NCAA Entries

Full Entries

800m

  1    231 Edward Kemboi                 SR Iowa State          1:46.09 
  2    151 Andres Arroyo                 SO Florida             1:46.78 
  3    321 Brandon McBride               JR Miss State          1:46.80 
  4    329 Dylan Capwell                 SO Monmouth            1:46.82 
  5     21 Alex Amankwah                 JR Alabama             1:46.86 
  6     86 Jesse Garn                    SR Binghamton          1:46.98 
  7    160 Ryan Schnulle                 JR Florida             1:47.29 
  8    184 Ryan Manahan                  SO Georgetown          1:47.34 
  9    212 Joe McAsey                    JR Illinois            1:47.38 
 10     93 Shaquille Walker              SO BYU                 1:47.44 
 11     17 Clayton Murphy                SO Akron               1:47.82 
 12    374 Paul Duffey                   SO Northeastern        1:48.02 
 13    185 Joseph White                  FR Georgetown          1:48.05 
 14    204 Edose Ibadin                  SR Hampton             1:48.19 
 15    219 Tre'tez Kinnaird              SO Indiana             1:48.20 
 16     30 Jacopo Lahbi                  SO Alabama             1:48.28 

Mile

  1    330 Cristian Soratos              SR Montana State       3:55.27 
  2    418 Edward Cheserek               SO Oregon              3:56.43 
  3    435 Brannon Kidder                JR Penn State          3:57.13 
  4    444 Julian Oakley                 JR Providence          3:57.22 
  5    601 Patrick Joseph                FR Virginia Tech       3:57.44 
  6    575 Anthony Rotich                SR UTEP                3:57.46 
  7    422 Johnny Gregorek               SR Oregon              3:57.47 
  8    426 Daniel Winn                   SR Oregon              3:57.62 
  9    403 Chad Noelle                   JR Oklahoma State      3:57.78 
 10    618 Izaic Yorks                   SO Washington          3:57.81 
 11    351 Elmar Engholm                 SO New Mexico          3:57.95 
 12    264 Keffri Neal                   SR Kentucky            3:58.02 
 13    269 Sam Penzenstadler             SR Loyola (Ill.)       3:58.05 
 14    108 Jake Hurysz                   SR Colorado            3:58.13 
 15    584 Robert Denault                JR Villanova           3:58.25 
 16    181 Ahmed Bile                    SO Georgetown          3:58.54 

3000m

  1    423 Eric Jenkins                  SR Oregon              7:44.91 
  2    421 Will Geoghegan                SR Oregon              7:45.71 
  3     58 Kemoy Campbell                SR Arkansas            7:48.13 
  4    419 Jeramy Elkaim                 JR Oregon              7:48.48 
  5    614 Colby Gilbert                 FR Washington          7:49.25 
  6    418 Edward Cheserek               SO Oregon              7:49.56 
  7     62 Stanley Kebenei               SR Arkansas            7:49.74 
  8    433 Robby Creese                  SR Penn State          7:50.36 
  9    399 Fabian Clarkson               JR Oklahoma State      7:50.49 
 10    599 Thomas Curtin                 JR Virginia Tech       7:50.63 
 11    479 Erik Olson                    SR Stanford            7:51.26 
 12    112 Morgan Pearson                JR Colorado            7:51.93 
 13    425 Parker Stinson                SR Oregon              7:52.21 
 14    108 Jake Hurysz                   SR Colorado            7:53.06 
 15    483 Martin Hehir                  SR Syracuse            7:53.15 
 16    350 Adam Bitchell                 SR New Mexico          7:53.27 

5000m

  1    423 Eric Jenkins                  SR Oregon             13:31.76 
  2    599 Thomas Curtin                 JR Virginia Tech      13:38.56 
  3    425 Parker Stinson                SR Oregon             13:38.68 
  4    111 Pierce Murphy                 JR Colorado           13:39.29 
  5    513 Craig Lutz                    JR Texas              13:40.30 
  6    159 Mark Parrish                  SR Florida            13:41.87 
  7     94 Jason Witt                    SR BYU                13:42.08 
  8    421 Will Geoghegan                SR Oregon             13:43.22 
  9    112 Morgan Pearson                JR Colorado           13:43.37 
 10    224 Kevin Lewis                   SR Iowa               13:43.70 
 11    194 Brandon Lord                  SR Georgia            13:43.92 
 12     58 Kemoy Campbell                SR Arkansas           13:44.96 
 13    133 Shaun Thompson                SR Duke               13:47.22 
 14    616 Aaron Nelson                  JR Washington         13:47.42 
 15    552 Marc Scott                    SO Tulsa              13:47.96 
 16    110 Ammar Moussa                  JR Colorado           13:48.34 
 

DMR (note: some substitutions are allowed I believe these are the names on the qualifying team)

 1  Georgetown                                           9:28.22 
     1) 186 Cole Williams JR            2) 185 Joseph White FR            
     3) 184 Ryan Manahan SO             4) 180 Amos Bartelsmeyer SO       
  2  Penn State                                           9:28.36 
     1) 435 Brannon Kidder JR           2) 438 Robert Rhodes JR           
     3) 440 Za'Von Watkins JR           4) 433 Robby Creese SR            
  3  Arkansas                                             9:28.37 
     1) 60 Austen Dalquist FR           2) 68 Jamarco Stephen FR          
     3) 67 Patrick Rono SR              4) 58 Kemoy Campbell SR           
  4  Virginia Tech                                        9:28.84 
     1) 600 Neil Gourley FR             2) 603 Prince Owusu-Mensah SR     
     3) 601 Patrick Joseph FR           4) 599 Thomas Curtin JR           
  5  Duke                                                 9:29.28 
     1) 132 Brian Schoepfer SR          2) 127 Brett Bofinger FR          
     3) 128 Henry Farley SR             4) 131 Nate McClafferty SR        
  6  Stanford                                             9:29.34 
     1) 476 Thomas Coyle SO             2) 480 Jackson Shumway SO         
     3) 477 Luke Lefebure JR            4) 478 Sean McGorty FR            
  7  Alabama                                              9:29.93 
     1) 23 Robbie Farnham-Rose SO       2) 25 Steven Gayle JR             
     3) 30 Jacopo Lahbi SO              4) 20 Matt Airola SR              
  8  Oklahoma State                                       9:30.65 
     1) 399 Fabian Clarkson JR          2) 405 Brandon Singleton FR       
     3) 400 Matthew Fayers FR           4) 403 Chad Noelle JR             
  9  Villanova  'B'                                       9:31.36 
     1) 589 Jordan Williamsz JR         2) 588 Donald Urschel JR          
     3) 586 Elliot Slade FR             4) 587 Dusty Solis SR             
 10  Iowa State                                           9:31.85 
     1) 231 Edward Kemboi SR            2) 230 Derek Jones SO             
     3) 233 Patrick Peterson SR         4) 228 Brian Biekert SR           
 11  Virginia                                             9:32.36 
     1) 593 Mike Marsella SO            2) 590 Payton Hazzard SR          
     3) 591 Nathan Kiley SO             4) 592 Kyle King JR               
 12  Oregon  'B'                                          9:32.61 
     1) 422 Johnny Gregorek SR          2) 417 Marcus Chambers SO         
     3) 420 Niki Franzmair FR           4) 418 Edward Cheserek SO         

The Triple

If Ed Cheserek pulls off his triple this weekend, it should go down as one of the greatest track and field performances in history, not only because of how much he’s doing, but also the people he’s doing it against. Keep in mind, this is no easy triple, no matter who you are running against, just ask Lawi Lalang. Last year he tried to triple mile, 5k, 3k. He didn’t win a single event. Cheserek’s proposed triple-mile, DMR, 3k-is just as tough in my opinion. Let’s just go over his schedule. He’ll start at 6:15 on Friday with the mile prelims, and then three hours later, he will come back and anchor the DMR. The prelim shouldn’t be a problem for Cheserek. He’s got great speed, and these prelims tend to be very tactical. I think one of them went out in about 68 last year. He should be able to just sit off the lead and then kick just hard enough to qualify. However, the DMR could be pretty dicey, especially with that mile prelim in his legs. Besides Cheserek, Chad Noelle is the only other anchor doubling back from the mile prelims, so he’s going to have to work pretty hard to get Oregon the win. I mean, look at the DMR this year. Penn State and Georgetown have ridiculous teams, and by the way, they both will have fresh anchors. Then you have Stanford and Villanova, both of whom will be completely fresh, and both of whom have a ton of potential. Cheserek will have to either run down, or hold off, a slew of guys capable of running 3:57 or better on that anchor leg. Sure, he can run 3:54 or better, but he will have to do it on at least somewhat tired legs. That’s going to take a lot out of him. Now, look at Saturday. He will start off with the mile against an absolutely stacked field. Christian Soratos is on an absolute tear this year, silencing all the doubters with a 3:55 mile at UW. The other thing that makes him so dangerous is that he just might have the speed to challenge Cheserek over the last 400. He opened up a pretty sizeable gap on Brannon Kidder, who’s no slouch himself. Three other names that deserve to be mentioned are Kidder himself, Anthony Rotich, and Julian Oakley. Now, Kidder won’t be fresh, but the other two will be, and they need to be respected. Rotich is the defending champion in the mile and the steeplechase outdoors, so he knows how to win championship races. To say Cheserek has his work cut out for him would be a pretty big understatement. Then, about 2 hours later, he will be coming back in the 3k. This is the race I think he’s the most vulnerable in. It will be his fourth race of the weekend, and I think this is the strongest field he will face. His teammate Eric Jenkins was just barely short of Galen Rupp’s collegiate 3k record at Millrose, and then he ran a really solid anchor on their DMR at MPSF championships. Then, seeded less than a second behind him is Will Geoghegan, who is also having a really solid indoor season. I think the other two names that really need to be watched closely are Stanley Kebenei and Kemoy Campbell, both of Arkansas. They have both run very well this year, recording season bests of 7:48 and 7:49 respectively. Neither one will be completely fresh, but they will be fresher than Cheserek, and gunning for him. Ultimately, I think we will see history this weekend. Edward Cheserek is just on another level compared to everyone else, and we’ve seen time and time again that he knows how to win championship races. I for one can’t wait to watch and see what happens. It’s going to be an exciting weekend.

If You Don't Know Now You Know

Indoors is an exciting season (and we still aren't done!) but for the brief window between indoor states and my upcoming nationals preview (Monday after entries are officially closed) I figured I would explore some sleeper teams for this coming outdoor season with you kids. Also be on the lookout for some NCAA related shenanigans soon, just need to brainstorm with my cohorts. So without further ado, here are some tooth fairy quality sleepers.

1. Carlisle

Ok so in the traditional sense of the word, these guys probably aren't quite "sleepers"when they have Zach Brehm and emerging star Matt Wisner on the roster, but we didn't see any real relay running or team action this indoors from these team, but I'd imagine that's all changing soon. The DMR this team has on paper is dangerous with Brehm and Wisner combining for sick end legs and someone like DeAngelo (strong XC season, solid 800m running last year) could be more than sufficient at his leg. Once DMR season is over (i.e. Post Penn Relays) the Carlisle 4x8 will be dangerous as well. They are defending champs if memory serves and have two guys 1:54 or faster, something that I don't think any other team in the state can boast at this stage in the game. Carlisle's school record is 7:44 from the mythical 2009 4x8 race (their 7:44 got them 7th that day) so they know how to put together a relay. 

Of course Wisner and Brehm's individual medal potential keeps things interesting and a little complicated, but perhaps even more worth watching.

2. Winchester Thurston

Here's the thing, at the end of cross, WT morphed into one of the best A schools in state history. They peaked beautifully and guys came back from injury at the perfect time. Although small schools usually are quiet during indoors, WT was active, showing strong 3k performances from a variety of performers. Littman, Hay and Forsythe have shown signs of promise already at a young age. Landin Delaney was a beast last track season and is defending champ from the loaded D7 championship a year ago. And then of course is Will Loevner. Will finished in the top 5 at A states in cross with a fantastic 16:23 and followed it in cross breaking 8:50 a couple times in the 3k. He was 3rd outdoors last year in the 32 and after barely being sneaked out by 3 guys for the last medal spot, the Loev bug could be in for a big season.

3. Altoona

I touched on these guys briefly in the recaps but I will reiterate here. Altoona is a strong program that has produced a slew of strong times and performances, but somehow we haven't seen them recently in the outdoor state finals in the 4x8. With Foust coming off a breakthrough 1:56 and George coming off his own breakthrough season, this team could really make noise. Also keep on eye on Jerrod Sunderland. He's more of a distance type, but he's a gutsy racer who likely could deliver in a variety of situations.

4. Abington 

I was around for the 2008-2011 Abington stretch and it was crazy. It took them a little bit of time to really get things cooking but when they hit their stride (2010-2011) they were absurdly good at 400 and 800. This team isn't quite as good as those squads, but they are rapidly ascending. 

5. Cedar Crest

6. JP McCaskey

Cedar Crest is historically masters of the 4x8 and was one of the primary teams robbed in the joke that was 4x8 qualifying this season. They ran an awesome race with JP McCaskey at F&M and both teams look like they have major potential to drop time this spring. McCaskey had a strong XC season, bolstered by the emergence of Nate Henderson and their excellent top 4 on the trails should translate well to the oval. Cedar Crest was in the state finals a year ago and, although they lost their best leg at 1:55, they have the experience and program history to be back under 8 minutes.

7. Seneca Valley

Last year's D7 4x8 leaders grabbed state medals behind Foster's excellent running a year ago. He's moved on but Benjamin, Quiggle and Kolor are still around and just as talented as ever. Kolor is coming off a 4:19 mile in his first big time state final, holding his own nicely as a junior. Quiggle looked great at TSTCAs and Benjamin is rounding into form well too. Keep an eye on SV this outdoors.

8. Pleasant Valley

Back to back Valleys here as we look at Pleasant Valley next. Khai Samuels exploded this indoor season, throwing down the exclamation point at states in 1:54.99 for his first state medal. Add in Seth Slavin and this team has two dangerous individuals in D11. The D11 story is very up in the air with Emmaus, Whitehall and Easton all fighting to claim top spots individually and in the relays, but pleasant valley shouldn't be overlooked as a contender. Especially if their top 400m runner can jump up in distance to the 8.

9. Tunkhannock

This is quietly one of the best programs around. Tunk is led this year by Jack Tidball, who dropped down around 8:45 in the 3k at states and took home a top 5 spot. In recent years the Tigers (I think? The colors suggest Tigers and Tunkhannock Tigers sounds too good to be true) have put up Reece Ayers (3 top 10 individual finishes in AAA is absurd), a 6th place team in AAA states, a state championship in A and multiple sub 1:55 800m runners in Nole and Damiani. Tidball is looking strong for outdoors where he ran in the 9:20s a year ago. His teammate Jacob Toczko may be on the verge of a breakthrough of his own after his sneaky good 9:03 3k this indoors.

10. Hershey 

Adam Rabon was an indoor state qualifier in the mile, running around 4:31ish. Then Hershey boasts Will Sponaugle and Aiden Demko who were sub 16 during cross. Demko was an individual medalist during cross and Sponaugle was in the low 4:20s last spring individually. This trio should be fun to watch in a loaded D3. I mean seriously, I already mentioned a slew of D3 teams with upside and didn't even mention Cumberland Valley or Hempfield (had a strong indoor campaign and was D3 XC champs!). Regardless, I think the Chocolates have a good chance to hold their own.

11. South Williamsport 

Griff Molino has been absent since his XC state meet victory and near record, but hopefully this outdoors he is going to be returning to center stage. He ran 4:12 and 9:19 last year on the track, fantastic times. Molino v Perretta on the track this spring could be the race of the year. Unless of course we convince Molino, Perretta, Ritz, Brehm, James, Webb, Brophy and McDevitt to throw down against each other at meet of champs in June. Think about it guys!

Anyway, Molino is a stud and his team has been pretty solid as well. They have posted up some solid 4x8s in recent years and Molino's teammate Hunter Crawley is coming off a fantastic XC season that included a state medal. 

As T.O. Says, that's my quarterback. 

I mean get your popcorn ready. Whatever.

Fast Times and Penn State High

Indoor times are getting faster. Way faster. The mile record has been broken back to back years (fairly dramatically this time around). The top 3 times in the state championship race rank among the top 6 or so times in meet history. 

After the best 800m in state history a year ago, things were practically topped again this season with a whole new crew of Lewis, Graca and Ritz. Lewis came within 3 hundredths of a second of besting the state record. If he had, it would have been the 5th time in 7 years the state record was broken, an absurd amount of times for a record. Elias Graca's 1:50.86 probably wins 99.99% of state championships in the nations history, but it was silver on Sunday. Sam Ritz's 1:51.79 would have been top 12 or so all time nationally in 2009. Now it's fighting to hang in the top 7 of just the PA all time list. 

Even the 3k, relatively tame by most standards time wise, produced 3 sub 8:40 marks for the top 3 finishers, an unthinkable series of marks as recently as 2005. 

Now to be fair, give a record enough time and it will fall. What's the saying about records being made to be broken? If you look at the distance meet records outdoors they are basically all from recent years (CB South, Magaha, Wilson). However, the indoor records have been largely demolished and our standards for what is "good" have been dramatically altered. Just ask Alek Sauer who finished 4th in the 800m in 1:52.99, a mark faster than the meet record prior to 2009. 

Some of this could do with over emphasis on indoor track. With the competition increasing, it takes more and more effort to maintain a state champion caliber effort. As a result, it's become harder and harder to hold that effort level through an entire year.

Since 2008, 3/21 indoor state champs have won individual outdoor titles in the same event, roughly 14%. Now some of that stat is misleading. A variety of those champs ran in the independent league and therefore could not defend their title. For example, Ritz already is in a position where he can't defend his title (unless we start giving real credibility to the meet of champions races this June). Lewis may switch to the 400m for spring given his team goals (although I certainly see it as unlikely). It's already been well documented that McGoey will have his hands full with the expected upswing in talent to the longer stuff. 

Meanwhile, the 4x8s have had few problems defending their title outdoors. Since 2007, the indoor champ has taken gold again at Shippensburg every season but 2 (both years a D3 team won the title, in fact D3 Conestoga Valley also won in '06 to break up a repeat).

That's another piece of the puzzle here. Although D1 certainly tends to have a stranglehold on the state outdoors, we are often reminded just how strong the teams from other parts in the state are when they too have consistent opportunities to run fast times at fast meets. D3 has had 0 indoor state champs and Matt Wisner's 1:54 for 5th is among the fastest D3 times ever indoors. The guys nearby include 1:51/state champ types (Alec Kunzweiler and Andrew Rotz). 

Basically I just threw a variety of stats with no clear conclusion at you in the last few paragraphs. Admittedly, that may be confusing. But I think that's the point. Trying to predict anything from indoor times in tricky. Trying to predict state champion performances is hard (take it from the guy who went 1/5 on Sunday). 

So let's appreciate another phenomenal year on the indoor oval and pull up a chair for the next great show.

NY State Predictions

​This Saturday, I will have the privilege to attend the New York State Indoor Track and Field Championship Meet, as it is hosted at Cornell University, where I am currently a student. This is exciting for me because I have yet to attend a state championship (although I have been to Indoor Nationals), and many of the distance races will be absolutely stacked. Below are my predictions on how the races 300m-3200m, plus the 4x400m and 4x800m relays will end up.

 

300m

This could possibly be the most stacked race of the day. In the field are names like Rai Benjamin (state champ in the 400h with a PR of 51.86), Richard Rose (PR of 46.38), and Anton Porter (PRs of 21.7 and 33.82). Benjamin is the top seed at 33.17, andtwo guys separate him and Rose. Despite these huge names, when I first thought about these predictions, I had Izaiah Brown as my winner, but unfortunately, Brown will only compete in the 4x4. Here are my predictions without him in the race.

 

 

1) Richard Rose- It pained me to pick against him when I thought Brown was in the race, but I can’t complain because Rose is one of my favorite guys at this meet. It is about time this extremely talented runner took home a state title.

2) Rai Benjamin- A lot of people expect Benjamin to take the win given his beastly seed time. He’ll undoubtedly give Rose a run for his money.

3) Anton Porter- Porter is just too fast not to finish top three. I give him the slightest of edges over Mergaran Poleon, who is seeded second and beat Rose in this event at State Quals.

 

600m

 

This race has a clear favorite, but after that, the talent isn’t really as prominent as the 300. It kills me that Richard Rose is in the 300m instead of this race, as I still think he could’ve broke 1:18.

 

1) Luke Germanakos- He’s the top seed by over a second and won this event last year. He’s the clear choice with Rose not in the field.

2) Kermani Mighty- Yes, that’s his real name. He’s seeded fourth in the race, but has run an impressive 48.57.

3) Infinite Tucker- Another fun name. Seeded sixth, but has run faster than 1:22 and also ran 54.8 for the 400h.

 

1000m

 

Another race with a clear favorite and a whole lot of uncertainty after. I love the 1k, and New York has had some great athletes run it over the years, but this year it seems like a lot of the top guys are going for the 1600m.

 

1) James Asselmeyer- He ran 2:25.86, which is technically faster than Zavon Watkins ever ran in high school. Easy pick for the win. Could this be a guy who makes some noise at the national level at 800m?

2) Jake Johnson- He’s the second seed and is faster than third by over a second. His PR of 2:28.48 in the event is impressive. Very good runner with other nice PRs (4:16, 1:53) and is only a junior.

3) Shamarr Powell- Fourth seed in the race, but only .01 seconds behind third. His PR of 1:56.20 in the 800m leads me to believehe’s the next best guy in the race.

 

1600m

 

Here’s where it gets really good. I already wrote an entire post about the 1600m, and if you have yet to read it, find it. It’ll explain my picks below.

 

1) Luke Gavigan- Returning champion, and the quintessence of a clutch racer. It won’t be easy, but he’s taking home his third state championship.

2) Mikey Brannigan- He won a national title. He’s run 4:07.Even if this race is after the 3200, I like his talent and credentials I really hope he and his family can find the accommodations to allow him to run Division I, because this guy is an awesome talent.

3) James Burke- In my post, I wrote about why Burke wouldn’t win despite taking the Millrose Mile crown. I’m sticking with my guns, and if Jeremy Spiezio was in this race, I’d have him in this spot instead of Burke.

 

3200m

 

Another absolutely loaded race I’ll have the pleasure of watching. A lot of the guys I liked in the 1600m are in this race instead, and the race is early in the meet, so everyone will be fresh. Three guys are seeded at faster than 9:10, and the top seven guys have all run 9:16 or better this season. I think if this race goes out fast, we could see some absolutely incredible times.

 

1) Mikey Brannigan- I know he may leave something in the tank for his 1600m, but I still can’t imagine a guy who ran 8:53 for a full two miles losing this race, even if he’s only seeded third.

2) Jeremy Spiezio- This is one of the guys I expected in the 1600m, as he ran 4:09.8 for a full mile this season. Never the less, he is seeded second at 9:09.38, and I think he’ll have the kick to finish at his seed.

3) Bryce Millar- A little bit of a controversial pick, as Millar is seeded fifth at 9:15.56, which means the top seed for the race isn’t in my top three. I really like Millar, as he comes arguably the best high school programs in the country in Fayetteville-Manlius, and his PR of 9:04.28 from outdoor leads me to believe he’s going to break 9:10 in this race and take home the bronze.

 

****I just want to say a little bit more about this race, because the field is so deep and talented. The top seed is Conor Lundy, who ran a stupid fast 9:03.78 inside this season. Lundy also ran 4:12.09 for a full mile and 2:28.43 this indoor season. Here’s the kicker: Lundy is only a junior. Look for him to be a huge factor on the national level next year.

 

4x400m  

 

This my favorite race at track meets. The excitement of a close final leg on a 4x4 cannot be matched.          

 

1) Amsterdam- This is a tough call, as the state champs from outdoor are seeded second in this race. The difference in what will bring this team the win: a fresh Izaiah Brown. They’re saving him for this race, and he can really move. Here’s a video of Brown taking the race last year:http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/251620-2014-NYSPHSAA-Outdoor-Track-and-Field-Championships/video/746986-Boys-4x400-F01#.VPjfq_nF-Ah (Brown gets the baton in fourth and is the white top and black bottoms). Look for more of the same this year.

2) Paul Robeson- This team is really balanced, as their first leg is Mergaran Poleon, who’s coming back from the 300m. They’re seeded third, but their anchor, Kiambu Gall did run 48.74 indoors a year ago.

3) Huntington- This team is the top seed, but my gut is just telling me that New Amsterdam and Paul Robeson are the top two teams. That said, this team is made up of two juniors and two sophomores. Huntington’s 4x400m team next year is going to be ridiculous.

 

4x800m

 

The final race I’ll be predicting, and what a race it will be, as six teams are seeded under 8:00. I hope you’ve enjoyed my predictions and analysis, as I have enjoyed writing this. I will be posting about the meet as soon as I can with breakdowns of all the races I’ve predicted. Yes, this isn’t what all you PA folk are used to, but I take pride in New York’s talent in track, and it’s really cool to be able to share it with all of you. Here are my final predictions:

 

1) Arlington- The top seeded team in this race at 7:47.29. That seed time is stupid fast for indoor, and even if James Asselmeyer is coming off the double, he’s a beast. I hope these cats run a relay at Nationals, because they are a force.

2) Shenendowa- Another team seeded sub 7:50, which is again, really fast like for indoors. They don’t have anyone like Asselmeyer, but a balanced team plus Collin Rowe (1:56 PR) is good enough to get the job done for second.

3) Warwick Valley- I’m just picking with my heart here. Warwick Valley is always good, and despite being seeded sixth and having just broke 8:00, history tells me not to pick against them. I can only hope they pull through for me.

 

 

 

 

 

If You're Reading This, Thank You

It's time for the much awaited analysis of Drake's latest gift to society: "If You're Reading This It's Too Late". I found out about the album about half way through my train ride to work, immediately downloaded that ish and now I've listened to it all the way through some 40 times. And that honestly might not be that hyperbolic of an estimate. 

As with Nothing Was The Same, my first listen through, I was interested, but not all in. But by listen 3 or 4, I was hooked with favorites and a vague enough idea of the words to look cool bouncing along to it at some type of party or club. I felt this rendition of drizzy was a little more sing-songy then my favorite type of Aubrey (although Jungle is my jam), but the album still managed to hit me with the work (work) on a few songs.

So without further ado, here is my take on all 17 songs from the newest Aubrey Album.

First off got to give props to wheelchair J for giving us a 17 song album in a world where 10-12 seems to be the comfortable norm. And these 17 songs come on top of 0 to 100, trophies and a few other drake goodies.

The first track is called "Legend" and basically sets the tone for what is to come. Drake has fully embraced his identity of the man and his songs expressing his vague insecurities or troubles seem to be pushed aside for songs about how he has 30 million dollar mortgages and is a borderline god of Toronto. He also gives you a feel for his new ad lib device. There's lots of "oh god", "oh my", "oh my god" type stuff. 

Not quite Tuscan leather, but a catchy, solid song.

Song two is called "Energy" and is a bit more rap than "Legend" is. It sets up a few more themes for the day: the weird accents, the gun shots and the references to Facebook. There are a couple timeline references in there which make we wonder if Mark Zuckerburg is feeding Drake 20s to get in some free advertising. Or maybe he's just Canadian. Hard to say but considering Drake did a song with Justin Beiber, if there is a Canadian connection, Drake will help out his fellow countryman.

Next is "10 Bands", one of my favorites on the album. It sounds a decent amount like "Energy" and flows logically back to back, but it's gotta a little more catch to it for me. I think Drizzy's flow is just on better display on this one. Worth noting: Drake says "OMG" in the chorus of the song, yet I'm still a fan. Hence, Legend.

Flip another song and you come across "Know Yourself", which more realistically is the WOEs song. According to rap genius, the whole woes thing is not about Drake walking around the street being sad about women and trust issues, but actually about Drake rolling through the street with his crew. WOEs stands for "Working on Excellence" or something like that and so basically he and his people are working on being the best and so that's there name. It doesn't really make sense grammatically within English the language, but that might just be another classic difference between us and Canada.

Drake hits with "No Tellin'" next, another one of my favorites from the album. When he comes in with "Suitcase ..." At the beginning there, I just get excited. Once again, I'm not really sure exactly what is going on lyrically because I haven't rap geniused this one yet, but Drake says he has to carry around a knife with him from time to time so it's gotta be rockin thematic elements.

This one is peppered with some lovely lyrical work, including an awesome Rick Ross bark (sounds just like you Luke Munyan) and a rare moment where Drake actually refers to himself as Aubrey! Then Drizzy drops one of the best sequences of the album with his, "lions and tigers and bears" lines. He just get the sense when he hits the "oh my" that even he is amazed by how awesome he is. It's kinda like when I make a really clever joke and smugly sit there enjoying it while no one laughs because it's not funny. Except it's Drake so everyone loves it.

After that is "Madonna", a nice song but one I will usually skip when doing my daily listen. I'm just not getting the weird mumbling stuff. I really gotta catch up on my rap genius research. 

After that comes "6 God", a song that was released long before the album and so I already had the chance to tenderly love it for a solid stretch and make my girlfriend listen to how awesome it is. It's so short, but it's still great. I love the worst behavior reference, the dude yelling in the background and seriously that beat can't be beat, I'd just play that on repeat. Didn't even mean to rhyme, but it happens in rap posts.

Best part of perhaps the entire album, when the beat cuts in and comes back at the end of this song. That's sick.

Next is Star 67, another song featuring 6. It's gotta a nice build in the first half with the music rising that I think is cool. Then the second half is great. It has my favorite line (peace sign in the air like I'm Nixon) which I know say in situations where it's not even close to applying. Plus it has a jimmy reference. Oh you gotta love it.

Next we get the PND variety hour with "Preach" and "The Wednesday Night Interlude". It's practically one big song like Drake's classic two parters of old and you can barely tell where one ends and the other begins. I was actually kinda feeling Party on this one, his bold move of rhyming titanic with wasabi kinda sorta works. Then drizzy comes on and does work. I'm a big fan of the stretch where he does the "way, way, way" and the Ray Tay stuff. It sounds cool and I need a bit more practice to nail it live. The outro into the interlude is also up my alley. Lastly, the phrase preach itself deserves some love. I like to use it whenever possible and often times whenever impossible.

The interlude is all Next Door and it's not like the interlude on Take Care when Kendrick just flat out murders it (ironically titled buried alive) but it's not a bad song to change the pace before things get hard again.

After that we got "Used To" feature Lil Wayne and "6 Man", AKA my favorite two song stretch of the album. Used To is great, Drake does an awesome job as always with his flow and I'm into the way he says "apparent every year". There's also a cool snare drum/Nick Canon line that I'd like to learn how to do.

Then Wayne comes in, kinda "Believe Me" esque and has a strong verse. There's a Katy Perry reference in there which is not the first time I've heard KP dropped in rap songs to reference the color White. Is she really that pale or does her name just flow really well in these songs? 

Thinking ... Yeah she's actually really white now that I think about it.

6 man is favorite song on the whole thing. Any song that starts with 3 Lou Will references in the first 20 seconds is a song for me. Drake pretty much just signed Lou to an extension with the Raptors right there because they can't just let him walk now! Looooouuuuu

When he hits the 1 minute mark of the song it's just over. It's all Drizzy. That 1 minute is my ideal Aubrey. Then it's over. Song is agonizingly short unfortunately. At least the outro is solid unlike some of those brutal ones like Believe Me and Marvin's Room. Good outro work from Drake on this one.

Then it's Now and Forever and Company. Both solid songs although I much prefer Now and Forever. Admittedly Company has an excellent part where Drake says "I Don't Deserve You" and in the background they play a recording of a girl saying, "At least you f-Ing know it". Oh it's gold.

Next on tap is "You and the 6" which is not just another song featuring 6 (hearing a scripture with that many sixes you should be afraid), but a glimpse into the Aubrey and Mother Graham relationship. It's awesome to hear drake say momma like 8 times in a row and give his classic frustrated anxiety grunt like a teenager from Degrassi. Yeah I know.

Then comes the stretch run with "Jungle" and "6 PM in New York". jungle is an awesome song. I'm a huge huge fan. I like some slow jam Drizzy every once in a while in my life and this is one of his best works. For about 30 seconds I was hoping this could be a song I dance to at my wedding and then f bomb very emphatically dropped on those dreams. Oh well.

9 AM in Dallas might be favorite Drake song ever so I was amped for 6PM in New York. It was just ok but I had high expectations. It's got an Iverson reference in there which never hurts and who doesn't love a little rapping beef in a song? That's what Tyga gets of course. Plus he's got some excellent lines with the "scream out my failures and whisper my accomplishments" and the "rumors about my life hit the net like a bad serve". 

I think I've talked myself into liking that song work ...

Bottom line is, it's Drake so I gotta love it. Oh I gotta love it. 

Apparently. Wait wrong album ...

The Face of American Distance Running

​If you ask an individual (presumably a running fan) who is the most well-known American distance runner, you’d be faced with a multitude of answers: a lot of people like Galen Rupp after his indoor season last year; Nick Symmonds is a fan-favorite; Leo Manzano is an Olympic Silver Medalist; older fans might even respond with guys like Bernard Lagat or Alan Webb. If you had to ask me who currently is the most prominent runner, I’d have to say Nick Symmonds. I know this doesn’t prove anything, but Symmonds has nearly 50,000 followers on Twitter, more than any other American runner, meaning he is the most prominent in the public eye. Whether or not Symmonds should be the guy is up for debate, and I’d like to take a dive into who should be the face of American Distance Running.

​There are a ton of reasons why Nick Symmonds is currently so well-known and liked both inside and outside of the running community. First of all, from a pure running standpoint, Symmonds did capture a Silver Medal at 2013 World Championships in Moscow, and is the third fastest American at 800m, with a PR of 1:42.95. In addition, off the track, Symmonds is a very popular guy. He infamously dated Paris Hilton, and has been referred to as the “Brad Pitt of track.” He also made a famous attempt at the Beer Mile World Record, and competed at the Beer Mile World Championships. Symmonds is good looking, humble, well-spoken, and more relatable than a lot of athletes of his caliber. He enjoys hunting and fishing, drinks beer, and isn’t some 6’4” Hercules. Moreover, Symmonds has the underdog appeal; his collegiate career began at Division III Willamette University before he transferred to the University of Oregon. On top of all these great qualities, Symmonds is a flat-out good guy. Personally, I have a ton of respect for his outspoken nature on the rights of sexual minorities, as he dedicated his Silver Medal in Moscow to the gay and lesbian communities in Russia who face an oppression. Symmonds alsowrote a piece for Runner’s World Magazine, advocating for legislation to restrict the use of assault weapons. Athletes, and all celebrities for that matter, who use their influence for good are to be commended, and Symmonds has certainly used his voice to state what he believes in. This past fall, Symmonds’ book, Life Outside the Oval Office: The Track Less Travelledwas published, and was well received within the running community. Personally, I hope to read the book soon. Without question, Nick Symmonds is a talented runner and a good human-being, and can be a great role-model for athletes and non-athletes alike.

​So, given everything Nick Symmonds has going for him, is it appropriate that he is the face of American distance running? As much respect as I have for Symmonds, both as a runner and a person, my answer is no. Now, it’s not that Symmonds should be disassociated from American distance runners, far from it. I just feel that he cannot be the most prominent name anymore when people think of distance runners in the U.S. One glaring reason for this is the second fastest American at 800m, Duane Solomon, is still active. Yeah Solomon hasn’t produced at the big stage like Symmonds, but the guy’s PR (1:42.82) is just faster than Symmonds! What does it say about the running community if we all hail the second best guy at an event? No one says “Yeah, Aston Eaton, he’s pretty good, but how about that Trey Hardee!” (Just for the record, nothing against Trey Hardee, this was for the sake of example. Trey, if you’re out there reading this, no disrespect.) Putting Symmonds on a higher pedestal than Solomon implies shallowness among American running fans; it conveys we value personality, appearance, and dating life more than actual running ability (not that Solomon is a bad guy who is super ugly and can’t get a date). Another reason Symmonds can’t be “that guy” anymore is the sad fact he is on the wrong side of 30. I think Symmonds has had an awesome career, and he certainly has many fast races left in his legs, but I just don’t see him PRing again. It isn’t out of the question, but he no long runs indoor, and his outdoor season last year was simply uninspiring. Nick, you had a good run, you’re a great guy and an amazing runner, but it’s simply time to pass the torch.    

​So, if the face of American distance running shouldn’t be Nick Symmonds, then who should it be? For me, it isn’t a question of who should be the face, but who has to be the face; my answer is Matt Centrowitz. Let me just premise my argument with this: I am not a huge fan of this guy. My feelings toward him can be summed up by what Vince Vaughn says to Will Farrell towards the end of the first Anchorman about respecting Ron Burgundy despite his hate for him. Okay, hate is strong, but I certainly don’t admire Centro. The dude is a sneakerhead (I was lucky enough to have spent a fair amount of time with Steve Finley, and the stories he told me about Centro’s sneaker collection are ridiculous), and I’m sorry, no person as skinny as Centro looks good in Jordans. In addition, collecting sneakers in my opinion is sort of superficial and shallow.Moreover, Centrowitz is friends with Parker Stinson (he and Centrowitz often tweet to each other), and I cannot stand anyone who thinks it is okay to wear suspenders and a belt at the same time (https://twitter.com/parkerstinson/status/434408267716886529/photo/1, picture on the left. Eat your heart out, Parker Stinson. I don’t care if you’re reading this.). Centro has all the things working against him that Symmonds has on his side: Centro is not humble, he is not very relatable, and he doesn’t take to the public eye. Despite all of this, one thing undeniable: the kid has talent. Centrowitz is only 25 years old, and has torn it up despite being so young. He took Silver in the 1500m in Moscow, thesame meet Symmonds took his Silver, and was milliseconds away from medaling at the 2012 Olympics at the ripe age of 22. Centro is also cocky. A lot of people fault overconfidence, but in a sport like running where mental attitude is so important, Centro’s borderline arrogance is perfect. Centro is the type of competitor all young runners should aspire to be like: he is tough, talented, and gets results. Yes, Matt Centrowitz isn’t thegood guy Nick Symmonds is, but come the 2016 Olympics, the time when American athletes will be on display to the world, I’m looking to “Air Centro” to represent the red, white, and blue.  

 

The Oranger the Bury

For much of my 4 years in high school Pennsbury was a fairly irrelevant team. They were sending individuals or teams to states and they certainly weren't competing for state titles.

In the fall of 2010, Connor Harriman became the first Pennsbury runner to qualify for the state championships in years and made the boys in orange a bit more relevant. As a sophomore, it was clear Harriman was talented, but Pennsbury didn't simply need an influx in talent, they needed a program changer.

As a Junior in 2011, Harriman began to grow into that role. The young Pennsbury squad was rapidly improving and freshman Sam Webb developed into a state qualifier in his own right. Harriman ran excellent during the stretch run of cross country, finishing top 10 at both districts and states and leading Pennsbury to one of their best finishes in recent history in the loaded district one. When the 2012 track season ended, with Harriman pulling out an absurd final lap of the state 3200m to break 9:20, Pennsbury was suddenly a threat to qualify for states as a team in the upcoming cross country season.

PB rolled quickly out the gates in the fall of 2012, throwing down a dominate showing at Viking. They had league rival CRN seemingly on the ropes, especially after Harriman won gold at Pre States. But it's a long season and district one is no joke. In arguably one of the best years in District One history, Pennsbury finished 6th at Lehigh and was left off the state qualifying list. Although Harriman and Webb, now a sophomore, would go on to finish in the top 14 at the state championships, there were doubts about the Pennsbury team. Perhaps they weren't a great team, they just merely had two good runners. 

But Pennsbury changed that mindset quickly. The following indoors, Pennsbury attacked the relays full force. They finished a hard fought third indoors in the 4x8 despite the fact that Harriman was on the triple. The teams they lost to were Bensalem and Henderson, i.e. the XC state champions and the team that would have finish the year with two guys at 1:52 or faster. 

Pennsbury followed it up with a 3rd place outdoors, proving their bronze was no fluke. They finished only behind Bensalem and Cumberland Valley, a few championship of America type teams with 1:51 anchors and state gold around their necks. Pennsbury was for real, capping one of the best all around seasons by any team in the state including a pair of 3rd place relays, an excellent DMR and two top 14 XC runners.

But Harriman graduated that Summer, leaving the team without their first transformative piece, their first star and a gutsy racer who capped off his career by going head to head with 1:52 man Brad Rivera and beating him on the lead off leg of a windy day at the state championship. Harriman's graduation could be the first domino and in a breakdown of the Pennsbury team.

But the men in orange were a resilient bunch. Liam O'Connell and Alek Sauer, a pair of runners who had excellent track seasons on the 4x8, proved they were not limited pieces and excelled in cross country with Sauer breaking 16 in the fall. These two paired with Sam Webb created a top 3 that peaked well and qualified as a team for the state championships just a few months after Harriman graduated. 

Webb injury trouble limited Pennsbury during indoors and most forgot about PB (even though they had two 800m runners in the top 15 or so at indoor states). But by outdoors, the team was back to clicking. Webb came back with a bang, making massive improvements from week to week and culminating his year with a jaw dropping 9:08 PR in the 3200m (which he followed moments later with a key leg on Pennsbury's state medaling 4x8). O'Connell became a consistent 1:56 runner and Alek Sauer made the jump from strong runner to elite runner, with the final exclamation coming during a 1:52.9/1:54.3 double that earned him some state hardware. 

Sauer and Webb had risen to an impressive level and Pennsbury had developed two of their young stars into bona fide stars. After a rocky XC season that included another close call at the district championships, Pennsbury came out firing. Sauer dropped one of the state's best 1ks and followed it with a massive meet record at Burdette (breaking a mark close to my heart, previously held by Mike Palmisano of UD). PB followed with one of the top 4x8 teams in the state: without their stud anchor Sauer. By the time the Orangemen (seriously anyway we can change the team name to Orangemen instead of Falcons?) hit the stride of Armory season, things were clicking like never before. Sauer added a 1:52.61 split and Webb lowered his PR down to 1:55. Other legs like Mulvaney, Yeger and Kersten were growing into sub 2 minute legs to help bolster a deep roster. 

As the season wound down, Pennsbury looked to be significant favorites for the state championship. The ultimate test for their team was looming on March 1st. There had been many programs that produced strong teams in cross and the 4x8, but very few programs could boast state gold. It was the ultimate sign of talent, hard work, and the ability to perform under pressure. A state gold transforms the legacy of an athlete and a program.

But there were doubts going into the meet. For starters, Pennsbury was outlasted by CB West at the Meet of Champions at Lehigh the previous week, thanks in part to tired legs. At states those tired legs were going to be an even more significant factor. Webb ran a massive PR in the mile (4:13) and Sauer added a lifetime best in the open 800m by nearly 2 seconds. With fresh completely fresh squads from CB West, LaSalle, Penncrest and State College waiting, Pennsbury's gold in the 4x8 seemed questionable at best.

But this team is a group of champions. They run really tough races, beginning with Harriman's gutsy kicks and perhaps culminating with a pair of sick doubles and a few newbies having breakthrough races on the biggest stage. Sophomore Eric Kersten was not afraid of the big moment at all on Sunday as he stepped into the lead off roll and handed off in 1st place. Webb and Mulvaney continued the trend and got the stick around to Sauer in position. 

Sauer, in the midst of one of the hardest and most important doubles of his career, ran one of his gutsiest races, holding off the fresh legs of the talented Evan Emmanuel of Penncrest, another team incredibly hungry for Gold.

As Sauer crossed the line, cementing gold for PB, it was a win for more than just the 4 runners that touched the baton that day. It was a win for Harriman and O'Connell and the other recent graduates who helped grow the program to what it became. And perhaps most importantly, it was a long awaited gold for Pennsbury: the program and the school. 

In about 4 years the Orangemen went from completely off the radar to State Gold and #1 mid distance team in the state. You can't win with talent alone, it takes game changers. It takes heart and courage. And this program and these athletes have it.

Congrats to the Falcons and good luck this outdoors.

State Recaps: All in One Place

Links to State Recaps and the medalists listed out. I looked up results online and although on some lists, the names seem to match who I would expect, on others it's clear that is not the actual order. So even if you can just give me names for the relays if you don't know/want to give splits that would be appreciated!

Mile
1. Ritz 4:09.56
2. James 4:12.57
3. Webb 4:13.67
4. McDevitt 4:17.05
5. Brophy 4:17.16
6. Kolor 4:19.49
7. Shinn 4:22.73
8. Weidner 4:25.63

800m
1. Lewis 1:50.57
2. Graca 1:50.86
3. Ritz 1:51.79
4. Sauer 1:52.99
5. Wisner 1:54.54
6. Samuels 1:54.99
7. Eddinger 1:55.00
8. Wilson 1:55.15

3000m
1. Mcgoey 8:35.53
2. Hockenbury 8:36.44
3. Comber 8:37.65
4. Gebhart 8:42.83
5. Tidball 8:45.50
6. Wharrey 8:47.95
7. Power 8:47.96
8. Gunzenhauser 8:48.07

4x800m
1. Pennsbury (Kersten 1:58, Webb 1:57, Mulvaney 2:00, Sauer 1:56) 7:51.77
2. Penncrest (Teal 2:00.2, Komat 1:56.9, Hanna 2:01.5, Emmanuel 1:55.0) 7:54.06
3. State College (Delergis, Feffer, Heatwole, Milligan) 7:55.46
4. CB West (Zerweck 2:00, Baker 1:59, Bowen 2:00, Fortna 1:56) 7:57.87
5. Pennridge 7:58.84
6. Altoona 7:58.91
7. LaSalle 8:01.02
8. Abington 8:03.78

DMR
1. O'Hara (Morro, Cooper, Nolen, James 4:15) 10:21.88
2. Conestoga (Murray 3:12.2, Cooper 52.9, Nelson 1:57.1, Marston 4:22.7) 10:25.19
3. St. Joe's Prep (Fisher, Green, McClellan, Daly 4:15) 10:25.56
4. Germantown Freind's (Hepp 3:08,x, Newman, Dahl) 10:27.31
5. DT West (Sappey 3:14, 51, Barton 2:02, Josh Hoey 4:19) 10:27.96
6. Malvern Prep (McDevitt 4:24) 10:31.89
7. Bonner (Sullivan 3:11, 54, Cromity 2:02, Rastatter 4:26) 10:35.63
8. CB East (Sands, Boucher, Kettelberger, Brophy) 10:37.10

State Recap: DMR

If there are still a few of you out there who don't think I'm bias then, well, you're not gonna like to hear what I'm about to say. I'm thrilled O'Hara got the W on Sunday in the DMR. To be fair, I also would have really enjoyed seeing gold for Stoga (4 seniors who sacrifice it all for the team? Gotta love that), but OH had to get a state gold sometime and now they got it. 

The fact of the matter is, numbers don't lie. The best anchor in the field has won the majority of DMR titles (see my DMR preview for a full breakdown) and KJ's PR of 4:12 was comfortably ahead of the group of Daly, Dahl, and Marston, his most likely opponents on race day.

Don't get me wrong, I picked against them. And don't get me wrong I didn't doubt James. As great as James was on Sunday, his teammates really set him beautifully. That's a solid time (10:21) and it will be interesting to see what they do at Nats when James has a few more bodies to chase. Remember Belfatto split 4:11 last year solo and James just ran about 5 seconds faster than him in the open mile.

Stoga puts together a second fantastic team performance. I have a ton of respect for these seniors and their overall attitude. Marston was/is a stud who could have potentially been right there for gold in that 3k, but he and his teammates cashed in their chips and came away with a great silver. This was a flip of XC when Stoga beat out O'Hara for 2nd and the last team medals. In Cross, Stoga won because they were better through 5 guys. The DMR, unfortunately, only counts 4. 

Regardless, major props to this class of 2015 at Stoga who helped transform this team from a virtual no name distance wise to one of the best in the state. District champs and a couple state silvers. No too shabby.

St. Joe's, GFS and DT West were all rewarded for their decision to keep the relay fresh at states. All 3 teams broke 10:30 as an amazing 5 teams were under said barrier (usually close to penn relays cut off time). Apparently young Josh Hoey split a 4:19 on the anchor for West, an excellent split for a freshman. That also probably means Dahl and Daly had their own strong splits to help their relays. 

Malvern Prep ran excellent to grab 6th. Their 10:31 would be all state most years, but this year was an exception. A fresh Wills and McDevitt probably go a long way towards making up time, hopefully they can cut off a few more seconds and get this squad to Penn. 

We could have quite the dual at Penn in the DMR with all these squads and maybe a fresh CB East or Pennsbury. East doubled all their key legs in the DM and still manage a solid 10:37.

However, that was only good enough for 8th as the Bonner boys continued to stay hot, dropping another 10 seconds from their relay to get to an impressive 10:35. Wow. That's nearly 25 seconds in a span of two weeks. 

You also have to appreciate CRN sticking their nose in it. 10:40 is a great time that medals most years. It's also their best performance of the season in the most important moment of the year, which is all you can ask for. 

As mentioned in the 4x8 post, that's all I can say without some splits and such so feel free to share them either in comments or send directly to me if you are hoping to be super anonymous. 

Thanks for all your help this week making the blog great! I'm still holding out hope for a few interviews so keep it posted for the latest news and discussion.

State Recap: 4x800m

In Cross Country, many thought Pennsbury had the potential to qualify for states as a team. However, as usual, D1 proved to be a death trap disguised as a gift basket and PB was left in the spectator club.

But Pennsbury didn't sit around and feel bad for themselves. The boys stepped up their game, particularly Alek Sauer who became a 1:52 anchor leg that no other relay could match. 

I haven't gotten many splits yet (although I'm hoping some will begin to roll in after these relay posts), but 7:51 is a strong showing considering the tough first races Webb and Sauer were coming off. Pennsbury has established itself as consistent mid distance power and hopefully even after the last of their big 4 game changers graduate they can keep things going.

Kinda like Penncrest who year after year is in the mix. One of these years PC is gonna take gold. They are consistently there, running hard, sacrificing for the relay and aiming for gold. To be fair, I doubt we've heard the last of this squad in their 2015 title pursuits, they have a knack for peaking at the right time outdoors. 

How about those State College boys? A little home track advantage never hurts certainly, but SC dropped a 7:55 the year after they graduated all 4 members of their 4x8. This was an incredible showing by this team and things probably aren't done yet. I believe 3 of their 4 legs are back next year to chase another sub 8.

CB West followed up their MOC win with a strong sub 8 showing. They took their time this indoors putting together the 4x8 before suddenly unleashing the horses last weekend at Lehigh. I really like this team, they are balanced and run tough and aggressive. That being said, they would really benefit from developing that star leg to bring thing together. I'm keeping an eye on Fortna who has great potential to be that guy.

The biggest surprise of the 4x8 for me was the group from Pennridge. I shied away from them in my preview despite their consistent program. Their best leg was doubling and they had very few flashy performances to boast besides Kevin Dare. I was very wrong. This team has won state and district titles in recent years and has consistently dropped impressive marks even when they didn't use their flashy anchors (i.e. Joey Logue). That gives everyone in the quad a sense of confidence, a sense that they can do this using their own talents. Pennridge comes through big for another sub 8. 

Altoona rounded out the sub 8 minute relays in 6th. Despite this strong time, I think Altoona could make a big drop for outdoors. Despite some strong runners and excellent performances, Altoona has been surprisingly absent from the outdoor 4x8 state finals. However, a fresh Foust combined with Stroh and George (each individual state qualifiers) is dangerous. Honestly, they were quite busy last week with TriStates and the SC Invite and maybe that caught up to them a bit. Unfortunately that's a product of the new qualifying system. Keep an eye on these guys outdoors and a SC v Altoona district match up is going to be very entertaining.

That's about all I can say for now without having seen the race or received many splits so share your thoughts, opinions and splits below!

State Recap: 3000m

With names like James, Brophy and Webb out of the line-up for the 3,000m, the door was open for some of the lesser known strength runners to seize a state title. But despite the surprising look of the field, the result fit neatly into state history. 2010 was the last time that North Allegheny won a state title in Cross Country and the following winter, their #1 runner Ryan Gil followed up with a gold medal in the 3000m. Similarly, Matt McGoey of North Allegheny came out ready to repeat history after NA’s 2014 XC State Championship and he did just that, capturing the gold in 8:35.

The win is the first individual gold for McGoey, who has been relatively buried in the field the past two track state championships despite running excellent marks around 8:45 and 9:12. After a career best 4th place finish during cross country and an undefeated run in the 3k this season, he was able to take down gold once again. This marks the 4th time a WPIAL runner has won the 3k since 2010 and the 5th time in the past 6 years a man from the West has finished in the top two.

Behind McGoey was a tough run by Dominic Hockenbury of Lake Lehman. The AA state champion in cross country was hoping for his 3rd straight gold medal at states, but couldn’t quite hang with McGoey’s closing speed. This is still a huge step forward for Hockenbury, who’s 3k converts to a career best 9:14 for 3200m and sets him up well to defend his state title outdoors. He is still only a Junior as well. I’d be interested to see both Hockenbury and McGoey chase some fast times in the mile this spring to complement their excellent strength. I feel both would benefit and also believe both could cut a substantial amount of time from their PRs.

In 3rd place was Hatboro Horsham’s Casey Comber, who finished in a PR of 8:37 (equivalent to about 9:15 for 3200m). Comber apparently was closing hard towards the end of the race, but ran out of real estate. It’s already been a huge senior year for Comber who clocked a series of big indoor PRs this year. Next was Aaron Gebhart of New Oxford, coming through impressively for 4th. Jack Tidball continued to impress, dropping time and getting to 5th overall. This was a big showing for Tidball who proved his 8:52 was no fluke going into the outdoor season.

Hunter Wharrey, Paul Power and Todd Gunzenhauser rounded out the medals with Will Loevner finishing 9th. As mentioned, I was worried about the build-up of all the 3ks those western runners ran this past indoors, but it appeared they were barely phased as all three broke 8:50. Power dropped his PR as well, retooling to peak well for states after a disappointing race at the Carnival. Loevner moves to AA for outdoors, defending a top 3 finish from a year ago. He’s in excellent shape and appears like the primary contender to challenge Hockenbury (unless Griffin Molino comes rolling back around soon). Wharrey has an excellent training partner in McGoey and Todd Gunz has the experience and guidance of the 2010 3k state champ under his roof (brother Rad Gunzenhauser).

Outdoors is setting up to be mammoth as many of the big names who scratched on the 3k for relays/miles are likely going to change their focus when the weather gets warmer this spring. It’s already been outlined in some comments by the readers (excellent work readers), so check out the comments section for the mile. But here’s my two cents on it.

We already return a slew of sub 9:20 guys from last spring: James, Jaxson Hoey (completely forgot about him in all the craziness), Webb, Ritz, Dahl, McGoey, Hockenbury, Comber, Gebhart, Marston, Brehm, and Molino. This group doesn’t include Brophy (state champ in XC), Abert (sub 15 at Lehigh and low 9:20s last year) or Billy McDevitt (emerging stud, 4th in the mile at indoor states). Keep in mind the sub 15 at Lehigh group has the following PRs: 9:07, 9:02, 8:57 and 8:48. The AAA state champs in XC do pretty darn well for themselves historically over 2 miles as you might have guessed.

Plus, inevitably, someone will emerge to join the group. Loevner, Tidball, Wharrey, Power and Gunzenhauser all took great strides this indoor season. Sebastian Curtin (sub 16 at Hershey), Will Kachman and Domenic Perretta are names to remember this coming outdoors for AA.

The 3k sounds like it was an awesome race and, although it may not have had the flashy individual marks the other distance events did, it produced some compelling drama and certainly got the fans anxious for the next battle this outdoors.

State Recap: 800m

Last year's class of 800m runners was praised as the greatest of all time. Francis, Wiseman and Logue were destructive last year both indoors and out, producing the two fastest state meets for 800m in history.

Well that run lasted about a year.

If Lewis had found .03 seconds, he would have grabbed the second straight state record of the day for the distance fellows. Lewis had to settle for #2 all time and somewhere around #6 all time in US high school history (don't quote me on that). Lewis made the jump to 800m after a disappointing 400m at MoCs and his decision paid off fantastically. Lewis, running 1:50.57 indoors to go with his 1:50.01 last outdoors, sets himself for his own state record pursuit this spring. He cements his own meet of champs spot at 800m this June at Henderson and rumors are he will consider a record attempt there. It would be almost exactly 5 years after Mallon first "tied" the record in 2010 at the same track.

How about Elias Graca? 1:50.8 gets you 2nd? Now that's a crazy race. Graca is now #3 in indoor state history (and possibly in the top 10 in history nationally) but had to settle for silver. This is Graca's first loss of the season in races where he correctly counted his laps and sets him up beautifully for his own record attempts outdoors. Graca could become the third Fox Chapel state champ in 3 years if he wins the outdoor 800m title. Unlike Lewis, this is a lifetime best for Graca indoors or out and beats his prior best by almost 2.5 seconds. 

It's hard to say who I was most impressed by in this race. Quite frankly, Sam Ritz stunned me almost as much as seeing 1:50 on the scoreboard twice. Ritz had run 4:09 already when he doubled back on phenomenal fashion to run 1:51.79 for 3rd in the 8. I didn't think he would have anywhere near the gas in the tank to hang in this event, but he killed it. It makes Ritz's double arguably as impressive as Endress's legendary double gold in 2011 and makes you wonder what he could have done on fresh legs against this group. 

Honestly, this race was just filthy fast and top to bottom was way quicker than I would have ever predicted. Sauer grabbed fourth in 1:52.99, adding yet another mark to the exploding sub 1:53 indoors club. Sauer's time is a lifetime open best. Matt Wisner ran huge outside of the fast section to run 1:54.5, a blazing fast time and huge PR. Khai Samuels dropped to 1:54.99 and Eddinger to 1:55.00. Add in Brook Wilson's massive PR to get to 1:55.15 and it was one heck of a day! The level of PRs was absurd.

Obviously it's hard to see Wisner run this kind of mark and not think, Carlisle 4x8? I'm not sure what other pieces they have in play, but they are defending d3 champs if memory serves and were top 10 in the state in 2013. I'd love to see a DMR thrown together for Penn, but that's probably a little unrealistic in such a short time period. But for now, let's enjoy a killer indoor campaign for Wisner. If I'm not mistaken, he won every indoor race he entered this year (including his state heat) which is something that few others can boast (probably only McGoey?).

With Samuels' 1:54.99, he becomes one of the fastest D11 runners of all time and puts himself in an elite class after his best race since December. Only thing I question is that DNF in the mile. As I've speculated/reported, his best event was the 8 this year and I felt he should have just went in this race fresh to begin with (which is what looks like happened).

Normally I wouldn't care if a guy works around the rules of a no scratch meet to pseudo scratch, but considering there were only 20 spots available for the mile this year and it wasn't just a "if you hit the time you are in" type of situation, if there was some deception here I'd be upset (especially if I was kid #21 and didn't get in to states as a result). I'm not trying to accuse or anything here and I didn't see the mile or the DNF, nor do I know the whole story here, but I'm just thinking for future kids, this could/should be a rule/practice that is reviewed.

Ultimately, the indoor events have gotten phenomenally faster in the last half decade or so. It's absurd how fast people are running in March now. Remember up until 2009, the long standing state record was low 1:52s by Paul Vandegrift. Since then, we have had Mallon, Endress, Willig (twice I believe), Francis, Wiseman, Logue, Lewis, Graca and Ritz break the record. 

For comparison's sake, in the past 10+ years we've had just 1.35 record breaking performances in the 800m for Vandegrift's outdoor record (why 1.35? Well Grift's 1:48.8 was a hand time record so it's usually customary to add .2-.24 seconds to that time to convert it to FAT. Magaha ran 1:48.82 and Mallon ran 1:49.01. Although both marks could be considered faster than Grift, technically speaking I'm not giving either 100% record breaking status.)

I'd be surprised to see Lewis completely pass on Indoor Nats this year, but I'm hoping that Cheltenham goes after the national record in the sprint med. They have an excellent shot considering the bomb Lewis just dropped at PSU and their 1:28/3:20 relay combination. 

State Recap: Mile

State Champion #66 of the etrain era has been crowned: Sam Ritz of Germantown Academy. After one of the fastest Decembers in state history, Sam Ritz was a target for criticism. Even after a state record run in Boston, the doubts were still floating. Could a man with 0 state medals, handle two of the most decorated runners of the era? Would Ritz fall victim to the his pursuit of records? Would a fast early pace leave open to the upset?

But the end, Ritz made all the doubts look silly. Ritz blasted a 4:09 mile to cap off his indoor season, breaking the 2007 meet record by over 3 seconds and cementing his name in the history books. He now has the two fastest miles in indoor state history.

Ritz is not in the PIAA, so we won't see him competing for state gold this outdoors against his fellow sub 4:10 miler Zach Brehm. That being said, with Ritz's win, he became the first official qualifier for the 2015 PA Meet of Champions race at West Chester Henderson this June. Hopefully, he and the rest of the state's elite will agree to compete at this meet (the draw of a professional 1500m hopefully won't steal anyone away), because Paul Vandegrift's legendary 4:03 state record for 1600m may finally be under fire.

Kevin James adds another excellent performance to his resume with his second place finish to Ritz. Again he is under a state meet record and he gets his second straight state silver. The general consensus is that James is best over the longer distance (i.e. 3200m) so this display of speed is encouraging. Outdoors, Ross Wilson's freshly minted 8:56 meet record could possibly be in play (that's #3 in state history). 

Sneaky fast for third was Sam Webb, running 4:13 for 3rd in what was likely the fastest 3rd place finish in state history. Although KJ has been something of a poster child for bad luck pursuing state gold, Webb has had his own share of tough luck. Webb has been sub 15:50 at Hershey, in the 15:20s for 5k, 9:08.11 for 3200m and now 4:13. This was just Webb's first time in the top 5 individually at a state championship, amazing for a man of his talents. Webb too is running down in distance and the thought of a healthy Webb hitting his peak this spring is scary (his 9:08 last spring came off a very late start to training).

It's fitting that these two guys capped off their indoor careers winning state gold in the relays. Well deserved.

McDevitt and Brophy rounded out the group with a pair of 4:17 PRs. McDevitt caps off an excellent year and, although he too is not PIAA, I hope we may see him at Meet of Champs. Although McDevitt showed fantastic speed this season (1:55 to beat a Alek Sauer last week, Sauer ran 1:52 yesterday), I think McDevitt's best event could potentially be the 2 mile. At the very least, I think he could throw down a monster race at some point (maybe Henderson invite?). As for Brophy, he drops his mile PR by roughly 5 seconds and grabs 5th in one of the deepest miles in state history. Despite Brophy's fantastic career, this is by far his best track performance time wise indoors or out. It his first mark in the sub 1:55/4:17/9:20 club that I keep state wide statistics on. Brophy was willing to pass on a realistic shot at state gold in the 3k for the relays this weekend, but it's likely this is the last time. Although CB East has a potentially strong 4x8, the Brophy sub 9 talk might trump it (he ran faster than Wilson did in this race a year ago).

Seneca Valley's Mike Kolor dropped a 4:19 and somehow was swallowed up in this historical group. Kolor, just a Junior, grabbed his second individual medal in a row and broke the school record in the event. His time converts to low 4:18/high 4:17, meaning Kolor is already clicking off times significantly faster than how he ended last spring. Seneca Valley has some pieces looming for another strong 4x8 and Kolor has a chance to be a killer anchor on said relay.

Excellent runs by Kyle Shinn and Sean Weidner to round out the medal positions. Shinn is AA for this coming outdoors, setting him up well for a potential shot at gold (or at least top 3, as Perretta looms large).