Some Early Recaps

by Jarrett Felix

First off, gotta say thanks to the writers for jumping in and really going all in on the first episode of TheRoundHouse. I think it went about as well as you could hope for it in a first attempt. Still plenty we can improve on, but it was a lot of fun and we will definitely be looking to do it again (injecting some more PA flair, some more competition and maybe a few more surprises). I’ll try to give you guys a bit more advanced notice before the next edition so you have a better chance to watch us live on YouTube and participate on Twitter with us. As always, suggestions, constructive criticism and ideas are welcomed.

But that’s enough about that. Let’s get back to the actual running.

The weekend looks like it will be jam packed with excellent meets so I figure it can’t hurt to try and knock out a couple recaps on the early side of things. Penntrack did a great job with videos, photos, etc. at the Knights Invitational so if you have a milesplit account feel free to jump on and check out some of that good stuff. But if you are a big fan of reading lots of words about running, I got you. I so got you.

The 1600m is peaking up steam in a hurry. In a dual meet, State College had four guys between 4:25 and 4:27 with a roughly 60 second last lap. (Check out those results here). Our intel out West says that Nick Wolk of Peters and Ian Harris of Lebo dueled at a dual as well (4:22 for Wolk, 4:26 for Harris). And now the latest from the Knight Invitational is Sophomore Evan Addison, who won the 1600 in 4:23. That’s a big breakthrough for the soph after a strong indoor season (excellent 4x8 leg at indoor states). LaSalle has a pretty nice record when it comes to milers (they have two sub 4 guys nowadays in Dan Lowry and Tom Coyle) and Addison is just starting to his stride. Could be a big next couple weeks for him. Of course, he’s got quite the group of running partners in his corner as Brendan Price (4:26), Eddie Goebel (4:32) and Stephen Paul (4:34) all finished in the top 7. They also took 9, 10 and 11 with three more guys at 4:45. This is after an XC season that featured 7 guys under 17 at Hershey. Just to clarify that’s a seven and not a one that I just wrote sloppily. In fact, I didn’t even it write it at all, I typed it on a computer. They really just need a “star” leg to transform that relay squad to the next level. After this meet, they have two guys who look like they might be stars. I’ll get to that.

Meanwhile, North Penn, who also has a pretty nice resume for churning out beasts, now gives us another name to watch in Brendan O’Toole. He’s also a sophomore and now is a 4:25 1600 guy, cutting nearly 10 seconds off his indoor time. Did he run this time on the double as well? As North Penn ran 8 flat in the 4x8, finishing just three seconds back of Abington (who ran 7:57 for the dub). Not only does NP have some intriguing 4x8 pieces currently (like 400 guy Dante Watson who cracked 50 seconds in this one), but they have a really good young core that I don’t think many people are taking notice of. With some extra seasoning this spring, we could see a big emergence for these Knights in the fall.

Rounding out the top 5 finishers (he was 4^th, but we talked about 5^th placer Eddie Goebel already) was Christian Troemel from Abington. Pretty amazing that a 4:31 guy can get swallowed up in a mid distance program, but that’s how good this team has been. Oh by the way, Troemel is also a sophomore. Props to him for a killer race.

At 800m, not to be out done by Addison, senior Patrick Grant dropped a big PR of 1:56.65 for the win. Grant ran 1:57 on the double last year so this was in play, but dropping this kind of time and beating a couple studs in Hudson Delisle (also a sophomore, by the way, in case you were looking for more craziness with that class) and Stephen McClellan. Could LaSalle be a sleeper pick for the COA at Penn Relays? They had a strong race there last year and they return a lot of guys with that all important “E” word that we said about 100x on our YouTube show (that would be experience for those who didn’t watch). Addison and Price both ran 2:01 in this one (on the double I’m assuming based on the order) and Mac Costonis added a 2:03.37 to round out the group. For back up, Luke Ullman ran 2:05.55 and finished 11^th overall (2^nd in his heat).

As mentioned, Hudson Delisle, one of the top sophs in the state, ran a 1:57.44 for 2^nd in this race and continues to drop time. He and Wolfinger are a dynamite one two punch. Of course that fact that Hudson is just a sophomore jumps out most. As a commenter mentioned, the sophs during XC were on a different plane time wise than years past, but guys like Addison, Delisle and O’Toole weren’t even included in that discussion but have crushed it on the hard surface. Dang. Might have to do a post on this class …

Josh Coleman with a great race for Abington, again showing off their depth in the mid distance. He ran 2:03 for the win in his section and, naturally, he’s also a sophomore.

LaSalle completed the distance sweep with Frank Livolsi taking the 3200 title in a very quick 9:38. Frank won this won by nearly 20 seconds over PCL rival Joe Piscano. Livolsi had a very strong XC season, but this 3200 time is arguably more impressive and, in a solo effort, puts him within just a few seconds of a state qual time in the event. Should be fun to see how he matches up with the other PCL studs including his teammates and the guys wearing the big O on their chest.

Shout out to the 400 from this one. Seck beats Smith of Abington in a thriller with both guys in the 49s. Penn Wood adds another sub 50 guy in the open along with Seck in Kenneth Johnson who finished 3^rd overall from one of the slower sections. Curious if Johnson has any interest in moving up to 800 like Seck and Manyeah have done with great success. Jahi Smith just ran 2:01 in the open 8 so this squad is shaping up very nicely in the mid distances.

Awesome 4x4 in this one as well with Abington at 3:19, Upper Darby at 3:20, Penn Wood at 3:23 and North Penn at the same. That’s with St. Joe’s Prep who has a killer squad but didn’t compete in this one. That’s gonna be a fun event come state time.

At Bensalem, despite the fact that the meet was running a little later than originally planned, the times were still quick. At 800m, William Tennent made a strong statement with a 1-2 finish and a pair of sub 2 runners. Matt Kraus, who really excelled during indoors, dropped to a 1:58 but the bigger surprise to me was the strong mark posted by Christian Craig who earned silver for WT. That’s a killer 1-2 punch if this team can round out their relay (and they had an underrated XC team so maybe they can swing it?). Andrew Crosby of Cheltenham also got under 2 minutes for what I believe was the first time. Shout out to him on the big mark.

Cheltenham nearly went LaSalle in this one as Wolfgang Schambacher of Cheltenham won the 1600 in 4:33 and Will Griffen took gold in the 3200 in a 9:29. Yes a 9:29. That’s a huge run for Griffen in a stacked group that included Rusty Kujdych (9:33) and Patrick Donahue (9:37). That’s the fastest 3200 of the year so far with that top three and Griffen makes a big statement about his contender status with his W. Griffen was sneaky good during indoors and competed mostly at 2 miles rather than the shorter (and easier to qualify in) 3,000m. Awesome job for Griffen, now we will see how he handles the next month or so.

And hey, Cheltenham, even without John Lewis, is making surprising moves at the distance events. Traditionally, they’ve been more of a sprint school, but their distance team is really good. They were right in the hunt for states indoor in the DMR (I think they should have been invited to participate based on their performances) and now they are out with a vengeance to start the spring.

One last thing, defending state champs Pennsbury took the win in the 4x8, running away with gold in 8:13. Never underestimate a defending champ. That’s all I have to say about that.

Seems prudent to