District Action Wrap Up

Share opinions, results, splits and all that good stuff here on this post. I'll chime in with some thoughts as I get the time and see results. Definitely would be interested to hear splits on any of these top relays we saw this weekend in D7, D3 and D1.

4x8 Thoughts
Seneca Valley and Greensburg Salem made for an exciting match up out at WPIALs and I'm excited to see just how high they can place at states. Carlisle just picked up a big win in a race that saw 7 teams sub 8 out at district 3. Has to be one of their deepest finishes in recent years. Last year, these districts didn't make a huge dent in the state title scene (I think only North Allegheny medaled). I have to imagine that will be different this time around, but which teams will step up and make it happen?

In District One, it's kind of same stuff different day. CB West, Pennridge, North Penn and Abington, perhaps the 4 most successful mid distance programs in the area, take the top 4 spots overall and punch tickets for states. I'm pretty impressed with Pennridge, who was seemingly left for dead in this event up until leagues and now they are second in the district and gaining momentum. I don't think anybody is in CB West's league honestly, but Pennridge has some game changers with speed to make things interesting.

Boyertown was the biggest step up performer at D1, running a strong 7:57 despite the fact that I couldn't name anybody on their relay (Derafelo maybe? honestly can't tell you). They seemed like they might not be cut out for this final but they stepped up and beating some great teams. Sad to see CR South miss out on states, they were an awesome relay this year. But they have a lot to be proud of and shouldn't hang their heads. Two D1 races done and multiple guys with the SQS already left home. The demise of District One may have been over exaggerated.

With the results now officially in, Seneca Valley will be the #2 seed and Greensburg Salem will be the #3 seed at states. Anybody who had that at the beginning of the season deserves a big stack of cash to go gamble on things for me.

3200 Thoughts
The 3200 is looking like a lot of fun. Nate Henderson established himself early and, out of the top 4 in D3, I think only Henderson and Lefever will actually toe the line at Shippensburg as Affolder and Kole will have other events on their plate. Meanwhile in D7, Noah Beveridge asserted himself as a name to watch with a 9:20 win and Trey Razanauskas was the breakthrough performer of the event with a 9:25 for silver.

But District One proved why it has produced so many state champions after 6 guys went under 9:20 and 11 guys (including two freshmen!) went under the SQS. Rusty Kujdych comes away with gold, but Will Griffen of Cheltenham leaves the race as the story. He ran 9:07.03 for his first ever trip under 9:20 and came within 0.03 of knocking off the favorite from Neshaminy. Is Griffen now a title contender for next weekend at states?

Last year, Griffen was one of a pack of surprise state qualifiers in the 3200. This year, with the pressure on, much of that same string showed up in the clutch yet again. Brian Mass and Matt D'Aquila ran lifetime bests and huge season bests in 9:14 and 9:18 respectively to punch state meet tickets for the second straight year.

The true sign of a great program is how they retool after losing a talented class of seniors. Although DT West is graduating Bullock, O'Neill, Alansky and Barton from their core, the DT West boys are already starting to piece together a talented group of returners led by Tyler Rollins who stepped up for the 8th and final state qualifying spot in 9:25.

Huge shout out to Avery Lederer on a terrific race. He belongs in the state meet, but as a 9th place finisher will have to wait for his chance next year. On the bright side, the guy who finished in 9th with the SQS a year ago is now the district champion. That could be Avery this time next year.

Now all these times are very fast, but the question becomes can District One do it on the big stage? A year ago, the district had a ton of fast performers yet again, but managed just one medal in the event at states (and that was an 8th place finish from Jake Brophy). Other than that, the WPIAL and District 3 really took it to them in the final standings. Considering D3 took the first four spots at XC states this year and produced the state champion indoors at both the mile and 3k, there's some pressure on the D1 long distance guys to make a name for themselves when the lights are brightest.

1600m Thoughts
The AA race is getting interesting. I'm assuming Cullen won't race this event at states (although he's a sub 4:20 guy with wheels to throw down a kick), but we saw fast results in both the WPIAL and the District 4 championships that caught my attention. Tyler Lesser won the D4 title in 4:20.24, defeating a state medal caliber athlete in Hunter Crawley (4:23). Lesser ran 1:55 last year as a sophomore and earned a state medal in the 800. He may stick there, but if he decides to put his focus on the 1600, I think he's got a shot to challenge the WPIAL boys.

Of course the class of this field is in the west. Tristan Forsythe turned the tables on Zach Skolnekvoich, running 4:16 for the victory. However, the bigger news was arguably Ben Bumgarner getting the silver in a new PR of 4:17 and beating out his Quaker Valley rival as well. Those three would likely be the top 3 favorites on paper in the 1600 but it appears that at least Ben will put all his eggs in the 3200 basket at this point. Skolnekovich has a lot to think about now as Bumgarner looks like a very formidable opponent and, once again, the biggest obstacle to his first state championship. Personally, I'd like to see Zach try the double, but we will see what he feels is best.

Speaking of guys trying the double, Nate Henderson finished off his District 3 career with a big win over Sam Affolder in the 1600. Henderson ran 4:13 and clocked his second gold of the meet. Affolder was doubling off the anchor leg of the 4x8 without a ton of time to rest up. I don't know if he was going all out or just aiming for points, but I think this indicates to me that the 4x8-16 double will not be a cake walk for the Carlisle sophomore. Especially if Carlisle is going hard after 4x8 gold with CB West alongside them. Will Henderson consider the double at states after this victory? I don't think the 1600 prelims will take a ton out of him, so it may be worth a shot. He's absolutely rolling right now.

Of course some guys from District One will have something to say. Matt Scarpill of CB South pulled out a huge win with a fiery kick to take the 1600 in 4:16. Hard to argue with the resume he has been putting together in the last few weeks. Could he be your state champ when all is said and done? Scarpill has had his best state finish in XC and indoor track this year, but has yet to finish top 4 in a championship. Liam Conway should give him an interesting rematch at states.

Great races from Bryan Keller and Brandon Hontz in this one as well. For Keller, he finally got the breakthrough he was due for an became our surprise 4:18 guy. For Hontz, he had his best performance of the season and took 4th in the meet, peaking at the right time. I wasn't sold on him heading into this meet and, even after making the finals, didn't think he'd advance. Now he rolls into states with some momentum, hoping to sneak into the finals after missing out last year.

CRN sends two to states in another event, giving them 4 different individuals as state qualifiers out of District One? How often do you see that? And they all crushed the SQS in their respective events. I suppose it's not a huge surprise, as that same foursome all ran under 15:50 in XC and placed top 26 at states, but still it's great to see them put it together yet again.

Spencer Smucker qualifies for states as an individual for what I believe is the first time outdoors alongside fellow Ches-mont er Austin Maxwell. And yet again, District One has at least 8 runners under the SQS (although this time it was exactly 8).

800m Thoughts
Well, as much as I think this weekend really made us rethink the 1600 landscape, I think it went the other way in the 800. Nick Wagner's race was very impressive, Nick Feffer looks just as strong as ever, but Josh Hoey ended up taking the favorite spot in a big way with his 1:51.60. Kid is a huge talent who will have fresh legs in the final when someone like Feffer will not. I think that gives him that extra advantage that he may not need as the fastest man in the field by PR.

District One will send 8 runners to the state final, only two of which are seniors. Radnor's Peter Cooke dropped a big outdoor season best with his 1:54 and Christian Craig continued his breakthrough senior season with a 1:55.00, but other than that it's 4 juniors, a sophomore and a freshman coming out of D1. The freshman will be Jonah Hoey who PRed by just under a second to grab the 8th and final spot to states. Michael Clark of Methacton was the biggest mover in my mind as he dropped a big chunk of time down to 1:56.23 and punched a ticket to states.

I will say that the most impressive race of the weekend may have come from D3. Isaac Kole put on a crazy kick in what I think was his 4th race of the weekend. He ended up running 1:55 and coming back to beat Nathan Lopez and Derin Klick in the final meters for the individual title. I'm assuming Kole will go with just the 4x8 and the open 8 next weekend and that could be exciting. With fresher legs, he could be a contender for a top 4 spot in this race, depending on who is on their game.

Lots of interesting names in the 1:55-1:56 range, especially from other districts that aren't the big three. Off the top of my head Tristan Connor, Seth Phillips and Stephen Kraus all jump to mind. Gonna be fun to see which of those guys handles the pressure and pops a big time. Lots of redemption stories with the D12 guys, Isaiah Bailey (just dropped a great PR himself over 800) and Delisle who missed finals last year but have extra experience this time around to get back.

By the way, maybe I missed it, but I think no AAA teams will come into states with a seed time faster than 3:20. I would be interested to see the last time that happened. Maybe I'm forgetting a year, but seems like it's been a while.