3,000m Recap

By Jarrett Felix

The Race

Perhaps the youngest man in the field was the first to control the pace, unafraid of the two XC state champs lurking behind him. Rusty Kujdych controlled the pace through 400m in around 63 seconds according to the loud speakers while Hockenbury and Brophy sat in the lead two chase spots. Liam Galligan (doubling from the mile) and Seth Slavin were already falling off the pace a bit as things clicked off under state record pace through the first quarter.

After about 700m of work, Hockenbury took the reigns at the front to lead it through 800m followed by Kujdych, Brophy, Wolk and then Kirshenbaum. The pace had strung out the field quicker than the mile or the 800 had before it and some runners were taking a cautious approach to the opening surge. Hockenbury continued to keep things honest while Brophy eventually moved back into second with Wolk jockeying alongside him for a bit. At the mile, Hockenbury and Brophy had gapped their pursuers just a bit with Kirsh now holding third. Meanwhile, Nate Henderson had moved up into the medal positions, taking over 6th place just before hitting the 1600m split. Sappey was just on his shoulder with Casey Conboy nearby as well.

After the mile, Henderson really started to cut into that gap, looking strong and confident. Although Hock and Brophy had made a strong move to separate themselves, Henderson was now in the primary chase back behind Krish, Wolk and Kujdych. Moser had push his way into 7^th and Sappey was holding tight to the final medal spot. But most eyes were on Hockenbury as he opened up a small cushion on Brophy who looked tired and fatigued. Hock looked smooth and strong, powering around the track gracefully and perhaps beginning to break Jake. Eventually, a little after the 2k, Henderson made another small move to push up to third. The trio of Henderson, Kirshenbaum and Wolk had the advantage of working together and seemed to have Brophy in their sights.

 

At about 500m Henderson caught Brophy and kept his eyes ahead. Hockenbury was still looking good at the front of the pack. Kirshenbaum had a solid hold on fourth and then Wolk was fighting to hang tough in 5th. Kujdych was still in 6^th, but a flurry of runners were now jockeying together for the last medal spots, thanks to a big second half from Seth Slavin. Taking away the focus from the medal fight was an intense battle out front as Hockenbury held a commanding lead entering the bell lap, roughly 3 seconds up on Brophy. Amazingly, Brophy found a gear and starting kick, distancing himself from Henderson before finally, absurdly, emerging back into sight and sprinting his way just ahead of Hock to claim his first indoor state title.

Analysis

In one huge kick, Jake Brophy transformed his legacy. I doubt he was thinking about that while it was happening (in fact I know he wasn’t thinking about that), but it really was a huge moment for him historically. Up until that point with one lap to go, Jake had finished 5^th and 8^th in his last two individual track state championships (plus an 8^th in the DMR). He had entered the state meet as a co-favorite with his 8:57, but had ended up slipping in an absolutely stacked field.

Flash forward to indoors. Jake is a favorite and near unanimous pick for state gold. The pace isn’t back breaking (he’d already basically run a mid 8:30s 3k solo at Lehigh) and he’s fresh after scratching the 4x8. He slips all the way back to third, looking tired and it seems like he’s got no shot at the gold. That would put him 0/3 in state gold attempts on the track the last two seasons. But instead, he rallies with a tremendous display of guts and determination and nips Hockenbury at the line in an eerie flash back to McGoey a year ago. Now we will remember Brophy as a champion with a strong kick who holds 3 state golds (and counting) who measured himself out perfectly to be as fresh as possible for the DMR. That’s a clutch finish.

Listening to Jake’s post race interview, it’s clear that his mind was somewhere else during the race. He was very focused on saving something for the DMR (a very tricky double) and just wanted to do the minimum he could and still win. That extra mental strain almost proved to be too much to overcome. You have to respect how team oriented the guy is. Even after the race, when he nearly cost himself a state title because of his focus on the relay, he said his goal outdoors was to win a state title on a relay. And it’s not like the kid is all talk either. His sophomore year, after finishing 3^rd indoors at 3,000, he completely gave up the 3200 to run the 4x8 outdoors (and anchored the team to a school record and top 3 finish). As a junior, after winning states in XC and being arguably the favorite for state gold in the 3k, he passed on his better event to run the mile in the hopes that he would be better rested for the team’s DMR at meet’s end. Outdoors of the same year, he first ran the 4x8 prelims at Penn Relays, possibly taking some juice away from his 3k later that night (although it seems like it didn’t), and helped his team qualify for the COA. Then, he was willing to run the 3200-4x8 double at districts outdoors, but his team ended up missing out on a top 8 spot. And after everything he achieved this past XC season, in the interview he did with the blog, he said his favorite moment of the year might have been qualifying for states as a team in cross country. Unselfish seems like it may be an understatement.

But moving on from the Brophy love fest, there were plenty of other terrific performances to appreciate. Dominic Hockenbury and Nate Henderson may have each featured a little déjà vu on race day, but both should be very proud of their achievements to date. Hock ran yet another gutsy race, closing furiously and nearly stealing the state title in an upset victory, but once again ended up being run down at the line. Despite that fact, Hock picked up his 3^rd state silver to go along with his 4 state golds. Starting his sophomore year, Hock has finished 1^st or 2^nd in every single state championship he has contested. That’s a brilliant resume. I’m hoping he gets his sub 9 this spring. The Henderson Invite could feature a special rematch between himself and Brophy.

Meanwhile, Henderson, too, was in a familiar position at states. Last outdoors, the sophomore ran a brilliant race, patiently running the first mile before attacking the second half of the race. Outdoors, he moved into medal position before falling to Brophy’s absurd kick on the last lap. Indoors, Henderson was making a charge for the lead before Jake ended up finding that extra gear once again. But, as just a junior remember, Nate is mixing it up with two guys that have a combined 7 state championships. With 400 meters to go, I really thought he might win the race. He’s been tops in his grade at each of his last four state championship competitions. With continued to development of his finishing kick, a state title could be just around the corner.

Say what you will about Jeff Kirshenbaum’s false start in the mile, but in my opinion, it was definitely a smart move in terms of optimizing his chances of getting a top state medal. Kirsh has been one of the best in the state at this distance and has already made huge drops in time (he’s taken roughly 15 seconds off his outdoor PR). Nick Wolk continues a strong season finishing 5^th in the championships, I believe his first career track medal. In head to head races, I don’t think Wolk has lost to anyone in the WPIAL with fresh legs since last spring, which is a pretty impressive feat in that district. I believe this was his third straight week running the 3,000 which, in my opinion, can be a little tiring. It’s also just his second trip under 9 minutes in his career. He’s got upside for outdoor in both the mile (where he might have been undefeated this year) and the 3k.

Seth Slavin and Henry Sappey barely scratched their way into this meet. They both had the exact same seed time (8:56.13) and were originally added as #12 and #13. Once Hockenbury was added, that pushed them to #13 and #14. So it’s not crazy to think if Hock had not been mistakenly left off the first round of acceptances, there’s a chance both Slavin and Sappey would not have qualified (there were only supposed to be 12 spots). Which goes to show you the “top 12 system” may not produce the best 8 guys in the state on the medal stand. But regardless, this isn’t supposed to be an indictment of the system (I’ve already done that), it should be a celebration of a couple smart racers who ran PRs at the perfect time. Sappey continues a nice clutch streak with his 3^rd individual state medal. With the ability to focus full time on the longer distance , rather than the relays, he’s excelled. Meanwhile, Slavin earns his first state medal after barely missing one in XC (but running a terrific regional race). Gotta say, watching Slavin run such a poised and smart race was incredibly impressive. One of the strongest performances of the day. Slavin vs. Lapsansky this outdoors in the 3200 should be a fun match up and hopefully some of the District’s talented milers jump up every once in a while to add an extra twist.

Will Loevner of Winchester Thurston rounded out the group with an 8^th place finish, avenging his 9^th place finish from a year ago. The WT senior has qualified for states in this event 3 straight years while also acquiring two XC individual medals and two outdoor 3200m medals (and counting). Marc Migliozzi, also of the WPIAL, fell to the dreaded nine spot, but still cracked 9 minutes for the second straight week. Just a few weeks ago he was sitting with a PR around 9:12. Now he has experience as a medal contender in a state championship final (his first on the track). It’s been a big breakthrough year for Migz and, knowing this team and his talent, I’d expect it to carry through to the track.