Non Penn Relays Recaps

Unionville Invitational

One of the breakout performers of the weekend was DT West’s Evan Kaiser. While the Whippets squad has always had a nice stable of distance talent, Kaiser was a bit buried on the depth chart behind the state medalists Sewall and Rollins. But Kaiser announced himself in a big way at this meet with a massive PB of 4:20.91. That was some 8 seconds ahead of his seed time and 5 seconds ahead of 2^nd place. Kaiser has now announced himself as a medal contender in the mile. DT West also had Kevin Long and Joseph Chamoun run well as they were 3-4 in the open 800. Lots of decisions to make for this team down the line as they try to spread their talent through individuals and the 4x8 (where they could be a factor for at least something in the 7:55ish range if not faster).

Josh Lewin was the 3200 champ at this meet, clocking a 9:37.29. As a frosh, he hit the state qualifying time at districts last year and I’d guess he’s looking for much more this time around. This was a very strong win against a nice field (5 sub 10, Sewall of DT West was second). Lewin has been very consistent this year which is impressive considering his youth. Kid runs above his age.

LHU High School Classic

Once again, Lock Haven’s track brought us some brilliant results. The first battle came in the 4x8 where the top 3 teams (all AA schools I believe) cracked the 8:10 barrier. Mifflinburg was first across the line thanks in part to a 1:55.34 (!) anchor carry. I believe that may have been Tyler Bailey (who ran 1:57.03 this year at Lock Haven), a name you will not want to forget as we get deeper into the spring. Mifflinburg also had a 1:58 split on their third leg to help close the gap to the leaders.

Elk County Catholic held solid ground with a 1:59 anchor of their own and Danville, perhaps the most balanced of the teams, was 3^rd across the line with a 2 flat anchor. Mifflin County (a AAA squad) popped an 8:15 time but featured two sub two legs (most likely Seth Phillips and Chayce Macknair).

The aforementioned Macknair was a victor at 1600 as he outdueled Loyalsock’s Quinn Serfass 4:27 to 4:28. Macknair was a state qualifier in this event last year and is fresh off a great XC season that included his first state medal. He’s still got room to drop off that 4:27, but it’s nice to get a win (during a double or triple) against a deep field. Small schooler Ethan Knoebel was also under 4:30 in this race, clocking a 4:29.90 for 4^th.

But ultimately, Tyler Leeser stole the show individually. The Milton senior dropped a 1:54.28 time, rolling to the front early and never looking back.  This is a lifetime best for Leeser, who has great 1600 strength as well (4:16 from last year). He missed time during the fall, but he looks at full strength right now. Leeser vs. Jihad in a fresh 800 at states would be a thrilling individual matchup and I hope we get to see it. It’s probably too early to talk about a meet record (Perretta took that thing down pretty far a few years back), but 1:51 is in play for sure. In second, Seth Phillips of Mifflin County put together an excellent race with a 1:56.70.

The 3200 was loaded with talent as Abington Heights indoor state qualifier Kyle Burke took down the win behind a 64 second final lap. He stopped the clock at 9:28 and set a meet record in the process. As part of a busy day, Chayce Macknair took 2^nd place (9:36) while General McLane’s stand out Nate price was third in 9:38. Burke seems to be really locked in at the longer stuff this year (last year he was more 16-8 I believe) which definitely feels like a smart move. He’s been rolling so far this year and is definitely a medal contender in the 32 outdoors. I think that race has the potential to be pretty wide open behind the obvious big names of Beveridge and Kujdych.

Loyalsock, AA last year for track, had three guys at 9:53 or faster. That core carried them to an awesome team finish in XC at states and those three guys are heating up as we get deeper into the season. Serfass medaled at 3200 last spring and this year, we could see 2 or 3 guys pull that off. The AA race is shaping up to be super deep as Ben Hoffman and Krystof Lapotsky also dipped under 10 minutes at this meet.

Westmoreland

The boys from Greensburg Salem left their stamp on this meet, starting things off with an impressive 4x8 victory at 8:06. They kept busy as Cameron Binda won the 3200 and the 1600 (4:28) and Mark Brown was 2^nd in the 160, 5^th in the 8. Dylan Binda was 4^th in a very tightly contested 800 final. Matt Busche won that for Franklin Region with at time of 2:00.03 while the next three competitors were all less than a second behind. I’m not sure Greensburg Salem will really go after the 4x8 (the individuals seem to make more sense), but they could definitely dip under 8 minutes for a second straight season behind a great core of guys. Cameron Binda seems to be the one to watch for now. He was an indoor medalist and has been rolling so far this spring.

Chris Fry

District 3 continues to give us some hotly contested 3200s. Nathan Grucelski of Conestoga Valley popped off an excellent 9:31 mark to barely defeat Connor Shields of Warwick. This is a big race for both guys as each runner’s best event may end up the 1600 this season, but it’s nice to see them within striking distance of Nate Henderson’s meet record. Shields has done it all from 800 through 3200 this season and is looking very dangerous in the state medal race. Both guys finished 4 seconds ahead of Ian Miller of Manhiem Township who clocked yet another strong long distance race with a 9:35. In total, 9 guys got under 10 minutes.

Manheim Township’s Gavin Mauerer continues to impress in the 800 as he picked up a victory in 1:58.28 over Penn Manor’s David Kramer.

Mars Invitational

Tristan Forsythe, the reigning AA 1600m state champion, returned to the track this weekend and impressed in his first major race of the spring. He ran a 4:20 to outduel Jonah Powell of Grove City. It’s going to be tricky for Forsythe to retain his title as the 1600 field is looking super deep in AA this spring, but Tristan is a proven winner at this point and a 4:20 plus a victory over someone like Powell is encouraging.

By the way, Powell wasn’t done after that 16. He went on to win the 800 with a time of 1:57 to roll through the field. I think this kid has a ton of potential. The speed is there (looks like he also had a 4x4 leg on the gold medal team), he proved the strength is there (3^rd at XC states). He’s got all the tools for a breakthrough. We’ve seen Jake Kildoo and Dan Jaskowak have huge state meets their junior years. I wouldn’t be surprised if Powell joins that list of Grove City alumni.

Also worth noting, home towner Zach Leachman (just a sophomore) was 3^rd in the 16 and 1^st in the 32 with times of 4:27 and 9:59. The sophomore class is loaded this year, so Leachman sometimes gets overlooked. But he was a monster at Footlocker Regionals, a consistent factor on the XC trails and is now quietly ascending on the track.