The Etrain 11: WPIAL Vs.

In 2007, my freshman year of high school, District One Pennsylvania took spots 1-2-3-5-6-8-9 in the 3200m at states. The WPIAL’s first finisher was 10^th overall. A decade later, the WPIAL entered the state championship race in the 3200 hoping to flip the script on the mighty district one. But history doesn’t bend easily.

It’s a Wednesday night. My WPIAL correspondent Evan Hatton and I hop onto Google Hangout for what feels like the millionth time now. We go through the technical difficulties that inevitably happen on the night of a show, especially with four new additions. But fortunately we build in enough wiggle room so that we are in perfect position to start on time.

From the onset, it’s clear these four runners have a bond. They talk throughout the season. They joke around with one another. They know each other’s skills, their goals, and, of course, their PRs. The individual 3200 at states is certainly not a team competition. But these four, and their four other WPIAL qualifiers, run it like it is one. They run it for themselves, but also for each other and, for Western Pennsylvania.

Mount Lebanon’s Todd Gunzenhauser is the only one who returns from the previous year’s state final. In a way, he enters the state championship with the edge in experience. However, he also comes in with just a 9:25 from the WPIAL championships, a time that plots him in the middle of the performance list. But he’s no stranger to this circumstance. During Cross Country, he finished 9^th at the WPIAL championships and then turned around to finish 18^th at the state championships, his best finish at that meet by far. Carefully, he works his way through the field, passing people throughout the race and ends up a strong 5^th place overall. His time, 9:18 off a slow pace and hot conditions, adds yet another sub 9:20 performance to his resume. Over the past two season’s he’s been one of the most consistent performers of fast times on the track.

And, for added fun, his 5^th place finish puts him in the exact same place as his brother Rad finished in the state championship 6 years earlier.

For a while, it looked like Plum’s Jake Susalla wouldn’t even have a Cross Country season. Injury problems sidelined him for many of the early season invitationals. So while his competitors were dropping fast times and posting strong finishes, Jake was left with only questions and doubts. But after a 4^th place finish at the WPIAL championships, Susalla attacked the Hershey course, bumping elbow with the biggest names in the state through 2 miles and surging hard over the last stretch of the race. When the clock stopped and the blur finished, he had run 15:56 on the Hershey course, almost an identical time to WPIAL legend Zach Hebda and #33 in the course’s history.

The ability to perform in the clutch didn’t end with cross. After a solid showing at the Baldwin Invitational, breaking 9:20, Susalla cranked things up another notch for WPIALs, dropping all the way to 9:16 and finishing in 3^rd overall (just 0.2 seconds from silver, but 0.24 seconds ahead of 4^th, guaranteeing a big medal). He carried that momentum through to states where he nearly was able to lead the race wire to wire, ultimately holding on for an impressive 9:15.44 PR in sub optimal conditions. In one year’s time he had went from 9:44 to 9:15.

Of course, if we are discussing drops in time, look no further than North Allegheny’s Marc Migliozzi. The North Allegheny senior came into the season hoping to make an impact on the always deep Tiger squad. However, he quickly realized his pre-season goals were a bit too modest. He became a strong leader for the Tigers and finished 2^nd at the WPIAL championships in XC followed by a 10^th place finish at states. On the track, having never broken 10 minutes before, Migz cranked things up big time with 3 sub 9:20 marks at Baldwin, WPIALs and then states. In his first outdoor state appearance, he ran fearlessly at the front of the pack, pushed himself for the lead and, ultimately, after gutting out a brilliant last lap, finished with a bronze medal.

But, ultimately, the class of the WPIAL this season was Peters Township’s Nick Wolk. There always seems to be a dominant force in District 7 whether it was Matt McGoey, Colin Martin, Ethan Martin or Brent Kennedy. Wolk joined that list, winning all the major races against the D7 boys. All of this came just a year after Wolk was a relative no name in the state. He 46^th at states in 2014 and didn’t qualify for the 1600m final on the track.

Coming into the race, few gave Wolk much of a chance to win. At indoor states and XC states, he didn’t quite have that elite gear to run with the top guys. But in his last race, something clicked. He’d been closing races very quickly and his confidence was high. He moved into position at the right time and launched into his kick. When the clock stopped, even off a slow pace and in hot weather, he had dropped his PR to 9:10 for 3200. Unfortunately, there was one runner just a little bit faster. Perhaps the surprise of the season as Matt Kravitz of North Pocono threw down a terrific kick to grab gold by less than a second.

It’s clear Nick wanted gold and he’s naturally disappointed  to have to leave with silver. But what a senior season for this kid. He ran 4:30 in his 1600 prelim in 2015. A year later, he was prepared to close in a faster final mile of a 32 to try and win the state title. I think that speaks volumes about the strides he has made this season. There will be other races and he will be ready.

All of these runners will be ready. Each has made big strides this year. Each will be attending strong collegiate programs and will be pursuing strong, academically challenging degrees. They’re not just fast. They’re smart too.

But, perhaps most importantly, they learned how to run for something bigger than themselves. This season they ran not just for Mount Lebanon or Plum or North Allegheny or Peters. They ran for all of the WPIAL. And, I’m sure, the WPIAL is proud to call each of them one of their own.