Weekend Recap: Pennsbury, TFCAofGP, TSTCA and more

On Thursday January 29th, teams from PA traveled to Lawerenceville's banked track to try and attack some fast times. Pennsbury was the dominate force, winning a stacked DMR in 10:32 in addition to winning efforts in the 4x2 (1:33), SMR (3:35, winning by 6 seconds), and Sam Webb in the mile (4:26.9). Plus they added an 8:22 for second place in the 4x8. It was a busy Thursday for the Pennsbury boys.

But guess what? They weren't done. On Saturday they were back at it, running a 4x8 at the Armory in the stacked Armory Invitational. Pennsbury ran a season best mark of 7:52.46, finishing as the top PA squad. The splits, as reported by PA Don't Play, were 2:00.67, 1:57.61, 2:01.74 and 1:52.61 for Sauer on the anchor. Wow. After what was at least a double on Thursday night (and could have been a triple realistically for some), Sauer drops an impressive PR and his teammates run at or near their best marks ever.

I've been saying Sauer is my sleeper pick for the 800m title, but he's not much of a sleeper anymore. He's running faster than I could have predicted (admittedly just a split) and now PA has 3 guys with season bests in the 1:51-1:52 range for the second straight year. After the madness we had a year ago, could this year be just as good? Could this year be better? It seems improbable, but it's in play.

And Pennsbury suddenly finds itself in very realistic team title contention. They have a strong 4x2, 4x4 and 4x8 with Sauer, Webb, Klah and Snorweah among the individuals trying to make noise. I've sort of just been giving the title to Cheltenham, but that's wrong. Pennsbury is for real. Admittedly, Cheltenham dropped blazing 1:28 and 3:18 marks at the Armory, but Lewis was on both of these relays. To me, the open 8 may be too risky of a move for Lewis as Cheltenham tries to keep the team title in hand.

Behind Pennsbury in the DMR, were a slew of other fast times. CB East took second with an exciting push, running 10:42.73. Then PA teams CB West (10:45.06), CR South (10:46.55), CR North (10:48.38) and HG Prep (10:49.29). All of those marks are currently state qualifying caliber. CB East ran excellent, but surprisingly was 10 seconds behind Pennsbury. I think East will likely be battling in the 4x8 at states, but the DMR is an intriguing choice for them. I think the other 4 squads all push for the DMR at states. I like all of these squads and would love to hear about splits. The most interesting story is CB West coming out of the wood work for their first big time. According to the results, Andrew Baker, Rock Fortna and Carter Zerweck were the distance pieces of the relay. All have excellent 800m speed as well which could mean a fast 4x8 is coming in the near future.

At the Armory 4x8, behind Pennsbury's 7:52, Penncrest and LaSalle cracked the 8 minute barrier for the first time, running 7:56 and 7:58. Penncrest splits were 1:58.3, 1:58.71, 2:02..24 and 1:57.66. LaSalle ran 2:00.38, 1:59.47, 2:01.13, 1:57.69. These are excellent splits for both squads and you have to be impressed by the consistency of the relays. Unlike Pennsbury, there is no massive leg to carry these squads, which can be a double edged sword at times (especially when that massive leg is doubling). Patrick Grant was apparently the anchor for LaSalle and his 1:57 split is another huge run for him. He's been fantastic this year and has come on strong as a potential stud anchor for a relay. Penncrest is locked in as a 4x8 team and I still think they can cut a few more seconds off, especially for Emmanuel. But LaSalle is a much more interesting story. I think they see themselves as more of a 4x8 squad (and today certainly helps that thought process), but I believe they could drop a very nice DMR as well. They have been 1st and 2nd the past two years in that event.

Here is a link to the race posted by one of our readers: Armory 4x8. Thanks to him for positing it up!

In other news, the TFCAofGP moved to the slower Glenn Mills track, but solid times still came rolling in. In Division I, Coatesville's Marlowe Tooles had a huge win in 2:02.74 over an impressive run by Upper Darby's Kevin Hong (2:03.28). These are excellent times for this track and Tooles continues to be a medal sleeper at states. Tyji Mays of Bensalem ran 4:38.71 for a solid mark in the Mile as he won gold over CR South's Tim Silverthorn (4:44). Neshaminy and Pennwood dualed 8:28 to 8:30 in the 4x8. It's another nice win for Neshaminy, who did it without a 2:08 open performance. I still think Neshaminy (and Pennwood honestly) are compelling 4x8s. They likely have some sprinter types involved, but they could really make some noise with proper focus. Hatboro Horsham won the DMR in 11:15. It appears this team is going to chase a standard, but do they have the pieces to do it? Only time will tell.

In Division II, there was another loaded 800m battle. Andre Kelly of Radnor got an impressive win in 2:02.8 over a stacked field that included Kyuande Johnson from Wissahickon (2:03.35), Liam Galligan (2:04) and Shane Mills from Paul Robeson (2:04). These are some quick times for this track, all qualifying for Meet of Champs. That's what's important because Meet of Champs is likely where most of the state qualifying performances will come from if I'm being honest. Ryan Rastatter got a strong win in the mile, running 4:41 to win by 4 seconds over Jack Carmody. In the 3k, we saw another excellent run by Eric Diestelow in 9:14 to win over state XC medalist Ryan James, who ran 9:17. This is really encouraging for Diestelow and I like seeing him mix it up in longer events. He's run two excellent 3k's already this year and his strength is there for the mile. He may even be able to run a fast enough 3k to try a double at states. We will see what he tries. O'Hara has already produced 3 strong 3k performances, but I'm unsure which guys are making up the pieces for their DMR and 4x8. By season's end O'Hara could get 3 guys in the state final in the 3k again, a pretty historic run in that event (although limiting the field to just 12 spots will make that goal tricky). Nice DMR's by Masterman and Bishop Shanahan who dueled to 11:05s. Neither team is in yet for the state championships, but both squads will make a push down the stretch to dip under 10:50 towards 10:45.

In the TSTCA, the boys out west went to Edinboro to navigate the tricky 2:36 oval and try to drop more time and get more names in the State Qualifying discussion. The 800m was a loaded run and Elias Graca drops over 2 seconds in a week to win in 1:58.03. It's a second straight win for Graca who jumps a few more spots in the state rankings and increases the likelihood he will be in the state championships (and maybe in the fast heat). Graca ran 1:53.9 last year and despite the hype around Ritz, Lewis and Sauer, Graca is lurking with massive potential to surprise.

Brad Foust (2:00.37), Andrew Koryak (2:00.62), and Michael Strosko (2:01.03) were the next finishers across the line. Foust continues to roll with an impressive win over Koryak (already well under 2 minutes this year) and Strosko adds a second straight 2:01.0.

Jeff VanKooten's mile debut was a huge success. After an up and down XC season, the 4:14 man dropped a 4:33.17 to win the race by 5 seconds. It's a great start, but he will need to cut down a few more seconds to get into states, and perhaps even more to get into the fast heat. Keep an eye on VanKooten's run over the finla stretch of the year. Nick Wolk took second in 4:38, narrowly edging out fellow 4:38 man Tanner Quiggle. Noah Smith ran 4:39.0 for 4th in the tight group. Brett George, the winner at Kevin Dare in the 800m, added a 4:40, just ahead of Duwon Terrell of Penn Hills who ran his own 4:40 (and doubled back in 2:04). Freshman Logan Caruso of Bradford ran 4:41 for 8th in the race.

The North Allegheny boys are here! Matt McGoey bursts onto the stage with an 8:52 3000m and, in typical fashion, Hunter Wharrey follows him across the line in 9:04. Jake Susalla of Plum added a 9:08 and Shane Burkhardt ran 9:12 for 4th. McGoey was very impressive in his 2015 debut and after running to 4th at states behind 3 record times, he finds himself right within the state championship discussion. Gil won the state title indoors for 3k back in 2011 and a District 7 runner has won the title in 2010, 2011, and 2014, 3 out of the last 5. Plus Ethan Martin was the runner up in 2013 and the outdoor champion that year. McGoey could continue the trend, especially if some of the other top names opt for the mile.

In the DMR, Altoona tried their hand at the event with a 10:58, beating out a strong run by Canon Mac (11:01). I'm not sure where in the meet order this event fell, but regardless it's nice to see both of these teams chasing a top standard. 10:58 isn't getting you into the state championship, but Altoona is learning how to run the event and figuring out the best strategy to use the next time they can race the event on a bank track (State College Invite?).