800m Recap

Heat 1
We knew coming into this race that the slow heats had a chance to make noise in the final standings. Bonner's Dave Whitfield took that message to heart, going to the front early and setting a very fast pace for the field behind him. Whitfield, who last year ran 1:53 off a very quick opening 400, was a bit more accustomed to this fast pace than some of the others and those who tried to move on the 3rd 200 and catch him, most notably Matt Kraus and Robert Dupell, couldn't quite hold their surge. Ultimately, on the final straightaway Whitfield's biggest challengers were Isaiah Bailey of Penn Hills and Frankie King of Greensburg Salem, but the Bonner senior held on for the victory in 1:57.0.

This was a big season best for Whitfield, who was a bubble guy to even get into the state meet. Last year, he made big strides during the outdoor season so we will see if that streak can continue. Meanwhile, Frankie King is emerging as a sleeper this upcoming spring as well. The Greensburg Salem senior set yet another PR as he finished off a hot end to his season at 1:57.66. Dupell, Kraus and Bailey all also left the meet with indoor season best performances thanks to this heat's fearless start.

Heat 2
With a 1:57.0 already in the books, Heat 2 lined up with a bit of pressure to keep things fast. I had speculated before the race that multiple medal winners (including the winner) would come from this heat. And off the start, they got out plenty fast hoping to do just that. Kamil Jihad of Neumann Goretti took the field through lap one with Chris Cameron of Wissahickon and Hudson Delisle of Quakertown in tow. Pottsville's Collin Ebling looks like he nearly tripped over a cone rounding the second turn, throwing off his balance and costing him some valuable momentum. He had come in as one of the top guys in the heat by time.

Things continued to be very quick at the 400 where Chris Cameron made his move to take over the lead. Luke Everidge from CD East also jumped up into the mix. Cameron looked very strong on the third lap, but lurking on his outside was Delisle who seemed poised to have a big sprint finish. With 100 meters to go Delisle took off and powered home in a new personal best of 1:54.99. Behind him, Liam Conway, who was seemingly completely out of it 200 meters into the race, made an impressive comeback the second half of the race and ended up, for the second time on the day, sprinting dramatically into 2nd place from seemingly nowhere over the last 50.

Heat 3
With Delisle's time locked in, Heat 3 knew what they had to do to leave with state gold. I didn't think 1:54.99 would be enough for the win, but I also wasn't expecting the final to be as fast as it was. Surprisingly, Noah Affolder of Carlisle was the man to take out the pace. For the first time all day, Noah looked like he was all out, not looking around or saving something for another event. He got things off to another fast start and only Hoey was realistically still in the race after the first two laps.

After coming through in 53 seconds and still looking incredibly smooth, Noah, who was on his 3rd race of the day by the way, seemed like he would be hard to overtake. But over the last 100 meters of the final lap, Hoey began to eat up track and close down hard on the tired member of the Carlisle Herd. Josh sprinted home in a very fast 1:52.21: a new PR. Meanwhile, Noah clocked a 1:53.84 which was also a PR for him. On his third race of the day. With still another to come.

When the dust settled Delisle ended up holding on for 3rd overall and Nick Wagner of Penn Trafford, in his best race of the season won the kickers battle with Wyomissing's Joe Cullen and Pennridge's Matt Eissler for 4th.

Top 5 Takeaways
#1 Is there any way we can get this race fresh? Josh really pulled away from Noah big time over the final 100 meters. He opened up a second and half in short order as Affolder tied up. I think both guys could have run faster if Noah had a bit more left to fight off Hoey's late surge and we could have maybe seen two more 1:51s to add to the PA state history books.

Honestly, we may never see this two head to head in a fresh race. Come outdoor states, Noah will likely run the 3200 or the 4x8 prior to the 1600 (where I expect Josh to be, although it's a little uncertain). At Penn Relays, we could see a rematch in the mile between these two, but one (or both) runners could end up on relay duty at the aptly named Penn Relays.

#2 Props to the slow heats. They knew they had a chance to leave with hard ware and they raced like it. Ultimately, slow heat guys left with 3 medals and 7 of the top 12 spots. They pushed the pace early and were rewarded with a ton of season bests and a few circles on strings.

#3 Young guys did work. We talked about how rare it was that a sophomore medals at indoor states, but Matt Eissler handled himself very maturely in a fast race for Pennridge and left with a 1:56.0 and a medal. The last two sophomore medalists in the 800? John Lewis and Tom Mallon. If you don't know who they are, it won't take long to look up the names and find out. Trust me.

In addition to Eissler, 5 juniors earned medals including the state champ and Delisle. That means this race will be just as fun next year, if not more so.

#4 The AA Outdoor State picture is looking excellent. Kamil Jihad is the top returner from a year ago, having run 1:52 for 800 while chasing Dom Perretta. But Joe Cullen of Wyomissing ended up being the faster junior of the pair this weekend at states, dropping his open PR to 1:55 in his first major 800 state final. You also have to remember Ryan Thrush, who ran 48.52 this weekend at states, but didn't have quite enough left to get on the medal stand in this 800. He is the defending 400 meter champion, so he may not focus on the two lapper come outdoors, but he holds a 1:52.77 personal best and looks just as sharp as ever.

#5 The AAA title is another story. It seems like a say this in every event recap, but it feels like the tables are going to turn at the top of the rankings come outdoors. I'm not sure we will see Hoey in the 800 again as he has unfinished business in the 1600. Affolder has plenty on his plate, but has proven by now he can handle all that and then some. Is Delisle ready to become a state title contender? He qualified for states last year, but didn't make the final.

You have returning 1:53 men like Dave Whitfield, Derin Klick, Stephen McClellan and Nick Feffer who likely have high hopes for this year's final.

And this time last year, I doubt many people could pick Joe Espinal out of a line up. I'm not sure I could have if he wasn't wearing a Wilson track uniform. And I run this ridiculous blog!

The point is, a lot can happen in a short amount of time. So buckle up.