Weekend Alumni Update

By Caleb Gatchell

It was a fairly quiet weekend for PA alumni, but there were a few freshmen getting out and getting their first 8k’s in as well as a few notable results. As always with cross country, the times varied a lot depending on course and conditions. However, you have to look a little deeper than that to get a good idea for how well guys performed. 

Main Line Invitational (4 Miles)

The Pennsylvania guys really showed up and made a statement here. Casey Comber, who is still running unattached, continued what has been an excellent freshman year so far finishing 3rd in 19:30. I think if he continues to run at this level Villanova will use him on their varsity squad. Not far behind Comber was Ross Wilson who finished as Penn’s second runner in 19:34. That’s also an excellent result, especially considering he is only a sophomore. He looks like he will be a major part of Penn’s squad this year. Andrew Marston was right on his heels coming in at 19:35. Like Comber, he is having a great debut season at Villanova, and could find himself on their varsity squad come conference and regionals. Brendan Shearn was 8th overall, and Penn’s 5th man in what was a dominant display for them. He has been really solid for them, and I think this could be a huge year for him. He’s clearly off to a pretty good start this year. After him Ernie Pitone and Lyle Wistar finished stride for stride in 20:00, finishing 16th and 17th respectively. This was a pretty quick meet up front, so to be top 20 is pretty impressive. Sam Webb and Paul Power were the last two notable PA finisher, coming in at 20:30 and 20:32 respectively. Those are both pretty solid results, even if they are overshadowed a little. I think Webb and Power will both develop into good top 7 contributors for their respective programs over the next couple years. 

Division II/III Challenge at Kutztown

Notable PA results here were pretty much exclusively from Shippensburg’s squad, which unsurprisingly ran to a dominant victory. Kieran Sutton finished 4th overall, and was Shippensburg’s second runner finishing in 26:20. While the time itself isn’t particularly impressive, only 3 runners broke 26, so it looks like it was a fairly slow course. Calvin Conrad-Kline, Alexander Balla, and Harrison Schettler all finished within 6 seconds of each other, running 26:36, 26:42, and 26:42 respectively. They all should be looking to contribute to the impressive pack Shippensburg is forming from their 3rd-7thrunners. Sean Weidner ran his first actual 8k, finishing in 27:09. I think he could be a contributor on Lock Haven’s conference and regional squads by the end of the year. Finally Alec Brand and Cole Nissley ran 27:16 and 27:21 respectively. Both are currently on the outside looking in at Shippensburg’s varsity squad, but I wouldn’t count either one out yet. They both have the experience to peak correctly at the end of the year and be impact runners. 

Spartan Invite

It wasn’t a particularly quick day out in Lansing, but it saw some pretty big names from PA get out and shake a little rust off. Ethan and Colin Martin both made their official debuts for Michigan, and were also the only two PA finishers in the top 50. It was a very competitive meet, with some arguably the top D2 squad in the nation, and solid programs such as Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, and Eastern Michigan, so top 50 is no slouch of a result. Ethan got the better of Colin, finishing in 26:11 to Ethan’s 26:18. While a solid result from both, I would expect them to improve quite a bit over the next couple months. Alex Moran and Cordon Louco finished close behind Colin in 26:21 and 26:22 respectively. Cordon was running unattached, and appears to be looking for a new team. Like the Martins, neither one had an excellent race, but both were solid openers. 

National Catholic Invitational (5 Miles)

Notre Dame hosted the National Catholic Invitational which also featured a few solid results from PA Alumni. 

Xavier Sauvageau opened up his junior campaign with a very good 25:36 to place 15th. That’s an excellent time and place. I would expect him to be very competitive within his conference this year. Christian Kazanjian also ran a pretty quick 25:55 to finish 32nd. He redshirted last year, but looks like he’s ready for a solid season. Jeff Van Kooten and Hunter Wharrey opened up their freshmen campaigns in solid times of 26:14 and 26:24. It looks like it was a pretty competitive meet, so to finish 50th and 61st is pretty impressive for a couple of freshmen. 

Other Notable Results

Dan Savage ran 26:39 at Iona MOC. Wisconsin ran several of their top guys and only averaged 26:10, so I think it was a pretty tough course. Being within 30 seconds of Wisconsin’s pack is a pretty impressive feat, so Savage looks to be setting himself up for a good season
Dan Jaskowak ran 25:33 at Virginia Tech’s Alumni Invitational to finish 36th right behind Seamus Collins who ran 25:31. Those are good openers from both, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them run much faster later on this year. Jaskowak especially. He had a really solid track season so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him break out in xc this year. 
Patrick Reilly and Brian Arita both ran at the Lafayette-Lehigh dual meet. Reilly ran 26:24 to continue what has been a great sophomore year so far. He won his season opening 6k, and finished 3rd here. Arita also had a solid race. I think he’ll be a really solid runner in a year or two. 
Finally, Matt Meehan opened his season at Wheaton running 26:45 for 22nd. While it’s not the fastest time, it’s good to see him up in that top group and competing well. If he can keep doing that it will be a good season for him. 

 

Until next time.