. I think Ned is an overwhelming favorite to take 800m gold.
In the 200m, on paper the race is pretty open, but I think a fresh Eric Futch can not be denied the gold medal in this race. He boasts a very fast 400m split and a 300m run, he has the state record in the 300m Hurdles and 400m Hurdles Outdoors in very fast times, and his seed time of 22.63 on a flat track will convert to 22.03 on a banked track making him the #2 seed time for the race and giving him an ideal lane. Shacor Hamilton of Cardinal O'Hara will have a time that converts to just under that of Futch's. Hamilton could challenge here, and Patton and Whitmore have run some solid times thus far, but those times came on banked or oversized tracks. The tight turns of Lehigh do not favor a 200m time like 22.63. Futch's time also comes from December and things indicate he is much fitter now than he was then. He has TJ Elliot also to worry about this race, but I can't imagine many situations where Futch goes down when he is fresh against this field, therefore making him an overwhelming favorite in the event.
In the 3k, a fresh Dustin Wilson vs a field of guys with solid PRs but have never had a serious run at an indoor title before looks like the easiest race to call of the meet. Wilson is on a war path right now and dropped an 8:49 a long time ago. Aziz is his biggest competition and Wilson has run circles around this guy for a while now. I'm not saying Aziz can't win, but there is no reason in the world to think a fresh Dustin Wilson is worried about losing this race. He's worried about the record. Wilson is probably the biggest overwhelming favorite of the bunch at this spot.
Now onto the relays. In the 4x200m, Pennwood has the fastest seed time and the best anchor. He's relatively fresh if he passed on the 4 and the other two legs not named Stiles we will say are completely fresh. I really like Strath Haven in this race, but they will have some doubling pieces and tired legs going against a team that is just faster like Pennwood. It's a close field and team's may surprise, but the past 3 years or so the team that won had a clutch anchor who ran down the leaders (Gehret, Gilmore, Gilmore) and sealed state gold. It seems like the same fate has been handed down to Futch. Again this may be a stretch, but I call Pennwood the overwhelming favorites in the 4x2.
In the 4x8, let's take on the assumption Strath Haven has doubled their guys and Penncrest is completely fresh. LaSalle, Great Valley and North Penn have opted for the DMR. This leaves Penncrest as the favorite. A fresh squad that has a relay best 7 seconds better than anybody else (although Strath Haven may beat that by Saturday). Haven, their biggest competition, will have 2-3 legs on the double in the relay (I don't think Daniel runs on their 4x8) and those legs are guys who run fast 800s off strength more so than speed so doubling should be a bit of an issue. After Strath Haven, Cardinal O'Hara (who ran two 4x8s under 8:15 at the same meet which was crazy and has been left out of here a little too much by yours truly) is probably the biggest threat with Pennridge and Penn Hills also in the coversation. O'Hara will be seeded at most likely 8:12 going into this race. That's 17 seconds slower than Penncrest. Not too mention the fact that if O'Hara qualifies guys in the 3k they will certainly opt for that over the relay (not that they don't have depth obviously) and they need their top guys on par to beat Penncrest. Penn Hills will be doubling Baily and Squirees and Pennridge is also seeded well behind their competitors (about 17 seconds) and doesn't show signs of having the potential to run under 8 flat at this point. Penncrest would have to really choke to lose this race or somebody would have to pull a CB West to win. But there are no CB West's in this race. I picked CB West to win a year ago (and the year before that too actually) so I understood then that they had potential. No one returns 3 form a 7:44 effort outdoors and no one has run 8 flat on Glenn Mill's track. So yes, Penncrst is the overwhelming favorite.
In the DMR things are at their trickiest. I'm assuming that LaSalle has left a completely fresh squad waiting all day for this race. But, North Penn will be ready to go for this race and they are the defending upset state champions in XC so you can never really count them out. I really like LaSalle in this race, they are fresh, they have probably the best lead off leg and one of the top 2-3 anchors as well. Taking a look at the competion, Willig is tripling at this point and would need to pull out something crazy to carry this relay to a victory over a fresh LaSalle. So they are out. The Prep has had a tough time hitting their early season potential and Horgan is on the double at this point at least. So they are out. Henderson has got a young anchor in Tony Russell. I can't see that ending well. Take a look at the Baldwin DMR from a couple years back. Besides, in flats on a flat track LaSalle ran 10:37 to Henderson's 10:35 in spikes on a bank track (admittedly not ideal order for them). North Penn and Henderson are both quite good teams so I think this is the biggest stretch I will make all day and I definitely pulled something. So work with me here. To make this situation more reasonable for LaSalle to be the overwhelming favorite let's say North Penn and Henderson double their guys just like the Prep and Great Valley. This leaves a fresh LaSalle team as the overwhelming favorites over a tired field.
And finally we have the 4x4. Pennwood boasts a 3:17 #2 PA AT 4x4. Futch is the anchor. The next fastest team ran 8 seconds slower on a banked track. The team's around Pennwood will either be doubling and tripling guys just like Pennwood or have no dynamic anchor leg. Pennwood has two guys who have ran faster than anybody else on any of these relays at this point (I'm assuming no one else in the state has dipped in the 48s in a split, otherwise I would have heard about it) and they have the big race experience and excellent PRs across the board to make them easily an overwhelming favorite in this field.
So there you have it folks. A bland state meet of sorts. Obviously you have to suspend your disbelief here and take the word overwhelming in a bit of a different context at times, but I just thought it was interesting. Enjoy your day.
-train
However, this year I COULD see a situation where there is a massive favorite in every single race.
Now before I get into this situation, I would like to just say I think this situation will almost definitely not happen, but technically speaking it is possible. Also I would like to say just because someone is the overwhelming favorite does not mean they will win. Plenty of guys who have been the favorite have lost in the past. Plus what I see as overwhelming favorites may not be your overwhelming favorites.
But for the sake of fun, let's say the following situation occurs.
The first final of the day is the 1 mile run. Drew is out with Mono at this point so he won't be in the race. Let's assume Dustin passes on the mile in order to pursue the 3k record. Thus, Ned Willig is even more the overwhelming favorite than he was prior to the start of the race. He has a 4:11 PR that is roughly 10 seconds faster than the rest of the field and his seed time of 4:15 is going to be roughly 7 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Plus he is the new state record holder in the 800m and has a great kick that he has used to win many races in the past. In this situation I think there is no denying Willig is an overwhelming favorite.
The next final is the 400m dash. Let's say Futch passes on running the 400m in favor of the 200m fresh and looking to win and then coming back to run key legs on both relays. This is the point where you kind of have to suspend your disbelief a little. This leaves Haneef Hardy and (1:19 600m) as the favorite. He came through that 6 in right around the state lead in the 400m. The field for the 400m is kind of soft right now. Only one guy under 50 seconds and that is just barely under. Hardy fresh in this field without Futch seems like he would have to be a heavy favorite. You can make some arguements for guys like Stiles, Daniel or Shisler, but I say Hardy is an overwhelming favorite in this case.
The next final is the 60m Hurdles. A race this short and this hurdley is extremely unpredictable. A lot can happen. But based on the information we know (we don't expect anyone to fall or false start or have a bad start) Chris Williams is the heavy favorite. Almost a full 2 tenths ahead of the rest of his field (which is led by teammate Wellington Zaza), Williams has been pretty dominate this year at the hurdles. He is the defending outdoor champion at the 110m hurdles as well. In this case we are assuming no Futch in the race which still leaves a great field (Hairston, Willet, Zaza) but ultimatley William's times and resume on paper make him a step above the field (.27 above Hairston, .31 above Willet, .5 for the rest) in experience and ability. His biggest is a guy he sees and competes with every day in practice, so he knows what he is up against. Williams has to be the overwhelming favorite in this race.
After the 60m Hurdles final, comes the dash. Again, with these races anything can happen. It's the nature of the beast. But TJ Elliot is the defending state champion in this race and his best time is from December. He and Shippen are the only guys under 7 seconds so far this year. Shippen has been good as well with a 6.99 PR but Elliot has been the best on the scene for almost 2 years now and has proven he can run the rounds he needs to win before. Although this may be considered a bit of a stretch, I think Elliot is the overwhelming favorite to win the 60m.
Next comes the 800m run. This field will be tricky in most situations, but under this situation Ned looks like the big favorite. First off his PR of 1:51.25 this season is miles ahead of the field. The second and third best guys in PA right now either have mono or have dropped this race in favor of a 400m state championship. That leaves the next best seed as Ryan Horgan (assuming he doesn't drop the 800m and just run the mile like I think he will) at 1:56.98 to WIllig's 1:51.25. You do the math. There are guys I like in this field a bunch, but I don't see any of them seriously challenging Willig. Especially if he gets to kick off a slow pace in the mile. He ran his 1:51 the day after a huge DMR anchor at Yale. I think Ned is an overwhelming favorite to take 800m gold.
In the 200m, on paper the race is pretty open, but I think a fresh Eric Futch can not be denied the gold medal in this race. He boasts a very fast 400m split and a 300m run, he has the state record in the 300m Hurdles and 400m Hurdles Outdoors in very fast times, and his seed time of 22.63 on a flat track will convert to 22.03 on a banked track making him the #2 seed time for the race and giving him an ideal lane. Shacor Hamilton of Cardinal O'Hara will have a time that converts to just under that of Futch's. Hamilton could challenge here, and Patton and Whitmore have run some solid times thus far, but those times came on banked or oversized tracks. The tight turns of Lehigh do not favor a 200m time like 22.63. Futch's time also comes from December and things indicate he is much fitter now than he was then. He has TJ Elliot also to worry about this race, but I can't imagine many situations where Futch goes down when he is fresh against this field, therefore making him an overwhelming favorite in the event.
In the 3k, a fresh Dustin Wilson vs a field of guys with solid PRs but have never had a serious run at an indoor title before looks like the easiest race to call of the meet. Wilson is on a war path right now and dropped an 8:49 a long time ago. Aziz is his biggest competition and Wilson has run circles around this guy for a while now. I'm not saying Aziz can't win, but there is no reason in the world to think a fresh Dustin Wilson is worried about losing this race. He's worried about the record. Wilson is probably the biggest overwhelming favorite of the bunch at this spot.
Now onto the relays. In the 4x200m, Pennwood has the fastest seed time and the best anchor. He's relatively fresh if he passed on the 4 and the other two legs not named Stiles we will say are completely fresh. I really like Strath Haven in this race, but they will have some doubling pieces and tired legs going against a team that is just faster like Pennwood. It's a close field and team's may surprise, but the past 3 years or so the team that won had a clutch anchor who ran down the leaders (Gehret, Gilmore, Gilmore) and sealed state gold. It seems like the same fate has been handed down to Futch. Again this may be a stretch, but I call Pennwood the overwhelming favorites in the 4x2.
In the 4x8, let's take on the assumption Strath Haven has doubled their guys and Penncrest is completely fresh. LaSalle, Great Valley and North Penn have opted for the DMR. This leaves Penncrest as the favorite. A fresh squad that has a relay best 7 seconds better than anybody else (although Strath Haven may beat that by Saturday). Haven, their biggest competition, will have 2-3 legs on the double in the relay (I don't think Daniel runs on their 4x8) and those legs are guys who run fast 800s off strength more so than speed so doubling should be a bit of an issue. After Strath Haven, Cardinal O'Hara (who ran two 4x8s under 8:15 at the same meet which was crazy and has been left out of here a little too much by yours truly) is probably the biggest threat with Pennridge and Penn Hills also in the coversation. O'Hara will be seeded at most likely 8:12 going into this race. That's 17 seconds slower than Penncrest. Not too mention the fact that if O'Hara qualifies guys in the 3k they will certainly opt for that over the relay (not that they don't have depth obviously) and they need their top guys on par to beat Penncrest. Penn Hills will be doubling Baily and Squirees and Pennridge is also seeded well behind their competitors (about 17 seconds) and doesn't show signs of having the potential to run under 8 flat at this point. Penncrest would have to really choke to lose this race or somebody would have to pull a CB West to win. But there are no CB West's in this race. I picked CB West to win a year ago (and the year before that too actually) so I understood then that they had potential. No one returns 3 form a 7:44 effort outdoors and no one has run 8 flat on Glenn Mill's track. So yes, Penncrst is the overwhelming favorite.
In the DMR things are at their trickiest. I'm assuming that LaSalle has left a completely fresh squad waiting all day for this race. But, North Penn will be ready to go for this race and they are the defending upset state champions in XC so you can never really count them out. I really like LaSalle in this race, they are fresh, they have probably the best lead off leg and one of the top 2-3 anchors as well. Taking a look at the competion, Willig is tripling at this point and would need to pull out something crazy to carry this relay to a victory over a fresh LaSalle. So they are out. The Prep has had a tough time hitting their early season potential and Horgan is on the double at this point at least. So they are out. Henderson has got a young anchor in Tony Russell. I can't see that ending well. Take a look at the Baldwin DMR from a couple years back. Besides, in flats on a flat track LaSalle ran 10:37 to Henderson's 10:35 in spikes on a bank track (admittedly not ideal order for them). North Penn and Henderson are both quite good teams so I think this is the biggest stretch I will make all day and I definitely pulled something. So work with me here. To make this situation more reasonable for LaSalle to be the overwhelming favorite let's say North Penn and Henderson double their guys just like the Prep and Great Valley. This leaves a fresh LaSalle team as the overwhelming favorites over a tired field.
And finally we have the 4x4. Pennwood boasts a 3:17 #2 PA AT 4x4. Futch is the anchor. The next fastest team ran 8 seconds slower on a banked track. The team's around Pennwood will either be doubling and tripling guys just like Pennwood or have no dynamic anchor leg. Pennwood has two guys who have ran faster than anybody else on any of these relays at this point (I'm assuming no one else in the state has dipped in the 48s in a split, otherwise I would have heard about it) and they have the big race experience and excellent PRs across the board to make them easily an overwhelming favorite in this field.
So there you have it folks. A bland state meet of sorts. Obviously you have to suspend your disbelief here and take the word overwhelming in a bit of a different context at times, but I just thought it was interesting. Enjoy your day.
-train
Relay Race
There is plenty to talk about on the relay scene this time of year and of course the DMR vs. 4x8 conversations are in full swing. Looking down the list there is plenty of potential for the greatest DMR race in state history when the team's roll into Penn State but obviously teams will opt for what they see as their best chance to grab state hardware and bring maximum point opportunities to their team in the team title race.
In my own opinion, relay success and relay choices come down to a number of factors. Obviously, teams have certain leanings about which event they would rather run come state time. Historically some teams opt for one race over the other. Often times the relays are also a matter of what your team is built for, i.e. what strengths you have, what doubling your other runners will have to do etc.
So in order to try and clear up the very blurry picture of the 4x8 vs. DMR debate, let's take a look at what teams have the most individual qualifiers in the 400-3k.
Strath Haven (4)- Daniel 400m, Smith 400m, Huemmler 800m+Mile, Seelaus Mile
Pennwood (3)- Futch 400m, Stiles 400m, Hunter 400m
Hatboro (2)- Hibbs Mile+3k, Hackett 400m
Penncrest (2)- Emmanuel 800m, Miller 800m
LaSalle (2)- Coyle 800m+Mile, Stone 800m+Mile
Henderson (2)- Russell Mile, Chaborek Mile
CR North (2)- Zingarini Mile, Felt 800m+Mile
HGPrep (2)- Horgan Mile+800m, Israel Mile
GFS (2)- Wistar Mile, Aziz 3k
Great Valley (2)- Willig Mile+800+3k, Wolffe 800
DT West (2)- Jenkins 800m, Leidel Mile
Spring Ford (2)- O'Such Mile+800, Magolon Mile
North Penn (2)- Trimble 800, MacCauley Mile
Pennridge (2)- Logue 800m, Kohler 800m
Penn Hills (2)- Baily 800m, Squirees 800m
Now this is a lot of information to throw out there and some of it is fairly irrelevant. So let me give you my opinion of what this means. First off throw Pennwood out the picture, they aren't running any distance relays any time soon. Then you look at the teams and where their guys have qualified. Teams like Penn Hills, Pennridge, and Penncrest are all sure fire 4x8 teams. They don't have the distance power it will take to seriously compete at the top level with these DMR squads.
Team's like Spring Ford, GFS, West Chester Henderson, CR North, and Hatboro Horsham virtually have to go DMR. They lack the depth and fire power to blast a 4x8 well under 8 minutes.
That leaves only a few question mark teams: North Penn, HG Prep, DT West, Great Valley, LaSalle and Strath Haven.
Haven, in my opinion, is much better suited for the DMR on paper. Their two key legs are both more of milers than 800 runners, and their 400 leg is one of the best in the state in the open 4 this year. However, they have a serious shot at the team title so they will be doubling Huemmler and Seelaus and Daniel I'd imagine. That may make the 4x8 too enticing to pass up. Especially with a 4x2 and 4x4 that are in top 5 shape to worry about. Strath Haven has yet to run a DMR in the years since the event was added in 2007. Therefore my prediction is a 4x8 for Haven.
Now DT West I see as running the 4x8. They still haven't hit the DMR time yet and it doesn't look like they are gearing up to do it anytime soon. They have a very solid 4x8 and it should be a less deep field so I expect them to opt for the 4x8.
Great Valley has shown all the signs over the last year or so of going for a big DMR at states this season and taking gold. I think they will almost definitely opt for the DMR under those circumstances, especially with Ned as a great anchor. BUT in my opinion they have a better shot of winning gold in the 4x8. If Ned can pull out a 1:51 anchor they just need to average 2 flat from the rest of their guys to run about 7:51. If Ned only runs the mile, 1:51 may be too slow of an estimate for the state record holder. Fresh, he would have a shot at 1:49 in a split for sure, especially chasing down the teams out front like Penncrest. Ultimately, I don't see Great Valley pulling the trigger and making the switch, and I think they will choose the DMR.
North Penn has always been a 4x8 school, but I think this is finally the year they make the switch over to the DMR. I heard rumors early in the season North Penn wanted to send a completely fresh squad onto the track for the DMR at indoor states and I don't believe that goal has changed. I think that if they stick to this plan they will win states in the DMR indoors. Plus they are just much better suited for a fast DMR rather than 4x8. So I think North Penn will run the DMR at states.
HG Prep ran fast in the DMR early in the season, but has tailed off a bit since then. I think they stick to the DMR and hope to regain their former success, even if Horgan opts to run the open mile or the 8 (or I guess even both) he will probably just be the 1200 leg or maybe even the 800 leg on their relay in the DMR. I don't see this relay having the raw speed to break 8, but they have the talent to break 10:30. The only question mark is the fact that they have never ran the DMR before at indoor states. I still think DMR for Holy Ghost.
Which leaves only LaSalle left as a question mark, and perhaps the biggest question mark of all. Honestly, LaSalle is easily best suited for the DMR and with 4 fresh legs I think they could scare the meet record and state record. However, Stone and Coyle are each legitimate top 3-5 place winners in the open 8 and mile respectively and that potential may win out over the relay title (both guys are Juniors so they will have next year to think about here as well). I see these guys getting a chance to run open (maybe both the mile, but hopefully we can see Stone against the field in the 800) and then doubling back into the 4x8 rather than the DMR. The 4x8 is the easier field comparatively and these guys still have a great shot at state gold (I'm not too sold on Penncrest right now, which may be a huge mistake) and they would also get to run individual events. Ultimately, I can see this one going either way, but I'll say 4x8 for LaSalle for another year in a row.
In my own opinion, relay success and relay choices come down to a number of factors. Obviously, teams have certain leanings about which event they would rather run come state time. Historically some teams opt for one race over the other. Often times the relays are also a matter of what your team is built for, i.e. what strengths you have, what doubling your other runners will have to do etc.
So in order to try and clear up the very blurry picture of the 4x8 vs. DMR debate, let's take a look at what teams have the most individual qualifiers in the 400-3k.
Strath Haven (4)- Daniel 400m, Smith 400m, Huemmler 800m+Mile, Seelaus Mile
Pennwood (3)- Futch 400m, Stiles 400m, Hunter 400m
Hatboro (2)- Hibbs Mile+3k, Hackett 400m
Penncrest (2)- Emmanuel 800m, Miller 800m
LaSalle (2)- Coyle 800m+Mile, Stone 800m+Mile
Henderson (2)- Russell Mile, Chaborek Mile
CR North (2)- Zingarini Mile, Felt 800m+Mile
HGPrep (2)- Horgan Mile+800m, Israel Mile
GFS (2)- Wistar Mile, Aziz 3k
Great Valley (2)- Willig Mile+800+3k, Wolffe 800
DT West (2)- Jenkins 800m, Leidel Mile
Spring Ford (2)- O'Such Mile+800, Magolon Mile
North Penn (2)- Trimble 800, MacCauley Mile
Pennridge (2)- Logue 800m, Kohler 800m
Penn Hills (2)- Baily 800m, Squirees 800m
Now this is a lot of information to throw out there and some of it is fairly irrelevant. So let me give you my opinion of what this means. First off throw Pennwood out the picture, they aren't running any distance relays any time soon. Then you look at the teams and where their guys have qualified. Teams like Penn Hills, Pennridge, and Penncrest are all sure fire 4x8 teams. They don't have the distance power it will take to seriously compete at the top level with these DMR squads.
Team's like Spring Ford, GFS, West Chester Henderson, CR North, and Hatboro Horsham virtually have to go DMR. They lack the depth and fire power to blast a 4x8 well under 8 minutes.
That leaves only a few question mark teams: North Penn, HG Prep, DT West, Great Valley, LaSalle and Strath Haven.
Haven, in my opinion, is much better suited for the DMR on paper. Their two key legs are both more of milers than 800 runners, and their 400 leg is one of the best in the state in the open 4 this year. However, they have a serious shot at the team title so they will be doubling Huemmler and Seelaus and Daniel I'd imagine. That may make the 4x8 too enticing to pass up. Especially with a 4x2 and 4x4 that are in top 5 shape to worry about. Strath Haven has yet to run a DMR in the years since the event was added in 2007. Therefore my prediction is a 4x8 for Haven.
Now DT West I see as running the 4x8. They still haven't hit the DMR time yet and it doesn't look like they are gearing up to do it anytime soon. They have a very solid 4x8 and it should be a less deep field so I expect them to opt for the 4x8.
Great Valley has shown all the signs over the last year or so of going for a big DMR at states this season and taking gold. I think they will almost definitely opt for the DMR under those circumstances, especially with Ned as a great anchor. BUT in my opinion they have a better shot of winning gold in the 4x8. If Ned can pull out a 1:51 anchor they just need to average 2 flat from the rest of their guys to run about 7:51. If Ned only runs the mile, 1:51 may be too slow of an estimate for the state record holder. Fresh, he would have a shot at 1:49 in a split for sure, especially chasing down the teams out front like Penncrest. Ultimately, I don't see Great Valley pulling the trigger and making the switch, and I think they will choose the DMR.
North Penn has always been a 4x8 school, but I think this is finally the year they make the switch over to the DMR. I heard rumors early in the season North Penn wanted to send a completely fresh squad onto the track for the DMR at indoor states and I don't believe that goal has changed. I think that if they stick to this plan they will win states in the DMR indoors. Plus they are just much better suited for a fast DMR rather than 4x8. So I think North Penn will run the DMR at states.
HG Prep ran fast in the DMR early in the season, but has tailed off a bit since then. I think they stick to the DMR and hope to regain their former success, even if Horgan opts to run the open mile or the 8 (or I guess even both) he will probably just be the 1200 leg or maybe even the 800 leg on their relay in the DMR. I don't see this relay having the raw speed to break 8, but they have the talent to break 10:30. The only question mark is the fact that they have never ran the DMR before at indoor states. I still think DMR for Holy Ghost.
Which leaves only LaSalle left as a question mark, and perhaps the biggest question mark of all. Honestly, LaSalle is easily best suited for the DMR and with 4 fresh legs I think they could scare the meet record and state record. However, Stone and Coyle are each legitimate top 3-5 place winners in the open 8 and mile respectively and that potential may win out over the relay title (both guys are Juniors so they will have next year to think about here as well). I see these guys getting a chance to run open (maybe both the mile, but hopefully we can see Stone against the field in the 800) and then doubling back into the 4x8 rather than the DMR. The 4x8 is the easier field comparatively and these guys still have a great shot at state gold (I'm not too sold on Penncrest right now, which may be a huge mistake) and they would also get to run individual events. Ultimately, I can see this one going either way, but I'll say 4x8 for LaSalle for another year in a row.
More More Results
So the NJ Varsity Classic went down just recently and there were some very fast times from some relative unknowns on the scene so I figured I'd mention them here. Tony Russell won the 1600m in a time of 4:21.8. This time will put him in the top 5 or so in the state for the mile when you convert it, making it a very impressive mark. His teammate AJ Chaborek ran 4:29.8 which I believe is also state qualifying. These two legs obviously set the team up nicely for a DMR that can qualify and medal at states.
Oh yeah, they ran a DMR at this meet. A nice 10:35 mark for the group to put them right in the state championship conversation.
A huge surprise from Lyle Wistar with his 4:24.6. Obviously GFS had some nice pieces after their DMR, but I didn't think they had an anchor like this who comes from completely off my radar to drop a very nice 1600m run for 2nd.
(Just as a side note Muhlenberg recruit Alex Weiner 4:26.7, good work youngster.)
In the 3200m how about Sam Aziz? He didn't have a cross season mostly, I heard he went away for most of the fall or something? Dustin Wilson told me but I forget. Bascially he only raced regionals from what I saw but obviously he had solid potential after a solid year of XC and track as a Junior and he blasts his way onto the scene with a State Qualifying effort of 9:28.7 in the 3200m. It converts by PA standards down 37 seconds to a roughly 8:51 for 3k, a time which would put Aziz as #2 in the state behind only his fellow independent league runner Dustin Wilson. Very impressive performance. Turns out he is running for GFS now? Had no idea, but that DMR is shaping up to look pretty deadly after these two performances.
Kenny Leidal a solid 800m to go with his earlier mile that was state qualifying. Still some potential for a DMR or 4x8 at DTWest that could be pretty good (if only they had Quinn Devlin).
Penncrest, Glenn Mills, and Norristown all had very solid 4x4 performances of 3:26, 3:27 and 3:28 that qualify all the groups for states and put all of the relays in the medal conversation.
And guess what folks? You get a two for one today. In part because I really don't feel like starting my homework and also because the Carnival is coming up and I think a preview is probably in order. If somebody can get me a PCL performance list I'll do a preview for that as well.
I hope to be at the carnival meet this year, but no guarantees. I personally don't have a car, but my friend does, so I am going to have to do some scheming to get him to give me a ride. That being said, the races should be great either way.
Of course there is plenty to look forward to on the girls side, like the monster Angel Piccirillo running 3 events (she just won 4 not too long ago at TSTCAs, she has dropped the 400 for this weekend's meet). But unfortunately, I'm not going to talk too much about the girls meet (I could try but I feel like I would probably embarrass myself more than anything. So to the men.
First in the 60m Hurdles, Willet, Chris Williams and Jonathan Stiles will all take the stage for what should be an exciting race. Willet coming off an upset victory over Hairston, another one of the top notch hurdles in a great field for this year's state meet.
State leader TJ Elliot is the guy to watch in the dash as he will most likely be using his speed to race the clock this weekend and try to better his own PA #1.
In the mile a couple up and comers from XC like Alex Archer, Shawn Wolfe, Adam Katora, and John Felts are entered on the track to try and run with sub 3k runner Cole Nissley and mile state qualifiers Vinny Todaro and Avery Scripture. A sleeper pick in the race is Nick Rotz of Chambersburg. I don't see the race being particularly fast and ultimately I think Todaro will beat out Nissley for the win 4:29-4:30 or somewhere along those lines. Maybe one more guys hits the SQS out of the group that has it. Scripture is the wild card with a PR under 4:30 in the mile, one of the best in the field. Tyler Castelli of Central also a name to remember. He has a solid 800m PR from this season.
In the 400m Alex Shisler will look to better his time, which is one of the top 5 or so in the state, running against Jonathan Stiles fresh off a 48.6 anchor split on Pennwood's PA #1 4x4 team. A relay which has quickly become one of the best in state history.
In the 800m, an interesting field is laid out that includes AA state medalists Alex Archer, Dan Alexander and Mark Bachman, AAA state medalist Alec Kunzweiler, 1:19/1:55 runner Haneef Hardy, Chambersburg's Ryun Holder who boasts a 1:54 outdoor PR, and some sleepers like Jake Delehman, Ryan Dickson, Josh Rinker and Avery Scripture. DeLehman was a major factor indoors last season running 1:57-58 on a flat track, but has not yet matched his potential from a year ago. Dickson was a 1:56-57 split on CB South's excellent DMRs and 4x8s last spring, but also has not quite found his previous speed this indoors. Hardy has to be the favorite in the race after his 1:19 600m, and I do expect him to lead early and ensure a fast pace. But, I see this race ending in a win for Ryun Holder, who should hit the SQS and run around a 1:57 to take the win over a fading Hardy on the final lap. Kunzweiler should hang tough as well, somewhere around a 1:58 I see for him to take third behind Holder and Hardy. I'm hoping Delehman has a big day and mixes it up to get third. Plenty of potential for lots of guys to hit or better their SQS this weekend at Lehigh.
In the 200m it's the return of Almany Bangura, the former freshman sensation who has yet to recapture his former glory, but looks to get another SQS under his belt and go on to mix it up by states. He will have TJ Elliot, Kevin Smith III and Brandon Shippen to help him along the way.
In the 3000m, Dustin Wilson headlines the field, already holding the PA #1 3k. He will look to better his previous performance at Lehigh amongst a field that shows little signs of being able to better him. Aaron Wilkinson, a state medalist a year ago at 3000m and three time XC state medalist, will look to add his name to list of state qualifiers at 3000m. Wilkinson will be challenged by Francis Ferruzzi, Ryan Archer, and John Felts who all made great strides this past XC season. Ferruzzi boasts the best PRs of the chasers with a 9:09 and 4:31 1600m under his belt this season. Wilson should take the win easily, somewhere around 8:40-8:45 he chooses to really go for it. I see Ferruzzi (yes probably a little biased), taking second out of the group, right around 9:03, with Wilkinson not too far behind. Felts (if he passes on the mile) is probably the biggest sleeper of the bunch.
The relays are tough because you can never be quite sure who is going to throw in their A team. In the 4x2 it looks as though Cheltenham, Coatesville, CB South, CB West, Central Dauphin East (TJ Elliot's squad), Norristown, Swenson, and Pennwood are the big potential relays. If Bangura is in shape, Milton Hershey may also surprise in the 4x2.
In the 4x8s and DMRs, the DMR has just 5 entries (admittedly the entries include big time potential relays Strath Haven and GFS), so most likely teams will opt to go hot in the 4x8 this week. I'm hoping Abington shows their cards in the 4x8 this week, I know they have some potential, but they have been super quiet thus far this season. Maybe saving it for outdoor? Its hard to believe these guys are really out of stock. Meanwhile, CB West with a fresh squad and Nico Metzler, who we haven't heard much from after a great December, should be rounding into shape to hit the SQS. GFS, Cumberland Valley, Lower Moreland, Penncrest and Strath Haven are all entered in the 4x8 and all have potential to run very quick times. Millrose is on Saturday night so if Haven and Penncrest have decided to jump in that, than they won't have any sort of A squad at this meet. That leaves the door open for GFS to really go for it in either the 4x8 or the DMR and hit the standard. They should have a fresh squad that includes new state qualifiers Sam Aziz and Lyle Wistar who have shown potential to run very fast some time soon. Cumberland Valley, with a relatively fresh squad besides Kunzweiler, may also be able to better their SQS in the 4x8 and ensure an appearence in the fast heat, if things get split up into two heats.
Oh yeah, they ran a DMR at this meet. A nice 10:35 mark for the group to put them right in the state championship conversation.
A huge surprise from Lyle Wistar with his 4:24.6. Obviously GFS had some nice pieces after their DMR, but I didn't think they had an anchor like this who comes from completely off my radar to drop a very nice 1600m run for 2nd.
(Just as a side note Muhlenberg recruit Alex Weiner 4:26.7, good work youngster.)
In the 3200m how about Sam Aziz? He didn't have a cross season mostly, I heard he went away for most of the fall or something? Dustin Wilson told me but I forget. Bascially he only raced regionals from what I saw but obviously he had solid potential after a solid year of XC and track as a Junior and he blasts his way onto the scene with a State Qualifying effort of 9:28.7 in the 3200m. It converts by PA standards down 37 seconds to a roughly 8:51 for 3k, a time which would put Aziz as #2 in the state behind only his fellow independent league runner Dustin Wilson. Very impressive performance. Turns out he is running for GFS now? Had no idea, but that DMR is shaping up to look pretty deadly after these two performances.
Kenny Leidal a solid 800m to go with his earlier mile that was state qualifying. Still some potential for a DMR or 4x8 at DTWest that could be pretty good (if only they had Quinn Devlin).
Penncrest, Glenn Mills, and Norristown all had very solid 4x4 performances of 3:26, 3:27 and 3:28 that qualify all the groups for states and put all of the relays in the medal conversation.
And guess what folks? You get a two for one today. In part because I really don't feel like starting my homework and also because the Carnival is coming up and I think a preview is probably in order. If somebody can get me a PCL performance list I'll do a preview for that as well.
I hope to be at the carnival meet this year, but no guarantees. I personally don't have a car, but my friend does, so I am going to have to do some scheming to get him to give me a ride. That being said, the races should be great either way.
Of course there is plenty to look forward to on the girls side, like the monster Angel Piccirillo running 3 events (she just won 4 not too long ago at TSTCAs, she has dropped the 400 for this weekend's meet). But unfortunately, I'm not going to talk too much about the girls meet (I could try but I feel like I would probably embarrass myself more than anything. So to the men.
First in the 60m Hurdles, Willet, Chris Williams and Jonathan Stiles will all take the stage for what should be an exciting race. Willet coming off an upset victory over Hairston, another one of the top notch hurdles in a great field for this year's state meet.
State leader TJ Elliot is the guy to watch in the dash as he will most likely be using his speed to race the clock this weekend and try to better his own PA #1.
In the mile a couple up and comers from XC like Alex Archer, Shawn Wolfe, Adam Katora, and John Felts are entered on the track to try and run with sub 3k runner Cole Nissley and mile state qualifiers Vinny Todaro and Avery Scripture. A sleeper pick in the race is Nick Rotz of Chambersburg. I don't see the race being particularly fast and ultimately I think Todaro will beat out Nissley for the win 4:29-4:30 or somewhere along those lines. Maybe one more guys hits the SQS out of the group that has it. Scripture is the wild card with a PR under 4:30 in the mile, one of the best in the field. Tyler Castelli of Central also a name to remember. He has a solid 800m PR from this season.
In the 400m Alex Shisler will look to better his time, which is one of the top 5 or so in the state, running against Jonathan Stiles fresh off a 48.6 anchor split on Pennwood's PA #1 4x4 team. A relay which has quickly become one of the best in state history.
In the 800m, an interesting field is laid out that includes AA state medalists Alex Archer, Dan Alexander and Mark Bachman, AAA state medalist Alec Kunzweiler, 1:19/1:55 runner Haneef Hardy, Chambersburg's Ryun Holder who boasts a 1:54 outdoor PR, and some sleepers like Jake Delehman, Ryan Dickson, Josh Rinker and Avery Scripture. DeLehman was a major factor indoors last season running 1:57-58 on a flat track, but has not yet matched his potential from a year ago. Dickson was a 1:56-57 split on CB South's excellent DMRs and 4x8s last spring, but also has not quite found his previous speed this indoors. Hardy has to be the favorite in the race after his 1:19 600m, and I do expect him to lead early and ensure a fast pace. But, I see this race ending in a win for Ryun Holder, who should hit the SQS and run around a 1:57 to take the win over a fading Hardy on the final lap. Kunzweiler should hang tough as well, somewhere around a 1:58 I see for him to take third behind Holder and Hardy. I'm hoping Delehman has a big day and mixes it up to get third. Plenty of potential for lots of guys to hit or better their SQS this weekend at Lehigh.
In the 200m it's the return of Almany Bangura, the former freshman sensation who has yet to recapture his former glory, but looks to get another SQS under his belt and go on to mix it up by states. He will have TJ Elliot, Kevin Smith III and Brandon Shippen to help him along the way.
In the 3000m, Dustin Wilson headlines the field, already holding the PA #1 3k. He will look to better his previous performance at Lehigh amongst a field that shows little signs of being able to better him. Aaron Wilkinson, a state medalist a year ago at 3000m and three time XC state medalist, will look to add his name to list of state qualifiers at 3000m. Wilkinson will be challenged by Francis Ferruzzi, Ryan Archer, and John Felts who all made great strides this past XC season. Ferruzzi boasts the best PRs of the chasers with a 9:09 and 4:31 1600m under his belt this season. Wilson should take the win easily, somewhere around 8:40-8:45 he chooses to really go for it. I see Ferruzzi (yes probably a little biased), taking second out of the group, right around 9:03, with Wilkinson not too far behind. Felts (if he passes on the mile) is probably the biggest sleeper of the bunch.
The relays are tough because you can never be quite sure who is going to throw in their A team. In the 4x2 it looks as though Cheltenham, Coatesville, CB South, CB West, Central Dauphin East (TJ Elliot's squad), Norristown, Swenson, and Pennwood are the big potential relays. If Bangura is in shape, Milton Hershey may also surprise in the 4x2.
In the 4x8s and DMRs, the DMR has just 5 entries (admittedly the entries include big time potential relays Strath Haven and GFS), so most likely teams will opt to go hot in the 4x8 this week. I'm hoping Abington shows their cards in the 4x8 this week, I know they have some potential, but they have been super quiet thus far this season. Maybe saving it for outdoor? Its hard to believe these guys are really out of stock. Meanwhile, CB West with a fresh squad and Nico Metzler, who we haven't heard much from after a great December, should be rounding into shape to hit the SQS. GFS, Cumberland Valley, Lower Moreland, Penncrest and Strath Haven are all entered in the 4x8 and all have potential to run very quick times. Millrose is on Saturday night so if Haven and Penncrest have decided to jump in that, than they won't have any sort of A squad at this meet. That leaves the door open for GFS to really go for it in either the 4x8 or the DMR and hit the standard. They should have a fresh squad that includes new state qualifiers Sam Aziz and Lyle Wistar who have shown potential to run very fast some time soon. Cumberland Valley, with a relatively fresh squad besides Kunzweiler, may also be able to better their SQS in the 4x8 and ensure an appearence in the fast heat, if things get split up into two heats.
Novice Meet
Well it's February 6th and naturally that brings to mind one very important meet: The Novice Meet. I had the privelege of running in this meet 2 years in a row (my sophomore year I ended up running in the novice meet and going on to be an alternate for the states DMR team about 3 weeks later), and honestly it is a fun time. It's where stars are born and other runners who have worked all season are rewarded with a shot at medals of their very own. I ran a 4x800m, and then a 4x400m there over the two years I was there and finished somewhere in the 20s and then 1st.
So these underappreciated kids from years past are getting a little revamp courtsey of etrain's blog. Let's take a look back at some past year's novice meets.
In 2011, there was Novice Meet Division 1 record set in the 400m when Issiah Morris ran 55.82 for Cheltenham. Later on in the same meet the 800 was won in a record time of 2:05.54 by PJ Succi of William Tennent. The time would have just missed Meet of Champs qualifying time. A 9:57 3k won the meet, also in record time, from LaSalle's Brendan Billotta.
In D2 O'Hara's Jim Belfutto won the mile in 4:56.71 and Lyle Wistar of GFS won the 3k in 9:46.77. Second in the race was Ernie Pitone, who just barely broke 10 minutes. Since, Pitone has run under 9:10 for 3k this season, and finished in the top 35 at XC states.
In 2010, Jake Nemeroff captured gold in the 800m run in 2:12.98 for Division 1. He has just recently helped his CB East 4x800m squad qualify for states. Conner Quinn won the Division 1 Novice mile in 4:56.75. He has done alright for himself since then.
In 2009, Sam Garfield won a hotly contested mile in 4:53.01. He went on to run 1:56 on CR South's 4x800m and qualify for states in XC during his Junior season the next year. Alex Chichitti was second in the 3k. He also was a two time state qualifier in cross country and a near sub 16 5k runner. He ran 10:02. Farther down the list in the 3k was Mike Doyle who ran 10:11. He also clocked a 1:56 for CR South during his senior season outdoors. In Divison 2, Chidi Okezie was second in the 400m. He went on to run in the 48s for New Media his senior season in 2011. At this meet he ran a 57.26. In the same race Nate Emmanuel ran a 61.06. He just recently ran a 1:57 open 800m and ran on Penncrest's PA #1 7:55 4x800m squad.
All the way back in 2008, Tevin Smith and Chris Muggler dueled in the open 400m 55.8 to 56.7. Both ended up being 1:55 800m runners for Abington and LaSalle's top ranked relay squads. Spencer Andreson won the 200m for St. Joe's and Mike Scott won the 800m for LaSalle. Both men ended up running 50. or faster in the open 400 their senior seasons. Sam Bernitt was second in the mile in 5:00.9. He went on to run 15:33 for 5k the next year as a Junior and finished his senior season with PRs in the 9 and 4 teens. Tom Trainer was second in the 3k with a time of 10:10. His senior year he was 2nd at a much more important meet in the 3k with a sub 8:40 clocking. UD won the 4x4 in 3:49.7 (one of the fastest times in the past 5 years) behind a 56 second leg by Jarrett Felix! (Yes I am aware no one cares) Dave Waterman was second in the D2 Mile in 4:59, he went on to run under 4:20 his Junior year for GFS. Marco Malone won the race in a very fast 4:49 clocking for Upper Merion. Zach Greth was second in the 3k in 10:05. He went on to run in the 8:40s for 3k and even ran to a MoC gold in the 3k his Junior year.
And finally in 2007, Tom O'Kane ran 2:10 for 800m to finish 4th in the race. He went on to run very fast mile and 800 times around 4:20 and 1:54. He also finished 25th at XC States his Senior year. Chris O'Sullivan and Shawn Quinn dueled in the open Mile running 4:55 and 4:59. Both had great XC careers, O'Sullivan amassed 2 state medals. He also ran 4:15 for 1600m. Third in the race was Armando Salome who went on to split around 1:53 on CR North's 4x800m in 2010. He ran 5:04. The 3k was won in 9:45.9 by Ben Furcht who went on to run the equivalent of a sub 9 3200m for 3k and barley missed state championships in XC, Indoor and Outdoor track his senior year. He also qualfied for Footlocker Nationals. James Stevenson, then running for Methacton, finished 3rd in the race. Later on for LaSalle, he was an important part of their District Championships and state title pushes. Glenn Mills won the 4x8 in a blazing 8:48. In Division 2 future sub 9:30 and sub 9:20 two milers Dan Day and Scott Armstrong took 1-2 in the 3k running 10:05 and 10:14. Dan Tyler won the mile in 4:18. He went on to run a 4:18 1600 his senior season. Vince Perozze was 3rd in the 800m in 2:15. He went on to clock a 4:14 1600m and a mile that converted to roughly 4:12 for 1600m. His junior year he was second at states.
Sometimes it's interesting to look back and see how things were back then. You may enjoy it.
-train
PS Most of the times I pulled out as people's PRs are from memory so don't destroy me on that.
So these underappreciated kids from years past are getting a little revamp courtsey of etrain's blog. Let's take a look back at some past year's novice meets.
In 2011, there was Novice Meet Division 1 record set in the 400m when Issiah Morris ran 55.82 for Cheltenham. Later on in the same meet the 800 was won in a record time of 2:05.54 by PJ Succi of William Tennent. The time would have just missed Meet of Champs qualifying time. A 9:57 3k won the meet, also in record time, from LaSalle's Brendan Billotta.
In D2 O'Hara's Jim Belfutto won the mile in 4:56.71 and Lyle Wistar of GFS won the 3k in 9:46.77. Second in the race was Ernie Pitone, who just barely broke 10 minutes. Since, Pitone has run under 9:10 for 3k this season, and finished in the top 35 at XC states.
In 2010, Jake Nemeroff captured gold in the 800m run in 2:12.98 for Division 1. He has just recently helped his CB East 4x800m squad qualify for states. Conner Quinn won the Division 1 Novice mile in 4:56.75. He has done alright for himself since then.
In 2009, Sam Garfield won a hotly contested mile in 4:53.01. He went on to run 1:56 on CR South's 4x800m and qualify for states in XC during his Junior season the next year. Alex Chichitti was second in the 3k. He also was a two time state qualifier in cross country and a near sub 16 5k runner. He ran 10:02. Farther down the list in the 3k was Mike Doyle who ran 10:11. He also clocked a 1:56 for CR South during his senior season outdoors. In Divison 2, Chidi Okezie was second in the 400m. He went on to run in the 48s for New Media his senior season in 2011. At this meet he ran a 57.26. In the same race Nate Emmanuel ran a 61.06. He just recently ran a 1:57 open 800m and ran on Penncrest's PA #1 7:55 4x800m squad.
All the way back in 2008, Tevin Smith and Chris Muggler dueled in the open 400m 55.8 to 56.7. Both ended up being 1:55 800m runners for Abington and LaSalle's top ranked relay squads. Spencer Andreson won the 200m for St. Joe's and Mike Scott won the 800m for LaSalle. Both men ended up running 50. or faster in the open 400 their senior seasons. Sam Bernitt was second in the mile in 5:00.9. He went on to run 15:33 for 5k the next year as a Junior and finished his senior season with PRs in the 9 and 4 teens. Tom Trainer was second in the 3k with a time of 10:10. His senior year he was 2nd at a much more important meet in the 3k with a sub 8:40 clocking. UD won the 4x4 in 3:49.7 (one of the fastest times in the past 5 years) behind a 56 second leg by Jarrett Felix! (Yes I am aware no one cares) Dave Waterman was second in the D2 Mile in 4:59, he went on to run under 4:20 his Junior year for GFS. Marco Malone won the race in a very fast 4:49 clocking for Upper Merion. Zach Greth was second in the 3k in 10:05. He went on to run in the 8:40s for 3k and even ran to a MoC gold in the 3k his Junior year.
And finally in 2007, Tom O'Kane ran 2:10 for 800m to finish 4th in the race. He went on to run very fast mile and 800 times around 4:20 and 1:54. He also finished 25th at XC States his Senior year. Chris O'Sullivan and Shawn Quinn dueled in the open Mile running 4:55 and 4:59. Both had great XC careers, O'Sullivan amassed 2 state medals. He also ran 4:15 for 1600m. Third in the race was Armando Salome who went on to split around 1:53 on CR North's 4x800m in 2010. He ran 5:04. The 3k was won in 9:45.9 by Ben Furcht who went on to run the equivalent of a sub 9 3200m for 3k and barley missed state championships in XC, Indoor and Outdoor track his senior year. He also qualfied for Footlocker Nationals. James Stevenson, then running for Methacton, finished 3rd in the race. Later on for LaSalle, he was an important part of their District Championships and state title pushes. Glenn Mills won the 4x8 in a blazing 8:48. In Division 2 future sub 9:30 and sub 9:20 two milers Dan Day and Scott Armstrong took 1-2 in the 3k running 10:05 and 10:14. Dan Tyler won the mile in 4:18. He went on to run a 4:18 1600 his senior season. Vince Perozze was 3rd in the 800m in 2:15. He went on to clock a 4:14 1600m and a mile that converted to roughly 4:12 for 1600m. His junior year he was second at states.
Sometimes it's interesting to look back and see how things were back then. You may enjoy it.
-train
PS Most of the times I pulled out as people's PRs are from memory so don't destroy me on that.
More Weekend Action
Now this is what I wanted to see out of TSTCAs. Great races across the board. First off Will Baily came into this year as a guy who I liked as an 800m state medalist and he ran a nice 1:57 open. He has a few 1:53 splits to boast from last year and Penn Hills can definitely put together a nice DMR or 4x8 they have some solid pieces. Squirees ran a solid mile. Nothing amazing but I'd imagine that is over distance for him. Nice race for Replogle in the 800 too for under distance.
Not sure why exactly like 20 people were DQd in the 8? I know guys like Tonzo, Smathers, Culley and Bojarski would have been interesting to see have finishing times in the 8 and see how their speed is looking.
In the mile Jaskowak continues to impress as he surprised me all XC season and it has carried over to two impressive mile wins. Nice bounce back for Alex Moran. Very exciting to see him mix back into a top 5 conversation. And heck Jaskowak could finish in the top 3 or so at states in the mile the way he has been running I think only Willig can feel comfortable about beating him. I would really like to see Jaskowak in the 3k. He could be a state title contender in the 3k perhaps depending on how Dustin choses to strategize.
And now the 3k field stretchs on, Shearn a big 8:54 clocking and it will be nice to see this guy mix it up at states. Not sure if he is quite at a level to run the 8:40low, 8:30mid kind of time it will take to run to a state title, but he will gain valuable experience and probably run a nice time at states to help him the long run. He is only a junior. Kuchta relatively unsurprising kind of time considering, but still very nice to see him run fast yet again and lock up a spot at states. He's been consistent and he has run as fast as 9:16 in the 3200m. That kind of time can give you confidence at the state championship.
Steiner, Martin, Wakeley and Mountain looked solid, nothing exceptional but at least they are down around the state time which means they are one hurdle away from being there if they have their race at the right time. I'd say Steiner is most likely to hit the time out of the group and Wakeley. right behind him. Considering Steiner has hit it last year, had the best XC season out of the group and has been dropping a lot of time as of late, he seems like a logical choice to excel at TSTCA Championships.
And of course the DMRs were quick, only NA hits the SQS, but the other teams definitely can get in if they put it together at the right time. I'm not sure how exactly the meet is ordered, but either way this is a very nice double for Steiner and Kuchta. If the DMR is first, Steiner should definitely make states in the near future, if the 3k is first than both Baldwin and Altoona should be hitting the SQS in the near future. The DMR at states is going to be really awesome, I can't wait honestly. Interesting to see Bobby Bishop's name back on the Baldwin relays.
Not sure why exactly like 20 people were DQd in the 8? I know guys like Tonzo, Smathers, Culley and Bojarski would have been interesting to see have finishing times in the 8 and see how their speed is looking.
In the mile Jaskowak continues to impress as he surprised me all XC season and it has carried over to two impressive mile wins. Nice bounce back for Alex Moran. Very exciting to see him mix back into a top 5 conversation. And heck Jaskowak could finish in the top 3 or so at states in the mile the way he has been running I think only Willig can feel comfortable about beating him. I would really like to see Jaskowak in the 3k. He could be a state title contender in the 3k perhaps depending on how Dustin choses to strategize.
And now the 3k field stretchs on, Shearn a big 8:54 clocking and it will be nice to see this guy mix it up at states. Not sure if he is quite at a level to run the 8:40low, 8:30mid kind of time it will take to run to a state title, but he will gain valuable experience and probably run a nice time at states to help him the long run. He is only a junior. Kuchta relatively unsurprising kind of time considering, but still very nice to see him run fast yet again and lock up a spot at states. He's been consistent and he has run as fast as 9:16 in the 3200m. That kind of time can give you confidence at the state championship.
Steiner, Martin, Wakeley and Mountain looked solid, nothing exceptional but at least they are down around the state time which means they are one hurdle away from being there if they have their race at the right time. I'd say Steiner is most likely to hit the time out of the group and Wakeley. right behind him. Considering Steiner has hit it last year, had the best XC season out of the group and has been dropping a lot of time as of late, he seems like a logical choice to excel at TSTCA Championships.
And of course the DMRs were quick, only NA hits the SQS, but the other teams definitely can get in if they put it together at the right time. I'm not sure how exactly the meet is ordered, but either way this is a very nice double for Steiner and Kuchta. If the DMR is first, Steiner should definitely make states in the near future, if the 3k is first than both Baldwin and Altoona should be hitting the SQS in the near future. The DMR at states is going to be really awesome, I can't wait honestly. Interesting to see Bobby Bishop's name back on the Baldwin relays.
Some More Races
So good news. I watched the PA action friday night at the armory and it was awesome.
Pennwood very fast 4x4 with Futch looking like himself killer last 50m especially it was amazing. My worries are healed. Awesome relay for Penn Wood, definitely can get the state record but with guys doubling at states it's still a question mark. Pennwood is a serious state title contender as a team so I doubt they hit anything faster than 3:19 at states. Strath Haven is probably the favorite for the team title right now between their distance crew and their sprint crew and Williams ansd Zaza.
Ned Willig just misses Robby Andrews USR, coming through in 1:52.9 and only missing it in part because of Zavon Watkins's cheap racing tactics throughout. But wait. Watkins cut in too early and the crew was DQd. BUT this means Ned is on Robby Andrews esque pace, meaning that he and Zavon may push each other to the USR indoors for 800, or at least a sub 1:50 effort. Mark it down, if they chose to run the 8 at New Balance they will definitely both have top 5 all time efforts.
I'm going bold with some of these predictions but hey.
Penncrest 7:55! Dang. That's pretty awesome. This is the first time they have been legitimate state title contenders. Year in and year out they are medalist contenders, maybe a top 5 squad, but now they look great. If they keep their legs fresh I think they can beat anyone. With a doubling squad a fresh LaSalle or Strath Haven eh maybe they have an outside chance. Penncrest has kind of not quite lived up to my expectations before at states so I would not be surprised if they didn't run 7:55 again, but they are way ahead of the field right now it looks like.
Haneef 1:19 in the 600m. Never gets a lot of credit on here from me, but the guy could definitely win states in the 8. 1:19 is very fast, that's gotta be around a top 5 time in state history at least and it indicates that he can run very fast, very soon. We will see if he puts it together for a full 800, but I hoping if he goes out hard at states and runs with somebody like Ned he can dip into the mid 1:53s.
Pennwood very fast 4x4 with Futch looking like himself killer last 50m especially it was amazing. My worries are healed. Awesome relay for Penn Wood, definitely can get the state record but with guys doubling at states it's still a question mark. Pennwood is a serious state title contender as a team so I doubt they hit anything faster than 3:19 at states. Strath Haven is probably the favorite for the team title right now between their distance crew and their sprint crew and Williams ansd Zaza.
Ned Willig just misses Robby Andrews USR, coming through in 1:52.9 and only missing it in part because of Zavon Watkins's cheap racing tactics throughout. But wait. Watkins cut in too early and the crew was DQd. BUT this means Ned is on Robby Andrews esque pace, meaning that he and Zavon may push each other to the USR indoors for 800, or at least a sub 1:50 effort. Mark it down, if they chose to run the 8 at New Balance they will definitely both have top 5 all time efforts.
I'm going bold with some of these predictions but hey.
Penncrest 7:55! Dang. That's pretty awesome. This is the first time they have been legitimate state title contenders. Year in and year out they are medalist contenders, maybe a top 5 squad, but now they look great. If they keep their legs fresh I think they can beat anyone. With a doubling squad a fresh LaSalle or Strath Haven eh maybe they have an outside chance. Penncrest has kind of not quite lived up to my expectations before at states so I would not be surprised if they didn't run 7:55 again, but they are way ahead of the field right now it looks like.
Haneef 1:19 in the 600m. Never gets a lot of credit on here from me, but the guy could definitely win states in the 8. 1:19 is very fast, that's gotta be around a top 5 time in state history at least and it indicates that he can run very fast, very soon. We will see if he puts it together for a full 800, but I hoping if he goes out hard at states and runs with somebody like Ned he can dip into the mid 1:53s.
Mid Week Action
A couple of mid week performances were dropped worth talking about here.
First of all Ed Cheserek laid down a sick 1:51-4:07 double in front of a lot of PA's own top squads, it was pretty sick. Both his relays finished with gold medals.
CB East ran a nice relay in the DMR, under 11 minutes on a slight bank track. Pretty solid team that may be able to slip into states again in the DMR like they have the last couple years. Not sure they are a legitimate medal contender unless the field is less than 10 teams.
Holy Ghost Prep and CB West stumbled a little bit as I expected more out of both relays, but in HGP's case there is only so much you can do when it's Zach Israel vs. Ed Cheserek. Say they got the baton at the same time, Israel could have split 4:21 and still lost by the 14 seconds they lost by. That being said, I don't think Israel was quite that fast. Most likely HGP got out to a lead early, had a tough time running by themselves out front and Cheserek gobbled them up at the end with his big time split. Just speculation.
As for CB West, I was hoping for a closer performance to state time considering the guys they got and Metzler's potential, especially considering this team has had a relatively quiet last few weeks. I still see them as a squad who can get at least one relay to states by season's end, but it doesn't look like they will be making serious noise.
Nice race for GFS. They are always a potential DMR medalist, like the year they medaled when Kaulbach, McKenzie and Ortiz all didn't even run on the relay (AKA they medaled with their B squad). This year they are one good race away from hitting the qualifying standard again. Props to them.
Coyle and Stone had some nice 1500s (I read somewhere US #1 and #2? Great stat but technically speaking Cheserek ran as fast as those guys did over the course of a full mile) to take 1-2 in the race. This is a great sign for these two in the individual events. Coyle looked like he could produce races like this after his XC season, so I've been more impressed with Stone who is showing great range all the way up to the mile/15 considering at heart he's an 800 guy. If he went for the open 8 at states, a top 3 finish is possible and he could even mix it up for the win if a certain kid from Great Valley stays out of the picture.
I'd imagine these guys won't pass on the individual events because both are medal contenders in either race (8 or mile), but if they do they could put together a really great DMR. The 4x8 is a wide open race at states as well in my opinion (I don't know what Strath Haven's 4x8 plans are and Penncrest seems slightly vulnerable despite their great time), so LaSalle has a lot of choices to make. If they run fresh, the state meet record in the DMR could be on the line (ironically that record is held by LaSalle).
Real quick props to Bensalem for getting into states in the 4x8, maybe a deep sleeper for a medal in what I do anticipate will not be a deep field.
A few interesting races happened the next night at Glenn Mills.
First off, haven't heard many fast times recently from Futch and then he didn't run finals in the 55? Kind of worried about that, but it's early so we shall see. Those relays look much less dangerous with Futch on the squad, however.
Nice win for MacCauley in the 8, slow track, decent field. A win is a win. Admittedly Chris Ferry ran 1:55 here so I suppose it can't be that slow of a track. Interesting to see no Henderson guys up front in this meet. They have stacked the 8 the last couple times out. I guess their 4x8 took a lot of the legs out of them. Very solid 4x8 time with limited competition on that track. The North Penn Dynasty couldn't even break 8 minutes on that surface.
Solid win for Ferruzzi in the mile, nice time, nothing spectacular, but on another track he could probably have hit the SQS. Thought Brooks and Rivera would be faster but Rivera did just race the night before (as did Ferruzzi, but Bensalem ran a lot faster of relay) and Brooks seems more of mid distance 8-4 type these days.
2nd and 4th in the mile came from O'Hara but the real story was their 3200m squad running train on the field. Very fast times for that track including a big win by Savage and solid races by Pitone and Pastore. It will be interesting to see what their 4xmile does come nationals. Too bad there is no 4x2mile. I suppose that's XC anyway. Those kids still need to hit the SQS though so it will be interesting to see where they chose to go after it again.
Huemmler and Seelaus both ran well for an overdistance race and this has to be one of Huemmeler's first losses this track season. Still Savage and Pastore made a pretty big statement beating a couple of 4:20 guys who have been hot lately.
Tough day's for both Quinn and Hibbs. Hibbs will be fine, he has run some nice SQSs of late, but Quinn has the pressure of being state champ on his back and a big target there as well. We will see how he holds up, but at the very least he should get a 1200 leg on the DMR.
First of all Ed Cheserek laid down a sick 1:51-4:07 double in front of a lot of PA's own top squads, it was pretty sick. Both his relays finished with gold medals.
CB East ran a nice relay in the DMR, under 11 minutes on a slight bank track. Pretty solid team that may be able to slip into states again in the DMR like they have the last couple years. Not sure they are a legitimate medal contender unless the field is less than 10 teams.
Holy Ghost Prep and CB West stumbled a little bit as I expected more out of both relays, but in HGP's case there is only so much you can do when it's Zach Israel vs. Ed Cheserek. Say they got the baton at the same time, Israel could have split 4:21 and still lost by the 14 seconds they lost by. That being said, I don't think Israel was quite that fast. Most likely HGP got out to a lead early, had a tough time running by themselves out front and Cheserek gobbled them up at the end with his big time split. Just speculation.
As for CB West, I was hoping for a closer performance to state time considering the guys they got and Metzler's potential, especially considering this team has had a relatively quiet last few weeks. I still see them as a squad who can get at least one relay to states by season's end, but it doesn't look like they will be making serious noise.
Nice race for GFS. They are always a potential DMR medalist, like the year they medaled when Kaulbach, McKenzie and Ortiz all didn't even run on the relay (AKA they medaled with their B squad). This year they are one good race away from hitting the qualifying standard again. Props to them.
Coyle and Stone had some nice 1500s (I read somewhere US #1 and #2? Great stat but technically speaking Cheserek ran as fast as those guys did over the course of a full mile) to take 1-2 in the race. This is a great sign for these two in the individual events. Coyle looked like he could produce races like this after his XC season, so I've been more impressed with Stone who is showing great range all the way up to the mile/15 considering at heart he's an 800 guy. If he went for the open 8 at states, a top 3 finish is possible and he could even mix it up for the win if a certain kid from Great Valley stays out of the picture.
I'd imagine these guys won't pass on the individual events because both are medal contenders in either race (8 or mile), but if they do they could put together a really great DMR. The 4x8 is a wide open race at states as well in my opinion (I don't know what Strath Haven's 4x8 plans are and Penncrest seems slightly vulnerable despite their great time), so LaSalle has a lot of choices to make. If they run fresh, the state meet record in the DMR could be on the line (ironically that record is held by LaSalle).
Real quick props to Bensalem for getting into states in the 4x8, maybe a deep sleeper for a medal in what I do anticipate will not be a deep field.
A few interesting races happened the next night at Glenn Mills.
First off, haven't heard many fast times recently from Futch and then he didn't run finals in the 55? Kind of worried about that, but it's early so we shall see. Those relays look much less dangerous with Futch on the squad, however.
Nice win for MacCauley in the 8, slow track, decent field. A win is a win. Admittedly Chris Ferry ran 1:55 here so I suppose it can't be that slow of a track. Interesting to see no Henderson guys up front in this meet. They have stacked the 8 the last couple times out. I guess their 4x8 took a lot of the legs out of them. Very solid 4x8 time with limited competition on that track. The North Penn Dynasty couldn't even break 8 minutes on that surface.
Solid win for Ferruzzi in the mile, nice time, nothing spectacular, but on another track he could probably have hit the SQS. Thought Brooks and Rivera would be faster but Rivera did just race the night before (as did Ferruzzi, but Bensalem ran a lot faster of relay) and Brooks seems more of mid distance 8-4 type these days.
2nd and 4th in the mile came from O'Hara but the real story was their 3200m squad running train on the field. Very fast times for that track including a big win by Savage and solid races by Pitone and Pastore. It will be interesting to see what their 4xmile does come nationals. Too bad there is no 4x2mile. I suppose that's XC anyway. Those kids still need to hit the SQS though so it will be interesting to see where they chose to go after it again.
Huemmler and Seelaus both ran well for an overdistance race and this has to be one of Huemmeler's first losses this track season. Still Savage and Pastore made a pretty big statement beating a couple of 4:20 guys who have been hot lately.
Tough day's for both Quinn and Hibbs. Hibbs will be fine, he has run some nice SQSs of late, but Quinn has the pressure of being state champ on his back and a big target there as well. We will see how he holds up, but at the very least he should get a 1200 leg on the DMR.
Posting
So look, obviously I recieved some backlash over this last post. Understandable. As I was writing it I wasn't thrilled with it, it happens, not everyone is going to like everything I do. A couple people asked me to put up the post, I respond to requests, I did it. Was it the best decision I made? No probably not and I am sincerely sorry if anyone took serious offense to this. I never claimed to know the whole story, and everyone on this list can come back and feel free to run 4 flat in the mile and brag to me about it on here or whatever that's fine.
But the fact of the matter is I did this because this what I thought was wanted and this is my honest opinion. I won't back down or delete the post or anything like that. I said what I said and I'll deal with that. If you don't like what I have to say after reading this, it's fine, you don't have to check the blog, you can go back to penntrack and read all the hot forums there. I don't get paid for doing this anymore anyway.
The truth of the matter is this blog is and has been about more then just saying good job to everyone who runs well. I tell it like it is and I'm not going to be biased towards anything or anyone. There are different ways to do this and obviously this is not the best method for doing it, but the fact of the matter is this is just my opinion and people can prove it on the track. I hope people take this as motivation to prove me wrong. I've had plenty of people tell me that I ranked them too low and they used it as motivation. I've been proven wrong plenty of times. I stand by what I said at those times because it was my best guess at the time. If you want to hear good things about everyone and people talking themselves up and the basic straight facts then just go to penntrack like I did when I was in high school and I'm sure you will be satisfied.
My senior year of high school I got brutally attacked on penntrack for saying that Luke Lefebure didn't deserve as much credit as Mallon did for his 1:51 performance vs. Mallon's 1:49. Obviously my phrasing probably didn't work well in that post, but the moral was without Mallon Luke wouldn't have been where he was. He couldn't run races from the front, he was a sit and kick guy who got pulled to some fast times. It doesn't mean he's not good or anything like that.
I stood by what I said, I never backed down, and I believed everything. I don't care what people thought of what I said then and I don't care of what people think of me now. If I was worried about what people thought of me my posts wouldn't be anywhere near as good as they are now.
I'm not afraid to attach my name to anything I say, I don't need to hide behind calling anyone out anonymously, I have my name out there and anything I say here I wouldn't be afraid to say to anyone else face to face.
And who are the people who I won't say bad things about again?
Mike Palmisano: Great high school career on the track, underachieved in XC senior year and besides a few good races here and there has not lived up to his potential during college. Hasn't adjusted to the training, often injured, a 3:51 the only thing keeping him above water.
Tom Mallon: Underachieved in college so far
Hong Cho: Underachieved in college so far
Kyle Moran: Haven't seen anything from in college so far
Brad Miles: Underachieved in college so far
I call it like I see it regardless of who it is and how I am connected to them. If you don't like me for that and you don't think it's true, it's just one person's opinion don't let it get to you. Feel free to prove me wrong on the track. I love it when that happens. I 100% do not always know what I'm talking about. I'll be the first person to tell you that I have been wrong lots of times about a lot of people.
But one thing I pride myself on is telling my true opinion and being an unbiased observer about what I see in order to give my readers what they want.
I'm sorry for rambling and getting all worked up like this and I really am sorry if anyone has misinterpreted what I said and took offense to it because my goal was never and is never to hurt anyone's feelings. But I don't want to have my credibility tarnished and my image misrepresented. This is how I view myself and I strive hard to maintain this level on the blog.
If you think I'm full of crap and a big jerk, I encourage you to stop reading the blog, because I don't plan on changing my stripes.
I am for the readers and I am for the good of the sports of cross country and track and field in Pennsylvania. That will never change.
-Jarrett "etrain11" Felix
But the fact of the matter is I did this because this what I thought was wanted and this is my honest opinion. I won't back down or delete the post or anything like that. I said what I said and I'll deal with that. If you don't like what I have to say after reading this, it's fine, you don't have to check the blog, you can go back to penntrack and read all the hot forums there. I don't get paid for doing this anymore anyway.
The truth of the matter is this blog is and has been about more then just saying good job to everyone who runs well. I tell it like it is and I'm not going to be biased towards anything or anyone. There are different ways to do this and obviously this is not the best method for doing it, but the fact of the matter is this is just my opinion and people can prove it on the track. I hope people take this as motivation to prove me wrong. I've had plenty of people tell me that I ranked them too low and they used it as motivation. I've been proven wrong plenty of times. I stand by what I said at those times because it was my best guess at the time. If you want to hear good things about everyone and people talking themselves up and the basic straight facts then just go to penntrack like I did when I was in high school and I'm sure you will be satisfied.
My senior year of high school I got brutally attacked on penntrack for saying that Luke Lefebure didn't deserve as much credit as Mallon did for his 1:51 performance vs. Mallon's 1:49. Obviously my phrasing probably didn't work well in that post, but the moral was without Mallon Luke wouldn't have been where he was. He couldn't run races from the front, he was a sit and kick guy who got pulled to some fast times. It doesn't mean he's not good or anything like that.
I stood by what I said, I never backed down, and I believed everything. I don't care what people thought of what I said then and I don't care of what people think of me now. If I was worried about what people thought of me my posts wouldn't be anywhere near as good as they are now.
I'm not afraid to attach my name to anything I say, I don't need to hide behind calling anyone out anonymously, I have my name out there and anything I say here I wouldn't be afraid to say to anyone else face to face.
And who are the people who I won't say bad things about again?
Mike Palmisano: Great high school career on the track, underachieved in XC senior year and besides a few good races here and there has not lived up to his potential during college. Hasn't adjusted to the training, often injured, a 3:51 the only thing keeping him above water.
Tom Mallon: Underachieved in college so far
Hong Cho: Underachieved in college so far
Kyle Moran: Haven't seen anything from in college so far
Brad Miles: Underachieved in college so far
I call it like I see it regardless of who it is and how I am connected to them. If you don't like me for that and you don't think it's true, it's just one person's opinion don't let it get to you. Feel free to prove me wrong on the track. I love it when that happens. I 100% do not always know what I'm talking about. I'll be the first person to tell you that I have been wrong lots of times about a lot of people.
But one thing I pride myself on is telling my true opinion and being an unbiased observer about what I see in order to give my readers what they want.
I'm sorry for rambling and getting all worked up like this and I really am sorry if anyone has misinterpreted what I said and took offense to it because my goal was never and is never to hurt anyone's feelings. But I don't want to have my credibility tarnished and my image misrepresented. This is how I view myself and I strive hard to maintain this level on the blog.
If you think I'm full of crap and a big jerk, I encourage you to stop reading the blog, because I don't plan on changing my stripes.
I am for the readers and I am for the good of the sports of cross country and track and field in Pennsylvania. That will never change.
-Jarrett "etrain11" Felix
Studs and Duds
So this is what I have come up with, I'm sure there are plenty of names I'm missing but these are just some thoughts.
Stud to Dud
Mike Mahoney- 15:43 5k as a sophomore at Lehigh, finishing as the top freshman at the District One Championships, and only behind Miles out of sophomores. Mahoney also dropped some solid track times early in career but kind of fizzled out by his senior year, esepcially on the cross country course where he never got a states medal.
Alex Coburn- In the 16:20s as a freshman, and a top runner in the state, Coburn has come back over the last two years and not quite improved into a top ranked cross country runner in the state as he was projected to be early on. Coburn has had some improved performances on the track and hopefully will bounce back this year with a big track season as part of Cumberland Valley's relay squad.
Bobby Bishop- Bishop started off breaking out his sophomore year as a great runner who could boast 1:56 and 4:17 PRs after he anchored Baldwin to the fastest DMR they ever ran in recent years (even faster than TJ Hobarts crew). Bishop was also a sophomore medalist at XC states. After just missing medal contention as a Junior, its been all downhill for Bishop.
Vince McNally- McNally was a big time national contender after his Junior year 4:07 and state championship, but McNally had a few crippling moments at the state championships. He was a surprising 18th at XC states, followed by being caught in a kickers race at indoor and otudoor states, both of which he finished a disappointing 4th. He didn't match his mile PR and never even ran under 1:55 which he split early in his freshman days on their state champion 4x8.
Dud to Stud
Glen Burkhardt- Burkhardt sat with just a 17 minute 5k PR as a sophomore, but he rolled onto the scene his Junior year with a state medal and a surprising District One championship and 9:16 PR. Then after an injury that caused Glen to miss two seasons and become another non factor on the PA scene, he dominated the outdoor 3200m scene with convincing wins at Districts and States.
Zach Hebda- Everyone was all up on super youngsters Joe Kush and Juris Silenieks who were dropping excellent freshman and sophomore times, but after a surprising 9:17 from Hebda at outdoor states his Junior year, Hebda took over and became the leader of the big 3, unbeaten by his teammates all XC season and running his way to the Gatorade state XC runner of the year, and just missed an outdoor state title in the 3200m because of the guy above him.
Alex Galli- After finishing 100th at the D3 Championships as a Sophomore, Galli became a major factor his Junior and Senior year, become a legitamate state medalist contender in XC and also anchoring Cedar Crest to a shocking 4x8 end of season run with a group of 4 dud to stud kind of guys.
Ben Scheetz- Ran a 51.59 in the 400m Dash at indoor states his Senior year. Then dropped a 1:55 and then 1:53 at the end of outdoors. In college, Scheetz ran a fantastic 1:48.08 indoors in the 800m which is a D3 record and he has earned many All American honors at Amherst.
Vince Perozze- During his sophomore year, Perozze was a non factor, running 4:30s at indoor states and not even qualifying for XC states, but the next year Perozze was a medalist indoors in the mile, took 9th at XC states, and then was second at outdoor states with a near miss for the 1600m state title.
Ben Furcht- Furcht was a nobody on the scene as a sophomore and had a modest Junior year that included a 15:53 and an 8:55 before blasting a 4th place finish at both states and districts outdoors his junior year and following it up with an XC season and track season that was arguably the best of any distance runner in the state (although he missed out on a state championship by just a few seconds in 4 races, and missed out on a Penn Relays title as well just slightly).
Stud to Dud
Mike Mahoney- 15:43 5k as a sophomore at Lehigh, finishing as the top freshman at the District One Championships, and only behind Miles out of sophomores. Mahoney also dropped some solid track times early in career but kind of fizzled out by his senior year, esepcially on the cross country course where he never got a states medal.
Alex Coburn- In the 16:20s as a freshman, and a top runner in the state, Coburn has come back over the last two years and not quite improved into a top ranked cross country runner in the state as he was projected to be early on. Coburn has had some improved performances on the track and hopefully will bounce back this year with a big track season as part of Cumberland Valley's relay squad.
Bobby Bishop- Bishop started off breaking out his sophomore year as a great runner who could boast 1:56 and 4:17 PRs after he anchored Baldwin to the fastest DMR they ever ran in recent years (even faster than TJ Hobarts crew). Bishop was also a sophomore medalist at XC states. After just missing medal contention as a Junior, its been all downhill for Bishop.
Vince McNally- McNally was a big time national contender after his Junior year 4:07 and state championship, but McNally had a few crippling moments at the state championships. He was a surprising 18th at XC states, followed by being caught in a kickers race at indoor and otudoor states, both of which he finished a disappointing 4th. He didn't match his mile PR and never even ran under 1:55 which he split early in his freshman days on their state champion 4x8.
Dud to Stud
Glen Burkhardt- Burkhardt sat with just a 17 minute 5k PR as a sophomore, but he rolled onto the scene his Junior year with a state medal and a surprising District One championship and 9:16 PR. Then after an injury that caused Glen to miss two seasons and become another non factor on the PA scene, he dominated the outdoor 3200m scene with convincing wins at Districts and States.
Zach Hebda- Everyone was all up on super youngsters Joe Kush and Juris Silenieks who were dropping excellent freshman and sophomore times, but after a surprising 9:17 from Hebda at outdoor states his Junior year, Hebda took over and became the leader of the big 3, unbeaten by his teammates all XC season and running his way to the Gatorade state XC runner of the year, and just missed an outdoor state title in the 3200m because of the guy above him.
Alex Galli- After finishing 100th at the D3 Championships as a Sophomore, Galli became a major factor his Junior and Senior year, become a legitamate state medalist contender in XC and also anchoring Cedar Crest to a shocking 4x8 end of season run with a group of 4 dud to stud kind of guys.
Ben Scheetz- Ran a 51.59 in the 400m Dash at indoor states his Senior year. Then dropped a 1:55 and then 1:53 at the end of outdoors. In college, Scheetz ran a fantastic 1:48.08 indoors in the 800m which is a D3 record and he has earned many All American honors at Amherst.
Vince Perozze- During his sophomore year, Perozze was a non factor, running 4:30s at indoor states and not even qualifying for XC states, but the next year Perozze was a medalist indoors in the mile, took 9th at XC states, and then was second at outdoor states with a near miss for the 1600m state title.
Ben Furcht- Furcht was a nobody on the scene as a sophomore and had a modest Junior year that included a 15:53 and an 8:55 before blasting a 4th place finish at both states and districts outdoors his junior year and following it up with an XC season and track season that was arguably the best of any distance runner in the state (although he missed out on a state championship by just a few seconds in 4 races, and missed out on a Penn Relays title as well just slightly).
Doubling
Ok, so I'm not gonna lie to you folks, I'm not quite ready for this studs and duds stuff yet, I'm sorry but I kind of have a lot of HW this week and I need to be doing that right now, but I want to keep this post streak alive. Unfortunately my internet connection was down when I had the free time to make a post earlier, but hey that's just the way it is.
So I don't really know what to post about because I'm sitting here in the light lounge at Muhlenberg College where I go to school (everyone can now look that up and apply here it's a lot of fun just ask around) and I am using my girlfriend's laptop and I don't want to take up too much of her laptop time, especially because she is doing spanish stuff and needs to look up words everyone once in a while. But I digress.
This weekend at our meet I was down on the schedule for running 4 events, a challenge for me because I have never found myself a very capable doubler. But that got me to thinking about some performances that were great doubles and triples which I will share with you now.
First of all, I'll start with one of the best doublers from my era, Wade Endress. Looking down his resume he has a lot of moments that would make a countdown but of course the big noteable one was indoor states his senior year where he dropped the state record in the 800m on the double from a very fast mile of 4:13 and change. He then ran a great 4x4 leg.
Gilmore at the same meet with that messed up leg straight killed 4 races and nearly all of them led to golds. Maybe not the fastest times, but winning is winning and its worth 10 points at the state championship whether you win by 10 seconds or a tenth of a second.
My roommate at states Mike Palmisano tripled with a 1:51.9 4x8 anchor, 4:13 1600 win and 1:54 800 bronze at states. He came from behind and used a kick to catch a lot of runners on the bell lap in both races.
Brady Gehret had some nice sprint doubles and triples in his career that included a nice showing at outdoor states his senior year where he was a fall away from possibly 3 golds.
Hong Cho at the Penn Relays last year ran a nice series of middle distance 8s and 4s en route to a couple of championship of america high finishes.
Jason Weller was a great doubler and tripler in his own right at indoor states his senior year especially.
So I don't really know what to post about because I'm sitting here in the light lounge at Muhlenberg College where I go to school (everyone can now look that up and apply here it's a lot of fun just ask around) and I am using my girlfriend's laptop and I don't want to take up too much of her laptop time, especially because she is doing spanish stuff and needs to look up words everyone once in a while. But I digress.
This weekend at our meet I was down on the schedule for running 4 events, a challenge for me because I have never found myself a very capable doubler. But that got me to thinking about some performances that were great doubles and triples which I will share with you now.
First of all, I'll start with one of the best doublers from my era, Wade Endress. Looking down his resume he has a lot of moments that would make a countdown but of course the big noteable one was indoor states his senior year where he dropped the state record in the 800m on the double from a very fast mile of 4:13 and change. He then ran a great 4x4 leg.
Gilmore at the same meet with that messed up leg straight killed 4 races and nearly all of them led to golds. Maybe not the fastest times, but winning is winning and its worth 10 points at the state championship whether you win by 10 seconds or a tenth of a second.
My roommate at states Mike Palmisano tripled with a 1:51.9 4x8 anchor, 4:13 1600 win and 1:54 800 bronze at states. He came from behind and used a kick to catch a lot of runners on the bell lap in both races.
Brady Gehret had some nice sprint doubles and triples in his career that included a nice showing at outdoor states his senior year where he was a fall away from possibly 3 golds.
Hong Cho at the Penn Relays last year ran a nice series of middle distance 8s and 4s en route to a couple of championship of america high finishes.
Jason Weller was a great doubler and tripler in his own right at indoor states his senior year especially.
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