Shippensburg Preview

by Jarrett Felix

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AA 3200m

Gabe Allgayer won’t get to run at Shippensburg this outdoors (he’s Independent league) so this is big chance to run on the famous track against some PIAA themed competition. Allgayer, the runner up in XC for Independents, will face two of the best in the game: Will Kachman and Zach Seiger. Kachman was 4th at AA states this year, breaking 16:10 at Hershey, and also ran under 9:20 last year. He’s got a packed schedule this weekend (steeplechase and 1600 are also on his agenda), but I believe the 3200 is the first event and Kachman will likely want to make a statement in his best event. AAA’s Zach Seiger hits the track after battling injuries for the past few months. He’s another huge talent, especially in tough, grind it out type races. If he’s healthy, he is one of the best pure distance guys in the state.

AAA 3200m

This field is quite the hodgepodge of two milers and sure to be a fun race to watch. Jack DiCintio moves up in classification here as the Wyomissing Senior ironically will dodge the man with the fastest PR in this field (AA’s Will Kachman). DiCintio has the ability to run in the low 9:20s this race with the right push. Alex Milligan, the two time top 30 finisher in XC and 4:17 miler, will be looking to topple DiCintio at some serious over distance. Milligan, who has 1:52 speed, is looking to establish some solid strength on race day and will shoot for a time in the low 9:20s like former teammate Will Cather could do back in his senior season.

Kevin Lapsansky from Easton, a multi-time XC medalist, will also look to hang around with these top two names. Lapsanksy was just south of 9:30 last spring and also has run under 4:30 for 1600. His teammate Colin Abert ran very quick at this race in the past couple years and now Kevin will look to follow in his footsteps. Also sure to be in the mix (following some strong teammates of his own) is Kyler Shea of Lower Dauphin. After breaking 16 minutes at Carlisle this fall, Shea will be looking to dip into the 9:20s for the first time.

Don’t forget about guys like Andrew Brown of Cumberland Valley, Dan Filler of Gettysburg or Nick Norton of Hempfield. I’m also interested to see how Dallas sophomore Jack Zardecki does in this group after medaling at XC states this past fall in AA.

AAA 4x800m

Assuming the relay entries hold, it’s not a crazy stacked 3200 relay field, but it’s definitely a very intriguing one. I really like what I saw from both Eastern York and Williamsport last week in the 4x8. They both ran under 8:10 and showed some nice potential, particularly Williamsport who left with gold against Altoona. Both teams should likely get a strong push from State College who, although they are slated to run a “B” squad, have a multitude of guys looking to scare 2 minutes on their roster. Hilliard and Feffer have been down in that range before and should help make the race interesting.

My sleeper teams here would be Easton and Cumberland Valley. I’m very excited about what I have seen from Cumby in their recent dual meets and I think they could definitely pop something fast in the right race. Soliman has looked very strong in recent action, it’s more up to the other guys to show they have the raw speed need for a two lapper. Easton, meanwhile, was a state qualifying type team last year and, although they lose Abert, they still have some quick guys, mainly Stephen Kraus.

AA 4x800m

Who knows if Camp Hill will go after the 4x8 once again, but they’ve got a pretty stacked schedule for this meet. If they do contest it, they should get nice battles from the boys at Lewisburg and Trinity. These are two of the consistent AA powerhouses in this event (I believe they finished 1-2 in this event around 2011).

AA 1600m

Kachman and Seiger will both come back from the 3200 for this one while Cooper Leslie, Blake Behney and Anthony Bach may all be coming back from the 4x800. So this race, potentially, is prime for an upset. That being said, we saw Leslie’s ability to triple last weekend (and Behney had a pretty strong double as well) so it’s going to take a big effort to defeat either member of Camp Hill’s duo. I’m interested to see how Kachman handles the 16-32 double. He likes this double a lot and usually gives it a shot come outdoor states (along with the 4x8) so I’m looking to see if he can come back with a low 4:20s type mark against Leslie, who has been paying rent in that territory for over a year.

AAA 1600m

Some doubling may come into play in this race (mainly for the Cumberland Valley guys) but two of the favorites should be fresh and ready to go. Will Alpaugh of Freedom is coming off his best XC season of his career and has run in the low 4:20s for 1600 as a junior. Meanwhile Brody Beiler made the fast heat at indoor states and went toe to toe with David Fletcher of Mt Caramel in a marquee early season 1600 match up. Although neither run comes from one of the glamorous districts in the state, both guys are very talented and looking to make a name for themselves.

State College will send out a trio of stand outs to compete in this event as well. Members of the team’s 7:45 indoor 4x8, Nick Feffer, Owen Wing and Anthony Degleris, will compete in the 1600 after a trip under 4:30 in a pack running dual meet effort. Feffer ran the fastest indoor mile of the bunch and just recently added an individual state medal for XC to his trophy case.

Two of the best runners in their respective class, freshman Jack Wisner and sophomore Morgan Cupp, will also contest this event. Some sleepers include Dylan Bucior from Jim Thorpe (having a great season, just needs the right race to dip under 4:30) and David Snyder.

AAA 800m

Looks like a ton of guys doubling back for this one as many of the top names are scheduled for the 4x8, 16, 32 or open 4. We still should see a Mid Penn style rematch between Matt Wisner, Nick Feffer and Alex Milligan in the 800, all with tired legs hoping to prevail. With Peretta moving to AA for outdoors, Wisner becomes the top returner indoors and out in this event. He will have a lot of guys gunning for him this weekend, especially if he tries the very tricky 4-8 double.

Watch out for guys like Brett George from Altoona (consistent sub 2 last year), Calvin Schneck of Whitehall (another district 11 stand out) and Luke Everidge of CD East (a 400 guy who can move up to the 8 very well). Everidge could surprise everybody in this one. He’s got killer speed and, given the right opportunity, he could have a massive breakthrough. Remember, this meet last year featured a massive breakthrough from Red Lion’s Ethan Gatchell. Who is next?

AA 800m

Camp Hill will send three in this race as well, including Leslie on perhaps another triple. Ian Gabig will run this event as will Dan Shank and will skip the 1600. If they end up going in this one fresh (i.e. no “A” team in the 4x8) I’m very interested to see how fast they can go from scratch. CH will need a complete team to really become favorites in the state title race as there are a few teams with studs on the anchor. A lot less teams that go 3 or 4 deep, especially in AA.

Keep an eye on Matt Geisler of Trinity and Jared Hinkle of Weatherly. I think Hinkle could run a real nice time. He’s been developing nicely, under the radar in district eleven. These two head up my sleeper list.