Defining Runners
Jimmy Tarsnane,
Perkiomen Valley
Tarsnane was likely the best long distance guy we had
during the 2008-2009 season. In a lot of ways, he was as clutch as the two
Pioneer guys before him (Mark Dennin and Jason Weller) who have gone down as
all-time great type performers. But for whatever reason, I kinda wavered on
whether or not he belonged on the defining runners list.
Jimmy was twice a top 10 performer in the state in XC and
also won a state title individually with a fearless front running strategy. He
ran sub 15:20 for 5k at Lehigh. During his years at PV, he took the school from
an afterthought in the district to 4th in the state. He won district
and state titles in the 3200 (PR of 9:04.22) and was also 3rd in the
same event as a junior. Although Tarsnane didn’t have super flashy mile times,
he picked up an indoor medal in the event and helped anchor PV to a strong DMR
performance at indoor states. That’s a pretty darn good resume.
On the flip, Jimmy had to deal with Ben Furcht and Joe
Beveridge (we will get to them) who somewhat overshadowed his achievements and
ended up going into his lane and overlapping with his legacy. For whatever
reason, I was drawn to some other runners from this time period and Tarsnane
sort of fell out of the spotlight. But the dude was a baller who won the two
most important races of the season for distance runners when he wasn’t even the
favorite. Props to Tarsnane.
Joe Beveridge,
Bishop McDevitt
During my high school years, Beveridge was the first AA
guy I remember that made you think-hey is this guy better than the best AAA?
There were other good AA runners, but Beveridge was dominant in the long stuff.
He won Mid-Penns, Districts and States in XC back to back years. His second
season he was utterly dominant against a strong XC contingent in AA that
included future sub 4 miler Alfredo Santana and future US Championship
Qualifier Jimmy Spisak. On the outdoor track, Beveridge won back to back titles
in the 3200 including a 9:11 mark as a junior (he opened up like a 7 second
margin of victory in one lap over Spisak). In Beveridge’s final state meet he
won the 32 and also ran a leg on McDevitt’s 4x400.
Sam Havko, Fairview
For the first three years of high school, Havko was
definitely solid, but the Fairview harrier really turned things up a notch as a
senior. In XC, he was the District 10 champ and clocked some all-time great
marks on the western courses. He also placed in the top 10 at the state
championships. But things really heated up for Havko on the outdoor oval. He
won the Baldwin Invite mile and then stormed through Districts and States,
winning AA championships with marks of 4:10.17 and 1:52.78. Both results were
blow outs and negative splits. If Beveridge made you think about how the AA
guys stacked up head to head against AAA, Havko made it seem like a fact that
he was the best middle distance guy in the state regardless of classification.
Honorable Mention: Ben
Furcht, Lower Merion & TJ Hobart, Baldwin
Furcht and Hobart did different things, but their
legacies are similar because both guys graduated without a state championship.
Let’s start with Hobart. TJ was a super star from his
sophomore season which included a 4:12 run in the 1600 and an epic 4x8 3rd
leg carry of 1:52 that catapulted Baldwin into position for the upset over
North Penn. From that time on, TJ was something of a mythical figure in the PTXC
forums and was always a big topic of discussion. Hobart had flashes of
potential in XC (a couple top 5ish finishes in the WPIAL), but he really shined
on the track. He would routinely win championships at 800 and 1600 and would
post some outrageous doubles and triples. Once he reportedly split 47 seconds
for the 400.
But Hobart had bad luck going for state titles. As a
sophomore, he was too tired from his 4x8 carry to have anything left for the open
16. As a junior, he tried a triple indoors for the 16, 8 and DMR and things
didn’t work out. Then outdoors, he was in position to grab the title, pulling
away from Greg Kareis, when Nick Crits came flying out of nowhere for the
victory. His senior season indoors, he fell in the state final and outdoors he
once again struggled to pull off the 4x8-16 double and finished out of the medals
in the state final.
Final fun fact: I met TJ Hobart at outdoor states my
junior season and he showed me that he opens his bananas from the back and eats
them that way. It was pretty cool.
If Hobart had heartbreak, it’s hard to figure out what to
call Ben Furcht’s career. Unlike TJ, he didn’t start his sophomore or even
junior seasons as a big time speedster. The humble beginnings for Furcht
included a time of just 17:27 as a sophomore at districts for XC. A year later
he ran 15:53 and barely cracked the top 50 at states. Then, as a senior, Furcht
won Foundation, Paul Short and Districts with a personal best of 15:08. Ben
entered Hershey as a clear favorite for the 2008 AAA XC state title, but he got
off to a slow start through the mile and could never catch back up to Jimmy
Tarsnane. After running in 2nd for a while he faded hard on the last
hill and fell back to 11th. Furcht had redemption at the Footlocker
Northeast Regional, placing 10th and qualifying for Nationals. He
was once again the top PA high schooler.
Indoors, Furcht decided to try his hand in both the mile
and the 3k after finding some surprising speed in the shorter distance. Ben
qualified for the fast heat of the mile (#2 overall seed), but the pace never
really got going in that event. As a result, the top 3 finishers from the slower
section took 2nd, 3rd and 4th overall. Furcht
finished 2nd in the fast heat but had to settle for 5th
overall. With revenge on his mind, Furcht threw down a fantastic race in the 3k,
but was denied the title yet again as Bobby Micikas of Crestwood sprinted by
him with an epic kick. Both runners dropped (at the time) mammoth PRs at 8:35
and 8:36.
No, I’m not done. Outdoors, Furcht went to the Penn
Relays and faced Micikas again. Furcht ran the 4x8 at the very beginning of the
day, but was otherwise fresh for the 3k final that night. He would be taking on
not just Micikas and Tarsnane (his two big rivals) but also the top 2 finishers
in the state from the indoor mile at PA states. Oh by the way, the reigning
Footlocker National Champion Solomon Haile was also in the race as a huge
favorite.
Ultimately, although Haile was expected to win, he didn’t
have enough at the end of the race. Furcht was in position to strike for the title
on the last lap before, once again, Micikas surprised with a late surge for the
victory. The Crestwood senior dropped an 8:23.84 to Furcht’s 8:24.72 and the
two took 1-2 in the event. At outdoor states, Furcht put all his eggs in the
3200 basket. A well-executed second half surge put Micikas out of position to
kick him down. However, Jimmy Tarsnane was ready for revenge. The Perkiomen
Valley senior sprinted by Ben for a 9:04.22 to 9:04.55 championship finish.
Another silver for Furcht.
Look, I think my bias is showing. I’m a big Ben Furcht
guy (he has a running diaries character so you know he must be a big deal) and
although he didn’t get that state title, he was less than a second away from
being an all-time great on many levels.
Defining Teams
CB South
PA’s greatest 4x8 of all time started out in the shadow
of another all-time great. As North Penn stormed to a 7:38 mark at the 2008
state championship, CB South was clawing for a 7:46.32. South returned three members
of that team and saw first-hand how close to a state record a team could be.
They had to cut 10 seconds off their prior best mark if they were going to
knock off a legendary Wissahickon record. From the first meets of the season,
they were focused on getting it.
During indoor track, CB South was off to a slow start.
Tom Mallon, the reigning outdoor state champ at 800, was struggling in his
junior year. The relay was OK, but Upper Dublin and North Penn were turning more
heads. However, when push came to shove, Mallon came to play. The junior
stepped up a shocked Upper Dublin’s Mike Palmisano at states with a then record
1:51.79 (#11 US AT on race day). Then Mallon came back to anchor his 4x8 to a
state championship over the 4x defending champions from North Penn. His 1:52
carry led to a 7:49.01 time which was then the second best mark in state meet
history.
This was a good start, but CB South still had a long way
to go to get down to 7:36. They needed some guys to step up outside of their
all-star anchor leg in Mallon. And they didn’t have to wait long to get those
performances. At the Penn Relays, CB South ran 7:52.08 to make the championship
of America. Mallon, usually the team’s savior, managed just a 1:57.3 in the
prelims and said he felt terrible. The other legs pick up the slack with marks
in the 1:58-1:57 range. A day later, they ran the finals.
With the pressure on, CB South clocked an unreal 7:36.93
(which was absurdly just 3rd best in a race that featured 5 sub 7:40
teams and a then national record for Abemarle at 7:30.67). Jeff Dickson set the
tone with a 1:57.20, Matt Poiesz clocked 1:53.41, Dave Manion dropped a 1:56.53
and then Tom Mallon brought things home. With a 1:49.79.
With that kind of time in the bank in April, South seemed
like a lock to cut off the remaining second or so needed to break Wissahickon’s
record of 7:36.24. All they needed was the right amount of competition. At
states, they got just that. But we will talk about that later.
North Allegheny
During the 2007 Cross Country season, North Allegheny was
the early favorite to win states until North Penn decided they were a
juggernaut on the trails as well as the track (the Tigers took 3rd).
But after graduating their two top guys (who were 9th and 12th
at states), NA retooled and somehow got better. With an unreal pack led by
varsity rookie Chase Broussard, the Tigers rolled through the Carlisle
Invitational and crushed defending champion North Penn. Also developing as a
star was sophomore Ryan Gil who went on to take 3rd at WPIALs.
But alas, the Tigers were not meant to be states
champions in 2008. The North Penn Knights ended up the champs again and North
Allegheny, in a surprise twist, dropped to 3rd in the final
standings. It was the second straight year that the Tigers were left off the podium.
But they didn’t sit back and stay sullen in defeat. North Allegheny trained
hard through to the Nike Northeast Regionals. It was here that they knocked off
North Penn and qualified for the National Championships, again utilizing a
crazy strong pack. They were picked to finish last at Nationals, but NA ended
up taking 12th overall. That’s one of the best finishes PA has ever
had at a national championship, beating all-time great squads like 2012 Henderson
and 2015 DT West.
Ryan Gil was the big name from that crew, but at the time
he was just a sophomore. Chase Broussard, Pat Morgan, Will Appman and Eric
Balaban rounded out the top 5. It wasn’t really a star studded group but they
are arguably the best North Allegheny team we’ve seen in the last 12 seasons.
Which is saying something when you consider how stacked past squads have been.
Upper Dublin
Ah yes, my high school. The blog would likely not exist
if it wasn’t for the Class of 2009 at Upper Dublin. These guys were hard
working, determined and inspiring. Plus they always gave me stuff to talk about
on the penntrack forums. Mike Palmisano was our #1 guy. He spent his entire
senior season gunning for a state title. After taking 3rd at the
indoor and outdoor state champions at 800 as a junior, Palm went after gold his
senior season. However, despite running a near meet record time, Tom Mallon
blasted by him on the last lap for the gold in that event. So outdoors, Palm
decided to jump up to the 1600 and avoid Mallon. It was here that he got that
elusive gold with a 4:13 PR.
But what was crazy about Mike was the doubles and triples
he attempted. Palmisano ran 3 races at leagues (winning the 16, 8 and taking 2nd
to a teammate in the 32) then a week later ran 6 races (trails and finals of
the 4x8, 16, 8) and took 2nd, 1st, 3rd in the
events. Then a week later he ran 6 more races (the same 6) and took 2nd,
1st, 3rd at states. When he graduated, he held school
records for the basically all the distance events.
However, the team around him was super strong as well.
Paul Reilly finished 3rd at indoor states in the 800 during his
first ever indoor season. He dropped an open 1:55 after just dipping under 2
minutes the year before during the spring. Matt Lorenzo mastered the 1200 leg
better than anybody and Pat Reilly, Paul’s twin, turned his first ever track
season (indoors or out) into a 1:56 split by the end of outdoors.
That combination of talent led to an indoor state title
in the DMR, a Penn Relays championship in the DMR and a silver outdoors in the 4x8.
They dropped a mark of 7:40.04 and, if it wasn’t for CB South, would have been
a legendary relay squad (that was #6 in state history at the time). Instead
they are a bullet point next to them in the history books. In XC, Upper Dublin
took 5th at states in both 2007 and 2008 and was 2nd and
3rd at districts in those same years.
Best “The 11”
Story
Other Districts in
XC
Prior to the 2008 XC season, District One had been
absolutely dominant in XC. They had the top 4 AAA finishers in 2006 and then
the top 6 in 2007. Plus the district posted 37 of the 50 AAA medalists during
that span. However, things took a turn starting in 2008 as a generation of
small district runners made a name for themselves.
It started with Bud Plazenski of District 9 Dubois. In a
truly unprecedented performance, Bud, basically completely off the state radar,
dropped a huge state meet performance and finished 3rd overall.
District 2 got in the action with top 10 finishes from both Bobby Micikas and sophomore
Reece Ayers. Looking back, those names make sense. Ayers was a top 20 finisher
in the northeast region multiple years and Micikas went on to win the indoor
state title over 3,000. But at the time those guys were also big unknowns. The
same can be said for sophomores Wade Endress (14th) and Jacob Kildoo
(17th). Three District 11 guys made the podium and the first PCL
guys ever (O’Sullivan and O’Kane).
Heck, even the district medalists from the major
districts were surprising. Tarsnane, Will Kellar and Dan Krystek all placed
better at states than districts. Kevin Hull was the top D3 runner after placing
well back at districts and Zach Johnston pulled out a surprise medal for the
middle of the state as well.
Welcome to the PIAA
LaSalle
Along the same lines, LaSalle joined the PIAA and added
to the craziness at XC states. We didn’t know exactly how this squad would
stack up, but there was plenty of respect for this program. It went to another
level after this state meet. LaSalle was 9th at the Carlisle
Invitational at the end of September, placing behind 7 other state quality
programs in the standings and 210 points behind North Allegheny (NA put 5 guys
in front of their #1). They didn’t have a clear #1 runner and they didn’t have
the spread to make up for that. But guess what? LaSalle came to play when the
pressure was on and finished 2nd in the states-ahead of North
Allegheny.
I’m still not exactly sure what happened in this race. If
you look at the results, it’s not exactly clear how LaSalle jumped one point
ahead of NA in the final standings. Tom O’Kane had the best race of perhaps his
career, surprising for 25th overall. They had just a 24 second
spread and, with just 2 top 50 finishers and 1 top 30 guy, somehow snuck out a
set of state medals.
PTFCA Indoor Mile
I alluded to this race already, but I think it would make
for a compelling story. So you have TJ Hobart and Ben Havleck-two all-time
greats searching for that illusive state title. You have a slow heat that gets
after it and pushes the pace, posting multiple state medalists and nearly
steals the state gold. You have Ivo Milic-Straklj, a surprise independent
leaguer who finishes with the state title as a DIII recruit (an all-time great at
Haverford who has plenty of all-time greats). Lots of layers to peel back in
this one.
Best Race
AAA 4x800m
The deepest 4x800 in state history. The boys from CB
South came out ready to chase the record and their lead off leg, Jeff Dickson,
set the stage for that record right away with a blazing fast 1:55 carry
(roughly a 2 second PR) which meant you could kiss the record good bye from the
jump. But what was more interesting was the fact that he was far from alone.
North Penn went toe to toe with South from the jump, getting a 1:55 lead of
their own. Abington’s Elezar Cardosa also got that young squad in the mix. A
bunch more teams were in the 1:57 range.
South’s Dave Manion got the stick next and was tasked
with opening up a gap, but his competition didn’t let him. Manion dropped another
1:55 meaning they had a 1:55 average (7:40 pace) which should knock out most of
the competition. But alas, the squads were ready to battle. North Penn got
another 1:55 leg. Tres Moore of Penncrest got in the mix with a 1:54. Upper
Dublin and Henderson got 1:53 legs (Henderson making the smart choice to change
their order and move Will Kellar to 2nd instead of anchor). Carlisle’s
Kyle Hurston had an awesome leg as well.
On leg 3, CB South finally did open up that gap. It was
Matt Poiesz who did work for the squad. Poiesz was an underappreciated #2 leg
who made a big sacrifice so that the team could get the record. He had the
individual credentials to be a state medalist, perhaps even an all-state
runner, for the 800 (and maybe the 400). But they needed fresh legs for Poiesz
if they wanted that record. In his only state final, Poiesz blasted a 1:53
carry and opened up on the rest of the field to give the baton to Tom Mallon.
Then Mallon did what he does. Without another guy in
view, Mallon dropped a 1:49.1 split and smashed the old record, stopping the
clock at 7:33.48.
And the teams behind him? They kept chasing. Upper Dublin
was second in 7:40.04 (thanks to a 1:51 carry from Mike Palmisano) and then 8
other teams broke 7:50 including 8 at 7:45 or better! It took 7:45 to medal.
What’s crazy is that Cumberland Valley dropped the baton at the onset,
otherwise they took would have likely been in this crop of sub 7:50 teams (they
were sub 7:50 the year before and flanked closely to Carlisle during the
regular season).
CB South set their school record. Upper Dublin set
theirs. Henderson ran the second fastest 4x8 in program history with 4 guys
coming back the next year. North Penn ran 7:42.47, #5 in a prestigious school
history, the year after they graduated 3 of their all-time greats. Penncrest
set their school record. Souderton set their school record. Carlisle set their
school record (which survived the Affolder era amazingly). Baldwin ran their
second fastest time in school history.
Those facts aren’t just “at the time”. They hold up to
this date.
AAA 1600m
I would suggest giving this a YouTube search. Matt Chylak
of HG Prep, notorious for liking to push the pace (he helped make the indoor
state mile what it was) blasted out the first 400 at a suicide pace, crossing
the first lap in 59 seconds. Chylak was good (he made the state final) but he
wasn’t sub 4 good. The pack held back and waited for him to come back. After
two laps, they kept waiting. After three laps (around 3:08-3:09) they were
still waiting. Now fans like me had to be getting nervous for their athletes.
It took until about 100 meters to go, but eventually the
pack surpassed Chylak. Palmisano led the train and rolled through with a big
kick for the championship less than an hour after a 1:51 carry. 9 guys were
under 4:17 and Chylak hung on to stay on the medal stand with a 4:16.12.
Biggest “What If”
TJ Hobart doesn’t
fall indoors
Cumberland Valley
doesn’t drop the baton in the 4x8
You have to wonder about the ripple effects of these
flukey moments. Would Hobart have won the indoor mile? Would a faster time in
that event have discouraged Palmisano from chasing the 16 instead of the 8 come
outdoors? Does Hobart’s legacy change with a state championship?
And for CV, how fast could they have run in the 4x8?
Would they have made this race even more competitive somehow? Or would it be
overcrowded and a fall or a slip or something would have messed up the race?
Phil Wood doesn’t
transfer
LaSalle had a student by the name of Phil Wood for a few
years before he moved to a private school in New Jersey. But Wood still lived
inside the PA borders. And it was with a PA address that Wood ultimately qualified
for the Footlocker National Championships in XC. So that should give you an
idea of how talented Phil Wood was. If he stayed at LaSalle through his senior
season, Wood could transform the state landscape. For starters, he boosts the
score of the 2nd place team in the state by some 30 points (putting them
right in the mix for a team title). Plus individually, maybe he would have won
the state title over Tarsnane and Furcht considering his performance at the
Footlocker Regional meet.
Sam Bernitt doesn’t
run XC
In 2007, North Penn picked up Brad Miles from the soccer
team and transformed their squad into a state title contender. In 2008, after
graduating two state medalists, they needed to reload that firepower. So where
do you look? How about the soccer team? North Penn pulled Sam Bernitt onto
their team and the rest is history. In his first year of XC, Bernitt clocked a
time in the 15:30s and placed 10th at states, leading the Knights to
a second straight state title. Sam was worth a roughly 50 point swing in the standings
for XC. Bernitt went on to deliver a strong 4x8 leg on North Penn’s 7:42 squad
outdoors for extra benefit.
My Personal Best
Running Moment(s)
It’s funny-my high school and college years kind of
resembled each other. Freshman year for both I was just trying to figure things
out and find my footing. But I ended the season feeling like I had more to
give. Sophomore year of both, I really hit my stride and dropped some big PRs
while gaining a lot of confidence and knowledge. Then junior year, in both
locations, I had some setbacks and didn’t see the improvement I was hoping for.
But you have to dwell on the positives and, thankfully, those are the memories
that jump to mind for this post.
XC JV
As I’ve alluded to already, we had a pretty good XC squad
in 2008 and so I had the chance to a part of a pretty strong JV squad. It was
cool going into races and trying to win as a JV team or even as an individual
(although I had better teammates in Ryan Desch and Ian McGrath that never let
that happen). Being at the front of an XC race is a pretty wild experience and,
yes, it was a JV race, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of fun. So shout
out to JV runners and shout out to my JV teammates that helped put together
awesome results at Foundation and Suburbans circa 2008.
2:01 in Sam Stortz’s
spikes
So junior year wasn’t great for me, but it did have some
PRs. The most memorable was a 4x8 at the fabled Trojan Track Classic. I was
supposed to run the second leg and, in preparation, laced up my spikes. But
here’s the thing-I like to lace up my spikes really tight on my narrow feet.
That created an issue as, when I went to pull the laces, I straight up ripped
them off the shoe. So now I couldn’t tie my shoe and, guess what, the race
starts almost as soon as this happens.
I called up to the stands to ask anyone to help me out.
We flipped me to 3rd leg instead of 2nd. I laced up Sam
Stortz’s spikes for the first time (which were supposedly half a size too
small) and dropped my fastest split of the season with a 2:01.9. I think it
really helped that I stopped overthinking the race and had my mind somewhere else.
Don’t overthink it kids. Just race. And also don’t rip your shoe laces.
PA’s Fastest
Seniors
800m (1:55)
1. Mike Palmisano, Upper Dublin 1:52.45*
2. Kevin Hull, Hempfield 1:52.4h/1:53.88
3. Sam Havko, Fairview 1:52.78
4. Michael Robinson, Dubois 1:53.71
1600m (4:17)
1. Sam Havko, Fairview 4:10.17
2. TJ Hobart, Baldwin 4:12.09*
3. Mike Palmisano, Upper Dublin 4:13.93
4. Kevin Hull, Hempfield 4:15.13
5. Ben Furcht, Lower Merion 4:15.6h
6. Bobby Micikas, Crestwood 4:15.78
7. Dustin Horning, Elizabethtown 4:15.79
8. Seth Hibbs, Horsham 4:15.93
9. Matt Chylak, HG Prep 4:16.12
10. Kyle Hurston, Carlisle 4:16.24
11. Jim Spisak, Bishop McCourt 4:16.86
3200m (9:20)
1. Jimmy Tarsnane, Perkiomen Valley 9:04.22
2. Ben Furcht, Lower Merion 9:04.55
3. Joe Beveridge, Bishop McDevitt 9:11.89*
4. Bobby Micikas, Crestwood 9:12.48
5. Matt McCullough, Malvern Prep 9:16.53c
6. Jim Spisak, Bishop McCourt 9:18.10*
7. Matt Gillette, Parkland 9:19.21
8. Nick Bonaventure, Penncrest 9:20.00
4x800m (7:47)
1. CB South 7:33.48
2. Upper Dublin 7:40.04
3. Henderson 7:42.01
4. North Penn 7:42.47
5. Penncrest 7:42.67
6. Souderton 7:43.69
7. Carlisle 7:44.20
8. Baldwin 7:45.44
9. Abington 7:45.69
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