A Big Ol' Weekend Recap

By Jarrett Felix

State College Invite

The last two years, State College has put together two 7:41 4x800m relay teams during the outdoor season, earning gold and bronze at outdoor states. SC returns three of the four members from last year’s edition (the bronze squad) and, after a very quiet start, finally started to show a few of their cards. SC dropped a 10:42.3 in the DMR to win by over 30 seconds on their home track and, for a brief moment, earn PA #1 honors. As our own Sean Collins pointed out on the playground, SC may be better built for a DMR run considering their strong XC seasons from Milligan and Feffer who would be logical 16-12 type legs. I’m excited to see this team unleash a 4x8 at Kevin Dare or another big meet and we finally get to see exactly how this team stacks up against squads like Abington and CB West. As much I like their DMR potential, I think there is no way SC passed on the 4x8. It’s pretty much their favorite event. I think they will be crunching the numbers to see just how many points they can score in the team competition this year. 

Individually, Brody Beiler, a lesser known runner from Selingsgrove in District 4, dropped a 4:35 to win by over 20 seconds in the mile. His fellow district 4 runner, sophomore Isaac Davis, dropped his 3k best down to 9:14.8, winning by over 15 seconds. Both guys had strong XC years (Davis was an absolutely monster), but will likely fly under the radar this year considering their small school status. I’m intrigued to see if they find a big enough meet to get the competition needed to drop a fast enough time to qualify for Indoor States. Otherwise, we have to wait for them to do big things outdoors. These times are really strong, especially for January, but they won’t be enough, by themselves, to get to PSU for state Sunday. Nick Feffer, Owen Wing and Tony Degleris swept the top 3 spots in the open 8 (with SC teammate Craig Hilliard taking 4^th), most likely featuring some doubling from the DMR where SC had two teams. Interested to see if Wing can become a 4^th sub 2 guy for this team in the next couple weeks. He’s having a very nice start to indoors.

Lavino Relays

Personally, I love this meet. I ran at it a couple times, having a great race my junior season and getting a youtube video out of my ugly double during my senior season. It’s a banked track (first one I ever ran on), but it’s not quite as big of a bank as PSU or the Armory. I like the facility, but during indoors just remember that all tracks aren’t created equal. But enough about that, let’s talk about the results.

CB East had quite the impressive day, and not just because of the return of Jake Brophy. Based on the relay runners listed, CB East ran an 8:17.21 (good enough for 6^th in the state with conversions) without arguably their 2 best guys in Shahideh and Brophy.  Freshman David Endres looks like he was slated with anchor duty and held his own in this strong field and I was very impressed with him and his teammates. This is huge for East who has to be considered contenders in either relay and has some flexibility to even leave Jake off one of the relays and still contend for medals in both. That’s not too shabby. CB East also finished as the top PA team in the DMR with a 10:39.91, the first sub 10:40 mark this indoor season for PA. Brophy was back in action on the anchor leg and caught in a fierce kicking battle with the top three down the stretch. I didn’t see the race, so I’m curious how exactly this one played out, but looks like it was a ton of fun.

A few other PA teams clocked some strong 4x8 marks, with CB West running 8:06 and CRN running 8:16, taking the top two spots in the race. CB West crushed this race and beat a very strong CRN team that I still think has room to grow. Looks like Brian Iatarola has made his way onto the relay, replacing Andrew Baker, the lead off leg from last season and only graduating member. Iatarola seemed like more of a long distance guy last track season (solid 3200m runs and solid 3k already this year), so he might be stretching himself a bit here on the back end, but he’s a real gamer who has a state medal in XC and clocked a very fast time at districts on Lehigh’s track like course. The 4^th guy on these teams really could end up the x-factor as a lot of these squads return 3 guys from a year ago and have proven 800 vets in the top couple spots.

Upper Dublin also ran an 8:25 mark that puts them among the early contenders for a back end spot at states in the 4x8. They edged out Pennsbury (no Kersten it appears, so if he can come back this indoors there is room for a drop) and Bensalem among others.

Slippery Rock

It was a week where a lot of the big names started to remerge after their XC layoffs. While some guys jumped out with fast times to grab headlines, Peters Township runner Nick Wolk was quietly racking up three golds at the low key Slippery Rock meet. Wolk won the 1600, 800 and 3k in his debut back in action with times of 4:46-2:14-9:48. The times aren’t mind blowing, but the fields were not soft either. Joseph Westrick of Chartiers Valley and Noah Beveridge of Butler (both top 50 guys during XC and legit WPIAL contenders) were on the line in those events. Also worth noting on a bit smaller of a scale, Seneca Valley grabbed 4x8 gold even without Mike Kolor (who was at Youngstown). They ran just 9 flat so, again, not a mind blowing time, but considering how many guys they had spread out between the two meets and considering their XC success, this team is a sleeper in the relays. Remember they ran about 7:51 or so two years ago at states in the 4x8 and grabbed a medal indoors the same season (from the slow heat).

Youngstown

Speaking of Seneca Valley, their lead runner Mike Kolor is on fire thus far in the winter. He’s been a monster, rolling through the year with 4:18 and 1:56 results prior to this meet (where he ironically ran 4:18 and 1:56). He dominated both fields and, in an intriguing twist, explained afterwards that he is leaning towards an 800m focus over a mile focus in 2016. I think Kolor is definitely the state title favorite in the mile, especially if guys opt for the 8 over the mile because of the 4x8’s new location. The 800m is a bit trickier of a mix. He can win either, but I’d really like to see him double. He’s kind of had a start that reminds of Sam Ritz last season. He’s not as absurdly fast (Ritz had the best indoor season for any mid-distance runner in PA history I’d say), but he has come out the gates firing in both the 8 and the 16 in some high profile meets.

His teammates had some nice runs in this meet as well, especially freshman Seth Ketler who won the slower section of the 1600m thanks to a 4:42. Could we potentially see a DMR from these guys? They were second at WPIALs in XC and they have a nice history of relay success. Stay tuned.

The 1600m was filled with a ton of notable performances behind Kolor as well. Ben Bumgarner from Waynesburg Central ended up as the #2 PA runner with a 4:26.27, suddenly vaulting him among the early state medal favorites in the mile. He is coming off a big breakthrough in XC (that included a pretty clutch run at Hershey). WT’s Tristan Forsythe, another breakout XC runner, added a sub 4:30 1600m as did Bradford sophomore Logan Caruso. Casey Conboy and state champ Griffin Mackey from Sewickley each strong 16s (4:32 and 4:33) with Frankie King of Greensburg Salem adding a 4:34. Greensburg Salem was one of the best stories of this past XC season with a really nice team and excellent top three. They had a decent 4x8 showing this weekend and some nice 1600/800/3200 results as well.

Isaiah Bailey of Penn Hills ran 2:02.73 for 5^th in the 800m (second from PA I believe). I think Bailey is the younger brother of former 1:51 state champ Wil Bailey and he ran in the 1:56-1:57 type range last year as a sophomore. Keep an eye on his development this year as a junior.

In the 3200m Griffin Mackey, Casey Conboy and Logan Caruso were the top 3 PA runners. If the 32 came before the 16, then those 16 times are even more impressive. All the same, these 3200m times on the double (9:51, 10:00 and 10:04 are the equivalent of roughly 9:16, 9:25 and 9:29 according to the PTFCA).

All I can say is I can't wait for the TSTCA to get going in earnest. There is a ton of talent in the WPIAL and I'm excited to see everyone develop once they get a few more meets under their belt.

TFCAofGP

Division 2

At 800m, Malvern Prep's Colin Wills earns 1:59.7 to beat out Kamil Jihad and Liam Galligan who each ran 2:01 and also Sean Sullivan (who ran 2:03). This is another strong time from Wills, adding to a very productive season. He's a fairly versatile runner as well who could probably clock sub 9 in the 3k (his PR may be sub 9 already) and he's really sharpening his speed nicely. I'm not ready to say he is going to hit quite Billy McDevitt level (4:17-1:55 indoors, 1:51 outdoors), but it's hard to imagine Wills isn't on the verge of developing into a strong medal contender in the mile with a good shot at all state. Galligan is having a nice season of his own, show casing some strong range and looking pretty strong at the 8 for a guy I project to chase the 3k at states. Jihad is a strong, consistent 800m guy and still just a soph. I think Sullivan will have a big day in the 8 before all is said and done, but maybe this is a blessing in disguise as the guy has shown big potential in the mile and Bonner has a pretty nice early season DM in the mix.

Joe Previdi of Masterman crushed it in the mile, running 4:34 to take a big W (12+ seconds). That's a nice race out of him, bouncing back from Burdette and proving himself at this distance. Could be a potential mile medalist if things break right this season. I like his speed and he could shine in any of the 3 distance events. Andrew Lombardi had a very nice win in the 3k, running 9:26 and winning by roughly 13 seconds over Sebastian Hoyos. That's a nice win for a lesser known guy on this O'Hara squad and is a solid meet of champs qualifying effort to get the W.

In the two distance relays, a pair of teams that ran late into the XC season, GFS and O'Hara, finally returned to action: and did not disappoint. GFS crushed the 4x800m, running 8:19.12 for 20+ second victory. This team has been predominantly a DMR school in the past decade or so, however, with the new relay rules we might see them make a run at both this year. Hepp on the 12 and Dahl on the 16 plus this result indicates they have a more than capable 800 leg means GFS can not be counted out of the DMR discussion. With Dahl pass on the 3k again for perhaps a fresh shot at the DM? Time will tell.

Meanwhile Cardinal O'Hara won the DMR in impressive fashion, running 10:52 for 1st place. OH is the defending champions in the event and, even though they graduated star anchor Kevin James, their 1200m ace Rob Morro is still on the roster, as is two time XC state medalist Ryan James and up and coming 800m stand out Justin Jones. O'Hara will not go quietly this season as they try for a title defense.

Division One
Jack Armond of Great Valley impressed with a 2:00.52 800m victory to put him up there with the top 10 or so performances of the year at this distance (prior to the Hispanic Games madness at least). Armand qualified for districts last outdoors, but this is one of his first state worthy marks running this 2:00. Last year the 800m had the most scratches of any individual events, so odds say this mark might be good enough to last through the season as a state Q. Meanwhile, Tim Radwanski of CB South emerged for second in a very strong 2:02 performance. CB South has a knack for putting together mid distance talent so it should be fun to see what Radwanski does and what the CB South relays can muster (they've shown flashes of a DMR early this year). Joe Maguire, similar to Galligan in D2, moved down to the 800m and flexed his muscles at that under distance with a strong 2:03.

In the mile, there were plenty of surprises to be found. Sean Conway of Neshaminy, who came into the year as predominantly a 400m man, has jumped all the way up in distance to the mile and has excelled. After running a killer 1:58 already in the TFCAofGP, Conway has now added a 4:36 mile victory in this one. I have to say, I really like the distance work Neshaminy has done in the past two years or so. They have also been strong at the sprints, but they have not had many distance runners to brag about recently. However, last year they put together a really killer state worthy 4x8, sent a runner to XC states out of the loaded district one, and put up some impressive track performances. Now we have Conway's emergence as a stud along with Rusty Kujdych (we will get to him shortly). Awesome stuff from Neshaminy.

In second place, was Pennridge frosh Matt Eissler, who ran a fantastic time of 4:39.22. This kid was on my radar after he put up some strong open performances at the front of slower heats and now he clearly risen to the challenge on the big stage. This is a dangerous weapon to add to an already loaded Pennridge rotation of talent and could be an x-factor in the state relay discussion. Stephen Paul of LaSalle took 3rd place just a few days after the team raced at Haverford. He dropped under 4:40 with a 4:39, just adding to the deep stable of talent on this roster. Paul was a top 50 finisher at XC states and is still just a junior.

Worth noting, Boyertown had sophomores finish 4th in the mile (Dominic Derafelo) and 5th in the 800m (Josh Endy) to pair with Bryton Henry, the individual state qualifier. One way or another, Boyertown has found a way to keep a couple guys in the mix year after year. After graduating 800m studs Dylan Eddinger and Eli Mercado in back to back years, it seems like Boyertown is already reloading nicely for the future.

Now let's talk 3k. This was one of the most impressive performances of the entire weekend and, I will tell you one thing, it was an impressive weekend. Rusty Kujdych of Neshaminy went toe to toe with Jeff Kirshenbaum of Methacton, with Rusty getting the edge 8:48.60 to 8:49.96 for the two best times of the year at this distance. What a fantastic show down as both runners are already in spectacular form in early January. Kirshenbaum now has a 9:29 full 2 mile and 8:49 on his resume to pair with his sub 16 performance at Hershey, so it's hard to discount the Methacton senior from mixing it up in the state title discussion, but the story here to me is Rusty.

As a freshman, Rusty ran in the 9:30s for 3200m, putting him in a very impressive group of young talents like Brophy and Sam Webb who both ran just a touch faster their freshman seasons. Now Kujdych, after a very good XC season that featured a state medal and a near suburban title, has excelled on the track, exploded when he gets to his peak distance of 3,000m and running sub 8:50 in January as just a sophomore. I haven't taken the time to look back through the archives, but I'm not sure there has ever been a sophomore who has run sub 8:50 this early in the season. Can you remember anyone? Brophy's sophomore year I believe he ended around 8:42ish at state. Not sure Kevin James every broke 8:50 as a sophomore indoors. Both those guys ended up running 8:57 for 3200m before they graduated (and Brophy is still going). This is a huge performance.

Nice races were also put forward by Connor McMenamin (yet another fast 3k, running 9:10) and Eddie Goebel of LaSalle (9:12).

North Penn, one of the east coast's kings of the 4x8, grabbed a victory in that relay with an 8:30 time to beat out Owen J Roberts (8:33). North Penn also had Brendan O'Toole in the open 800m, who ran 2:08 to win his section of the race. There are some nice pieces here for North Penn to do what it does best and get back to states in their favorite event. As of now, they right on the edge of a birth at PSU.

In the DMR, LaSalle translated their impressive mile depth they showcased at Haverford earlier this week into one of the state's best DMRs. The Explorers clocked a 10:42.18 to win by 34 seconds in this race, nearly lapping the entire field in their winning efforts. I'd love to know the splits, but it's a safe bet that with Goebel and Paul in the open events (and excelling there), they likely had some combination of Grant, Addison and Price run the relay. Another great relay mark from LaSalle in the DM. I hope they focus on this event (they have a brilliant history in it) despite the fact that last year they leaned 4x8 instead. They can obviously do both with the new system, but I think a lot of teams will be trying the "do both" tactic, which may open the door for a fresh, focused DMR to steal the gold. Maybe LaSalle is that team.

Montgomery Invitational
For those of you who don't scan through Maryland results, I've got a mark you don't want to miss. Camp Hill's Cooper Leslie dropped his mile time from 4:30 down to 4:25.27 on a fast, flat track in Maryland. He earned the victory in a very talented field and now catapults himself to #3 in the state after the win. Leslie still has to prove he can beat the top guys in PA head to head (he was edged out by Wisner in his first race and then defeated by DiCintio, Wills and Fortna at Burdette), but this kind of time shows that when Cooper is on his game, he will be very tough to stop.

Hispanic Games
PA continues to rule the 800m races at the Armory. After Dennis Manyeah, Mike Kolor and Tucker Desko rolled through the track to 1:56 marks, Jaxson Hoey of Downingtown West topped them all just a few weeks later with a blistering 1:54.52. Brett Wolfinger of Quakertown took the pace out very hard out front (roughly 56 flat) and faded slightly over the second half, taking 3rd in 1:57.22 (still a very nice indoor PR for Brett). That opened the door for Jaxson to sprint by in the second half of the race and close things out with his own indoor PR at 1:54. Quite the rust buster and nice to know he is back and healthy after a long XC season.

Some of PA's top guys were peppered through the top 10 finishers as Jake Good of PA #1 Abington finished 6th overall in 1:57.87, Charlie Scales of the Haverford School earned 8th with a 1:58.23 and Josh Hoey finished 10th in 1:58.81. Those times are all among the best times in the state this year and well under the SQS. DTW clearly has the pieces for a killer DMR behind the Hoeys and 400m champion Josh McLemore who ran 48.5 in the open and, considering their strength in XC, it's not crazy to think this team could be targeting yet another team state championship.

PA also got strong runs from Matt Kraus of Tennent (2:00.39) and Joe Angelina of Penncrest (2:00.96).

PA also got a victory in the mile, but not quite the same way. Pennridge's Tucker Desko took things out hard after being placed in the slower of two invitational sections of the mile at the Armory. He went out at 62 seconds, faster than anybody in even the fast heat. He slowed a bit through the middle section, but he closed things down under 30 seconds for the final 200m and clocked a PA #2 4:20.17. That's an excellent time for Desko and it's a real shame he, once again, was out of the fast heat and had to do things the hard way. However, that will make him stronger when it comes time for states when, based on the times he run, he will almost definitely be in the fast section of whichever individual event he chooses. He mentioned in his post race interview he is after US #1 in the 800m, so that may end up his focus long term and it could be an easier double from the 4x8 as opposed to the mile.

Ryan Paradise of Emmaus added a 4:30.37 finish for PA, dropping roughly 10 seconds from his time earlier this year on the same track. The District 11 stand out has pushed himself with some of the top competition a couple times this year which should prepare him well for a loaded state meet should his time get him there later this winter.

In the non invite section, PA continued to find success. Seth Slavin from Pleasant Valley and James Abrahams from Haverford Township finished 2nd and 3rd in the Varsity section, clocking 4:32.28 and 4:32.88. Both times are pretty quick and are nice improvements from the duos earlier marks at Burdette. I think Abrahams, who had a nice XC season breaking 16 minutes at Lehigh, also has some very strong 800m speed, which may mean he could be running a nice time down in distance soon. Meanwhile, Slavin is more of a long distance specialist based on his early results, but that hasn't stopped him from holding his own in impressive fashion in his last couple mile efforts.

Although not the focus of this blog, the boys from Abington rolled to a victory in the 4x400m to close out the meet, running a blazing fast 3:21.11 for the win. In state rivals Penn Wood were running on mostly tired legs after Manyeah and Seck competed in the open 400m which opened the door for Abington to earn back PA #1 honors. The Abington boys stated they wanted the 4x8 and 4x4 double at states which likely means the DMR is on the back burner as far as priorities go. They also will have Smith as a title contender in the open 4 and probably unleash Jake Good in the open 8 as a medal contender. So maybe a team trophy could be in the cards for this mid distance school.

Regardless of who did what this weekend, there are still plenty of questions left unanswered and plenty of runners who think they have the answers.