By Jarrett Felix
Ah yes, the Lehigh Cross Country course and I meet again. I have run this course a lot over the years, ranging from this invitational (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and now 2015) to tempos, scrimmages, workouts and long runs. Even when I'm not racing here, I find myself watching the action like I did in 2008, 2010 and 2014 (twice). My first (and only) professional freelance cross country writing was done at this meet in 2010 for PenntrackXC. And fittingly, my last cross country race of both high school and college was at Lehigh.
Basically, When I close my eyes to sleep at night I see the place.
It's also a fast course. The 5k lay out is pretty much flat with the exception of a few downhills and some climbs around 1.5 and 2 miles. If you can push the middle, you can absolutely fly over the last 1k. Over the years, the course has produced some really quick times including, perhaps most notably for the purposes of this preview, Colin Abert's 14:55 clocking last year. Paul Springer of Unionville (the state's all time leader at 2-miles) ran 14:47 there in 2006 and, as far as I know, that's the course record. Jason Weller and Kyle Dawson also cracked 15 minutes in 2006 with Tony Russell adding his name to the list in 2013. I also think Matt McWilliams from Grove City did it back back in the day (not a type-o just a drake reference) when states was at Lehigh.
This year, we should see a nice crop of talent aiming for their own place in the history books. One of the most surprising entries is Sewickley Academy, who continues to travel all across the nation this season. A week after the pre states meet, Griffin Mackey and Ben Clouse will lead their team against top notch AAA competition. I believe it will be the first time the duo has had a chance to truly embrace the large school challenge in PA so we should be able to get an accurate picture of how these two studs stack up.
Another small school runner likely itching for his chance to race against the big boys is North Pocono's Matt Kravitz. Kravitz had a huge day at this meet last year, cracking 15:40 and finishing top 10. He placed second to only Dominic Hockenbury last weekend at Hershey. His teammate, David Haines, also deserves a mention here. He's been dropping excellent times behind Kravitz during the squad's first couple meets.
Other members of my current Top 50 rankings that are set to race Friday are Jason Ilgenfritz, Kevin Lapsansky, Zach Lefever, Jeff Kirshenbaum, Morgan Cupp, Liam Conway, Sean McGinnis, Seth Slavin and Jack DiCintio.
Guys like PJ Murray, Will Aplaugh, Dan Quigley, Nate Becker, Justin Yurchak, Patrick Donahue, Matt D'Aquila, Rusty Kudjych, Dylan Smiley, Jack Carmody, John Conner, Gabriel Allgayer, Rahi Shah and Colin Wills are also expected to be involved and each has spent time in and around the list this year.
My goodness that's a lot to digest! Even for nerds like me. And believe it or not there a slew more guys who I would project into my top 100 or so that are scheduled to be involved. It's quite amazing and makes this meet (in my opinion) the deepest race we have seen all year.
You could argue the race is lacking a little bit of firepower out front (Mackey is the only top 10 ranked runner as far as I can tell) but Mackey is a stud who may finish the season a state champ. Jeff Kirshenbaum just ran 16:11 at Pre States, the same mark as multiple gold medalist Dominic Hockenbury. He's only lost to top 10 guys in the state thus far this season (Brophy twice and Wolk). The big sleeper here for victory may be Zach Lefever. Lefever has quietly been producing impressive results for Ephrata, including a top finish at Big Spring and PTXC, all while finding his footing as a top dog in district 3. He has excellent training partners in Becker and Hartt and, unlike many of the other top runners in this field, he will be fresh after not racing last weekend. I'm very worried about the double off Hershey, even if Lehigh is an easy course, the Hershey hills tend to have a lingering affect. Just ask the last few district 3 champions.
You can make a similar case for Kevin Lapsansky, who also was a top finisher at PTXC, basically running an identical mark to Lefever. Kev was well under 16 here last year and holds state hardware from last XC season, an honor few in AAA can boast from this race. Don't be surprised if he keeps the title in Easton's hands this weekend.
District 11 has a pseudo home meet here at Lehigh considering their proximity and that could be huge for sleepers from Parkland and Freedom. Dan Quigley and Will Aplaugh were both top finishers at districts last year and have each spent time in my top 50 this fall. Will is an excellent track runner with low 4:20s speed that may benefit him at Lehigh's pancake setting, while Quigley cracked 16 minutes here in 2014. Parkland has serious team title hopes in this meet and will look for big days from their leaders Michael Geiger and Dan Kyvelos. Parkland really ran well here last year and could potentially put all their scorers well under 17 minutes. Sleeper pick from this team would be Sam Morgan. Seth Slavin is always dangerous as well as the Emmaus boys Jiandl and Paradise.
Before I get into that team title race, I'd be silly if I didn't mention a few individuals who's track prowess could loom large at Lehigh. Sean McGinnis spent last weekend conquering Hershey hills. He may be even better utilizing his 1:55 speed on the flatlands this Friday. Eric Kersten from Pennsbury was out hard last weekend at Hershey, but couldn't quite hold on to the early pace. He now can use his own 1:55 type wheels at Lehigh and rebound well.
Gabriel Allgayer won the White Race last year, cracking 16 minutes. He should be a favorite to win again in 2015. Yahya Soliman cracked 16 last year as well for Cumberland Valley and Liam Conway had one of the fastest freshman performances in course history here a year ago, nearly getting under the 16 minute mark as well.
Conway's Owen J Roberts team seems like a logical place to start the team discussion. They were a surprise 4th at the Foundation Meet last weekend, beating top teams like CB East, O'Hara and State College among others. Now they have to prove that performance can be duplicated on a different type of course entirely. Ironically, this is the course that will be most important in deciding if they get to return to states later this fall. Van Helmond made states individually on this course in 2014 and he could really help this team with a huge run at this year's meet.
D3's Hershey is also looking to solidify themselves as a contender in a difficult district. Hershey was PA's surprise top team at PTXC thanks to a very tight pack, but has been quiet since. Meanwhile many of D3's top teams have been racing and improving around the state, leaving Hershey as a bit of an afterthought. I'm thinking they will have something to prove this weekend and possibly could have another surprise performance.
Of course they will have their hands full. Hempfield's varsity skipped foundation last weekend after a big win at Big Spring and that may have been to help save them for this race on a flat, fast course. Cedar Crest asserted itself as a D3 contender at Big Spring as well and gets another shot at proving themselves against some local competition. And Cumberland Valley, last year's top D3 team at states and a preseason favorite, will have plenty to prove as they look to build for districts. As of now, they are far from assured another trip to states (where they usually have a permanent ticket). And hey, let's give some love to Mechanicsburg! If they throw their freshman stud in the varsity race this time around, they will be formidable in the team standings.
As mentioned, don't overlook District 11's Parkland. They were in the preseason coach's poll for Top 10 teams and they have something of a home field advantage here with their proximity. And don't forget: Parkland beat the darlings of Pre States, Owen J Roberts, at the Centaur Invitational a few weeks back (a meet just down the road from Lehigh).
West Chester East will be running its biggest invite since they won at Abington. They have assembled a very strong pack and a solid front runner in Moser to lead it. They have gained some traction as a sleeper pick in District 1 and they can certainly back it up with a strong run at Paul Short. Spring Ford is another sleeper D1 team that wants another shot at league rivals Owen J.
In the White Race, keep an eye out for one of my sleeper teams right now: William Tennent. This team has been steadily improving each week and is well rested and hungry for another test. Sean Rahill, a sophomore for WT, is one of top sleepers for this meet. He had an off day at Briarwood thanks to their bus mishap, but he's likely excited about the opportunity to redeem himself and help the team shoot up the standings.
Small schools in the fields include Sewickley Academy, who is trying to narrow the gap to the top programs in A that edged them last weekend as well as A competitors Elk Lake. South Williamsport's heir to the Molino throne, Hunter Crawley, should also be on the radar after his medalist performance last fall.
Pottsgrove, HG Prep and Bishop Shanahan will all compete this weekend, just not in the same race. These three will be vying for just one spot at states from the ultra competitive District One. The same is true for New Hope, Jenkintown and Christopher Dock who battled it out at Hershey a week ago.
So that's the preview! I'm not sure it was a "mega preview" but I had to get your attention right?
As Dumbledore says, use it well.
