I’m not going to pretend I’m a ChesMont expert, but here goes anyway. I’ll give a brief justification for each of my top 10, but after that I’m pretty much picking blind anyway, so I won’t give a justification and we can just pretend I have one.
1: Jax. Hoey-DTW: I really can’t pick against him. I think he was probably under orders to just run with Josh last weekend. Do I have any proof of that? Nope, just conjecturing, but it makes sense to me, so I’ll throw it out there as a possibility. The point is, he’s pretty clearly the class of this field, and I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t win. Unless of course, he and Josh run together again.
2: Josh Hoey-DTW: Let’s be honest. The Hoey’s are the class of the ChesMont league. It would be a pretty big deal if someone deposed them from the top 2 spots. 12:28 for 4k is no joke, and neither is 15:40 at Carlisle.
3: Smucker-WCH: Kevin Kelly is a heck of a coach, and I’m pretty confident that this Henderson team will be ready to roll this Monday. I know they’ll be more focused on districts, but I’d still look for them to make a big step forward from Carlisle, and I think Smucker will be heading that up.
4: Sappey-DTW: If you take the Hoey’s away, Sappey’s the top returner from last year, and he’s been running really well this year. 15:51 already at Carlisle, and really solid 4k at Manhattan show he’s ready to roll and obviously in good shape.
5: Barton-DTW: Yeah, another DTW runner. I think you’re going to get that feeling Monday. Remember how COH used to dominate their league meet? I think that’s the type of statement DTW would like to make. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Hoey’s roll up front and just do enough to take the win, while Barton and Sappey make sure they finish together in the top 5 as well.
6: Ilgenfritz-AG: Jake Ilgenfritz has had a bit of a breakout year, which isn’t to say he wasn’t a really good runner before. He’s just been on a different level this year, as his 16:01 showed. I think he’s going to hang with that top group for a lot of this race, and be rewarded with a high finish.
7: Carmody-Rustin: While he hasn’t run anything great yet this year, he’s been solid, and he is the 2nd returner from last year. I think he’ll peak well and remind a few people how good he is before districts rolls around.
8: Maxwell-Kennett: Maxwell is another high returner who has been solid but not outstanding this year. Just like with Carmody, I think he’s going to step it up starting Monday. This is when the season really starts and I think Maxwell is someone whose performance tends to match how bright the lights are.
9: Reuther-WCH: Reuther has had a breakout year for Henderson so far. I didn’t even know who he was coming into the year, although I’m sure Jarrett did. He’s since developed into Henderson’s second man, and I know he’ll keep getting better as the season progresses.
10: Bullock-DTW: He’s a top-10 returner, excluding the Hoey’s, and he’s run 16:30ish so far this year, so what’s not to like. I think there’s a lot of momentum that can be gained by knowing you’re as good as DTW is, and I see their 5,6,7 guys riding that to some great performances. The first step to a huge race is believing you’re good enough to have one, and these guys have clearly bought in.
11: Moser-WCE
12: Hall-Unionville
13: Ryherd-DTW
14: Hontz-Rustin
15: J. Ettien-BS (He’s just a freshman. He’s going to be really good in a couple years. 2017 State title. You heard it here first)
16: Kolimago-BS
17: Downing-WCH
18: McSwain-WCH
19: B. Ettien-BS
20: Deshmukh-WCH
21: Yoquinto-BS
22: Mihalak-Coatesville
23: Hoyos-WCE
24: Jackson-DTE
25: Franz-WCE
2: Josh Hoey-DTW: Let’s be honest. The Hoey’s are the class of the ChesMont league. It would be a pretty big deal if someone deposed them from the top 2 spots. 12:28 for 4k is no joke, and neither is 15:40 at Carlisle.
3: Smucker-WCH: Kevin Kelly is a heck of a coach, and I’m pretty confident that this Henderson team will be ready to roll this Monday. I know they’ll be more focused on districts, but I’d still look for them to make a big step forward from Carlisle, and I think Smucker will be heading that up.
4: Sappey-DTW: If you take the Hoey’s away, Sappey’s the top returner from last year, and he’s been running really well this year. 15:51 already at Carlisle, and really solid 4k at Manhattan show he’s ready to roll and obviously in good shape.
5: Barton-DTW: Yeah, another DTW runner. I think you’re going to get that feeling Monday. Remember how COH used to dominate their league meet? I think that’s the type of statement DTW would like to make. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Hoey’s roll up front and just do enough to take the win, while Barton and Sappey make sure they finish together in the top 5 as well.
6: Ilgenfritz-AG: Jake Ilgenfritz has had a bit of a breakout year, which isn’t to say he wasn’t a really good runner before. He’s just been on a different level this year, as his 16:01 showed. I think he’s going to hang with that top group for a lot of this race, and be rewarded with a high finish.
7: Carmody-Rustin: While he hasn’t run anything great yet this year, he’s been solid, and he is the 2nd returner from last year. I think he’ll peak well and remind a few people how good he is before districts rolls around.
8: Maxwell-Kennett: Maxwell is another high returner who has been solid but not outstanding this year. Just like with Carmody, I think he’s going to step it up starting Monday. This is when the season really starts and I think Maxwell is someone whose performance tends to match how bright the lights are.
9: Reuther-WCH: Reuther has had a breakout year for Henderson so far. I didn’t even know who he was coming into the year, although I’m sure Jarrett did. He’s since developed into Henderson’s second man, and I know he’ll keep getting better as the season progresses.
10: Bullock-DTW: He’s a top-10 returner, excluding the Hoey’s, and he’s run 16:30ish so far this year, so what’s not to like. I think there’s a lot of momentum that can be gained by knowing you’re as good as DTW is, and I see their 5,6,7 guys riding that to some great performances. The first step to a huge race is believing you’re good enough to have one, and these guys have clearly bought in.
11: Moser-WCE
12: Hall-Unionville
13: Ryherd-DTW
14: Hontz-Rustin
15: J. Ettien-BS (He’s just a freshman. He’s going to be really good in a couple years. 2017 State title. You heard it here first)
16: Kolimago-BS
17: Downing-WCH
18: McSwain-WCH
19: B. Ettien-BS
20: Deshmukh-WCH
21: Yoquinto-BS
22: Mihalak-Coatesville
23: Hoyos-WCE
24: Jackson-DTE
25: Franz-WCE
Team: DTW-22, WCH-46, BS-105, WCE-112
I think Hall should be in front of Moser. I would also swap Franz for Brennan on WCE and move Ilgenfritz down a couple.
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