Weekend Recap

So LXV is now officially here! If you're new to the site and hoping to learn about the new features you can either scroll down a bit or click on the picture of Matt Centrowitz up above and it will take you to an LXV centric page with all posts related to the new platform.  Do some exploring and feel free to make suggestions!

But in the mean time, we have to focus up on an exciting weekend of running in the state of Pennsylvania. I'll be creating this post and then updating the state rankings page of the site today. Also, I've been discussing some ideas with a few contributors, including a midseason rankings show for indoors which will hopefully be coming next week!

For now, let's recap the action.

Kevin Dare
Brett George took a surprising (for me at least) upset win in the 800m over Dan Williams of Pennridge, winning 1:59.01 to 1:59.31. That kind of mark is strong for both runners, but is close to what I expected from the talented relay man Williams. This is a big development for an Altoona squad that is always competitive in the relays. I like what George was able to show.

Behind these two, Killian Nelson showed an excellent bit of speed, running 2:00.09. That's an excellent sign for Stoga's DMR as they try to increase their speed over the course of this season. Ethan Gatchell doubled back from the mile in 2:00.28, a great sign for him looking ahead. Mike Strosko ran 2:01.05 for Canon-Mac, a nice improvement off his season opener. Pennridge also added a strong performance from Alec Nahas (2:04). He wasn't listed on their 4x8 later in the day, so he adds some nice depth to a potential top squad in the relay.

In the mile, Billy McDevitt continues to roll for Malvern Prep. He won in 4:23 over Kyle Shinn and Brad Foust, who each ran 4:25. Shinn has been really strong this year, especially at the mile. I'm still thinking the 3k is his best event, but he's a medal contender at the mile if he stays there. Foust and George (and later Sunderland) combined for a couple of big runs for Altoona. This team has the pieces for a nice 4x8 but may have a chance to throw down a very impressive DMR. They passed on the DM in a surprise move last year, but they have had success in the past throwing out a DMR (2010 and 2012) so it's something to be on the lookout for.

As for McDevitt, winning races is important. If you learn how to win, race hard and compete, good things happen to you at the state meet. He's probably at #2 right now in my rankings for the mile behind only Sam Ritz and his absurd start.

Stoga gets a pair of 4:26 milers in Murray and Marston and with Killian Nelson running 2 flat in the 800m, they put the pieces together for a really nice DMR. These guys are rapidly improving at the quicker stuff and I'm thinking a completely fresh Conestoga DMR is on the table. Marston and Murray are both possible medal contenders in the mile and 3k, but I get the feeling this team may be willing to sacrifice this indoors. Outdoors I'm not convinced they have the raw speed for a 4x8 (although they are steadily improving) so individual events are more likely.

With Webb bowing out of the 3k (as well as a ton of other big names), it opened the door for an easy victory for Casey Comber in 9:02. He'll likely need to drop that a decent chunk to get a spot on the line at states, but I think this was a perfect first race back opportunity. Behind him, we saw great runs from Jerrod Sunderland of Altoona (9:07), Matt Beyerle of State College (9:14) and Tucker Desko of Pennridge (9:16). Seiger also had a strong run in 9:16. Quite frankly, Altoona had a big weekend and Sunderland is rapidly improving for them. I think they have to find a way to get him on a relay because the kid seems like a gamer. I'm seeing a big Altoona DMR coming (possibly in a showdown against a State College DMR, which could be fun).

Speaking of State College, they rolled in the 4x8 with a motivated Milligan (4:27 mile earlier in the day) to get the win over Pennridge and Strath Haven with an 8:05. I've been expressing my opinion that State College should be in the repeat title conversation and what I think is most impressive is their incredible depth. I like this team and that's all I will say for now (I've got a post on these guys lined up for mid week).

Pennridge ran 8:07 and Strath Haven, completely fresh, ran 8:08. Both of these teams are excellently coached relay squads and I love the balance of the Haven team. They don't have a breakout star just yet, but they have consistency and it doesn't appear that any of their legs will put them out of position. When you are racing near the front for an entire relay, it makes things easy for someone to have breakthrough. This is still a younger, inexperienced team with room to grow. As for Pennridge, there state title run in 2012 where they upset Penncrest is fresh in my mind (I wanted to pick Pennridge to win so badly, but ended up picking them for second). Keep an eye on these guys, especially if they stack the deck with a fresh relay at states.

Altoona ran an 8:11 and all of their guys were doubling back. George was awesome in the open 8 and Foust was quality in the mile so it's nice to see both those guys produce strong doubles. Like I said, I see a DMR in this team's future, but they can have a ton of success at the 4x8 as well if they stick to it.

Twin Valley (8:20) and Holy Ghost Prep (8:24) each had strong days. I think both squads have potential to continue to drop looking ahead.

New Balance
At the New Balance Games, Kev James's Millrose bid came up a bit short as he ran 4:26. The pace was slower towards the beginning and left things open for a kick. This was the first real challenge James faced all season, but it could be an important moment for him going ahead (like Willig's race at the Millrose Games in 2012). I'm not worried about KJ, he just ran 8:40 in the 3k. He'll be fine.

I like Khai Samuel's 4:31 run. This was his first real test at the mile and 4:31 is a pretty strong time. His focus is likely going to be the 800m this season, so for me this is an encouraging strength run. Still keep an eye on the Pleasant Valley DMR if they can find the right meet to run it.

Pennsbury passed on the 4x8 up at Kevin Dare and instead dropped a major bomb on the state at the Armory. They won the 4x8 in a state leading 7:57 time to dominate the race by 7 seconds. This team is loaded and has cemented themselves as favorites for the event. I still think they could run a nasty DMR, but with the doubling that we will likely see from their camp, the 4x8 makes a ton of sense. If anyone has splits on this (or any) relay, post them up!

Behind them, Abington broke through for an 8:07 and O'Hara ran an 8:09 (not sure if James was on the relay). That's great for Abington who I've had my eye on as a possible sleeper medal contender. This is a strong program historically and 8:07 puts them right in the thick of things with the other state leaders. As for O'Hara, this is a nice display of speed for them. I'm not sure they have had anyone under 2:07ish in the opens so far this year, so this is an encouraging run. They have to keep the 4x8 option open because we aren't sure what James will be doing at the state meet, but this speed should be a good sign of things to come in the DMR as well.

Nice runs by Quakertown (8:22), Avon Grove (8:29) and GFS (8:30). Quakertown has a stud leg in Wolfinger who will hopefully bring out the best in his teammates looking ahead. In a normal year, these teams are all potential state qualifiers, but with only 12 spots on the line, they will have some work to do.

Another top 4x8 team in Penncrest, opted to throw some legs in the 600m and load a DMR. I'm not sure which came first, but Penncrest had Evan Emmanuel at 1:23 and Soham Kamat at 1:25, both blazing times for this event. It's hard to say exactly what this translates to, but I'd guesstimate 1:55 and 1:57 are in play. Brendan Hanna added a 1:27 and Nick Moscatelli ran 1:28, indicating those guys are within the 2 flat or under range by the state meet. That's a relay that rivals the 7:57 that Pennsbury threw down. When I was in 2:01 shape in high school, I time trialed 1:28 outdoors, just for the sake of reference.

Penncrest also ran the DMR (again not sure of order) and notched a 10:48.36. That's among the state leaders despite having no clear mile or 1200m legs given their crop of speedsters. That's a great stretch run for those guys on the upper and over distances and they will be serious contenders in the 4x8. Maybe Pennsbury isn't as much of the favorite as I thought 35 seconds ago?

The big run in the DMR was St. Joe's Prep, who clocked a 10:29 for 2nd. This is a killer time for this relay and puts them in the state title conversation. Daly is developing into a strong anchor and Isiah Fisher likely provided a big leg as well. I thought this team's sweet spot would be the DM and I think this race proves it. The DMR at states is still reasonably wide open, but Prep made a nice statement today.

For the record, the DMR is loaded and 12 teams is a low number considering the quality this year. And the times are only going to get faster in the last month of the year. The fight for relay spots will be absurd. Nice run by Avon Grove as well (10:54) who put up a pair of solid relays with their squad.

TSTCA
I've been in discussions with Evan Hatton (among others) about getting him to help on the blog, particularly with some coverage out west. Without stepping on his toes too much, I'll talk high level about some of the results we saw from that part of the state.

Edinboro (where the TSTCA meet was held) is technically considered an oversized track (I think it's like 234 meters or something random) so all of the marks count as banked track times for state qualifying purposes. This is a bummer for the western guys without a doubt and their times are probably being undersold as a result.

In the 800m, we saw Elias Graca make a season debut in the 800m, running 2:00.72 to edge out the 2:01.33 from Penn Trafford's Nick Wagner (considering his seed mark was 2:04, that may have been a big time PR). Sophomore Eric Kennedy added a solid 2:04 for third. This is a nice start for Graca who will obviously have to drop a decent amount more to get himself into the state title conversation (and probably more importantly a faster heat/spot on the line at states) but this is an excellent first race back kind of time. He ran excellent during cross and has a 1:53.9 PR to his name, a mark that few can boast out of current high schoolers.

North Allegheny's first gold of the season came from Scott Seel, the team's third man during their state title run in cross. He ran 4:35 to take the victory over state XC medalist Jake Susalla (4:37). Tanner Quiggle was third in 4:39 and Nick Wolk ran 4:40 for 4th. Worth noting, A state runner Sebastian Curtin was in the ran, clocking a time of 4:43. In addition, Logan Caruso, the excellent frosh from Bradford, ran 4:44.

The 3k belonged to Todd Gunzenhauser of Mount Lebanon, who is off a fantastic start this winter. He ran 9:00.01 to take the victory over Will Loevner, a state qualifier in the 3k last year, who ran 9:06. Jacob Heinauer of North Hills ran 9:08 to finish third.

In other news around the western part of the state, in Youngstown, OH Bryce Descavish ran 4:39.97 for 1600m beating out fellow PA runner Ryan Thrush (4:40) and Aaron Benka (4:41.76). In the 3200m at the same meet, Brent Leber of Shenango ran a 9:51 to beat out Shaun Hay of state champion Winchester Thurston (9:54). The marks convert down to 9:16 and 9:19 by PTFCA standards, but are probably worth closer to 9:10 by milesplit conversions.