State Recap: 4x800m

In Cross Country, many thought Pennsbury had the potential to qualify for states as a team. However, as usual, D1 proved to be a death trap disguised as a gift basket and PB was left in the spectator club.

But Pennsbury didn't sit around and feel bad for themselves. The boys stepped up their game, particularly Alek Sauer who became a 1:52 anchor leg that no other relay could match. 

I haven't gotten many splits yet (although I'm hoping some will begin to roll in after these relay posts), but 7:51 is a strong showing considering the tough first races Webb and Sauer were coming off. Pennsbury has established itself as consistent mid distance power and hopefully even after the last of their big 4 game changers graduate they can keep things going.

Kinda like Penncrest who year after year is in the mix. One of these years PC is gonna take gold. They are consistently there, running hard, sacrificing for the relay and aiming for gold. To be fair, I doubt we've heard the last of this squad in their 2015 title pursuits, they have a knack for peaking at the right time outdoors. 

How about those State College boys? A little home track advantage never hurts certainly, but SC dropped a 7:55 the year after they graduated all 4 members of their 4x8. This was an incredible showing by this team and things probably aren't done yet. I believe 3 of their 4 legs are back next year to chase another sub 8.

CB West followed up their MOC win with a strong sub 8 showing. They took their time this indoors putting together the 4x8 before suddenly unleashing the horses last weekend at Lehigh. I really like this team, they are balanced and run tough and aggressive. That being said, they would really benefit from developing that star leg to bring thing together. I'm keeping an eye on Fortna who has great potential to be that guy.

The biggest surprise of the 4x8 for me was the group from Pennridge. I shied away from them in my preview despite their consistent program. Their best leg was doubling and they had very few flashy performances to boast besides Kevin Dare. I was very wrong. This team has won state and district titles in recent years and has consistently dropped impressive marks even when they didn't use their flashy anchors (i.e. Joey Logue). That gives everyone in the quad a sense of confidence, a sense that they can do this using their own talents. Pennridge comes through big for another sub 8. 

Altoona rounded out the sub 8 minute relays in 6th. Despite this strong time, I think Altoona could make a big drop for outdoors. Despite some strong runners and excellent performances, Altoona has been surprisingly absent from the outdoor 4x8 state finals. However, a fresh Foust combined with Stroh and George (each individual state qualifiers) is dangerous. Honestly, they were quite busy last week with TriStates and the SC Invite and maybe that caught up to them a bit. Unfortunately that's a product of the new qualifying system. Keep an eye on these guys outdoors and a SC v Altoona district match up is going to be very entertaining.

That's about all I can say for now without having seen the race or received many splits so share your thoughts, opinions and splits below!