The Gold Recap: I Finally Made It Back From My Run

Well, I’m sad readership. After hours lost on a local running trail with a rolled ankle, only one of you was concerned enough to comment and make sure I was ok! And even that one was a seemingly sarcastic reply rather than an earnest statement of sympathy. I’m sure some of you probably thought I went for a run, came back and decided to do something else other than my post. Well that sounds perfectly reasonable, but it’s definitely not that. It’s definitely the completely ridiculous thing.

Gold Recap

This was a big test for the state’s elite teams. Here at Hershey, we would get a good idea for which teams had a realistic chance at the state title as almost all of the team’s in the “Strong Contender for a Breakthrough” category were here. At the top of this list were two WPIAL squads: Seneca Valley and Mount Lebanon.

Now no WPIAL squad outside of North Allegheny has even placed in the top 3 at states in the last decade plus, but a couple schools have cracked the top five. Those schools include Seneca Valley (2016, 2007) and Mount Lebanon (2011). How about that, it almost seems like I planned it that way.

Prior to this race, I think most people had come on board with the idea that Mount Lebanon was the #1 team in the state as of mid-September so they had a big target on their back as they entered Foundation. Meanwhile, Seneca Valley had lost straight up to Lebo in a convincing match at RWB where the Hatton’s were missing their #1 runner. Yet Seneca Valley quickly turned the tables as, just like last year, it appears RWB may be their most lackluster performance of the season. Seneca Valley stole this one with their front three which includes known studs in Sam Owori and Seth Ketler, but also the rising transfer stand out Connor Volk-Klos. That top three was all across the finish before 2^nd place Boyertown or 3^rd place Lebo had their #1 finish. That’s huge, especially when you consider, if it was a dual meet, the race would be over right there even if Seneca Valley’s #4 and #5 guys ran 35 minutes.

Of course, they weren’t even close to that mark. Aidan Domencic had a huge performance as he stepped up and finished 30^th overall. Alex Dixon brought it home in 47 and that clinched for SV who, by the way, had a top 4 of all juniors. Domencic would probably be my MVP for this team in this race as I didn’t see that result coming at all. It is worth noting, however, that there was about a 60 place gap between the #5 and #6 runners on the invite champs. I doubt the gap stays that big, but it’s something to keep an eye on. The other thing: has the foundation champion ever won states? I honestly don’t remember anyone doing it, but it’s possible.

As for Lebo, they still are contenders. Although they were 40 points back on race day, they didn’t have a big breakthrough from any of their top 3. No one ran bad, but I think if one guy steps up it pulls them all up the field. I also think Alex Brokaw is a guy with room to grow. He doesn’t have a lot of experience on this course, especially in a big time varsity race. The next time these guys race, the pressure will be off a little bit. I think the best thing that can happen for this team is to be underdogs going into WPIALs.

So I’m going to help feed that right now. There’s at least a path for Lebo to be bounced from states. North Allegheny at least has a path to catching up. They’ve got the front runner in McGoey and their #4 and #5 from this race were a sophomore and a freshman with limited experience on this course. Plus, TJ Robinson has been a scorer for this team in the past. He was their #7 on race day. If Robinson finishes in the Phillips-Turkovich group NA is right with Lebo and Spring Ford in the final standings. 4 quality teams for 3 spots. It’s gonna be rough for somebody.

Let’s jump to another district that’s gonna be rough for somebody. Of course after this weekend, it looks like it could be rough for multiple teams. The big two stand outs from the weekend were Boyertown and Spring Ford who took 2^nd and 4^th in a tight battle at the loaded Foundation invite. Boyertown knocked off Lebo with a similar strategy, using a 37 second spread. Josh Endy has proven he’s a legit front runner and sophomore Christian McComb is really coming into his own. This top three could be dynamic and Barton, Smyth and even Kollin Miller are all clearly very capable of being scorers on a state qualifier out of the toughest district. Keep in mind Miller ran 16:34 last year and has a 9:53 3200 PR. He’s going to be a valuable piece on the Lehigh pancake. I’m on board with these guys. They seem legit and I definitely have them slotted for a state spot.

Spring Ford has been out dueled by league rivals Boyertown three weeks in a row now, but I still haven’t given up on the Rams. The boys from Spring Ford have had some heartbreak at districts in the past and they are going to be very motivated. Plus, they just have a ton of talent. Look at freshman John Zawislak: he jumped all the way to the team’s #2 on one of the toughest courses around. Joseph Power and JT Clark also ran excellent races, both finishing in the top 45. Everybody seems ready to step up in moments of hardship which could be needed at Districts. Shane Ainscoe and Zach Smith, both top 5 guys last weekend, were the #6 and #7 this weekend but have the potential to contribute and keep the team honest. To top it off McKenna looks awesome as the front runner and seems like Spring Ford’s best shot at a medal since Paul Power.

Those two squads should be strong contenders, perhaps even favorites for a state qualifying spot, but a few other long shots made their mark this weekend as well. Owen J Roberts, CB East and Great Valley are all lingering as contenders. Have to give credit Owen J. They were 6^th overall in this race and used Liam Conway’s front running to their advantage. Plus they had the 2^nd best JV squad in the meet behind only Mount Lebanon. That’s pretty wild. There are scorers for this team that were running on the JV squad this weekend so there is even more room to improve for these guys. CB East also had a scorer on their proverbial bench as Sean Lahetta won the JV race at Foundation. East only has one senior in the varsity squad. As for Great Valley, I’m impressed by this team’s pack. They had just one top 50 finisher will make them a real long shot in District 1, but they could be a top 10 team in the state for sure. They have a little 2009 Upper Dublin in them (look it up). Shout out GV.

Individually, Rusty Kujdych rolled to yet another big time invitational victory. He ended up going through in a modest 8:03 to start and then opened up a strong gap en route to the finish in the #2 time of the day (16:14). Dan McGoey, just a sophomore, pulled out a big performance of his own with a 16:27. He’s looking more and more like a top 10 guy at states. We’ve had a top 3 sophomore each of the past two seasons at AAA states. Could we see another one?

Liam Conway reminded us he has legit XC ability, even on a grueling state course. Mitchell Etter proved that he is ready to do big things at the front of the field. I think Etter has a chance to grow even more as he gets more comfortable at the front of the state scene. Keep in mind Feffer was 11^th last year after a similar performance. Ben Hoyer of Wissahickon looked awesome with his 5^th place finish ahead of a long list of Top 50 guys. He will likely be one of the biggest movers in the rankings this week.

District 11’s top guy was Colin Cramer. Big result for the Southern Lehigh runner who was on my preseason top 50 because of his upside. Franklin Cunningham of Hazleton was (to me at least) a surprise as the #1 D2 guy. Cunningham has a nice resume (I believe he was district champ or runner up as a sophomore) and jumps into a loaded D2 that includes Tyler Wirth, Kyle Burke and 27^th place finisher in this race Tyler Holcomb.

Keep an eye on Josh Lewin. He was just behind Hoyer in the first meet of the season and is only a sophomore. He and his East teammates got a valuable lesson on the course this weekend and although they didn’t blow anyone away, I think they are a younger team that will gain experience and confidence going forward. I think they have a good shot at a top 10 finish in D1. I’m still keeping Lewin in my medal conversation.