2017 State Recaps: 800m

800m

AA

There are many elements that go into an upset. In the AA 800, many of the top runners put their priorities in other places. For Donovan Myers and the Seneca boys, it was the 4x8. For Joe Cullen and Tyler Leeser, it was the 1600. For Ryan Thrush, it was the 400. But it’s also important to remember that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. And Robert Reichenbaugh was ready for this state 800.

After a disappointing finish in the 4x8 opened the door for redemption, Reichenbaugh entered the open 800 shooting for a 1:55 and a state medal. Kamil Jihad, the top returner from a year ago, stormed out to the lead accompanied by Tyler Leeser. These two were the top returners from this race a year earlier. On the final lap, Reichenbaugh surged by them both and, after missing out qualifying for the final last year, he moved into 1^st place and clinched the title in 1:55.12 with Leeser 2^nd and Jihad 3^rd. Reichenbaugh’s final time of 1:55.12 would have gotten him just 6^th last year, but this year, he had just what was needed to grab the victory. Jihad and Leeser will return next year as the top returners for a second straight season.

Lots of other runners picked this race to step into PRs. Trinity’s Matt Geisler came back from a monster 4x8 performance to clock a big open PR at 1:56. Matt Kinback continued the positive momentum for District 2 AA with a 5^th place finish in his own big 1:56 time and Mike Walwro of Central Cambria rounded out the 1:56s. Chase Varner of Southern Fulton, who hadn’t broken 2 in his previous district and state appearances, rolled to a state medal for the little known District 5, clocking a time of 1:57.61. Then Griffin Sites added what may have been his first sub two with a 1:57.80. A lot of these guys in the medals left with big PRs and really put an exclamation mark on their seasons or, in most cases, careers.

AAA

The AAA race was a wire to wire victory as Josh Hoey got out to a good start and took control. No challenged Hoey off the start and he took things through in a fairly conservative first lap before. He held his advantage on the back stretch before really opening up his stride on the final straightaway. His long legs ate up a ton of track en route to a 1:50.13 clocking, a top 10 mark in PA history (5^th fastest in meet history). The junior is now in the top 10 all time for the mile and the 800 in PA (his best mile coming from indoors) and, as he put it in his post race interview, his season is just getting started. It’s clear Hoey has big goals for nationals and should be a factor to join the sub 1:50 club and perhaps even dip into the 4:05 range for the mile.

I was really impressed with Nick Wagner’s run. The Penn Trafford senior ran 1:53 at his district meet in his first major 800 of the season and I was worried the pressure that comes from that time plus his lack of experience in outdoor championships, could be a cause for concern. But Wagner handled and helped keep things interesting in this field. Meanwhile, Hudson Delisle continued to consistently drop time, clocking a 1:52.01 and just missing an honor roll time. Delisle will be the #2 returner for next year, but you never know what Hoey will decide to run at next year’s championships. This is the second straight season and 4^th straight track championship where Quakertown has produced an 800 state medalist.

Derin Klick closes out his career with a 4^th place finish at states, just a week after taking 3^rd at districts. Klick has been resilient through district week and then found a way to turn it up a notch each of the past two state meets. He seems to really thrive in the trials-finals format which would serve him well at the next level. Nick Feffer of State College rounded out the top 5 with his second straight medal winning performance in the 800.

Christian Craig of William Tennent really came on strong to close out the year. his teammate, Matt Kraus, was the big name during indoor track, but Craig ended up finding momentum at the right time and riding it all the way through to a surprise medal in the state finals. He ran 1:54.21 this season and I don’t believe he was even under 2 minutes during the winter (at least in the open). I have to say, William Tennent has really done a nice job in recent years. Their XC team has been consistently improving and they had two top 50 finishers this year. Now Kraus and Craig both clock SQS times in the 800 and Craig gets a state medal. This isn’t a traditional powerhouse program, but Tennent has acquitted itself well.

Matt Busche will be an interesting name. Busche finished 9^th in this championship meet, running 1:54.92 in his fourth race of the weekend. I’d imagine Busche had a couple monster splits for his 4x8, plus he had to throw down a 1:56.1 in the prelim (pretty close to his PR) and he still banged out a 1:54.92 at the end of it. Busche was nearly a top 50 finisher during XC, so he’s got great strength and clearly he’s got speed. He comes back next season.