Weekend Review: Creese 3:57, Potential forAlabama and Texas A&M, Notre Dame Action, Results on PA Alum

Sorry I haven’t been posting recently. My workload is finally starting to catch up with me and I only have some much time to write. Luckily, I was able to find the results from this weekend. Just a few things to note: The YaleGiegengack and the Haverford Seamus McElligot are mainly PA alumni results so look there if that’s what you’re interested in. I tried to find as many PA alumni as I could. Also, I’m hoping to get a 3k preview out sometime this week. If it doesn’t happen this week then chances are I’m just not going to get to it…So look around and enjoy the results!

 

Notre Dame Meyo Invite:

 

800:

Some great results came out of here. We saw four guys go under 1:50 (three collegiate). Tre’tez Kinnaird of Illinois makes a statement with his 1:48.20 win. He’s right on the verge of making Nationals and I’m gonna guess that that barely gets him in. Loyola (in Illinois) also made some noise taking second and fourth by going 1:48.57 and 1:49.53. I said last week that it’s going to take 1:48mid to get in to NCAA’s. However, the more and more I keep looking into the 800 I’m guessing 1:48low.

 

Mile:

I know that the headlines read “Three go sub-4 at Meyo”, so I’m guessing there was some kind of conversion. The results read that Sam Penzenstadler of Loyola got the win in 4:00.61. He was followed by two pro’s. Michael Clevenger of Notre Dame grabs the second collegiate spot with a 4:02.33. Clevenger is a great runner and has some solid talent. Hopefully he can dip under four soon. Andrew Garcia-Garrison (Bucknell) tries to one-up his Penn State mile race, only to be found with another 4:02.

 

3000:

Erik Peterson of Butler gets the win over Craig Lutz (Texas) with an 8:00.73 to Lutz’s 8:01.71. It’s a great race for Peterson but I’m a little worried about Lutz. He hasn’t put together a truly solid race yet and he’s now struggled in his last two 3k efforts. Hopefully he can find his niche by season’s end.

 

5000:

Loyola finds themselves with another excellence performance as Alex Baker takes the win in 14:18.11. Nothing spectacular but it’s a nice win. PA alumni JakeKildoo (Notre Dame) finished 14th in 14:34.41 and Glen Williams (Bucknell) finished 35th in 15:17.64.

 

 

Yale Giegengack Invitational:

 

800:

How about PA Alum Nick Smart? The LaSalle Explorer takes the win in 1:52.80. He won by just under two seconds so the guy is clearly in shape. Maybe we see sub 1:50 from his outdoors. Going down the list, PA 2012 indoor state champ Haneef Hardy (Morgan State) finished in 1:55.71. Another PA alum Dan Ferraiolo (St. Joe’s), finished in 1:59.58.

 

1000:

PA alum Jack Magee (St. Joe’s) was seventh in 2:31.13. Not a bad time. I want to see what he can do in a mile soon.

 

Mile

The race was won in 4:10 but a lot of big name PA alums were in this race. The first PA alum through the line was Chris Trimble (LaSalle) in 4:16.92. He finished sixth. Max Norris of Columbia was eighth in 4:19.10. That’s a bit disappointing considering all the success he had in high school. Hopefully he can rebound and we see more out of him. Francis Ferruzzi of LaSalle was close behind Norris finishing 12th in 4:19.62. The other PA alumni Dave Gartonand John Mascioli (both of St. Joe’s) went 4:23.61 and 4:25.02 respectively.

 

3000:

James Randon leads the 1-2 finish for Yale going 8:10.53. The leader of LaSalle and PA alum Vince Perozze, finished third in 8:18.00. Other PA alums included Dan Savage (St. Joe’s), Sean Burke (Lehigh), Ryan Grace (Lehigh), and Ryan Cooney (Lehigh). They went 8:34.99, 8:37.77, 8:48.70, and 8:49.65 respectively.

 

5000:

The PA alum continue to show up for LaSalle and Lehigh. Ian Barnhill (LaSalle) finished third running 14:46.38. His teammate Nico Greco finished fifth running 15:01.81 while Chris Berry ran 15:28.06 to place 13th. The Lehigh trio of Patrick Reilly, Scott Mason, and Kyle Leonard finished 7th, 8th, and 14th. They ran 15:12.01, 15:14.55, and 15:33.62 respectively.

 

DMR:

There are way too many alumni to mention but just know that LaSalle got the win running 10:00.51.

 

Frank Sevigne Husker Invite:

 

Mile:

The men from Alabama are putting on quite a show on the mid distance side this season. After Amankwah’s 1:46,things have been kind of quiet for Alabama until this past weekend. The Tide went 1-2 in the mile running 4:01.34 and 4:01.66. Robbie Farnham-Rose won the race while Matt Airola finished second. This is a great indicator for Alabama as they now have three very solid pieces for a DMR. I’m not saying they’ll break any records, but they could really mix it up if they decide to go for it. These mile results will not make NCAA cutoff time so a DMR will probably be in the back of their minds.

 

Akron Invite:

 

Mile:

Clayton Murphy gets a win on his home track with a very solid time of 4:00.39. I’m gonna say that barely sneaks into NCAA’s. Great time and he should be very happy with the result. He’s a strong runner so I want to see what he can do in a 3k.

 

Haverford Seamus McElligot Invite:

 

800:

Tom Fitzgerald finishes eighth in 2:02.86. He ran for DEastwhen they had that excellent 4x800 squad so it’s good to see he’s continuing his track career at Elizabethtown.

 

Mile:

Will McDermott (Widener) was the top PA alum running 4:23.90. I remember watching him in high school and the guy was a great tactical runner and very underrated. Great to see him having some solid races. He ended up fifth. Other PA alum included Sam Brooks (4:32.16), and Matt Brown (4:34.56).

 

5000:

Big win for PA alum Zach Trama! He’s a friend of mine and was the first guy I ever raced in high school (don’t worry I outkicked him in that race). Ever since then, his xcand track career has really rocketed off and he’s putting together some really solid races for Etown. He won the race in 14:55.05.

 

Skyes and Sabock Invite

 

800:

Jesse Garn of Binghamton takes the win with a 1:48.56 over Za’Von Watkins’ 1:49.68. Not a bad race for Watkins, but he’s got to keep improving if he really wants to make that NCAA cutoff and right now he is not showing that. PA alum Joey Logue stepped up big for Penn State by finishing in 1:50.71. That’s a nice PR and it just goes to show how well Penn State can develop 800 guys.

 

Mile:

In my opinion this was the race of the week. Robby “Creese Lightning” of Penn State grabs not only a big win,but a HUGE time of 3:57.86. That’s a strong time and if I’m Penn State, I’m very excited about running that DMR again. Creese dominated by roughly five seconds. I can’t wait to see him run open against some big time competition. I’ll keep saying it, but Cheserek shouldn’t get too comfortable…at least not until I see him destroy the field at Millrose. Then I’ll probably give him the gold.

 

PA alumni had some decent races. Ean DiSilvio (PSU) runs a very solid 4:13.88. Nice development from him. JackHuemmler of Penn finishes behind him in 4:14.46. Will Cather (PSU) also had a decent run clocking a 4:21.60.

 

3000:

While the race wasn’t all that exciting, the PA alumnishowed up with some solid times. Ross Wilson (Penn) finishes eighth in 8:26.31. Great time and hopefully he can get under 8:20 by season’s end. Lyle Wistar (Penn) was two spots behind him running 8:27.71. Then there is Dominic Deluca of Cornell who runs 8:38.32. He’s probably not too happy with that time after such a spectacular XC season he had. Barrett Kemp (Buffalo) was a spot behind Deluca running 8:38.64.

 

5000:

PA alum Sam Hibbs (Liberty) runs 14:38.79 for fifth.

 

Doc Hale Virginia Tech Invite:

 

800:

Unfortunately, I was unable to see this race. I really wanted to watch Keffri Neal (Kentucky). After he won RodMcCravy, I thought he would lay down a wicked time at VT. The pace must’ve gone out slow as Neal was the only one to break 1:50 with a 1:49.73. Grant Pollock (Virginia Tech) was second in 1:51.29. I’m a little bummed with Neal’s time, but he’s already going to get into NCAA’s so he was probably just playing it more tactical.

 

PA alum James Hare (Pitt) had a bit of a rough day. He finished in 1:59.16. I was able to talk to him and it turns outthat he got boxed in early after a poor start. Billy Caldwell was sick and did not make the trip.

 

Mile:

The race went out a bit slow (2:03) and after the half-way point Simon Holden (Wake Forest) broke away and never looked back as he tried to make up time. He got the win in 4:04.77.

 

Plenty of PA alum were in this race (all from Pitt). Nate Sloan took on the hot heat but may have been a little over his head as he got dropped by the pack and finished last in the heat. He still had a solid time of 4:17.65. His teammates Chris Pastore and Eric Stratman finished 20th and 21st with times of 4:21.00 and 4:21.45. Aaron Lauer took the race out a bit fast and paid for it later. He finished in 4:27.72 for24th.

 

5000:

PA alum Alex Archer struggled quite a bit after not being able to hang onto the pace. He was last in 15:52.07. He didn’t seem very comfortable the entire race and when the pace suddenly quickened, he had difficulty responding.Probably just an off day for him.

 

Texas A&M Aggie Invite:

 

800:

The Aggies took the win on their own track going 1-2. What was even more impressive was that it was a duo of brothers going 1-2 (unless they’re not related at all and just have the same last name which is possible). Josh Hernandez ran 1:48.73 while Hector ran 1:49.03. In the right race, Josh could certainly go after 1:48low. I’ll be watching to see if he finds a fast race to get him that NCAA cutoff time.

 

Mile:

As if the 1-2 finish in 800 wasn’t impressive enough, the Aggies do it again in the mile! Issac Spencer leads the way in 4:00.41. He’s another one of the guys that’s on the cutoff edge. His teammate Cameron Villarreal finished behind him in 4:01.25. The rest of the Aggies went 4,5,7,8, and 9. Nice depth they have over there in College Station. Maybea DMR is in their thoughts? They have two milers and an excellent 800 guy. I’m always putting together hypothetical relays but I always like to see it come together and actually happen.

 

DMR:

UTEP wins the race in 9:49.42. Rotich was on the anchor and that’s all I really know. If someone somehow knows splits for Rotich please feel free to comment below.

 

BU Scarlett and White Invite:

 

800:

Edose Ibadin (Hampton) is the top collegiate finisher in 1:48.70. Joe Gioielli answers my calls by running a 1:49.96. I’m a little disappointed. I wanted him to run a little faster but it’s a long season and hopefully we see him again.

 

1000:

Fun Fact: PA alum Nick Crits is now part of the NY-NJ track club. He runs 2:26.44 for fourth.

 

 

As always feel free to comment anything! I’m always down to talk predictions or the potential of teams/runners. If I missed a PA alum please feel free to mention them!

 

Run on,

Garrett