5 Lists of 5

As you may have already seen, a full recap of all this past weekend’s action is available in the comment section under the post “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?” which is one down from this one. An anonymous commenter broke down a lot of the action in recap style and it’s definitely worth a read. Mr. Anonymous if you have a code name or something, I can give you a little more credit. Feel free to reach out via email or whatever if you are interested in writing some stuff more often and want it in post format. Same goes for all you other readers out there.

Because we’ve got the recaps taken care of for this weekend, I didn’t see much reason to rehash through all the points. Instead I’ve opted to write a post that I call “5 Lists of 5” that calls out some of my personal most impressive performances. Some of this is repeats of the recap talk as it seemed appropriate, but hopefully there’s some new stuff in here to chew on as well.

Top 5 Performances

1. Rusty Kujdych, Neshaminy

The number one XC runner of 2017 did not disappoint with his first 2018 result. Kujdych smashed a strong field with a time of 8:39 to win by 32 seconds. For those of you who have been reading along, I mentioned in my post “2017 Is In the Books” that Kujdych may be in better shape than he finished the 2017 indoor season (when he ran 8:36). Looking back on that comment, I felt a little silly until Rusty bailed me out with a huge run for 3k this weekend. Honestly, although the time wasn’t faster than his state meet PR, it was potentially intrinsically better when you consider the flat track, the lack of competition and the lack of extra hype/energy that comes from racing at a big meet like states.

2. Collin Ebling, Pottsville

Ebling is another guy I touched on briefly earlier in the year, but in my Kevin Dare preview he was completely absent. I honestly didn’t even see his name on the heat sheets. But when he stepped out onto the track, he made sure everybody noticed him with a 1:55.03 PR (indoors or out) which shot him to PA #1. He beat my personal two top contenders for a state championship in Cullen and Eissler (besides Hoey of course) pretty emphatically and showcased some real closing speed. The question now is: will Ebling be a state champion the next time he comes back to PSU?

3. Brenden Miller, Upper Dauphin

Another Kevin Dare winner, Miller clocked an 8:49.95 to roll to the victory against a really deep field. I knew Miller had a shot to win this coming in, but this kind of team really surprises me. Especially when you consider the fact that he opened up about a 15 second advantage on the rest of the field. Miller was in A this past XC season, so not many people likely noticed how strong this kid was in XC. And Miller may honestly be better on the track. I was leaning that way at the end of last spring and I’m pretty much all the way there now. Better than 15:40 on the trails on the track? The kid could produce a huge 3200 result by the time outdoors comes around (which is where I really think he will shine).

4. Jonah Hoey, Bishop Shanahan

It probably isn’t easy racing in a family with two state champion brothers, but Jonah Hoey is starting to make a name for himself. He clocked a 1:58.62 this past weekend on a flat track to roll to a 5 second victory. Hoey has now run 1:58 and 4:23 as a sophomore before MLK Day. We saw a Hoey brother 1-2 finish in the mile not too long ago with Jaxson and Josh during their senior and sophomore years respectively. Now we are there with Josh and Jonah and, oh by the way, they’ve run the two fastest times in the state (not counting conversions).

5. Garrett Baublitz, Juniata

Another outstanding freshman, Baublitz finished as the #1 PA miler at Kevin Dare with 4:24.21 and second place finish. That 4:24 time may not sound like much, but for this Kevin Dare meet it’s actually a historically great performance. Baublitz time is faster than the 2017 and 2014 champions and nearly identical to Alex Milligan (future 4:10 guy) in 2016 when he ran 4:24.09. The meet record is 4:20.74 by Jack Huemmler in 2013.

Top 5 Performances You May Have Missed

1. Jason Cornelison Cheltenham

Cheltenham’s junior is tops in his class after a 9:34.90 2 Mile time for 5^th at the Hispanic Games. You probably didn’t miss this one as Cornelison’s time will convert to a top 3 mark in the state behind only Kujdych and Miller, but he could have gotten lost in the shuffle of the big time 3k surge. Plus, I think I’m higher on Corenlison’s upside than the average guy. He had a really good XC season that could have ended with a state medal if a few things clicked right. He’s hitting all the check points that teammate Will Griffen did (and Griffen ran 9:07 for 3200!) and he’s only a junior!

2. David Endres, CB East

CB East is a strong team with a great program. We may not remember now after all the XC states craziness, but CB East was just a few points away from state qualifying. If they got there, they could have been a top 8 team just like the other 5 D1 state qualifiers. Well the leader of that distance core is David Endres. The junior has some really strong PRs, including a 1:57 800 and he picked up a big time win in his first major individual result this indoors. Endres ran 2:01 to beat a strong field of 800 guys and remind us all that he is a contender for a state medal this season.

Endres has also split a 1:58 this indoors already on the team’s SMR at Burdette to win that race for his squad. Watch for a DMR later in the year from this squad with guys like Alex Bardwell, John Brophy and Richie Jethon (among others) getting involved.

3. Will Merhige, The Haverford School   9:17 for 2^nd at TFCAofGP D2

The independent leaguers don’t get a lot of love on this site. It’s not really fair, but it’s part of the PIAA system. Well, during indoors we all race together and guys like Will Merhige of The Haverford School are seizing the opportunity. Will ran 9:17.57 for 3k at TFCAofGP to nearly knock off Peter Borger of Malvern Prep and put himself in the conversation for a backend state qualifying spot by season’s end. Merhige was 4^th at Independent States this past XC season. His teammates, Mark Gregory and Khalil Bland, could help make an interesting DMR before all is said and done as well.

4. Colin Gallagher, Hempfield 2:03.54 Kevin Dare (1^st in 2^nd of 4 heats)

5. Davis Piercy, Kennett 4:38.13 to win slower section of 1600 (also has run 2:04 for 800)

The most important thing in racing is winning and these two guys both gutted out big wins. Davis Piercy of Kennett ran 4:38 for 1600 and won his section of the event at Ocean Breeze. The Kennett stand out had a nice XC season and has already clocked 2:04 for 800 this season to pair with his 4:38. Austin Maxwell was a state qualifier from this program last year and Piercy is hoping to use what he learned from the now graduated all-star to follow in his footsteps.

Meanwhile, Colin Gallagher won heat 2 of 4 at the Kevin Dare Invite and actually placed better than anybody in even heat 3. His time of 2:03.54 was one of the top marks for a PA runner and put the senior on the map. Hempfield had a really strong 4x8 last year, breaking 8 minutes, without one big name to carry them to that time. The team is still pretty darn deep this year (they placed 8^th at states in XC) and Gallagher gives them a high upside piece to build around along with guys like Christian Groff, Justin Rittenhouse and Max Lessans (among others I’m sure).

Top 5 Team Performances

1. CB West

CB West has been one of the best track programs of the early season, so it’s not surprising to see them atop this list. The Yellow Jackets clocked a 10:50 DMR to roll for the win at TFCAofGP, but also took home a silver in the 4x8 with a time of 8:35. And oh by the way, one of their most dangerous weapons in Jake Claricurzio was in the open 8 (and ran 2:03 for a medal). West also raced at Briarwood a few nights earlier. I expect a 4x8 time down under 8:10 in the not so distant future.

2. Seneca Valley

Speaking of sub 8:10 4x8s, Seneca Valley did what they came to do at Kevin Dare. The Western powerhouse dropped an 8:07 4x8 to roll to the title over a sneaky good Radnor squad by a comfortable 23 seconds. This was a big result for SV who focused all their energies into the 4x8 in hopes of getting that fast time. Don’t count these out as state title contenders in this event. They’ve still got a lot of room to grow.

3. Wyomissing

It can be tricky for a small school (AA for track and XC) to compete during indoors where all classifications are thrown together, but Wyomissing is holding their own. We already mentioned Joe Cullen (a big time 1:56 performance in the 800), but how about his teammates? Foster and Vargo both ran 4:44 in the mile while Ben Kuhn and Matt Driben ran 9:12 and 9:14. Kuhn, by the way, is just a sophomore. Both he and Driben are setting themselves up for big outdoor seasons in the 3200 against that AA competition, but they also could surprise and sneak into this state field if they continue to have success like this. There is a ton of depth here. I think I overlooked just how deep they were during XC, even compared to the AAA teams, until I did my interview with them for the Etrain 11 series. Only LaSalle (AKA the Army) had a better #5 at XC states across all the divisions. That’s impressive.

The Wyomissing boys were also the top PA school in the 4x4 with a mark of 3:31. I expect this squad to throw together a DMR to be reckoned with at some point this year. They could be a 10:30 or faster kinda squad when all is said and done. I’m in on this team.

4. Haverford

I loved what I saw from this team at TFCAofGP. Aiden Tomov could have made the list right above this with his jaw dropping 4:37 victory in the mile over a couple state medalists, but his teammates also impressed. Erik McCallion ran 2:04 for 4^th in the 800, Brendan Campbell added a 6^th in the mile and Mike Donnelly took 5^th in the 3k. And, by the way, none of those guys were seniors.

5. Greensburg Salem

Greensburg Salem was a really fun team a year ago who got some well-deserved DMR potential buzz indoors before showcasing their relay talent on the outdoor oval with a 7:51 4x8. Three key pieces are back and those guys opened with 2:01 (Dylan Binda), 4:35/10:05 (Mark Brown) and 4:40/10:03 (Cameron Binda). They gave Seneca Valley a nice push last spring in the 4x8. I’d like to see that carry over into the winter as I expect both teams to contend in the DMR before all is said and done.

5 Teams To Watch

Winchester Thurston – Pollock doubles 4:32-2:06

1. Great Valley

I’m stealing this one from my recapping friend because I like it. Brett Zatlin was one of the breakout stars in a weekend filled with breakout stars, clocking a 1:57 for 800 at Kevin Dare. Meanwhile, his teammates were doing work at Ocean Breeze. GV took 1-2-3 in their heat of the 1600 at the New York facility, resulting in times of 4:44, 4:45 and 4:46 (Riley Casey, Rahman Mohammed, Seth Hoffritz). They also added a 4:49 from Hayden Coates and a 1:29.98 600 from Hoffritz (aforementioned). GV was 11^th in D1 for XC (just 1 spot behind Henderson and 1 spot ahead of North Penn), they’ve got a rising star to lift the team and some key pieces. I like the potential.

2. CR South

The “other” Council Rock team put up a trio of strong individual performances at the TFCAofGP meet this weekend with Kyle Kutney (4^th in the 3k), Andrew Zawodniak (5^th in the mile) and Gavin Ricchini (2:04 for 6^th in the 800) leading the charge. They also have Collin Ochs (2:01 800 this year) at their disposal. South was a sub 8 squad last year, nearly stole a state medal indoors and impressed on the big stage of Penn Relays. Plus, they are still the #5 4x8 in the state by my math. They need to be taken seriously.

3. Jenkintown

This squad hasn’t necessarily done anything super flashy yet, but they seem to be focusing a lot on the DMR and racing well. That’s a good sign and the strategy that teams like Bishop Shanahan (a few years back) used to help rise as a program on the indoor scene. Jenkintown is a small school competing with the big boys which is already a good start. They’ve got two guys with a lot of state hardware in Jack Miller and Josh Jackson and they’ve got a gold medal in their trophy case from TFCAofGP this past weekend.

4. Chester

Another point that has already been made, but we’ve seen sprint powers like Abington, Cheltenham and Penn Wood do big things in the 4x8 over the years. Is Chester next? Malachi Langley joined Lamaj Curry as a legit 800 piece this weekend with his 2:04. Langley has also clocked 51.04 for 400 meters.

5. Winchester Thurston

My personal favorite high upside sleeper pick. Winchester Thurston has proven themselves as a distance power, competing consistently for XC state championships in A. They’ve got an all-world miler in Tristan Forsythe who could give them a 4:12 type anchor carry. And now they’ve established a #2 piece. Gordon Pollock, coming off a monster XC season, ran 4:32 and 2:06 in the same meet at Youngstown. He would be a great 1200 leg. This team has done the hard part-can they fill in the other pieces with some of that distance depth? That remains to be seen.

Top 5 Questions After This Weekend

Can anybody beat Rusty?

Seems like the 3k is his to lose, but sometimes it’s not how it seems in the longer events.

When will the relays explode?

We still haven’t seen an SQG in the DMR (the hardest SQG there is, but still) and the 4x8 has been relatively slow considering the SQG isn’t crazy fast (a lot more teams will hit the time than will be allowed to run states). There’s enough talent across the state to hit these standards though so expect a huge surge in fast relays sooner rather than later.

Can Shanahan get the national record?

This has gotten some buzz recently and I’m starting to buy in. The key may be Jonah Hoey and I’ll tell you what, he’s off to a monster start. Logan Yoquinto also looked great through two meets with a 1:57 split and a flat track 4:34.

Will Western PA ever have a meet?

We need to see these guys race. A lot of talent out there that should be super fun to add to the state qualifying landscape. The small taste we got this past weekend was enough to get us excited for a full-fledged league meet schedule.

Can the Eagles beat the Falcons?

We are underdogs at home. Hopefully we use that to our advantage and it’s not a sign of things to come. I like the defense, I like the potential for an ugly game. Just need to contain Julio and get a little bit more offense going from our boys.

Some extra stuff to mention …

Penncrest gets 4:39-4:39-4:41 marks from three guys not named Avery Lederer. That’s a pretty nice stable of distance runners and their DMR upside is looking good as well. Remember, Penncrest was state runner ups in the DMR in 2008 with a comparable team (although there’s no Anthony Batch on the 400 leg). Could be a sleeper.

Also, as a side note, Avery Lederer was clocked through 3k at 9:00 by the official timing system, but his final two mile time will be converted to something around 9:03 (based on the PTFCA listed 38 second conversion on the final 2 Mile time). Is he allowed to use the 9 flat for qualifying purposes? I hope so, otherwise the PTFCA conversion system is flawed (well, it’s already flawed, but that’s a conversation for another day). It may not matter as it usually takes in the 8:56 range to get to states, but it’s something worth keeping an eye on for the time being.

Pennsbury already has three individual state qualifiers in the 800 and their 4^th has run 2:05 from scratch. Is there any way we get a Pennsbury v. Shanahan match up at states? Is 7:45 finally in jeopardy? Is it worth comparing Shanahan and Pennsbury in the 4x8 at this stage in the game? All fair questions in my opinion. Definitely exciting to see what happens next.