1600m Recap

By etrain11

AA

Defending champion Domenic Peretta knew it was his race to lose. He had the fastest PR by nearly 3 seconds and those closest to him on paper (Molino, Curtin) were on the double from earlier events. Although Peretta worked to maintain position at the front for the entire race (it's clear he hates to be passed in any situation) he didn't necessarily pound out the pace it would take for the sub 4:10 mark he had earlier claimed he wanted. But the main goal, repeating as state champ, was never really in doubt despite a few mid race challenges.

Peretta won the race by nearly 5 seconds and looked incredibly smooth. It would have been awesome to see him mixed in the AAA race, a race he certainly could have won, but maybe we see some super version of that at Henderson MoC next week. 

Sebastian Curtin claimed second in a hotly contested sprint to the finish. Although Mercyhurst didn't get the result they were hoping for in the 4x8, Curtin still had enough to put on the jets and grab silver. This is the second straight year that Sebastian was runner up to Peretta and I believe it marks his 3rd silver medal at states. Kyle Shinn, who slipped in for 3rd, added a quality bronze to his gold from the 4x8 and really impressed me with his doubling ability. I knew fresh he had the ability to finish this high, but doing it on the double was awesome.

Brian Hackman grabbed 4th just ahead of Molino who took 5th. Kyle Gonoude, Cooper Leslie and Amir Gordon rounded out the scoring 8. This was a big race for Hackman and Gonoude. Hackman had a tough D6 meet, but clearly was re-energized once he had the opportunity to focus on one event rather than attempt a triple. Gonoude was 3rd here a year ago, but he had shown few flashes of that past greatness. Turns out he just needed to get the right competition as Gonoude dropped down to 4:21 and grabbed yet another state medal. Great double by Cooper Leslie as well who ran a tough 3200 for 9th in a deep field, but was able to regroup and grab a medal in the 16.

AAA

After a quick opening 200m, things began to drag in the 16, a fact that the top names in the field seemed prepared to accept. Eventually, Jeff VanKooten, the top seed at 4:10.72, felt the need to charge to the front and try and grind out the final 800m as he did at districts. This was probably a wise move as a year previously he was unable to hang onto the blistering kicks of Zach Brehm and Billy Caldwell and had to settle for 3rd.

As VanKooten pushed, it became a clear 4 man race for the title. Kolor seemed the most tired, Hoey appeared to be in ideal position and Sam Webb was somewhat improbably still right in the mix despite his 1:53 4x8 leg. Jaxson made his biggest push for home somewhere around 300-250 and sprinted hard for home. It seemed he had the title on lock, but on the home straight JVK was hanging around just enough to make the crowd wonder whether Hoey had went too soon. Up until maybe 20 meters to go, Hoey seemed to be clear but then one final charge by VanKooten made it quite close, with Hoey barely hanging on for gold. 

Behind the top 4, Alex Milligan uncorked his own impressive double, finding a late surge for 5th with Kravitz, Josh Hoey and Jacob Stupak rounding out the medals.

This was a big win for Jaxson and a heartbreaking loss of VanKooten. Jaxson had proven himself in a variety of ways as a sophomore (9:05 for 3200m and 4:11 equivalent for 1500), but he had yet to produce state gold. After an injury sidelined him and left him off the radar for a few months, he climbed back into shape and used his tactics to race to an undefeated record at 1600m in a DT West uniform. It's hard not to be impressed by what he's accomplished on limited training, but how will he handle a field that may include a fresh Brehm and Peretta at Henderson (two guys with well known speed)? And then of course there is the Hoey v Brophy XC discussion ... But we are getting ahead of ourselves a ways ....

This also marks the 5th time since 2007 a Junior has won the AAA 1600m state title. None of the previous 4 repeated as Seniors. 

Jeff VanKooten ran an awesome race and, although he won't be remembered as a state champ, he's certainly one of the best WPIAL milers I've seen. The D7 drought in the event continues (I believe the last champ was 2002, Sam Bair). But there is hope. Kolor had a fantastic Junior season and although he too struggled, this was easily his biggest moment in the spotlight of his career, his first individual state final. He had realistic hopes for gold, but with an extra year of seasoning, strength and speed Kolor should be back with a vengeance next year.

Sam Webb might be the best doubler I can remember. The 4x8-16 double has been done well before, but a 1:53-4:12 double for gold and bronze is reasonably unprecedented (Palm, Endress and maybe Crits are the other guys in the convo for best doubler). Combine that with his memorable 3200m-4x8 doubles as a sophomore and junior and you are looking at an absurd display of range. Going into this year, Webb was a 3200m guy who had the ability to be a decent 800m leg and gutsy racer, but the general consensus (at least from those I knew) was that he was a distance guy more so than a speed guy. This year he split a 1:53 at states, blowing the race open for his squad and added a 4:12 race (probably in the 2:10-2:02 range for splits). Seeing all the sub 9 guys who have developed this year, it's hard for me to doubt Webb as another guy who could have joined that last, but he was willing to sacrifice those types of individual goals to ensure he could give everything to his 4x8. Huge props to Webb.

Speaking of doubling, Alex Milligan had quite the meet running 1:53-4:17.0, both fairly sizable PRs. I wasn't picking Milligan to even get through prelims in the event and once I saw his gutsy split in the relay and his straight to the back opening 200m, I pretty much counted him out. So much so that when I was talking to some State College guys after the race I just assumed Milligan had finished out of the medals and probably sounded really stupid saying, "Alex looked pretty tired out there" considering the final 200m he had. Milligan's clutch ness resume is starting to grow to a 2 pager when you consider his XC finishes at districts and states, his quality 4x8 anchors indoors and outdoors and now this excellent 16. I don't think I'm going to be able to grab him as a late round sleeper in this year's fantasy XC draft to say the least ....

Kravitz returns next year and with a 4:17 run should be happy. I think a more even pace may have suited him better, but in a year's time he may be more comfortable in a tactical style race. He just needs a bit more experience. Josh Hoey already seems like a experienced senior. Hard to believe the kid is just a freshman. He grabs 7th at states, splits a monster anchor indoors on the DMR and was Malvern Prep's top runner at independent states to start off his high school career. 

In other news, North Allegheny continues to churn out studs. After a great finish to his XC season, Stupak had another killer close this track season, finishing the spring with a 4:19 PR and a state medal. NA loses their top 3 from their state title tea this year in XC, meaning Stupak will have some big shoes to fill. However, he showed he has the potential to continue the NA individual medalist streak next fall.

These top 50 rankings are going to be really difficult ... But like I said ... I'm getting ahead of myself ...