More Recap

The TFCAofGP meets made the switch over to Haverford and despite the variety of meets available this weekend, times were still strong this weekend. In Division One, Chester showcased another 800m man along side Jihad thanks to the win by Ryan Rucker over a strong runner in Isiah Fisher (2:04 to 2:05). In the mile Andrew Hanna ran a dominating race, winning in 4:32.95 over Connor McMenamin's 4:38.94. That's a really strong mark for Hanna but also another season best for McMenamin. Connor has improved consistently every week which is a great sign for a young runner. Evan Addison, just a frosh, made a three second drop in a matter of days to drop to 4:45. Strong win for Addison's teammate Goebel, 9:21 in the 3k, over Tucker Desko (9:29).

In the relays Pennridge got a strong win in the 4x800m over Boyertown 8:29.00 to 8:29.54. Pennridge took the win without Desko and likely had to fight off a strong leg from Boyertown's Dylan Eddinger, a sub 2 800m man already this year. The big relay result came in the DMR when LaSalle, fresh off a race at Haverford, won the race in 10:49.14, a mark that is among the state leaders this season. That's a great sign for them. Worth noting, CR South ran 11:04 without Andrew Hanna's 4:32 leg, a nice sign of depth. Also nice to see Hatboro Horsham's Casey Comber back racing, running the 1200m leg for an 11:11 DMR.

In Division II, Julian Degroot-Lutzner jumped into his first big mile after his strong showings at 3k and 800m and it worked out quite well. He ran 4:32.97 to outrun a great performance by sophomore Liam Galligan (4:37.0). Besides Ritz (and Kev James's split) there haven't been many jaw dropping performances thus far in the mile, just a lot of really solid performances. (Note: I don't think Power is going mile, I think just the 3k). That means guys like Lutzner, Hanna and more have intriguing medal cases, while guys like Galligan and McMenamin are going to be intriguing to watch as they have a ton of potential to drop more time because they are young and developing still in these meets. Strong first race back for Ryan James after a long lay off in 4:46. He's another youngster with potential to drop time in the coming months.

Strong win for Colin Wills of Malvern Prep (9:15) and his teammate Addison Mueller in the 800m (2:08). Combine those two with McDevitt and that's likely your DMR for MP. Keep an eye on Springfield DELCO as a sleeper DMR team. Justin Miller dropped a 9:25 3k to go along with Galligan's silver in the mile. Wissahickon got the win in the 4x8 in 8:30. Not a jaw dropping time, but this is a team I would keep an eye on looking ahead.

The DMR was the marquee event as O'Hara dropped the fastest time in PA behind a monster leg by XC silver medalist Kevin James (4:18 reported split). 10:48.14 is a second faster than LaSalle and was run without Jack Nolen and Ryan James. Ryan was their #2 during cross and Nolen was a member of the team's state runner up 4x8 last year so one of those guys could help them drop additional time looking ahead (or they could have some notable individuals outside of Kev in the upcoming weeks).

Radnor was a strong second in 11 flat, likely getting a strong split from Connor Holm. Radnor was a state medalist squad in last year's DMR and looks to be keeping the momentum going, even without Watson Hanson who graduated last year. Bishop Shanahan continues to drop a lot of time, dropping to 11:01 this week. Keep an eye out for their individuals to get a feel for exactly how this squad is constructed. I'd imagine it is a balanced approach to success. Bonner had a strong showing as well, dropping an 11:02. Rassater and Sullivan have each shown real potential in open events and likely had strong showings in the 12 and 16 on this relay. Apparently, Bonner had the best lead off leg in the race so one of these two likely showed up big time.

At the Lavino Relays, we saw the return of Jake Brophy (I'm assuming) to the CB East 4x8 who had their best race of the season, winning in 8:06.3. I'd be curious to hear splits on the relay, but I'd imagine Brophy and teammate Boucher ran strong. Close behind was Pennsbury's relay that dropped an 8:08 and finished 3rd. It's been reported that Sam Webb also made a big return, adding a 1:57 split to the relay. Apparently Sauer was not on the relay either which is encouraging for Pennsbury (although since he didn't race at the Armory it's possible he is having a few injury issues?). I was worried Webb might be injured after his fall on regionals, but it sounds like he is back and in excellent shape. Pennsbury's best performance would be the DMR I have to imagine. They have a perfect 16-12 combo in Webb and Sauer and likely have strong 800m pieces considering their recent 4x8 performance. But they have yet to load up a DM in recent years at states so we will see what they choose to do. The same may apply to CB East if Boucher can prove he has the strength for a 12 effort or maybe even Connor Sands can take 1200 duties. East has been much more willing to throw their cards into the DMR.

In the actual DMR, CRNorth put up a great time (10:51.98) to place second overall and tops in PA. Arita continues to be money for this team and his teammates set him up well, even after racing just a few days earlier at Haverford. Bensalem ran 10:57 to finish next for PA and then it was CB West in 11:09. Bensalem is now a factor in both relays, but as I've mentioned I doubt they will stray from the 4x8. CB West appears to have spread out key pieces in the DMR, 4x8 and SMR but it's hard to know for sure as I think many names listed are wrong. Splits and accurate info is always appreciated here at the blog.

Today at Ursinus, we saw an excellent 800m that was won by a strong runner from Carlisle. No not Zach Brehm, but Matt Wisner, who out ran Paul Power to win 2:00.31 to 2:01.31. That's a very fast mark for Wisner and bodes well for a potential Carlisle 4x8 run this outdoors. However, I'm not betting on the Carlisle boys giving a serious run this indoors, considering they have yet to do that in recent memory. For Power this has gotta be on the low edge of his range, but it's a real strong time. Power has been the best runner so far in terms of running and succeeding in a variety of events (with the exception of Sam Ritz who has yet to try a 3k but would likely excel). With Brophy, Webb, James and Comber coming back that reign will be challenged, but let's give respect to Power for his strong early season showing.

The Strath Haven boys did a nice job getting involved with a pair of 2:02 individuals Ahmir Gordon and Greg Kotchick. They also added a 2:07 run by David Reeves. Adding in Beckley from earlier this year, Haven has quitely become a strong 4x8 across the board. They have run a couple sub 8 4x8s indoors in past seasons and this may be a sleeper team for a sub 8 in 2015. By the end of the year I could definitely see this team in the 2010 Wissahickon type range (7:57 with consistent sub 2 type legs across the board). Nice run by Kev Lapsansky, continuing to drop time in the mile, running 4:38. Coatesville's Blake Ettien added a strong showing in 4:41.

The marquee meet was the Hispanic Games at the Armory. In the non-invitational mile, the boys from Conestoga got a couple strong performances, specifically from PJ Murray. He ran 4:29 to win his heat by roughly 5 seconds. His teammate Killian Nelson was impressive behind him in 4:38. With Marston (who ran 4:28 in the invitational heats) this is an intriguing DMR squad looking ahead. They are built more for a 4xMile, but when you have talented distance runners like this, you are going to be dangerous in a long distance relay. Murray has a legit shot at an individual medal in the mile if he keeps this up and with Marston's 3k potential, that may be how things end up. Strong showing by Jake Good of Abington who ran 4:35.

In the 2 mile, Seth Slavin ran an impressive 9:46.01. According to milesplit converters, that's worth roughly 9:02 for 3k. However, PTFCA conversions are probably going to slot that bad boy at only 9:07 or so, which is probably a huge difference in the end results. All the same, Slavin joins the other sophomores as a guy continuing to show excellent improvement.

In the 800m, Sam Ritz doubled back from his mile to run 1:57 and beat out one of PA's best 800m men in Khai Samuels (1:58). Penncrest's two stud 800m were also featured at the Hispanic Games as Emmanuel ran 1:59 and Kamat dropped to 2 flat. I'd imagine Penncrest will go all in on a 4x8 win like they did in 2012, meaning these guys will be kept fresh for the relay and give themselves the best chance at a title. Brendan Hanna ran 2:04.95 to join the front two. Penncrest is right in the mix with teams like CB East and Pennsbury in the early going with teams like State College and Strath Haven making solid moves around them. At this point, the 4x8 is very intriguing to me and still pretty wide open.

The invitational mile featured the star of PA mid distance so far this season: Sam Ritz. Apparently he took things out hard and paid a bit in the final part of the race (3:09ish through 1200m I've heard). This race was really fast across the board (Ritz's 4:14.59 ended up just 5th). Ritz is far and away the best miler in the state right now and his 1:57 double was pretty solid as well. It's still a long way to go until states, but he's the name to beat for the mile by a long shot until someone else steps up. Hopefully this effort by Ritz gets him a Millrose nod and he continues to represent PA well there.

What are your thoughts on the weekends action? Good work out there PA, keep going strong.