4x800m Recap

By etrain11

AA

Wyomissing dominated the 4x800m this weekend. It was right after one leg, but second leg Heriberto Colon broke things open with a first lap around 55 seconds and the lead he opened up was never relinquished. A variety of teams threw down impressive anchor performances but Shinn was well clear of the group with reserves in the tank and took down a sub 8 clocking for gold.

I really doubting Wyomissing going in. They had a Frosh lead off leg, a tired DiCintio doubling back from the 3200m and anchor Kyle Shinn had the 1600m final looming. I thought all of these factors would let other teams in the race and some anchor legs (the field was loaded with top tier anchors) would find a way to bring it home.

But I was very wrong and the victory speaks volumes of the depth, poise and dominance that Wyomissing has displayed this year. Behind Shinn and DiCintio their XC team had one of the best stretch runs in AA. Shinn followed with an indoor medal in the mile and the crew capped things off with a 7:56 SB and a gold medal, the only sub 8 team in AA this spring. The lead also allowed Shinn to conserve a bit for the crowded 16 which would prove to be crucial.

Behind Wyomissing was a thrilling anchor battle with legs like Fletcher, Curtin, Gross, Lutzner, Morgan, Trimble and Lamison in an all out dog fight for the medal spots. That group includes two 1600 finalists and four 800 finalists including 2nd place finishers Curtin and Fletcher. There was plenty of jockeying and it came down to the final 100m to sort it all out with Nate Morgan having a huge day to deliver for Lakeland. Lakeland continues to prove itself as a mid distance powerhouse in AA and Morgan caps off a clutch career on the anchor.

Trinity also proved they are a program that can never be forgotten. Year after year Trinity finds a way to compete with the top teams in AA and challenge the 8 minute mark. This year was no different as they had easily their best race of the season here in the state final for 4th. 

I'd love to know some more splits from this race if they are out there as I feel like there were some special performances I would like to recognize. If you have them, feel free to comment or send information my way.

AAA

If you scroll down you can see both a video of this race (taken by Paul Hayes) and my best attempt to compile names and splits for all the relays based on that video and my sources. It's far from exact so if you have splits and names please send them in so we can update the file more completely. In the mean time, I will undergo analysis based on my understanding of the names and splits as listed in the post below.

Pennsbury runs 7:38 to join the sub 7:40 club for PA. That's a pretty exclusive group with only CB South, North Penn, Abington and CB West going under in recent years. Pennsbury is the first team since South to actually run their 7:40 mark at the state championships. A big part of the breakthrough time (it was about a 5 second PR for the relay) was sophomore Eric Kersten. In a loaded first leg (basically everyone was through in 56 or faster and in the 1:55-1:57 range), the youngest member of his squad with perhaps the least experience delivered yet again on the always difficult lead off position, splitting 1:55 and, perhaps more importantly, handing off neck and neck with the leaders. 

From there Sam Webb threw down a monster second lap of his 2nd leg to give Mulvaney a fairly comfortable lead. Webb's split was a blistering 1:53. Worth noting that before this year I'm not sure Webb was ever faster than 1:57-1:58 on the relay and he made a big change from 2 miler type to speedster for this relay, displaying impressive diversity of ability. I'm sure he has no regrets about the decision, even if it means passing on a possible sub 9.

Behind PB, there were two clear competitors developing (although it's worth noting that Penn Wood had an excellent showing through 2 legs to hang tough with the leaders as well). Pennridge and State College were battling hard behind the Orangemen and both second legs were under 1:55. SC's lone senior Eric Heatwole had a huge closing 100m that set everything up going forward for the little lions. Dan Williams had a big time split on the second leg (1:53ish) that got the Rams in striking position.

On the third leg, Mulvaney held a lead for most of the race, despite a 52ish first lap from Abington's third leg that briefly changed the race dynamics. On the final straight, State College and Pennridge made their big final charge, both runners splitting in the 1:56 range and Pennsbury hung tough for the close, knowing Sauer just needed it close.

That's just what he got. Sauer took the reigns and controlled the race, looking fast and smooth. Milligan and Desko were fighting impressively behind him, but Sauer was too much to handle. As he sprinted down the final straight away it was clear the squad was going to run a historic sub 7:40 mark. This has been a fantastic relay squad for 3 years and Sauer has been absolute money on the anchor leg for all of them. Same for Webb on the 2 spot. 

Sauer's split was in the 1:49 high, 1:50 low range depending on who you ask. The Sub 1:50 club is no joke and during Sauer's two races this weekend he took a big step from great relay runner and decent open 8 man to all time great relay runner and top tier elite open 8 runner. It was huge weekend for the Columbia recruit.

As for the race for second, Desko pulled away from Milligan, both men splitting killer 1:53s, with Desko's being in the low 1:53 range. What was amazing was these two squads last year were largely considered the best two 4x8 squads in the state. However, State College, the defending champions, graduated all 4 members of their state championship squad. Pennridge lost super star Joey Logue who split 1:51 for them a year ago while putting out almost an entirely new line up of their own in 2015. But that didn't stop either of these squads from breaking their school records with 7:40 and 7:41 marks respectively. And crazier still, I believe both relays return 3 runners from their squads, including the anchors. 

CB West broke clear of all chasers on Rock Fortna's anchor leg (which I clocked in the low 1:54 range) and ran an excellent time of their own for 4th. Would have been interesting to see Fortna in the mix on the anchor leg with Desko and Milligan (on a different day, it 100% could have happened). Keep in mind I believe West also returns 3 members of their relay including their anchor Fortna and freshman Jake Claricurzio.

DT West could have quite the group of returners for a 4x8 as well ... How fast does next year go?

Penn wood finishes the weekend sub 7:50! Never could I claim I saw this coming. What an awesome race by these guys, running gutsy throughout and hanging tough for 5th in a high quality field. It goes to show you that 400m runners can have strong success at the 800m if they are hard working and willing to give it a shot. Speaks volumes of the heart of this squad which was a top 4 or so team at nationals in the 4x4 this winter.

Cedar Crest and Abington both have a few returners if I remember correctly and had quality races this weekend. Based on the splits I took, both teams were well balanced and competitive, but could have used one huge stand out leg to make the next leap. Both of these programs are top notch and have produced state title teams in the past, so I'm watching to see what kind of marks they run next year.

Penncrest caps off another year with another state medal. They have been truly impressive in their consistency. Looks like Emmanuel really blasted out the gate on his leg and that may have caught up to him a bit at the end. I'd be very interested to see him toe the line in an open 8 at MOC in the high quality field. I think 1:52 and maybe even 1:52 is in play. Also have to give probs to Kamat for running a tough lead off leg that really set up this relay for success.