Believe It or Not, It's Spring

This is it folks, we are in the home stretch of my blogging career with only one season to go! Let’s take a brief look at what could be in store for my final spring with you all.

AA 3200m

Returning State Medalists:

Brendan Miller, Upper Dauphin (3^rd)

Andrew Stanley, Southern Huntington (4^th)

Quinn Serfass, Loyalsock (6^th)

After a strong indoor campaign and a 2^nd place finish in A during XC, I’d say Upper Dauphin’s Brendan Miller comes into this one as the favorite. As mentioned above, he was 3^rd at states a year ago behind a couple of all-time seniors. He is coming off a season that included an 8:47 3k and 15:24 5k indoors (in his first serious indoor campaign). A year ago, he ran 4:25-9:28 for the long stuff outdoors (without that indoor season to really get him going). I think this kid will be a force to reckon with and should get under 9:20 for 3200.

Andrew Stanley and Quinn Serfass are the other top returning medalists. Stanley had a heck of a run at last year’s state championship, fearlessly going after an aggressive start and being rewarded with a 4^th place finish and a 9:29. After a career best finish in XC he will hope to continue that streak. Serfass seems like a legit title contender here. His Loyalsock team gives him the best training group as this squad was 6^th at states in XC behind a trio of medal contenders. Serfass himself was 4^th overall with a blazing time of 16:23. That’s the #2 time of anybody competing in AA this spring.

The #1 time belongs to the biggest wildcard in this discussion-Tristan Forsythe. The Winchester Thurston senior is the reigning XC state champ and the defending AA 1600 winner. He ran a career best indoors of 9:15.19 for 3200 and then added a state medal in the event at PSU. If he sticks with a 3200-1600 schedule, he may be the favorite for gold in both events. However, I’m thinking Forsythe will put his energy into defending the 3200 state title.

Some other names I like as contenders? I’d watch for Jack Miller of Jenkintown. He was sub 9 indoors for 3k and sub 16 in XC. Wyomissing’s 1-2 punch of Matt Driben and Ben Kuhn could contend, especially if Wyomissing needs team points for the title. The 4x8 will be the complicating factor there. I’d also watch for Josh Lewis of North East, the D10 champ during XC.

However, the two biggest names to keep an eye on are sophomores. Andrew Healey of Holy Cross and Ben Hoffman of Elk County Catholic were 9^th and 11^th respectively at last year’s championships, but I think one of these guys will crack the top 2 at states in this event in 2018. These are huge talents that were 4^th and 8^th at XC states as sophomores. They may be young, but that won’t stop them from chasing the top spot.

AAA 3200m

Returning State Medalists:

Rusty Kujdych, Neshaminy (3^rd)

Noah Beveridge, Butler (5^th)

Ryan Campbell, CR North (8^th)

I think we can all agree – let’s see a Rusty vs. Noah rematch and see if they can push each other to sub 9. To date, Rusty has had the upper hand on Beveridge. After Noah took 5^th at XC states as a junior (tops in his class), Rusty was 2^nd, 3^rd, 1^st, 1^st at his last four state championships. Kujdych’s 9:04 time is tops among returners and his XC performance was nothing short of remarkable. Indoors, he dropped a career best in the mile and, with Hoey likely out of the event, could potentially try the 3200-1600 double this year and contend for gold in both (something to keep an eye on for both guys honestly).

However, Rusty will have his hands full. Beveridge too had a big indoor campaign that included a nice mile PR and some good speed work. He clocked an early season 8:44 in the 3k (super fast) while not focusing much on the event as his team shot up the standings in the DMR. Beveridge started last outdoor season with a modest 3200 best, got to 9:20 by districts and then all the way to 9:07 at states. He’s way ahead of that schedule in 2018. Plus, Rusty is up against history. The XC-3k-3200 titles have not been swept since Jason Weller did it all the way back in 2006-2007. In between, we’ve seen near triple crown victories, but the third leg has taken out Ryan Gill (2010-2011) and Jake Brophy (2015-2016).

Contrary to everything I just said, this will not be a two horse race. Ryan Campbell and CR North have proven time and time again that they show up for the big meets. Campbell ran 9:14 to claim a medal in a loaded field last spring and will back with a vengeance this year. Mitchell Etter of State College was the state silver medalist indoors and has strong outdoor experience from his 15^th place finish a year ago. My real sleeper pick is Morgan Cupp of Mechanicsburg. The senior was an absolute force during XC and qualified for states in this event a year ago. He’s been looking for that track breakthrough and I think it comes this year. Cupp and Mechancisburg rolled to a DMR victory to start their spring track season at the Upper Darby relays.

Other names include Dan Mcgoey, Spencer Smucker (will he run this event or the 16?), Patrick Anderson (really like this sleeper pick), the Penncrest boys, Carlos Shultz (how will he transition to Shanahan?), Tyler Rollins, Josh Lewin, Jacob McKenna and basically everybody. I can’t realistically name everybody if I want this post to be reasonable (and not sound like a Magic Johnson tweet). This event has the potential to be loaded.

AA 1600m

Returning Medalists:

Tristan Forsythe, Winchester Thurston (1^st)

Joe Cullen, Wyomissing (2^nd)

Tyler Leeser, Milton (4^th)

Garrett Baublitz, Juniata (6^th)

This event has the chance to be stacked. A Forsythe-Cullen match-up is plenty to get excited about by itself. The top two returners from last year have a chance to push down toward the 4:10 barrier in the right race. Forsythe is coming off a season where his strength has hit another level, while Cullen was faster indoors at the mile than he was a year ago, adding a blazing DMR and another 1:55 800 to his resume. Plus, his training partners are at another level after their XC state victory, especially to help with the longer distances.

I’ve always been a Leeser guy. He was absolutely amazing last year and almost capped off his season with two different state titles. He’s one of the most underrated dudes around. We didn’t see much from him in XC, but he missed a good chunk of time midseason. After all that time off, he still came back and helped his team get to states (where he then pulled a 43^rd place finish out of seemingly nowhere). The guy is a huge talent and I want to see him atop the podium. However, he may focus on the 800 considering how stacked this event is.

Garrett Baublitz is the wildcard in all of this. The sophomore is young and perhaps a year away from contending for the title; however, he’s been racing above his age for years now. He would have been a state medal contender in the mile this year indoors had he entered. Instead he’s looking to build off the 4:19 time he ran as a frosh last year. He’s in a sub 4:20 club for freshman that is very small. Off the top of my head, Josh Hoey and Craig Miller (look him up young guys) were the only ones I remember doing that. They ended up pretty good.

This was a fairly senior laden even if you look further down the depth chart, but there will be surprises how emerge from the crop. I don’t have a long list of sleepers at this point (Gordon Pollock, Ethan Knoebel should contend), but this is an event where a star will emerge early in the season that I didn’t see coming.

AAA 1600m

Returning Medalists:

Liam Conway, Owen J Roberts (3^rd)

A year ago this race was madness. It’s still one of my favorite state races ever because there were so many guys that (a) ran massive PRs and (b) had a chance to win with 300 to go. The top 7 guys all ran under 4:15 and we saw a blanket finish for the medals. Isaac Kole was your state champion after being an afterthought on a national championship DMR. What a turn of events!

This year, it seems like Conway vs. the field. Assuming Hoey continues his trend of skipping state championships, Conway is the top returner by time and place (comfortably). He’s also the reigning indoor state champ at both the mile and the 800. He’s on a roll this year with an XC state medal and a national qualifying performance. Plus, some of his closest competitors (Kujdych, Beveridge) seem to be leaning toward the 3200. Others (Baker, Addison, Ketler & Owori, Eissler) have potential 4x8 duties.

All that being said, whenever something begins to feel like an obvious pick in the track and field world, an upset is lurking. Maybe it’s Tyler Wirth who ran sub 4:20 last year and put together his first ever XC and indoor campaigns this year. He was just off the medal stand last year. Maybe one of the 4x8 guy’s teams dissolves or has an off race and the door is open for them in the 16 instead (like Kole last year or Kellar in 2010).

Heck, there’s plenty of guys that don’t really do indoors that could emerge as contenders by the time we hit the end of the spring. Nobody was talking about Jesse Cruise this time last year and the kid nearly stole the state title. I like Connor Shields and Alex Ermold of District 3 to maybe sneak up into the mix by the end of May. Don’t be surprised if smaller district guys like Burke or Jonah Powell are factors. Which WPIAL guy will emerge? They didn’t have a state finalist last year which was shocking to me but they return guys with experience like Brown, Binda, Huff and Sam Snodgrass.

AA 800m

Returning Medalists:

Tyler Leeser, Milton (2^nd)

Kamil Jihad, Neumann Goretti (3^rd)

Griffin Sites, Towanda (8^th)

On paper, this looks like a Jihad vs. Leeser battle. Of course, entering the state finals last year it seemed like a battle between those two as well. Then Robert Reichenbaugh flipped the script on everyone with a 1:55.12 for the victory. I’d say Jihad is the favorite to this point. Leeser has to prove he’s healthy and ready to roll (plus he may need to be all in on the 800) while Jihad is already really fit. He was awesome during indoors and he’s got a 1:52 PR (with a 1:53 to boast last year). Jihad also is fresh off his best career finishes in XC and indoors at states.

Who can hope to disrupt this top two? My initial answer is, I’ve got no idea. The AA 800 is looking for stars. Griffin Sites backed his way into the final with one of the last times in last year before popping a big PR and stealing a medal. He comes from a great program and maybe can continue last year’s magic. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Joe Cullen mix it up in this event and the 800 if he wants to (depends on the 4x4 situation at Wyomissing, usually they have a good one). Sam Cunkleman of Homer Center is a sub 2 guy. Can Seneca produce another contender after their brilliant 4x8 runs from year’s past? What about Trinity?

As of now, I’ve got more questions than answers for this event.

AAA 800m

Returning Medalists:

Josh Hoey, Bishop Shanahan (1^st)

Hudson Delisle, Quakertown (3^rd)

The two returning medalists have their share of questions heading into the spring season. Josh Hoey is the state record holder these days, but, as previously discussed, may choose not to defend his title this spring. That would, in theory, open the door for Delisle of Quakertown. However, the 1:52 man has missed a fair amount of time this winter himself. Will he return to form in time to contend for an outdoor title? Then there is reigning indoor champ Liam Conway. Does he want to try the double this year after his wins on the 200 meter oval? He didn’t try it last year (which surprised me a tiny bit) and so I wouldn’t be shocked at all if he skips the 8 this spring.

If these guys are all out, the door is open for a new name. Tyler Shue, a sophomore who clocked a 1:53 indoors, is the logical name to mention. He dropped jaws at PSU with two amazing performances and could contend for a state gold. That would make him the first sophomore state champ at 800 since Zach Brehm (in AAA) and Dom Perretta (in AA). Before them, it was Tom Mallon. I don’t think I need to tell you this, but those are three of our most successful state runners of all-time.

The 1:54-1:55 crop is deep. We’ve got Brett Zatlin and Aidan Sauer who rolled to PRs during the indoor season, but we also have Matt Eissler of Pennridge (a state finalist last year). Then you have the fast heat guys from indoor states in David Endres (huge 1:54.9 breakthrough indoors), Collin Ebling (1:55 best) and Jonah Hoey (1:56.01 best). It wouldn’t surprise me to see Ethan Zeh of Radnor in the medal mix either. Radnor has a nice history of producing medal winners. Also don’t sleep on Collin Ochs of CR South who had one of the fastest 4x8 splits in the state during indoors.

Looking past district one (which is going to be an absolute bloodbath just to make the district final, let alone states), the top returner is Matt Busche of Franklin Regional. Last year, Busche led Franklin Regional to the state finals in the 4x8 and finished one spot off the medal stand in the 800. Nick Gabrielli of Kiski was a state qualifier last year and is fresh off a career year on the indoor track. Nate Everhardt of Mount Lebanon is also a returning state qualifier who captains a loaded 4x8 squad out west. We’ve also got Seth Phillips of Mifflin County and Jack Wisner of Carlisle (could be a big sleeper). I also think Rob Dupell of St. Joe’s Prep has the chance to put together a monster performance. He ran 1:56.41 and 49.28 indoors and just needs the right race to pop a 1:53ish kind of time.

Senior Year: 2009-2010 (Part II)

Best “The 11” Story

GFS XC

The Independent League doesn’t usually get much love, but 2009 was perhaps the most significant moment in the past 12 years where this league didn’t get its due. Part of the problem was that the AAA state championship race was unbelievably close between five awesome teams, but the other piece was that GFS just didn’t have much flash that year. What they did have was a strong pack of successful runners that group rolled through the independent league with five guys in the top 10 overall. Then, when the lights were brightest, they shocked the entire region with a second place finish at NXN Northeast. Gus McKenzie led the squad with a 16:20 and the team packed in behind to narrowly claim second with 156 points. They knocked out CBA, Henderson and the Rosa twins on their way to the silvers and qualified for NXN. Behind Gus on the scoring roster were Dave Waterman (the real key to their big day at regionals), Tom Waterman, Evan Caldwell and Ross Wistar.

Cedar Crest 4x8

After a dominant performance in 2009, District One was poised to continue their 4x8 excellence in 2010. Abington and CB West led the way during the indoor season, with the Ghosts pulling out the gold over the Yellow Jackets (again, I know this isn’t their actual name, but I like it better than whatever it actually is). But injuries added up for those two teams as Kyle Moran of Abington and Nick Scarpello of CB West both had issues. Scarpello made it back in time for states, but Moran was out of the lineup for the indoor gold medalists by the time things got to Shippensburg.

Meanwhile, other districts were trying to work their way into the mix. Cedar Crest, a relative non-factor in the 4x8 during 2009, ran an early season 8:08 for second at the Pan-Ram Invitational behind Central Dauphin’s 8:02. Then the relay broke 8 minutes for the first time at the Lebanon Lancaster League Championships with a 7:59. It was a solid mark, but wasn’t even the best in the district as Central Dauphin had them beat. But at the D3 championships, the Falcons stormed to a huge season best of 7:49.03 and won the title while 5 teams cracked 8 minutes.

It seemed like a fluke result as the tide shifted to the state champions in Shippensburg, but Cedar Crest didn’t back down from the challenge. They dropped a 7:50 in the prelims before unleashing a 7:43.64 in the finals to stun the field and take gold. Darren Dobroski led off with a 1:56 and Shaun Ditzler kept it close on leg 2 before Jon Jackson unleashed a 1:54 split to help break the race open. That set up junior Alex Galli on the anchor, being chased by a stacked field. With the pressure on, Galli held off a loaded herd to leave with gold. It’s perhaps the most surprising 4x8 victory we’ve seen in the past 12 years.

Sam Ellison

The guy’s my old teammate so it’s hard to not brag about him. Ellison joined the track team initially to do high jump and, although a big talent, didn’t seem all that interested in the running events during his first season. In fact, our sophomore year, I actually defeated him during my magic 56.9 400 meter time trial before Sam probably had even run a step. As a junior, Sam started putting in the work and it paid off. He anchored our 4x8 to a state medal and a school record, splitting in the low 48 second range. Then, as a senior, he decided he was going to take it up another notch.

Ellison had never run an 800 before his first indoor meet at Haverford. Here, Sam clocked a 2 flat for the state lead. In his second ever 800, he ran a 1:56 split on the 4x8 to pull us from way back to second and get us a state qualifying time. This happened at Glenn Mills. In his third ever 800, he became the TFCAofGP champion in 1:57.02.

Outdoors, he carried us to Penn Relays by running a 1:53 split on an 8:04 4x8 (you can do the math on what the other legs would have been), split a 1:52 at Penn Relays and then set our school record with a 1:52.38, leading wire to wire. This all happened in the span of about 8 half-mile races and 4 months. Sam was even getting some talk for competing with reigning state champ and eventual state record holder Tom Mallon.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Sam gave everything he had to the team which included quadrupling almost every dual meet and running the 4x8 and 4x4 at districts (we ran the SQS in both events but in District One that didn’t mean much). By the time he got to states, I’m not sure how much he had left in the tank (he ran 1:53 and took 8^th in the state finals).

Thankfully, we didn’t burn Sam out from running. He went to Villanova and got some really good teammates right away. They won a Penn Relays wheel in his first trip back after carrying us in two races there in high school. Just this past winter, Sam clocked a 1:46 for 800 which was under the world indoor A standard. He placed 4^th at USAs and was in the top 20 or so in the world this year for the event.

AAA 3200m

Most years, the state 3200 is hot and humid and the times just aren’t going to cooperate. Every once in a while, we get a year where things break just right and the times are blazing fast. In 2010, we had just that. The outdoor AAA 3200 featured an incredibly 13 guys under 9:20 with a top 5 all under 9:10. Coming into the state meet, there were only three guys who had dipped under 9:20 at districts. Matt Fischer dropped a massive PR, going from 9:22 at districts to 9:03 at states and stunning a loaded field in his first year in the event. Junior Ryan Gil dropped what was then perhaps the fastest time a PA junior had ever clocked-sporting a 9:03.87 for second overall. North Hills had three juniors all under 9:20! Glenn Burkhardt, the District One Champ, ran faster than he did at districts and still placed just 15^th! It was unreal race from a depth perspective and it would not be matched for quite some time.

Best Race

AAA 1600m

There’s a lot of good things I can say about Tom Kehl. The Father Judge senior had incredible range-he split a reported 1:50 in the 800 while also having the ability to place 11^th at states in XC. In his best event, the mile, he went toe to toe with Tom Mallon indoors, just barely losing the fight for state gold. He then clocked a 4:11.0 full mile at the Penn Relays to take the strangle hold on the event outdoors. Once sophomore Drew Magaha of Upper Moreland emerged as the main opponent standing in his way of his first state gold by winning districts, it seemed likely that Kehl would be the gold medalist.

But we all know that’s never the way it goes. Kehl put down a kick at the perfect moment and surged for a home in a loaded race. But Will Kellar of Henderson, who had barely even qualified for the event at districts, rolled by him in an epic dive to the line. Kellar dropped a big PR of 4:12.00 to nip Kehl by 0.02 seconds. Behind these two, 8 other guys broke 4:17 (!) and it took 4:15.41 to get a state medal.

AAA 4x800m

I’ve said a lot about this race and I’ll say even more about it later, so I feel obligated to keep this brief. But here’s the basic idea. It took 7:52.58 just to make it to the finals. Then in the finals there were 8 teams under 7:50 and 7 under 7:47. Cedar Crest pulled off the upset win in 7:43.64 and 7^th place was close behind in 7:46.16. It was a near blanket finish for the medal positions filled with PRs and school records.

PTFCA DMR

Before Kellar nipped Tom Kehl at the line, he was nearly outleaned himself. Altoona was gunning for a team title and decided to throw their hat in the ring for the DMR. However, with questionable pieces at 1200 and 800 they seemed like a longshot. Meanwhile, CB South (with Tom Mallon), Henderson (the reigning XC state champs), Baldwin (state leaders) and GFS (national XC qualifiers) all seemed like better picks. It was sure to come down to the wire in this event and Henderson kept their key pieces, including anchor Will Kellar, completely fresh to focus on winning this event.

However, Altoona hung tough in the race, using a big 400 league from all-star state champion Brady Gehret to set the tone in the middle of the race. As things turned to the anchor, it was a four team battle between Kellar, Wade Endress of Altoona, Gus McKenzie of GFS and Bobby Bishop of Baldwin. On the last lap, it looked like Kellar had sprinted away from the pack and taken the gold. He raised his hand in celebration just as Endress, spurred on by the home crowd, dived to try and steal the victory. In the end, Henderson was the state champion-but it was tight enough to scare Kellar to always run through the line. He may owe that state gold outdoors to Wade.

Biggest “What If”

What if Henderson never got DQed?

This is perhaps the biggest “What if” in the entire history of the state. OK, that may be an over exaggeration, but this moment was huge. Let me set the stage. Henderson is at the peak of their powers. They’ve won the DMR indoors, they have the individual 800 state champ from indoors, they’ve won the XC state title and they return all four members of a relay that ran 7:42 a year ago. Before we even hit May, they have the PRs to run 1:52-1:53-1:55-1:57 and maybe challenge CB South’s absurd record from a year earlier.

But to get to states, you have to qualify. In the preliminary round of the 4x8 at districts, the action was tight. There were three heats, each stacked with talent, and only the top 3 in each heat were going to advance automatically. In Heat One, Henderson was the favorite with other squads like Strath Haven, Souderton and Penncrest vying for a spot. After three legs, things were still tight as all the legs jockeyed for position in the home straightaway. Simple math said that only three of these four teams were guaranteed a spot. And, although we didn’t know it at the time, the times from this heat were so slow that only the top three would get in the finals.

As the legs panicked to find position, there was tangle between Henderson and Penncrest and Tres Moore hit the deck for his team. The team in 5^th (my team, Upper Dublin) scooted past Penncrest as they were seemingly knocked out. However, upon review, Henderson received a DQ, Penncrest was advanced to the finals automatically and Upper Dublin, now somehow in 3^rd place, was advanced on place. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it in (7:56 was the fastest non-automatic qualifier for the district 4x8).

So right away there are ripple effects. First of all, we made the finals in the 4x8 and Sam Ellison had to run an extra race to further tire himself out. Plus, I got to run in a district final. Those are probably the least important facts of the equation. It’s also worth noting that Haverford, who took 8^th in the final, got to advance to states in Henderson’s spot.

Henderson is now out of the 4x8 so they have to scramble to figure out what individual events they will contest. Kellar jumped quickly into the 1600 prelims and managed to advance. He finished 3^rd in the finals with a time of 4:18 and punched a ticket to states. He may have never even run the 1600 if the 4x8 had made it through and, therefore, he never would have been state champion in the event. Luke Lefebure had the 800 and he qualified for the finals without much trouble. In the finals, he used his fresh legs to run a 1:52.92, a time approximately equal to the then district record. That was good enough for the silver and within 0.21 seconds of knocking off Tom Mallon. At states, Lefebure dropped a 1:51 and took another silver. That was a huge result for Lefebure that may not have been possible if he was doubling off the 4x8. It solidified him as a legit middle-distance runner and perhaps played a role in his recruitment at Stanford. Stanford benefited from the Lefebure edition as he helped the team win an NCAA crown. The ripple effects go all the way to the NCAA!

My Personal Best Running Moment

Alright, we’re in to everyone’s favorite section of these posts – when I talk about my unimpressive running career! But the jokes on you, because apparently this post I have been doing that the whole time. I think this is the most name drops I’ve ever had which is impressive considering I’m one of the kings of name dropping.

10^th at Districts in XC

I ran at one state championship in my career and that was indoor states in the 4x4 (I was a newbie to the 4x4 and standing waiting for the baton on the second leg of the fast heat when our lead off leg fell coming off the last turn, it’s a whole other story for another time), but I feel like the greatest team accomplishment I was a part of was a performance in which we came nowhere near qualifying for states. Those in District One know that the league is stacked with great teams so our Upper Dublin squad just wanted to keep our head above water. The week before districts, we had lost a heartbreaker to Wissahickon in our league championships. That broke a championship streak for our school that the class of seniors a grade above us had pioneered and it felt like crap. We went into districts with a little extra chip on our shoulder, but I wouldn’t say expectations were high.

I remember the first 200 meters I sprinted out to get good position all of a sudden found myself running near guys like Tom Mallon and Brad Miles. Whoops. It was a pretty terrible idea, but I backed off and found a good pace after that. The good news is, it pulled my teammates out a little more aggressively than usual and, unlike me, they actually had some room to back up a more aggressive start.

The first mile was so muddy that year and I remember expecting to be in the low 5 minute range through the mile-then I went through in like 5:20. It was absurd. It would have been easy for us to panic or get discouraged about that slow opening time, but we kept our heads up and fought through the next stretch. It was clear I wasn’t going to PR down the stretch of the race, missing it by a couple seconds, but I put on the best kick I could and tried to get to the line. I remember my coach was yelling at me that the guys were running really well and that I had to push. But after the race, when I talked to everybody, nobody seemed to have had a PR. So what happened?

Well, the race was super slow overall. We all ran within spitting distance of our best race and that turned out to be pretty good. As a team, we beat Wissahickon to get our revenge. And it turns out we did it by 16 spots in the team race. Our #1 guy Pete Schartel had a monster race and nearly cracked state qualifying while our #5 guy Ryan Desch delivered a great run despite having a broken nose (again, another story for another time). In the final standings, we were 10^th overall and the top placing team who didn’t have a single guy qualify for states.

No, it doesn’t sound like much, but to us it was a big result. We ended our season on the right note after being crushed emotionally a week before. And to our gang, that meant everything.

Trojan 4x800m

I’ll try and keep this brief. The Trojan Track Classic is a magic meet. When the lights are on and the sun is setting, times just seem to get magically fast. I can’t prove it with science or anything, but I can prove it with what I witnessed on race day. For me, I got one final sprinkle of the magic dust before graduating. I’d be trying to get under 2 minutes for the 800 since I was a sophomore and ran 2:04. On the lead off leg of the 4x8, I finally got there. I can still remember getting to 200 meters and my friend Tom Lorenzi yelling at me that I was at 1:28 and that I was going to do it. The final split was 1:59.8.

At the time, I counted it as much first sub 2. Now that I’ve done it in the open 800, I count the open 800 as my first sub 2, but this is still a memorable moment that I will always look back on fondly.

By the way, the Wissahickon boys got my picture in the meet program to promote the “etrain” brand. That was pretty cool of them. As much as it sounds like we hated them from a paragraph earlier, we did. But we also liked them a lot. It doesn’t sound like it should make sense, but if you were there with us, then I think you’d understand.

PA’s Fastest Seniors

800m (1:55)

1. Tom Mallon, CB South 1:49.01

2. Sam Ellison, Upper Dublin 1:52.38

3. Jaquil Hargrove, Norristown 1:53.14

4. Charles Ross, Abington 1:53.36

5. Sam Negley, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1:53.39

6. Victor Costello, North Pocono 1:53.61

7. Dan Muelners, Souderton 1:53.6h

8. Kevin DiFlorio, Horsham 1:54.15

9. Tom O’Kane, LaSalle 1:54.32

10. Dennis Logan, Baldwin 1:54.70

11. Charles Anderson, Penn Hills 1:54.92

1600m (4:17)

1. Tom Kehl, Father Judge 4:09.61c

2. Will Kellar, Henderson 4:12.00

3. Vince Perozze, Perkiomen Valley 4:12.52c

4. Rad Gunzenhuaser, Mount Lebanon 4:13.96c

5. Ed Donnelly, Haverford 4:14.13c

6. Nick Gibson, Canon MacMillan 4:14.37c

7. Tom Mallon, CB South 4:14.72ic

8. Chris O’Sullivan, St. Joe’s Prep 4:15.41

9. Nick Scarpello, CB West 4:15.4h

10. Kevin DiFlorio, Horsham 4:15.6h

11. Kevin Day, Lansdale Catholic 4:16.22

3200m (9:20)

1. Matt Fischer, Unionville 9:03.01

2. Alex Monroe, Indian Valley 9:07.24

3. Rad Gunzenhauser, Mount Lebanon 9:07.33

4. Vince Perozze, Perkiomen Valley 9:11.87

5. Seth Robbins, Cumberland Valley 9:14.11

6. Charles Lockwood, Dallastown 9:14.91

7. Sam Bernitt, North Penn 9:14.97

8. Brad Miles, North Penn 9:15.25

9. Scott Armstrong, Perkiomen Valley 9:19.15

4x800m (7:47)

1. Cedar Crest 7:43.64

2. CB West 7:44.13

3. Abington 7:44.65

4. CR South 7:45.46

5. LaSalle 7:45.54

6. Penn Hills 7:45.99

7. CR North 7:46.16

8. Quaker Valley 7:46.46

9. Baldwin 7:46.99

Senior Year: 2009-2010 (Part I)

This was getting really long (it's my senior year, I can't help but be nostalgic about it), so I split this into two parts so that it will be a slightly easier read.

Defining Runners

There’s more guys that could have made this list, but ultimately I narrowed it down to just these two. Keep in mind that the seniors in this class are my age so I “grew up” watching and comparing myself to them (and thinking, “Holy crap, how can these guys possibly be my age?”). My two main focuses over the years were XC and the 800, so these guys seem like logical choices.

Brad Miles, North Penn

Miles first burst onto the radar in XC his sophomore season. I couldn’t believe the kid was just a sophomore as he posted awesome marks at Briarwood and Carlisle, rounding out a crazy strong top three for eventual XC state champs North Penn. The signature moment for him that season in my eyes was his 15:24 at districts as a sophomore (placing 4^th). I think that moment really blew my mind.

Over the course of three XC seasons, Miles was to 6 in the district each year. His team won two golds and a seemingly improbable silver. He has three top 10 finishes in the state. He’s run 15:20 at Carlisle, 15:20 at Salesianum, and 15:49 at Briarwood. During Miles senior season, he went undefeated against PA competition and dominated his league and district before unleashing a filthy kick to win the state championship in a then course record of 15:47. He then won the Footlocker Northeast Regional (only Affolder has done that since, no one I can remember had done it before). Miles has qualified as an individual for both Footlocker Nationals and Nike Nationals in his career-the only PA guy in the history of the meets.

Miles track career was never quite as dynamic as his XC one, although he did post some strong results. He qualified for the state finals in the 1600 as a junior and ran 9:15 for 3200 in a loaded state finals as a senior. Brad was also quick enough over 800 meters to help his North Penn squad make the district finals in the event.

Tom Mallon, CB South

If Miles sophomore year blew my mind, you can imagine what Tom Mallon’s year looked like. The CB South sophomore grabbed his first state medal indoors at 800 with a 1:56 (a big PR at the time). As the tide turned toward outdoors, Mallon continued to turn heads. He helped elevate his 4x8 into the state title discussion after they clocked a 7:53 to win the League title and then dropped a 4:23 for 1600 to defeat Zack Montijo for another gold. A week later, CB South took 2^nd at Districts in the 4x8 with Mallon producing a personal best 1:53.89 in the 800 to earn the silver.

But his first state championship appearance was where he really shined. After anchoring his 4x8 with a 1:52 split (they ran 7:46), he shocked the world with a surprisingly easy state title run in the open 800. Doubling back, Mallon clocked a 1:52.35 to win state gold by over a second. Again, he was just a sophomore.

That put a lot of pressure on Tom as he entered his junior track season. There was a target on his back all season as he raced against Mike Palmisano of Upper Dublin. Although it seemed Palmisano had the upper hand, Mallon turned it up a notch at the most important moments. He won the Meet of Champs 800 over a doubling Palmisano in a season best 1:57.26 before blasting a historic 1:51.79 state record at PSU a week later. For good measure, he anchor his team’s 4x8 in 1:52 to steal another state gold. His indoor campaign ended with a 2^nd place finish in the individual 800 at nationals and a 3^rd place finish in the 4x8 (behind two teams that would go on to run under the national record at Penn Relays).

Mallon’s junior outdoor season was all about the 4x8 as CB South chased (and got) the 4x8 state record. Mallon split under 1:50 on two of the biggest stages-Penn Relays and States-including a 1:49.1 anchor carry that was basically solo. They clocked times of 7:36, 7:37 and 7:33 that year to put them under 7:40 three times! Individually, Mallon ran 1:52.02 (fastest time of the year), won the outdoor state title relatively uncontested and, somehow, seemed like he underachieved. But his senior year would give him time for individual accolades.

Indoors, Tom focused on the mile distance his senior season. That worked out pretty well as he qualified for the Millrose Games and then won the mile state title over PA #1 Tom Kehl of Father Judge. Mallon also anchored his DMR to a win at the Meet of Champs and a 5^th place finish at states. Tom tried for an ambitious triple at states with the 800 falling in between the mile and DMR. Although Mallon won his section of the 800, he finished 4^th overall as three runners from Heat 2 ran a faster time.

With extra mile strength in his back pocket, Mallon got to work in the spring at 800 meters. At Henderson, he blasted a 1:49.61 which, at the time, was PA #3 AT. After winning leagues in the 1600 (3 straight) and 800, he went to districts and clocked a 1:52.71 district record. Then it was time for states. Here, Mallon blasted a 1:49.31 to take his third straight state gold and set a state meet record that had lasted since 1984. Mallon capped things off with a third straight sub 1:50 open time of 1:49.01 at the PA Distance Festival which made him “co-record holder” with Paul Vandegrift (who clocked 1:48.8h in 1987).

When Mallon hung up his spikes at graduation, he was the state meet record holder in the 800 both indoors and outdoors. He was the state record holder in the indoor and outdoor 800. He was the state and national federation record holder in the 4x800. He had claimed 7 state golds.

For the record, Mallon also had multiple sub 16 performances in XC and two top 30 finishes at the state championships. His senior season he was top 10 in District 1 for XC, state champ indoors for the mile and raced on the 5^th place 4x400 at states.

Defining Teams

What’s interesting about this year is that there weren’t many dominate teams. I think that made for some truly memorable races, but maybe not truly memorable teams.

Henderson

The 2009 Henderson XC team started a big trend for the Warriors. Those around during the prime years of the blog know Henderson as a power that routinely won the district and competed for state gold, but before 2009 they had been routinely denied the title, watching Ches-mont rivals Coatesville and WC East take home the gold instead. But in 2009, Henderson stormed to a runaway victory at Lehigh and, with a deep team, eked out a victory in one of the tightest state meets in recent history (it included 5 teams with realistic title hopes). They had just one state medalist (Will Kellar), but got top 50 finishes from Khattabi, Andrews and Grab to help seal the golds.

On the track, Henderson continued to excel. Indoors, they won the state distance medley relay and their 800 man Luke Lefebure won individual gold in his best event. Outdoors, Henderson qualified for the Championship of America in the 4x800 relay and had a gold and silver medalist individually at outdoor states.

Quaker Valley

Top AA squads can tend to be overlooked in Pennsylvania, but the Quaker Valley boys made people notice them this decade. In XC, QV won district titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009 with scores of 47 and 41 points in those final two seasons. They posted six individual medals in that three year stretch and took 5^th, 2^nd and 2^nd at states. Although they were narrowly denied a pair of state golds on the trails, they ended up making up for it on the track. Quaker Valley won the 2009 state title in the 4x8 with a 7:58 before turning it up a notch in 2010. They clocked a 7:46.46, the 2^nd best time in AA meet history, and rolled behind a 1:52 anchor carry from Omar Hyjek. Hyjek ended up doubling up on his golds by winning the 1600 meters shortly thereafter.

Altoona

Altoona was the first team I can remember that went after team titles in track. They weren’t afraid to double or triple where necessary to try and steal points. I think that was most exhibited in Wade Endress. The junior doubled with the mile and the DMR at indoor states, winning in an impressive bronze in the former before nearly nipping Will Kellar at the line to steal gold in the DMR. During the spring, Endress added medals in the 1600 and 800 while also being a 4x4 piece for their state final team. Altoona also had the sprint god that was Brady Gehret. Brady rolled to the state title indoors at both 200 and 400 and was splitting in the 45s for the 4x4 since his junior season. The dude was unreal.

By the way, the Altoona XC team was memorable as well. The school from District 6 made a legit push for the state championship in what would have been a huge surprise against the powers of the bigger districts. Although they ended up 4^th in the final standings, Altoona finished with two state medalists (Endress and Chris Fischer) as well as another top 40 finisher (Liberman). 

Honorable Mention: Baldwin

What a wild season Baldwin had. The WPIAL squad spent the fall posting excellent team results, led by a loaded top 3 of Dennis Logan, Matt Cecala and Bobby Bishop. However, they remained in the shadow of the titans from North Allegheny. They missed NA by just 12 points at Tri-States and 17 at Coopers despite averaging 16:45 and 16:41. At states, they finished 5^th in the standings, just 26 points off the podium.

During the indoor season, Baldwin emerged as a state title contender again-this time in the DMR. The Baldwin boys clocked a 10:26.78 at the TSTCA Championships and set themselves up as the #1 seed in the state. After impressive middle legs from Arkangelo James and Dennis Logan, sophomore Bobby Bishop was put in a position to close it out for the title. However, the ultra-talented sophomore couldn’t’ quite hold off the all-time greats he was racing and Baldwin had to settle for 4^th in 10:25.50. A little while later, Baldwin trekked to indoor nationals and earned 3 top 8 finishes in the distance relays taking 7^th, 4^th and 7^th in the 4x8, DMR and 4xMile.

Outdoors things really heated up for Baldwin as their 4x8 hit their stride. Dennis Logan was already a proven star in the half, but Arkangelo James was hitting another level. Add in a healthy George Crompton and the team was cooking. At their home invitational, they unleashed a 7:46.99 and moved to the #1 spot in the state. Their 7:47.61 at Districts cemented their status as favorites. But in the state finals, after running 7:50.03 for the #1 spot in the prelim, Baldwin managed just a 7:49.25 and had to settle for 8^th in the final. It ended up the only medal for the boy’s squad.

NCAA Bracket Group

Hi y’all,
It’s the middle of March which, as we all know, is the time I get really into college basketball. I’ve spent the past week doing some in depth research and convincingly myself that, despite basically watching no college basketball all year, I know everything. This time next week I will have been reminded that I know nothing, but until then I’d like to invite all of you to hop in our ESPN bracket challenge group!

The group name is TheRealTrain (all one word) and the password is originalpancake (also all one word). If you were in the group last year, you can join without the password so I’m not 100% positive that’s right (so someone let me know if it works).

Good luck and have fun! Enjoy the madness

Josh Hoey's National Record Revisited

It’s been almost two weeks since Josh Hoey made the country’s jaws drop with his massive national record of 1:47.67 in the 800 meters. The Bishop Shanahan senior has always been a strong distance runner-he had two state championships at 800 and mile wins at the Penn Relays, Millrose Games and Boston Indoor. But this record was unlike anything we’ve seen from him before.

On Boston’s lightening quick track, Josh stormed through the four lap race and held his own in a group of semi-pros and top flight collegiate athletes. His record time was a massive PR indoors or out. He had clocked 1:49.37 last summer at Junior Nationals (his previous best) and owned a 1:51.49 indoor 800 best from February 15^th of this year. However you can throw all those PRs out the window as, in a year of big half mile breakthroughs for many PA stand outs, Josh skipped the 1:48s entirely and shattered Robby Andrew’s national record of 1:49.21 by over a second and a half.

I can still remember Robby’s national record. At the time it was an absurd run-no one had ever broken 1:50 indoors before and he brought it all the way down to 1:49.2. Just a year later, Robby went on to win the indoor NCAA title at 800 and run 1:45 outdoors. He finished runner-up in Eugene to Olympian superstar Andrew Wheating that outdoor season. Andrews has since become a multi-time national team qualifier in the 1500 (including a USA title last year) and a world championship finalist.

Indoors has changed a lot since Andrews broke that record. Although no one could quite eclipse him, guys have been knocking on the door of history starting with Ben Malone’s sub 1:50 as a junior in 2012 and most notably Cameron Cooper’s 1:49.46 just last year. Now, however, it’s Hoey who sits across the standings. This time isn’t just fast for indoor race either, it puts Josh at #7 ever for high schools. He’s within 1.22 seconds of Mike Granville’s legendary 1996 record of 1:46.45. Nobody has been in the 1:46s since Granville did it and the closest we’ve seen anybody get to that record this century is Donovan Brazier (1:47.55 in 2015). Hoey’s in a similar spot with months still left to go.

By the way, when Hoey ran his mark, it put him in the top 70 Americans ever for indoor track. Only 10 guys in the NCAA have faster marks than the Oregon according to TFRRS and he actually beat 2015 NCAA runner up Dylan Capwell head to head during the record. Unsurprisingly, Hoey’s run is a PA record for indoors (by nearly 3 seconds) or outdoors (by almost a full second). PA now has two individual distance state records that were set indoors (Noah Affolder set the two mile record at nationals last year) and Carlisle’s DMR from indoors a year ago is our fastest of that relay on any surface.

Clearly the indoor landscape is changing. Sometimes PA’s top indoor performers struggle to hit those same times outdoors so there will be pressure on Hoey as he moves forward. I’d imagine the big goals for him now would be centered around a few things-national outdoor record in the 800, sub 4 minutes in the mile, making the US Junior World Team for Finland this July. The sub 4 list is short, but it’s been growing at a much more rapid pace in recent years. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hoey chase some fast opportunities-including a run on his future home track out in Oregon and perhaps some local professional races at Princeton, Swarthmore or Penn. That 800 national record will be perhaps the hardest target of them all, but Josh has a huge head start on everyone else who has chased it in history.

I’d love to see Shanahan throw some relays together. Without Josh, they were in the mix for a state title indoors and have the pieces to win the DMR at the Penn Relays like Drew Hunter did with Loudon Valley a few years back. The Shanahan 4x8 could also make a run at a sub 7:40 time or a big Penn Relays performance. They will be qualified for PR based on their 7:49 from December last year.

As I’ve speculated before, I think this may be the end of Josh Hoey at state championship meets. After passing on the indoor state championship this year (and the decision paying off with a national record) he seems likely that he will chase top notch competition during the spring, keep a relatively light race schedule and look to extend his senior into the World Junior Championships this summer. He could be a dark horse medal contender if things break right.

Assuming this is it, Josh will graduate with two individual state championships at 800 and a team title in XC. He has two top 10 finishes in XC at states and has led two different teams into the top 5 in the final standings, including a surprising run from Shanahan this year. He was also the #1 man on PA’s only ever NXN Regional Champions as just a sophomore. Josh anchored DT West to a state medal in the DMR as a freshman, medaled at states in 1600 as a freshman, ran 4:17 for the mile as a freshman. He was 2^nd in the mile indoor, 3^rd in the 1600 outdoors and pulled down two more golds as a member of the DT West 4x4 as a sophomore. He won the Penn Relays mile as a sophomore. Junior year, he grabbed those two state golds at 800 meters and helped Shanahan to a 4x4 state title. Back to back seasons he was a part of the indoor state championship team.

There are no questions about his accomplishments. The only question is: what’s next?

Indoor Nationals Entries

Here's what I've seen thus far. Let me know which other entries are on the way/missing from the distance side (or the non-distance side if you'd like)

800m

Liam Conway, Owen J Roberts

Collin Ebling, Pottsville

Aidan Sauer, Pennsbury

Brett Zatlin, Great Valley

Mile

Evan Addison, LaSalle

Noah Beveridge, Butler

Dalton Hengst

2 Mile

Dalton Hengst
Rusty Kujdych, Neshaminy

5,000m

Tristan Forsythe, Winchester Thurston

Brendan Miller, Upper Dauphin
Tyler Rollins, DT West

4x800m

CR South

Pennridge

DMR

Spring Ford

EE One Mile

Cameron Binda, Greensburg Salem
Seth Ketler, Seneca Valley

EE Two Mile

Jeffrey Love, George School

EE 4x800m

Germantown Friends

2018 Indoor State Recaps: The Relays

4x800m

CB West came to play once again the 4x800. They started the day with a stacked relay and took on all challengers with what ended up being a fairly comfortable margin of victory-nearly five seconds. It’s clear this team was ready and focused for this attack and they once again posted an all-state performance. And I think there’s more room to give here-especially by outdoors. It’s encouraging to see Luke Fehrman dropping a big 1:56.28 split (third fastest split of the day) and with a bit more competition, I think there could be a nice drop for Brian Baker on the anchor (he ran 1:57.32 but his season best was 1:57.00 open). Plus, Jake Claricurzio is continuing to get healthy and drop time. By outdoors, they may be able to flip Baker back to lead off (would be very helpful for somewhere like Penn Relays) and Claricurzio back to anchor where both guys had success a year ago and may feel more comfortable.

Pennridge is going to be dangerous this spring. The team was off my radar as a 4x8 for a solid couple months before they suddenly became a force. They won the Meet of Champions and then took second in the state. Over the past few seasons, Pennridge has got consistently better in the 4x8 as we move ahead to outdoors. It’s not hard to remember their district champion squad in 2014 or the 7:40 team in 2015. The 2016 team was one of the best in the state despite missing Tucker Desko. Last year (and I forgot about this completely) they took 3^rd in the state! After a relatively underwhelming indoor campaign. In 2018, they will be starting the year at 7:57. They already have a game changing anchor in place with Matt Eissler and they have three other guys right at the 2 minute barrier. They just need a #2 to step up and they are in a great spot.

CR South and Ephrata both really went for it in this race. They weren’t afraid to change up the traditional 4x8 order strategy as Ephrata ran their fastest leg 1^st and CR South ran their fastest leg 2^nd. Those strategies were effective in keeping these squads out of traffic as Ephrata had a 5 second lead to start the race and CR South was on CB West’s hip at the last exchange. Those aforementioned fastest legs were the 1^st and 2^nd fastest guys in the field.

The top two teams in Heat 1 may have been my favorite story of the race. Mount Lebanon had been consistently excellent against WPIAL competition. They were rolling as a relay and seemed poised for something big at states. Well, they delivered on that with three sub 2 minute legs and a total time of 8:03.83. Only CB West, the state champs, had more sub 2 minute legs than Lebo. They nearly led this thing wire to wire as well as Lebo was in 1^st after the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th legs. By outdoors, I think this team could be a real force (they’ve got enough inter-squad competition to really speed the guys up). Meanwhile, LaSalle showed once again why they are the deepest team in the state. Without their #1 guy in Evan Addison, the LaSalle boys entered the state championships an underdog. But the Explorers set to work with a consistent, balanced attack and hung tough in the pack until the moment to strike came about. Their final time of 8:05 got them 6^th in the overall standings.

Abington is still hanging around as a 4x8 force. They always put the emphasis on the relays and it’s paid off with yet another medal. I’d like to see Cameron Mitchell unleashed in the open 8 this coming outdoors. I think he could do some big things. DT West showing some real range in ability as they know have a district XC championship and a 4x8 indoor medal in the same season. That’s not something you see every day.

Lastly, I have to give a huge shout out to Boyertown. They had two guys under the 2 minute barrier and did an awesome job taking 12^th in this race and mixing it up on the big stage. I’ll continue to be rooting for this team into the spring as they inspire with their determination and perseverance.

DMR

As I mentioned in another post already, I’m excited to see Seneca Valley go all in on the DMR and come away with the gold. I thought their first three legs ran excellent races, especially Owori who had an awesome 3:07.72. Ketler, of course, is a beast, but I think he could have done a lot more if pressed. It’s ironic as Ketler was a little bit in the shadow of Owori and now things may have flipped after Seth’s clutch close to the XC season and his mile breakthroughs this spring. Of course, whoever is faster doesn’t matter as both guys are fast, leading to a Ben Simmons and Joe Embiid situation for SV. Let’s hope we get to see them at Penn Relays in this event representing the state and then it’s time to transition to the 4x8. They ran 7:46 last year with this exact same squad and there is no doubt in my mind they are better. I could see 1:55-1:57-1:56-1:53 kind of splits from this team which would put you in the low 7:40s and definitely be in the mix for state gold. They will be CB West’s toughest test looking ahead.

I also already touched on Spring Ford who, although I thought they would race well, I didn’t see leaving this meet with the silvers and a blazing 10:23.11. They put themselves in a great position with the best 4-8 punch in the meet. And McKenna is just a gamer on that anchor leg. He was surrounded by some of the biggest names in the state and raced unfazed. We will likely see these guys in the DMR at Penn (assuming the time gets them in), but after that I think the magic of the Spring Ford team will dwindle and it will be time for individual dreams to come to fruition.

CB West and LaSalle left the meet with two medals in the relays-the only squads to do so. Both were lurking dangerous on the anchor leg with Brian Baker and Evan Addison at the helm. Baker’s split of 4:19.10 was the fastest of any runner and he brought his squad from 6^th to 3^rd during his carry. Addison had the 3^rd fastest carry and also jumped his team up a spot.

Bishop Shanahan led the race heading in to the anchor and held on for a 5^th place finish. That’s pretty darn impressive considering they were without their #1 runner in Josh Hoey. How many other teams in the state could run under 10:30 without their best miler (and with multiple legs on the double)? A 3:07 on the double from Jonah Hoey is a pretty darn good lead off leg and sets the stage nicely for a potential DMR run at nationals (if Shanahan wants to go after it). In theory, if you swap in Josh’s 1600 best, they drop roughly 25 seconds to 10:02. Of course from a 4x8 perspective they can do pretty well considering they have a 1:47 guy.

Wyomissing put together one of the best small school DMR’s we’ve seen with a 10:29.01 for 6^th, CR North posted another DMR medal for their growing stack-running 10:32, and the boys from Butler helped the WPIAL snag another set of medals with a 10:35. That’s a pretty fast medal group which, unfortunately, left the boys from Penncrest just off the medal stand. They ran an awesome 10:38 time and pushed late in the race to get back into it, backed by Avery Lederer’s 4:25 anchor carry.