The Alumni Report

By: Garrett Zatlin

The regular season is done and NCAA's are quickly approaching (they start this weekend)! I thought this would be a good time to recap how some of our alumni have done...

Syracuse
-Kevin James
-Dominic Hockenbury
-Griffin Molino

Overall, this Syracuse trio had a pretty decent winter as they thrived in the longer races like the 3000 and 5000. James finished this winter with three collegiate PR's which included 4:15, 8:13, and 14:35. He ran those 3k and 5k PR's in his final two races of the season.

Molino also earned collegiate PR's of 8:28 and 15:02 this winter.

Yet, it was redshirt freshman Dominic Hockenbury getting some attention after he ran 14:41 and 8:26. With three years of eligibility still left, expect big things from this kid in the future.

It's going to take some time, but don't be surprised to see one of these guys at nationals in the next two years.

Penn State
-Dominic Perretta
-Colin Abert
-Billy McDevitt
-Jaxson Hoey
-Brad Rivera

It seems like there has been a complete overhaul of this Penn State program in the past year. Almost all of their top talent are underclassmen.

Let's start with Billy McDevitt who had a quiet, but respectable season after running PR's of 1:50 and 4:09! It's taken some time, but the past two years of training are paying off for him.

Meanwhile, we saw Colin Abert put together another nice season with times of 4:07 and 8:10. Neither of those times were PR's, but they weren't far off either. Look for Abert to better his times this outdoor season. He is due for a personal best.

Let's shift our focus to the freshmen duo of Jaxson Hoey and Dominic Perretta. Hoey struggled early on and was eventually shut down for the rest of the winter. He finished with times of 1:58 and 4:25, but this isn't unusual for freshman entering a intensive program like Penn State. Like plenty of other PA alumni, we'll have to give him some time to adjust.

Perretta, on the other hand, needed no adjustment time at all as he was an absolute animal this season! The Nittany Lion freshman ran times of 1:48.17 (NCAA #21), 2:23 (1k), and 4:17. He also split 2:55 on the 1200 leg of his DMR. Willig may be the one going to nationals, but Perretta might be the PA Alumni Winter MVP...

Lastly, I think we have to give some recognition and thanks to former state champion Brad Rivera who had a respectable four years at Penn State. He set up countless fast races as a pace rabbit and provided excellent leadership and experience on a team that had only one other senior on their mid-distance/long distance squads.

Pittsburgh
-Nate Sloan
-Nick Wolk
-Matt McGoey
-Billy Caldwell
-James Hare
-Sebastian Curtin
-Aaron Lauer
-Chris Pastore
-Alex Archer

Let's start by talking about Nate Sloan who has been the leader of his class. The redshirt sophomore earned PR's of 4:08 and 1:53 this season. He struggled at ACC's, but you can't take away his talent. 4:08 with two years of eligibility left? Sounds like an exciting future.

Others in that junior class also include Caldwell, Hare, and Lauer. It was a slow start for Caldwell, but he finished the season with a nice PR of 4:11. Conversely, James Hare took advantage of his early season fitness and earned PR's of 2:30 (1k) and 4:19. Aaron Lauer may not have PR'd, but he did run times of 8:20 and 14:47.

Unfortunately, the older guys like Pastore and Archer struggled a bit this winter with neither individual coming all that close to their PR's.

But the future is still very bright for the Panthers with guys like Matt McGoey, Nick Wolk, and Sebastian Curtin. In his second year with the team, Curtin has seen some outstanding improvement in his 3k with a PR of 8:17.

McGoey is another sophomore that has broken out as of late. It took him some time to adjust in his first year of collegiate racing, but the North Allegheny alumni threw down PR's of 8:21 and 4:06 this winter. That 4:06 came at ACC's where he was able to qualify for the finals (where he eventually ran 4:09).

But the addition of Nick Wolk is what really catapulted this program to a new level. As a true freshman, Wolk registered PR's of 4:14 and 8:15.

The Panthers remind me a lot of the Sixers. They've had their fair-share of struggles in the past, but now they have new leadership, a young squad to build off of, and budding super-stars that could give them the push they need to enter the next level.

Lehigh
-Matt Kravitz
-Clay Stabolepszy
-Ryan Paradise
-David Fletcher
-Ryan Grace
-Joe Espinal
-James Chappell
-Patrick Reilly
-Brian Arita
-Jeff Kirshenbaum

I suppose the best place to begin would be with the mid-distance crew which has produced some surprises. Clay Stabolepszy and Ryan Paradise led the 800 crew this year as they were able to throw down times of 1:55 and 1:56 respectively. Surprisingly, top-tier recruits like Joe Espinal (1:51 HS PR) and David Fletcher (1:53 HS PR) struggled a bit in the 800 as Fletcher ran 1:58 and Espinal never broke 2:00.

James Chappell and Ryan Grace finished indoor track with season bests of 2:02.

However, the longer distance guys saw a bit more success. As a true freshman, Matt Kravitz looked like Superman as he earned PR's of 2:31 (1k), 4:08, and 8:25. He was complimented by Patrick Reilly who earned a HUGE 5k PR of 14:26 at the Patriot League Championships.

In addition to Kravitz and Reilly, true freshman Jeff Kirshenbaum also found his groove as he now owns a PR of 14:47.

Brian Arita finished the season with a 3k PR of 8:46. However, he failed to match his 5k PR of 14:53 after running a season best of 15:22.

Duquesne
-Rico Galassi
-Jeff Van Kooten
-Hunter Wharry
-Chris Kazanjian
-Michael Bove
-Jake Heinauer
-Cordon Louco

Rico Galassi has been the leader of this team for a few years now and he continues to drop his PR's. He didn't run the 5000 this season, but he did earn a 3000 PR of 8:21. Behind Galassi was sophomore Jeff Van Kooten who ran a PR of 8:30.

But the real name to watch seems to be redshirt sophomore Chris Kazanjian who threw down solid times of 8:38 and 14:54 this season. Close behind Kazanjian was Hunter Wharry who ran PR's of 8:35 and 15:01. Also joining the distance crew was former Pitt Panther Cordon Louco who ended up running 15:25 in his first indoor season with the Dukes.

Michael Bove led the team in the mid-distance events with a season best of 1:55 in the 800.

Bucknell
-Jacob Stupak
-Kyle Adams
-Sean Conway

I may have missed a name or two on this squad, but that's only because this is a team that boasts incredible depth. Kyle Adams is one of the top middle distance runners on the team and has been for the past few seasons. This past winter, the junior was able to run a 1k PR of 2:31 and run a season best of 1:55 (his indoor PR is 1:54). Overall, he was incredibly consistent.

Although the team is filled with experienced juniors and seniors, guys like Stupak and Conway have had big impacts on the team as freshmen. Stupak ran a very nice 4:17 to compliment his 8:41. Conway focused more on the middle distances as he recorded times of 51.3 and 1:56.

Penn
-Ross Wilson
-Brenden Shearn
-Lyle Wistar
-Jeff Wiseman
-Elias Graca

Despite Sam Webb not running this season (lets assume he was redshirted), there was still plenty of other performers on Penn's mid and long distance squads.

Brenden Shearn may not have run PR's this season, but he still posted respectable times of 8:32 and 14:23. Ross Wilson, on the other hand, was able to PR after running excellent times of 4:09 and 8:14. He also registered a 14:36 5k (13 seconds off of his overall PR).

We didn't get to see much of Lyle Wistar. He only ran one event (the 3000) where he had a season best of 8:35.

In the mid-distances, Wiseman and Graca led the way for Penn. Both athletes ran 1:52 while Graca also added on a 2:29 1k.

Columbia
-Sam Ritz
-Alek Sauer

They might be the best duo of PA alumni out there. This season we saw Ritz and Sauer tear up the mid-distance events. These two both recorded very fast 1k times of 2:24. In the mile, Sauer ran 4:13 while Ritz ran a killer 4:06 at the Armory. Both are life time bests.

Duke
-Alec Kunzweiler
-Kyle Francis
-Matt Wisner

Duke's mid-distance programs have treated our PA alumni well. As Wisner entered ACC's, he never lost an 800 to someone in his conference. Although he had an off day at ACC's, he still finished the season with PR's of 1:50 and 2:26. Not bad for the rookie.

Kyle Francis ended his season with a season best of 1:52.

Alec Kunzweiler may have only run 4:13, but a lot of his races this winter were devoted to relays.

Villanova
-Casey Comber
-Andrew Marston
-Paul Power

This Wildcat trio can not be slowed down. Casey Comber was an animal after recording times of 4:07 and 8:15 to compliment Andrew Marston's 4:12 and 8:15. Let's also keep in mind that Marston had an absolutely incredible 5000 at Big East's where he gave Erik Peterson a run for his money by placing second in a time of 14:17.

Paul Power rounded out this group with times of 4:19 and 8:51.

Others
There are simply too many individuals to cover them all. However, you can check out their TFRRS profiles that I have linked below. Let me know if I missed anyone!

-Dan Jaskowak
-Alex Milligan
-Cooper Leslie
-Liam O'Connell
-Andrew Stone
-John Lewis
-Ned Willig (running at NCAA's this weekend in the mile)
-Carrick "Rock" Fortna
-Joseph Maguire
-Mike Kolor
-Ben Szuhaj
-Scott Mason
-Jack Carmody
-Chris Sanders
-Luke Myers
-Bryce England
-Jake Brophy
-Xavier Sauvegeau
-Dominic DeLuca

Notable D2 & D3 Performers
Ernie Pitone (Widener) has had himself a heck of a season. The former O'Hara runner had two PR's this season with times of 4:11 and 8:17. Pitone will be contesting both events at NCAA's this upcoming weekend. Pitone could very well become All-American after running the 3000/mile/5000 triple at his conference meet and winning all three meets.

In addition to Pitone, Muhlenberg's Jaryd Flank will also be entered in the 3000 with an excellent seed time of 8:20. Flank will also run on Muhlenberg's DMR.

However, it's at D2 nationals where we could see Hillsdale's Caleb Gatchell make another run at becoming All-American in the mile. Gatchell is entered with an outstanding PR of 4:06 which is pair with some great 800 speed. If things get tactical, we could see Gatchell as an All-American once again...or maybe even better.

In the DMR, we'll actually get to see Caleb's little brother, Ethan Gatchell, on Cedarville's relay. Hillsdale was actually one of the team that could've bumped Cedarville out of NCAA's. Could you imagine how fun that dinner conversation would've been for the Gatchell family?

Finally, Middlebury's Jon Perlman was a name I missed when initially looking over the heat sheets (shoutout to the commenter that pointed this out). After running a 4:12 at Tufts Last Chance Meet, Perlman will contest the mile with Pitone at NCAA's.