College Freshman (2010-2011): Part II

Best “The 11” Story

Unionville’s Champions

In 2009, Unionville had a sneaky good XC team. They were real contenders out of District One and ended up posting two state medalists in Matt Fischer and Glenn Burkhardt (TRD fans may notice those names look familiar). At the time, Fischer was a better known name than Burkhardt, but neither were considered truly elite until the time track season finished up. Fischer battled injuries for a good portion of his senior year, but when it clicked, I’d say he was happy with the results. He clocked one of the biggest jaw-droppers in state history-a 9:03.01 3200. But we talked about that in last year’s post. Let’s take a look at Glenn.

Now Glenn had the chance to follow in Matt’s footsteps and was one of the prime contenders for the XC state title out of District One behind the top returner in Chris Campbell. But an injury kept him out of action for all of XC and indoor track. You kind of forgot about him as so many other things started to happen in the distance running universe. But when Glenn finally came back, he was legit from day one. He absolutely dominated the District One Championships, grabbing a second straight gold (look up how many guys have won back to back D1 3200s sometime) and then he knocked off Zach Hebda in Shippensburg keeping the golds in the family at Unionville. The school was responsible for three different state champions in the spring’s longest distance between 2006 and 2011 (see Paul Springer). That’s a pretty remarkable stretch that would have made for a cool story.

CB South DMR

This is another fun story. In 2010, Tom Mallon graduated and officially ended the “Tom Mallon” era at CB South (thank you captain obvious). But that didn’t mean his legacy was over. The CB South boys had picked up a few things from Mallon (and they have a pretty good coach as well) so they were ready to attack the season. Austin Gregor became a state medalist and the team’s 800 core excelled (they grabbed another 4x8 state medal for the trophy case). But I think the coolest story is their DMR.

Now the DMR had some skills the prior year (state medalists, impressive in the TFCAofGP), but Mallon was largely credited with their success. In 2011, they proved that this was a complete team effort. At the Meet of Champs, South stacked a DMR and managed a 10:50.30 mark. They had been hoping for more as that time wasn’t quite under the state qualifying guideline. As fate would have it, the PTFCA decided to expand the field to 13 teams, giving CB South a chance to compete in a race they otherwise would not have been able to. As the #11 seed, South overachieved, taking 5^th overall and posting a time of 10:32.05. They were just 4 seconds out of the gold medal position, despite the fact that their two best legs were on the double. Shortly thereafter, at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York they lowered their time to 10:31.03 which may have been just enough to sneak into the Penn Relays field. They were the last squad accepted into the 19 team field.

After a 7:53.78 4x800m performance at the CB West Relays, South had to feel confident. But could they knock off the great that had run history making times at indoor nationals? Let alone the other top PA squads? Don’t worry, of course I’m going to tell you.

Joey Waddington set the tone with a brilliant 1200 leg. He clocked a time of 3:07.53 and put CBS in a crowded front pack. No other PA squad was within 8 seconds of the team at that point. I’ve said it before, but Waddington has to be one of the best pure 1200 guys we’ve seen. He was legit in other events (low 4:20s in the mile, 1:56ish in the 800), but in the 12 the guy was a natural from day one. After Joey, the middle legs were manned by Ryan Hynes and Ryan Dickson. The Ryans combined for 51.11 and 1:58.06. While neither leg was mind-blowing in and out of itself, they came against a bunched and crowded group. Ultimately, when both Ryan’s handed off the baton, South was in 2^nd place and only trailed the NJ super power Christian Brother’s Academy.

In a pack of near four, Austin Gregor got the baton for South. While Gregor had been solid to date, he didn’t have any Millrose appearances or national qualifying marks individually. But he was a strong, tough miler who was ready for a fight. As the other runners failed to hang on the pace, Gregor stayed at the front and even challenged CBA for the lead before the battle finally ended with CBA edging away on the final lap to win 10:13.04 to 10:15.46. CB South ran a massive relay best and one of the best times we had seen within the decade. It was one heck of a performance.

What’s crazy is that many of those same teams ended up competing at the national championships at year end. St. Benedict’s (anchored by Ed Cheserek) went from running 10:22 at Penn down to 9:51 in Greensboro to win the national championship over West Windsor (9:54 from 10:25 at Penn). Also involved were Ridgewood (10:18 to 10:06), Warwick (10:34 to 10:02), Shaker (10:37 to 10:19).

The top PA DMR squad at Nationals ended up being Chesnut Hill Academy (who didn’t even medal at indoor states) who won the slow heat behind a 4:13.24 anchor leg by Dustin Wilson and helped lead CHA to 10^th overall with a 10:15.49. CB South was 11^th in 10:18.41 after racing in the fast heat.

Tommy Gruschow

The Trinity senior was dominant during his final year of high school. As a junior, Gruschow was just 41^st at the state championships in XC making him the #17 returner within his classification. That race was a strong performance for him as well-he had been 21^st the previous week at districts. But as a senior, Gruschow turned it up a notch. After placing 31^st at Carlisle in 16:58, Gruschow won the Cumberland County, District 3 and then the State Championships. He saved his best for last with a 16:30 over the Hershey hills. Tommy was sitting in 4^th place at two miles but timed his kick perfectly and stole the championship over the last stretch to outduel AJ Limongelli by a second.

Despite his gold medal on the trails, Gruschow’s real legendary status came on the track. Tommy was consistently busy over the stretch run of the season. At Mid-Penns, racing against large school competition, Gruschow helped lead his 4x8 to second place in a AA meet record of 7:56.88. Gruschow also took second place in the 1600 with 4:19.66 and 3^rd place in the 3200 at 9:31. Finally, Trinity capped off the meet with a 3:23.89 4x4 that was good enough for another bronze in the trophy case. The AA program scored 51 points in the ultra-competitive Mid Penn.

Then came districts. With Gruschow leading the charge, Trinity was dominate. They won the 4x8 in 8:04.29 and the 4x4 in 3:25 (without Tommy this time) while Gruschow added 3 individual gold medals with wins in the 3200, 1600 and 800.

What would Tommy have for an encore? At states, he opted for the 4x8-16-4x4 triple (he tried to add the 8 but was too tired to pursue all 4). Things started with a blazing 4x800 race. Lewisburg Area, who had run 7:57 in the prelims, pushed the pace with a balanced attach. But Gruschow poured everything he had into his anchor carry. Running about 1:53, he carried Trinity through the line in 2^nd place with one of the best AA relays of all time at 7:51.46 to Lewisburg’s 7:50.66. After that race, Gruschow seemed very tired for his 1600 run. Would he have anything left? Tommy almost toppled to the track mid race before making a late surge and kicking away from future two-time state champ Ryan Smathers with a 4:17.90 for the gold. Trinity then capped off the meet with a 3:24.90 victory in the 4x4, getting some vengeance on Lewisburg by 0.36 seconds.

Fun side note, Gruschow’s running mate on those relays was Derek Pawlush, a very talented 800 runner, while the Lewisburg relays were led by the Olenginski twins. Those three runners ended up all attending Franklin & Marshall, a D3 school in my conference the next year and went on to rewrite the record books in the 4x8 with those three guys leading the charge.

Best Race

I’m going to be honest, I’ve rolled through pretty much every state championship race from this year. My personal favorites were the 4x800m outdoors (Manley runs down Abington), the indoor 800m (Endress on the double) and the AAA 1600m. That last one hasn’t been touched on quite yet, but I’m saving it for the next post because (spoiler alert) it has a pretty significant name at the front of the results.

Biggest “What If”

Injuries

Man, the injuries sucked this year. Endress was banged up and, after a brilliant indoor season, wasn’t quite at full strength for outdoors. Wade still took 4^th and 3^rd in the 16 and 8, but you wonder if he could have pushed Cho (a 1:50 guy) or Magaha (a 4:07 guy) to faster times or even won the race himself and dropped a better mark on his own. Meanwhile, Kyle Moran of Abington was dinged up and, although he ran incredibly clutch in the big moment, it would have been cool to see Moran mixing it up at the front of the open 800 fields the same way he was indoors (and have him and Manley both anchor head to head). Then there’s Mike May from the state champs at CB West. If they had kept him in the fray, could West have made a better push at the state record? Or at least Wissahickon’s old record of 7:36?

The spin off to this would be-what if we saw Connor Manley race fresh head to head against Hong Cho? They raced head to head at districts and Cho dropped a 1:50.92 to Manley’s 1:51.50, but Connor had already anchored West to gold earlier in the day (although he could somewhat coast in that one). Would have been cool to see if those guys could have maybe challenged the 1:50 mark.

Spinning off that, it was pretty windy at the state championship final for 800 meters. Cho “only” ran 1:52 to pick up the win and nobody else was under that. Hong had been running 1:52 with his eyes closed by that point, so you’d have to imagine in better conditions this race could have been a 1:50-1:51 type race with faster performances from a lot of state medalists.

My Personal Best Running Moment

I’m not sure there was any one moment that stands out from my freshman year of college. There were definitely some cool moments, including my first time trial under the lights after a good summer of mileage, but I’m not sure there was a signature highlight. I think the biggest thing for me was the transformation of being a high schooler who didn’t really know much about how training and mileage all worked to taking my training (and my thoughts about training) up to a whole other level. It’s tricky because you have to balance that newfound knowledge with the tendency to obsess about every little thing.

PA’s Fastest Seniors

800m (1:55.00)

1. Hong Cho, Wissahickon 1:50.41

2. Luke Lefebure, Henderson 1:51.08*

3. Connor Manley, CB West 1:51.50

4. Wade Endress, Altoona 1:51.73i

5. Kyle Moran, Abington 1:52.81i

6. Andy Flynn, Cumberland Valley 1:53.36

7. Brandon Krszal, West Allegheny 1:53.65

8. Mato Bekelja, Hershey 1:53.70*

9. Alex Sheltzer, Friend’s Central 1:54.31

10. Nate McClafferty, Conrad Weiser 1:54.65

11. Evan Gomez, Butler 1:54.82

12. Matt McGarvey, CB West 1:54.8h

1600m (4:17.00)

1. Nate McClafferty, Conrad Weiser 4:11.37

2. Wade Endress, Altoona 4:11.87ic

3. Ryan Gil, North Allegheny 4:12.24c

4. Ed Schrom, Central Dauphin 4:14.66

5. Chris Campbell, CR North 4:14.93*

6. Glenn Burkhardt, Unionville 4:16.02c

7. Matt Dallago, Perkiomen Valley 4:16.15

8. Mahdi Koliso, Glen Mills 4:16.23

9. Matthew Groff, Hempfield 4:16.77

10. Logan Mohn, Governor Mifflin 4:16.87

3200m (9:20.00)

1. Ryan Gil, North Allegheny 9:03.87*

2. Glenn Burkhardt, Unionville 9:07.53

3. Zach Hebda, North Hills 9:07.93

4. Jacob Kildoo, Grove City 9:09.41*

5. Reece Ayers, Tunkhannock 9:12.47*

6. Joe Kush, North Hills 9:12.91*

7. Juris Silenkis, North Hills 9:15.11*

8. Ian Barnhill, DT West 9:15.48

9. Paul DeGregorio, Baldwin 9:16.12

10. Tom Trainer, LaSalle 9:16.72*

11. Evan Gomez, Butler 9:17.09

4x800m (7:47.00)

1. Abington 7:37.79

2. CB West 7:38.97 (May, McGarvey, Bee, Manley)

3. CB West 7:41.51 (Metzler, McGarvey, Bee, Manley)

4. LaSalle 7:47.93

College Freshman 2010-2011 (Part I)

Defining Runners

Hong Cho, Wissahickon

At Upper Dublin, our biggest rival was Wissahickon. The Wissahickon dual meet always felt different than the other ones (honestly, it was the only one that felt like it mattered, even when we were facing great teams like Cheltenham). So naturally, I was picking out guys on this squad as my own personal rivals. I’d go online and look at their times, comparing them to my own, and try to find a suitable guy to chase.

From an early age, I was chasing Hong. He was a year younger than me with more raw 400 speed, but our 800 times were comparable. Briefly. Hong and I were both trying to become sub 2 minute guys during the indoor season in 2010. At the Burdette Invite, Hong beat me by one spot and we both medaled, qualifying for Meet of Champs with about 2:03. But that was the last time I was even within sniffing distance of Hong.

From then on, Hong started to make big improvements. He and his Wissahickon teammates went on to grab a set of 4x8 medals at indoor states that year (his junior season). He suddenly became a consistent sub 2 minute guy and, at the outdoor state championships, he dropped all the way down to 1:53 and beat Sam Ellison (who, if you’ve been keeping with my posts, was a beast that season). But Hong still wasn’t at his peak just yet.

As a senior, Hong had his best ever XC season, qualifying for the state championships individually after spending his first few years coasting through the fall. The indoors, he medaled at 800 meters and ran the lead off leg for Wissahickon’s state championship winning DMR. But for the second straight year, when things got the spring, Hong turned it up to a whole other level.

Cho rolled through his races from 400 through 1600. He beat Dustin Wilson in the 1600 at the PTFCA Carnival and clocked a 47 split on the 4x400. However, his best event remained the 800 meters. Hong dropped a 1:50.92 at the District One Championships to set the meet record before winning states against a stacked field in windy conditions a year later. In a field at Henderson, with ideal conditions and competition, Hong lowered his personal best to 1:50.41. At the time, the mark was PA #6 all-time.

Ryan Gil, North Allegheny

North Allegheny had been a team on the rise throughout my high school years. They had some amazing runners during their WPIAL streak including Max Brown, Matt Jacob and Justin Taylor, but, ultimately, Gil was their first transcendent super star. As a freshman, Gil was a scorer on NA’s state squad, which finished 3^rd. The next year, he was a state medalist as a sophomore and was the #1 guy on a national qualifying team. When 4 of the top 6 guys from that time graduated, Ryan helped carry NA to 2^nd in the state (even better than their national squad) with a 3^rd place finish at states. He went on to qualify for the Footlocker National Championships to cap off his junior XC season.

That right there was enough to make the kid a hall of famer, but he still had some magic left. As a senior, Gil and his North Allegheny team emerged as an early favorite for the state title in a relatively wide open team competition. However, a foot injury sidelined Gil and the once invincible front-runner was pushed down the state rankings. In fact, when he finally returned to action, three guys from the same team (the North Hills monster) defeated him. The Tigers were also pushed as a team. Baldwin emerged as a legit WPIAL contender (winning Tri States) and, if it wasn’t for Gil’s 4^th place return at districts, their streak may have been over before it really got going. As things stood, with Gil in the line-up, they held off Baldwin at Coopers by just 6 points.

At states the defending state champions from Henderson were waiting for them, as were talented squads from the PCL and D6. And of course a rematch with Baldwin was in store.

As the state race started, it was unclear what Gil had in the tank. He raced off to a relatively conservative start, going through the mile in just 17^th place. His team followed his lead as they were 4^th at the mile. But Ryan stayed patient. Barely back running after his stress fracture, Gil moved to 7^th at the two mile and timed his move perfectly to escape an absolutely stacked group and win the state title in 15:52. The three guys immediately behind him would all go on to qualify for national championships at the end of the month, but Gil was savvy enough to defeat them all in the big moment. And, oh by the way, North Allegheny won the state championship as a team, charging home on the final mile to win by 22 points.

By the way, Gil’s track achievements were pretty spectacular as well. He won a state title at 3k as a senior and was state runner up in the 3200 as a junior (with a time of 9:03). Gil clocked a 4:12 1600 equivalent at Baldwin and also picked up an indoor mile state medal as a junior. In 2011, he helped NA qualify for indoor states as a team in the DMR (they placed 10^th).

As a senior, Gil looked poised for an outdoor title in the 3200, but surprisingly pulled out of the field after falling ill at districts.

Wade Endress, Altoona

Wade is one of my favorite PA runners of all time-and I’m not just saying that because he was the first person to ever ask for a picture with me. The Altoona grad was always a factor in big races and was never afraid to race the best or try a crazy double. As a senior in XC, Endress trekked across the state to race all the biggest names. He went to Coatesville to race Chris Campbell. He went to Coopers to race the WPIAL names. He went to Carlisle to take on the mid-state guys. Endress didn’t take the gold at any of those meets, losing to Chris Campbell and the North Hills monster, but when he got to the state championships, he had learned from those races. Wade sprinted his way to a silver medal, only topped by Gil.

In track, Endress was known for doubling or tripling in every meet that mattered. Altoona was usually in the mix for a team title or top finish and Wade wanted to help them get there. As a junior at outdoor states, Wade ran the 1600 and 800, medaling in both events with times of 4:15 and 1:53. This came after he doubled mile-DMR indoors and picked up major points in both events. But by his senior season, Wade was stronger than ever. He entered the indoor state meet as the favorite in the mile and, despite a great race from Nate McClafferty, dropped a 4:13 full mile to win the event. After that heroic, near record setting performance, Endress entered an 800 field that was stacked with defending state champ Luke Lefebure, relay stand out Kyle Moran and future state champ Hong Cho. All three of those guys were fresh, but Wade didn’t care. He hung tough to the pace and unleashed his signature kick to storm across the line in first place. In the process, he set a new meet and state record at 1:51.73 – beating what had, at the time, seemed like an improbable record from Tom Mallon two years earlier.

Unfortunately, Endress had injury trouble during his senior year outdoors. However, even though he was going to have to face some monstrous talents at less than full strength, Wade showed up at Shippensburg and delivered some awesome runs. He took 4^th in the 1600, running 4:13.77 and helping push the early stages of the race (which played a role in the state meet record) and then doubled back for 3^rd in the outdoor 800. Those were career best finishes on the outdoor oval for Wade.

All this traveling and doubling may make it sound like Wade was out to show off and look like a star. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Wade took every chance he had to not just elevate himself, but his team. Over his years at Altoona, the program grew from off the radar to a massive power. They had two top 5 finishes in the state in XC, took 2^nd in the DMR, ran well under 8 minutes for the 4x8, and won multiple team titles. Wade was willing to sacrifice himself to go for the team wins and set an example of how to race every time he hit the track. He was a winner in all senses of the word.

Defining Teams

Abington & CB West

During this two year stretch, you couldn’t talk about one of these two schools without talking about the other.

For Abington, I think the story really starts in 2008 with Kyle Moran. From the time he was a freshman, Kyle was a revelation on Abington’s team. My sophomore year (Kyle was a freshman), we raced against Abington in the TFCAofGP frosh/soph 4x8. This was our one chance to win the event before moving on to varsity races. We got out to a good start before Kyle absolutely took over on the second leg of the race. It was the first time I saw him race and it was the start of something big. Kyle exploded over the course of the season and the Abington middle-distance dynasty began to emerge.

The Ghosts entered the 2008 indoor state meet as the #3 seed, but couldn’t hold that position and fell out of the medals. In 2009, they came in as the #1 seed, the only squad to break the 8 minute barrier with a 7:57 season best. They were also the #1 seed in the 4x400, led by Chris Morales. However, they had to settle for 4^th place in both relays. Jump to spring 2009. Abington is once again a factor in both relays and their 4x8 drops a monster time of 7:47 but somehow that wasn’t enough to medal in the stacked field. Seemingly, the mid distance squad had that long awaited breakthrough when they shocked Altoona on the anchor of the 4x4 relay, knocking off the highly touted Brady Gehret. However, an unexpected DQ call knocked them off the medal stand completely.

In 2010, Abington entered the state meet as true favorites in the 4x8. The only team within striking distance was CB West, but Abington had the deeper squad and the faster seed. Still, there were doubters about Abington’s ability to perform under pressure (like me). After Kyle Moran finished 10^th in the open 800 (in a wacky final), it seemed maybe these guys were just cursed.  But it turns out there was nothing to fear. Moran and teammate Charles Ross absolutely dominated the closing stages of the 4x8 and won the state gold 7:50.86 to West’s 7:53.23. They added a silver behind a legendary Cheltenham 4x4 and all seemed right for the Ghosts.

Unfortunately, Kyle had injury trouble in the spring of his junior year. Abington fought valiantly to hold on without him, but they ended up 2^nd at the district finals behind that same squad from CB West. Of course, CB West had their own troubles. Although they had raced well indoors, their team had been largely buoyed by the efforts of Nick Scarpello. The senior was a breakout star, medaling in the mile at states before doubling back to hand his squad the silver on the 4x8. But now, he too was hobbled, struggling home on his 4x8 anchor carry to keep West ahead. Would he have anything left to anchor the team at the state final?

A week later, both Abington and CB West came to play. West needed someone to step up and they got it-junior Matt Bee clocked a massive 1:53 leg to position his team alongside Cedar Crest on the anchor leg. Then Charles Ross of Abington went to work to bring his team back into the mix on the last lap. Seemingly every team was still in contention for the win before Cedar Crest pulled away, leaving CB West with silver and Abington with bronze. But are protagonists were set for 2011.

Here we are. Kyle Moran, ending his legacy as a senior in 2011, looked to carry his Abington team on one last ride. Things got off to a fast start as Abington smoked a state record-without Moran. The team’s 4x400 relay blasted a 3:16.78 to set the 4x400 state record, led by anchor Will Taylor. Then, a day later, Abington doubled down with a 7:45.93 in the 4x8 to grab another record. Moran brought things home with his a blazing anchor carry of 1:52.8.

All this meant that Abington would toe the line at states as heavy favorites in both events. They were also the front runners for the team title. However, that team title would require some doubling. Moran was entered in the open 800 while his 4x8 teammates Will Taylor, Macey Watson and Tevin Smith all had 400 duties. That all went successfully (2-3 in the 400 for Taylor and Watson, 2^nd in the 800 for Moran) leaving just the relays to close things out.

The 4x8 was first and, seemingly, the easiest victory. Abington’s seed time of 7:45.93 was nearly 15 seconds ahead of anybody else in the field-CB West was next closest at 7:59.46. But CB West had gone all in on the 4x8 relay. They were completely fresh for the event and knew they had the potential to do something big. The team of Mike May, Matt McGarvey, Matt Bee and Connor Manley ran a consistent race and kept their team out front. The first three splits were 1:57-1:57-1:56 which put Manley in a position to close it out. To date, Manley didn’t have any flashy times and McGarvey and Bee had arguably been bigger stars, but Connor had his coming out party with a 1:54 anchor to not only hold off Kyle Moran but also run a new state record of 7:45.06. That record, despite an onslaught of attempts from great teams, still holds up today.

Abington ended up with the team title, but CB West left with the record. Shortly thereafter, Abington chased that 7:45.06 mark at Nationals. They came close (7:45.21), but couldn’t quite there. Despite winning a national title behind another flawless Kyle Moran performance (with big help from Macey Watson on leg 2), the Ghosts came up just short of the ghost of CB West.

Heading into outdoors, the rivalry was better than ever. At the Penn Relays we got to see another CB West vs. Abington match-up. This time both squads had the same amount of fresh legs and the times did not disappoint. The squads pushed one another to what was then the #3 and #6 best 4x8s in state history 7:37.79 and 7:38.97. Macey Watson got things started for Abington with a 1:56.23 and then the squad’s secret weapon emerged. Will Taylor found his legs in the 800 after being more of a sprint specialist and rolled to a 1:53.01 carry. Despite a herculean anchor of by Manley at 1:51.51, CB West couldn’t catch up to Abington. Surprisingly, Moran could “only” clock a 1:53.26 as some injury concerns started to bubble up for the senior.

The next time the two schools saw each other was at Districts, however both squads weren’t the same as what they had been indoors. Mike May was out for CB West, replaced by junior Nico Metzler. Abington had decided to throw in a relative “B” squad for the 4x8 at districts. Metzler held his ground well as West rolled easily to a 7:46.07 victory. Meanwhile, Abington raced mid pack and left with just 5^th overall. Abington tried to spread out their talent to get more points but, perhaps ironically, it was CB West who left the meet with the district title.

If you’re looking for the juicy part of the story, look no further than this. Abington initially entered Taylor and Watson in the 400 and Moran in the 800 for states. However, by the time they toed the line in Shippensburg they had a change of heart. Watson and Taylor both false started in the 400 and then Moran picked up a similar penalty in the open 8. Suddenly, the team was all in on the 4x4 and 4x8 relays and CB West was actually the one putting more on their plate as Connor Manley was in the 800 state final.

For whatever reason, Abington had already been a team that had been the center of fans animosity. So add in some sketchy false starts and a problematic viral internet video and things were really heating up as the 4x8 started on Saturday morning.

The Abington race strategy seemed to be get out fast and put the race away. Their legs shot off like rockets the first 400 meters, but on the second half of the race, they tied up slightly, allowing their opponents to sneak back into the picture. The Ghosts also made a surprise strategy change. They moved up the banged up Moran to 2^nd, out of his usual anchor role. He came through with his best race of the year, seemingly blowing the race open with a low 1:52 carry. But Matt Bee chipped away on leg #3 and then it came down to Will Taylor of Abington against Connor Manley of CB West with about 4 second of daylight between the two.

As had become the norm, Taylor shot off like a rocket and Manley did his best to keep pace. The lead just seemed too big to be overcome but slowly over the final 200, the fans could see Taylor tying up. In a stunning turn, Manley sprinted up alongside the struggling opposition and took a dive at the line. Both runners were neck and neck but the video replay showed that CB West had overtaken Abington with a time of 7:41.51 vs. 7:41.57. All the other schools were over six seconds off the pace.

An epic rivalry between the two programs ended fittingly with a dive at the line.

Fans from back in the day may also remember the 4x4 results at the end of the meet. A year after O’Hara had hawked down Charles Ross of Abington with a blister 46.1 anchor from Corey “Philly” Brown (yes, that Philly Brown), O’Hara once again ran down Abington in the final race as Taylor had to settle for silver again. It was a rough finish to the Abington team from that season, but what a heck of a run they had. They were truly an elite 4-8 school, with some of the most disciplined and hardworking sprinters willing to push themselves that extra bit to run the two lap distance.

CB West has the titles and the record, but for whatever reason, I find the Abington run from 2008 to 2011 much more intriguing. Of course, CB West may be in the middle of yet another run this year after wrapping up an indoor state title. They will be trying to defending their outdoor golds in the spring.

The North Hills Monster

In the same year where Ryan Gil jumped out of the pool and into the history books for North Allegheny, he’s somehow the second best story in the WPIAL. Nothing in my history quite compares to the North Hills Monster of 2010-2011. Yes, there have been equal or better trios (most notably the DT West trio of Hoey-Hoey-Sappey), but nothing was quite the same as watching the Monster at work. Allow me to explain. It could take a while.

In the fall of 2007 (like I said, it could take a while), Juris Silenieks (sorry Juris, but I will never spell your name right, no matter how hard I try) and Joe Kush of North Hills become stars. As a pair of freshman, the two runners took 46^th and 47^th at states, making them the #1 and #2 9^th graders in the field (#3, taking 52^nd place, was Ryan Gil). That heaped a good amount of expectation on this duo before they were even half way through their first year of high school. In 2008, those flashes looked like they may have been misguided as the boys struggled a bit, but by 2009 they were back and better than ever. With Kush leading the way at 15:48, Juris and Joe took 3^rd and 4^th in the WPIAL as juniors and 5^th and 13^th in the state. Outdoors, they clocked times of 9:12 and 9:15 for 3200 and established themselves as two of the best in their class once again.

But something was a little different in 2009-2010. It wasn’t simply a 1-2 punch any more. Zach Hebda had emerged from out of the boy’s shadow. He was 5^th at WPIALs, 27^th at States and had dropped a 9:17 3200 PR to end the year. That meant North Hills entered the 2010 XC season with 3 sub 9:20 guys, all of whom had been top 30 in the state. And keep in mind that North Hills was a power within the WPIAL for the last decade plus.

So Kush and Juris are going to be stars and Hebda is going to be a nice piece to round things out. That was the story line over the summer. But Zach had other ideas. At the always fast Red, White and Blue Invitaitonal, Hebda knocked off his two teammates-and everybody else-with a blazing 15:16. Kush dropped a 15:23 and Juris added a 15:41. As a team, they finished 13^th in the standings-three freshman and a sophomore rounded out the top 5.

With Hebda hitting another level, the North Hills trio looked down right invincible. They continued to improve steadily until October when the trio swept the top 3 spots at the Tri State Invitational at Coopers with times of 15:39-15:39-15:50 (Juris-Hebda-Kush). They defeated Wade Endress, one of the early favorites for state gold and PA’s top guy from Carlisle, and everybody else. Could this team actually take all 3 of the top spots at states? It was absurd enough to imagine a 1-2 finish from a single team (at the AAA level, it’s almost impossible), but what about a 1-2-3?

The frenzy was only amplified at WPIALs when North Hills did it again: a 1-2-3 finish, this time over Ryan Gil of North Allegheny. Hebda led the way with a 15:29 on the Coopers Lake course and Silenieks and Kush were also under 15:40. How many programs have had three guys under 15:40 on that course in its history? Let alone in the same race.

With the pressure on, North Hills jumped into the state final. Hebda, who had never even grabbed a state medal before, led the charge through the mile with Juris right alongside him. The two paced it through at 1-2 with Kush hanging back in 19^th. Although they had been dominate to date, at 2 miles, their pack was shaken up a bit. Hebda was back to 5^th, Kush was at 14^th and Juris was the one leading the way in 4^th. Reece Ayers led the charge with a hard surge and a familiar face in Wade Endress was 3^rd. They gave it everything they had over the final mile, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. Hebda fought valiantly and took 3^rd, Kush jumped up to 10^th and Juris slipped to 11^th. Three guys in the top 11 at states. It was historic, but it also somehow felt like a disappointment.

Apparently the North Hills guys felt that way as well. Juris and Kush convinced Hebda to extend his season through the extra month to the Footlocker Northeast Regional and the trio trained together for the extended time. After weeks of waiting for the chance at redemption, the North Hills boys came through. Hebda led the way with a top 10 finish a Footlocker qualifying spot, Juris was 11^th, barely being edged for a spot at Nationals and Kush was 13^th. Three guys from the same team were top 13 in all of the Northeast Regional. Now this lived up to the hype.

If you’re wondering, the North Hills boys found some solid success on the track as well. After all qualifying out of District 7, the trio took 2^nd, 5^th and 6^th at states in the 3200. Under hot conditions, Hebda challenged for gold and raced to a 9:07.93 PR. Kush and Juris ran 9:20 and 9:21 respectively.

Senior Year: 2009-2010 (Part II)

Best “The 11” Story

GFS XC

The Independent League doesn’t usually get much love, but 2009 was perhaps the most significant moment in the past 12 years where this league didn’t get its due. Part of the problem was that the AAA state championship race was unbelievably close between five awesome teams, but the other piece was that GFS just didn’t have much flash that year. What they did have was a strong pack of successful runners that group rolled through the independent league with five guys in the top 10 overall. Then, when the lights were brightest, they shocked the entire region with a second place finish at NXN Northeast. Gus McKenzie led the squad with a 16:20 and the team packed in behind to narrowly claim second with 156 points. They knocked out CBA, Henderson and the Rosa twins on their way to the silvers and qualified for NXN. Behind Gus on the scoring roster were Dave Waterman (the real key to their big day at regionals), Tom Waterman, Evan Caldwell and Ross Wistar.

Cedar Crest 4x8

After a dominant performance in 2009, District One was poised to continue their 4x8 excellence in 2010. Abington and CB West led the way during the indoor season, with the Ghosts pulling out the gold over the Yellow Jackets (again, I know this isn’t their actual name, but I like it better than whatever it actually is). But injuries added up for those two teams as Kyle Moran of Abington and Nick Scarpello of CB West both had issues. Scarpello made it back in time for states, but Moran was out of the lineup for the indoor gold medalists by the time things got to Shippensburg.

Meanwhile, other districts were trying to work their way into the mix. Cedar Crest, a relative non-factor in the 4x8 during 2009, ran an early season 8:08 for second at the Pan-Ram Invitational behind Central Dauphin’s 8:02. Then the relay broke 8 minutes for the first time at the Lebanon Lancaster League Championships with a 7:59. It was a solid mark, but wasn’t even the best in the district as Central Dauphin had them beat. But at the D3 championships, the Falcons stormed to a huge season best of 7:49.03 and won the title while 5 teams cracked 8 minutes.

It seemed like a fluke result as the tide shifted to the state champions in Shippensburg, but Cedar Crest didn’t back down from the challenge. They dropped a 7:50 in the prelims before unleashing a 7:43.64 in the finals to stun the field and take gold. Darren Dobroski led off with a 1:56 and Shaun Ditzler kept it close on leg 2 before Jon Jackson unleashed a 1:54 split to help break the race open. That set up junior Alex Galli on the anchor, being chased by a stacked field. With the pressure on, Galli held off a loaded herd to leave with gold. It’s perhaps the most surprising 4x8 victory we’ve seen in the past 12 years.

Sam Ellison

The guy’s my old teammate so it’s hard to not brag about him. Ellison joined the track team initially to do high jump and, although a big talent, didn’t seem all that interested in the running events during his first season. In fact, our sophomore year, I actually defeated him during my magic 56.9 400 meter time trial before Sam probably had even run a step. As a junior, Sam started putting in the work and it paid off. He anchored our 4x8 to a state medal and a school record, splitting in the low 48 second range. Then, as a senior, he decided he was going to take it up another notch.

Ellison had never run an 800 before his first indoor meet at Haverford. Here, Sam clocked a 2 flat for the state lead. In his second ever 800, he ran a 1:56 split on the 4x8 to pull us from way back to second and get us a state qualifying time. This happened at Glenn Mills. In his third ever 800, he became the TFCAofGP champion in 1:57.02.

Outdoors, he carried us to Penn Relays by running a 1:53 split on an 8:04 4x8 (you can do the math on what the other legs would have been), split a 1:52 at Penn Relays and then set our school record with a 1:52.38, leading wire to wire. This all happened in the span of about 8 half-mile races and 4 months. Sam was even getting some talk for competing with reigning state champ and eventual state record holder Tom Mallon.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Sam gave everything he had to the team which included quadrupling almost every dual meet and running the 4x8 and 4x4 at districts (we ran the SQS in both events but in District One that didn’t mean much). By the time he got to states, I’m not sure how much he had left in the tank (he ran 1:53 and took 8^th in the state finals).

Thankfully, we didn’t burn Sam out from running. He went to Villanova and got some really good teammates right away. They won a Penn Relays wheel in his first trip back after carrying us in two races there in high school. Just this past winter, Sam clocked a 1:46 for 800 which was under the world indoor A standard. He placed 4^th at USAs and was in the top 20 or so in the world this year for the event.

AAA 3200m

Most years, the state 3200 is hot and humid and the times just aren’t going to cooperate. Every once in a while, we get a year where things break just right and the times are blazing fast. In 2010, we had just that. The outdoor AAA 3200 featured an incredibly 13 guys under 9:20 with a top 5 all under 9:10. Coming into the state meet, there were only three guys who had dipped under 9:20 at districts. Matt Fischer dropped a massive PR, going from 9:22 at districts to 9:03 at states and stunning a loaded field in his first year in the event. Junior Ryan Gil dropped what was then perhaps the fastest time a PA junior had ever clocked-sporting a 9:03.87 for second overall. North Hills had three juniors all under 9:20! Glenn Burkhardt, the District One Champ, ran faster than he did at districts and still placed just 15^th! It was unreal race from a depth perspective and it would not be matched for quite some time.

Best Race

AAA 1600m

There’s a lot of good things I can say about Tom Kehl. The Father Judge senior had incredible range-he split a reported 1:50 in the 800 while also having the ability to place 11^th at states in XC. In his best event, the mile, he went toe to toe with Tom Mallon indoors, just barely losing the fight for state gold. He then clocked a 4:11.0 full mile at the Penn Relays to take the strangle hold on the event outdoors. Once sophomore Drew Magaha of Upper Moreland emerged as the main opponent standing in his way of his first state gold by winning districts, it seemed likely that Kehl would be the gold medalist.

But we all know that’s never the way it goes. Kehl put down a kick at the perfect moment and surged for a home in a loaded race. But Will Kellar of Henderson, who had barely even qualified for the event at districts, rolled by him in an epic dive to the line. Kellar dropped a big PR of 4:12.00 to nip Kehl by 0.02 seconds. Behind these two, 8 other guys broke 4:17 (!) and it took 4:15.41 to get a state medal.

AAA 4x800m

I’ve said a lot about this race and I’ll say even more about it later, so I feel obligated to keep this brief. But here’s the basic idea. It took 7:52.58 just to make it to the finals. Then in the finals there were 8 teams under 7:50 and 7 under 7:47. Cedar Crest pulled off the upset win in 7:43.64 and 7^th place was close behind in 7:46.16. It was a near blanket finish for the medal positions filled with PRs and school records.

PTFCA DMR

Before Kellar nipped Tom Kehl at the line, he was nearly outleaned himself. Altoona was gunning for a team title and decided to throw their hat in the ring for the DMR. However, with questionable pieces at 1200 and 800 they seemed like a longshot. Meanwhile, CB South (with Tom Mallon), Henderson (the reigning XC state champs), Baldwin (state leaders) and GFS (national XC qualifiers) all seemed like better picks. It was sure to come down to the wire in this event and Henderson kept their key pieces, including anchor Will Kellar, completely fresh to focus on winning this event.

However, Altoona hung tough in the race, using a big 400 league from all-star state champion Brady Gehret to set the tone in the middle of the race. As things turned to the anchor, it was a four team battle between Kellar, Wade Endress of Altoona, Gus McKenzie of GFS and Bobby Bishop of Baldwin. On the last lap, it looked like Kellar had sprinted away from the pack and taken the gold. He raised his hand in celebration just as Endress, spurred on by the home crowd, dived to try and steal the victory. In the end, Henderson was the state champion-but it was tight enough to scare Kellar to always run through the line. He may owe that state gold outdoors to Wade.

Biggest “What If”

What if Henderson never got DQed?

This is perhaps the biggest “What if” in the entire history of the state. OK, that may be an over exaggeration, but this moment was huge. Let me set the stage. Henderson is at the peak of their powers. They’ve won the DMR indoors, they have the individual 800 state champ from indoors, they’ve won the XC state title and they return all four members of a relay that ran 7:42 a year ago. Before we even hit May, they have the PRs to run 1:52-1:53-1:55-1:57 and maybe challenge CB South’s absurd record from a year earlier.

But to get to states, you have to qualify. In the preliminary round of the 4x8 at districts, the action was tight. There were three heats, each stacked with talent, and only the top 3 in each heat were going to advance automatically. In Heat One, Henderson was the favorite with other squads like Strath Haven, Souderton and Penncrest vying for a spot. After three legs, things were still tight as all the legs jockeyed for position in the home straightaway. Simple math said that only three of these four teams were guaranteed a spot. And, although we didn’t know it at the time, the times from this heat were so slow that only the top three would get in the finals.

As the legs panicked to find position, there was tangle between Henderson and Penncrest and Tres Moore hit the deck for his team. The team in 5^th (my team, Upper Dublin) scooted past Penncrest as they were seemingly knocked out. However, upon review, Henderson received a DQ, Penncrest was advanced to the finals automatically and Upper Dublin, now somehow in 3^rd place, was advanced on place. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it in (7:56 was the fastest non-automatic qualifier for the district 4x8).

So right away there are ripple effects. First of all, we made the finals in the 4x8 and Sam Ellison had to run an extra race to further tire himself out. Plus, I got to run in a district final. Those are probably the least important facts of the equation. It’s also worth noting that Haverford, who took 8^th in the final, got to advance to states in Henderson’s spot.

Henderson is now out of the 4x8 so they have to scramble to figure out what individual events they will contest. Kellar jumped quickly into the 1600 prelims and managed to advance. He finished 3^rd in the finals with a time of 4:18 and punched a ticket to states. He may have never even run the 1600 if the 4x8 had made it through and, therefore, he never would have been state champion in the event. Luke Lefebure had the 800 and he qualified for the finals without much trouble. In the finals, he used his fresh legs to run a 1:52.92, a time approximately equal to the then district record. That was good enough for the silver and within 0.21 seconds of knocking off Tom Mallon. At states, Lefebure dropped a 1:51 and took another silver. That was a huge result for Lefebure that may not have been possible if he was doubling off the 4x8. It solidified him as a legit middle-distance runner and perhaps played a role in his recruitment at Stanford. Stanford benefited from the Lefebure edition as he helped the team win an NCAA crown. The ripple effects go all the way to the NCAA!

My Personal Best Running Moment

Alright, we’re in to everyone’s favorite section of these posts – when I talk about my unimpressive running career! But the jokes on you, because apparently this post I have been doing that the whole time. I think this is the most name drops I’ve ever had which is impressive considering I’m one of the kings of name dropping.

10^th at Districts in XC

I ran at one state championship in my career and that was indoor states in the 4x4 (I was a newbie to the 4x4 and standing waiting for the baton on the second leg of the fast heat when our lead off leg fell coming off the last turn, it’s a whole other story for another time), but I feel like the greatest team accomplishment I was a part of was a performance in which we came nowhere near qualifying for states. Those in District One know that the league is stacked with great teams so our Upper Dublin squad just wanted to keep our head above water. The week before districts, we had lost a heartbreaker to Wissahickon in our league championships. That broke a championship streak for our school that the class of seniors a grade above us had pioneered and it felt like crap. We went into districts with a little extra chip on our shoulder, but I wouldn’t say expectations were high.

I remember the first 200 meters I sprinted out to get good position all of a sudden found myself running near guys like Tom Mallon and Brad Miles. Whoops. It was a pretty terrible idea, but I backed off and found a good pace after that. The good news is, it pulled my teammates out a little more aggressively than usual and, unlike me, they actually had some room to back up a more aggressive start.

The first mile was so muddy that year and I remember expecting to be in the low 5 minute range through the mile-then I went through in like 5:20. It was absurd. It would have been easy for us to panic or get discouraged about that slow opening time, but we kept our heads up and fought through the next stretch. It was clear I wasn’t going to PR down the stretch of the race, missing it by a couple seconds, but I put on the best kick I could and tried to get to the line. I remember my coach was yelling at me that the guys were running really well and that I had to push. But after the race, when I talked to everybody, nobody seemed to have had a PR. So what happened?

Well, the race was super slow overall. We all ran within spitting distance of our best race and that turned out to be pretty good. As a team, we beat Wissahickon to get our revenge. And it turns out we did it by 16 spots in the team race. Our #1 guy Pete Schartel had a monster race and nearly cracked state qualifying while our #5 guy Ryan Desch delivered a great run despite having a broken nose (again, another story for another time). In the final standings, we were 10^th overall and the top placing team who didn’t have a single guy qualify for states.

No, it doesn’t sound like much, but to us it was a big result. We ended our season on the right note after being crushed emotionally a week before. And to our gang, that meant everything.

Trojan 4x800m

I’ll try and keep this brief. The Trojan Track Classic is a magic meet. When the lights are on and the sun is setting, times just seem to get magically fast. I can’t prove it with science or anything, but I can prove it with what I witnessed on race day. For me, I got one final sprinkle of the magic dust before graduating. I’d be trying to get under 2 minutes for the 800 since I was a sophomore and ran 2:04. On the lead off leg of the 4x8, I finally got there. I can still remember getting to 200 meters and my friend Tom Lorenzi yelling at me that I was at 1:28 and that I was going to do it. The final split was 1:59.8.

At the time, I counted it as much first sub 2. Now that I’ve done it in the open 800, I count the open 800 as my first sub 2, but this is still a memorable moment that I will always look back on fondly.

By the way, the Wissahickon boys got my picture in the meet program to promote the “etrain” brand. That was pretty cool of them. As much as it sounds like we hated them from a paragraph earlier, we did. But we also liked them a lot. It doesn’t sound like it should make sense, but if you were there with us, then I think you’d understand.

PA’s Fastest Seniors

800m (1:55)

1. Tom Mallon, CB South 1:49.01

2. Sam Ellison, Upper Dublin 1:52.38

3. Jaquil Hargrove, Norristown 1:53.14

4. Charles Ross, Abington 1:53.36

5. Sam Negley, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1:53.39

6. Victor Costello, North Pocono 1:53.61

7. Dan Muelners, Souderton 1:53.6h

8. Kevin DiFlorio, Horsham 1:54.15

9. Tom O’Kane, LaSalle 1:54.32

10. Dennis Logan, Baldwin 1:54.70

11. Charles Anderson, Penn Hills 1:54.92

1600m (4:17)

1. Tom Kehl, Father Judge 4:09.61c

2. Will Kellar, Henderson 4:12.00

3. Vince Perozze, Perkiomen Valley 4:12.52c

4. Rad Gunzenhuaser, Mount Lebanon 4:13.96c

5. Ed Donnelly, Haverford 4:14.13c

6. Nick Gibson, Canon MacMillan 4:14.37c

7. Tom Mallon, CB South 4:14.72ic

8. Chris O’Sullivan, St. Joe’s Prep 4:15.41

9. Nick Scarpello, CB West 4:15.4h

10. Kevin DiFlorio, Horsham 4:15.6h

11. Kevin Day, Lansdale Catholic 4:16.22

3200m (9:20)

1. Matt Fischer, Unionville 9:03.01

2. Alex Monroe, Indian Valley 9:07.24

3. Rad Gunzenhauser, Mount Lebanon 9:07.33

4. Vince Perozze, Perkiomen Valley 9:11.87

5. Seth Robbins, Cumberland Valley 9:14.11

6. Charles Lockwood, Dallastown 9:14.91

7. Sam Bernitt, North Penn 9:14.97

8. Brad Miles, North Penn 9:15.25

9. Scott Armstrong, Perkiomen Valley 9:19.15

4x800m (7:47)

1. Cedar Crest 7:43.64

2. CB West 7:44.13

3. Abington 7:44.65

4. CR South 7:45.46

5. LaSalle 7:45.54

6. Penn Hills 7:45.99

7. CR North 7:46.16

8. Quaker Valley 7:46.46

9. Baldwin 7:46.99

Senior Year: 2009-2010 (Part I)

This was getting really long (it's my senior year, I can't help but be nostalgic about it), so I split this into two parts so that it will be a slightly easier read.

Defining Runners

There’s more guys that could have made this list, but ultimately I narrowed it down to just these two. Keep in mind that the seniors in this class are my age so I “grew up” watching and comparing myself to them (and thinking, “Holy crap, how can these guys possibly be my age?”). My two main focuses over the years were XC and the 800, so these guys seem like logical choices.

Brad Miles, North Penn

Miles first burst onto the radar in XC his sophomore season. I couldn’t believe the kid was just a sophomore as he posted awesome marks at Briarwood and Carlisle, rounding out a crazy strong top three for eventual XC state champs North Penn. The signature moment for him that season in my eyes was his 15:24 at districts as a sophomore (placing 4^th). I think that moment really blew my mind.

Over the course of three XC seasons, Miles was to 6 in the district each year. His team won two golds and a seemingly improbable silver. He has three top 10 finishes in the state. He’s run 15:20 at Carlisle, 15:20 at Salesianum, and 15:49 at Briarwood. During Miles senior season, he went undefeated against PA competition and dominated his league and district before unleashing a filthy kick to win the state championship in a then course record of 15:47. He then won the Footlocker Northeast Regional (only Affolder has done that since, no one I can remember had done it before). Miles has qualified as an individual for both Footlocker Nationals and Nike Nationals in his career-the only PA guy in the history of the meets.

Miles track career was never quite as dynamic as his XC one, although he did post some strong results. He qualified for the state finals in the 1600 as a junior and ran 9:15 for 3200 in a loaded state finals as a senior. Brad was also quick enough over 800 meters to help his North Penn squad make the district finals in the event.

Tom Mallon, CB South

If Miles sophomore year blew my mind, you can imagine what Tom Mallon’s year looked like. The CB South sophomore grabbed his first state medal indoors at 800 with a 1:56 (a big PR at the time). As the tide turned toward outdoors, Mallon continued to turn heads. He helped elevate his 4x8 into the state title discussion after they clocked a 7:53 to win the League title and then dropped a 4:23 for 1600 to defeat Zack Montijo for another gold. A week later, CB South took 2^nd at Districts in the 4x8 with Mallon producing a personal best 1:53.89 in the 800 to earn the silver.

But his first state championship appearance was where he really shined. After anchoring his 4x8 with a 1:52 split (they ran 7:46), he shocked the world with a surprisingly easy state title run in the open 800. Doubling back, Mallon clocked a 1:52.35 to win state gold by over a second. Again, he was just a sophomore.

That put a lot of pressure on Tom as he entered his junior track season. There was a target on his back all season as he raced against Mike Palmisano of Upper Dublin. Although it seemed Palmisano had the upper hand, Mallon turned it up a notch at the most important moments. He won the Meet of Champs 800 over a doubling Palmisano in a season best 1:57.26 before blasting a historic 1:51.79 state record at PSU a week later. For good measure, he anchor his team’s 4x8 in 1:52 to steal another state gold. His indoor campaign ended with a 2^nd place finish in the individual 800 at nationals and a 3^rd place finish in the 4x8 (behind two teams that would go on to run under the national record at Penn Relays).

Mallon’s junior outdoor season was all about the 4x8 as CB South chased (and got) the 4x8 state record. Mallon split under 1:50 on two of the biggest stages-Penn Relays and States-including a 1:49.1 anchor carry that was basically solo. They clocked times of 7:36, 7:37 and 7:33 that year to put them under 7:40 three times! Individually, Mallon ran 1:52.02 (fastest time of the year), won the outdoor state title relatively uncontested and, somehow, seemed like he underachieved. But his senior year would give him time for individual accolades.

Indoors, Tom focused on the mile distance his senior season. That worked out pretty well as he qualified for the Millrose Games and then won the mile state title over PA #1 Tom Kehl of Father Judge. Mallon also anchored his DMR to a win at the Meet of Champs and a 5^th place finish at states. Tom tried for an ambitious triple at states with the 800 falling in between the mile and DMR. Although Mallon won his section of the 800, he finished 4^th overall as three runners from Heat 2 ran a faster time.

With extra mile strength in his back pocket, Mallon got to work in the spring at 800 meters. At Henderson, he blasted a 1:49.61 which, at the time, was PA #3 AT. After winning leagues in the 1600 (3 straight) and 800, he went to districts and clocked a 1:52.71 district record. Then it was time for states. Here, Mallon blasted a 1:49.31 to take his third straight state gold and set a state meet record that had lasted since 1984. Mallon capped things off with a third straight sub 1:50 open time of 1:49.01 at the PA Distance Festival which made him “co-record holder” with Paul Vandegrift (who clocked 1:48.8h in 1987).

When Mallon hung up his spikes at graduation, he was the state meet record holder in the 800 both indoors and outdoors. He was the state record holder in the indoor and outdoor 800. He was the state and national federation record holder in the 4x800. He had claimed 7 state golds.

For the record, Mallon also had multiple sub 16 performances in XC and two top 30 finishes at the state championships. His senior season he was top 10 in District 1 for XC, state champ indoors for the mile and raced on the 5^th place 4x400 at states.

Defining Teams

What’s interesting about this year is that there weren’t many dominate teams. I think that made for some truly memorable races, but maybe not truly memorable teams.

Henderson

The 2009 Henderson XC team started a big trend for the Warriors. Those around during the prime years of the blog know Henderson as a power that routinely won the district and competed for state gold, but before 2009 they had been routinely denied the title, watching Ches-mont rivals Coatesville and WC East take home the gold instead. But in 2009, Henderson stormed to a runaway victory at Lehigh and, with a deep team, eked out a victory in one of the tightest state meets in recent history (it included 5 teams with realistic title hopes). They had just one state medalist (Will Kellar), but got top 50 finishes from Khattabi, Andrews and Grab to help seal the golds.

On the track, Henderson continued to excel. Indoors, they won the state distance medley relay and their 800 man Luke Lefebure won individual gold in his best event. Outdoors, Henderson qualified for the Championship of America in the 4x800 relay and had a gold and silver medalist individually at outdoor states.

Quaker Valley

Top AA squads can tend to be overlooked in Pennsylvania, but the Quaker Valley boys made people notice them this decade. In XC, QV won district titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009 with scores of 47 and 41 points in those final two seasons. They posted six individual medals in that three year stretch and took 5^th, 2^nd and 2^nd at states. Although they were narrowly denied a pair of state golds on the trails, they ended up making up for it on the track. Quaker Valley won the 2009 state title in the 4x8 with a 7:58 before turning it up a notch in 2010. They clocked a 7:46.46, the 2^nd best time in AA meet history, and rolled behind a 1:52 anchor carry from Omar Hyjek. Hyjek ended up doubling up on his golds by winning the 1600 meters shortly thereafter.

Altoona

Altoona was the first team I can remember that went after team titles in track. They weren’t afraid to double or triple where necessary to try and steal points. I think that was most exhibited in Wade Endress. The junior doubled with the mile and the DMR at indoor states, winning in an impressive bronze in the former before nearly nipping Will Kellar at the line to steal gold in the DMR. During the spring, Endress added medals in the 1600 and 800 while also being a 4x4 piece for their state final team. Altoona also had the sprint god that was Brady Gehret. Brady rolled to the state title indoors at both 200 and 400 and was splitting in the 45s for the 4x4 since his junior season. The dude was unreal.

By the way, the Altoona XC team was memorable as well. The school from District 6 made a legit push for the state championship in what would have been a huge surprise against the powers of the bigger districts. Although they ended up 4^th in the final standings, Altoona finished with two state medalists (Endress and Chris Fischer) as well as another top 40 finisher (Liberman). 

Honorable Mention: Baldwin

What a wild season Baldwin had. The WPIAL squad spent the fall posting excellent team results, led by a loaded top 3 of Dennis Logan, Matt Cecala and Bobby Bishop. However, they remained in the shadow of the titans from North Allegheny. They missed NA by just 12 points at Tri-States and 17 at Coopers despite averaging 16:45 and 16:41. At states, they finished 5^th in the standings, just 26 points off the podium.

During the indoor season, Baldwin emerged as a state title contender again-this time in the DMR. The Baldwin boys clocked a 10:26.78 at the TSTCA Championships and set themselves up as the #1 seed in the state. After impressive middle legs from Arkangelo James and Dennis Logan, sophomore Bobby Bishop was put in a position to close it out for the title. However, the ultra-talented sophomore couldn’t’ quite hold off the all-time greats he was racing and Baldwin had to settle for 4^th in 10:25.50. A little while later, Baldwin trekked to indoor nationals and earned 3 top 8 finishes in the distance relays taking 7^th, 4^th and 7^th in the 4x8, DMR and 4xMile.

Outdoors things really heated up for Baldwin as their 4x8 hit their stride. Dennis Logan was already a proven star in the half, but Arkangelo James was hitting another level. Add in a healthy George Crompton and the team was cooking. At their home invitational, they unleashed a 7:46.99 and moved to the #1 spot in the state. Their 7:47.61 at Districts cemented their status as favorites. But in the state finals, after running 7:50.03 for the #1 spot in the prelim, Baldwin managed just a 7:49.25 and had to settle for 8^th in the final. It ended up the only medal for the boy’s squad.

Junior Year: 2008-2009

Defining Runners

Jimmy Tarsnane, Perkiomen Valley

Tarsnane was likely the best long distance guy we had during the 2008-2009 season. In a lot of ways, he was as clutch as the two Pioneer guys before him (Mark Dennin and Jason Weller) who have gone down as all-time great type performers. But for whatever reason, I kinda wavered on whether or not he belonged on the defining runners list.

Jimmy was twice a top 10 performer in the state in XC and also won a state title individually with a fearless front running strategy. He ran sub 15:20 for 5k at Lehigh. During his years at PV, he took the school from an afterthought in the district to 4^th in the state. He won district and state titles in the 3200 (PR of 9:04.22) and was also 3^rd in the same event as a junior. Although Tarsnane didn’t have super flashy mile times, he picked up an indoor medal in the event and helped anchor PV to a strong DMR performance at indoor states. That’s a pretty darn good resume.

On the flip, Jimmy had to deal with Ben Furcht and Joe Beveridge (we will get to them) who somewhat overshadowed his achievements and ended up going into his lane and overlapping with his legacy. For whatever reason, I was drawn to some other runners from this time period and Tarsnane sort of fell out of the spotlight. But the dude was a baller who won the two most important races of the season for distance runners when he wasn’t even the favorite. Props to Tarsnane.

Joe Beveridge, Bishop McDevitt

During my high school years, Beveridge was the first AA guy I remember that made you think-hey is this guy better than the best AAA? There were other good AA runners, but Beveridge was dominant in the long stuff. He won Mid-Penns, Districts and States in XC back to back years. His second season he was utterly dominant against a strong XC contingent in AA that included future sub 4 miler Alfredo Santana and future US Championship Qualifier Jimmy Spisak. On the outdoor track, Beveridge won back to back titles in the 3200 including a 9:11 mark as a junior (he opened up like a 7 second margin of victory in one lap over Spisak). In Beveridge’s final state meet he won the 32 and also ran a leg on McDevitt’s 4x400.

Sam Havko, Fairview

For the first three years of high school, Havko was definitely solid, but the Fairview harrier really turned things up a notch as a senior. In XC, he was the District 10 champ and clocked some all-time great marks on the western courses. He also placed in the top 10 at the state championships. But things really heated up for Havko on the outdoor oval. He won the Baldwin Invite mile and then stormed through Districts and States, winning AA championships with marks of 4:10.17 and 1:52.78. Both results were blow outs and negative splits. If Beveridge made you think about how the AA guys stacked up head to head against AAA, Havko made it seem like a fact that he was the best middle distance guy in the state regardless of classification.

Honorable Mention: Ben Furcht, Lower Merion & TJ Hobart, Baldwin

Furcht and Hobart did different things, but their legacies are similar because both guys graduated without a state championship.

Let’s start with Hobart. TJ was a super star from his sophomore season which included a 4:12 run in the 1600 and an epic 4x8 3^rd leg carry of 1:52 that catapulted Baldwin into position for the upset over North Penn. From that time on, TJ was something of a mythical figure in the PTXC forums and was always a big topic of discussion. Hobart had flashes of potential in XC (a couple top 5ish finishes in the WPIAL), but he really shined on the track. He would routinely win championships at 800 and 1600 and would post some outrageous doubles and triples. Once he reportedly split 47 seconds for the 400.

But Hobart had bad luck going for state titles. As a sophomore, he was too tired from his 4x8 carry to have anything left for the open 16. As a junior, he tried a triple indoors for the 16, 8 and DMR and things didn’t work out. Then outdoors, he was in position to grab the title, pulling away from Greg Kareis, when Nick Crits came flying out of nowhere for the victory. His senior season indoors, he fell in the state final and outdoors he once again struggled to pull off the 4x8-16 double and finished out of the medals in the state final.

Final fun fact: I met TJ Hobart at outdoor states my junior season and he showed me that he opens his bananas from the back and eats them that way. It was pretty cool.

If Hobart had heartbreak, it’s hard to figure out what to call Ben Furcht’s career. Unlike TJ, he didn’t start his sophomore or even junior seasons as a big time speedster. The humble beginnings for Furcht included a time of just 17:27 as a sophomore at districts for XC. A year later he ran 15:53 and barely cracked the top 50 at states. Then, as a senior, Furcht won Foundation, Paul Short and Districts with a personal best of 15:08. Ben entered Hershey as a clear favorite for the 2008 AAA XC state title, but he got off to a slow start through the mile and could never catch back up to Jimmy Tarsnane. After running in 2^nd for a while he faded hard on the last hill and fell back to 11^th. Furcht had redemption at the Footlocker Northeast Regional, placing 10^th and qualifying for Nationals. He was once again the top PA high schooler.

Indoors, Furcht decided to try his hand in both the mile and the 3k after finding some surprising speed in the shorter distance. Ben qualified for the fast heat of the mile (#2 overall seed), but the pace never really got going in that event. As a result, the top 3 finishers from the slower section took 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th overall. Furcht finished 2^nd in the fast heat but had to settle for 5^th overall. With revenge on his mind, Furcht threw down a fantastic race in the 3k, but was denied the title yet again as Bobby Micikas of Crestwood sprinted by him with an epic kick. Both runners dropped (at the time) mammoth PRs at 8:35 and 8:36.

No, I’m not done. Outdoors, Furcht went to the Penn Relays and faced Micikas again. Furcht ran the 4x8 at the very beginning of the day, but was otherwise fresh for the 3k final that night. He would be taking on not just Micikas and Tarsnane (his two big rivals) but also the top 2 finishers in the state from the indoor mile at PA states. Oh by the way, the reigning Footlocker National Champion Solomon Haile was also in the race as a huge favorite.

Ultimately, although Haile was expected to win, he didn’t have enough at the end of the race. Furcht was in position to strike for the title on the last lap before, once again, Micikas surprised with a late surge for the victory. The Crestwood senior dropped an 8:23.84 to Furcht’s 8:24.72 and the two took 1-2 in the event. At outdoor states, Furcht put all his eggs in the 3200 basket. A well-executed second half surge put Micikas out of position to kick him down. However, Jimmy Tarsnane was ready for revenge. The Perkiomen Valley senior sprinted by Ben for a 9:04.22 to 9:04.55 championship finish. Another silver for Furcht.

Look, I think my bias is showing. I’m a big Ben Furcht guy (he has a running diaries character so you know he must be a big deal) and although he didn’t get that state title, he was less than a second away from being an all-time great on many levels.

Defining Teams

CB South

PA’s greatest 4x8 of all time started out in the shadow of another all-time great. As North Penn stormed to a 7:38 mark at the 2008 state championship, CB South was clawing for a 7:46.32. South returned three members of that team and saw first-hand how close to a state record a team could be. They had to cut 10 seconds off their prior best mark if they were going to knock off a legendary Wissahickon record. From the first meets of the season, they were focused on getting it.

During indoor track, CB South was off to a slow start. Tom Mallon, the reigning outdoor state champ at 800, was struggling in his junior year. The relay was OK, but Upper Dublin and North Penn were turning more heads. However, when push came to shove, Mallon came to play. The junior stepped up a shocked Upper Dublin’s Mike Palmisano at states with a then record 1:51.79 (#11 US AT on race day). Then Mallon came back to anchor his 4x8 to a state championship over the 4x defending champions from North Penn. His 1:52 carry led to a 7:49.01 time which was then the second best mark in state meet history.

This was a good start, but CB South still had a long way to go to get down to 7:36. They needed some guys to step up outside of their all-star anchor leg in Mallon. And they didn’t have to wait long to get those performances. At the Penn Relays, CB South ran 7:52.08 to make the championship of America. Mallon, usually the team’s savior, managed just a 1:57.3 in the prelims and said he felt terrible. The other legs pick up the slack with marks in the 1:58-1:57 range. A day later, they ran the finals.

With the pressure on, CB South clocked an unreal 7:36.93 (which was absurdly just 3^rd best in a race that featured 5 sub 7:40 teams and a then national record for Abemarle at 7:30.67). Jeff Dickson set the tone with a 1:57.20, Matt Poiesz clocked 1:53.41, Dave Manion dropped a 1:56.53 and then Tom Mallon brought things home. With a 1:49.79.

With that kind of time in the bank in April, South seemed like a lock to cut off the remaining second or so needed to break Wissahickon’s record of 7:36.24. All they needed was the right amount of competition. At states, they got just that. But we will talk about that later.  

North Allegheny

During the 2007 Cross Country season, North Allegheny was the early favorite to win states until North Penn decided they were a juggernaut on the trails as well as the track (the Tigers took 3^rd). But after graduating their two top guys (who were 9^th and 12^th at states), NA retooled and somehow got better. With an unreal pack led by varsity rookie Chase Broussard, the Tigers rolled through the Carlisle Invitational and crushed defending champion North Penn. Also developing as a star was sophomore Ryan Gil who went on to take 3^rd at WPIALs.

But alas, the Tigers were not meant to be states champions in 2008. The North Penn Knights ended up the champs again and North Allegheny, in a surprise twist, dropped to 3^rd in the final standings. It was the second straight year that the Tigers were left off the podium. But they didn’t sit back and stay sullen in defeat. North Allegheny trained hard through to the Nike Northeast Regionals. It was here that they knocked off North Penn and qualified for the National Championships, again utilizing a crazy strong pack. They were picked to finish last at Nationals, but NA ended up taking 12^th overall. That’s one of the best finishes PA has ever had at a national championship, beating all-time great squads like 2012 Henderson and 2015 DT West.

Ryan Gil was the big name from that crew, but at the time he was just a sophomore. Chase Broussard, Pat Morgan, Will Appman and Eric Balaban rounded out the top 5. It wasn’t really a star studded group but they are arguably the best North Allegheny team we’ve seen in the last 12 seasons. Which is saying something when you consider how stacked past squads have been.

Upper Dublin

Ah yes, my high school. The blog would likely not exist if it wasn’t for the Class of 2009 at Upper Dublin. These guys were hard working, determined and inspiring. Plus they always gave me stuff to talk about on the penntrack forums. Mike Palmisano was our #1 guy. He spent his entire senior season gunning for a state title. After taking 3^rd at the indoor and outdoor state champions at 800 as a junior, Palm went after gold his senior season. However, despite running a near meet record time, Tom Mallon blasted by him on the last lap for the gold in that event. So outdoors, Palm decided to jump up to the 1600 and avoid Mallon. It was here that he got that elusive gold with a 4:13 PR.

But what was crazy about Mike was the doubles and triples he attempted. Palmisano ran 3 races at leagues (winning the 16, 8 and taking 2^nd to a teammate in the 32) then a week later ran 6 races (trails and finals of the 4x8, 16, 8) and took 2^nd, 1^st, 3^rd in the events. Then a week later he ran 6 more races (the same 6) and took 2^nd, 1^st, 3^rd at states. When he graduated, he held school records for the basically all the distance events.

However, the team around him was super strong as well. Paul Reilly finished 3^rd at indoor states in the 800 during his first ever indoor season. He dropped an open 1:55 after just dipping under 2 minutes the year before during the spring. Matt Lorenzo mastered the 1200 leg better than anybody and Pat Reilly, Paul’s twin, turned his first ever track season (indoors or out) into a 1:56 split by the end of outdoors.

That combination of talent led to an indoor state title in the DMR, a Penn Relays championship in the DMR and a silver outdoors in the 4x8. They dropped a mark of 7:40.04 and, if it wasn’t for CB South, would have been a legendary relay squad (that was #6 in state history at the time). Instead they are a bullet point next to them in the history books. In XC, Upper Dublin took 5^th at states in both 2007 and 2008 and was 2^nd and 3^rd at districts in those same years.

Best “The 11” Story

Other Districts in XC

Prior to the 2008 XC season, District One had been absolutely dominant in XC. They had the top 4 AAA finishers in 2006 and then the top 6 in 2007. Plus the district posted 37 of the 50 AAA medalists during that span. However, things took a turn starting in 2008 as a generation of small district runners made a name for themselves.

It started with Bud Plazenski of District 9 Dubois. In a truly unprecedented performance, Bud, basically completely off the state radar, dropped a huge state meet performance and finished 3^rd overall. District 2 got in the action with top 10 finishes from both Bobby Micikas and sophomore Reece Ayers. Looking back, those names make sense. Ayers was a top 20 finisher in the northeast region multiple years and Micikas went on to win the indoor state title over 3,000. But at the time those guys were also big unknowns. The same can be said for sophomores Wade Endress (14^th) and Jacob Kildoo (17^th). Three District 11 guys made the podium and the first PCL guys ever (O’Sullivan and O’Kane).

Heck, even the district medalists from the major districts were surprising. Tarsnane, Will Kellar and Dan Krystek all placed better at states than districts. Kevin Hull was the top D3 runner after placing well back at districts and Zach Johnston pulled out a surprise medal for the middle of the state as well.

Welcome to the PIAA LaSalle

Along the same lines, LaSalle joined the PIAA and added to the craziness at XC states. We didn’t know exactly how this squad would stack up, but there was plenty of respect for this program. It went to another level after this state meet. LaSalle was 9^th at the Carlisle Invitational at the end of September, placing behind 7 other state quality programs in the standings and 210 points behind North Allegheny (NA put 5 guys in front of their #1). They didn’t have a clear #1 runner and they didn’t have the spread to make up for that. But guess what? LaSalle came to play when the pressure was on and finished 2^nd in the states-ahead of North Allegheny.

I’m still not exactly sure what happened in this race. If you look at the results, it’s not exactly clear how LaSalle jumped one point ahead of NA in the final standings. Tom O’Kane had the best race of perhaps his career, surprising for 25^th overall. They had just a 24 second spread and, with just 2 top 50 finishers and 1 top 30 guy, somehow snuck out a set of state medals.

PTFCA Indoor Mile

I alluded to this race already, but I think it would make for a compelling story. So you have TJ Hobart and Ben Havleck-two all-time greats searching for that illusive state title. You have a slow heat that gets after it and pushes the pace, posting multiple state medalists and nearly steals the state gold. You have Ivo Milic-Straklj, a surprise independent leaguer who finishes with the state title as a DIII recruit (an all-time great at Haverford who has plenty of all-time greats). Lots of layers to peel back in this one.

Best Race

AAA 4x800m

The deepest 4x800 in state history. The boys from CB South came out ready to chase the record and their lead off leg, Jeff Dickson, set the stage for that record right away with a blazing fast 1:55 carry (roughly a 2 second PR) which meant you could kiss the record good bye from the jump. But what was more interesting was the fact that he was far from alone. North Penn went toe to toe with South from the jump, getting a 1:55 lead of their own. Abington’s Elezar Cardosa also got that young squad in the mix. A bunch more teams were in the 1:57 range.

South’s Dave Manion got the stick next and was tasked with opening up a gap, but his competition didn’t let him. Manion dropped another 1:55 meaning they had a 1:55 average (7:40 pace) which should knock out most of the competition. But alas, the squads were ready to battle. North Penn got another 1:55 leg. Tres Moore of Penncrest got in the mix with a 1:54. Upper Dublin and Henderson got 1:53 legs (Henderson making the smart choice to change their order and move Will Kellar to 2^nd instead of anchor). Carlisle’s Kyle Hurston had an awesome leg as well.

On leg 3, CB South finally did open up that gap. It was Matt Poiesz who did work for the squad. Poiesz was an underappreciated #2 leg who made a big sacrifice so that the team could get the record. He had the individual credentials to be a state medalist, perhaps even an all-state runner, for the 800 (and maybe the 400). But they needed fresh legs for Poiesz if they wanted that record. In his only state final, Poiesz blasted a 1:53 carry and opened up on the rest of the field to give the baton to Tom Mallon.

Then Mallon did what he does. Without another guy in view, Mallon dropped a 1:49.1 split and smashed the old record, stopping the clock at 7:33.48.

And the teams behind him? They kept chasing. Upper Dublin was second in 7:40.04 (thanks to a 1:51 carry from Mike Palmisano) and then 8 other teams broke 7:50 including 8 at 7:45 or better! It took 7:45 to medal. What’s crazy is that Cumberland Valley dropped the baton at the onset, otherwise they took would have likely been in this crop of sub 7:50 teams (they were sub 7:50 the year before and flanked closely to Carlisle during the regular season).

CB South set their school record. Upper Dublin set theirs. Henderson ran the second fastest 4x8 in program history with 4 guys coming back the next year. North Penn ran 7:42.47, #5 in a prestigious school history, the year after they graduated 3 of their all-time greats. Penncrest set their school record. Souderton set their school record. Carlisle set their school record (which survived the Affolder era amazingly). Baldwin ran their second fastest time in school history.

Those facts aren’t just “at the time”. They hold up to this date.  

AAA 1600m

I would suggest giving this a YouTube search. Matt Chylak of HG Prep, notorious for liking to push the pace (he helped make the indoor state mile what it was) blasted out the first 400 at a suicide pace, crossing the first lap in 59 seconds. Chylak was good (he made the state final) but he wasn’t sub 4 good. The pack held back and waited for him to come back. After two laps, they kept waiting. After three laps (around 3:08-3:09) they were still waiting. Now fans like me had to be getting nervous for their athletes.

It took until about 100 meters to go, but eventually the pack surpassed Chylak. Palmisano led the train and rolled through with a big kick for the championship less than an hour after a 1:51 carry. 9 guys were under 4:17 and Chylak hung on to stay on the medal stand with a 4:16.12.

Biggest “What If”

TJ Hobart doesn’t fall indoors

Cumberland Valley doesn’t drop the baton in the 4x8

You have to wonder about the ripple effects of these flukey moments. Would Hobart have won the indoor mile? Would a faster time in that event have discouraged Palmisano from chasing the 16 instead of the 8 come outdoors? Does Hobart’s legacy change with a state championship?

And for CV, how fast could they have run in the 4x8? Would they have made this race even more competitive somehow? Or would it be overcrowded and a fall or a slip or something would have messed up the race?

Phil Wood doesn’t transfer

LaSalle had a student by the name of Phil Wood for a few years before he moved to a private school in New Jersey. But Wood still lived inside the PA borders. And it was with a PA address that Wood ultimately qualified for the Footlocker National Championships in XC. So that should give you an idea of how talented Phil Wood was. If he stayed at LaSalle through his senior season, Wood could transform the state landscape. For starters, he boosts the score of the 2^nd place team in the state by some 30 points (putting them right in the mix for a team title). Plus individually, maybe he would have won the state title over Tarsnane and Furcht considering his performance at the Footlocker Regional meet.

Sam Bernitt doesn’t run XC

In 2007, North Penn picked up Brad Miles from the soccer team and transformed their squad into a state title contender. In 2008, after graduating two state medalists, they needed to reload that firepower. So where do you look? How about the soccer team? North Penn pulled Sam Bernitt onto their team and the rest is history. In his first year of XC, Bernitt clocked a time in the 15:30s and placed 10^th at states, leading the Knights to a second straight state title. Sam was worth a roughly 50 point swing in the standings for XC. Bernitt went on to deliver a strong 4x8 leg on North Penn’s 7:42 squad outdoors for extra benefit.

My Personal Best Running Moment(s)

It’s funny-my high school and college years kind of resembled each other. Freshman year for both I was just trying to figure things out and find my footing. But I ended the season feeling like I had more to give. Sophomore year of both, I really hit my stride and dropped some big PRs while gaining a lot of confidence and knowledge. Then junior year, in both locations, I had some setbacks and didn’t see the improvement I was hoping for. But you have to dwell on the positives and, thankfully, those are the memories that jump to mind for this post.

XC JV

As I’ve alluded to already, we had a pretty good XC squad in 2008 and so I had the chance to a part of a pretty strong JV squad. It was cool going into races and trying to win as a JV team or even as an individual (although I had better teammates in Ryan Desch and Ian McGrath that never let that happen). Being at the front of an XC race is a pretty wild experience and, yes, it was a JV race, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of fun. So shout out to JV runners and shout out to my JV teammates that helped put together awesome results at Foundation and Suburbans circa 2008.

2:01 in Sam Stortz’s spikes

So junior year wasn’t great for me, but it did have some PRs. The most memorable was a 4x8 at the fabled Trojan Track Classic. I was supposed to run the second leg and, in preparation, laced up my spikes. But here’s the thing-I like to lace up my spikes really tight on my narrow feet. That created an issue as, when I went to pull the laces, I straight up ripped them off the shoe. So now I couldn’t tie my shoe and, guess what, the race starts almost as soon as this happens.

I called up to the stands to ask anyone to help me out. We flipped me to 3^rd leg instead of 2^nd. I laced up Sam Stortz’s spikes for the first time (which were supposedly half a size too small) and dropped my fastest split of the season with a 2:01.9. I think it really helped that I stopped overthinking the race and had my mind somewhere else. Don’t overthink it kids. Just race. And also don’t rip your shoe laces.

PA’s Fastest Seniors

800m (1:55)

1. Mike Palmisano, Upper Dublin 1:52.45*

2. Kevin Hull, Hempfield 1:52.4h/1:53.88

3. Sam Havko, Fairview 1:52.78

4. Michael Robinson, Dubois 1:53.71

1600m (4:17)

1. Sam Havko, Fairview 4:10.17

2. TJ Hobart, Baldwin 4:12.09*

3. Mike Palmisano, Upper Dublin 4:13.93

4. Kevin Hull, Hempfield 4:15.13

5. Ben Furcht, Lower Merion 4:15.6h

6. Bobby Micikas, Crestwood 4:15.78

7. Dustin Horning, Elizabethtown 4:15.79

8. Seth Hibbs, Horsham 4:15.93

9. Matt Chylak, HG Prep 4:16.12

10. Kyle Hurston, Carlisle 4:16.24

11. Jim Spisak, Bishop McCourt 4:16.86

3200m (9:20)

1. Jimmy Tarsnane, Perkiomen Valley 9:04.22

2. Ben Furcht, Lower Merion 9:04.55

3. Joe Beveridge, Bishop McDevitt 9:11.89*

4. Bobby Micikas, Crestwood 9:12.48

5. Matt McCullough, Malvern Prep 9:16.53c

6. Jim Spisak, Bishop McCourt 9:18.10*

7. Matt Gillette, Parkland 9:19.21

8. Nick Bonaventure, Penncrest 9:20.00

4x800m (7:47)

1. CB South 7:33.48

2. Upper Dublin 7:40.04

3. Henderson 7:42.01

4. North Penn 7:42.47

5. Penncrest 7:42.67

6. Souderton 7:43.69

7. Carlisle 7:44.20

8. Baldwin 7:45.44

9. Abington 7:45.69