Yale Summary and Some Notes

The Yale Classic packed a big time punch this year and with Kevin Dare right around the corner this meet seems to kicked off the official "we are going to run fast" time of the year. 

The first big event was the DMR race and Malvern Prep got things going for PA by finishing second in their section with a blazing 10:36. The order was apparently Wills (3:12) to King (:52) to Mueller (2:06) to McDevitt (4:23). That's an excellent start for the Prep who are eager to prove themselves this season in the DMR. Wills and McDevitt are consistent and strong for the key legs on this relay and Mueller has already shown solid improvement. They will be in the hunt at states, however if McDevitt or Wills land in the 3k I'd be nervous about their prospects for a fast mark. However, I'd say both guys are around 4:25ish milers as thing currently stand which makes them more than capable of competing in that event.

Don't sleep on the result from Holy Ghost Prep in this one. They ran 10:52 and likely got a big lift from Patrick Dineen as well. HGP has produced a slew of strong indoor relays and last year they were (to me anyway) a surprise 3rd in this event last year. They medaled in 2013 and were a hard fought second in 2012. Keep these guys on your radar for March.

Also in the mix at 10:54, the always dangerous West Chester Henderson. No idea who was apart of this relay, but I'd be curious to see what the defending champs are up to after graduating essentially all of their district qualifiers a year ago. Knapp was the ace during cross but he's still relatively unproven at shorter distances. I'd wager Swart and Barchet may also be best at the 3k-5k type events but don't know enough to say for sure. Regardless, Henderson is a fierce contender year after year and has won 3 DMR state titles since 2007. 10:54 isn't that type of level, but it's a very strong start for a team in their first race back.

In the Championship section, PA's own GFS and Conestoga battling the best from the region. GFS ran tough in the field to finish 5th in 10:33 and grab PA #1 honors. Apparently Hepp ran around 3:13 and Nick Dahl anchored home in 4:18ish. That's moving for the soph. Keep in mind this means the middle legs totaled just north of 3 minutes, so maybe a 53 and a 2:08 or something in the ball park. Newman was the likely 800m leg. He was awesome during cross country, but now he just needs that distance credential to translate to speed. If he continues to improve, the team will really make noise.

Honestly, I'm in a place I find myself often, jumping on the GFS bandwagon. This school has produced consistent DMR excellence despite not yet capturing that state title in the event (took the Penn Relays title in 08 though). Last year these guys had a rough day and finished out of the medals at states, likely because they were an extremely young squad. Another year of seasoning could be good for this team. Plus, I think this team may end up throwing out a completely fresh relay rather than tiring themselves out in the opens. That's a big sacrifice (especially after Dahl's weekend) but this team always seems to have an unselfish mindset surrounding it. We will see just how fast they go individually going forward and just how badly they want the title.

For Stoga they ended up 10th in 10:41, but that's still an excellent time. I thought I saw the order listed as Murray to Cooper to Nelson to Marston on the pre race performance list but I'm not positive on that. Pretty crazy to think your best available quarter miler is a cross country runner who was top 50 in the state in XC, doing his best running at the hillier state course. Plus Nelson is a strong miler, but I got a vibe he was better longer as well. I think these 4 runners are all studs and we could see a great 4xmile down the line from them, but I worry about them finding the speed to compete at a shorter relay.

The good news, when you're a good runner who is in top shape you can run anything. Despite my worries they still ran a fantastic 10:41 and have excellent legs in Murray and Marston who have been impressive in their limited racing this January. They can still mix it up with the best in the state.

The other relay action was led by the Downingtown schools. DT East, with O'Reilly involved, dropped an 8:19.14 to put them in early season state qualifying position. Meanwhile rivals DT West ran 8:22 almost immeaditley following an 11:04 effort in the DMR. Now I don't know this for sure, but I thought I saw on the entries that West both of those relays with Sappey or Josh Hoey, probably their two best healthy runners at this point. This team seems to be keep things a bit under raps right now and waiting to unleash all their cards at the right moment. They clearly have a nice slew of depth and talent so it will be interesting to see how they choose to use it.

The next day, times continued to be fast. There were a variety of big names in the 3k with a ton of medalists involved, but ultimately the often underrated Dominic Hockenbury rose to the top of the PA field and blasted an 8:38.39 for 8th overall. Dom didn't get too much press, but he ought to now after following on the footsteps of old district and state rival Dominic Deluca and stealing the spotlight back for AA. 

Hockenbury's 3k converts to around 9:16.5 for 3200m according to milesplit conversions, which would be faster than his 9:17 PR from a year ago. He was overshadowed by some other bigger names during XC, but the kid basically went undefeated all year and was nearly a footlocker finalist before faltering over the final mile or so. The other advantage he has over many of his competitors for states is the fact that he doesn't have any relays to worry about. He can focus all his energies on the 3k and give the event 100% effort without need to jump down for the mile to increase rest. He's a real state title treat, hungry to prove he can roll with anyone in PA. And just a junior.

Now I certainly feel James's solo effort is more impressive than Hock on a ride along type race, but you can't argue with the clock. Dom is PA #1.

Nick Dahl came by next for PA, and fresh off what was likely a pr split on the DM, Dahl drops an 8:44 3k. That's a crazy double for someone so young. The potential here is scary. Andrew Marston came along next in 8:51, also doubling the day after the DMR. That's a great time in it's own right and likely will be fast enough to clinch a spot to states, regardless of what happens from here. 

Colin Wills and Alex Knapp both broke the 9 minute barrier with 8:58 and 8:59 times in the deep Yale race. Excellent work by Knapp who has had his fair share of struggles translating his XC prowess to the track. As for Wills, that's an excellent display of range. I'd like to see him work his speed a bit more if he's going to be the 1200 leg on a competitive DMR, but that's an excellent 3k. Maybe they will consider making a switch with McDevitt and Wills legs looking ahead depending on how each guy continues to develop.

Speaking of McDevitt, he was PA's top miler running 4:23 for 6th overall. That's a strong time for him and I sign that he can grow into a sub 4:20 anchor, a necessary piece for a true contender in the DMR. It's also a good sign individually, as he will likely compete in the mile and states and has a chance for a top medal in the event.

Behind McDevitt was Mike Kolor (4:23), Eric Diestelow (4:26), Henry Sappey (4:28) and Josh Hoey (4:29). As mentioned, I believe all 4 of those guys were running on fresh legs for this mile. Diestelow had a bit of a tough battle in the fast heat in his first true challenge of the season. That's an important experience for him as he looks to compete for his first state medal this indoors. 

Mike Kolor is a really good runner. Seneca Valley was a top notch 4x8 squad in 2014 and now that Brett Foster has graduated, Kolor is the main man. He ran low 4:20s last outdoors, despite most of his races coming on the double with tired legs. He overcame some slight injury concerns during cross and peaked perfectly en route to a state medal (and helped team etrain win the fantasy draft). Now he comes out in the 2nd heat and runs an excellent time. He's also just a junior.

The DT West boys had a strong showing and now the question will be how to piece together everyone for a relay. They have a decent amount of options considering their depth. I'd really like to see both these guys in a 3k looking ahead because they seem to only get better as they move up. Keep an eye on it. Worth mentioning: DT West also had a 51.7 open 400m run from junior Josh McLemore.

A couple more additional times worth mentioning. Todd Gunz runs a strong 4:33 for 1600. Lebo had 3 sub 4:50 and a couple 53 types in the 400. At a separate meet Andrew Maxwell of slippery rock ran 4:46 and 10:10 in the 16 and 32.