PA in NY: Manhattan Recap

LaSalle ended the day as the top PA team at Manhattan, a spot they had also earned back in 2014 against eventual state runner-ups Conestoga. LaSalle didn’t look quite as prolific as they did at Carlisle, but they were still excellent. The team averaged 13:20 and got a big step up performance from Koors who ran as the team’s #3 man after being outside the top 4 at Carlisle. The #5 was, realistically, one of the only question marks you could have with LaSalle’s output thus far and Koors made a big statement about that this weekend. If this top five holds up, they will be the favorites for the state championship. As of now, they are the most complete team (although Seneca Valley and Mount Lebo can make good cases for that honor as well).

DT West ran eerily similar to a year earlier at this meet. In 2016, West averaged 13:25. This year, they posted a 13:26 average. Peyton Sewall was once again the team’s #1 runner and clocked the 7^th fastest time among PA performers. Evan Kaiser returned to the top 3 with a 13:24 performance that was clutch at the #3 spot. Ultimately, LaSalle’s pack was superior, but DT West is still right in line with where they were a year ago. They will be contenders for a top 5 spot in the state for a 4^th straight season.

Bishop Shanahan, without Logan Yoquinto, ended up as the next best PA team from the Championship race. They defeated Henderson in the final standings with an average of 13:32 to Henderson’s 13:39. The Boyertown Bears, however, were the next best team in PA. Boyertown ran out of Race C and averaged 13:27, not far behind DT West. McComb stepped up and took the #1 spot for this school and they continue to post a nice pack. I’ve got them slotted for a state spot, but the pack around them is getting crowded.

Two headliners in that pack are Shanahan and Henderson. Shanahan had their best races of the season at districts, almost across the board. They are adding some depth in the last few races. Meanwhile, Henderson is Henderson. Smucker posted a career best on this course with his 12:56 and joined the short list of sub 13 guys. His teammates behind him ran solid as they averaged 13:39. Last year, they averaged over 14 minutes and still came back to make states out of District One.

Let’s talk individuals. Rusty Kujdych of Neshaminy continues to look invincible. His time of 12:24 is really fast for this course. He bested times of Tony Russell (as a junior) and Brad Miles. Both those guys ended up state and regional champions that season. He also ran faster than Max Kaulbach and Paul Springer, the latter of which ran 14:47 at Lehigh. Only Tony Russell (as a senior) and Nate Affolder ran faster than Rusty and those are two of PA’s all-time best.

Josh Hoey, Spencer Smucker, Evan Addison and Tavonne Davis rounded out the top five times for PA on the course (apologies if I missed someone). Sophomore Vincent Twomey was PA’s best non-senior, clocking a 13:07 for LaSalle. Upper Dublin’s Ben Brugger ran 13:15 out of section A which was good enough for 10^th fastest overall. It was faster than the mark posted by all of the Boyertown runners and only a second back of Tyler Rollins of DT West. Brugger will look to bolster his state qualifying potential at leagues.