AA
A year ago, Domenic Peretta hoped to better his 1:52.77 PR in the state final of the 800m and maybe break the 1:51.96 state meet record. Ultimately, his legs didn't cooperate with his efforts to hammer things home and he furiously exited the track with a gold medal and only a 1:54.
It was that image that stuck in my head when I was trying to get excited for a Peretta record as the AA 800m prepared to go off. I knew Peretta was stronger, more mature and, most importantly, faster than he was a year ago, but I also knew there was little time between events and he was not going to be pushed at all. So while I did predict a record here on the blog (I won't deny I was wrong), I wasn't as bold as the penntrack poster who told Grift to kiss his record goodbye.
Peretta hammered it from the front and no one was in a position to come along. A 54ish first lap made me feel pretty nervous for a record attempt, but he is much more likely to be close to an even split than Lewis so it was still in play. However, in an eerily reminiscent finish to last year, Peretta tied up a bit on the final straight and furiously crossed the line. You could see him struggle with every muscle of his body as he agonizingly watched the clock tick 1:50-1:51-1:52 and he wasn't quite there.
I provide the agonizing details here not to criticize Peretta or make him relive a bad memory, but to set the stage for what is to come. Dom is a 4:10-1:51 guy with 4 golds who has been significantly better than his competition on the track since his sophomore year. With all due respect to his competitors, he has yet to be challenged by anything besides his own shadow and a clock. But if he does make the trip to Henderson for the MoC races, he will get the best competition he could possibly get. I thought he was leaning towards 1600m next week, but this latest moment of disappointment at states may light a fire and spark a switch to the 800m for a battle with Lewis, McDevitt (probably, he could conceivably choose the mile) and others (maybe Sauer, Eddinger, etc). That's a field that, if it meets a pissed off and motivated Dom, could produce a thrilling race. There's no better situation for DP to chase that sub 1:50 time he keeps mentioning.
But enough about Peretta, I'm sure we will have plenty to talk about with him looking ahead. Let's take a quick look back at some other top performances.David Fletcher has had a really nice season and states was a great final moment for him. The Junior nearly pulled the team to 2nd on the anchor leg of the 4x8, but ended up having to settle for third. Then in the 800m, he timed his kick better and stormed away down the final straightaway for silver. Clay Stabolepszy has had a great season as well and caps it off with a top 3 finish here. Aaron Morris from Spingfield returns next year as does Fletcher (and of course Peretta) and he is a compelling story looking ahead. He came out of left field to run his 1:56 at Districts and now ends up 4th here in the final. JDL rounds out the top five nicely, especially considering he gunned it out very fast on the opening lap of the 4x8 and was probably running on fumes for this run.
AAA
What a dominant performance from John Lewis. He blasted it out the gate incredibly quick, running 24-51.1 on my watch and instantly taking over the field. I think 51.1 was probably a bit rich (the NCAA championships often gets out about that fast and Rudisha's world record was probably only 49 high or so going through), but he smartly backed off a bit from 400 to 600. He backed off so much that I thought Graca had a chance to get him. Graca went hard from 400 to 600 and went for the gold which you definitely have to respect. If he sat back and let Sauer or Eddinger take the work over that stretch, he very well could have ended up with the Silver. However, he went for gold and/or sub 1:50 and you have to respect the guts.
Meanwhile, Lewis powered away the final 200m and looked incredibly strong and powerful over the final 100 as he managed to hold and barely dip under Magaha's record. I'd love to see Lewis a bit more reserved through 100m, maybe having a rabbit guide him a bit, but maybe that would be more of a problem than a help. He thought he went out in 50 seconds and he treats the 800m as one long sprint so maybe he needs to be flat out the whole way to be successful. I just feel something closer to 52 would allow him to come home faster and maybe power into the 1:48 low/1:47 high range which would be absurd. If he somehow dips under 1:48 at Henderson/Nationals he becomes an All Time great nationally. Top 10 All-Time type stuff. And it's worth noting another runner this year from Michigan has run 1:48.0 so he could provide Lewis with the necessary push for a breakthrough (or if Lewis continues to get out fast, he's the perfect rabbit for someone else to run really, really fast).
In second place, kicking home, Alek Sauer beat out the fresh legs of Dylan Eddinger and both men ran blazing fast times in the low 1:51s (Sauer at the lowest possible 1:51, 1:51.00 and Eddinger at 1:51.19). Sauer had a fantastic weekend. Really impressive. As I mentioned in the 4x8 recap he made a leap from great to all time great and is now a borderline top 10 all time PA 800m runner. And Eddinger seems to have made the right decision going all in on the 800m. I always thought Eddinger had the potential to be really good, but just seeing 1:51.19 next to his name is still hard to wrap your mind around. He was racing really well last year and I think his experience with Mercado on the relay taught him a bit of how good he could be and what it takes to reach a top level. Boyertown is a quietly very strong program.
Graca rounds out 4 guys under 1:52. His 1:51.97 is his fastest time ever outdoors and was a gutsy performance. That kind of mark wins states the majority of years and I believe this is the first time we've seen 4 PA guys sub 1:52 in the same race. Certainly the first time at states that I can remember. Just a loaded race and like the 3200m, somebody has to finish in the back, doesn't mean the guys aren't studs. Awesome season for Graca who made huge strides in the past two years.
Matt Wisner becomes the top returner for states next year and will be the only returning medalist. Joining him from the finals will be Thomas Nicewicz from Mechanicsburg and Sean Sullivan from Bonner, two guys I didn't even pick to make finals (Sullivan was my biggest regret looking back. I was sitting at work when I saw Bonner didn't make finals in the 4x8 and thought, man Sullivan is gonna come back with a vengeance and make finals, big regret not picking him from the gun). Nicewicz really impressed and it goes to show you his potential when he is focused on the 800m rather than splitting time with the 16. Wisner really blossomed into a star, starting with indoors, and it was a break through I definitely did not see coming, Is he ready to be a state champion? The good news is he has a guy who knows a thing or two about that in the locker room to talk to a bit more before the year ends.
Khai Samuels really came back strong over the stretch run. He was another one of those guys who just needed the right race and competition to drop a big PR. And dang how about that crazy 4x4 time that Pleasant Valley dropped? Wow, did not see that coming. Awesome job by this D11 squad. Dan Williams finishes off a quality season as well, dropping a 1:54.18 after a monster split on the 4x8. And lastly, Ethan Gatchell, the brother of our own Caleb Gatchell, cracked through the 1:55 barrier for the first time after sitting there for something like 5 800s at that mark. His 1:53.73 was good enough for 7th in this loaded field and was a long time coming based on his excellent and consistent season. Congrats to him on the state medal.
But enough about Peretta, I'm sure we will have plenty to talk about with him looking ahead. Let's take a quick look back at some other top performances.David Fletcher has had a really nice season and states was a great final moment for him. The Junior nearly pulled the team to 2nd on the anchor leg of the 4x8, but ended up having to settle for third. Then in the 800m, he timed his kick better and stormed away down the final straightaway for silver. Clay Stabolepszy has had a great season as well and caps it off with a top 3 finish here. Aaron Morris from Spingfield returns next year as does Fletcher (and of course Peretta) and he is a compelling story looking ahead. He came out of left field to run his 1:56 at Districts and now ends up 4th here in the final. JDL rounds out the top five nicely, especially considering he gunned it out very fast on the opening lap of the 4x8 and was probably running on fumes for this run.
AAA
What a dominant performance from John Lewis. He blasted it out the gate incredibly quick, running 24-51.1 on my watch and instantly taking over the field. I think 51.1 was probably a bit rich (the NCAA championships often gets out about that fast and Rudisha's world record was probably only 49 high or so going through), but he smartly backed off a bit from 400 to 600. He backed off so much that I thought Graca had a chance to get him. Graca went hard from 400 to 600 and went for the gold which you definitely have to respect. If he sat back and let Sauer or Eddinger take the work over that stretch, he very well could have ended up with the Silver. However, he went for gold and/or sub 1:50 and you have to respect the guts.
Meanwhile, Lewis powered away the final 200m and looked incredibly strong and powerful over the final 100 as he managed to hold and barely dip under Magaha's record. I'd love to see Lewis a bit more reserved through 100m, maybe having a rabbit guide him a bit, but maybe that would be more of a problem than a help. He thought he went out in 50 seconds and he treats the 800m as one long sprint so maybe he needs to be flat out the whole way to be successful. I just feel something closer to 52 would allow him to come home faster and maybe power into the 1:48 low/1:47 high range which would be absurd. If he somehow dips under 1:48 at Henderson/Nationals he becomes an All Time great nationally. Top 10 All-Time type stuff. And it's worth noting another runner this year from Michigan has run 1:48.0 so he could provide Lewis with the necessary push for a breakthrough (or if Lewis continues to get out fast, he's the perfect rabbit for someone else to run really, really fast).
In second place, kicking home, Alek Sauer beat out the fresh legs of Dylan Eddinger and both men ran blazing fast times in the low 1:51s (Sauer at the lowest possible 1:51, 1:51.00 and Eddinger at 1:51.19). Sauer had a fantastic weekend. Really impressive. As I mentioned in the 4x8 recap he made a leap from great to all time great and is now a borderline top 10 all time PA 800m runner. And Eddinger seems to have made the right decision going all in on the 800m. I always thought Eddinger had the potential to be really good, but just seeing 1:51.19 next to his name is still hard to wrap your mind around. He was racing really well last year and I think his experience with Mercado on the relay taught him a bit of how good he could be and what it takes to reach a top level. Boyertown is a quietly very strong program.
Graca rounds out 4 guys under 1:52. His 1:51.97 is his fastest time ever outdoors and was a gutsy performance. That kind of mark wins states the majority of years and I believe this is the first time we've seen 4 PA guys sub 1:52 in the same race. Certainly the first time at states that I can remember. Just a loaded race and like the 3200m, somebody has to finish in the back, doesn't mean the guys aren't studs. Awesome season for Graca who made huge strides in the past two years.
Matt Wisner becomes the top returner for states next year and will be the only returning medalist. Joining him from the finals will be Thomas Nicewicz from Mechanicsburg and Sean Sullivan from Bonner, two guys I didn't even pick to make finals (Sullivan was my biggest regret looking back. I was sitting at work when I saw Bonner didn't make finals in the 4x8 and thought, man Sullivan is gonna come back with a vengeance and make finals, big regret not picking him from the gun). Nicewicz really impressed and it goes to show you his potential when he is focused on the 800m rather than splitting time with the 16. Wisner really blossomed into a star, starting with indoors, and it was a break through I definitely did not see coming, Is he ready to be a state champion? The good news is he has a guy who knows a thing or two about that in the locker room to talk to a bit more before the year ends.
Khai Samuels really came back strong over the stretch run. He was another one of those guys who just needed the right race and competition to drop a big PR. And dang how about that crazy 4x4 time that Pleasant Valley dropped? Wow, did not see that coming. Awesome job by this D11 squad. Dan Williams finishes off a quality season as well, dropping a 1:54.18 after a monster split on the 4x8. And lastly, Ethan Gatchell, the brother of our own Caleb Gatchell, cracked through the 1:55 barrier for the first time after sitting there for something like 5 800s at that mark. His 1:53.73 was good enough for 7th in this loaded field and was a long time coming based on his excellent and consistent season. Congrats to him on the state medal.
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