Live Opinions on Not Live Video

Now includes:
32 analysis
4x8 analysis
1600 analysis
800 analysis

So I'm going to try and watch all the distance races on PCN and give me live reactions to the races. I missed the beginning of the AA boys 3200m, but the ending was really impressive. Hockenbury ran fantastically to dominate that field and really no one else made it close. I thought Molino was the only one that give him challenge (and I thought he'd win) but that wasn't meant to be today for Griffin. This marks three years in a row I've seen the race as a coin flip behind 2 guys (Galassi and Shearn the previous 2 years) and I've picked the wrong guy 3 times in a row! Congrats to Dominic and sorry for spelling your name wrong all those times, hopefully I've got it down now.

Top 3 runners in this race were sophomores! That's really exciting for next year. District 5 was well represented by Will Kachman out there. Major props to him for a solid PR and runner up finish. Then Will Loevner continues to excel, finishing 3rd in this meet. The top 7 runners in this race will be back next year and I expect solid marks across the board. All 7 of those guys were under 9:40. 

I watched the AAA boys 32 from the gun. Not going to lie, I thought I somehow misread the results. With 200m to go it looked like Colin Martin was the one who could put on a kick and take the win even though I knew it was Ross. What an unreal dig at such a fast pace to come down and take the title. It was unbelievable. The kid was so hungry for a victory, worked on his speed all year including an impressive 4:13c and a few nice 4x8 splits for CRN, and now he gets a well deserved state title. He didn't forget his loss a year ago and when a Martin twin came up on him he wasn't going to sit back and let him blow by for the win again. Fantastic finish and just pure guts race.

It's a big time PR for Wilson and during the last 100m he not only passed Tony for the state title, he passed him for the state meet record (a legendary record mind you) and he passed him for #3 All Time in State history (according to my research). Only Spooner and Springer are faster (and those guys could run sub 4:10 and 1:52). 

The last 100m Russell just looked completely spent. He made such a long move for home and is much harder to lead from the front then to chase someone down. Russell tried to fight him off a couple times, when he looked back and when he got to his shoulder, but once Wilson put the burst on Russell's spirit was crushed and he struggled to the line. If Russell had another race with competition throughout at Nationals he could likely run 8:55ish or better (same is certainly true for Wilson and possibly even Deluca who I will talk about shortly). Unfortunately, I've heard he is injured and done for the year. Major bummer, but a fantastic career for him. We will talk about that more later (hopefully at the end of this week, although I hesitate to make that post before Henderson's meet is done) in my all time rankings (although they will probably be 2004 and beyond rankings I have decided). 

Colin Martin quitely drops a strong PR and breaks 9 minutes. 8:59 at states gets you 3rd place ..... Wow. What a strong year for the 3200m. 9:03.19 gets you 4th! That probably wins every year besides this year and Weller's year in the last 5+ years. Fischer and Dennin both ran 9:03 when they won, Tarsnane was like 9:04ish I think. Kev James will be the top returner for next year but will have his hands full as Sam Webb finished the year on an absolute tear (he dropped down to 9:08.11 today, a huge drop from Henderson). Plus you have my boys Matt McGoey and Aaron Gebhardt hanging around who everyone is tired of me talking about. Throw in Comber and Marston and you got yourself a battle.

Gutsy running by Deluca, but you just can't run away from guys this good. I respect his ballsyness and these other guys who ran big PRs owe him a thank you for having those kind of guts and fearlessness. The 9:03 last week probably didn't help him handle that fast pace today unfortunately. 

4x8
Just watched the 4x8s which were pretty exciting. Lakeland ran some really nice legs on that relay and had a good run for 3rd. Big lead by Arzie and big close by Morgan. How about Washington? There was a lot to like about this relay. They ran hard out front, fell back, fought back to the front and then had a big time anchor to close it out. I was surprised Washington's anchor handled Andy Miller so easily at the end. That was quite impressive. I didn't catch any splits so if anyone has them, I would really appreciate it.

Interesting move by Boiling Springs to run Goodson on the #2 leg. He gave them a big lead, but they couldn't hang on against the other squads great anchors and actually ended up out of the medals in 9th.

The AAA boys race was one of the ages. Again I kind of missed splits on this one so please, if you have them, post them up! I could really use the help. Or if you have a quality video I can pick off splits off there. Watching this race on TV I tried to get some splits and went after Henderson's squad (I had 1:55 high, 1:56 low, 1:57 low, 1:54 mid). Henderson ran a really solid race, about as well as you could expect from this squad. State College was not losing today. There was just no way. But more on that later.

Watching the race, it was amazing to see CB East come through this year. Jake Brophy ran a gutsy anchor for a sophomore 2 miler. Looking positively Sam Webb like out there (which reminds me, it's time for my annual Sam Webb is gutsy rant ... how does this guy run another big time split after a super hard 32? that is unreal!). Jake sacrificed a shot at running probably 9:10ish in that 3200 race to go after a big time 4x8 title. Frank, Boucher and Donello all ran strong legs and they finally hit their true potential.

Pennridge unfortunately got the curse of me picking them to win. Nobody I picked to win, won today. I blame myself really. They ran hard but got caught in the pack and that was the kiss of death.

Unless you were State College. They got caught back in the field and looked like they were going to fall victim to the same fate as Cumberland Valley a year ago. But nope. State College was not losing this race. They trained all year for this moment. They cared only about the team and the relay. Yes they had overall team title hopes and a 4x4 that could do damage and Cather in the open but if they won the 4x8 and got the school record I don't think they cared much what happened after that. That kind of motivation and dedication is very tough to stop. Especially when you have quality guys on the back end like Post and Cather who ran big time legs. Great work by these guys. You earned it, this is something you really wanted and you went and got it. Congrats.

North Penn is a real good 4x8 team. They had another big time day. Again if splits are available, please pass them along! North Penn is an excellent 800m program and they showed it again today with an impressive 7:45 and top 4 finish.

After so many close calls, I guess it was time for Boyertown to be on the other side. They snuck into the state meet and a few finals, but today they ended up just out of the medals. This team ran awesome and swagged out with those half tights. That was pretty cool. They came up just short of a medal, but a 7:51 for this squad is unbelievable. Great work.

Big runs by all the teams to get on the medal stand. This was a great year in the 4x8. Penncrest picked a good time to put it together and they had a strong season best of 7:50. This team is another excellent 800m program. They churn out quality guys each year. And was that Matt Kazanjian running the second leg or Chris? Cuz that was a big split for one of those twins.

IF YOU HAVE SPLITS PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY

I'm looking to update my splits file so I need: Order of Runners competing for the 4x8, split to the tenths place if possible ... thank you so much for your help guys!

1600m race is next for me to watch so stay tuned ....

1600m
That was an impressive race by Dom P. Sebastian Curtin threw down in a big way at about 200m to go and almost surprised the field and took the win, but Perretta was just toying with the field out there, he had plenty left to turn over the kick and he looked pretty comfortable even after he finished. Gotta love the move by Curtin, however, who really showed a lot of heart going after it.

Parsons made a nice move as well but just couldn't hold off some kickers at the end. He looked like a strong and powerful runner in that field. Parsons was the top senior in the race as the top 5 will return again next year led by the soph Perretta. Nate Morgan looked tired after the 4x8, same goes for Kachman's last 800m. Throw those guys in this field fresh it might have been more than the top 5 that return.

Zach Brehm had a big time win today. It was the first in what would prove to be a couple redemption type races. Brehm showed few signs of being the 4:07 type he was only a year ago with a few suprising losses and no flashy times. Then at Districts he won the 16 in 4:16 and doubled back to take the 800 in 1:53 (while also running low 9:20s and anchoring the winning 4x8). And so Brehm was confident and poised enough to return to Ship and grab another title.

The way Brehm runs controversy will surround him. He runs up on people and sits and kicks. Belfatto certainly was not happy about how things unfolded and his reaction to Brehm and Caldwell's moves cost him precious energy for the kick. I mean these guys closed in 2 flat or faster. That's absurd. Very few can close that quickly. Caldwell is a beast as well. He is just a straight gamer and used all his speed to try and get past Brehm, but Brehm was not to be denied another state title.

Brehm now, as just a Junior, holds a 4:07 PR with 2 state titles. He probably was in 1:51 or faster shape last year and could significantly lower his 800m PR at Henderson if he so chooses. That resume would put him in good shape compared to some of the best in state history. But ... I suppose more on that later.

Abert is going to be good in the future. He just was not equipt to close in 2 flat. If I no doubt if this was a more honest pace he would have ran a strong PR. Gotta like what the D7 guys brought to the table out there. Sloan and Van Kooten had really great seasons and 4:14 for both of them is quite quick.

800m
Domenic Perretta pulls off the double! He wins the 800 pretty easily, dominating the second lap of the race. It was very impressive. Goodson might have had a shot at him if he had kept it closer on that first lap, Goodson really closed down strong at the end. The amazing thing about this race for me was the fact that Perretta looked positively pissed after the race. He was very upset with himself for "only" running 1:54.01 and winning his second state title of the weekend. Kid has big goals so it should be interesting to watch. I'm sure he wishes he was in that AAA duel and running fast. David Fletcher, another soph, ran a solid 1:55 race for 4th with Garrett running a 1:55 of his own for 3rd. Really nice finishes to each of their seasons.

The AAA boys final was the race of the day. It was unreal. Jeff Wiseman ran this race all out. It seemed like he would follow in Ross Wilson's footsteps and get that state title he truely deserved. He made all the right moves, responded to every step Francis made, set a blistering pace for the field to match and put on a brilliant kick from 250 out. But it just has not been meant to be for Wiseman who runs an unreal 1:50, putting him roughly 6th All Time in state history ahead of a legend in Sam Bair. Wiseman has put together an extremely impressive career at 800m, but just couldn't get the win against a magnificent performance by Kyle Francis.

Ah Kyle. I had so much faith in you indoors and somehow I doubted you this outdoor season. Early in the year Francis wasn't running all that fast but I just waved that off as boredom. I knew Bensalem coached their guys well. I knew Francis was a 1:50 guy who beat Tony Russell in the 8 (one of the few guys who could do it this year). Francis was willing to sacrifice state title hopes to help his Bensalem 4x8 and perhaps that left him tired for the final at districts. It felt like that district performance was enough to leave doubt in my mind. Maybe he was tired. Maybe he was burned out. Maybe it was just Wiseman's time. A bit of a trip up in the 4x8 prelims set up a fresh Francis to battle a fresh Wiseman (not a fresh Logue which is probably worth noting). He hung around, he sat on Wiseman's shoulder and then he blasted the final 100m and put on an unreal kick. He breaks 1:50 for the first time and I believe now sits in 4th all time behind the three state record holders (might be 5th if Fowler is ahead of him). Unreal performance by Kyle Francis out there, he ran incredibly impressive and proved me wrong. The guy is a champ.

Here's the thing. Joe Logue ran hard on the anchor leg of the 4x8. I don't think you can deny that he spent the first lap trying to get caught up for his guys. He spent the whole season with the 4x8 helping those guys win a district title and even got them in the state title conversation. And all that had to have tired him out a bit. He still managed a PR in this final, his first since his sophomore season at Henderson and ran a top 20 all time mark at 1:51.45. But just like indoors, his mark is completely outshined by the two guys who finished ahead of him. Just like indoors it's Francis-Wiseman-Logue. I'm just gonna say this now, if Logue gets another shot at these two at Henderson I think he will win. He has really been strong this outdoor season but has always been racing on tired legs. Match him up fresh against Wiseman and Francis and things are going to be closer. He just needs to get out hard enough that he can use that kick against these guys. That kick is lethal.

Zach Brehm runs a very smart race for 4th. I'm sure he was tired from the 16, but here is the thing: he had to be careful not to blow up in this final. Carlisle needed those points for the team title race and his finish ended up giving them the edge over Hempfield and getting them a nice shiny trophy. I'm not sure Brehm was finishing any better than 4th after that 16, but again throw this guy in this race with fresh legs ..... I'd be very intrigued. I'd also like to see Smart go after it at Henderson. I think because his district meet was so slow, he might not have been ready for this blazing pace. I'd be interested to see him get another go at these guys and try and run fast.

Alek Sauer with a big time day! He gets 5th and will be the top returner right behind Brehm. Impressive medal performances for Garton, Smail and Cather as well. Wilhoite, Foster and Mercado made it a dog fight for the medals. Everybody was out there going for it and this race was super exciting to watch. That pack for 3rd through 11th was incredible. Fantastic effort by all these guys. They will remember their role in a race like this.

Today featured what was likely the fastest 3200m in state history and the fastest 800m in state history. Wow. Amazing day for PATF.