by Jarrett Felix
Manhattan
This just in: DT West is good at running. The Whippets went up against some of the most historic and well-respected programs in the state this weekend and came out with a (close) victory, making them instant contenders for a regional championship (I believe it would be the first PA has ever won if they pulled it off). If you haven't done so already, you might enjoy clicking over to LXV+ and comparing this performance from West to some of the other top runs in state history.
What jumps out right away is the dynamite top three. Josh Hoey surprised with a victory over his brother 12:28 to 12:29, both runners clocking very elite times under 12:30. This was a bit of a surprising turn after Jaxson won at Carlisle and Josh finished over 10 seconds back, but you got the sense that Josh believed he could run with his brother and he showed that was true this weekend. Technically, you now have to start discussing both Jaxson and Josh for individual state champion honors in Hershey. Sappey rounds out the killer top three with his own sub 12:50 performance (faster than Barchet ever clocked on this course), putting him in his own elite tier. That kind of time usually indicates top 10 in the state potential and if Sappey stays the #3 at season's end this would be the best top 3 since Coatesville (the team that won the National Championship).
When you have that strong of a top 3, there is bound to be a gap back to the 4-5 spot but Ryan Barton still held his own with a 13:14. Then Jake O'Neil and Ben Ryherd pushed each other down near 13:20 with Shaun Bullock (I believe the team's #5 at Carlisle) rounding out the 7 spot. That's a pretty strong top 5/6, putting them in the league of 2012 Henderson and 2007-2008 North Penn in terms of depth. Keep in mind none of those three teams placed in the top 2 at regionals and only Henderson ended up getting to Nationals through an at large bid.
Ok so we've determined DT West is good. What we may have missed was a solid run by LaSalle, who, despite not having the same air tight spread they have shown in the past, still held their own in the Championship race, defeating GFS and nipping at the heels of some top 10 teams. Eddie Goebel was the big break through performer out front, running a very impressive 13:08 and beating sub 9 3200m runner Nick Dahl. That mark for Goebel is just 4 seconds off the time Tom Coyle ran as a junior before he went on to take 8th at states. Sophomore Evan Addison continues to prove he can be a top flight contributor, running very well in a bounce back effort from Foundation. He ran 13:15, a time that indicates potential for a top 50 finish at states if he can solve the Hershey lay out this time around. LaSalle will need a bit more out of their 4-5 if they are going to make a push for a top 3 spot at states, but for now they seem to be developing some potentially strong front runners that could be game changers at states (and districts as O'Hara continues to improve).
Solid showing by the Taylor Allerdice boys, particularly Amadou Diallo's 13:14.4 and a small shout to Upper Dublin's Riley Hannon who had a nice run in the Varsity A race.
Manhattan
This just in: DT West is good at running. The Whippets went up against some of the most historic and well-respected programs in the state this weekend and came out with a (close) victory, making them instant contenders for a regional championship (I believe it would be the first PA has ever won if they pulled it off). If you haven't done so already, you might enjoy clicking over to LXV+ and comparing this performance from West to some of the other top runs in state history.
What jumps out right away is the dynamite top three. Josh Hoey surprised with a victory over his brother 12:28 to 12:29, both runners clocking very elite times under 12:30. This was a bit of a surprising turn after Jaxson won at Carlisle and Josh finished over 10 seconds back, but you got the sense that Josh believed he could run with his brother and he showed that was true this weekend. Technically, you now have to start discussing both Jaxson and Josh for individual state champion honors in Hershey. Sappey rounds out the killer top three with his own sub 12:50 performance (faster than Barchet ever clocked on this course), putting him in his own elite tier. That kind of time usually indicates top 10 in the state potential and if Sappey stays the #3 at season's end this would be the best top 3 since Coatesville (the team that won the National Championship).
When you have that strong of a top 3, there is bound to be a gap back to the 4-5 spot but Ryan Barton still held his own with a 13:14. Then Jake O'Neil and Ben Ryherd pushed each other down near 13:20 with Shaun Bullock (I believe the team's #5 at Carlisle) rounding out the 7 spot. That's a pretty strong top 5/6, putting them in the league of 2012 Henderson and 2007-2008 North Penn in terms of depth. Keep in mind none of those three teams placed in the top 2 at regionals and only Henderson ended up getting to Nationals through an at large bid.
Ok so we've determined DT West is good. What we may have missed was a solid run by LaSalle, who, despite not having the same air tight spread they have shown in the past, still held their own in the Championship race, defeating GFS and nipping at the heels of some top 10 teams. Eddie Goebel was the big break through performer out front, running a very impressive 13:08 and beating sub 9 3200m runner Nick Dahl. That mark for Goebel is just 4 seconds off the time Tom Coyle ran as a junior before he went on to take 8th at states. Sophomore Evan Addison continues to prove he can be a top flight contributor, running very well in a bounce back effort from Foundation. He ran 13:15, a time that indicates potential for a top 50 finish at states if he can solve the Hershey lay out this time around. LaSalle will need a bit more out of their 4-5 if they are going to make a push for a top 3 spot at states, but for now they seem to be developing some potentially strong front runners that could be game changers at states (and districts as O'Hara continues to improve).
Solid showing by the Taylor Allerdice boys, particularly Amadou Diallo's 13:14.4 and a small shout to Upper Dublin's Riley Hannon who had a nice run in the Varsity A race.
Tennent
CB West seemed determine to make a statement this weekend as they try to keep pace with the impressive early showings from DT West and NA. On what looks to be a pretty fast day on the Tennent course, Rock Fortna took the individual gold in 15:44. He took a couple teammates with him under 16 minutes and all 5 of the team's scorers came in under 16:20. Brian Mass, a top 50 ranked individual after his near win at CRN, was the team's #5. Fortna is a stud out front, but I really liked the improvement I saw from Iatarola who placed 4th overall. He was a top 50 guy at states last year and almost beat Rock on the Hershey course. He's ascending at the right time with makes me feel better about this team's 1-2 punch. NA still is ahead of them in my eyes in terms of front running, but I do really like the way this pack is shaping up.
Speaking of packs, you may have noticed CRN packed directly in the middle of your screen. The boys took 17-21 with a 13 second spread at this meet and that was enough to get the silvers behind CBW, 34 points ahead of William Tennent and 36 ahead of Horsham. I'm not sure if this was an intentional pack run or not (hard to imagine it wasn't), but this team took a big step towards contender status after a bit of a midseason lull. Of course, we know this program's history and at a variety of times this year we have seen the potential of their pack. The real question will be if they can get the front running they will need to survive at a district meet that will include a ton of fire power out front. Keep in mind, despite their strong showing, CB West still had five in front of their #1 and 10 different teams had at least one runner cross the line before North had anyone pass. Like I said in another post, I think North is going to states, but they are still far from lock status in the craziness of District One.
Speaking of the craziness, this meet worked as one of the closest thing we may see to a District One preview as a good chunk of the Suburban One League ended up in attendance. Fortna took the individual gold and it will be interesting to see just how far up the D1 standings he can finish. After him Rahi Shah had a fantastic run, bouncing back from Paul Short to take 2nd. Shah ran excellent at Foundation and I think that could have possibly set him back when he trekked to Lehigh the next weekend. His performance this weekend is more in line with his true potential.
After a few races where he was knocking on the door, sophomore Rusty Kujdych finally emerges with a top 5 finish and some quality scalps thanks to a 15:48 3rd place run. Matt Scarpill proved himself very well in one of his first big meets of the season, cracking 16 and once again taking a top 5 spot. Matt Allen from Hatboro Horsham also really impressed, taking 8th overall and nearly cracking 16 minutes himself. All in all, it was a crazy finish as Top 50 runners like Maguire (7th), Desko (10th) and Mass (14th) were mixed in with some quality breakout performances. And 5 sophomores cracked the top 20 (along with Kujdych, Rahill, Delisle, Bixler and Koza go involved) plus another 2 were 21st and 24th.
CB West seemed determine to make a statement this weekend as they try to keep pace with the impressive early showings from DT West and NA. On what looks to be a pretty fast day on the Tennent course, Rock Fortna took the individual gold in 15:44. He took a couple teammates with him under 16 minutes and all 5 of the team's scorers came in under 16:20. Brian Mass, a top 50 ranked individual after his near win at CRN, was the team's #5. Fortna is a stud out front, but I really liked the improvement I saw from Iatarola who placed 4th overall. He was a top 50 guy at states last year and almost beat Rock on the Hershey course. He's ascending at the right time with makes me feel better about this team's 1-2 punch. NA still is ahead of them in my eyes in terms of front running, but I do really like the way this pack is shaping up.
Speaking of packs, you may have noticed CRN packed directly in the middle of your screen. The boys took 17-21 with a 13 second spread at this meet and that was enough to get the silvers behind CBW, 34 points ahead of William Tennent and 36 ahead of Horsham. I'm not sure if this was an intentional pack run or not (hard to imagine it wasn't), but this team took a big step towards contender status after a bit of a midseason lull. Of course, we know this program's history and at a variety of times this year we have seen the potential of their pack. The real question will be if they can get the front running they will need to survive at a district meet that will include a ton of fire power out front. Keep in mind, despite their strong showing, CB West still had five in front of their #1 and 10 different teams had at least one runner cross the line before North had anyone pass. Like I said in another post, I think North is going to states, but they are still far from lock status in the craziness of District One.
Speaking of the craziness, this meet worked as one of the closest thing we may see to a District One preview as a good chunk of the Suburban One League ended up in attendance. Fortna took the individual gold and it will be interesting to see just how far up the D1 standings he can finish. After him Rahi Shah had a fantastic run, bouncing back from Paul Short to take 2nd. Shah ran excellent at Foundation and I think that could have possibly set him back when he trekked to Lehigh the next weekend. His performance this weekend is more in line with his true potential.
After a few races where he was knocking on the door, sophomore Rusty Kujdych finally emerges with a top 5 finish and some quality scalps thanks to a 15:48 3rd place run. Matt Scarpill proved himself very well in one of his first big meets of the season, cracking 16 and once again taking a top 5 spot. Matt Allen from Hatboro Horsham also really impressed, taking 8th overall and nearly cracking 16 minutes himself. All in all, it was a crazy finish as Top 50 runners like Maguire (7th), Desko (10th) and Mass (14th) were mixed in with some quality breakout performances. And 5 sophomores cracked the top 20 (along with Kujdych, Rahill, Delisle, Bixler and Koza go involved) plus another 2 were 21st and 24th.
Slippery Rock
One of Foundation's break out performers, Tristan Forsythe, followed up his big run at Hershey with an impressive victory at Slippery Rock. Winchester Thurston's #1 runner took 1st overall over Franklin Regional's Mark Provenzo (a sneaky good talent in the WPIAL) and Junior Ben Bumgarner (a current top 50 guy) with a 16:27. Forsythe seems like an early contender for a top 5-10 spot at A states but still has to contend with at least 3 other studs from within his own district (Mackey, Clouse, Peretta). Team wise, ran just two of their top 4 from Pre States (the other being Will Loevner) and slipped far down the team rankings in this one as a result. Hopefully everyone there is healthy, otherwise some squads will be eager to pounce in championship season.
Great run by Zach Case of Hampton in 4th. I have liked his running thus far and Hampton has a nice reputation for turning it on at WPIALs (Sloan, Shields, Krist) so I wouldn't be surprised to watch Case crack the top 5 as well.
In the team standings, Pitts CC continues to showcase excellent pack running and that helped them beat out AA studs Knoch and AAA rivals Pine Richland by 10 points. Considering their history and their pack, Pitts CC is probably the early favorites for the 3 spot at WPIALs, however, they still haven't developed impressive enough front running to run away with it. If they don't have anyone crack the top 20 or so at districts, they will be in trouble in the team standings. Mars had a strong run for AA even with Mrdjenovich who was a difference maker in their state quests last fall. A team Northgate also looked excellent, finishing 7th in the field and tips for A.
Gettysburg
With Zach Seiger missing from the line-up (fingers crossed there is no injury concern here), Dan Filler was able to take hold of this race and win comfortably in 16:16, roughly 18 seconds up on PA's next closest opponent, Jared Kearns from Northern. Filler continues a strong season on his home course and positions himself well for an intriguing stretch run that should feature a nice battle against Jack DiCintio at Districts.
In the team battle, Camp Hill, the small "A" school, ended up taking the overall victory in the race, running with 3 finishers in the top 10 overall. Cooper Leslie led the way in 6th with Behney and Gabig taking 8th and 9th. Considering that Behney was in the top 15 or so at states last year, Camp Hill could be looking at three medalists in 2015, a front pack that would contend with Winchester Thurston. Dan Shank, the team's #4, placed 18th in the deep field (a lot of large schools competing), impressing at the 4 spot, while Patrick Dorsey was the team's #5 in 55th. WT and Camp Hill both appear to be fairly similarly structured thus far in 2015 and Camp Hill seems to be trending in the right direction and looking healthy. These guys are legitimate title contenders, especially if they can sure up their spread.
The "A" teams continued to impress down the standings with Mercyhurst Prep scoring under 200 points, led by Noah Curtin's 4th place finish. He was the top "A" runner in the field, edging out another awesome performance from Will Greene and the aforementioned strong run from track stand out Cooper Leslie.
Patrick Jacobson, one of many runners in the mix for the last few state qualifying spots out of District 3, had a strong showing for Dallastown, cracking 17 minutes and placing 7th overall.
In the team battle, Camp Hill, the small "A" school, ended up taking the overall victory in the race, running with 3 finishers in the top 10 overall. Cooper Leslie led the way in 6th with Behney and Gabig taking 8th and 9th. Considering that Behney was in the top 15 or so at states last year, Camp Hill could be looking at three medalists in 2015, a front pack that would contend with Winchester Thurston. Dan Shank, the team's #4, placed 18th in the deep field (a lot of large schools competing), impressing at the 4 spot, while Patrick Dorsey was the team's #5 in 55th. WT and Camp Hill both appear to be fairly similarly structured thus far in 2015 and Camp Hill seems to be trending in the right direction and looking healthy. These guys are legitimate title contenders, especially if they can sure up their spread.
The "A" teams continued to impress down the standings with Mercyhurst Prep scoring under 200 points, led by Noah Curtin's 4th place finish. He was the top "A" runner in the field, edging out another awesome performance from Will Greene and the aforementioned strong run from track stand out Cooper Leslie.
Patrick Jacobson, one of many runners in the mix for the last few state qualifying spots out of District 3, had a strong showing for Dallastown, cracking 17 minutes and placing 7th overall.
DELCO
O'Hara continued their dominance in the DELCO league, keeping the team and individual titles in house with a dominate win over Strath Haven, supported by a 1-2 finish by the Cardinals Ryan James and Rob Morro. James looked impressive in victory and seemed to be motivated after the long lay off from Foundation. Morro is also in great shape and these two should be top 10 contenders individually at states. O'Hara is really good at developing contenders for peaking at states. Look at Bilotta, Pitone and Smart who all finished top 12 at states despite the fact that they didn't have particularly flashy XC seasons and weren't some of the "big names" those seasons. James finished 15th at states last year as a sophomore, better than Kev who finished 4th as a Junior.
O'Hara also showed nice improvement as a team, putting 5 guys under 17 minutes and getting a big race from Patrick James who finished 7th in 16:43. Team wise, this wasn't a loaded race, but there were a decent amount of talented individuals so I was impressed with Pats run. Putting 3 sub 17 and dominating the JV race shows some nice potential to round out the pack behind James-Morro. These kind of times are what we saw from the OH pack in 2013 (when they finished 3rd and almost beat NA) and 2014 (when they finished 3rd despite 3 medalists) so it's hard to say exactly what this means for their pack. They clearly took some time away from racing to refocus and I think it's hard to argue that hasn't paid off. It's not unreasonable to think, considering their front running, this team could be this year's Easton and crack the top 5 at Hershey. But this may be a deeper team year than 2014.
James Abrahams grabs 3rd, fresh of a sub 16 performance, and edges out Sean Sullivan who grabs 4th. Strath Haven's Ian Reid impressed with a top 5 finish and Penncrest's up and coming stud sophomore Avery Lederer was 6th. Really impressive showing from the sophomore from Ridley, Zack Forney, who grabbed 9th overall.
Ridgway
After an excellent race at Foundation, Cranberry grabbed a big time invitational victory over rivals Elk County Catholic at the Ridgway invite. The Zombies (get it?) were led by Harrison Keenan and Sam Lander who continue their excellent starts to the season with 2nd and 4th place finishes at this meet. They have nice momentum heading to districts and are positioned to each contend for medals at states. With a step up run from number 3 man Jared Dailey this team could be in a position to repeat the marks put up by Mercyhurst Prep last fall, when they took 5th at states.
Isaac Wilson continues to excel individually, winning by 10 seconds over Keenan. Wilson has been in the mix with the top group in essentially every race he has run this season and there's no signs he will be slowing down any time soon. Logan Caruso, the super soph from Bradford took 3rd overall and beat a couple top notch district rivals in Peter Foradora and Ryan Thrush (6th and 8th).
After an excellent race at Foundation, Cranberry grabbed a big time invitational victory over rivals Elk County Catholic at the Ridgway invite. The Zombies (get it?) were led by Harrison Keenan and Sam Lander who continue their excellent starts to the season with 2nd and 4th place finishes at this meet. They have nice momentum heading to districts and are positioned to each contend for medals at states. With a step up run from number 3 man Jared Dailey this team could be in a position to repeat the marks put up by Mercyhurst Prep last fall, when they took 5th at states.
Isaac Wilson continues to excel individually, winning by 10 seconds over Keenan. Wilson has been in the mix with the top group in essentially every race he has run this season and there's no signs he will be slowing down any time soon. Logan Caruso, the super soph from Bradford took 3rd overall and beat a couple top notch district rivals in Peter Foradora and Ryan Thrush (6th and 8th).
Harbor Creek
The Meyers twins seem to be finding a rhythm as the season continues. Phoenix and Donovan took 1-2 over the fantastic freshman from home team Harbor Creek and that was enough to help them claim a 69-71 victory. Seneca will be preparing for a heated D10 battle with Sagertown and Mercyhurst Prep just to get to states. If they can survive, they will be one of the favorites for a top 5 run at Hershey. That will be especially true if Gabe Jarema and Adam Hanes (great race this weekend) climb up the pack a bit closer to the twins.
Worth noting here: Harbor Creek is a great young squad. They are favorites to get out of D10 AA behind Grove City this season even without Christian Babo who medaled at states last year as a freshman (but hasn't raced thus far this season). They are led by two freshmen, Stravaggi and Weber, plus their #3 and #5 (sophomore) are returners for next year. With a healthy Babo back in the line-up and a reasonable jump from the youngsters, this team will be very dangerous.
Legends Meet
Quite the legit sounding meet out in Ohio. PA's own Mount Lebanon went across the border to take on some impressive competition, being barely edged out by Maplewood and their two impressive front runners. Lebo lowered their split to 47 seconds this weekend, packing their top 4 within 6 seconds of one another and within the top 20 of the overall standings. Harris and TGunz were the team's 1-2 crossing the line at almost the exact same time with Kalapos and then Brandenstein rounding out the foursome. Their top four is very strong, especially if someone makes a jump to top 5 in the district between now and the end of the month.
What I specifically am excited about with this team is the continued development of their 5 spot. Zach Dewitt had a strong showing at 17:01 and right next to him was a sophomore with a famous last name: Cameron Potts. The two finished together and should be able to push each other in races and practice, hopefully translating to a closer finish to the #4 man. Heck their #7 Rob Doncourt was just 5 seconds behind the 5-6 and he has been racing very well in recent weeks. There's real potential here for the Hattons.
The Meyers twins seem to be finding a rhythm as the season continues. Phoenix and Donovan took 1-2 over the fantastic freshman from home team Harbor Creek and that was enough to help them claim a 69-71 victory. Seneca will be preparing for a heated D10 battle with Sagertown and Mercyhurst Prep just to get to states. If they can survive, they will be one of the favorites for a top 5 run at Hershey. That will be especially true if Gabe Jarema and Adam Hanes (great race this weekend) climb up the pack a bit closer to the twins.
Worth noting here: Harbor Creek is a great young squad. They are favorites to get out of D10 AA behind Grove City this season even without Christian Babo who medaled at states last year as a freshman (but hasn't raced thus far this season). They are led by two freshmen, Stravaggi and Weber, plus their #3 and #5 (sophomore) are returners for next year. With a healthy Babo back in the line-up and a reasonable jump from the youngsters, this team will be very dangerous.
Legends Meet
Quite the legit sounding meet out in Ohio. PA's own Mount Lebanon went across the border to take on some impressive competition, being barely edged out by Maplewood and their two impressive front runners. Lebo lowered their split to 47 seconds this weekend, packing their top 4 within 6 seconds of one another and within the top 20 of the overall standings. Harris and TGunz were the team's 1-2 crossing the line at almost the exact same time with Kalapos and then Brandenstein rounding out the foursome. Their top four is very strong, especially if someone makes a jump to top 5 in the district between now and the end of the month.
What I specifically am excited about with this team is the continued development of their 5 spot. Zach Dewitt had a strong showing at 17:01 and right next to him was a sophomore with a famous last name: Cameron Potts. The two finished together and should be able to push each other in races and practice, hopefully translating to a closer finish to the #4 man. Heck their #7 Rob Doncourt was just 5 seconds behind the 5-6 and he has been racing very well in recent weeks. There's real potential here for the Hattons.
Ches-Monts
For those of you who missed the countless bits of Ches-Mont coverage here on the blog, fear not! We have a recap available to catch you up on the action. Just two days removed from their victory at Manhattan, DT West looked fairly dominate again at Chesmonts, winning by 27 points over West Chester Henderson without three of their top 6 runners and two of their top three. The Whippets held out Jaxson Hoey, Henry Sappey and Ben Ryherd (as one commenter pointed out their only three varsity level seniors) in something of a symbolic move to show this squad will still be a factor next year.
West took 5 of the top 13 spots including the individual title from Josh Hoey, who it appears sat behind the leaders and took the race when he saw his opportunity.
For those of you who missed the countless bits of Ches-Mont coverage here on the blog, fear not! We have a recap available to catch you up on the action. Just two days removed from their victory at Manhattan, DT West looked fairly dominate again at Chesmonts, winning by 27 points over West Chester Henderson without three of their top 6 runners and two of their top three. The Whippets held out Jaxson Hoey, Henry Sappey and Ben Ryherd (as one commenter pointed out their only three varsity level seniors) in something of a symbolic move to show this squad will still be a factor next year.
West took 5 of the top 13 spots including the individual title from Josh Hoey, who it appears sat behind the leaders and took the race when he saw his opportunity.
Kent Hall finished 2nd overall to cement his status as a legit contender in the state scene. Hall was just a few seconds behind Josh and ahead Spencer Smicker of Henderson who took 3rd overall. That's a very capable top 3. Ryan Barton impressed me as well on this race, taking 4th overall behind just this top 3 with only a days rest. Barton beat some very white names and, considering his history on hills, it's not crazy to imagine he's a potential state medalist in AAA.
Coming up huge in 5th place is the consistently improving Austin Maxwell from Kennett. He ran a smart, consistent race pace and took down Ilgenfritz and Carmody who both have likely gotten a bit more press this season. Carson Reuther of Henderson finished 7th, the remaining member of the top 8 who has yet to be mentioned. Shout out as well to Rustin's Brandon Hontz who had a strong showing just behind his teammate Carmody, taking 9th overall.
The West Chester East v Bishop Shanahan rivalry came to fruiton in a big way, as East edged BS by just 2 points, helped by Moser's 12th place finish and Franz's big run to finish 18th. Jack Ettien, Shanahan's frosh, continues to shine and deliver under pressure, earning 14th place overall.
Ches-Mont team thoughts:
ReplyDelete1) DT West looked great - almost seems as if they are peaking early because they are running so well. However, we will just have to wait and see. They will win districts easily.
2) Henderson looked decent. If their 3, 4, 5 improve a little they should beat CB West at districts. JV results show they have depth as usual.
3) Shanahan and WC East are very close, but I think East is definitely the better team.
4) Great Valley has a very solid pack
WCE supporters had some doubters but were proved correct as East wrecked the field except for DTW and almost WCH.
DeleteWrecked? I wouldn't say that, they only beat Shanahan by 2 points.
DeleteExpect everyone from Ches-Monts to drop 30-40 seconds for Districts, and expect everyone from Tennent to add 10-20. WCH should be on the higher end of the drop and CRN should be on the lower end of the add.
ReplyDeleteI'm calling that whoever wins between Spring-Ford and OJR this week is the 5th team in. CBE has the low stick, but their pack might be a bit young for this year.
Finally, look out for a dogfight between Shanahan and Holy Ghost (and maybe Pottsgrove) for the lone qualifying spot in D1 AA. It's always brutal.
Seiger is injured. Bone bruise on knee.
ReplyDelete