By: Garrett Zatlin
I finally had a weekend to actually sit down and focus on all the action that happened. There was a lot of great action around the nation this weekend and it was much more exciting than conference weekend last year.
There are tons of PA alumni info at the bottom. There were some outstanding performances at every level so please be sure to flip through some of those links at the bottom. I couldn't write them all down for time management purposes.
Finally, NCAA's start March 11th which gives myself and the other writers plenty of time to get ready for the big showdown. Stay tuned throughout the next two weeks for plenty of posts!
P.S.- There's probably some errors and typos in this right now and I typically don't proofread until the next morning so just a heads up in advance.
Big East Championships
800
Georgetown sophomore Joseph White throws down a 1:47.59 to win the Big East title. He has been consistent all season and could be a sleeper pick come NCAA's.
DMR
With knowledge of Oregon's attempt to get into NCAA's, Villanova knew they needed to run something fast if they wanted to survive. Nova went all out and survived the cutoff mark by running 9:29.71. However, they were not the champions. Georgetown took home the title running 9:28 thanks to Bartelsmeyer brining it home on the anchor.
Villanova better be sending thank you cards to Georgetown for making a fast race. If Villanova was all alone, there's a good chance they wouldn't have made it. Maybe Villanova called up Georgetown beforehand and asked to hop in even though Gtown has nothing to gain from it. That's just speculation, but it's a possibility.
Big 10 Championships
800
As if the 800 field wasn't good enough, Isiah Harris of Penn State continues to make it better. The true freshman has absolutely dominated this season by continually dropping his PR throughout the season. Harris ran got a convincing win with a time of 1:46.24. We have let Brazier get all of the fame for his 1:45, but Harris deserves some props. He has been a monster this season. Right on Harris' tail was Goaner Deng of Minnesota who ran 1:47.13 and qualified for NCAA's. Deng wasn't really in the mix to make this field until the second half of the season where he continued to drop to his PR. Deng has some big momentum heading into nationals.
Big 12 Championships
800
Tre'Tez Kinnaird (OKST) gets the win running 1:48.51
1000
The Oklahoma St. duo of Josh Thompson and Chad Noelle go 1-2 with a pair of 2:23's
ACC Championships
800
The freshmen have done quite well in the crowded 800 field this year. One of those freshmen was Robert Heppenstall of Wake Forest who got the ACC 800 title with a time of 1:47.35 to qualify him for NCAA's. Behind Heppenstall was Jake Burton (FSU) who ran 1:47.72 and also qualified for NCAA's. Neil Gourley (Virginia Tech) rounded out the top three with a 1:48.10.
If I'm just doing some quick thoughts, it's really impressive that Hepp and Burton got into NCAA's considering how fast this field has been. Gourley, on the other hand, got robbed. He runs 1:48.10 and doesn't make it to nationals. Any other year he does.
DMR
Virginia gets the win with a 9:36.27 while Syracuse falls just behind in 9:36.74 with Knight on the anchor. Virginia Tech rounded out the top three with a 9:38.
Unfortunately, with Nova and Oregon both running faster VT's top DMR time, Virginia Tech is the 13th team in the nation and is officially out of NCAA's. It's quite a shame especially for Neil Gourley who has run so well this season.
Other
Justyn Knight pulled off an outstanding triple by running the DMR (mile leg), 3k, and 5k. Knight ended the day with double gold in the 3k and 5k.
SEC Championships
800
It was one of the fastest races of the weekend with the freshman phenom Donovan Brazier taking the SEC title with a 1:46.08. Brazier has been dominating the best names in the nation and he hasn't had a bad race yet. He may be young, but he is very much the favorite for the NCAA title.
The next two in were Arroyo and Hector Hernandez (Texas A&M). Arroyo was 1:46.20 while Hernandez was 1:46.32. A time like that isn't too surprising for Arroyo (although still very impressive), but that is a huge time for Hernandez who has been sitting around 1:48 the entire season. He's been consistent, and has had some really nice races, but this is his first true break-out race.
Other
Ryan Walling (Ole Miss) gets double gold in the 3k (8:08) and 5k (13:56).
Mountain West Championships
800
Clay Lambourne (Utah State) runs 1:49.22 to get the win.
Mile
David Elliot (Boise State) wins the mile with a 4:09.
5000
Abbey and Mock (both of Colorado State) take the top two spots in the 5k running 14:34 and 14:36 respectively.
Hep's (Ivy League Championships)
3000
Awad runs 8:09 all alone to get the win in the first heat. However, it was Ben Rainero (Cornell), Joey Chapin (Dartmouth), and James Randon (Yale) that took the top three spots overall running 8:08.32, 8:08.47, and 8:09.63 respectively.
5000
Joey Chapin (Dartmouth) runs 14:25.96 FTW.
MPSF Championships
800
It was a heartbreaking finish for two men that were so close to the NCAA cutoff time. Robert Ford (USC) was the top finisher running 1:47.88 while Collins Kibet (Arizona) ran 1:48.04. It's a tough way to end the season for two competitors that have made so many efforts and still couldn't get in to nationals.
Third and fourth place were taken by Nick Hartle (UCLA) and Eugene Hamilton III (California) who ran 1:48.41 and 1:48.55 respectively.
Mile
There were so many incredible races this week, but this was by far the best one. Sean McGorty and Izaic Yorks lined up to go after a fast mile time before NCAA's and it was one heck of a race. McGorty and Yorks pulled away from the field during the second half of the race. Yorks and McGorty constantly pushed each other to the very end and when the dust settled, two 3:53's were displayed on the clock.
Yorks was the man who got the win with a 3:53.89 while McGorty was less than a step behind running 3:53.95. These times are monumental for each runner and would typically change the landscape of what they are going to run. Unfortunately, we won't see McGorty run the mile as he has already said in a Flotrack interview that he will be running the DMR/3k double. Yorks, however, will most likely go DMR/Mile. Could he take down Cheserek? That will be discussed later on this week...
There were also other impressive performances. Anass Zouhry of Cal. State Northridge made a name for himself running 3:58.87 to establish himself among the best D1 runners in the nation. Unfortunately, Zouhry is 26th in the nation right now and it is extremely unlikely that he will get into NCAA's.
Zach Perrin (Colorado) and Garrett Corcoran (California) both went under four in this race running 3:59 flat and 3:59.79 respectively.
3000
It was expected to be a fast race and that is exactly what we got. Pierce Murphy continues to put together solid race after solid race with a 7:51.51 and he could be a sleeper in whatever he chooses to run at nationals (3k, 5k, or both). Teammate Connor Winter was close behind running 7:51.85 while Reid Buchanan got himself requalified for NCAA's with a 7:52.66.
However, in my opinion, the most impressive runner in this race was the Oregon frosh Matthew Maton who ran 7:53.16. He didn't panic when the pace got quick and slowly worked his way up to the front to finish fourth. Right now he's the 18th fastest runner in the nation and I think that this race will barely get him into NCAA's after cuts.
Rounding out the top five was Morgan Pearson who ran 7:54.28.
5000
Aaron Nelson (Washington) got the dub with 13:49.72. It won't get him into NCAA's, but it's a nice win for a guy that is typically overshadowed by his talented teammates.
Behind Nelson were two freshmen. Rorey Linkletter of BYU beat out Colorado's John Dressel 13:52 to 13:53. Jim Rosa was fourth in 13:57 while CJ Albertson (Arizona State) rounded out the top five with a 13:58.
DMR
It was an all-or-nothing race for Oregon who needed to get under the 9:30.65 mark set by Virginia Tech (Villanova originally had the last spot until they improved their time at Big East's). After a 2:55 leg from Blake Haney and some nice separation from Chambers and Grosvenor, Prakel went to work. After a slow first 800 and the fear of not making nationals beginning to grow, Prakel made up for it and crossed the line in 9:29.89.
This Oregon squad just qualified for nationals without Edward Cheserek. They have to be the favorites for nationals now if Ches is on that relay. Also, should they consider putting Prakel in the 12 and letting Haney go fresh in the mile? That could be the better option...
PA ALUMNI SECTION
PSAC Results
Centennial Results
Middle Atlantic Results
800
Alek Sauer (Columbia): 2nd- 1:52.46 @ Hep's
Elias Graca (Penn): 3rd- 1:52.47 @ Hep's
John Lewis (Clemson): 8th- 1:49.83 @ ACC's
Nico Metzler (Georgia Tech): 15th- 1:53.13 @ ACC's
Billy Caldwell (Pittsburgh): 25th- 1:54.68 @ ACC'S
Andrew Koryak (Pittsburgh): 29th- 1:55.59 @ ACC's
Kyle Francis (Duke): 35th- 1:57.55 @ ACC's
Tom Fitzgerald (Elizabethtown): 2nd- 2:00.03 @ Landmark's
Sam Brooks (Elizabethtown): 5th- 2:02.80 @ Landmark's
Mile
Colin Abert (Penn State): 8th- 4:10.95 @ Big 10's
Alec Kunzweiler (Duke): 8th- 4:05.51 @ ACC's
James Hare (Pittsburgh): 28th- 4:25.55 @ ACC's
Curtis Watro (Carnegie Mellon): 4:18.47 @ UAA's
Zach Trama (Elizabethtown): 5th- 4:35.78 @ Landmark's
Andrew Lesko (Elizabethtown): 9th- 4:43.56 @ Landmark's
Caleb Gatchell (Hillsdale): 3rd- 4:20.62 @ GLIAC's
Vinny Todaro (High Point): 1st- 4:20.12 @ Big South's
Ryan Gil (Oregon): 6th- 4:01.12 @ MPSF's
Thomas Coyle (Stanford): 9th- 4:05.32 @ MPSF's
3000
Ean DiSilvio (Penn State): 13th- 8:13.75 @ Big 10's
Daniel Jaskowak (Virginia Tech): 6th- 8:08.53 @ ACC's
Aaron Lauer (Pittsburgh): 30th- 8:22.08 @ ACC's
Kevin James (Syracuse): 35th- 8:35.02 @ ACC's
Matt McGoey (Pittsburgh): 38th- 8:39.81 @ ACC's
Ryan Archer (Carnegie Mellon): 11th- 8:48.95 @ UAA's
Sam Cooper (Elizabethtown): 1st- 8:55.77 @ Landmarks
Zach Trama (Elizabethtown): 5th- 9:11.21 @ Landmark's
Vinny Todaro (High Point): 2nd- 8:27.52 @ Big South's
Seamus Collins (Cincinnati): 13th- 8:39.43 @ American's
5000
Brenden Shearn (Penn): 4th- 14:34.67 @ Hep's
Ross Wilson (Penn): 10th- 14:45.80 @ Hep's
Max Norris (Columbia): 13th- 14:49.51 @ Hep's
Dominic Deluca (Cornell): 14th- 14:51.70 @ Hep's
Glen Burkhardt (Penn State): 9th- 14:09.66 @ Big 10's
Ean DiSilvio (Penn State): 18th- 14:24.89 @ Big 10's
Brent Kennedy (Notre Dame): 22nd- 14:31.78 @ ACC's
Sebastian Curtin (Pittsburgh): 34th- 15:21.41 @ ACC's
Ryan Archer (Carnegie Mellon): 8th- 15:09.44 @ UAA's
Zach Trama (Elizabethtown): 1st- 15:41.29 @ Landmark's
Sam Cooper (Elizabethtown): 2nd- 15:41.44 @ Landmarks
Vinny Todaro (High Point): 5th- 15:08.61 @ Big South's
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