The 3,000m took a big step forward this past weekend and put the pressure on everyone to continue to drop time in order to solidify a spot on the line in the 12 man field at PSU. Early on, it appears this event and the 4x8 (which I'm not convinced won't get bumped to 24 if teams go fast this weekend) will be the most brutal relative to what times used to get you through to the state meet.
Casey Comber comes in as the top seed with his recent 8:47 against Brophy and if he decides to go fresh he could notch up another very fast time to make a statement before the state championships. But there may not be a need for another fast 3k with his current seed. John Daly makes a move up to the 3k to have fun in this race. He could run a really nice time with his strength and could surprise some people. He will be fresh which not many in the field will likely be able to boast. I'm curious to see what he can do.
Also in the mix could be Arita and Hanna who are seeded under 9 minutes as of now and looking to drop some more time. Hanna right now is in a position to get one of the final spots to states but with fast times likely to be dropping consistently over the next 4 days, every second will count. Same goes for Arita who has a choice to make about which event he wants to focus on this weekend and try to break out of the bubble and onto the state starting line.
Sean Princivalle had a huge run at PCLs for LaSalle and is now only a few more seconds away from dropping a state qualifying time. It's going to be difficult, but with the strong competition expected to toe the line, he may be able to sneak down fast enough to crack the top 12 entries. Same goes for Joe Maguire and Julian Degroot-Lutzner who are both sitting down around 9:03 from a race back in December. Either one could be sub 9 by the time I'm doing a write up on Monday. Connor Sands and Ian Davies were both also around 9:10ish at Burdette last December and they have continued to improve after excellent XC seasons. Either one could ride the pack and streak to an impressive time. A few other sleepers for states would be Connor McMenamin and Jonah Gillespie-Sickman who had excellent cross country seasons and have been solid on the track. McMenamin has been especially promising. As just a sophomore, he's shown great range and an excellent competition of speed and strength.
Also worth keeping an eye on is a potential double for Eric Diestelow off the mile, Sam Ebby, the Joshs from CB East and the LaSalle boys Paul and Goebel.
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