From Outside the Penn Relays Fog

By Jarrett Felix

So a ton of things happened outside the Penn Relays bubble this weekend. I’m talking a real lot of things. I’ll do my best to fit them all into one post during this train ride home, but it won’t be easy. So let’s start the clock and begin the recap speed round.

Mars Invitational

Even without Mike Kolor, Seneca Valley still had one of the stronger performances at the meet. Justin Gaydos finished first in the 800 (2:02.00), sophomore Luke Bellack took 6^th in the same event and frosh Sam Owori took 4^th in the 1600 with a time of 4:30. That 4:30 mark was just a second behind the winner, XC phenom Jake Susalla and runner-up finisher Griffin Mackey who both ran 4:29. Mackey also added a silver in the 3200m, running 9:47. That event was won by Will Loevner, who is on an absolutely monster tear so far outdoors. He ran 9:30 for the big win. His teammate, Ben Littman, added one of his best finishes of the year with a 3^rd place finish in 9:53.88.

South Fayette

Adding to the trio of XC state medalists, Winchester Thurston’s super star sophomore Tristan Forsythe also excelled in the 3200 this weekend. He clocked a 9:35.90 for the silver medal in the event behind Mount Lebanon’s Todd Gunzenhauser. That gives WT three guys at 9:53 or faster and a total of 5 guys around 9:40 or faster over the past two seasons. Not too shabby for a “A” school.

Gunzenhauser, whose winning time was 9:31, was also a part of the winning 4x800m relay squad for Lebo, who continues to show a real focus on this relay. They added 4:26 and 4:28 1600 times for Kalapos and Harris as well in the opens. They’ve been consistently pulling off these kind of results after a quiet indoors and I’m intrigued to see how they do at WPIALs and where they end up putting their focus. Todd continues to improve as a diverse runner with a strong 16 PR and a big sub 2 800 split (to pair with his 3200 PR) making him an interesting candidate for the state title discussion in the outdoor 3200, especially considering the shake-up at Penn Relays.

Domenic Peretta won the 1600m and finished second in the 400m at this event with times of 4:23 and 49.68. Pretty solid marks, but nothing crazy. Especially considering what he did at the MAC Championships.

MAC Championships

Another beautiful transition! Peretta ran a crazy fast double at MAC this weekend that has been overshadowed by the madness at Penn Relays. Dom P clocked a 4:14.83 1600m for a runaway victory and then doubled back to clock an absurd 1:50.70 (FAT) 800m with an 8+ second margin of victory. The kid dropped a 1:50 in April with basically no push on the double! That’s amazing! 1:50.70 is the second fastest 800 Dom’s ever dropped (besides his indoor nationals race this year) so he’s not slowing down one bit after his busy indoors. Also worth noting, Peretta’s previous trip into the 1:50s came in a close duel against Michael Slagowski of Idaho who has since run 1:48 and 3:59 (yes, that’s 3:59 for a full mile), so, in the right race, he could be on the verge of something historic. I’m thinking the Baldwin Invite might feature a really quick time if Kolor and Peretta face off (with an interesting preview of Peretta’s possible doubling chops for outdoor states). This kid is on an absolute tear and, if he gets in the right races, a lot of records are in serious jeopardy. 1:48 and 4:03 are the marks this kid should be aiming for before he graduates and heads off to PSU.

Worth noting, Zach Skolnekovich also had a really strong double. The junior is fresh off a monster XC season, but he’s always been impressive on the trails (multiple district championships and 3 state medals). He hasn’t done too much on the track, especially over shorter distances, until now. Skolnekovich dropped a 4:23 and a 1:58 on the double for a pair of silvers behind Peretta the Go Getta. Still working on a nickname. Skolnekovich just put his name in the loaded AA 3200m conversation along with guys like Loevner, Kachman and Descavish.

Lock Haven

Yes, I am one of the greatest in the game when it comes to transitions. The aforementioned Bryce Descavish went off this weekend in a battle with District 4 rising star Brody Beiler (and some other members of a loaded field). 8 guys covered the 8 laps in under 10 minutes, led by Bryce beating Beiler by ‘bout four seconds 9:29 to 9:33. Descavish, the 6^th place finish at AA states in XC and a top 5 or so finisher from last year’s 3200m, broke the meet record with his performance and has to be feeling confident looking ahead. Isaac Davis, the soph from Jersey Shore, clocked a 9:38 for 3^rd and Sam Signor also dipped under 9:40 in 4^th.

Both Signor and Beiler produced not just one, but two strong performances at this meet. Signor absolutely dominated the steeplechase with his 6:06 victory (51 second margin) and Beiler earned gold in the 1600 by nearly 7 seconds, clocking another high quality 4 lapper in 4:23.77. Beiler’s an interesting name looking ahead to states. Could he be a state medalist in this deep field?

This race also featured some quality 4x8 relays. Lewisburg, with two 2 flat splits, finished tops of the AA teams with an 8:15. Later, their top two legs came back to run 1:59 and 2 flat in the open 800 off a negative split. Warrior Run was third, showing signs they could be a contender in AA as well. They clocked an 8:17.

But the race was one by Williamsport which, like Beiler, is a real sleeper out of District 4. They ran 8:05.08 to runaway from the field in the late stages of this one, led by a 1:57 anchor leg. They have made a state final before and this team isn’t afraid to back down from a challenge. There’s lots of sneaky strong talent in the small districts this year.

Cougar Invite

This transition was a little forced, but whatever. I’m talking about District 2 stand out Matt Kravitz. He dominated this meet with 4:17 and 1:59 runs (both at or near his PR) winning the two events by a combined 23 seconds (16 in the 16, almost 8 in the 8). Kravitz has now run sub 9:20 for 3200 (in another runaway win) and added these terrific marks with limited push. He was a state medalist in the 1600 last year and is clearly in terrific shape (arguably significantly better shape than last year, when he was already a beast). Don’t forget this guy. I’m not sure he has the raw speed to outkick whichever Hoey brother is on his game, but at the very least he’s in the mix for a top 3 spot at states. And a very interesting possibility at 3200.

Washington Greene

You know who else is a very interesting possibility at 3200 who just recently broke 9:20 and has good mile speed? Nick Wolk from Peters Township (and yes, I did nail yet another transition so yes, I am the man). But in all seriousness, Wolk was the man on race day for this meet, winning the 3200, the 1600 and the 800 in 10:17-4:21-2:00. That’s a strong triple for a strong runner who I believe still holds the state lead at 3200 (although Henderson, Hockenbury and Brophy ran faster 3k equivalents). He definitely belongs in the state title discussion right now at 2 miles.

Alright let’s take a quick look at some great performances I neglected because I was trying to bang out strong transitions:

-          Avonworth continues to excel in the 4x8 with an 8:11 victory

-          Eli Urban with a 9:48 3200m at Lock Haven, but also a 1:59 800 victory lately. Nice range for the AA talent

-          South Side, the defending AA WPIAL 4x8 champs, had a strong 2 flat and 2:01 at MAC. Beaver ran 8:16 for 4x8 as well.

-          Ben Bumgarner picked a pair of silvers behind Wolk at Washington Greene, running 4:26 and 2:04

-          Bennent Sneath of USC ran a very strong 1600 for second behind Peretta at South Fayette, stopping the watch at 4:26.60

Alright so I think I’m caught up and I still have a bit more time. On with the recaps!

Millersville

Sean McGinnis, after missing out on the indoor season, is proving he’s a diverse, polished runner. He’s run strong times at a variety of distances already this spring and now adds a 9:29 3200m to his resume, pulling out the victory over a stacked field that included D3 XC runner up Zach Lefever, who finished second in 9:33. McGinnis’s best event may be the 800 (that’s what he ran last year, qualifying for states), but after a terrific XC season and clearly improved track strength, it’s hard to pidgeon hole this guy. That’s kind of the way the PAC is heading with the impressive development of both McGinnis and Liam Conway from Owen J.

Lefever and teammate Nate Becker (9:41) both clocked strong marks for Ephrata, beating split by Hershey’s Andrew Sullivan (9:35). Sullivan has had a real breakthrough on the track and has put himself into a very wild looking District 3 3200. Henderson is the big favorite, but behind him there’s a slew of guys with the potential to run under 9:30 by season’s end and a lot of guys currently sitting in the 9:30-9:40 range. That’s going to be a lot of fun. All in all, 9 guys broke 10 minutes for 3200 in this race, most of which belong in the district.

JP McCaskey clocked an 8:13 4x8 without Nate Henderson. Just wanted to throw that in as well.

Unionville Invite

DT West continues to show impressive depth across the board after they ran 8:04 without the Hoeys in the 4x8. Conceivably we could see this relay trotted out at districts (although I doubt it because Sappey and Barton both have better shots scoring individually). Ryan Barton added a 4:21 1600m victory as well showing signs he can once again crack 4:20 and compete for a spot in the state finals. Barton is still just a junior.

Perk Valley has quietly done some nice running as well. Without their 4x4 crew, they still added a 2 flat 800 for 5^th (Jon Adams, not the president of course) and a pair of strong sub 4:35 1600s (Jeff Montgomery and Adam Styer). Shout out to this team on some real nice running.

Shout out to sophomores as well. The sophomore class is just going bananas this year and Rusty Kujdych added another noteworthy performance to the list with a runaway 9:26 victory in the 3200. He defeated Avon Grove’s Jake Ilgenfritz (strong run of 9:44) by almost 20 seconds and showed flashes of his potential to sneak into the medal conversations in this event outdoors. He gained some valuable experience during indoor states and looks just as dangerous as he did when he clocked that fantastic sub 8:50 run against Jeff Kirshenbaum.

Rustin produced some nice times in this one as well with a 1:58 run from Hontz (for second) and a 4:24 run from Carmody (also for second). WC Henderson, not to be out done, added an 8:07 time for the 4x8, second only to the aforementioned DTW relay.

Westmoreland

Ben Bickerton picked up a big win in the 3200 (is he AA or AAA for track?) with a 9:40 mark to beat out Mark Provenzo of Franklin Regional who ran 9:41. Provenzo also finished a close 3^rd in the 1600, which Eric Kennedy and Matt O’Neill defeated him in (all guys ran 4:29). Norwin, the defending D7 4x8 champs, picked up a big 8:04 4x8 victory (D7 title is very up for grabs) and added a 3:28 for good measure in the 4x4. Kiski was second in 8:07.

Wrapping up some other relay news, Carlisle dropped a big time 10:36 DMR for a nice win at Cedar Cliff relays. AA Harbor Creek crushed their 4x8 section at Franklin Area, winning by over 40 seconds in 8:21. And Lakeland showed some serious upside with 8:23 and 3:26 4x8 and 4x4 relay wins respectively. Watch out for Lakeland, a program that always finds a way to be competitive in the mid distance relays. Gotta love the squad they have there.

So I almost finished everything, I’ll have to squeeze in the last of the recaps at a later date. Stay tuned.