Festival of 800s

By Jarrett Felix

So the track season is not quite over yet and Thursday afternoon (tomorrow) will feature another post season event at West Chester Henderson High School. The meet, labeled "The Festival of 800s" is a free event that will feature some state champion caliber athletes and some record pursuits. 

As of now, the 800m is scheduled to feature 1600m state champ Jaxson Hoey against 3200m state champ Zach Brehm. Neither man has a PR under 1:53, but that could all change in the near future. Matt Wisner from Carlisle will be looking to defend his school record against Brehm, as he will look to better his 1:53.18 from states. Andre Kelly, David Fletcher and Marlowe Tooles are all also said to be attending. As mentioned, the meet is free to compete or to watch and the hope is that a nice crowd of athletes and fans will gather to watch the races at 3:45.

Arguably more intriguing will be the quest of Sam Ritz to grab the state record from Paul Vandegrift. A little over a week after beating Lewis and Peretta at this very track, Ritz will take a shot at the 4:03.22 1600m record that has stood for nearly three decades. Ritz ran 3:47 for 1500m this year and has had multiple sub 4:10 miles this season, but he will need things to really click at Henderson if he wants to clock a PR. The meet has pacers set up to try and get him through 1200m in 3 flat and, in a dream race, Ritz will pursue that fabled 4 minute mark. He has the extra motivation that comes with being a dream mile snub. That race is scheduled for 4:10.

If you are in the area or looking for a race to compete in before nationals/hanging up your spikes, this is setting up to be worth the trip. I won't be there, but I'll see if I can get someone from the team to help out with coverage. If you are interested in competing or finding out more information feel free to reach out to me or Coach Kelly. Remember, it's a free meet.

Good luck to all competing. Hopefully this continues to be the state's fastest year ever.

Stay Classy.