Poreda Recap

By Jarrett Felix

An Ocean Breeze Preview will be coming this afternoon/tonight, but I figured since I skipped out on last weekend’s recap in exchange for a couple podcasts, I’d get in a quick Poreda recap this morning as a bit of a consolation prize. So let’s jump in …

In the DMR, PA’s top finishers were the boys from Neshaminy, led by Sean Conway and Rusty Kujdych on the two end legs. The relay clocked a 10:43.64 for 2^nd place overall with splits of about 3:13-53-2:08-4:28 according to our Dylan Jaklitsch. This marks Neshaminy’s second sub 10:50 of the season and puts them at #6 in the indoor standings. I’d be stunned of this mark wasn’t good enough to clinch a spot at states in the event and now, with their consistently strong marks in the event, you have to start taking Neshaminy serious as a potential all-state candidate (top 4) in the relay. Realistically, with the new order of events, basically every team who contests the DMR will have at least one guy doubling so if Neshaminy is the team that decides to go fresh, that could play a big advantage.

That being said, Rusty Kujdych, their sophomore anchor who has been running excellent marks this year, has run 8:48 for 3k and is currently #2 in PA behind Nick Dahl (who I’m currently speculating will scratch the 3k to help focus on the DM) so is this team really willing to scratch the potential #1 seed in the state? Also throw in the fact that Sean Conway is a sleeper pick to make noise in the 800m and you have some tough choices for this program. Speaking of which, keep a sharp eye on Conway the rest of the way. He’s currently #10 in the indoor standings for 800m when you count in the flat track conversion and I think he has the potential to drop a ton of time down the stretch of the season. He’s still a relative newbie to the longer stuff considering his previous work in the 400m, but after a 3:13 in the 1200 and 4:36 mile effort, it’s hard to deny the kid is hitting another level.

GFS and CB East both raced “B” squads in the DMR and produced strong 11:10 and 11:11 marks in the relay. CB West, with their own “B” squad, clocked an 11:22 to win the slower section.

Jake Brophy’s individual debut did not disappoint as the senior won the mile with a time of 4:22.89 to defeat Rock Fortna of rival CB West (4:24.34). Apparently, the race didn’t get out too fast as the field once again defaulted to Brophy for pacing duties. Considering, more or less, this has happened to Jake in the majority of his races against PA competition, it has to be a bit disheartening. Brophy never struck me as much of a grinder for fast times, but rather a racer and competitor who takes what the race gives him and goes for the win. But still, let’s not undersell this. 4:22.89 is plenty fast (probably around what he ran last year prior to the state meet) and currently would place him as the #4 seed for states, ahead of four time state champ Domenic Peretta, among others.

In his post race interview, Brophy confirmed what I had previously speculated on my podcast: his individual event choice will likely hinge almost solely on his team’s choice for the relay. I think most people (or at least me) feel like he has a better shot at gold in the 3k, but his team may have the best shot at a high medal in the DMR (a 3k-DMR double would be incredibly difficult). The team’s 4x8 is no joke as they ran 8:06 on a flat track and have run 8:17 and 8:16 during their two trips to Lavino with various levels of substitutions or tired legs. But to win the DMR, you often need a transformative leg on either anchor or 1200m and only a few teams have that as of now on paper (GFS, DTW, Pennridge and CB East with potential for you to talk me in to CB West).

To clarify what I mean by “transformative”, here is a list of some of the stars on the indoor state champ DMRs:

2008: LaSalle – Dan Lowry, multiple 4:12s and PCL championships

2009: Upper Dublin – Mike Palmisano 4:13/1:52, 1600m state champ
2010: WC Henderson – Will Kellar 4:12.00, 1600m state champ
2011: Wissahickon – Hong Cho 1:50 800m, 800m state champ (1200m leg), also one of the slowest if not the slowest state championship time
2012: Great Valley – Ned Willig 4:11/1:51, Mile state champ
2013: LaSalle – Tom Coyle 1:51/4:11, 1600m state champ
2014: WC Henderson – Tony Russell 4:09, Mile state champ, (briefly) indoor state record holder
2015: Cardinal O’Hara – Kevin James 8:57/4:10/1:54 Mile state runner up

In other words transformative might not be a strong enough word.

Sorry I could a little carried away with the side bar … getting back on track … Rock Fortna’s 4:24 is also an excellent mark and, when combined with his 1:57 split, shows that this guy is a super talent. Since his team is running the 4x8 at states (they basically guaranteed it in their post-race interview and it wasn’t a surprise), the 4x8-mile double would be tricky (I’m guessing he would opt for the open 8), but if he is able to pull of the double he is a serious medal contender. His teammate Brian Iatarola ran a sick 4:34.33 as well and sets himself up nicely for a run at a sub 9 3k before all is said and done. Khayre Ali of the Hill School ran a 4:31 to put himself in the crowded mile qualifying picture (his time is 25^th as of now in the standings) and Josh Goetz of CB East crushed the second section of the open mile, clocking a 4:41 to win by over four seconds.

And lastly, we have the 4x8. It was apparently quite the exciting race with CB West running down Union Catholic on the anchor leg to take the victory in 8:02. Even with an anchor leg on tired legs, West was able to get the victory and lower their state seed time down to 8:02, currently PA #2 behind only Abington. Splits were reportedly Zerweck 2:02, Claricurzio 2:00, Hofer 2:02.9 and Fortna 1:57 high (coming from a couple sources, including the athletes themselves). CB West seemed pretty excited after the win (as they should be) and has to be very excited about where Fortna is at. It’s not outlandish to speculate he could manage 1:55 on the anchor with fresh legs and more chasing duties. Hofer dropping to 2:02 on the third leg was also big. Not only does this allow Iatarola to focus on the mile-3k (where he has big upside), but it gives the team a more natural 800m leg with the potential to improve. I’d still slot Abington just ahead of these guys in my “power rankings” but the title picture is wide open. I’d say any of the top 7 teams right now in the state have realistic gold medal possibilities.

GFS was the second PA team to cross the line, taking third overall with a time of 8:05.79. That puts them as the hypothetical six seed for states as things currently stand. According to the entries (which aren’t necessarily correct) GFS clocked that mark without one of their top (indoor) four lappers in Jonnie Plass. My usual go to source for GFS splits (GFS Track & XC on twitter) didn’t post splits this go round, but apparently GFS set their school record at this meet (for indoors). Not too shabby considering the successful teams they have had come through the program. Couple that with their 4x4 school record (3:31 with apparently the same four guys that run the DMR) they recently set at Yale and the speed is clearly there for this roster. If they choose to pursue the 4x8, I think there is still room to drop time, but the more natural fit for this team’s talent is the DMR. Of course considering their individual accolades to this point, it’s hard to say for sure what the strategy will be. As usual, some sacrifices will have to be made.

For the record, most years GFS has loaded up a fresh DMR and scrapped the individual events. That’s usually always the play. However, occasionally they throw us a curve ball. Here’s a quick recap …

2015 - 10:27.31 (4^th) – Fresh squad, Dahl and Hepp scratch from some top seeds

2014 - 10:42.55 (10^th) – Fresh squad, Dahl and Hepp scratch
2013 -10:32.71 (5^th) – Aziz and Wistar focus on the mile rather than the 3k, arguably both guy’s better event
2012 -10:45.70 (7^th) – Aziz runs the 3k (places 3^rd), they run a completely fresh squad in the DMR without him I believe
2011 - 10:32.86 (6^th) – Fresh squad
2010 - 10:23.71 (3^rd) – Fresh squad, McKenzie and Waterman scratch
2008 - 10:41.00 (7^th) – Fresh squad, they ran their top 3 guys in open events (all of whom medaled) and still medaled in the relay
2007 - 10:24.86 (3^rd) – Fresh squad, Kaulbach and McKenzie scratch, Ortiz runs 3k but likely wasn’t on DM to begin with
 

Sorry, off topic again ….

The point is 7/8 they throw out a completely fresh squad and the exception still featured a couple guys scratching from their best event.

Finally, worth noting was Pennsbury’s domination of the second section of the 4x8. Here comes the defending state champs! Despite still not having Kersten listed in any race results, the team is still producing. They ran 8:23 to run away with their section and put themselves at 13^th in the adjusted state indoor standings for the event. That means they are a state bubble team as things currently stand, but they have consistently been making drops in time. Don’t be surprised if these guys find a way to compete for a medal even without their big stars from a year ago. Especially if Kersten comes back and can return to anything like his 1:55 lead off form.