2017 Indoor NCAA Predictions: Caleb Gatchell

By: Caleb Gatchell

800 Meters: I really hate having to pick this event before prelims, because if we’re going to be honest here, I have no idea who will end up in that final. This field is not only wide open, but also deep. We have two trials finalists, indoor world record setter, and a top 9 separated by just over half a second. The problem? Only 8 guys make the final, and one of the trials finalists, Craig Engels, isn’t even in that top 9. So, now that I’ve given all the reasons I’m wrong, here’s what I’m going with. I said a week ago my gut pick was Dan Kuhn and I’m going to stick with it. Craig Engels will place 4^th in every big race for the rest of his life. Sorry, man, you’re just cursed. One final detail worth noting is that Emmanuel Korir did not race at his conference meet and has been cross training due to an injured ankle. I think that’s really going to shake things up a bit.

1. Dan Kuhn – Indiana
2. Joe White – Georgetown
3. Eliud Rutto – MTSU
4. Craig Engels – Ole Miss
5. Isaiah Harris – PSU
6. Robert Heppenstall – Wake Forest
7. Patrick Joseph – VA. Tech
8. Drew Piazza – VA. Tech

Mile: Spoiler alert: Ed Cheserek will win this race. It’s not close. The real story is the race for second, especially with Dave Smith saying he’s going to turn Josh Thompson loose. No reservations, no racing safe, just go for it and if you blow up and finish 8^th, so be it. I think that makes this race really interesting. Does Thompson hold on? Does he drag anyone with him or does the field play it safe and sit and kick? We saw the field sit and watch Soratos and Cheserek duel it out two years ago, but I think it’s going to play out a little differently this time. Either way, this race is going to be really fun to watch.

1. Ed Cheserek – Oregon
2. Josh Kerr – New Mexico
3. Josh Thompson – Ok. State
4. Ben Saarel – Colorado
5. Matthew Maton – Oregon
6. Sampson Laari – MTSU
7. Tim Gorman – Oregon
8. Zach Perrin – Colorado

3000: Guess what? Ches wins again. After that? I have no idea. Gilbert, Scott, and Knight all look very strong, but all have their drawbacks as well. Scott has struggled at NCAAs historically and will be on the double, as will Gilbert. And Knight? He hasn’t done anything overly impressive indoors. He failed to qualify in the mile and his 3k is solid, but not insane. However, I don’t think we’ve seen Knight all out. He’s been waiting for this moment. Also keep an eye on Erik Peterson. The senior is severely underrated and poised to breakout big time.

1. Ed Cheserek - Oregon
2. Justyn Knight - Syracuse
3. Erik Peterson - Butler
4. Jack Keelan - Stanford
5. Joe Klecker - Colorado
6. Marc Scott - Tulsa
7. Amon Terer - Campbell
8. Brian Barraza – Houston

5000: The last individual event in my predictions but the first event that will run. This is where Cheserek will begin his historic triple, despite Marc Scott and Colby Gilbert’s best efforts. However, Gilbert has already had his wheels run off by Cheserek this year, so I can’t see him taking the win. Scott can close really well, but I don’t think he can close better than Ches. Behind these three favorites watch out for Erik Peterson, Alex Short, and Amon Terer to keep the rest of the race interesting.

1. Ed Cheserek – Oregon
2. Marc Scott – Tulsa
3. Colby Gilbert – Washington
4. Amon Terer – Campbell
5. Erik Peterson – Butler
6. Matt Baxter – Northern Arizona
7. Alex Short – San Francisco
8. Alfred Chelenga – Alabama

DMR: This event is always one of my favorites to watch just because there are so many different ways it can play out. I think there’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the anchors this year which will make it even more interesting than usual. Is Kyle Mau legit?  What about Wetzel, Wiebke, and Ciattei? Because of this uncertainty, I think the first 3 legs will be even more important than usual. That makes Ole Miss really interesting because of how strong their first 3 legs are. I think Arkansas is also sneaky good, although they were unable to beat Ole Miss at SEC’s so I don’t know if they could beat them here. Then of course we have Oklahoma State who has the best anchor in the race, Josh Thompson.

1. Ole Miss
2. Ok. State
3. Arkansas
4. Stanford
5. Indiana
6. UTEP
7. Oregon
8. Virginia Tech

2017 NCAA Indoor Predictions: Alex Fox

By: Alex Fox

It’s that time again. Us Etrain writers risk our dignity and sense of intelligence making predictions over collegiate track and field. I’m feeling good after my individual win during cross country (I am Jacob Pickle…the fake Alex Fox refuses to identify themselves. Sad!) Here’s to an incredibly difficult NCAA field and not picking Andres Arroyo!

800

For months, I’ve been all about Craig Engels. I said it after Olympic Trials. I said it again in the first episode of Full Speed Ahead (which if you haven’t checked out, here’s the link: https://soundcloud.com/user-571877119/full-speed-ahead-episode-1-the-ches-triple). He’s got the speed (PR of 1:46), he’s got the awareness, and he’s got the look. (https://www.google.com/search?q=craig+engels+mullet&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS728US728&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwih5vvYgsrSAhVFMyYKHaMdDnQQ_AUIBigB&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=sD5M7vg5br5rVM:). Make me look as good as you do Craig. 

After him, it gets tough. I really like Korir, but he lacks experience and we saw some freshman not produce at NCAA Indoors last year. Isaiah Harris is a tough pick; he’s run fast, but has lost a couple of times this season. Joe White has been nothing short of dominate this year, but had a tough time at Nationals last year. Daniel Kuhn has also shown his stuff this season, but this will be his first Nationals race. Then there’s Eliud Rutto, last year’s top returner. I’m banking on Rutto making Heat 2 fast in the prelims, giving them 5 qualifier, with 3 out of Heat 1.

Prediction

1) Engels

2) Harris

3) Korir

4) Rutto

5) Kuhn

6) Heppenstall

7) White

8) Piazza

Mile

Edward Cheresek is winning. Remember what he did to Cristian Soratos two years ago? I sure do. Second should be Josh Thompson. He’s got a mean kick, and honestly, this field doesn’t really scare me. After that it keeps tricky. Matt Maton runs for Oregon, who tend to run out of their mind come March as Caleb mentioned last week (I will not stop plugging our podcast. Seriously, check it out). Josh Kerr might just be the most underrated runner in the NCAA. Adam Palamar managed to quietly run 3:57 very early this season. Then we have the altitude conversion boys from Buffalo in Perrin and Saarel. Jonah Koech ran well at NCAAs last year, but his cross country season could be cause for concern. What about PA alum Ned Willig, and maybe Tim Gorman is the next Sam Prakel? I feel good about 1 and 2, but everything is a bit jumbled after that. With the prelims here, I predict Heat 1 to be faster, as Ches tries to help get his two teammates through.

Prediction

1) Cheserek

2) Thompson

3) Maton

4) Kerr

5) Palamar

6)  Ben Saarel

7) Neil Gourley

8) Willig

3000

This will be the last race of the weekend for The King (assuming he doesn’t blow up and scratch, which is what happened last time this triple was attempted). If more of this field was fresh, I’d be more willing to pick an upset, but I just don’t see it happening. The one big name who will be fresh is of course Justyn Knight, who did manage to beat Ches during cross country. Knight is a tempting pick, but last year, he had a similar opportunity to beat Ches when he was on tire legs, but opted to race for second. There are other names in this race like Colby Gilbert and Marc Scott who could potentially push the pace, but given that they’re coming off the 5k, I think this race goes down similarly to how it did last year: a strong field on paper shies away, Ches wins in a relatively moderate time, he makes history. The question behind him and Knight will be how talented guys fair coming off the double against fresh talent. Names like Scott, Gilbert, Dressel, Saarel, Maton, and Peterson will all be doubling back (and I think the 5k could be quick, but I’ll get to that) while Joe Klecker, Morgan McDonald, Clayton Young, and Brian Barraza will all be fresh. This should make for an interesting pack.

Prediction:

1) Cheserek

2) Knight

3) Scott

4) Klecker

5) Young

6) Barraza

7) McDonald

8) Gilbert

5000

The only Etrain writer with All American credentials said if Ches is going to lose, it’ll be in the 5k (You still haven’t listened to our podcast yet? Do it, I worked somewhat hard on the audio-editing). Caleb makes a good point. Marc Scott has been a man on a mission this year. He can run fast and he can kick hard. Colby Gilbert has also run fast, but Ches showed that Gilbert’s kick is just not on the same level. I think Ches will have to work for this victory, but he’s the GOAT for a reason. It’ll be interesting to see some of the other names fresh here too: we’re all big fans of Eric Peterson, John Dressel is no slouch, plus we get to see how the cross country heroes from NAU fair on the track. This will be my race of the weekend.

Predictions

1) Cheserek

2) Scott

3) Gilbert

4) Dressel

5) Peterson

6) MJ Erb

7) Mat Baxter

8) Rory Linkletter

DMR

What a difference a year can make. Last year’s DMR featured some of the best anchor legs ever, including Sean McGorty, Brannon Kidder, Izaic York, Mason Ferlic, Jordy Williamsz, and of course, Ches. This year, there’s a lot of young talent, but this race is nowhere near the caliber of last year’s dramatic race (which featured a 3:52 and 3:53 anchor). On paper, Ole Miss should win. Between Robert Domanic, Sean Tobin, Craig Engels, and Ran Manahan, these guys have far and away the best mid distance crew in the country. However, questions surround their anchor decisions; if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times, Sean Tobin is a talented runner, but has no business anchoring that team. Do they have the frontend talent to hold off star anchor Josh Thompson? Other interesting teams to watch will be New Mexico, with Josh “you should really learn my name now” Kerr, UTEP, with the ever-mercurial Jonah Koech, and the upstart Indiana squad with Kyle “no not like the sound a cat makes” Mau. Okay, I made my bad joke. In all seriousness, I’m intrigued by Virginia Tech, and could this be the breakout race for Villanova’s oft-forget Logan Wetzel? Finally, can Oregon scratch out some points in their pursuit of an upset team title? Only time will tell.

Predictions

1) Ole Miss

2) UTEP

3) Virginia Tech

4) Indiana

5) Oklahoma State

6) New Mexico

7) Villanova

8) Arkansas

Well, there they are. Let the embarrassment commence AND FOR REAL LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST :)

The Etrain 11: Central of Attention

On October 15^th, 2016, the boys in the Central League lined up for their cross country championships. At the top of the field were three excellent harriers in Avery Lederer, James Abrahams and Matt D’Aquila. The three separated themselves from the field and were ranked #28, #31 and #37 in the state individual Top 50 rankings. As they approached the finish, any of the three top runners could steal the victory ...

In 2014, Conestoga was a legitimate state title threat in cross country behind a legitimate state title threat in Andrew Marston. But within just a year, the landscape of the Central League shifted dramatically. In 2015, no Central League schools qualified for states out of District One. The closest team was Lower Merion, who finished 13^th on tie breaker. The league’s top individual finisher at both districts and states was Liam Galligan, who took 14^th and 21^st respectively. But Galligan suffered an injury before the XC season really hit its stride and the Springfield DELCO senior wouldn’t be able to compete in the championship race in October. So the league landscape changed quickly. Without their top miler and XC runner, how would the Central League handle themselves? It turns out pretty well.

The top trio battled hard with one another into the final straightaway before, ultimately, James Abrahams of Haverford threw down a kick strong enough to pull away for the victory. He turned the tables on Lederer, who had defeated him at DELCOs and stopped the clock in a terrific 16:01. That time was actually faster than Marston had run en route to his 3^rd place finish at states in 2014.

After a strong showing at Districts, where Abrahams broke into the 15:40s, the Haverford Senior struggled at states, fading hard over the final mile to lose his grasp on medal position. After that disappointment, it had to be tough for him to rally back. But the track season is a new season and slowly, Abrahams grinded his way back into shape. Ultimately, he cemented his chance to compete for a state medal in the mile at the Ocean Breeze Facility, running 4:23 for the mile.

Thanks to his fast time, Abrahams ended up in the fast heat at states. However, I had my doubts about Abrahams ability to handle this stage. At each of the past two state championships in XC, Abrahams had slipped out of the medals and he had also failed to capture a top spot in the 1600 trials at Shippensburg. So I left him out of my medalist predictions. Big mistake.

In a mile state final where redemption proved to be the theme, James Abrahams hung tough to the front pack and threw down a strong kick to take 5^th place overall and earn a new mile PR of 4:20.06 in the process. That gave the Haverford stand out a long deserved state medal.

Finishing just ahead of him in this race, was Liam Conway, Tristan Forsythe and Evan Addison. At the XC state championships, Conway had fallen over 50 spots in the final mile, Addison had dropped out for LaSalle and Tristan Forsythe had lost his grip on the A state title and had to settle for 3^rd. Just like Abrahams, they all seized the opportunity to compete in another state championship and all left the meet with new PRs. Conway and Addison received their first individual state medals as well.

Coming through the line in 2^nd place overall at the Central League Championships was Matt D’Aquila of Lower Merion. The senior just missed out on the coveted league title running 16:04, but he was not perturbed. The next weekend, at districts, Matt rolled to a 15:38 and a 5^th place finish. In 3^rd place was Penncrest’s Avery Lederer, the best junior in the field. He ran 16:06, just a few ticks back from both D’Aquila and Abrahams. At districts, just like the pair of seniors ahead of him, he cracked the top 12 finishers with a 15:47 for 11^th.

Both Avery and Matt continued to battle. At the state championships, Lederer was ahead through the mile and the two mile, but D’Aquila rallied home in 20^th and Avery finished in 31^st, just outside the medals.

But the battles didn’t stop there. On December 22^nd, D’Aquila ran 9:14.780 for a 3k victory. Four days later, Lederer ran 9:14.19 to leave the Burdette Invitational with a gold medal of his own. On January 7^th, D’Aquila got the best of Lederer in a head to head fight in the mile 4:34 to 4:36. On January 20^th, Lederer went to the New Balance Games and ran 9:35.08 for two miles on the Armory’s fast banked track. Eight days later, D’Aquila ran 9:35.14 at the Ocean Breeze Facility. And then finally, at the Last Chance Meet, D’Aquila ran 4:30.49 to Lederer’s 4:30.90 in another tight mile rematch. It seemed like the two were on a collision course in the upcoming post season, but ultimately each runner’s circumstances warranted different paths to success.

Let’s back up a second. After winning a second straight central league title, Lower Merion punched a ticket to the state championship as a team and finished in the top 10 once they got there. The boys impressed with a strong pack behind their individual state medalist Matt D’Aquila, his first piece of state level hardware/ Both Avery and Matt continued to battle. At the state championships, Lederer was ahead through the mile and the two mile, but D’Aquila rallied home in 20^th and Avery finished in 31^st, just outside the medals. DA was Lower Merion’s individual finish at a state championship since his coach Neal Berman was on the trails. LM’s Teddy Neckowitz also cracked the top 30 in team scoring, jumping 100 places in the standings from the one mile to the finish. Evan Hassman, who had his own meteoric 30 place jump over the final mile, rounded out the team’s strong top 3 that solidified their scoring position. All three boys were seniors.

As they moved to track, D’Aquila, Neckowitz, sophomore teammate Charlie Herrmann (16^th at Central Leagues when this story all began) and 400 runner Romaine Rhoden, took a liking to the Distance Medley Relay. The goal became a team medal in one of PA’s most revered distance events and this team decided to put all of their eggs in one basket.

"A state qualifying DMR was something very important to this Lower Merion team," said their anchor leg D'Aquila, "We had our hearts set on this event ver since we ended our XC seasons in Hershey."

Meanwhile, although Penncrest had a solid team, including state qualifier Justin Senackerib (11^th at Central Leagues), a relay just wasn’t in the cards for Lederer and company. So instead he focused his attentions on the 3,000 meters. His 2 mile time from the Armory appeared to be enough to punch his ticket for states, but the junior pursued one final tune up at the prestigious Meet of Champions. The result was a 3^rd place finish in 8:59.63. Although it was a strong time, it wasn’t eye popping or jaw dropping and it appeared Lederer would be on the outside looking in for a state medal in the strong 3k field at states.

But that’s not how the Penncrest junior chose to operate. Putting everything behind his trip to PSU, the junior did what he had done all season, from cross country through the track season. He stuck his nose near the top of the field, ran with heart and hoped his legs could match his guts. Now, in perhaps his most important performance, the junior rallied to a 6^th place finish with a huge PR of 8:47.57. Now, with Lower Merion preparing shortly to line up for the DMR, each of the top 3 finishers from the Central League Championships had themselves an individual medal.

LM had some tough sledding ahead of them. They were up against true titans of the distance relays and would likely need to cut some serious time from their season best performance to earn a medal. But the squad didn’t lose their cool. Having competed at a state championship before, the boys did what they had trained to do: race smart and race hard. 

"Running this event multiple times throughout the season was a key component in making the best DMR possible."

Teddy Neckowitz (6^th at Centrals) set the tone with a strong 1200 leg to put his team in the mix and out of trouble. The middle legs got the stick around to D’Aquila in a position to succeed. And the senior didn’t let his teammates down. He crossed the line triumphantly with a final time of 10:33.02 in 7^th place. In the process, they defeated 3 schools who had defeated them at cross country states in DT West, CB West and WC Henderson. In fact, only the reigning state champions at CR North placed higher out of District One schools.

"The goal was about getting the most guys on the medal stand at the State meet," D'Aquila said in summary. "It's safe to say that our focus and determination throughout the season in the DMR has paid off."

The Central League has had a fantastic season so far. Beyond the “big three” Conestoga finished 8^th as a team at Lehigh during the cross country season, getting a big contribution from freshman Carlos Shultz. The freshman went on to finish 29^th at states and break 9 minutes for 3k, putting him among the best ever for his age. Joesph Cardie of Springfield DELCO finished 9^th in the mile at states, while Radnor’s Peter Cooke ran a 1:56 for 800 and was a medal contender in the fast heat.

It’s been a great for the Central Leaguers, but they may only be getting started. With the outdoor season on the horizon, there is still plenty more to come from this group and the others around the state. 

The Alumni Report

By: Garrett Zatlin

The regular season is done and NCAA's are quickly approaching (they start this weekend)! I thought this would be a good time to recap how some of our alumni have done...

Syracuse
-Kevin James
-Dominic Hockenbury
-Griffin Molino

Overall, this Syracuse trio had a pretty decent winter as they thrived in the longer races like the 3000 and 5000. James finished this winter with three collegiate PR's which included 4:15, 8:13, and 14:35. He ran those 3k and 5k PR's in his final two races of the season.

Molino also earned collegiate PR's of 8:28 and 15:02 this winter.

Yet, it was redshirt freshman Dominic Hockenbury getting some attention after he ran 14:41 and 8:26. With three years of eligibility still left, expect big things from this kid in the future.

It's going to take some time, but don't be surprised to see one of these guys at nationals in the next two years.

Penn State
-Dominic Perretta
-Colin Abert
-Billy McDevitt
-Jaxson Hoey
-Brad Rivera

It seems like there has been a complete overhaul of this Penn State program in the past year. Almost all of their top talent are underclassmen.

Let's start with Billy McDevitt who had a quiet, but respectable season after running PR's of 1:50 and 4:09! It's taken some time, but the past two years of training are paying off for him.

Meanwhile, we saw Colin Abert put together another nice season with times of 4:07 and 8:10. Neither of those times were PR's, but they weren't far off either. Look for Abert to better his times this outdoor season. He is due for a personal best.

Let's shift our focus to the freshmen duo of Jaxson Hoey and Dominic Perretta. Hoey struggled early on and was eventually shut down for the rest of the winter. He finished with times of 1:58 and 4:25, but this isn't unusual for freshman entering a intensive program like Penn State. Like plenty of other PA alumni, we'll have to give him some time to adjust.

Perretta, on the other hand, needed no adjustment time at all as he was an absolute animal this season! The Nittany Lion freshman ran times of 1:48.17 (NCAA #21), 2:23 (1k), and 4:17. He also split 2:55 on the 1200 leg of his DMR. Willig may be the one going to nationals, but Perretta might be the PA Alumni Winter MVP...

Lastly, I think we have to give some recognition and thanks to former state champion Brad Rivera who had a respectable four years at Penn State. He set up countless fast races as a pace rabbit and provided excellent leadership and experience on a team that had only one other senior on their mid-distance/long distance squads.

Pittsburgh
-Nate Sloan
-Nick Wolk
-Matt McGoey
-Billy Caldwell
-James Hare
-Sebastian Curtin
-Aaron Lauer
-Chris Pastore
-Alex Archer

Let's start by talking about Nate Sloan who has been the leader of his class. The redshirt sophomore earned PR's of 4:08 and 1:53 this season. He struggled at ACC's, but you can't take away his talent. 4:08 with two years of eligibility left? Sounds like an exciting future.

Others in that junior class also include Caldwell, Hare, and Lauer. It was a slow start for Caldwell, but he finished the season with a nice PR of 4:11. Conversely, James Hare took advantage of his early season fitness and earned PR's of 2:30 (1k) and 4:19. Aaron Lauer may not have PR'd, but he did run times of 8:20 and 14:47.

Unfortunately, the older guys like Pastore and Archer struggled a bit this winter with neither individual coming all that close to their PR's.

But the future is still very bright for the Panthers with guys like Matt McGoey, Nick Wolk, and Sebastian Curtin. In his second year with the team, Curtin has seen some outstanding improvement in his 3k with a PR of 8:17.

McGoey is another sophomore that has broken out as of late. It took him some time to adjust in his first year of collegiate racing, but the North Allegheny alumni threw down PR's of 8:21 and 4:06 this winter. That 4:06 came at ACC's where he was able to qualify for the finals (where he eventually ran 4:09).

But the addition of Nick Wolk is what really catapulted this program to a new level. As a true freshman, Wolk registered PR's of 4:14 and 8:15.

The Panthers remind me a lot of the Sixers. They've had their fair-share of struggles in the past, but now they have new leadership, a young squad to build off of, and budding super-stars that could give them the push they need to enter the next level.

Lehigh
-Matt Kravitz
-Clay Stabolepszy
-Ryan Paradise
-David Fletcher
-Ryan Grace
-Joe Espinal
-James Chappell
-Patrick Reilly
-Brian Arita
-Jeff Kirshenbaum

I suppose the best place to begin would be with the mid-distance crew which has produced some surprises. Clay Stabolepszy and Ryan Paradise led the 800 crew this year as they were able to throw down times of 1:55 and 1:56 respectively. Surprisingly, top-tier recruits like Joe Espinal (1:51 HS PR) and David Fletcher (1:53 HS PR) struggled a bit in the 800 as Fletcher ran 1:58 and Espinal never broke 2:00.

James Chappell and Ryan Grace finished indoor track with season bests of 2:02.

However, the longer distance guys saw a bit more success. As a true freshman, Matt Kravitz looked like Superman as he earned PR's of 2:31 (1k), 4:08, and 8:25. He was complimented by Patrick Reilly who earned a HUGE 5k PR of 14:26 at the Patriot League Championships.

In addition to Kravitz and Reilly, true freshman Jeff Kirshenbaum also found his groove as he now owns a PR of 14:47.

Brian Arita finished the season with a 3k PR of 8:46. However, he failed to match his 5k PR of 14:53 after running a season best of 15:22.

Duquesne
-Rico Galassi
-Jeff Van Kooten
-Hunter Wharry
-Chris Kazanjian
-Michael Bove
-Jake Heinauer
-Cordon Louco

Rico Galassi has been the leader of this team for a few years now and he continues to drop his PR's. He didn't run the 5000 this season, but he did earn a 3000 PR of 8:21. Behind Galassi was sophomore Jeff Van Kooten who ran a PR of 8:30.

But the real name to watch seems to be redshirt sophomore Chris Kazanjian who threw down solid times of 8:38 and 14:54 this season. Close behind Kazanjian was Hunter Wharry who ran PR's of 8:35 and 15:01. Also joining the distance crew was former Pitt Panther Cordon Louco who ended up running 15:25 in his first indoor season with the Dukes.

Michael Bove led the team in the mid-distance events with a season best of 1:55 in the 800.

Bucknell
-Jacob Stupak
-Kyle Adams
-Sean Conway

I may have missed a name or two on this squad, but that's only because this is a team that boasts incredible depth. Kyle Adams is one of the top middle distance runners on the team and has been for the past few seasons. This past winter, the junior was able to run a 1k PR of 2:31 and run a season best of 1:55 (his indoor PR is 1:54). Overall, he was incredibly consistent.

Although the team is filled with experienced juniors and seniors, guys like Stupak and Conway have had big impacts on the team as freshmen. Stupak ran a very nice 4:17 to compliment his 8:41. Conway focused more on the middle distances as he recorded times of 51.3 and 1:56.

Penn
-Ross Wilson
-Brenden Shearn
-Lyle Wistar
-Jeff Wiseman
-Elias Graca

Despite Sam Webb not running this season (lets assume he was redshirted), there was still plenty of other performers on Penn's mid and long distance squads.

Brenden Shearn may not have run PR's this season, but he still posted respectable times of 8:32 and 14:23. Ross Wilson, on the other hand, was able to PR after running excellent times of 4:09 and 8:14. He also registered a 14:36 5k (13 seconds off of his overall PR).

We didn't get to see much of Lyle Wistar. He only ran one event (the 3000) where he had a season best of 8:35.

In the mid-distances, Wiseman and Graca led the way for Penn. Both athletes ran 1:52 while Graca also added on a 2:29 1k.

Columbia
-Sam Ritz
-Alek Sauer

They might be the best duo of PA alumni out there. This season we saw Ritz and Sauer tear up the mid-distance events. These two both recorded very fast 1k times of 2:24. In the mile, Sauer ran 4:13 while Ritz ran a killer 4:06 at the Armory. Both are life time bests.

Duke
-Alec Kunzweiler
-Kyle Francis
-Matt Wisner

Duke's mid-distance programs have treated our PA alumni well. As Wisner entered ACC's, he never lost an 800 to someone in his conference. Although he had an off day at ACC's, he still finished the season with PR's of 1:50 and 2:26. Not bad for the rookie.

Kyle Francis ended his season with a season best of 1:52.

Alec Kunzweiler may have only run 4:13, but a lot of his races this winter were devoted to relays.

Villanova
-Casey Comber
-Andrew Marston
-Paul Power

This Wildcat trio can not be slowed down. Casey Comber was an animal after recording times of 4:07 and 8:15 to compliment Andrew Marston's 4:12 and 8:15. Let's also keep in mind that Marston had an absolutely incredible 5000 at Big East's where he gave Erik Peterson a run for his money by placing second in a time of 14:17.

Paul Power rounded out this group with times of 4:19 and 8:51.

Others
There are simply too many individuals to cover them all. However, you can check out their TFRRS profiles that I have linked below. Let me know if I missed anyone!

-Dan Jaskowak
-Alex Milligan
-Cooper Leslie
-Liam O'Connell
-Andrew Stone
-John Lewis
-Ned Willig (running at NCAA's this weekend in the mile)
-Carrick "Rock" Fortna
-Joseph Maguire
-Mike Kolor
-Ben Szuhaj
-Scott Mason
-Jack Carmody
-Chris Sanders
-Luke Myers
-Bryce England
-Jake Brophy
-Xavier Sauvegeau
-Dominic DeLuca

Notable D2 & D3 Performers
Ernie Pitone (Widener) has had himself a heck of a season. The former O'Hara runner had two PR's this season with times of 4:11 and 8:17. Pitone will be contesting both events at NCAA's this upcoming weekend. Pitone could very well become All-American after running the 3000/mile/5000 triple at his conference meet and winning all three meets.

In addition to Pitone, Muhlenberg's Jaryd Flank will also be entered in the 3000 with an excellent seed time of 8:20. Flank will also run on Muhlenberg's DMR.

However, it's at D2 nationals where we could see Hillsdale's Caleb Gatchell make another run at becoming All-American in the mile. Gatchell is entered with an outstanding PR of 4:06 which is pair with some great 800 speed. If things get tactical, we could see Gatchell as an All-American once again...or maybe even better.

In the DMR, we'll actually get to see Caleb's little brother, Ethan Gatchell, on Cedarville's relay. Hillsdale was actually one of the team that could've bumped Cedarville out of NCAA's. Could you imagine how fun that dinner conversation would've been for the Gatchell family?

Finally, Middlebury's Jon Perlman was a name I missed when initially looking over the heat sheets (shoutout to the commenter that pointed this out). After running a 4:12 at Tufts Last Chance Meet, Perlman will contest the mile with Pitone at NCAA's.

Prediction Contest Results (and Ultimate Fan Challenge Points Handed Out)

So as you might remember, I did a prediction contest before states and lots of you guys beat me. So it's time to hand out some Ultimate Fan Challenge points. A win in the 8 person contest gets you 5 points, a win in the 5 person prediction contest gets you 3 (both relative to me) per event. As mentioned before the overall winners were DK in the 5 person and Claig x Claig in the 8 person.

4x800m
Best Score: DK -1 (5), Anonymous #2 11 (8)
Etrain Score: 1/12

Ultimate Fan Challenge Points
DK +3
Anonymous #2 +5

Mile
Best Score: Claig x Claig 9 (5), Anon #2 16 (8)
Etrain Score: 14/23

Ultimate Fan Challenge Points
Jiminey Cricket +3 (12)
Anonymous #2 +5
DK +3 (13)
Fast Steve +3 (12)
Claig x Claig +5 (22)
Tad +3 (13)

800m
Best Score: DK 13 (5), Claig x Claig and Jiminey Cricket 36 (8)
Etrain Score: 22/43

Ultimate Fan Challenge Points
Jiminey Cricket +5
RCF +3 (17)
MC +3 (17)
Anonymous #2 +5 (41)
DK +3
RJJL +3 (20)
Fast Steve +3 (20)
Claig x Claig +5

3,000m
Best Score: Claig x Claig 1 (5), Claig x Claig 11 (8)
Etrain Score: 13/25

Ultimate Fan Challenge Points
Jiminey Cricket +5 (22)
RCF +3 (4)
Anonymous #2 +5 (23)
DK +3 (8)
Claig x Claig +5
Tad +3 (3)

DMR
Best Score: MC 5 (5), Anonymous #2 13 (8)
Etrain Score: 9/17

Ultimate Fan Challenge Points
MC +3
Anonymous #2 +5

So I believe that makes the total points earned in the prediction contest as follows:
Anonymous #2 25
Claig x Claig 15
Jiminey Cricket 13
DK 12
RCF 6
MC 6
Tad 6
Fast Steve 6
RJJL 3

Only Claig x Claig had points out of these guys before the prediction contest. Anonymous #2, as of right now, is not in the predict contest as no code name was added. So I believe this weill keep Claig x Claig in the lead. I'll update the standings when I have a bit more time.

Indoor National Entries

http://www.milesplit.com/articles/203822-updated-33-new-balance-nationals-indoor-initial-entries-released-

I think these are the PA distance entries from the list above. Let me know if I missed someone. Preview to come.

800m
Ryan Thrush
Nick Wagner

Mile
Sam Affolder
Liam Conway
Tristan Forsythe
Josh Hoey

2 Mile
Noah Affolder
Nick Dahl
Rusty Kujdych

5,000m
Ben Bumgarner

4xMile
O'Hara

4x800m
GFS (no Dahl)
State College

DMR
Carlisle
O'Hara
GFS

EE 800m
Joe Cullen
Dave Whitfield

EE 2 Mile
Will Griffen

EE 4x800m
CR South

Freshman Mile
Garrett Baublitz
Jonah Hoey
Christian McComb
Carlos Shultz

All My Friends Are Runners: Don't Doubt Dennin

Chapter 16: Don’t Doubt Dennin

A year after Jason Weller made headlines with his upset victory at the state championships, his Boyertown teammate Mark Dennin set his sights on state gold. However, Dennin, who finished 10^th at the previous year’s state championship, was overshadowed by two bigger names in Chris Aldrich and Vince McNally. Dennin picked up a big earlier season win at the brand new “Pre-State” Meet, but he was defeated by Aldrich at the district championships. Chris dropped a 15:02 to win the title, besting Dennin by about 6 seconds. Meanwhile, the national caliber miler Vince McNally clocked a 15:02 of his own at the Lebanon Lancaster League Championships before winning his district championship comfortably over Carlisle Invitational champ Greg Kareis[1].

McNally was my pick to win, followed by Aldrich and then Dennin. But in my eyes there was a clear divide between the top two and the field. McNally had run 15:02 on a more difficult course and both runners had defeated Dennin head to head during the season. It was obvious that the Boyertown senior had little chance. But obviously Dennin didn’t feel that way. On race day, the top three runners, led by Dennin, charged forward through to the mile mark in 4 minutes and 38 seconds. It was a break neck pace, but Dennin refused to take his foot off the pedal. He, McNally and Aldrich rolled away from the field, moving through two miles in under 10 minutes. They were the only three under that barrier. But still Dennin kept the pressure on. And eventually, he broke them. And man did he break them.

Dennin finished the new course lay out in 15 minutes and 30 seconds. Second place was a dramatic 29 seconds behind in Chris Aldrich. McNally? He faded all the way back to 18^th overall as a result of the blistering early pace. After the race Dennin was ecstatic while his primary competition, Aldrich, was understandably disappointed. Aldrich did mention that his main focus was qualifying for the Footlocker National meet at Regionals in a few weeks. Both Dennin and McNally were planning to attend the meet as well so a rematch was in store.

In the weeks leading up to Footlocker, people still doubted Dennin’s superiority. Some suspected that, similar to Weller a year earlier, Dennin would falter at Regionals and Aldrich and/or McNally would jump him the same way that Paul Springer had. Aldrich had already indicated Regionals was his goal and McNally had clearly been bizarrely off his game. The rematch at Van Cortlandt Park would restore order.

Of course just outside all the Footlocker fuss was perhaps an equally talented runner in Max Kaulbach of Germantown Friends. Kaulbach’s school was not a part of the PIAA and so he did not face off against Dennin, Adlrich and McNally at the state championships. Instead competed at a separate Independent League Championships, which he won handily for the second straight season. Earlier in the year, Kaulbach had defeated Aldrich at the Manhattan Invitational in New York, the same course that houses Footlocker Northeast Regionals. So his odds at a National Qualifier seemed probable.

However, for the first time, Nike Team Nationals was offering regional qualifying meets. GFS had hopes of making it to the national championship as a team. They had clocked a monster workout in practice, led by Kaulbach. Max had done 4x200 with 1 minute rest at 35-36 seconds. A mile at 4:59 with 3-4 minutes rest. An 800 at 2:30 with 3-4 minutes rest and then a mile with splits of 70-70-68 and then a 60 last lap to complete a 4:28. His teammates were close behind with a 4:45 close (Isaac Ortiz) and a 4:50 (Jake McKenzie).

Unfortunately, despite a second place individual finish at the Regional Meet, Kaulbach could not lead his squad to a qualifying spot for the NTN Championships. GFS finished just behind PIAA Champs North Penn, who also missed out on a qualifying honor. At the time, NTN did not offer individual qualifying spots for Nationals, meaning that Kaulbach missed out on the opportunity to go to Nationals despite an impressive performance. When he saw the results at Footlocker, he was probably kicking himself.

At Van Cortlandt Park in New York, a variety of PA’s top athletes lined up in preparation for the Regional Qualifying Meet to the prestigious Footlocker National Championships. In Milesplit’s preview of the race, the website picked McNally and Aldrich to qualify but left Dennin as simply an honorable mention.

Much like the state championships, the race went out very fast. At the mile mark, the leaders clocked a blazing 4:33 opener. Brandon Jarrett of New Jersey had the lead along with Don Cabral of Connecticut. Over the second part of the race, Cabral really turned it on and took advantage of the early help to finish in 15:09. He just missed the course record held by future NCAA Champ Josh McDougal. But the man just behind Cabral was the story for Pennsylvania.

Mark Dennin came through in 2^nd overall at the Footlocker Regional Meet, proving he was no fluke. He stopped the clock in a blazing fast 15:24, one of PA’s fastest times ever on the course. In 5^th place, Chris Aldrich punched his ticket for San Diego, and then Vince McNally crossed in 7^th to give PA three individual qualifiers for the National Championships.

And for those still doubting? Dennin went to San Diego and finished in 13^th overall in a race that included a variety of future record holders and Olympians[2]. McNally was 27^th and Aldrich was 31^st.

The Boyertown boys were now officially kings of the post-season.

---

[1] Now here’s what you need to know about the District 3 Championships that season. First, it was run at Hershey, the site of the updated and more difficult state championship course. Second, it rained horribly during district weekend, forcing the meet organizers to push the meet back to Sunday. That meant the competitors who qualified for states not only had a muddy run through a hilly course in their legs, but also had just six days to recover.

[2] The 2007 Footlocker Championships included Chris Derrick, German Fernandez, Colby Lowe, Luke Puskedra, Don Cabral, Rob Finnerty, Maverick Darling and Ryan Hill among others. But Mike Fout beat all those guys with a 14:50 in less than ideal conditions.

The Etrain 11: Putting The “Fast” In “Slow Heat”

Putting The “Fast” In “Slow Heat”

On Sunday February 19^th, I sat at home on my couch, waiting for the state performance list to come out. Twitter was open. Penntrack was open. The blog’s comment section was on watch. For me, the web browsing was purely driven by curiosity. Sure, I was more curious than your average observer, but it wasn’t like the results actually affected my life.

But for the runners on the bubble of the 2017 PTFCA Indoor State Championships, it was a wait for a life changing moment. “I was extremely nervous waiting to see if I’d get the spot,” said Sean Brown, a bubble competitor in the mile. His prospective event was accepting 20 entries and he was only 34^th on the state rankings prior to scratches.

Bonner’s Dave Whitfield shared a similar feeling, sitting in 30^th place for the 24 spot 800 meter field. At 11 o’clock, he even tweeted out that he wasn’t leaving his house until the state performance list was posted. The results weren’t posted until over four hours later.

The drama can make you wonder, how did I get here? For some, like Southern Lehigh’s Thomas Matsumura, the bubble entry mark was posted back in 2016.  For others, like Sean Brown, the SQG wasn’t properly eclipsed until the last possible moment. “I started off the season changing it up and running some 800s,” Brown explains, “So qualifying for the mile wasn’t in my head until the last few meets.”

At the 2017 TFCAofGP Last Chance Meet, Brown ran 4:39 for the mile just two weeks before the state championship. That was some 10 seconds behind where he needed to be. Brown had to hope for one more breakthrough race when he returned to Lehigh for the Meet of Champions. Pressure beginning to accumulate on his shoulders, Brown rose to the occasion with a 4:29 indoor PR. He finished third in the heat. With scratches, it looked like he would make it into the state meet, but things were far from guaranteed.

At the same meet, his PCL comrade Dave Whitfield was hoping to better his 1:59.10 seed time in the 800 meters. According to TheRealTrain projection machine, Whitfield was very much on the bubble for states in an 800 field where few scratches were expected. But when the heats unfolded, and 27 runners were stuffed into two sections, Whitfield didn’t have enough in the tank to improve his seed time. In fact, almost no one in the race did as two of the fastest 3 finishers came from the first, “slower” section. “I kept hitting a brick wall on the last lap of my 800s this season. Couldn’t get past the 1:59-2:00 barrier.”

So flash forward. One runner with momentum. One runner hoping for redemption. But both runners nervously waiting. Until finally … they’re in. When the dust settled, Brown was 14^th out of 20 acceptances and Whitfield was 20^th out of 24. Thomas Matsumura and Dylan Binda were the last guys in for the mile and 800 respectively at 4:31.91 and 1:59.55. It took not just fast times from the runners accepted to help them get into Penn State. Bubble runners in both events were also helped by last minute relay qualifying from DMR squads or breakthroughs from 3k runners. More than one die has to land with its six facing up.

Regardless, now they were in. There’s officially a chance. Anybody can leave with a state medal or even a state championship. You get to start fresh with a clean slate. Well-almost clean.

As bubble qualifiers, Sean Brown and Dave Whitfield were both pushed down to the slowest heats of their respective events. While the fast heat would contain the best competition and know exactly what they had to do to get on the podium, the slow heats had to run blind. It’s a unique spot to be in and leaves the runners in a classic boom or bust position. Go for it all and try and sneak a medal or race conservatively and aim for a PR without the risk of blowing up?

And it wasn’t just the bubble guys facing tough strategy choices. At the Meet of Champs another top 800 runner, Hudson Delisle of Quakertown, had tried to improve his seed time just like Whitfield. Not to get into the meet, but to get into the fast heat. However, the junior had to settle for a 6^th place overall finish, another victim of the crowded, talented group. The same was also true for Kamil Jihad of Neumann Goretti and Matt Kraus of William Tennent. Although each of these athletes won their heats at Meet of Champs, it still wasn’t enough to dig out of the middle and first heat respectively.

Now, a total of twenty-six individual distance runners had to grapple with their “slow” heat realities. And prove that the theoretical air quotes were accurate.

“Running out of the slow heat isn’t always the best scenario at State Champs,” says Whitfield, “But you just gotta play the cards you’re given.”

“Running in the slow heat didn’t damper my attitude,” added Brown about his positioning.

The evidence was in their favor from the first event. Bishop Shanahan won the slow heat of the 4x800 meters, behind a huge anchor leg from Logan Yoquinto. Ultimately, their efforts helped the squad sneak into the top 6 finishers overall. It not only got the relay some coveted hardware, but it also set the tone for a team title. However, Shanahan was the only team to get a medal from the slow heat. The runner-ups, North Penn, were 9^th.

“The goal was to win.”

With this motto in mind, Sean Brown started the first heat of the mile. However, his race strategy of getting out and sitting near the front was thrown off early. That left him with a deficit and open real estate between himself and Springfield Delco’s Joseph Cardie. With 200 meters to go, it seemed like his dreams of winning the heat were out of reach. Well, it seemed that way for people watching like me anyway.

“My kick is one of my best attributes, so I knew it would be there … After passing the small pack, I saw the leader 15 meters ahead of me and I knew I could catch him so I just dug deep.”

In a dramatic sprint to the finish, Brown overcame Cardie on the final straightaway and closed out the race in a 4 second season best at 4:25. Ultimately, the win meant everything as Brown was the 8^th and final state medalist in the mile.

Next, it was Whitfield’s turn. Unlike Brown, he had not just one but two heats left to run after he was finished. So it was an up-hill battle if he wanted to jump into the top 8. But he entered the race with a game plan that he felt confident in and never backed down.

“My mind set going into the slow heat was that I have to get out fast if I want a medal … I had to separate myself from other competitors early. It’s also a mental wall to overcome thinking to yourself that you’re in the slow heat and the possibility of getting a medal from Heat 1 out of 3 is slim. That’s why I had to run my race and push the pace to win my heat.”

Setting a torrid opening tempo, no one could hang with the Bonner senior and Whitfield led the race wire to wire. He busted triumphantly through the line with a huge season best of 1:57.03. Then it was time to wait. “As long as I won my heat, I controlled my own destiny.”

Whitfield’s run may have set the tone for the entire 800. After him, Kamil Jihad and Chris Cameron of Wissahickon attacked the second heat. Quakertown’s Hudson Delisle hung tough to their shoulder and, putting on a huge kick, rolled through the final 200 meters en route to a 1:54.99. Behind him, three more runners broke 1:57. Three of these runners would end up on the medal stand as well, allowing the slow heat award winner streak to continue.

But after a quick opening pace from Noah Affolder in Heat 3, Whitfield moved to the 10^th place spot in the standings and was left just to the right of the podium. Despite this disappointment, there were plenty of positives to take away from perhaps his best race on the state championship stage. Dave will run the 800 in the emerging elite section of the New Balance Indoor Nationals and hope to cut a bit more time off that indoor best to keep this positive momentum alive.

Then, it will be time for outdoors. Whitfield, who also played hockey this winter, will turn his attention full time to the track. Both he and Sean are excited to get back on the outdoor oval, where they have each seen their biggest successes.

“Outdoor track is my best season of the three so I’m excited,” says Brown. “I’m going to build off my confidence from indoor and just try to drop some fast times.”

“I’m still in search of my first state medal.” Whitfield added determinedly. “Hopefully I can get one outdoor.”

I think we can expect big things from both of these runners on the 400 meter oval. And I’m optimistic that both will be back at the front of the field if they head to Shippensburg in May.

One thing, however, is already set in stone. There are no slow heats to worry about at outdoor states.

DMR Recap

Having already scored 28 points in the distance events, Carlisle entered the DMR as a tired group of athletes. Their 1200 leg, Sam Affolder, would set the stage for the race. He had dropped out of the mile the last time he had taken to the track. 

But any thoughts of injury or fatigue were wiped away quickly as Sam positively sprinted out the gates. His opening 200 meters was roughly 27 seconds, despite the fact that he was unabashedly staring across his body at the large scoreboard clock. 

As the race continued to be quick, only Cardinal O'Hara tried to cover the pace in a gutsy move from their 1200 leg (Gavin Inglis I believe). Eventually, Sam was able to breakaway, splitting somewhere around 3:01 for 1200 meters and hanging off with a big advantage (couldn't even see the next exchange in the video unfortunately). 

From here, Carlisle was in great shape. Their 400 and 800 runners cruised from the front, delivering splits around 51 seconds and 1:59 without any competition. Again, couldn't see much else in the video, but appeared that CR North was the top chaser on the middle legs. They likely had Mike Welde running the 400 and, since he had run 48.77 in the open,  he was sure to make up some ground in a hurry. 

Noah Affolder got the baton with a lead and, from here, it seemed things were over. Coasting along, Noah soloed a split around 4:20 only seemingly turning it on for the final two laps to cruise in with a smile on his face and a new state meet record on the clock. 

The long last battle for 2nd looked like it must have been incredible. Nick Dahl of GFS, Nick Feffer of State College, Ryan James of O'Hara, Ryan Campbell of CR North and Evan Addison of LaSalle faced off in what appeared to be an epic anchor showdown with Dahl getting the best of the field and crossing the line 2nd. All five of these teams broke 10:30 (by a lot), marking the first time 6 teams were under the barrier in meet history. 

The 7th and 8th place finishers were no joke either. Lower Merion and WC Henderson, sporting a pair of fresh line ups, finished in 7th and 8th, both in the mid to low 10:30s, again marking very fast times for the final medal positions. For both teams the success was a result of consistent dedication to the event not just on state Saturday, but also throughout the season.

Looking ahead, the most pressing question appears to be can Carlisle break the national record? They ran 10:13 this weekend, meaning they will have to cut roughly 14 seconds of time to get under 10 minutes. That's a lot of time, but it's certainly doable.

For starters, you give Noah fresh legs and incentive to go fast. Considering he's run the equivalent of 4:05 for 1600 at the Armory in a similarly solo performance, that could be your 14 seconds right there. Of course, that's a lot of pressure on one man (or whatever superhuman species he is), so if Sam and Isaac can drop a few more seconds each, that would help add a nice cushion. Each will be fresher this time around. The simple fact that the clock won't be on the other side of the track could save a couple seconds as well.

Looking further to outdoors, the DMR goes away with the exception of Penn Relays. At the Philadelphia meet, we will hopefully see many PA teams on the agenda. However, it's possible (likely?) that schools like GFS and Carlisle will focus on the 4x8, if they decide to do a relay at all, so their individuals can race in the elite high school sections. State College is almost a lock for a 4x8 as well. So the rematch someone like myself would dream of, seems like it just isn't in the cards.

Potentially crashing the DMR party could be a team like Shanahan who would probably field a nice roster of Hoey-Alleyne-Yoquinto-Hoey. My fingers would also be crossed that Lower Merion, Henderson and/or CB West could find an outdoor meet to chase a fast time and maybe catch a flier to qualify. Usually, PA has a team or two that makes a nice run at it during the spring.

But ultimately, when states rolls around, the DMR will be a thing of the past. So enjoy perhaps the best distance event there is while we still can people. 

The Weekend Review: Cheserek Runs NCAA Mile Record; VT Duo Run 1:46's; Wynne Fails to Qualify for NCAA's

By: Garrett Zatlin

With a business law exam tomorrow, I didn't have time to include any PA alumni sections. I will, however, have some PA alumni material next week in addition to a "NCAA Reaction to Entries" post in a few days.

SEC's
800
Florida's Andres Arroyo was at it again with another impressive victory. He threw down a 1:47.18 to best Blair Henderson (LSU) and Craig Engels (Ole Miss). Those two ended up running who 1:47.5.

Ryan Manahan (Ole Miss) and JaQwae Ellison (Texas Tech) rounded out the top five with times of 1:48.xx.

Clearly, Arroyo is in excellent shape. He currently sits at 10th in the NCAA and SHOULD be a favorite to mix it up at nationals for an All-American spot. At the same time, we must recognize that Arroyo has had A LOT of struggles in the post-season. Out of his five NCAA championship appearances, he's earned All-American only once (Outdoor 2015: 8th). He also failed to make it out of the regional meet last spring.

The big stage has not treated Arroyo well. Could this finally be the season where he steps up his game and makes an impact at the national level? It seems like we always ask this question during this time of the year...

Mile
Mississippi's Tobin, Gilley, and Domanic swept the event by running 1, 2, 3. Tobin and Gilley each ran 4:00.

3000
In what could be considered an upset, Arkansas' Jack Bruce out-ran Mississippi's MJ Erb to get the win. In MJ Erb's defense, he was on the double from the 5000. The two distance studs ended up running 7:58 and 7:59 respectively.

Alabama's Alfred Chelanga (also on the double) ran 8:02 for third.

5000
Despite not winning the 3k, Erb was able to secure a victory in the 5000 by running an impressive time of 13:52. He was followed by the Alabama duo of Alfred Chelanga and Antibahs Kosgei who ran 13:58 and 13:59 respectively.

DMR
Ole Miss barely held off Arkansas by running a time of 9:32 to the Razorback's 9:33. Both of these teams will be fielding a relay at NCAA's in hopes of earning an All-American spot.

ACC's
800
Event of the week? The argument could certainly be made when you consider that THREE guys went sub-1:47! In an exceptional display of dominance, the Virginia Tech duo of Patrick Joseph and Drew Piazza took the top two spots in school record times of 1:46.23 (NCAA #2) and 1:46.42 (NCAA#4) respectively. Joseph's time is now a new meet record.

Could one of these guys be a title contender for NCAA's? It sure seems like it. Both having been building up momentum all year and are now peaking at exactly the right time. Joseph and Piazza might be the two most dangerous guys in the 800 field right now.

Behind those two was a familiar name in Robert Heppenstall (Wake Forest) who earned a PR with a time of 1:46.71. With another year of experience and a slew of consistent performances, I feel very confident that Heppenstall will earn All-American once more.

How about Georgia Tech's Avery Bartlett? The sophomore just ran a THREE SECOND PR! That's truly incredible and a very clutch performance to put him at NCAA #11. That time also secured his spot to nationals. Can he do it again on the national stage? I suppose we'll have to wait and see...

Other notable performances included John Lewis (Clemson) placing 5th in 1:48 while another Georgia Tech athlete (Andres Littig) ran 1:49 for 6th.

Mile
In another huge upset, Virginia Tech's Vincent Ciattei upset the defending mile champion Henry Wynne (UVA) in a final kick to earn the title. Each ran 4:01.

With the last race before nationals now finished, Henry Wynne is (or will be) officially out of NCAA qualifying. It was a rough season for Wynne, but it could be explained by a rumored injury that he supposedly sustained during the cross country season.

3000
Justyn Knight secured 10 points for his Syracuse teammates with a winning time of 8:05. He was, however, trailed closely by Virginia Tech's Dan Jaskowak who also ran 8:05 and UVA's Henry Wynne who finished with an 8:06.

5000
Before winning the 3k, Knight was able to hold off the likes of George Parsons (NC State) and Zach Herriot (UVA) for a dub in the 5000. He finished with a time of 13:50 while Parsons and Herriot ran 13:52 and 13:54 respectively.

DMR
Imagine being on a team so good that you can qualify for nationals with two completely different DMR's. That's exactly what happened with Virginia Tech after this past weekend when they ran 9:31 (again) with a completely different group of guys than they had originally run earlier in the season.

The Hokies now hold spots 10th and 12th in the NCAA for the DMR, but will unfortunately not be able to run both relays due to NCAA rules. It's a flawed system, but VT should still take great pride in their accomplishment.

BIG 10's
800
Isaiah Harris (Penn State) ended the day with his 4th individual win of the season after clocking a strong 1:47.23. He was followed closely by Mitch Hechsel of Minnesota who was exactly one second behind in 1:48.23. Freshman Dom Perretta (PSU) and Carter Lilly (Iowa) placed 3rd and 4th, each with times of 1:48.

Mile
In a tactical race, we saw Minnesota's Drew Wiebke pull off the surprise win with a time of 4:01. He was followed by Indiana's Joseph Murphy and Kyle Mau. The IU duo finished the race in 4:02 and 4:03 respectively.

3000
Morgan McDonald locked down 10 points for the Badgers after running a tactical 8:12 to defeat Indiana's Jason Crist (8:13) and Michigan's Aaron Baumgarten (8:14).

5000
Before winning the 3000, McDonald was able to pull away from the field and clock a time of 14:04 while Minnesota's Obsa Ali finished in 14:05.

DMR
Indiana showed that their Alex Wilson performance was not a one-time thing. The Hoosiers placed first with a solid time of 9:34 while Minnestoa ran a respectable 9:38.

BIG 12's
800
Despite the not making nationals, Livingston can still take solace in the fact that he's a BIG 12 champion after running 1:48.40 to edge out Baylor's Zacharias Curran who ran 1:48.43.

Others such as Charles Jones, Bryce Hoppel, and Vincent Crisp all went under 1:49 in this race as well.

1000
Oklahoma State's Josh Thompson got in some speed work before nationals by running a very quick 2:24 to win by four seconds.

Mile
Oklahoma State did their job by having Jacob Thompson and Craig Nowak run 4:13 and 4:14 respectively to earn the top two spots.

3000
Similar to the mile, Oklahoma State had Craig Nowak and Hassan Abdi take the top two spots with times of 8:03 and 8:04.

5000
In what may have been the most exciting kick of the week, Oklahoma's Dylan Blankenbaker barely edged out Hassan Abdi at the line with each runner finishing in a time of 14:22.

DMR
Oklahoma State cruised to an easy DMR win in a time of 9:44.

Heps (Ivy League)
800
Myles Marshall (Harvard) dominated the field and took the win by nearly two seconds after running 1:48.

1000
Columbia sophomore Alek Sauer crossed the line in first with a time of 2:24. It was his second win of the season. He was followed by four others who finished with times of 2:25.

Mile
A slow pace and a hard kick made Penn's Chris Hatler an Ivy League champion after running 4:10 to out run Columbia Rob Napolitano who ran 4:12.

3000
Yale's James Randon shut down the field by placing first with a time of 8:04. He was approximately six seconds of ahead teammate and silver medalist Andre Ivankovic.

5000
Princeton's Conor Lundy may be the future of Ivy League distance running, but experience will typically have the edge in races like this. Senior Nick Tuck (Penn) ran smart and made moves at the right time to gain 10 points for his team in a time of 14:16. He was three seconds ahead of Lundy who ran 14:19.

4x800
Columbia out-dueled Princeton 7:32 to 7:33 for the win.

DMR
A 3:59 mile anchor from Yale's James Randon was enough to get his relay the win and make Cornell settle for second.

MPSF Championships
800
USC's Robert Ford took the title with a 1:49 after defeating BYU's Connor Ross who also ran 1:49.

Mile
In a tactical battle between distance powerhouses, we saw Ben Saarel edge out Oregon's Tim Gorman and Austin Tamagno to get the win with a time of 4:02. Gorman also settled for a 4:02 while Tamagno was at 4:03.

3000
Colorado's John Dressel crossed the line in first with a very strong time of 7:51 to give himself a spot at nationals (he currently ranks 10th in the nation). However, California's Garrett Corcoran did not make life easy for Dressel as he finished right behind him with a time of 7:52.

This is a huge breakout race for Corcoran who has shown glimpses of potential throughout the season. Don't be surprised to see the sophomore mix it up at nationals.

Rounding out the top three was Oregon's Matthew Maton who also dropped a time of 7:52 (good for 13th in the nation). Maton now has spots in the mile and 3k for nationals.

5000
Joe Klecker continues to be one the biggest breakout stars of the season. He earned his second straight win after running 13:56 to defeat BYU's Rory Linkletter who ran 13:59. Unfortunately, neither time is good enough to qualify for NCAA's (although Linkletter is already qualified).

DMR
In a last-chance effort to qualify for nationals, California stacked their relay and took to the track trying to run a fast time. Despite getting the win, they ended up running 9:34 which is roughly three seconds off the last national qualifying mark.

BIG East's
800
Johnny Leverenz (Butler) threw down a 1:49 to get the win.

Mile
Georgetown's Scott Carpenter got in some nice speed work before nationals by running a 4:03 to win his first BIG East title. He was followed by teammate Darren Fahy who ran 4:06.

3000
Erik Peterson (Butler) doubled back after the 5000 to get a win in 8:05. Second place was Georgetown's Jonathan Green who ran 8:09.

5000
After this past weekend, Erik Peterson now has four wins on the season. This was one of them after he ran 14:14 to defeat Villanova's Andrew Marston who was second in 14:17.

4x800
Villanova runs 7:32 to get the win. Georgetown was runner-up in 7:35

DMR
Just like the 4x800, Villanova got the win with a 10:00 while Georgetown was three seconds behind.

BU Last Chance
Mile
In one of the most highly anticipated events of the year, Cheserek teamed up with the Hoka One One milers to pursue the collegiate mile record. Thanks to great work by the rabbit and a huge push by Merber, Cheserek leaned at the line to officially earn the first collegiate record of his career. His time read 3:52.01.

In his final indoor track season, Cheserek will be pursuing the legendary 5000, mile, 3000 triple at nationals. But here's a quick reminder...

• In 2014, Lawi Lalang was considered one of the best collegiate distance runners ever
• He set the collegiate indoor mile record his senior year
• He attempted the 5000-mile-3000 triple in that same season
• He walked away from nationals with ZERO gold medals (silver in both the 5000 and mile. Did not run the 3000). 

See the resemblance?

While Cheserek's performance is impressive, we can't overlook Iona's Liam Dee who ran the first sub-four mile of his career with a 3:58.19. That is the 12th fastest time in the NCAA which qualifies him for nationals. Talk about clutch.

In addition to Liam Dee, Middle Tennessee State's Sampson Laari was also able to qualify for nationals with a time of 3:58.75.

Laari better send Houston's Brian Barraza and Colorado's Joe Klecker a thank you note. If neither of those two scratch the mile, then Laari is watching nationals at home.

5000
In a field that was a bit over his head, MTSU freshman Jacob Choge struggled to hang with the pace of the elites. He did, however, run a respectable 14:04.

State Recaps

I'll be gradually recapping the action throughout this week so stay tuned for all of those to be posted up.

4x800m
Mile
800m
3,000m
DMR

In addition, I think I'll try and crank a couple more Etrain 11 style articles during the last few weeks of indoor/first few weeks of outdoors. If you have any suggestions for stories, feel free to reach out. I'll also make a little list at the bottom of this post of some names I'm already thinking to include. If you see your name on there and are interested in providing some feedback on your season/experience (or you specifically do not want me to write a story about you), feel free to reach out as well. The usual means of communication apply (email, twitter, comments, etc.)

Some teams/names:

James Abrahams, Matt D'Aquila, Avery Lederer
Sean Brown, Hudson Delisle, Dave Whitfield
Liam Conway
Isaac Kole, Jack Wisner

CR North, GFS, LaSalle, O'Hara, State College
GFS
LaSalle
South Fayette
WC Rustin

800m Recap

Heat 1
We knew coming into this race that the slow heats had a chance to make noise in the final standings. Bonner's Dave Whitfield took that message to heart, going to the front early and setting a very fast pace for the field behind him. Whitfield, who last year ran 1:53 off a very quick opening 400, was a bit more accustomed to this fast pace than some of the others and those who tried to move on the 3rd 200 and catch him, most notably Matt Kraus and Robert Dupell, couldn't quite hold their surge. Ultimately, on the final straightaway Whitfield's biggest challengers were Isaiah Bailey of Penn Hills and Frankie King of Greensburg Salem, but the Bonner senior held on for the victory in 1:57.0.

This was a big season best for Whitfield, who was a bubble guy to even get into the state meet. Last year, he made big strides during the outdoor season so we will see if that streak can continue. Meanwhile, Frankie King is emerging as a sleeper this upcoming spring as well. The Greensburg Salem senior set yet another PR as he finished off a hot end to his season at 1:57.66. Dupell, Kraus and Bailey all also left the meet with indoor season best performances thanks to this heat's fearless start.

Heat 2
With a 1:57.0 already in the books, Heat 2 lined up with a bit of pressure to keep things fast. I had speculated before the race that multiple medal winners (including the winner) would come from this heat. And off the start, they got out plenty fast hoping to do just that. Kamil Jihad of Neumann Goretti took the field through lap one with Chris Cameron of Wissahickon and Hudson Delisle of Quakertown in tow. Pottsville's Collin Ebling looks like he nearly tripped over a cone rounding the second turn, throwing off his balance and costing him some valuable momentum. He had come in as one of the top guys in the heat by time.

Things continued to be very quick at the 400 where Chris Cameron made his move to take over the lead. Luke Everidge from CD East also jumped up into the mix. Cameron looked very strong on the third lap, but lurking on his outside was Delisle who seemed poised to have a big sprint finish. With 100 meters to go Delisle took off and powered home in a new personal best of 1:54.99. Behind him, Liam Conway, who was seemingly completely out of it 200 meters into the race, made an impressive comeback the second half of the race and ended up, for the second time on the day, sprinting dramatically into 2nd place from seemingly nowhere over the last 50.

Heat 3
With Delisle's time locked in, Heat 3 knew what they had to do to leave with state gold. I didn't think 1:54.99 would be enough for the win, but I also wasn't expecting the final to be as fast as it was. Surprisingly, Noah Affolder of Carlisle was the man to take out the pace. For the first time all day, Noah looked like he was all out, not looking around or saving something for another event. He got things off to another fast start and only Hoey was realistically still in the race after the first two laps.

After coming through in 53 seconds and still looking incredibly smooth, Noah, who was on his 3rd race of the day by the way, seemed like he would be hard to overtake. But over the last 100 meters of the final lap, Hoey began to eat up track and close down hard on the tired member of the Carlisle Herd. Josh sprinted home in a very fast 1:52.21: a new PR. Meanwhile, Noah clocked a 1:53.84 which was also a PR for him. On his third race of the day. With still another to come.

When the dust settled Delisle ended up holding on for 3rd overall and Nick Wagner of Penn Trafford, in his best race of the season won the kickers battle with Wyomissing's Joe Cullen and Pennridge's Matt Eissler for 4th.

Top 5 Takeaways
#1 Is there any way we can get this race fresh? Josh really pulled away from Noah big time over the final 100 meters. He opened up a second and half in short order as Affolder tied up. I think both guys could have run faster if Noah had a bit more left to fight off Hoey's late surge and we could have maybe seen two more 1:51s to add to the PA state history books.

Honestly, we may never see this two head to head in a fresh race. Come outdoor states, Noah will likely run the 3200 or the 4x8 prior to the 1600 (where I expect Josh to be, although it's a little uncertain). At Penn Relays, we could see a rematch in the mile between these two, but one (or both) runners could end up on relay duty at the aptly named Penn Relays.

#2 Props to the slow heats. They knew they had a chance to leave with hard ware and they raced like it. Ultimately, slow heat guys left with 3 medals and 7 of the top 12 spots. They pushed the pace early and were rewarded with a ton of season bests and a few circles on strings.

#3 Young guys did work. We talked about how rare it was that a sophomore medals at indoor states, but Matt Eissler handled himself very maturely in a fast race for Pennridge and left with a 1:56.0 and a medal. The last two sophomore medalists in the 800? John Lewis and Tom Mallon. If you don't know who they are, it won't take long to look up the names and find out. Trust me.

In addition to Eissler, 5 juniors earned medals including the state champ and Delisle. That means this race will be just as fun next year, if not more so.

#4 The AA Outdoor State picture is looking excellent. Kamil Jihad is the top returner from a year ago, having run 1:52 for 800 while chasing Dom Perretta. But Joe Cullen of Wyomissing ended up being the faster junior of the pair this weekend at states, dropping his open PR to 1:55 in his first major 800 state final. You also have to remember Ryan Thrush, who ran 48.52 this weekend at states, but didn't have quite enough left to get on the medal stand in this 800. He is the defending 400 meter champion, so he may not focus on the two lapper come outdoors, but he holds a 1:52.77 personal best and looks just as sharp as ever.

#5 The AAA title is another story. It seems like a say this in every event recap, but it feels like the tables are going to turn at the top of the rankings come outdoors. I'm not sure we will see Hoey in the 800 again as he has unfinished business in the 1600. Affolder has plenty on his plate, but has proven by now he can handle all that and then some. Is Delisle ready to become a state title contender? He qualified for states last year, but didn't make the final.

You have returning 1:53 men like Dave Whitfield, Derin Klick, Stephen McClellan and Nick Feffer who likely have high hopes for this year's final.

And this time last year, I doubt many people could pick Joe Espinal out of a line up. I'm not sure I could have if he wasn't wearing a Wilson track uniform. And I run this ridiculous blog!

The point is, a lot can happen in a short amount of time. So buckle up.