Chapter 10: The Rubber Match
The
first time I can remember visiting the website PenntrackXC was during the
spring of my freshman year. I clicked on to the site in hopes of seeing a video
of a recent race that had been contested at West Chester Henderson High School:
a 2 Mile race that happened to include Unionville’s Paul Springer and
Boyertown’s Jason Weller.
On that
fifty-seven-degree night in West Chester, there was no question that a record
attempt was about to go down. Andrew Jervis and Chris Aldrich, two top 15
runners at the cross country state meet, agreed to rabbit the race[1] and meet directors
recruited star harrier Craig Forys, a near national champion at Foot Locker and
near hero of the Penn Relays, from Colts Neck New Jersey to do battle with PA’s
elite. Forys would be chasing his state record of 8:52.0 set by Charlie Logan
in 1979. Springer and Weller were targeting the 8:56.56 state record, set by
Chris Spooner in 2004.
Springer
had been torching the track in recent weeks. He had reportedly split 1:52 on a
4x8 for Unionville and then gave Matt Centrowitz from Maryland a run for his
money in the Mile at Penn Relays, running 4:10.98 for second to Centro[2]. Meanwhile, Weller
struggled at Penn. With high expectations after his 8:26 indoors, Weller
entered the race as the top seed. After leading for much of the later stages of
the race, he couldn’t close with the top guys in the field and ran just 8:29
for 4th, barely holding off fellow PA runner Rob Speare of Strath
Haven (who dropped a big PR and ran 8:32). The two rivals seemed to be trending
in opposite directions as they toed the line for the record attempt.
Jervis
and Aldrich took the crew through about 1200 meters, rolling past the start
line near 3:20. From here the plan was for Weller, Forys and Springer to share
the load and keep things fast. Weller hit the mile in 4:26. Then it was Forys
turn at the front and he too clicked off a 66, bringing the boys around in 5:33.
Now Chris Spooner’s record was in serious jeopardy.
When
Springer took his turn in the lead, he too split a 66 second lap, and the
continued surge at 4:24 pace began to cook Weller. The race was down to two
men, each with an eye on their state’s record. Forys started to really grind
from 600 meters out and Paul did everything in his power to hang tough. At the
bell both men were a few seconds under 7:50, looking to find the closing speed
necessary for the record. Springer had been holding steady to 66 second pace,
while Forys was clearly gearing up to drop the hammer.
Forys
hit the line first, smashing his state record with an 8:48, closing in about 61
seconds for his last oval. Springer was next to come through, holding on to his
pace and setting a massive PR for himself by dropping an 8:52. The times were
both run for a full two mile rather than the 3200 meter that is often contested
during regular competition. The 3200 meter splits were about 8:45 and 8:49 and
the 3k splits were 8:15 and 8:18. All state records.
Weller
finished in 9:08 for the full 2 miles after fading the second half of the race.
It was a second straight disappointing showing for Weller. Questions began to
surface about his fitness. Maybe he was burned out from his killer year
indoors. He mentioned that he had quadrupled in a dual meet not long before the
Henderson Invite, giving the impression he may be overworked.
Meanwhile,
Springer was now one of the all-time greats. He had three state titles, the
fastest 5k at Lehigh and the fastest 2 mile in state history. He also held the
state meet record indoors for the mile and had a PR of 4:10, placing him among
the top 15 or so performers in state history for that event. Despite his success
at the mile, he opted to focus solely on the 3200 for the upcoming state
championship meet at Shippensburg. The state meet record of 8:58 was next on
his checklist.
Unlike
Springer, Weller would once again test himself by attempting the 3200-1600
double, another outrageously difficult multi to rival his triple indoors. Based
on the set up of the District and State Championships, Weller would run the
1600 trials on Friday, followed by the 3200 finals on Saturday and then the
1600 finals an hour or so later. This meant that Weller would have one extra
race in his legs when he faced Springer, adding yet another advantage for the
state record holder.
To make
matters even trickier, Coatesville’s Kyle Dawson was rounding into top form
after swimming in the winter, and now had a 3200 meter best under 9:10, less
than 5 seconds from Weller. Plus, Rob Speare had proven he was no push over
after his impressive 8:32 3k at the Penn Relays. Both would look to drop Weller
out of the top 2 in the 3200. In the 16, Chris Aldrich was returning from a top
5 finish in mile at the past two track championships. Outside of the district,
Weller would have to battle Vince McNally (2nd in 2006) and western
sensation TJ Hobart (who dropped his PR down to 4:12 as just a sophomore).
The
first step for all these runners was simply to make it to states. The state
qualifying process had changed so that if you were not in one of the top five
automatic qualifying spots, you had to run the state qualifying standard at your district championships. A state
qualifying mark in a previous meet no longer had value.
At the
District One Championships at Coatesville, Springer looked dominant. He cruised
around the track to a blistering 9:01.75 meeting record. The splits on the race
were an otherworldly 4:42-4:19 with a final 800 meters at 2:04. Weller was
second in a respectable time of his own, 9:05, but he was no match for
Springer’s combination of speed and strength. Dawson and Speare took 3rd
and 4th to qualify for the state championships.
There
was little time for Weller to dwell on the loss, as he quickly had to turn his
attention to the 1600[3]. A determined Weller
overcame his fatigue from the quick closing 3200m and surprised the field in a
winning effort, running 4:15.16 to beat out Chris Aldrich (3rd) and
Isaac Bryan of Pennridge (2nd). Six men broke 4:20 in the race, the
last of which was Nick Crits from our rival Wissahickon squad. It was a
grueling double for Weller, but it was also a confidence building one. He would
be competing for two golds at the state championships and technically not even
Paul Springer could stop him from winning both.
***
The
state championships was a hot day: temperatures in the high 80s with humidity.
Conditions were oppressive and by the time the 3200m was lining up, the weather
was approaching peak ferocity. Springer and Weller lined up as the top two
seeds, the fastest qualifiers from the district championship meets. Weller was
one of a select group of runners that had run the 1600m trails the day before,
clocking a 4:17.00 in the heats to barely edge out a pack of runners for one of
the four auto qualifying spots. Chris Bodary’s 4:19.11 was the first time to
miss finals, a remarkably fast mark to be left watching. It was unclear how
much of an effect these strong efforts in qualifying would have on all of the
runners the next day, but the heat certainly cast doubts about how springy
tired legs would feel.
Paul
Springer lined up for the race, completely fresh, with his eyes on his second
straight outdoor state championship. Springer laced up pink spikes special for
the occasion, feeling quite confident. His PR was 15 seconds better than his
closest competitor (Weller) and in Penntrack’s preview for the meet, the
usually passive and impartial site said “This race belongs to Paul Springer.”[4]
When
the gun sounded, the pace was tentative to start. The hot temperature on the
track made the logical early move to hang back and let others attack. Lucas
Zarzeczny of Avonworth, a fearless front runner, took up the leadership role in
the early stages. He opened up a surprising early margin, but ultimately pulled
back on the reigns, unable to stomach trying to race such a grueling event
completely alone. Then it was another front runner’s turn. Kyle Dawson of
Coatesville took over the lead and brought the pack through the mile just under
4 minutes and 40 seconds. For runners of this level, that pace was fairly reasonable
and things were setting up to be almost identical to the District One
Championships at which Springer had dominated.
After
the mile, Springer went to the lead. It’s possible that he really wanted to
give 8:58, the long standing state meet record, an honest run. He had clocked a
9:01 the year before and his season to date had been far superior. Weller
followed in Springer’s tracks, understanding that unlike Zarzeczny and Dawson,
he couldn’t let the Unionville Senior breakaway. Rob Speare of Strath Haven
also followed and slowly, as the trio began to ratchet down the pace, they
broke free of the rest of the field.
As the
oppressive heat continued to bear down on the three athletes, they hit the bellow
lap in about 8 minutes and 4 seconds. No one looked particularly comfortable
and Paul had to know by now that any chance at a record was gone. All the same,
the chance for state gold likely motivated him just as much. On the
backstretch, he bottled that emotion and threw it into a surge. However, Weller
did not break. He held on well around the turn and worked his way through the
final bend.
Now
Springer was nervous, looking back over his shoulder, realizing he was not
going to be able to drop Weller as easily as he had hoped. Then, with 100
meters to go, Weller kicked it in for one final charge for him. Springer
matched it well, both runners powering ahead, their strides looking nearly
identical. Then, in the race’s final moments, Weller pulled out a superhuman
final gear and edged away from the state record holder. He stopped the clock at
9:02, covering the final 400 meters under 60 seconds.
Despite
Springer’s excellent PRs and his impressive closing speed, Weller had beaten
him not just once, but twice, on the state’s biggest stage. Weller’s victory
clinched a triple crown: the state champion in cross country, the indoor 3,000m
and the outdoor 3200m. Although others have been close, Weller remains the most
recent triple crown winner in PA history[5].
And
thus, one of the most exciting rivalries in state history was over. Springer
graduated with three state titles, a PR of 4:08c for the 16, the course record
at Lehigh and the state record in the 2 Mile. Weller graduated with three state
titles of his own, but no marks sub 4:10 or sub 9 minutes. However, in the two
most important races of his senior season, he had beaten the heavily favored
Springer with a determined, gutsy sprint to the finish.
[1] Going to be honest, I remember no
negative feedback about the use of rabbits here at Henderson, but when Aldrich
did it for Ferry indoors it caused a huge stir. Maybe I’m misremembering, but I
can’t help but feel people were being a tad hypocritical.
[2] For the record, yes, that is future
Olympic Gold Medalist Matt Centrowitz
[3] Keep in mind that in 2007, the
order of distance events at districts was 4x800m, 3200m, 1600m as opposed to
the 3200m, 4x800m, 1600m that it is today. That made Weller’s double much more
of a challenge and made things a bit easier for other guys attempting a 4x8-16
double (Crits and Owen Dawson among them).
[4] To be fair, the preview was completely based on times. They didn’t
mention Vince McNally at all in the mile preview despite the fact that he was
the runner up the previous year as a sophomore and the 5th place
finisher at XC states because he had yet to drop his season best down below
4:15. In fact, none of the top four finishers in the 1600m got a mention in the
preview, nor did 6th place finisher Chris Aldrich who was a national
champion indoors in the DMR. Moral of the story: as much as people might think
differently, track is not as black and white as times would suggest.
[5] The indoor state
champions are a little trickier to track down then the cross country and
outdoor champions, but it looks like the last man to win the triple crown
before Weller, was Dan Coval from Council Rock who did it back to back times in
1999/2000. Jake Brophy was the most recent guy to come close, winning the first
two legs in 2015-2016 before a surprise upset during the outdoor championships
at the hands of Matt Kravitz.
[6] I think I pick Weller. I think I’d
rather know that I won the races that counted most, even if my name won’t show
up in the record books. But 1:52/4:08/8:49/14:47? That’s really hard to pass
up. Plus Springer made it to Footlocker and has some All-American certificates
in track. But Weller does have a Millrose Victory …
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