Well, the Penn Relays are under a week away and I can smell that fine Philadelphia air, hear the whoops of a finishing kick and see a computer screen which has the words I'm typing right now slowly appearing. It's truly a magical time.
Here at the blog, we will be celebrating Penn Relays as best we can with many Relay themed activities (I'll be using the label PRatPR) and we are kicking things off by bringing the conversation straight to the people with a Penn Relays themed discussion night.
In case you have never experienced a discussion night before or need a reminder, we will be opening up the comment section for about an hour tonight (somewhere around 8:30, depending on when I get back from my run) and comments will go live immediately to promote a fun discussion of the latest in PA track and field news. Feel free to start early or stay late by commenting on this post.
Here are some questions that I came up with while looking at the entries (full entries and past results for the Penn Relays can be found by clicking around here).
Who will be PA's Top Miler: Hoey, Kolor, Dahl or Hoey?
Who will be PA's Top 3ker: Brophy, Hockenbury, Henderson or Kirshebaum?
Will Brophy and Dahl run on their 4x8 early in the morning on Friday? How will this effect their races later that night?
How many teams will make the COA Finals for the 4x8 from PA? Who will they be?
Which team is your biggest sleeper in the 4x8? Who are you looking most forward to watching race?
How will O'Hara do as PA's lone team in the DMR? Can they shock the world with another top finish/victory?
Which 4x400 teams will shine on Saturday?
Shout out to Jordan Geist, PA's out of this world Shot Putter who got snubbed from our show last night. How will he do on the big stage at Penn?
And feel free to go off script and offer up your own!
We want to hear all your thoughts, predictions and other ideas related to the Penn Relays in anticipating of our upcoming previews and yet another edition of TheRoundHouse next Monday at 9 PM. Super in depth previews are already in the works as well. Also keep in mind, etrain will be on site at the Penn Relays to help cover the event live and in person. There will be an official two hour meet and greet block on Penn Relays Friday. More on that to come, but if you want to meet the man behind the blog, ask him some questions, and perhaps even end up in a TheRoundHouse segment, this will be your chance.
PS - Feel free to discuss other things as well like the upcoming Shippensburg Invitational. We are mainly here to stir the pot rather than steer the boat if you know what I'm saying.
Showing posts with label Discussion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discussion. Show all posts
NCAA Top 50 Review & Discussion
By: Garrett Zatlin
Well ladies and gents, the NCAA Top 50 List is finally complete with in depth analysis on each runner. It was surprisingly more effort than I expected it to be and I now have a new-found appreciation for the rankings that Etrain puts up every year. Recently, the blog has experienced some very nice growth after being mentioned on LetsRun and gaining a solid amount of followers on Twitter (@TheRealTrain11). I’ve had a lot of feedback from you guys and have had some excellent debates, which is awesome so keep it coming!
Well ladies and gents, the NCAA Top 50 List is finally complete with in depth analysis on each runner. It was surprisingly more effort than I expected it to be and I now have a new-found appreciation for the rankings that Etrain puts up every year. Recently, the blog has experienced some very nice growth after being mentioned on LetsRun and gaining a solid amount of followers on Twitter (@TheRealTrain11). I’ve had a lot of feedback from you guys and have had some excellent debates, which is awesome so keep it coming!
Here is a list of the Top 50 names with links to the article
they were mentioned in. Feel free to review and lend your feedback.
27. Craig Nowak, Junior, Oklahoma St. 2. Futsum Zienasellassie, Senior, N. Arizona
26. Kevin Dooney, Senior, Yale 1. Edward Cheserek, Junior, Oregon
26. Kevin Dooney, Senior, Yale 1. Edward Cheserek, Junior, Oregon
After it was all said and done, I began to reconsider some of my picks. Here are some of the names that I believe could’ve been more accurately placed…
Under-ranked (actual place/more accurate placement)
Jordy Williamsz, Senior, Villanova
Jordy Williamsz, Senior, Villanova
Matthew
Schwartzer, Senior, Indiana (41st/36th)
Amos
Bowen, Senior, Wyoming (33rd/27th)
Chris
Walden, Senior, California (23rd/20th)
Marc
Scott, Senior, Tulsa (22nd/18th)
John Mascari, Senior, Indiana St. (7th/5th)
Over-ranked (actual place/more accurate placement)
Chartt Miller, Junior, Iona (44th/50th)
Mike O’Dowd, Senior, Iona (40th/45th)
Chartt Miller, Junior, Iona (44th/50th)
Mike O’Dowd, Senior, Iona (40th/45th)
Kyle
King, Senior, Virginia (39th/42nd)
Joel
Hubbard, Junior, Syracuse (30th/33rd)
Fabian
Clarkson, Senior, Oklahoma St. (28th/34th)
Pierce
Murphy, Senior, Colorado (20th/22nd)
Multiple
Runners By Team
5 individuals
1.
Colorado (72)
2.
Stanford (128)
3.
Syracuse (166)
3 individuals
Mississippi
(125)
2 individuals
1.
Louisville (33)
2.
Wisconsin (35)
3.
Oregon (48)
4.
Villanova (53)
5.
Oklahoma St. (55)
6.
Colorado St. (65)
7.
Iona (84)
8.
NC State (85)
On
that note, I will leave you all with some questions…
-Who
do you think was over or under ranked?
-Which
of the four sophomores will have the best year? (Knight, Hardy, Mock, Bennie)
-Who
is your favorite to win the Great Lakes region? West region?
-What
are your top 10 teams looking like? My top teams list will be up in a couple of
weeks…
Discuss
away!
-Garrett
P.S. I will begin my PA alumni Top 20 and NCAA Top Teams list within the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
P.S. I will begin my PA alumni Top 20 and NCAA Top Teams list within the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
Official PA Distance Festival Discussion
Edit: Heat sheets now available at www.runccrs.com. Thanks to the commenter a post below for pointing this one out.
I will also post up a few quick thoughts to hopefully stir the pot.
800m
Lewis is back and going after his own record with no prelims or 400m runs in his legs plus the confidence to know he has already run 1:48. He's training through for nationals and a shot at a title and an all time type mark so this meet should be an excellent opportunity to keep his momentum and enthusiasm going.
But this is also setting up to be his toughest challenge of the season. With all due respect to Sauer, Eddinger and Graca who ran amazing this spring, I honestly think the 2nd, 3rd and maybe 4th best 800m men in the state when fresh are Peretta, McDevitt and Ritz in some order. Ritz hasn't run a true time trial 800 yet this spring but has run a 3:47 1500m and ran 1:51 on the double during indoors. Plus I believe he is the only PA runner to beat Lewis at 800m this "year" when he beat him at the Armory in December. The problem for Ritz will be that he has been traveling back and forth across the country this week and just recently ran a hard mile at Hayward. That's going to make it tough to run fast, but I really appreciate that he is not making excuses and still taking this great opportunity to chase a fast time. Gotta give credit where credit is due, this is a gutsy move.
Peretta has been virtually unchallenged at 800 this year with his closest battle probably coming against Graca at Baldwin where he won 1:52-1:54 or something along those lines, both men doubling back from the mile. That's the other thing, keep in mind that Peretta has not run a fresh 800m all year, he's always doubling back from the 16. That hasn't stopped him from running 1:51.50, 1:52.44 and 1:53.30 in three winning efforts, two of which he was leading the entire way. It's possibly Peretta won't lead a single step this time around.
And then there's McDevitt who quietly became one of the best 800m runners in state history at Henderson earlier this year with his 1:51 mark against Sauer and Boswell from DE (set to be in this race as well). McDevitt has been really impressive at 800m, surprising myself and others (and maybe himself) with his ability to go down in distance. He has beaten Sauer the last two times they raced and since Sauer ran 1:49ish/1:51.00 this past weekend, would it be a huge surprise if McDevitt challenged the 1:50 barrier?
Looking for big PRs as well will be some top flight relay runners in Tucker Desko of Pennridge and Evan Emanuel of Penncrest. Austin Howell and Jeff Espinal of Pennridge are also both expected to be involved after their 7:40 run at states. Matt Wisner and David Fletcher are two others to watch, both of whom have excellent kicks and hit their stride at states.
The big question will be can anyone beat Lewis and, is it smart to try? Making too big of a move down the back stretch to try and catch up may take a toll on one of these guys for the final 200m. That being said, Lewis's running style is perfect for dragging these miler types in the field to a fast time. If they sit back, ride the pace and try and kick down the final 200m, we might see multiple sub 1:50 performers in the same heat for what would likely be the first time in PA history.
Mile
Zach Brehm will be running just the mile, leaving him fresh and focused for possibly the first time since last summer at nationals. He's fresh of an 8:55 state meet record run in the loaded 3200m and a third state title. I'd argue Brehm's best event is the mile so after seeing 8:55 the day after 4:18/1:55 it will be interesting to see if he can break that 4:09 mark from two years ago.
Two years ago he was helped by efforts from guys like Tony Russell pushing the pace so it will be interesting to see who, if anyone, is interested in helping keep this one fast throughout. There are some very fast out of staters signed up (Kieran Tuntivate, Boswell, Edwin Rutto) but I would be lying to you if I told you I had any idea what sort of ability/strategy they have in store. But from PA it looks like Mike Kolor, Jaxson Hoey and Colin Abert will provide the main threat for gold alongside Brehm.
Kolor has technically run the fastest of all the PA guys in the field at 1600, having already run 4:11 low. Kolor had a bit of a disappointing finish in the states field where he was 4th, but a non tactical, fast race could suit him the best of the group. He will be out for revenge in this one.
Meanwhile newly crowned state champ Jaxson Hoey is still undefeated at 1600m this spring and unleashed a killer kick to win states. I doubt he will be afraid of a fast pace or making a big move to try and shake Brehm. Last year at this meet he ran the equivalent of 4:11.13 in the 1500 and this year all signs suggest he's in better shape (speed wise at least).
Colin Abert ran 8:56.00 at states. Any other year that wins. He ran 14:55 at Lehigh. He ran sun 15:50 at states. But somehow he's "under the radar". I completely underestimated his ability for states and he wowed me with his awesome near gold performance. So why should I expect him not to come back with a vengeance in this race? He's run 4:14 solo this year and if states was any indication, he will benefit from some company this time around. 8:56 for 3200m suggests to me 4:10 or fast is in play. Remember Barchet and KJ last year ran about 4:11-4:12 and they were both 9:03ish guys and you can argue Barchet was definitely not known for his speed.
Sleeper in Nick Dahl of GFS. The sophomore ran 9:02 on this very track earlier this year and sophomores historically have a history of running very fast here (see Brehm, Ritz, Logue). Dahl ran 4:18ish earlier in the season, but that 9:02 indicates there is room for more.
Keep an eye on Kyle Shinn and Cooper Leslie, both of whom will get the 1600m on fresh legs after impressive doubles at states in the event. Josh Hoey and Spencer Smucker are both slated to be involved in another battle of top Frosh as are top runners like Perlman, Sappey, Szuhaj, Morro, DiCintio, Knapp, RJ, Wills, Coakley and more.
Lastly, keep an eye out for Casey Comber in the 5000m. Could be an indication of a possible try for that event at nationals later this month. Curious if anyone knows the state record at 5k on the track? I honestly don't know, but I'd imagine Comber has a real shot at it at this meet.
Official State Championships Discussion
Live Results link here: http://www.piaa.org/news/details.aspx?ID=3286
Discuss away in the comment section! As always splits, behind the scenes info and thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated.
See you guys tomorrow.
Official State Discussion and Prediction Post
by Jarrett Felix
UPDATE: The Writers Round Table Now Includes predictions from Paul Hayes, Garrett Zatlin, Evan Hatton, Caleb Gatchell and Sean Collins! Check it out at the link below
So state's is closing in on us now and with Saturday looming, it's time to switch the conversation away from me talking and back toward's you guys talking. If all goes well with our group's schedule, tomorrow should feature a group prediction post similar to what we did for NCAA's from our writers. The link to it is below, but it likely won't become active until Wednesday night.
Writer's Round Table: State's Predictions
Here's a reminder of etrain's picks and his pre race analysis ...
800m
1600m
3200m
4x800m
And some heat sheets as a reminder ....
AA Heat Sheets
AAA Heat Sheets
Now for the prediction contest rules! Comment below by Friday morning at 8 AM to be eligible.
Large Scale Competition
Predict the top 5 finishers in each of the 4 AAA distance events. Your total score will be based on how close to the correct place you are: for example hypothetically if my top three is 1. Garrett 2. Evan 3. Sean and it actually ends up 1. Evan 2. Sean 5. Garrett, I would get one point for Evan, one point for Sean and 4 points for Garrett, giving me six points. The lowest score wins like a golf match. However, you can pick up a bonus if you correctly predict the winner (worth -3 points). Also if a runner you pick does not make it to the finals, their place is considered 13th regardless of their position. This will apply to the 3200m for anyone outside of the top 12 as well.
Small Scale Competition
We will also score each of the 8 events (4 AAA and 4 AA) in this same format to declare a winner for each event. This way if you feel more comfortable with just a specific event, you should still make your predictions for that event and get invovled!
We want to hear everyone's opinions and we want to be able to recognize those who make the correct predictions so please attach some type of name or code name so we have a way to identify you.
If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.
One last thing, I'm happy to say that barring an unexpected event, I will be in attendance for Saturday of the 2015 state championships. If you are interested in talking to me or any of the writers who end up making the trip, we will likely all be rocking the green and yellow etrain shirts I made so we should be relatively recognizable. Feel free to say hello! Always excited to hear from readers and maybe we can do some interviews or something like that.
Any questions, comments or predictions can be made in the usual way: tweet @jfetrain11 or any of the others writers, email at jarrettfelix1130@gmail.com or comment anywhere here on the blog!
And most importantly, enjoy the state championships!
-Jarrett "etrain11" Felix
UPDATE: The Writers Round Table Now Includes predictions from Paul Hayes, Garrett Zatlin, Evan Hatton, Caleb Gatchell and Sean Collins! Check it out at the link below
So state's is closing in on us now and with Saturday looming, it's time to switch the conversation away from me talking and back toward's you guys talking. If all goes well with our group's schedule, tomorrow should feature a group prediction post similar to what we did for NCAA's from our writers. The link to it is below, but it likely won't become active until Wednesday night.
Writer's Round Table: State's Predictions
Here's a reminder of etrain's picks and his pre race analysis ...
800m
1600m
3200m
4x800m
And some heat sheets as a reminder ....
AA Heat Sheets
AAA Heat Sheets
Now for the prediction contest rules! Comment below by Friday morning at 8 AM to be eligible.
Large Scale Competition
Predict the top 5 finishers in each of the 4 AAA distance events. Your total score will be based on how close to the correct place you are: for example hypothetically if my top three is 1. Garrett 2. Evan 3. Sean and it actually ends up 1. Evan 2. Sean 5. Garrett, I would get one point for Evan, one point for Sean and 4 points for Garrett, giving me six points. The lowest score wins like a golf match. However, you can pick up a bonus if you correctly predict the winner (worth -3 points). Also if a runner you pick does not make it to the finals, their place is considered 13th regardless of their position. This will apply to the 3200m for anyone outside of the top 12 as well.
Small Scale Competition
We will also score each of the 8 events (4 AAA and 4 AA) in this same format to declare a winner for each event. This way if you feel more comfortable with just a specific event, you should still make your predictions for that event and get invovled!
We want to hear everyone's opinions and we want to be able to recognize those who make the correct predictions so please attach some type of name or code name so we have a way to identify you.
If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.
One last thing, I'm happy to say that barring an unexpected event, I will be in attendance for Saturday of the 2015 state championships. If you are interested in talking to me or any of the writers who end up making the trip, we will likely all be rocking the green and yellow etrain shirts I made so we should be relatively recognizable. Feel free to say hello! Always excited to hear from readers and maybe we can do some interviews or something like that.
Any questions, comments or predictions can be made in the usual way: tweet @jfetrain11 or any of the others writers, email at jarrettfelix1130@gmail.com or comment anywhere here on the blog!
And most importantly, enjoy the state championships!
-Jarrett "etrain11" Felix
District Discussion Thread #2
The blog's Paul Hayes was on site for the 3200 at District One and gave us a solid description of the race. From the sounds of things Power took it out in about 4:32 and had put a decent gap on the field that was content to run 4:40ish pace and simply qualify for next weekend. Diestelow and Power both ran in the race despite speculation regarding their status. Power was apparently at 8:02 at 2800m before slowing down dramatically to a 9:15 victory. Brophy 2nd 9:17. Marston, Comber, Diestelow (9:19 for a PR), Knapp (9:20 for a PR) and then Maguire and McMenamin round out the 8 state qualifiers. The fact that so many top runners were doubling certainly appears to have led to a conservative pace. Thanks again to Paul for the updates.
Exactly 8 at SQS again in 4x8. Cheltenham lead off ends up back of field, Lewis jogs his leg as a result. CB East also not advancing. The rest of qualifiers at 7:54 or faster, very fast district race. 7:43 for Pennsbury winning is awesome for this meet. Might see sub 7:40 at states of competition is there. Mental flashback with Abington and CB West back at the top. With Cedar Creat winning in D3 reminds me a bit of 2010 4x8. Oddly reminiscent. Bishop Shanahan and Penn Wood run nice times, Radnor also impressed. Pennridge and Penncrest also heading to states. Apparently lead off legs were around 1:55 (West in the lead). Sauer held on at the end for the win holding off West and Abington who were the main competitors all race.
Official Districts Discussion
Some updates:
Norwin wins 4x8 at WPIALs and leads a crew of squads sub 8, including Penn Hills, NA, Butler, and Canon Mac
KJ runs a big anchor leg on O'Hara's winning 7:55 over LaSalle's 7:56 (James split 1:54.3). Could OH try the event at states? Also props to Bonner who got in on time at #3.
Peretta cruises to a huge margin of victory in 4:14 and is then followed by a thrilling AAA race where JVK won in 4:10.72 to Kolor's 4:11.21! Thanks Evan Hatton for the updates. Stupak, Wolk and Eric Kennedy also were are 4:22 and lock up state spots.
Cheltenham decides to do 4x8! DT West does not! I hinted that both of these were possible in my preview but didn't expect them to happen. Lewis apparently split 1:49 which is awesome but running 1:49 means that his other legs averaged just 2:01. Going to be a long weekend for Lewis. Meanwhile Pennsbury's nice and well rested.
3200m guys taking advantage of the extra day of rest between events (stealing from Paul Hayes) and making a run at the finals. Looks like Webb chose 16 over 32 because I can't imagine him going 32-4x8-16 practically back to back. That's good news for PB 4x8. Meanwhile Comber, Marston and Power make finals. Ironically Marston takes a spot from his teammate PJ Murray who is first man out in absurd 4:23.77. Welcome to district one.
DT West will have 3 in the finals and Rock Fortna (listed as not running trials of 4x8) takes advantage of the teams depth and uses the rest to make finals.
Daly cruises in the 16 and Patrick James sneaks up to surprise and take the 2nd auto for the 16. He joins his brother Kev on the state itinerary.
Lots of scratches in open 8, but still some very fast times. Sauer leads all with Eddinger also doubling back from 16 well for a spot. Huge day for the Stogs boys continues as Nelson drops to 1:55 and Cooper surprised (me at least) with another massive PR to run 1:56! Congrats to both. All CBW guys scratch from open 8, showing clear focus on relay. Lewis officially chooses the 8.
Lutzner looked solid in 1:56.10 win over 1:56 from Neumann Goretti's Gordon. JDL and co could be dangerous in 4x8 at AA states.
In AAA D12 800m, Stephen McClellan officially arrives. Wows with a 1:54 win over Sullivan's 1:55 (on the double). How high can sophomore McClellan go and I guess with two individual titles and one massive PR seems like Prep made smart choice to scratch 4x8 this go round. Pleasant surprise to see Colbert drop big 1:56.1 and get to states. Rapidly improving OH stand out Justin Jones runs 1:57.37 and barely missed the SQS. Worth asking again, does OH pursue the 4x8 at states?
McGoey solos 8:56 in the 32! Second sub 9 of the season and I believe the first time in state history we have had two guys sub 9 prior to the state meet. Unbelievable!
Also worth noting Peretta came back to solo a 1:51.5 and Graca won in about 1:52.8 according to Evan on site. Kolor capped his double somewhere around 1:53-54.
McGoey solos 8:56 in the 32! Second sub 9 of the season and I believe the first time in state history we have had two guys sub 9 prior to the state meet. Unbelievable!
Also worth noting Peretta came back to solo a 1:51.5 and Graca won in about 1:52.8 according to Evan on site. Kolor capped his double somewhere around 1:53-54.
Will continue to update as I hear more! Comment below with your thoughts!
Official League Week Discussion Thread
What's there to like and look for going into districts and states? Should I write some district previews? If so, which districts are you most interested in reading about? (Feel free to say all I'm prepared for that) What should be the next picture for the blog?
And of course, feel free to discuss the league meet action around the state.
Talk to you kids after the weekend is over. As always, stay classy
-train
Official Shippensburg Discussion Thread
I'm giving this strategy a go to see how it works out. Comment below to discuss your thoughts on the upcoming Shippensburg meet and what you think could happen. Times/places/rivalries its up to you.
You can see my preview a couple posts down and the performance lists are available on milesplit.
Happy Thursday
-train
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