Steph Curry Hits D3

By Caleb Gatchell

If we’re going to be honest, last year was a bit of a dud for District 3 on the distance side, with the exception of the 3200 and one Zach Brehm. This year though, there’s a lot of intrigue in all the distance races, and quite frankly, the competition is a lot better. We have Brehm attempting his patented quadruple once again, as well as some interesting doubles and triples, so let’s get right to it.

I’ll start with the 4x8. The top two seeds, Governor Mifflin and Wilson, are the only two teams who have run sub-8 this year so far, coming in at 7:58 and 7:59 respectively. In a way, I almost feel bad for these teams, because they could run those times and get blown out of the water by Carlisle and Cedar Crest. In my book, those two teams are the run-away favorites for the district title. We are all well aware of Carlisle’s 1-2 punch of Brehm and Wisner, both having run 1:53.64 this year. Add to that Joe DeAngelo who has run 4:27, and Brandin Dyche who has run 2:03 in the open 800, and you have a very potent relay. This is one that reminds me a little bit of Cumberland Valley when they had Brady Miller and Scott St. Peter right around 2:00, Alex Coburn at 1:55ish, and then Alec Kunzweiler bringing it home in 1:52-53. If it weren’t for an inspired run from Kyle Francis, that team would have been state champs, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Carlisle could make a run at that as well. Zach Brehm can run with almost anyone in the state, and I feel pretty confident Wisner can fill the role Coburn did for CV, just making sure he puts Brehm in a position to strike. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Carlisle run around 7:48 this weekend. Don’t forget about Cedar Crest though. While they don’t have a superstar, they are a very solid team, and could give Carlisle a bit of trouble. Jesse Cruise is running phenomenally for a sophomore coming in with a season best of 1:55.44 in the open 800. Cedar Crest has two other sub-2 800 guys in Jared Glosser and Matt Royer who have run 1:58 and 1:59 respectively. Then there is the other Cruise, Jordan, who has run 4:23. While they don’t have the superstar legs on the back end, Cedar Crest does have the potential to open up a bit of a gap on the first 2 legs. The question will be, can they hold on? I don’t think they can, but I do think they will run very well, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the 7:52-54 range.  Behind them I think Governor Mifflin and Wilson will be in an excellent race for 3rd. That will almost definitely come down to the anchor leg, and I have to give Nick Mahon the slight edge. Finally, I think Twin Valley will round out the state qualifying spots in 5th behind a strong anchor leg from Josh Coakley. One team to keep an eye on is Milton Hershey, as they could sneak under the SQS in 6thand get themselves to States. It looks like they have a few pretty solid 400 runners stepping up in distance on their relay, which could be interesting. I’m sure they will get out quickly, we’ll just have to see if they can hold on. 

Just to recap:
1: Carlisle-7:48.59
2: Cedar Crest-7:52.87
3: Wilson-7:58.88
4: Governor Mifflin-7:59.23
5: Twin Valley-8:02.54

Next let’s look at the 1600. This event is really intriguing after Brehm as the next 5 spots are within 1.6 seconds of each other. I think Brehm is the clear favorite here, despite it being his third event. He’s shown that he can pull this quadruple off year after year, and I don’t think this will be any different. I see him coming away with the win pretty handily, although he will probably conserve some energy and just win it on a kick in the last 2 or 300. Behind him things get interesting. I really like Nathan Henderson of J.P. McCaskey. Even though he will be on the triple from the 3200 and the 4x800, he’s a tough kid, and I think he’ll have enough for 2nd. Will Sponaugle has progressed really well over his career at Hershey, and I think he will take home 3rd and earn a trip to states. He’s got some good speed with a solid 2 flat 800 pr, and I think that will serve him well over the last 400 of this race. Jesse Cruise is another runner who would benefit from a more tactical race, and I think he will also close very well to grab the 4th spot. Finally, I’m also a big fan of Josh Coakley of Twin Valley. I think he will also be well served by his speed and will grab the 5th and final automatic bid to states. I do think the next 2 spots will dip under the SQS though, and I think Sean Weidner and Brian Delaney are the names to watch there. Weidner has progressed really well over his career, and I think despite coming off the double, he will run very well here and nab a spot to states. Brian Delaney is a name we haven’t heard a lot from during track, but he had an excellent cross country season, and I think he’s setting himself up to peak at just the right time.

1: Brehm-4:19.87
2: Henderson-4:20.43
3: Will Sponaugle-4:20.65
4: Jesse Cruise-4:20.88
5: Josh Coakley-4:21.22

I think the 800 is the most intriguing event of the meet. We have Brehm running his 4th and final event of the weekend, and the biggest threat to him is his own teammate Matt Wisner. After that we have a whole group of guys at 1:55 including Ethan Gatchell, Brook Wilson, and Jesse Cruise. Interestingly, Brook did not compete at the YAIAA championships, so we’ll see if he shows up this weekend. I am going to assume he will. I think Brehm’s tired legs will get to him here, and I think he will get beat by not only his teammate, but also Ethan Gatchell and Brook Wilson. Especially in the 800 the importance of fresh legs cannot be understated, and I think that will be on full display this weekend. I think Brehm will still run pretty quick, and I see him getting 4th. I think Jesse Cruise will take the final automatic bid in 5th, but I think we will see 8 guys go in all. Watch out for Josh Coakley, Nick Mahon, Jared Luckanitz, and Thaddeus Cwiklinski to battle it out for these three spots. I think Luckanitzand Cwiklisnki are the 2 locks, since they will have fresher legs. Behind them Coakley and Mahon will battle it out for that all important 8th spot, and I think Coakley will have just enough to hold Mahon off. On the whole, I think this race will be very close, and very fun to watch. 

1: Wisner-1:53.45
2: Gatchell-1:53.89
3: Wilson-1:54.75
4: Brehm-1:54.95
5: Cruise-1:56.53

Finally, we have the 3200. There’s a lot going on in this race, including Brehm’s first race of his patented districts quadruple. While he is not seeded very well, I have a tough time imagining he won’t be up at the front in this race as well. In fact, I think he will pull away from Aaron Gebhart in the last 600 to take his first victory of the weekend. I think Gebhart will hold on for second. While he has been very quiet this outdoor season, he is coming off a great indoor season, and much like Brehm, he has shown an excellent ability to peak at just the right times. Look for that to happen again this weekend with a runner-up finish. Behind him I think Sean Weidner will finish 3rd. He has run very well this outdoor season, and I think he’ll be rewarded with a trip to states. After that, I see Nathan Henderson taking 4th. He’s been on a roll recently, and he’s a tough racer. I’d be very surprised if he didn’t earn himself a spot in the top five. Finally, I think Ben Schott will take 5th. He has been quietly running some very solid times this season, and while he was bested by Gebhart and the YAIAA championships, I think he will make some noise this weekend and receive some well-deserved recognition for his hard work. I think Aiden Demko, Theo Kioussis, and Brady Wilt are all names to keep an eye on as sleeper top 5 finishers, but ultimately, I don’t see any of them earning an auto bid to states.

1: Brehm-9:20.45
2: Gebhart-9:23.58
3: Weidner-9:24.39
4: Henderson-9:27.89
5: Schott-9:29.73