Wait Penn Relays Wasn't the Only Meet This Weekend?

By etrain11

There was plenty of non Penn Relays related action that can't go overlooked among all the hype. So let's take a look at the mass of events that took place outside of my gaze.

Midwestern

Dom Peretta continues to grab the spotlight, dominating a pair of races, including a nearly 10 second victory over XC rival Colten Trimble in the 1600m and, of course, the well publicized 1:53.50. I'm still convinced Peretta is a miler who hasn't gotten in the right race to reach a top PR (it's easier mentally to solo an 8 than a 16 for most runners). Maybe it happens at Baldwin or maybe I'm just wrong, but the lack of 3200ms this year suggests, at the very least, that Peretta sees himself as an 800m.

Millersville

This was a nice reminder that Nathan Henderson is really good. He took double gold in the 1600m (against up and comer Ethan Gatchell) and the 3200m (against Hershey stand outs Sponaugle and Demko). The times were 4:24 and 9:27, the deuce being a very impressive mark. It's not out of the question to imagine Henderson as district champ this year in the 32. For the record did Sponaugle run Penn in the AM and then come back for this 32 or were they on different days? Could have sworn I saw that this meet was on a Friday ... If so, big props to Will on his 9:37.

ASD

Joe Espinal was one of my top sleeper picks in 2014 as a sophomore from Wilson. He hasn't quite blossomed into the mainstream the way I suspected, but he has run 1:55 in a dual meet and added a 4:27 victory over Ryan Paradise and Khai Samuels at ASD. He hung tough against Samuels in the 8 as well, with the 1:54 man ultimately getting the W in 1:57.95. This meet featured a quality late night 32 with Gabe Lamm getting a strong win in 9:48 over Seth Slavin (9:50). Aplaugh and Geiger also had strong showings in the event.

Dallastown

Ben Wilson gets a solid win in 4:29 over 1600m, but what jumps out at me is Theo Kioussis who continues to excel on the track, running a 4:31-9:53 double. I'm not positive where Kioussis is AA or not (thought he was during XC, but can't remember) but if he is, that makes him another factor in the deep 3200m field.

Pine Grove

Jim Thorpe, one of my early teams to watch in the AA 4x8, had winners in the 8, 16 and 32, but Minersville got the best of them in the 4x8. Minersville has some strong legs on that relay to battle Thorpe's depth. Should be a nice match up to watch looking ahead to districts.

Wyalusing

Lakeland has a knack for putting it together in the mid distance. Mark Arzie gets the 800m gold in 2 flat, Nate Morgan grabs gold in the 16 in 4:28 (beating an excellent runner in Simon Smith) and their relays took the W in 8:33 for the 4x8 and a 3:25 4x4 to top things off. Morgan ran 4:21 last year and may have been able to grab a top 2 spot in the final if not for his busy relay schedule. The same thing applies this year, but maybe he will be a year stronger this go around. Jack Tidball runs 9:40 in the 32 and Scranton Prep's Ben Evans (excellent race at XC states) finishes second in 9:46. Keep an eye on Evans as another 32 contender.

Mars Invite

Over at the 4th planet from the Sun, Mike Kolor was doing some Martian like things in the 1600m, winning by 10+ seconds in a time of 4:16 over a field that included top tier talents like Heinauer, Mackey and Krist (4:26, 4:27, 4:26). Kolor has already run a 1:55.0 in a strong challenge of Graca at Butler and now adds the state leading 1600m mark, ahead of Jaxson Hoey's Warrior mark. Is anyone ready to crown a 1600m state champ? Because they shouldn't be, the thing is totally up for grabs and that makes me excited. 

In the 3200m Heinauer edged out Mackey 9:33 to 9:34. Mackey has already made a name for himself as a title contender in the AA 32 this spring, but Heinauer is quietly climbing into my top tier of guys in the state. He doesn't have the flashy time (yet), but he has a slew of quality wins and has nice speed at 1600m to couple with it. 

Unionville

There were quite a few Penn Relays doubles that turned heads this weekend as pointed out by our own RJJLs comments on a previous post. Wills, one of the rising stars from Friday night, came back to add a 4:22 PR in the 16. His former teammate Josh Hoey added a PR in the 800m at 1:58.30 and Josh Coakley from Twin Valley clocked a 1:56.73 for the win in that event. As I mentioned before, Coakley is taking off as an individual for Twin Valley and we will see how long he stays tied to the relay.

Not to repeat too much of what RJJL discussed, but Diestelow had a very nice race for the victory in 1600m in a PR of 4:20. However, his spotlight was likely stolen from him by another West Chester runner in Jimmy Cook who blasted a 4:23 PR for third. I was impressed with Cook's 32 from a few weeks back, but I didn't see this kind of drop coming. That's awesome for him to hit an SQS type mark. Now the question becomes will SQS marks be fast enough to get to states out of D1? Will they even be fastest enough to get to the finals? Sounds like a mailbag question to me ...

Also worth noting was a strong 1600m from Unionville's Hall on his home track (4:26) and a nice run by Ilgenfritz in the 32 at 9:44.

Westmoreland

Norwin is on the rise. 8:16 for the 4x8 in a solid win isn't breaking necks, but you can see the pieces starting to come together. Quealy ran an excellent 1:56 in a tight duel with Nick Wagner from Penn Trafford (took gold in 1:56 as well) and looks like a strong leader for his squad's relay. Also impressive was Eric Kennedy's double gold in 4:34-10:11.

McDowell

It seems like Jeff VanKooten is rounding into killer shape. He likely ran a key leg on PCC's 8:10 1st place relay and then added a 9:30 win in the 3200m to show his range around his best event, the 16. Pitt CC is now a sleeper contender in the WPIAL 4x8 as well.

Mercyhurst Prep burst onto the scene this spring with a strong 8:15 4x8 and a statement day from Sebastian Curtin who ran 4:23 and 2:00 for the win. His brother Noah, a state medalist in XC, added a 4:36/9:54 double to the equation. After their impressive stretch run in XC that included a sub 16 by Seb Cur and a top tier team finish, it's hard to doubt this squad looking ahead. 

South Fayette

Shaun Hay of Winchester Thurston continues to excel and add another dimension to this loaded squad. He runs 4:34 for gold. Todd Gunzenhauser returns to indoor form in a big way, dropping a statement win in 9:38 over a very good runner in Jake Susalla (9:55).

Springfield

Colin Abert is hitting his zone and much like Kanye the rest of the state does not want to let him get in his zone (see Paul Short for details). Abert adds a dominant 4:19 win to his 9:17 PR and continues to roll as a dangerous sleeper in whatever event he chooses. Personally, I'm hoping he goes 32 this year although history says 16 (seems like his preferred event). Nice run by Sean McGinnis of Phoenixville for 2nd (4:26) and Kevin Lapsansky had a strong showing in the 32 in his own right, running 9:46. 

Washington-Greene

Ethan Linderman looked great at this meet, clocking 4:26 and 9:43 in a double gold performance, edging out Nick Wolk by .01. Sean Hilverding was the silver medalist in the 32, running 9:45 (another big name to add into the loaded AA 32 crew). Cody Divecchio ran 4:38 and 10:02,  both solid times, but I think there is more to come from him. He hit his stride the last few weeks of XC and I wouldn't be surprised if something similar happens this outdoors.

Lock Haven

Mifflin County wins the 4x8 in 8:14, continuing to showcase some excellent competitiveness and drive. When they meet Altoona and SC at districts, they won't be intimidated. Maybe 3 teams qualify for states out of D6? Lewisburg's 8:22 caught my eye as well as a solid mark.

Dylan Gearinger stole the spotlight in the 16, roaring to a 4:24.1 victory over Quincy Amabile (4:27). Amabile added a 9:40 in the 32 to continue his killer outdoor campaign. But Gearinger should really turn heads with his win, he's an interesting mile wildcard by states.

Griffin Molino added a 1:56.7 to his resume with a convincing 800m victory. I'm curious what Molino plans to do for states as he has run the 32 the past two years but also boasts a 4:12 PR, roughly 7 seconds faster than reigning state champ Dom Peretta has run. We may get a better feel for Griff's plans if he runs Henderson again this weekend.

The real headline from the meet may have been Bryce Descavish's 9:34 3200m victory. That was an excellent run and catapults him to the top tier group of AA runners this spring. Wow this AA 32 is loaded ... Sounds like another made up mailbag question in the making.

Also small shout to John Lewis (absurd 52-47-47.0 triple), Dave Marrington (52 400 hurdles), Donovan St. Louis and others on great sprint performances at Penn. I called 5 straight heats correctly in the 4x4 thanks to you guys and my friends thought I knew way more than k should have.