Day 1 Trials Quick Thoughts

AA 4x800m Heat 1
Autos: Harbor Creek, Lewisburg, Beaver Area, Camp Hill
At Large: Wyomissing, Freeport, Trinity

Congrats to Freeport and Trinity for earning spots in the final. They were two teams I listed as bubble qualifiers in my preview, but ultimately decided to leave out. Whoops. Both will be dangerous team s in the final considering the strength of their anchors and their times were faster than the all by 2 teams in the second heat.

The defending champions, Wyomissing, were caught in a close one here, finishing 5^th in this heat and having to briefly sweat it out for a spot in the finals. They were one of three District 3 squads to qualify for the finals, including D3 champs Camp Hill. CH’s anchor, Cooper Leslie, looked pretty in control and was able to cruise a bit on his leg to save something for his 1600 trials later in the afternoon.

AA 4x800m Heat 2

Autos: Seneca, Avonworth, Lakeland, Masterman
At Large: Warrior Run

Although there were no big surprises in this heat, a couple teams made big statements. Masterman, a team with tremendous upside relative to their seed time, dropped from 8:35 to 8:16 and snuck by a couple teams at the end, perhaps helped by a strong anchor from Joe Previdi.

Seneca made perhaps the biggest statement of all. They finished 5 seconds ahead of second place Avonworth and 10 seconds ahead of 4^th place Masterman, cruising to an 8:06.58 #1 qualifier spot. Although they didn’t need to run quite that fast to advance, I think it speaks to their confidence and fitness in this event. I can’t wait for another round of Seneca vs. Harbor Creek in the finals. Certainly appears from Day 1 that these two are the favorites.

AAA 4x800m Heat 1

Autos: North Allegheny, CR North, O’Hara, CB West
At Large: Abington

This race was perhaps one of the most surprising results of the morning. North Allegheny and Cardinal O’Hara, two of the strongest programs in the state, dropped season best marks and punched tickets in tomorrow’s final. I personally left both teams out of my top 12, thinking neither would focus on this event in the trials. However, clearly both teams are very interested in this event, especially the WPIAL champion Tigers who actually won their section in 7:56.00, roughly 2 seconds ahead of the next pack.

It looks like the top 4 teams broke away fairly early and left some other squads playing catch up, including Abington who snuck in with the final qualifying spot in this field. Abington was the final of 6 qualifiers from District 1 for Saturday’s final.

AAA 4x800m Heat 2

Autos: Pennridge, State College, CB East, North Penn
At Large: LaSalle, Carlisle, Cumberland Valley

This was, without a doubt, the faster heat. I’m curious if these guys were at all aware that a sub 8 minute time would get them in as long as they were top 8 in their heat. Hard to be that exact when you are out there on the track, but I suppose it’s possible some coaches were on top of things and helped their athletes. The most interesting team from this group of at large qualifiers is Carlisle, who many guys have in their top 5 prediction. It will fun to see how much they saved for the finals or if they are vulnerable for an upset tomorrow morning.

Cumberland Valley was the team I missed from this heat when guessing the final. CV had only run in the mid 8-0s this season, but they turned it on in the most important moment of their season. They ran 7:59 for the 7^th spot, just behind rivals Carlisle and made yet another final. This program has quite a nice history in this event and, I believe, a fairly young relay team with at least a couple returners (Soliman, Higgins, maybe more?).

Pennridge wins this heat over SC (although it doesn’t matter much who wins in qualifiers) with a 7:51. Normally I wouldn’t read much into a prelim match up, but this one is interesting. Reportedly, Milligan did not run for State College, meaning they ran 7:52 without him. However, Pennridge crushed their D1 prelim and then crushed the district final. Now they run fantastic in this prelim, looking poised to attack the state final. Just seems like a confident team  that definitely believes they can win.

Lastly, shout out Eastern York on a strong season. They finished as the first team out of the finals as an underrated squad without any big names or star power. Fantastic job by these guys. Sad to see them out of the final, but no reason to hang your heads regarding this effort.

AA 1600m Heat 1

Autos: Tristan Forsythe, Trent Leonard, Griffin Mackey, Zach  Mead
At Large: Hunter Crawley

It was a tight battle for the final qualifying spot in Heat 1 as the 3-5 runners were separated by just 0.04 seconds. Hunter Crawley ended up on the wrong side of the scuffle for the capital Q, but ultimately ended up in the final anyway when the dust settled in Heat 2. Penntrack’s Dan Beck mentioned Crawley as a sleeper contender in the 1600 during our last episode of TheRoundHouse so it’s nice to see him get into the final.

The surprise from Heat 1 was Zach Mead of Montrose. The District 2 runner was 2^nd to Matt Murray at Districts by roughly 7 seconds, but proved he belonged among the elite this weekend, dropping 7 seconds to sneak ahead of Crawley for the 4^th spot.

Sophomore Tristan Forsythe finished first in the heat with a 4:27.60. He looks confident heading into the final as a strong contender. Can he challenge Perretta? It’s going to be hard, but I’d say right now he’s the favorite for the silver.

 AA 1600m Heat 2

Autos: Domenic Perretta, Matt Murray, Cooper Leslie, Jarrett Boyd
At Large: Riley Lamison, Will Kachman, Colton Fox

Apparently, Perretta put on a kick the final 300 meters to win this race, asserting his dominance headed into the final. The kid doesn’t like to lose, however, he may want that extra gear in his back pocket for his record chasing tomorrow. Matt Murray and Perretta ran 4:23 and 4:24, easily the fastest two times of the day. For Murray, it’s a pretty strong showing and, I believe, a fairly big PR. Interested to see what he has left for tomorrow’s final after this breakthrough.

Riley Lamison comes through with a clutch double off the 4x8 to finish 5^th and snag an at large spot for the final. It’s been a strong showing from Beaver in the first two distance events, pulling out a pair of strong qualifiers in a pretty short time span. Not a lot of time at all between the 4x8s and the 16s.

AAA 1600m Heat 1

Autos: Josh Hoey, Brian Delany, Jacob Stupak, Alex Milligan
At Large: None

It was a fairly slow race off the start from what I’ve been told and then Hoey turned it on the final 800, reportedly closing things down in 2:03. Ultimately, with a slow early pace, it was going to be tough for anyone outside the top 4 to advance and, unfortunately, my sleeper pick Brandon Hontz ended up as the first man out with a 4:24.80. Terrific season for Hontz and, as a junior, he will be back and ready for a little redemption next year (spoiler alert: he may get some pre-season XC love in the top 50 rankings due out in the not too distant future).

Hoey, Milligan and Stupak are three of the best guys in the state in my opinion, so I was most impressed by Brian Delany’s race. Delany ran very well at districts and now comes out and continues his roll defeating a number of talented runners (including Sam Signor who beat him at districts) to finish 2^nd and qualify for the final. Delany has had some XC success in the past, but this is his first big breakthrough on the track. And the guy isn’t done just yet.

AAA 1600m Heat 2

Autos: Mike Kolor, Eric Kennedy, Liam Galligan, Liam Conway
At Large: Noah Falasco, Jesse Cruise, Brody Beiler, Henry Sappey

The Downingtown West boys started their quest for a state championship by advancing two guys to the finals, but DT West’s Henry Sappey was a close call, earning the final qualifying spot over Hontz from Heat 1 by just 0.29 seconds. Sappey was joined by Jesse Cruise (doubling off the 4x8, he’ll be fresh for the finals tomorrow which makes him a sleeper), Brody Beieler (doubling off the 32 tomorrow) and Noah Falasco. Falasco was denied an auto spot by just 0.04 and ran right on the heels of D1 talents Galligan and Conway. He should be a very intriguing medal contender for tomorrow’s final.

Eric Kennedy looked quite strong as well, continuing his hot streak from WPIALs and qualifying just behind Kolor and in third overall. I had Kennedy as a qualifier, but grabbing an at-large bid. But he looked quite strong in his prelim and should be another top contender in tomorrow’s final.

With Milligan and Stupak’s squads both qualifying for finals in the 4x8, the race for 3^rd-5^th tomorrow is going to be phenomenal. Anyone who made the final could realistically grab a top 5 spot. That’s pretty darn rare and makes this a fun watch tomorrow.

AA 800m Heat 1
Autos: Kamil Jihad, Dan Kuhn, Anthony Clement, Mike Sheptuk
At Large: Aaron Morris, Dominic Mussoline, Brandon Anglemyer

This has to be one of the fastest AA 800 prelims I can ever remember. With all due respect to AA, usually there’s nobody faster than 1:56-1:57 in these things and you can maybe sneak in running 2 flat. Kamil Jihad and Dan Kuhn both ran 1:55 in this first heat which is flying. Admittedly, they didn’t quite need to, but all the same not a bad start for either of these guys as they prep for Perretta.

Strong run by Brandon Anglemyer of South Side. The South Side boys won the D7 4x8 championships last year and now Anglemyer backs up their mid-distance credentials by getting a spot in the final. I went back and forth with him and WPIAL rival Reichenbaugh of Freeport (first man out, but will contest 4x8 finals tomorrow) and turns out the right choice was the South Side junior. Great run.

AA 800m Heat 2
Autos: Domenic Perretta, David Fletcher, Ben Heim, Joe Previdi
At Large: Tyler Leeser

Perretta wins another heat to continue his undefeated streak. He and Fletcher probably had a nice stare down over the final stretch of this race. With Thrush going out (he ran 48 seconds in the open quarter and could potentially win that race), it looks like Perretta and Fletcher will be the two favorites tomorrow. Plus they got to conserve a little extra relative to Kuhn and Jihad.

AAA 800m Heat 1

Autos: Joe Espinal, Nick Feffer, Brett Wolfinger, Stephen McClellan
At Large: Cole Sunderland, Justin Miller, Tucker Desko

The 800 prelims showed us just how crazy this event will be. From this heat, a guy I thought had a chance to spring the upset and win the state title, Isaiah Bailey, was surprisingly bounced. In addition, Tucker Desko of Pennridge barely snuck through to Day 2 as the 2^nd to last at large qualifier, just 0.17 ahead of Michael Bove of Fox Chapel.

Big shout to the small district teams coming away with strong performances. Joe Espinal finally gets the breakthrough on the big stage he deserves. His 1:54.50 from the prelim will be the #1 seed going into the finals. Yet another surprising #1 seed. Plus General McLane’s Justin Miller stays hot and drops another half second from his PR. He moves to 1:56.13 and gets one of the at large spots. Kid has great 400 speed and is showing he can contend with the top tier 800 guys. Quick shout to Calvin Schneck, another small district qualifier also from D11. He qualified on time from Heat 2 as the last qualifier for the final.

Also have to love what I saw from Cole Sunderland of Manheim Central. The junior finally took a fresh shot at the 800 and it paid off. He broke through with a huge 1:55.47 (which amazingly was only a time qualifier in this loaded group).

AAA 800m Heat 2

Autos: Jaxson Hoey, Anthony Degleris, Matt Wisner, Derin Klick
At Large: Calvin Schneck

Jaxson Hoey may have cemented himself as the favorite after the results of this race unfolded. A couple of my early medal picks ended up missing the final and Desko barely advanced as well. Wisner looked strong and was right in the mix, but Hoey has the advantage of being fresh. What a turnaround for Jaxson heading into the state final after some disappointing races early in the season. Really strong mental fortitude to turn around and put this stretch together.

And DT West is going to need all the points they can get out of him. State College had a pretty good first day, scoring points in the triple jump and the pole vault as of the writing of this. They may have more in other events, but I don’t know for sure. They qualified both of their 800 guys for the final as Degleris qualified second out of this heat, again improving on his PR. Degleris has really been turning it on at the right time. Would have loved to see Milligan, Degleris and Feffer all in this final though. Would have been fun.

Hard to see Bove, McGinnis and Whitfield out of this final. I feel bad for Bove and McGinnis who ended up in a similar situation to last year, just missing the final. But those guys had terrific seasons and graduate as a 1:53 and 1:54 low guy respectively. No reason to hang your head about that. As for Whitfield, I’m sure he was hoping to make the final, but he’s just a junior (and a super fast one at that) who got some valuable experience today. He will definitely be back and be hungrier than ever.

Next year’s field should be another wide open affair considering the guys returning. Can’t wait for these finals.