Henderson Preview: No Excuses

by Jarrett Felix

We are keeping the Henderson flow going here on the blog with a little preview action. You can catch the meet out live on Milesplit tomorrow night which is a real awesome addition to the site’s live schedule. If you’ve got an account (unlike myself) and you’ve got time to kill, I suggest you tune in. Should be fun.

PS Tune in tonight at 8:45 when we breakdown Penn Relays, Henderson and more on a PA edition of TheRoundHouse!

This year’s meet doesn’t seem like it’s going to be quite as jaw dropping as in year’s past (on paper, which isn’t always an accurate representation) but it’s still one of the biggest ensembles of individual talent we will see prior to championship season. Let’s break down those individual events below. For full entries, you can check in on penntrack’s home page which has the performance list posted for this meet (as well as Stan Morgan and the Shaner Invite).

1600m

The biggest name (on the guys side at least) is out of stater Andrew Hally of Salesianum (Delaware). He’s a real good runner and all that jazz, but he’s not from PA so all I’m giving you is his name. That goes for you too Michael Flanagan.

Ryan Barton of DT West and Patrick Grant will enter as the top two seeds. Both guys had big meets here last year (matched up in this same race) and Barton in particular has been rolling lately. He clocked a big 4:21 1600 last weekend and seems poised to get down around the 4:18 mark he ran at districts last year (his PR). His teammate, Henry Sappey, just clocked a 4:18 of his own so if Barton dips under 4:20 he will be the fourth member of DT West to dip under 4:20 for the calendar year in the 16.

Grant, who is coming off an 800 PR of 1:56 at the Knights Invite, leads a hungry core of LaSalle runners. They make up 3 of the top 6 seeds overall and 3 of the top 4 PA runners (everyone outside of Barton). The LaSalle boys struggled a bit at Penn, likely hoping for a sub 8 performance, but they will be ready to rock in this event, aiming for some redemption. I actually think Grant’s teammate, sophomore Evan Addison, may be the explorer to watch in this one if things break right. I feel he may be on the verge of a break out performance after his 1600 victory at that same Knights Invite.

After this top group, we will have a contingent of runners aiming for something in the low 4:20s on race day. Among this group is CR North’s Ben Heintz, who anchored North’s very impressive 4x8 at the Penn Relays. He ran around 4:23 last spring and could get back to that range tomorrow night. We also have sophomore Spencer Smucker, who split under 4:20 indoors a couple times and is running on home soil. He’s already grabbed two state medals in XC and, coming off his first indoor season, is transitioning nicely to the oval. He’s got good speed (ran around 2 flat last years at 800 I believe) and his strength is undeniable.

Keep an eye on Hunter Crawley of South Williamsport. The A XC state medalist (and District 4 XC Champion) has quietly put together a string of solid 1600s at Lock Haven and other, more local, meets. Now he travels to Henderson looking for a breakthrough against top notch competition. Andrew Sullivan of Hershey is another sleeper. He’s been running excellent races out in District 3 (including a sub 9:40 3200) and could surprise on this stage. Also watch for Brandon Hontz of Rustin. He’s fresh off a monster 800 run and his teammate Jack Carmody, who he has been battling with consistently, just dropped a 4:24 of his own. He’ll definitely have that mark in head on race day.

Looking a little bit farther down the list, we can see a number of guys who will be in the 4x8 discussions come districts and states. Guys like Jake Good of Abington, Chris Kolimago and Seamus Breslin of Bishop Shanahan and Sam Early of CR North will test themselves in a bit of overdistance.

800m

A year ago, Malvern Prep’s Billy McDevitt dropped a massive 800 PR and defeated Pennsbury’s Alek Sauer in a race to remember at Henderson. McDevitt dropped a monster 1:51 to pull away for the victory. Now, Colin Wills of Prep will look to repeat the feat (with his feet). While Wills likely won’t run a 1:51, he has shown great potential in this race. He’s fresh off a 4:18 clocking at 1600 and had a killer race at Meet of Champs in the 800 (1:57.48, which got him into the fast heat at indoor states).

However, the favorite in this race will almost certainly be AA silver medalist David Fletcher of Mt Caramel. Assuming Fletcher toes the line that is. He’s also entered in a battle with indoor silver medalist Matt Wisner of Carlisle at Stan Morgan on Saturday. Not sure if he’s planning to race both or not, but a tasty match up with Wisner may be hard to pass up.

Fletcher recently competed at Bucknell’s Invitational and clocked a 1:53.30 against collegiate competition. That time is one of the best in the state thus far and, most years, would make him a clear favorite for the AA state title. Of course, Domenic Peretta doesn’t hit peak form most years. That being said, if Fletcher can cut a bit more time off, he still will make the state final interesting against Dom, who will be doubling off the 1600 in all likelihood. This could be a valuable moment for Fletcher to prove he’s on Peretta’s plane.

The guy I’m watching in this race is Sean McGinnis of Phoenixville. He’s run some monster 16s and 32s and, after a tough loss at the hands of Owen J’s Liam Conway, I think McGinnis has a big breakthrough in the 800 this second time around. McGinnis was one of the top runners in this event last year out of a loaded District 1 and is stronger than ever after a monster XC season. I think he may be able to steal gold at this race when all is said and done. I think of him comparably to Billy Caldwell a few years back.

Grayson Hepp of Germantown Friends will also take a shot at a fast 800. He ran the second leg of GFS’s 4x8 at Penn Relays and has clocked a couple 1:55 marks from the winter (both open and on a relay). Hepp’s teammate, Nick Dahl, just set the league record in the 800 with his 1:54.20 (at this same track I believe). That time may be on Hepp’s mind when he toes the start line for this race.

I’m also really looking forward to watching Bryan Keller of CR North. Keller won the Abington Invitational in a very impressive 1:56 and, after handing off at the front of the pack at Penn Relays last week, now gets another shot at crossing the line first. This will be the best field he’s faced all season and should maximize his potential for a quick result.

As was the case in the mile, there’s lot of intriguing future 4x8 talent in this race. Abington has thrown some of their horses into the mix, including sophomore Cameron Mitchell. Perk Valley will race Matt Town and Jon Adams near the top of the field. Henderson has seeded five guys at the same time (1:59.3) so clearly they like their chances as a sleeper team in the 4x8. GFS also added Gordon Goldstein and Jonnie Plass to the performance list behind Hepp and LaSalle will double back Price and Addison (with a fresh Costonis as well).

Watch out for AA sleeper pick Mike Sheptuk of Notre Dame East. He’s a sleeper who could really surprise now that he’s facing elite competition. Another big sleeper to watch is Logan Yoquinto of Bishop Shanahan. He’s had some very strong splits for the BS relays, now it’s just a question if the young sophomore can duplicate those marks in the open.

3200m

This race tends to be the race of the night and it’s for good reason. In 2015, we saw an epic pack roll around the track, ending with Jake Brophy cracking the 9 minute barrier in 8:57. A year earlier, Tony Russell ran the equivalent of his own 8:57, running about 9 flat for the full 2 miles and winning the race. In 2007 and 2008, PA also posted sub 9 marks with Paul Springer and Max Kaulbach getting under the historic barrier.

This year, we have at least two guys who will be chasing yet another trip another 540 seconds. Nick Dahl of GFS and Dominic Hockenbury of Lake Lehman headline the field with the strongest two PRs in the field (by a good margin). These two are no strangers to one another. They both were in the epic race last year (Dahl ran 9:02 to best Hock) and they also faced off at this track prior to the NXN regional meet (Dahl once again came out on top in a thrilling race). Hock’s PR came in that fall battle (9:05ish) while Dahl ran the equivalent of an 8:58 for 3200 when he battled his way through 8 laps at New Balance Nationals.

In “round 3” of this battle, it’s hard to doubt Dahl, who’s spent the past few weeks dropping impressive PRs at his under distances of 800 and mile, but it is worth noting that Hock will be much more seasoned at this distance. He’s also never broken 9 minutes before and, as a senior, likely knows this could be his last shot. Fresh off a Mile PR of his own as well as a 3k PR (8:27), that shot is pretty good. With a little desperation on his mind, Hock could create a thrilling environment for a memorable 3200 race.

There will be a few guys trying to crash the battle between the XC State Champs. Kent Hall of Unionville is fresh off a strong 1600 PR around 4:18 and will be hoping to slice a large chunk of his 32 next. Hall’s mostly raced under distance as well, but we saw just how strong he was during cross when he became PA’s surprise qualifier for Nike Cross Nationals and placed 11^th at XC states.

Of course if we are talking XC strength, you can’t leave out Downingtown West’s Henry Sappey. The always steady senior leader has excelled this year on the track, having the opportunity to focus on his more natural distance, rather than 800 and 1200 relay legs like he did a year ago. Sappey just ran his own 1600 PR (again, around 4:18) and is coming off a medal winning performance at indoor states in the 3,000. He tends to rise to the occasion at the big meets (two top 10 finishes at states in XC), but he’s still looking for that big time 3200 PR to match his killer cross country success. I think it comes tomorrow night.

Will Griffen and Owen Ritz are two of the most intriguing wild cards on the entry list. Griffen has gotten little to no love, but has posted some of the best 2 mile and 3200 marks in the state for the past 4 or so months. He briefly held the PA #1 position for 32 before an assault on the leaderboard began. He comes from Cheltenham (not known as a distance powerhouse) and didn’t have an epic XC campaign, but the kid is really good at the 32. He’s a natural.

Meanwhile, Owen Ritz gets your attention because of his last name, but he’s making his learn more about his first name after his gigantic 1600 breakthrough a few weeks back. He went from a mid 4:30s guy to a low 4:20s guy which basically never happens. That’s a massive improvement that could mean big gains in other areas. He has to be running with a ton of confidence and has a ton of upside in this race at Henderson.

We will get to preview some of the D1 state qualifying battles as well. Joe Maguire of CR South, who qualified for outdoor states last year in this event, and Rusty Kujdych of Neshaminy, the super soph who just cracked 9:30 last weekend, are both poised for big runs in this meet. I think both guys are sleeper contenders for top 5 finishes at outdoor states, but I also could see both fighting for their lives just to make the top 8 at districts (D1 is, of course, loaded). This could be a statement race for either of them.

If they are at all off their game, Rob Moser of East, Austin Maxwell of Kennent and DT West’s Ben Ryherd will all be ready to pounce.

LaSalle’s Frank Livolsi and Eddie Goebel are also must watch talents in this field. Livolsi is coming off a big run at the Knights Invite which I was very impressed with. Goebel was the top dog during XC and ran the best 3k indoors for this loaded squad. I’ll be very interested to see what they push each other too in this event and compare it to the O’Hara 1-2 punch of Morro and James. And don’t forget about Stephen Paul who finished in the top 50 at XC states and has also consistently delivered in the long distances on the track this spring.

But here’s the name to watch in this one: Liam Conway. The sophomore from Owen J Roberts has been an absolute tear this spring. He’s clocked a 1:54 and a 4:15 to earn runaway golds in his big meets this outdoors. And guess what? The 3200 may be his best event. He must have thought so to some degree when he picked the 3k at indoor states over the mile and the 8. He’s only seeded at 9:30, but don’t get it twisted, Liam Conway is a must watch in this field.

Also, speaking of talented sophomores, I hate to say it, but Dalton Hengst (technically lives in PA but goes to school in Maryland) may steal the win in this race. If he can hang on for 7 laps, he’s one of the best milers in the entire region and will put on a show with his finishing kick.

By the way, we could see 50 or so guys under 10 in this race. It’s positively loaded. I love it. Gonna be a blast.