The Weekend Review: Shaq Walker 1:44.99!; Ches Falls To Gilbert

By: Garrett Zatlin

Sorry for the delay on this post! There was a ton of fast results to mention as well as tons of PA alumni stuff so let's get to it!

Jim Click Invitational
800
Tre'tez Kinnaird (OKST) got the win with a nice time of 1:48.74. It's a nice early season time for Kinnaird who will have to drastically improve in order to compete with this deep 800 field.

1500
Josh Thompson (OKST) holds off Futsum Z (NAU), 3:46.77 to 3:46.90. It's not the fastest time, but Thompson still seems to be on top of his game in terms of tactical running.

The Big Meet- Stanford vs Cal
800
Stanford flexes their depth in the 800 with Justin Brinkley and Tai Dinger running 1:49.81 and 1:49.84 to take the top two spots in this race. Brinkley has been showing some promising improvement in the 800. Watch out for him to drop a faster time later on in the season.

1500
Stanford was out for revenge after the loss Cal gave them last year. McGorty, Coyle, and Fisher went 1-2-3 all running 3:42. Right off the bat, this is pretty monumental for Stanford. McGorty is still near top form, Coyle (PA Alumni) rebounds from a slightly off winter season, and Fisher shows that age is just a number.

It's also important to note that Fisher actually ran attached for Stanford and not unattached. Fisher actually being able to compete for at NCAA's this year shakes up the 1500 scene (or even the 5k).

LSU Battle on the Bayou
800
Former Alabama runner, Alex Amankwa takes the win running for Ghana with a time of 1:48.31. However, the top collegiate was Blair Henderson (LSU) who was not even a step behind with a time of 1:48.35. Amankwa's former teammate, Jacopo Lahbi was third running 1:48.56. Rounding out the top five was Allen Eke (Oklahoma) and Jack Wilkes (LSU), who ran 1:49.57 and 1:49.77 respectively.

Pepsi Invitational
800
Kidder and Harris (both of PSU) go 1-2 running 1:47.40 and 1:47.87. I'm surprised we haven't seen either of those guys pursue a 1500 yet, but Harris is showing that he is the real deal.

USC's Robert Ford was third with a time of 1:47.94 while Grant Grosvenor (Oregon) and Jordan Mankins (PSU) rounded out the top five running 1:48.85 and 1:49.61 respectively.

1500
Izaic Yorks (Washington) is still in top form as he takes down a loaded field with a fast time of 3:41. Yorks held off veteran Robbie Creese (PSU) and Sam Prakel (Oregon) as they ran times of 3:42. Blake Nelson (Washington) ran 3:43 while Blake Haney (Oregon) had a bit of an off day running 3:46.

PA alum Colin Abert (PSU) was sixth with a time of 3:47 (a PR).

5000
It's a tricky race to breakdown, but the headlines read that Gilbert (Washington) out-kicked Cheserek to get the win. Gilbert recorded a time of 13:44 while Cheserek was 13:50.

It's tough to say if Cheserek really was off his game, but in the long-run it doesn't really matter. After this indoor season, are you really going to start betting against him? I certainly won't...

That said, you can't take away the absolutely great race that Gilbert had. He's been improving with each season and has become incredibly consistent. He is a huge sleeper when regional and nationals roll around.

Jake Leingang (Oregon) was third with a time of 14:07 while PA alum Glen Burkhardt (PSU) was 5th with a time of 14:20.

3000 Steeplechase
Andrew Gardner (Washington) gets the win with a nice time of 8:53 while PA alum Ean DiSilvio (PSU) was second running 8:58.

Another PA alum to make note of is Ryan Gil (Oregon) who finished third overall with a time of 9:02. Gil was scheduled to run the 1500 on the performance list, but must've switched last second. While he has shown that his steeplechase skills are top-notch, I actually think he has a better shot at pursuing the 1500 when you consider how much he improved his mile time this past winter.

Baylor Invite
800
Brandon Moore (Baylor) was the victor with a time of 1:49.14. He wasn't active this past season, but watch for him the junior to make some noise like he did last year.

Tiger Track Classic
800
It was a fun battle between Mid. Tenn. State's Sampson Laari and Clemson's John Lewis (a PA alum). Laari got the best of Lewis out running him with times of 1:48.01 and 1:48.19.  Behind them were Brennan Munley (Michigan) and Jordan Huntoon (Indiana). They were 1:50 and 1:51 respectively.

Laari has been improving as of late and had some really solid races towards the end of the winter season. Meanwhile, Lewis grabs a nice PR and gains momentum heading into the season.

37th Annual Sun Angel Classic
800
This was all anyone could talk about the past few days. Shaquille Walker (BYU) ripped open an unbelievable time of 1:44.99 to get the win at ASU. Goaner Deng (Minnesota) followed with a nice PR of 1:46.81.

For those keeping track, the NCAA record is 1:44.55. If Walker goes after it again, he could realistically get that record. He was sharp all indoor season, but now he has climbed to another level.

While we could talk about Walker all day, we have to give some love to Goaner Deng who continues to stay relevant in the best 800 field the NCAA has ever seen. He's made some really solid improvements, and isn't going away any time soon.

The rest of the collegiates in this field were all under 1:50...
-Abraham Alvarado (Stanislaus State): 1:47.23
-Mitch Hechsel (Minnesota): 1:48.30
-Marcus Dickson (BYU): 1:48.69
-J.D. Lafayette (Illinois State): 1:49.08
-Strymar Livingston (Kansas): 1:49.47

Mile
Patrick Corona and Matt Dorsey (both of Navy) go 1-2 with times of 4:00 and 4:02.

CU Invite
800
Zach Perrin (Colorado) continues to provide some speed for the endurance-centered Buffalos. Perrin got the win with a time of 1:49.85. Teammates Nick Harris and Connor Winter finished 2-3 each running 1:51.

Miami Hurricane Alumni Invite
800
Georgetown and Villanova made the trip to Miami where Ahmed Bile got a win with a time of 1:48.48. Nova's Ville Lampinen was close behind running 1:48.89. A slew of other Nova and Gtown athletes hung around the 1:50 mark.

Virginia Quad Meet
800
PA alum and Columbia runner Alek Sauer continues to impress us as he gets a win over Nathan Kiley (Virginia) 1:49.77 to 1:49.90.

5000
Henry Wynne (Virginia) leads a slew of his teammates to some fast times. Wynne finished with an excellent time of 13:49. Teammates Chase Weaverling, Adam Visokay, Brent Demarest, and Matthew Novak ran 14:01, 14:07, 14:10, and 14:19 respectively.


PA ALUMNI SECTION
800
Christian Sanders (La Salle): 1st- 1:50.14 @ Sam Howell
Dylan Eddinger (St. Joes): 8th- 1:54.12 @ Sam Howell
Steve Thompson (St. Joes): 12th- 1:54.40 @ Sam Howell
Jack Magee (St. Joes): 14th- 1:55.19 @ Sam Howell
Dan Ferraiolo (St. Joes): 33rd- 1:57.09 @ Sam Howell
Billy McDevitt (PSU): 9th- 1:53.14 @ Pepsi Invite
Alec Kunzweiler (Duke): 8th- 1:54.01 @ Spec Towns Invite
Jack Hummeler (Penn): 5th- 1:55.75 @ Lou Onesty/Milton G. Abramson Invite
Josh Coakley (West Chester): 2nd- 1:57.59 @ WCU Invite
Matt Willig (Haverford): 19th- 2:07.03 @ WCU Invite
John Westwood (Bucknell): 3rd- 1:54.65 @ Spring Invite
Kevin Moy (Navy): 28th- 2:01.17 @ Spring Invite
John Lewis (Clemson): 2nd- 1:48.19 @ Tiger Track Classic
Alek Sauer (Columbia): 1st- 1:49.77 @ Virginia Quad Meet
Elias Graca (Penn): 5th- 1:52.34 @ Virginia Quad Meet


1500
Tom Coyle (Stanford): 2nd- 3:42.68 @ The Big Meet- Cal vs Stanford
Nick Smart (La Salle): 17th- 3:58.65 @ Sam Howell
Nick Libbi (La Salle): 18th- 3:59.09 @ Sam Howell
Francis Ferruzi (La Salle): 24th- 4:00.85 @ Sam Howell
Colin Abert (PSU): 6th- 3:47.70 @ Pepsi Invite
Wade Endress (PSU): 7th- 3:47.85 @ Pepsi Invite
Alex Fitzgerald (Lehigh): 1st- 4:05.86 @ Lafayette College Vs Lehigh University
Ryan Cooney (Lehigh): 2nd- 4:06.44 @ Lafayette College Vs Lehigh University
Zach Brehm (Army West Point): 6th- 4:02.31 @ Lou Onesty/Milton G. Abramson Invite
Angel Chimal-Rodriguez (Immaculata): 3rd- 4:11.19 @ WCU Invite
James Belfatto (American): 27th- 4:07.07 @ Spring Invite
Tyji Mays (Temple): 36th- 4:11.54 @ Spring Invite
Kyle Adams (Bucknell): 42nd- 4:14.42 @ Spring Invite
Ben Ritz (Columbia): 2nd- 3:52.21 @ Virginia Quad Meet
Sam Webb (Penn): 6th- 3:55.38 @ Virginia Quad Meet
Jack Hummeler (Penn): 10th- 3:58.20 @ Virginia Quad Meet

5000
Juris Silenieks (Syracuse): 5th- 14:28.55 @ Sam Howell
Ian Barnhill (La Salle): 8th- 14:34.62 @ Sam Howell
James Zingarini (Boston College): 21st- 14:47.91 @ Sam Howell
Glen Burkhardt (PSU): 5th- 14:20.13 @ Pepsi Invite
Brian Arita (Lehigh): 1st- 15:05.19 @ Lafayette College Vs Lehigh University
Patrick Reilly (Lehigh): 2nd- 15:07.47 @ Lafayette College Vs Lehigh University
Barrett Kemp (Buffalo): 3rd- 14:41.24 @ Lou Onesty/Milton G. Abramson Invite
Seamus Roddy (George Washington): 4th- 15:10.89 @ Spring Invite
Lyle Wistar (Penn): 10th- 15:04.94 @ Virginia Quad Meet

10,000
Brett Kelly (Princeton): 8th- 30:44.07 @ Sam Howell

3000 Steeplechase
Ean DiSilvio (PSU): 2nd- 8:58.88 @ Pepsi Invite
Ryan Gil (Oregon): 3rd- 9:02.05 @ Pepsi Invite
Scott Mason (Lehigh): 2nd- 9:35.63 @ Lafayette College Vs Lehigh University

Analysis
800
John Lewis and Alek Sauer are giving PA fans something to get excited about. As just freshman, they are taking down some solid names with some great times. This is a very encouraging sign for what we could see in the future.

To add to that, Christian Sanders continues to show that he is one of the most underrated PA alumni out there with another 1:50 performance. Hopefully he breaks 1:50 soon.

1500
Tom Coyle seems to be getting back into his groove again as he laid down a strong 3:42 against Cal. I would love to see him in a faster race to see how close to 3:40  he could get.

Freshman Colin Abert impressed once again with his 3:47 PR. The kid is on fire this year and could very well be the future star of this PSU program. Wade Endress also had a nice race himself running 3:47high. Hopefully he can bring that time down a bit and qualify for regionals.

5000
Glen Burkhardt and Juris Silenieks are looking so far this season by throwing down times in the 14:20's. However, they'll need to improve on that time to assure themselves a spot to regionals.

3000 Steeplchase
DiSilvio ran a very nice PR of 8:58 this weekend. That time will most likely make regionals. With plenty of season left, we could see DiSilvio drop that time even lower.

Gil on the other hand still ran a very solid 9:02, but it was far off his PR of 8:42. I really do think Gil is better off with the 1500 at this point in the season considering his rate of improvement. However, when you hold an 8:42 PR, it's hard to make that switch.

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