Has the 3200m Become Cool?

By Jarrett Felix

The mile is the glory event of distance running. I'm not sure if it is because of the magic of the 4 minute barrier or the fact it's one of a few events that is not metric based but basically every kid starts their career wanting to be a stud miler. I know I did. 

But things have begun to shift in PA. The often under appreciated 2 mile is beginning to have it's day. Perhaps it started with former state record holder Chris Spooner who produced one of the only sub 9s in state history. Or maybe Springer in 2007 set the stage when he dropped the record all the way down under 8:50 for 3200m. But the event is getting really strong and really deep in recent years and 2015 shows no signs of slowing down.

The barrier I will often use is 9:20 as the sign of an elite 3200m. It is after all the milesplit elite mark and the mark it takes to get on my progressively lengthening all time list. In 2007, when Springer was at his peak and matched well by another legend Jason Weller, PA produced an impressive 14 sub 9:20 runners. That's pretty good, especially considering 2008 produced 10 and 2009 produced just 7. From 2007-2012 the state averaged about 12 sub 9:20 guys a year.

Then 2013 happened. A massive 22 sub 9:20 performances were notched. 22 different runners broke the 9:20 barrier, including 10 underclassmen. 7 belonged to the fabled District One, but the other 15 were outside of that region, spread across the state.

In 2014, things didn't slow down. We saw 21 guys break 9:20, led by an impressive 3 guys under 9 minutes (and another with a 3k time equivalent to sub 9). Henderson had 4 kids do it by themselves. A frosh broke 9:20. A soph ran 9:05. A Junior ran 9:03. 

2015 is setting up to be another potentially memorable season for the deuce. 11 runners return from that crop of sub 9:20 guys a year ago and 4 have already repeated the feat during indoors if you count 3k conversions. Throw in additional 8 runners who broke 9:20 before and you are already staring at roughly 12 studs for the 2 mile. 

There tends to be a high correlation between XC studliness and the 2 mile on the track, which shouldn't be surprising news. The AAA XC state champ has broken 9:20 every season for the past decade. That's good news for Jake Brophy, who has yet to crack the 9:20 mark this outdoors. Smart money says he won't only go under, but shatter it considering he is now not just a state champ, but a footlocker finalist and a state course record holder. A few recent national qualifiers in XC include Ross Wilson (8:56), Tony Russell (8:57), Reiny Barchet (9:03), Brendan Shearn (9:04), Max Norris (9:02 equivalent for 3k) and Kev James (9:03). Not too shabby.

From some scratch work, I tallied out a list of 32ish guys with the upside to get down near this mark for 2015, an absurd total if we were to get anywhere close. Keep in mind guys like Billy McDevitt, Grayson Hepp, Hunter Wharrey, and Colin Abert have been close before and are coming off excellent cross/indoor campaigns. Wharrey was among a 3k pack that included Loevner, Tidball, Power and Todd Gunzenhauser, all of whom have potential.

Keep in mind that DT West holds some serious contenders for the 9:20 barrier. One is Jaxson Hoey, who has been out for some time with a foot injury. He ran a blazing 9:05/4:11c last year over the course of the season and could have 2014 Sam Webb potential as a late season catch fire candidate. His younger bro, frosh Josh Hoey, is coming off an excellent XC season and a 4:19 DMR split. But perhaps most dangerous is Henry Sappey. He was 10th this past fall at AAA states and sacrificed 3k training to work on his speed for a key 1200m leg on a great DMR. Now he gets to turn his attention to what is likely his best event, the 2 mile.

The same can be said for a variety of runners who sacrificed the longer stuff indoors in favor of relays. Among that list is Marston, Dahl, KJ, Brophy, McDevitt and Wills. Maybe john Daly, 4:15 man and MoC 3k champ, will also try his hand in the occasional 32 and challenge. 

There are a ton of other guys who didn't seriously run indoors like Henderson, Seiger, Delaney, Perretta, and Molino who now can turn their attention to the longer stuff outdoors with a full base.

What's perhaps most exciting about this group is the potential for more members of the sub 9 club. It's an elusive group with few quick enough to get there. Legitimate hopefuls like Kevin James and Sam Webb are coming off huge track seasons in the under distance. Sam Ritz is coming off the best indoor season for any miler in state history. And he ran 9:10 this past fall before he hit his true stride. And these guys have a target on their back with a slew of runners searching for their own moment in the spotlight like Casey Comber, the 3rd place finisher at indoor states and 14:51 man. His 5k puts him the same range as guys like Colin Martin (8:59) and Max Norris (sorry to keep making this comparison, I need to stop, it's like the McGoey-Gil stuff, I just can't help it). 

And oh yeah Matt McGoey is the only guy remaining in PA with a track distance state title longer than 1609. And Jake Brophy is the reigning 5k state champ who was dominate for 95% of his races thus far in his Junior year. You're telling me if Comber runs 9:05, Brophy isn't running 9:05 too? That would go against everything I believe in ....

But here's the thing, you only get these fast times in the right meet or right conditions. You know where fast times happen in the 2 mile? Either a) at twilight meets under the lights or b) at state championship meet where we are lucky with the weather. 2009 the weather was brutal at states. We got 7 total sub 9:20s for the year. 2010 the weather is awesome for states. We got 19 total with 14 or so coming from the state meet. 

But guess what? Most of the time, the weather at states is garbage. It's hot in May most of the time (or apparently brutally windy like 2013?) and the 3200m should 100% be held on Friday night. 100%. That would be fantastic but that will never happen because the powers that be are not interested in important matters like this. But that's another rant.

What's awesome is that meets do exist that produce fast times. The Henderson Invitational produces some of the best 2 mile times in the state consistently and the past two years, it's flooded the state rankings and state all-time list. The Baldwin Invitational 2 mile has been a big deal in the past and although it is a little bit more sketchy these days, D7 has a TON of talent this year and if it assembles for this race, we could see big things (that or the mile there which is also very popular and fast, either one works for me). 

In the end, it's all speculation. There's a lot of ifs and maybes and stuff like that. But you can't hide the fact that the 3200m is hitting a peak right around now. 20+ dudes a year? That's absurd to me considering how things used to be.

The fact is, good runners breed more good runners. Intersquad competition is a huge part of improving. You race your teammates harder than anybody and hate losing to them most. Then you get rivals in the league or the district or the state. That's why D1 gets so good most times. Elite competition every week. That's why CV won states in 2012 in the 4x8, they and Chambersburg were so dang competitive with one another their anchors split 1:51. 

And where would Weller be without Springer? Where would Wilson be without Russell? Where would Kevin James be without whichever state record holder Kev James ends up inevitably racing?

So my advice to you 2 milers: don't race the clock. Race your friends. Race your enemies. And race your limits. If you do that, barriers will be broken, even if they aren't necessarily the 9 minute kind.