So I'm going to be breaking down every PA relay squad that is entered in the Penn Relays for this upcoming weekend. I'll break it up by heats for the 4x8 and then a separate post for the DMR. Not sure what the timetable will be for each of these as I have a job interview tomorrow to take care of but I ought to have everything up before the Penn Relays begin.
Radnor (Heat 1)
Here's my bold prediction for Radnor: they will be the top PA team in their heat. Admittedly, they will be the only PA team in their heat, but we can overlook that. Here is the thing about Radnor, they are a sneaky good squad. Radnor was a finalist in the district 1 4x8 championships last year outdoors and a strong DMR team indoors with Connor Holm leading the way as an 800m medalist. Radnor has run 8:01 already this year at the Haverford Invite and that puts them in a pretty strong position out of the teams in their heat to begin with.
The relay will likely consist of Holm (1:56.88 indoors), Watson Hanson (4:25 1600m PR and 4:30 indoor mile), and Andre Kelly (2:00.13 this outdoors). Then there is a mystery leg in there to bring the team all together. Kelly has really developed into a strong piece in recent weeks and Holm is a clear stud. The key will be if Hanson can have a strong day at a bit of an underdistance and if their 4th leg can run strong on the big stage at Penn. This is a fun team that I will be excited to watch race at Franklin Field.
Penncrest (Heat 2)
Penncrest has been money in the 4x8 every year forever. They were strong indoors and are consistently in the medal hunt. Plus, their top two runners have made big steps forward in recent weeks. Evan Emmanuel has dropped his PR to 1:56.89 and his running mate Soham Kamat has dropped a 1:57 in a dual meet. Chris Kazanjian has range from a sub 3k to a 2 flat open 8 in another dual meet. He is coming off a 4:27 1600m that got him a victory at Abington. Brendan Hannah, Colin Tyson and Matt Kazanjian will also be in the mix for relay inclusion. Hanna and Tyson ran 2:03 and 2:04 respectively already this year and Kazanjian ran 4:32 on Wednesday and was a near medalist at XC states this past fall.
Hanna boasts a PR of 2:01 at 800m and may end up getting the nod. Matt has great ability at the longer distances with his 15:28 XC PR, but the 800m may be just out of his range. A couple possible sleepers for inclusion are Raj Patil (1:29 600m indoors) and James Teal (51 400m man). Penncrest ran 7:57 indoors and has been improving in recent weeks. I see this team as a squad that get down to 7:52ish if they have a day where is all clicks and that puts them in the sleeper conversation for sure.
Malvern Prep (Heat 2)
If you are looking for a team to impress this weekend, I would consider taking a look at the Malvern Prep squad. Malvern Prep already has 3 guys who have broken two minutes in the 800m this spring. Jaxson Hoey (1:57 indoors and 4:15 this year outdoors) looks like a guy who is on the verge of a big break out performance. I'm thinking something along the lines of Tom Coyle's 1:54 split as a sophomore at Penn for LaSalle. Then there is Colin Wils who has run 4:24 already this year for 1600m and is a gamer considering he is also just a sophomore. The two youngsters are flanked by Billy McDevitt (1:58 this outdoors and sub 9 3k indoors) and Dan Ferraiolo (1:55 PR at 800m).
When looking for teams that can make it into the COA as sleepers, you have to think about teams that, if they have an amazing day, run really, really fast. Malvern Prep is that team. They could no doubt run something in the 1:54-1:57-1:57-1:59 ball park at Penn if they have a dream day and that puts you around 7:50. This team is a better team than most realize because of their location in the independent league, but they can make a big statement at Penn.
Bonner (Heat 2)
Bonner got into the races thanks to 8:06 from down south at William and Mary. The Bonner boys are led by the speed of Joe Sullivan who has developed strong range thanks to an early season 4:24 run at Coatesville. Sullivan ran 1:56.94 last year to get into the state championships out of district 12 and will be a strong anchor for the boys from Bonner. He is joined by Ryan Rastatter who ran 4:30 in the 1600m this spring. Steve Cromity emerged for Bonner in recent weeks as well, running 2:03 in the open 8. Not sure who the other leg is but Sean Sullivan (Joe's little brother?) ran a 4:44 indoors for the mile and has the potential to emerge as a solid 4th leg.
Bonner ran a solid DMR last year with Will McDermott as a mentor for the younger guys. This group has already beat last year's season best of 8:08 in the 4x8 thanks to their early season mark. They beat LaSalle in that early season race as well. It will be interesting to see if these boys continue to keep turning heads on the oval.
GFS (Heat 2)
Germantown Friends has been more of a DMR team than 4x8 team in recent years including grabbing a title in the DMR at Penn in 2008. Last year's GFS squad had Sami Aziz and Lyle Wistar (both sub 9:20 guys at 3200m) and their strong group managed to run a relay just a shade above 8 flat. This year's team has wasted no time trying to get the team back to that mark even without their stud 2 milers. GFS edged their way into this meet as a small school with an 8:09 mark and they have a nice 10:32 DMR for confidence.
GFS journeyed to the Warrior invite and grabbed some nice PRs for youngster Nick Dahl (4:24 1600m as a freshman), and Grayson Hepp (4:28 for the soph). Both of those times could potentially translate to sub 2 minute 800m marks. James Finney adds a nice bit of leadership and speed with his 1:58 PR. It will be interesting to see if this DMR school can translate their DMR type legs into some strong 800m men on the big stage at Penn.
Strath Haven (Heat 2)
Strath Haven was one of the last teams into the Penn Relays for the small schools. No Jack Huemmler on the squad anymore, but they do return some nice pieces from their COA DMR last year and hopefully that experience will benefit them on the big stage. The team has run 8:12 this year outdoors.
They have depth and no clear weak leg on this squad and they are just waiting for a solid break out performance to help them take the next step. James Forbes leads the squad at 2:01 with Greg Kotchick at 2:02 and David Reeves at 2:03. They also have XC state qualifier Dylan Butera who has had some solid spltis in the past and has run 2:05 this year so far outdoors. Butera has run 4:30 for the mile and 2:04 in the open 8 before in the past. I think Haven is going to be a nice sleeper team for Districts this year and they will have a group focused on improving at this event specifically. The question is now, how well can this team do at Penn without a clear star to lead them?
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