What 2 Watch 4: NCAA

Picking the Best of an Exciting NCAA Meet

Caleb Gatchell, Alex Fox, Garrett Zatlin

​It has been a banner year for men’s distance running in the NCAA. In almost every event, we’ve seen fireworks. With this in mind, it’s almost impossible to say which event at the Indoor Championships will be the most exhilarating. Luckily, we writers are giving you a viewers’ guidebook to the upcoming NCAA meet: Caleb gives you the rundown on a truly wide-open mile, Garrett Zatlin previews a 3k with some of the best names in recent history, and I offer my scoop on a potentially historic DMR. With all of this anticipation, what are you looking forward to the most?

3000: The King vs The World 

The 3k. What is it about this event that has so many of the best runners in the nation ditching the mile in order to run it? I wish I had the answer to that, but all I know is that this field could be one of the best 3k fields we've seen in a very long time.

So where do we start with this 16-man group? I think we have to start with Edward Cheserek who ran an NCAA #2 All-Time 3k at Millrose with a time of 7:40. Clearly, he is the favorite in this race and I don't think anyone will argue that. However, Cheserek does have the 5000 the day before with the possibility of the DMR as well (although that's pretty doubtful). A little over three miles of racing before you try to fend off the likes of Knight, Tiernan, McGorty, and company isn't always the easiest thing to do.

As we look into this field, who could upset The King? Tiernan will be completely fresh and has made Cheserek work for his wins before (think XC nationals this past fall). He has a 7:48 this season and could be the guy who outlasts Cheserek in a "grind-it-out" type race. Then there's Sean McGorty who has been on absolute fire this season with PR's of 3:53 and 7:48. Unfortunately, McGorty just can't seem to finish his races with a win. He has lost three races by less than a tenth of a second this season and he will have to face two of those opponents again (Izaic Yorks and Justyn Knight). 

Yorks and Knight are interesting entries for this race. Yorks has always been known as more of an 800/mile type runner and has a 3:53 mile this season. Meanwhile, Knight has developed a finishing kick of his own this winter with outstanding kicks to take down Thomas Curtin at ACC's and Sean McGorty at the ISU Classic.With Cheserek, things typically get tactical and the race may play out slower than the seed times show. If Yorks and Knight can stick around long enough, they could make for an exciting finish and bust out a strong last lap.

There are certainly other guys that could contend in this loaded field. For me, Pierce Murphy and Luis Vargas come to mind. Murphy was the only one who kept it close against Cheserek when they raced the 5000 at UW. He has shown tremendous turnover at Washington as well as at the MPSF championships. Then there's Vargas who has competed against some of the best in the nation time and time again. He's a grinder and isn't afraid to make things fast in the middle of the race. He may not win, but he could set up the race for someone other than Cheserek to get the title. 

There are plenty of scenarios for this race, but only on Saturday at 6:25pm will we see how this race plays out.

A Manic Mile: A Guide to the Most Unpredictable Event of the Weekend

I think a lot of people were disappointed when the entries for the mile came out because of how many of the top seeds scratched. However, I think that makes this race a lot more intriguing and all the more worth watching. Also, this field is pretty talented anyway. I mean, how many times do people sigh and say “That’s all” when they hear Oregon’s mile record holder is in the race? Wait, he is? Yup, that’s right. Blake Haney has the mile record for Oregon. He’s been racing really well and really consistently since outdoors last year, and I just can’t see anyone beating him. We’ve also got some wildcards in Henry Wynne and Jonah Koech that I think could really shake things up here. Wynne held off Knight in the DMR at ACCs, and he’s been running really well all season. I wouldn’t be shocked if he was top 5. Then there’s Koech. We’ve all heard big things about him and this is his first big chance to shine on the track. It will be interesting to see how he handles the prelims and his first match-up with the other top milers in the NCAA. Thomas Awad really surprised me with his decision to focus on the mile this year, but it obviously paid off with a really nice 3:57 at the Armory. He’ll be a big name to watch, but my gut says he won’t be in it the last 200. I have nothing against him, I’m just not sold on his ability to execute in championship races just yet. Georgetown will also be well represented with 2 of their 4 sub 3:59 guys in the race. I think one of them will nab a top 8 spot, I’m just not sure which one. Probably Cole Williams, if I had to pick one. He’s got nasty speed and that’s a huge advantage in championship races. Jacob Burcham has had a big time year for Oklahoma and he comes in seeded 4th. I really like the way he’s been racing, and I think he is ready to finish the season with a bang. Finally, my sleeper pick is David Elliott from Boise State. He is seeded third so I’m not sure he counts as a sleeper, but not many people have heard of him, so I’m going to say he does. He has had an absolutely amazing season dropping his previous pr by 12 seconds. He also ran well at NCAAs outdoors last year, so I think it’s fair to say he knows how to negotiate prelims and championship style racing. Overall I think this is going to be a really fun race to watch, especially over the last 600. I don’t see anyone taking it out super quick, but there are a few guys in this field who can really close. It’s going to be a prototypical NCAA final, and maybe I’m in the minority here, but I think that’s really exciting to watch. 

DMR: Don’t Miss (this) Race

​We’ve all seen the numbers. This year has been historic for the DMR, with 6 of the 12 fastest times in NCAA history being run in a single season. Some attribute the success of the event to meets like Alex Wilson with stacked DMR races, others seem to think the NCAA overall has improved. Regardless of the reasoning, one thing is clear: the Distance Medley Relay at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships is one for the ages. In order to prove that anyone reading this should be glued to their computer or television in anticipation this Friday, I will go through the race, team by team, leg by leg (to the best of my ability, it’s possible alternates race on Friday). I will show not only that this race is going to incredibly competitive, but we could also see the NCAA record fall. 

​To begin with, there are a few teams that I don’t really see influencing the race too heavily: Virginia, Michigan, UCLA, and Oklahoma. Georgetown is also an interesting case. They have a solid team top to bottom, but with Bartelsmeyer and Cole Williams both in the mile and Joseph White in the 800, this team isn’t what it could’ve been. This isn’t to say these five schools don’t have great teams, because they do. They just won’t impact the outcome of the race (finish and time) as much as the other seven teams. A second big assumption I’m going to make is Edward Cheserek will be on the anchor for the Oregon Ducks; yes, I know the 5k is right before the DMR, but here’s a condensed version of my rationale for the position. First, this triple (DMR/5k/3k) has been accomplished by Galen Rupp. Sure, Rupp was a great college runner, but so is Ches. People were talking about Ches going Mile/3k/5k, and if he could’ve pulled that off (which hasn’t been done), I think he’ll make a run at a triple that has been done. Secondly, I think the 5k will come down to a sit and kick, limiting the amount of effort Ches will have to exert. Yes, he’ll be forced to run somewhat, but it won’t be a 13:35. We’ve all seen these championship races come down to a 400 or 800 meter kick, and this should be no different. Moreover, the main contenders in the race (Scott, Curtin, Pearson, Murphy) have all been in a position to push the pace of a championship race instead of facing a deadly kick from Ches or Eric Jenkins, and they’ve avoided that tactic. They aren’t beating Ches, and they will put themselves in the best position to place highly; this means averting the risk that is going out hard and potentially blowing up, which is that much more likely in a 5k. All of this means the first 4,000 or so meters of the 5k will be a bit of a jog-fest, allowing Ches to come out strong during the DMR. With this in mind, let’s run through the remaining seven teams and see why they can compete and how they’ll affect the race. 

Villanova: I’ve listed this team first, not because I think they can or will win the race, but because their potential to open it up on the front end. Villanova qualified with a team led-off by Jordy Williamsz, and despite speculation he will anchor the Wildcats, I think their order remains the same. Robert Denault is a 3:58 miler, but I don’t think he can offer the same speed as Williamsz for the 1200; Villanova gains more with Denault on the mile and Williamsz on the 1200 in my opinion. With this in mind, I think unlike in years past, Jordy takes the 1200 hard and really opens up teams for the rest of the race. This gives Villanova the best chance to be in the mix towards the end, but maybe more importantly, guarantees fast legs for the remainder of the race. Williamsz will hand off in first in around 2:51, and will force other teams to play catch up for the rest of the race.

Ole Miss: A team that was largely disappointing during Cross Country is seeking redemption now in the DMR; many of their newly acquired transfers are more suited for this race as opposed to 8ks and 10ks, and this team is one of the best overall squads. Starting on the 1200, Robert Domanic is a runner that should handoff towards the front of the pack, just as he did at the Penn State meet. Ole Miss follows him up with Ryan Manahan and Craig Engels; Manahan is a solid 400 guy and Engels should be one of the fastest 800 legs in the race, meaning Sean Tobin should get the baton near or in the lead. Tobin is a sub 4 miler, but he doesn’t necessarily have the kick speed of other anchors. He probably doesn’t have the chops to win the race, but he probably will want to separate the lead pack from the field to ensure a nice finish for his team. With Jordy pushing the pace on the front end and Tobin moving on the anchor, I think you can see where I’m going with this: a championship race that is fast…very fast.   

Oklahoma State: Another team going all in for the DMR, as mile qualifier Josh Thompson and the top returner from the indoor mile Chad Noelle have both committed to this race. It appears that Chad will be on the 1200, and given his ability to hang in any type of race (remember, he ran 3:36 in addition to winning a slow national title last year), he’ll be with Jordy all the way. He hasn’t looked great this season, but he hasn’t really been put in a position to breakout yet. This will be it. On the anchor, Josh Thompson has been one of the breakout runners in the nation this year. He ran 3:56 when OKST ran their nation leading time of 9:26, and he has improved at every meet this season. What I am indicating here is that this Oklahoma State team, which already ran the second fastest DMR in NCAA history, will be in a position to run even faster. It just gets better and better. 

Penn State: I love this Penn State DMR team. Sure, they have two legs doubling back from the 800, but man, they ran 9:27.20 what feels like ages ago. Their 1200, Jordan Mankins, arch-nemesis of our own Evan Hatton, ran a hand-timed 2:55. Since then, his open 800 PR has lowered from 1:50 to 1:48.9. He’s gotten faster this season, and that’ll surely translate on the fast opening leg. Isaiah Harris has arguably been the most consistent 800 runner in the country this year, and since he ran on the 9:27 team, he broke the Big 10 800 record. He’ll be charging on the 800 leg, as he’s shown he can motor and double well. Finally, we get to their anchor, Brandon Kidder. I know he’s also coming back from the 800, but he’s shown he can run on the double. Moreover, this is a guy who knows how to win. He beat out Sean McGorty, who later ran 3:53, so that should be a good indicator of Kidder’s mile chops. He puts his team in a position to win any kind of race, and in a fast one, he will excel. 

Stanford and Washington: I’ve grouped these two teams for an obvious reason: they’re both from the west coast…no, it’s their anchors. Earlier in the season, Washington has Yorks running the 800, but there is just no chance he doesn’t anchor the DMR. Both teams have solid DMR teams, with guys like Blake Nelson and sub 4 guy Thomas Coyle, but they aren’t as strong as some of the other opening three legs. What this means is we get to see a fresh Yorks and a fresh McGorty chasing. Wow. McGorty is a true strength guy, and when he is running from behind, I think he can make up a lot of ground over 1600 meters; Yorks has more speed than McGorty, and if he runs a smart leg, he can close the gap and potentially run away with the race in dramatic fashion. It is not often we get to see two 3:53 milers in a DMR, and the way this race will play out, we will see fireworks from them.

Oregon: I’ve saved Oregon for last because they’re such an interesting case. I’ve already laid out why Ches will race, but I still question whether this will be enough for them to win. On the 1200, it appears as though Blake Haney will be running; he has run 2:54, but coming back from the mile, he might not be 100%. Haney should still run a fast opening leg, but with the talent on the 1200, he should be a couple seconds back. The Ducks should make up some time on the 400 leg (although Marcus Chambers isn’t listed on the heat sheet, it makes no sense for him not to run here because he is healthy and not running the open 400). Still, Ches will be getting the baton with ground to make up. If he was fresh, no one in the world predicts against him, but he is coming off the 5k, which is right before the DMR and will take a toll on the king, no matter how slow. Teams in front of him know he will be tired and also know about his kick, and thus will not want to let him back in the race. Anchors with the baton in front of Oregon will be running hard, forcing Ches to use whatever remaining energy he has to get back in the race and thus eliminating his monster kick. This means that Cheserek’s impact on the race might not be him stealing the W, but forcing the field to run insanely fast, front to back. You can’t count him out, but this is the rare occasion where I’m taking the field over the king. 

​There it is: the best indoor Distance Medley Relay ever. No contest. Sure, this breakdown may be idealistic for a fan of fast times, but it is also something that could easily happen. It’s logical from a team standpoint, and the perfect recipe from a fan’s point of view. As I count the hours in anticipation of this race, I am confident in one thing: we will see a new NCAA record by the end of Friday night. 

NCAA Prediction Contest and How You Can Join

By: Garrett Zatlin

It's finally time, After nearly two and half months of waiting, we will finally see who our champions of the 2016 NCAA indoor season will be!

Of course, what nationals showdown would be complete without some predictions? Last indoor season, Caleb Gatchell pulled away by five points to get the win over yours truly. Luckily, I redeemed myself by beating Fox during outdoor nationals by one point. And who could forget Jarrett taking down my unstoppable fantasy team by a little over 10 points for the XC championships? Here at Etrain, we take our predictions pretty seriously. 

With the championships starting on Friday, March 11th that means we have to get our predictions ready. So far, most of the writers are on board to do predictions (I even have some of their picks already), but we are always willing to bring more people on board!

How Do The Predictions Work?

We'll be doing the same thing as indoor states for PA! Here's how Jarrett explained it...

"There will be two levels of competition [...] make sure you write down your top 8 in each of the five events. However, not everyone is a super fan, but everyone should be able to get involved! So you can also enter your top 5 in each of the five events and be scored in the smaller competition.

And even if you don't want to float out a top 5, still feel free to throw up predictions and attach a name. I'll give a shout out in the recap section if one of your bold predictions ends up being correct!

If you're wondering how this is going to be scored, it's like cross country where the lowest score will win. The idea is, closest to being accurate wins with bonuses for picking the (NCAA) champs correctly. If you pick a (NCAA) champ correctly, you get a -3 bonus, otherwise you a positive score based on how far away you were from being correct. So for example, say I predict
1. Caleb
2. Alex
3. Paul

And the actual results are:
1. Caleb
2. Paul
5. Alex

Then my score would be -3 + 1 + 3 = 1"

We will only be scoring the five distance events (800, Mile, 3000, 5000, DMR).

How Can I Submit My Predictions?
We have multiple ways of collecting predictions! You can...

• email me at garrettzatlin@gmail.com
• find any of the writers on Facebook and message us there
• message our Etrain account on Twitter (@TheRealTrain11)
• comment below on this post

Be sure to attach some type of name so we can give you proper credit! Of course, you do not have to use your real name if you don't want to. A nickname, username, or some type of label would be more than fine. We respect that some people would like to remain anonymous.

When Must I Submit My Predictions By?
With the distance events starting on Friday, we ask that you submit your predictions by 1:00pm on Thursday (if you need more time just let me know). It takes a bit to gather all the predictions together into one post.

Other Info/Resources?
If you're gonna make predictions, you gotta be prepared! Don't worry though, we've got you covered...

National Championships
Entries (Flotrack)
National Ranks (TFRRS)
Reactions To NCAA Scratches (Etrain)
Schedule of Events (ncaa.com)

In-Season Analysis
Weekend Review #1
Weekend Review #2
Weekend Review #3
Weekend Review #4
Weekend Review #5
Running Is Our Valentine: Weekend Spotlight
Show Me The Money
Weekend Review #6
Weekend Review #7
Millrose Mile Preview
Weekend Review #8
Weekend Review #9

Pre-Season Analysis
800 Preview
Mile Preview
By The Numbers


If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out! Thanks and Train On.

Reactions To NCAA Scratches

By: Garrett Zatlin

I am sorry for not keeping a constant flow of posts coming like I wanted to. School and some laziness got in the way. Other than that, I am very excited to take a deeper look into who's running what at nationals! There were a ton of surprises and scratches that I wasn't expecting. Then again, some of the entries ended up pretty much how I thought they would. Let's take a deeper look at the entries for NCAA's.

Also watch out for a big predictions post this upcoming week! We are only 4 days out after all...

800
Scratches/Defer's (1):
-Ryan Manahan (Mississippi)
Last Man In: 
-Will Teubel (Iowa)
First Man Out: 
-Craig Engels (Mississippi)

Not many surprises here. I expected the entire top 16 of this field to enter, but Ryan Manahan threw me off by forgoing the 800 to focus on the DMR. Maybe Mississippi thought they could get Engels (18th in the nation) in with Manahan and someone else dropping. Unfortunately, they were one scratch short.

We shouldn't really be surprised that only Manahan scratched. Clayton Murphy was the only individual in this field that was qualified for another open event (the mile, which he scratched from). The 800 was the only option for most of this field (unless they had DMR duties like Penn State and Ole Miss).

Mile
Scratches/Defer's (11):
-Izaic Yorks (Washington)
-Sean McGorty (Stanford)
-Justyn Knight (Syracuse)
-Futsum Ziensellaassie (Northern Arizona)
-Clayton Murphy (Akron)
-Edward Cheserek (Oregon)
-Morgan McDonald (Wisconsin)
-Ahmed Bile (Georgetown)
-Joshua Thompson (Oklahoma State)
-Michael Lederhouse (Georgetown)
-Robert Denault (Villanova)
Last Man In:
-Rob Napolitano (Columbia)
First Man Out:
-Zach Perrin (Colorado)

This was by far the most surprising field for everyone who follows the sport. There were so many scratches in favor of the 3k that it has now left the mile almost wide open for anyone to get a title.

Let's break down what we shouldn't be surprised about...

Sean McGorty already said in an interview that he would be focusing on the DMR and 3k. That's not too surprising when you consider that Stanford will be one of the very few fresh squads in the DMR that could fight for a title. Other unsurprising scratches include Futsum Z. (who is best suited for the 5k), Clayton Murphy (who is a favorite for the 800 title), Robert Denault, Josh Thompson, and Michael Lederhouse (all of whom are pursuing a fresh DMR).

However, it's the other scratches that really took everyone by surprise.

I was convinced that Cheserek was doing the DMR/Mile/3k triple. It seemed like it was his best chance to get three golds while maximizing team points. But for him to go 5k/3k/(DMR?) leaves a huge gap in who the title favorite should be.

So who was the next favorite after Cheserek? It had to be Yorks right? The fastest miler in the nation HAD to run the mile...right? Yorks just ran 3:53, beat Sean McGorty, and would've been a comfortable favorite for the title. However, for some reason, Yorks didn't see it that way and decided to go 3k (which will probably be in addition to the DMR). His goal is probably to be fresh for the D-Med, but that is a huge gamble when you consider that McGorty, Bile, and Williamsz will all be fresh as well.

Knight and McDonald are guys who were towards the top of the 3k field, but they would've faired much better at the mile (where they were also towards the top of). They had to know that Cheserek was running the 3k. Why wouldn't he? Choosing to run the 3k just makes things tougher for these two who have had very impressive mile marks this season. What's even more odd is that they don't have DMR duties to worry about. They could've done the Mile/3k double and at least had a crack at both events.

3000
Scratches/Defer's (1):
-Will Kincaid (Portland)
Last Man In: 
-David Elliot (Boise State)
First Man Out: 
-Matthew Maton (Oregon)

The 3k was probably one of the toughest events when predicting who was going to run it. I don't think anyone expected some of the names in this field to drop the mile in favor for an already stacked 3k. In fact, all but one runner in the top 16 entered in the 3k. The one runner who didn't enter was Will Kincaid who is unfortunately injured according to this article. In my opinion, Kincaid not racing next week is pretty disappointing. If the race gets tactical with Ches (which it will) the only person who would've been able to match Cheserek's turnover in the final 200 meters would have been Kincaid (but that's a different topic).

With so many top-tier names in this race, it sparks some questions as to how this race will play out. Who will push the pace? Who will follow the pacer? Who is going to sit back and kick? At what point in the race will someone attempt to break Ches? There are so many unknowns...

P.S.- I really feel for Maton. He was ranked 18th overall in the nation after a very nice race at MPSF championships. You would've thought that more than one guy would've scratched, but unfortunately for Maton that was not the case.

5000
Scratches/Defer's (1): 
-William Kincaid (Portland)
Last Man In:
-Aaron Nelson (Washington)
First Man Out:
-Reid Buchanan (Portland)

Much like the 3k, I imagined that most of the top 16 would enter this race...just not the entire field. As I mentioned above, Kincaid is injured and is the only scratch for this race. However, the real surprise is Cheserek declaring to run the 5k. I would have never thought he would run the 5k especially with the DMR only 40 minutes after it. Does this mean he stills pursue the DMR even though he has less than an hour to recover?  It has to be the biggest question mark of the weekend.

Cheserek running the 5k/3k also means that he will be fresh for the 3.1 mile-long race. So does that mean he's untouchable? Curtin beat Cheserek this past cross country season after going out hard and never looking back. We could see the same thing happen again this winter, but Cheserek has probably learned from that. There are also strong closers like Marc Scott and Pierce Murphy. Murphy was the only one that was able to stay remotely close to Cheserek at Washington before Cheserek simply outkicked him. There are a lot of "what if's" right now, but Cheserek is the favorite among the loaded field.

DMR
Scratches/Defer's (0):
-N/A
Last Team In:
-Mississippi Rebels
First Team Out:
-Virginia Tech Hokies

There were obviously no surprises as every DMR that qualified has entered. Before conference weekend, it looked like Virginia Tech and Villanova would be in with Oregon as the first team out. However, an Oregon relay without Cheserek was able to put the pieces of the puzzle together and clock and sub 9:30 time. The Villanova Wildcats were smart enough to know a faster Oregon DMR was in the works, and ran a time faster themselves. The chain reaction sent Virginia Tech home as they finished the season ranked 13th in the nation.

Now that the field is set, what are the facts that we know? Well we know that there are plenty of teams that are taking guys out of the 800/Mile to focus on a fresh DMR. Izaic Yorks (Washington), Sean McGorty (Stanford), Robert Denault (Villanova), Josh Thompson (OKST), and Ryan Manahan (Mississippi) are all opting out of the mile or 800 to be fresh for the DMR. With so many fresh legs, a fast race could be very possible.

Of course, the biggest question(s) out of all of these teams comes from the Oregon Ducks. Cheserek is running the 5k less than an hour before this race. Does that mean we won't see him in the DMR? Or will he really make an attempt to come back and anchor his team to victory? Could he still have enough energy to get them the win? It's a bold strategy if that's what the Ducks are thinking. Then again, what if Cheserek isn't running the DMR? Prakel and Haney (or maybe Maton) would most likely take over DMR duties and try to mix it up near the front. Could that squad really compete for the title?

DMR Recap

by Jarrett Felix

The Race (http://pa.milesplit.com/videos/123416/boys-dmr-cardinal-ohara-102452)
The day's final distance event was packed with tired legs and a lot of questions. The lead off leg featured a ton of young talent as well as some familiar faces. Rob Morro and Grayson Hepp, who led off all-state DMRs a year ago, were back to take another shot at gold. On the flip, freshmen like Seth Ketler of Seneca Valley, David Endres of CB East, Matt Eissler of Pennridge and Jack Wisner of Carlisle were all also contesting the 1200.

At the gun, a pack of 14 runners shot off on the first lap. Things were quite crowded around the first turn as a big pack jockeyed for the lead. Grayson Hepp ended up at the lead going through 200m with Morro and Claricurzio just behind around 30 to 31 seconds. But things really slowed down on the second lap, as it appeared no one was incredibly comfortable at the front. That left it to Rob Morro and DT West's Ryan Barton. Morro really started to string things out once he hit the lead with Barton and then Hepp the closest to him. Nick Feffer of State College also made a nice surge to get in the mix at 800m. By the time they hit the 1,000m mark that meant one lap to go, the field was almost completely in a line. Morro had control out front with Barton, then Feffer, then Hepp and then the fresh lead off leg from Unionville Michael DelVecchio. Hepp closed like a mad man on the last lap, but it wasn't enough to catch Morro who handed off at the front around 3:11-3:12, about a second lead over GFS. DT West and State College were the next two through the exchange zone, handing off to very capable 400m legs.

Tamir Jones blasted the 400m leg for O'Hara and dared everyone to chase him. The second leg ran handed off with a lead around 4:01-4:02 opening up the lead for Justin Jones on the 800. GFS and then State College followed close behind. Then DTW and Unionville, who could utilize sub 50 runner Daniel Powers to get in contention. The top three teams were fairly clear of the field, but the race for 4th was on. Unionville, LaSalle, Seneca Valley and West Chester Henderson were all within striking distance of Downingtown at the exchange. CR South and CB East were right in it as well.

Justin Jones got out hard for O'Hara, similar to what he did in the 4x8 earlier in the day. But he kept things a bit more conservative than his furious pace he set on the day's first relay. All the same, a quick opening 200 had to be intimidating to his chasers. Joey Feffer of State College was that primary chaser with Gordon Goldstein of GFS hanging just behind. DT West's Shaun Bullock was running strong in 4th but a monster pack of guys was hot on his tail. LaSalle, Henderson, CB East, Unionville, Seneca Valley and CR South were in a massive group, pushing each other up the track. Justin Jones ultimately handed the baton to Ryan James at right around 6 minutes flat, giving him a sub 2 minute split. The work of the first three legs gave O'Hara a roughly 6 second advantage over State College and roughly 8 seconds over Nick Dahl. A huge finish from CB East's 3rd leg ended up getting CB East barely into 4th over DT West, but there were a ton of teams just behind with medal aspirations, including Seneca Valley's star anchor Mike Kolor. CB West's Carter Zerweck also closed the gap significantly over the last 200m, giving Rock Fortna the stick just behind that medal pack.

Ryan James gunned it out to start the race, feeling excited and probably a little scared of some of the big names behind him. James's first lap was roughly 30 seconds and the pressure that was already on Milligan for SC and Dahl for GFS was increasing. After coming through in about 62 seconds at 400m, Ryan had over a straightaway lead. Nobody else was even in the camera shot they showed at the 7 minute mark. But James was still running completely alone while Milligan and Dahl had each other to work off and try to narrow the gap. And behind those two, Mike Kolor had surged to the front of a huge pack that included three-time state champ Jake Brophy. 4th through 11th was all within just a couple seconds of one another. Regardless, James had a very comfortable lead at 800m, coming through under 2:10. Ryan, who didn't race at all prior to his anchor leg, wasn't afraid to get out aggressively. His tired opponents took a bit more of a cautious and reserved approach, trying to get their legs back underneath them. Milligan and then Dahl were roughly 13 seconds behind at 800m and Mike Kolor was gaining on them from his position in 4th. Rock Fortna of CB West had made up some big ground in his first 800 as he was now in 5th, followed by Kent Hall of Unionville and then Brophy and Spencer Smucker of Henderson. Fortna led the back by in about 8:26, only 3-4 seconds back from 2nd place. DT West and CR South looked like they would round out the medal fight as Joe Maguire and Ben Ryherd hung off the back of this crowded chase pack.

James couldn't help but take a few looks over his shoulder as he started to tire on his 3rd quarter. He came through in roughly 3:18, slowing a bit and maybe giving some hope to his pursuers. Dahl and Milligan were beginning to close, with Nick now taking over the lead. The gap was shrinking, now down closer to 8 seconds, but that would be a lot of ground to make up, even for quality anchors. Clearly the third 400 was a make or break section of the race as Kolor also used a strong couple laps to break clear into 4th place. Fortna had managed to take a strong hold on 5th place, but the battle behind him was still brewing. Kent Hall led it through with Smucker and then Brophy.

At a lap to go, James hit the bell around 9:52-9:53, his pace beginning to slip. Dahl and Milligan, like sharks in the water, had smelled blood and were coming after him hard. Dahl was within maybe 3 seconds or so at the bell. It was a big gap, but we had seen Jake Brophy make a similar gap over the final 200 in the 3k. The O'Hara boys cheered on their anchor, Justin Jones running out to the track to motivate RJ. Sensing things were getting close, Ryan managed to find his second wind and he put his head down and kicked hard. Dahl made a valiant effort to close the gap, closing his last 400 somewhere around 60 seconds, but ultimately he couldn't quite catch up to the determined and fresh O'Hara anchor. Milligan, Kolor and Fortna closed out the next three spots, likely with three of the faster splits of the competition. Brophy kicked his way to 6th, outlasting a mad dash for the final medal spots which were ulimtately grabbed by sophomore Spencer Smucker and senior Joe Maguire, both fresh anchor legs.

Here's the splits I have so far, anybody who can help out please post some splits up below. I'm guessing at a couple orders, so correct me if I'm wrong.

1. O'Hara: Morro 3:11.7, T. Jones 50.6, J. Jones 1:58.3, James 4:24.0
2. GFS: Hepp, Schwemler, Goldstein 2:03.6, Dahl 4:18.4
3. State College: N. Feffer, Degleris, J. Feffer 2:00.8, Milligan 4:23.2
4. Seneca Valley: Ketler 3:18.6, 52.9, Dixon 2:03.8, Kolor 4:17.1
5. CB West: Claricurzio, McIlhinney, Zerweck 2:02.5, Fortna 4:22.7
6. CB East: Endres, Shahideh, Motter 2:00.5, Brophy 4:26.8
7. Henderson: Thompson 3:20.8, Jones 50.2, Richard 2:03.4, Smucker 4:25.5
8. CR South: Zawodniak, Johnson, Kutney 2:02.9, Maguire 4:25.7
9. DT West: Barton, Alleyne, Bullock 2:04.8, Ryherd 4:31.0
10. Unionville: DelVecchio, Powers, Do, Hall
11. Carlisle: J. Wisner, Griffie, Kole, M. Wisner
12. LaSalle: Addison, Nelson, Price 2:03.8, Grant
13. Pennridge: Eissler, Howell, Espinal, Desko
14. Neshaminy: Krimmel, Hebron, Lehman, Krzywonos

Analysis

I’ve already taken some well-deserved ribbing on twitter from the O’Hara boys, but after watching the post race interview on milesplit, it appears even these guys were at least a little surprised by their success. In a meet that was dominated mostly by favorites, Cardinal O’Hara pulled off the dramatic upset and left the state meet as back-to-back champions in the DMR. The upset got me thinking about the last five years or so for the O’Hara boys and how this program has no quit in them. Check out this brief history:

Fall 2011 -> O’Hara loses on a tie breaker at the state championship to North Penn

Fall 2012 -> O’Hara loses again on a tiebreaker, but uses it as motivation and finishes 5^th at nationals
Winter 2014 -> After graduating their top two guys from XC states and listening to countless Henderson hype, O’Hara throws down the second best indoor DMR of all time and wins Nationals
Winter 2015 -> After graduating the back half of the DMR and enduring countless amounts of criticism about the fact that they “didn’t peak at states”, O’Hara comes out and wins a state championship in the DMR
Winter 2016 -> After graduating star anchor Kev James who “carried” O’Hara to the title, the team steals a second straight state title after being something of a foot note during the 2015-2016 year

I mean these guys just refuse to go away. Remember that O’Hara was doubling both their 1200 and their 800 legs from the 4x8 (where they finished 9^th just out of the medals). They raced essentially a full “A” squad in the 4x8 and must have really liked their odds in that race (I know I did). However, they did keep Ryan James fresh and ran a smart order, keeping RJ for the anchor slot. The team gave James a nice cushion, but he still had to run what I believe was a big season best anchor split while running completely solo (and looking back more than a few times). Just a brilliant run and an impressive upset. I suppose that’s what happens when almost every team in the race is doubling a couple key legs. O’Hara was the only team in the top 6 whose anchor leg was fresh.

GFS gets the silver and, although they may have wanted the win, the second place finish is their best ever in the DMR as far as I can tell. Dahl ran a big race, closing in about 60 seconds, but may have waited too long to make his move. It would have been interesting to see these guys fresh. They would have been pretty tough to beat I'd imagine. State College gets the bronze, bolstering their team score. They ran a strong race as well, but their most important championship was clearly the 4x8. Everything in the DMR was pretty much gravy. But they will head to nats next week hoping for big things in that relay (I believe GFS is also loading up a relay next weekend, but I think it will be the DMR?). 

Seneca Valley, who barely got in, really stepped up in a big moment for 4th overall. They were the only team to scratch the 4x8 and Kolor also scratched the open mile and those decisions really paid off when their focused squad took to the track. Kolor's 4:17 had to be one of the fastest splits of the day and he nearly closed the gap on SC and GFS at a number of points in this race. But also have to give credit to his teammates. Their freshman lead off leg ran a 3:18.6 in a super high pressure moment and the rest of their squad kept the team in the front pack, allowing Kolor to utilize his speed. Some of the other top anchors didn't get it in quite as good of position and they weren't as motivated to blast an impressive split as they may have been under other circumstances.

Rock Fortna and Jake Brophy from the rival Central Bucks schools finished side by side. Fortna ran a strong anchor leg after a big leg from their 800 man Zerweck. CB East ran a pretty solid relay as well, but that 3k-DMR double is really hard. Brophy threw down his usual kick, but he didn't have quite the same spark. Maybe the 4x8 would have been the better choice, but it's hard to really say. Both teams made the Championship of America for 4x8 last year and I wouldn't be surprised to see them back there this year (they each return three guys). Lots to look forward to for outdoors.

Henderson and CR South, two essentially completely fresh squads, blasted some killer relays to round out the medal spots. Henderson pulled out yet another state medal in the DMR with just a sophomore on the anchor  (and they will return everyone besides their 1200 for next year). Their sophomore 400m runner also clocked one of the fastest splits of the relay, running a clutch 50.2. The youngsters stepped up huge for this team. For CR South, Joe Maguire's decision to scratch the 3k paid off for the relay, who left the meet with a state medal. Have to respect Maguire's individual sacrifice (his PR would have been right in the medal hunt at 3k) to help his teammates get to the podium. The second half the CR South relay, really closed down hard in this race.

As for DT West, I was really impressed with their run. Without arguably their 3 best runners and four best 400 meter guys, DT West still stuck their nose in it. Ryan Barton is a gamer and handed off near the front and the rest of his team hung tough throughout. Ryherd ran a gutsy anchor leg and, although they ended up 9th, I think they exceeded expectations given their "B" squad status. Unionville also ran an impressive race with a killer front end of the relay. If Hall was just a bit fresher they might have been able to hang on in the final laps for a state medal. All the same, Unionville really impressed with a 10:44 and a gutsy race, taking big strides.

The doubling played an interesting role in this one. There were lots of tired legs and very few anchors really got after it in the early going (same with the twelve legs honestly as Morro split about 61-62 on the 400 after a 2:10ish first 8). The other big factor was the 800m leg. I thought somebody might drop a 1:56 and become something of a game changer on that leg, but it tentatively looks like Justin Jones of O'Hara had the fastest split of the group, completely solo out front at 1:58ish. That split really broke it open, running 2+ seconds faster than the group at large. 

3,000m Recap

By Jarrett Felix

The Race

Perhaps the youngest man in the field was the first to control the pace, unafraid of the two XC state champs lurking behind him. Rusty Kujdych controlled the pace through 400m in around 63 seconds according to the loud speakers while Hockenbury and Brophy sat in the lead two chase spots. Liam Galligan (doubling from the mile) and Seth Slavin were already falling off the pace a bit as things clicked off under state record pace through the first quarter.

After about 700m of work, Hockenbury took the reigns at the front to lead it through 800m followed by Kujdych, Brophy, Wolk and then Kirshenbaum. The pace had strung out the field quicker than the mile or the 800 had before it and some runners were taking a cautious approach to the opening surge. Hockenbury continued to keep things honest while Brophy eventually moved back into second with Wolk jockeying alongside him for a bit. At the mile, Hockenbury and Brophy had gapped their pursuers just a bit with Kirsh now holding third. Meanwhile, Nate Henderson had moved up into the medal positions, taking over 6th place just before hitting the 1600m split. Sappey was just on his shoulder with Casey Conboy nearby as well.

After the mile, Henderson really started to cut into that gap, looking strong and confident. Although Hock and Brophy had made a strong move to separate themselves, Henderson was now in the primary chase back behind Krish, Wolk and Kujdych. Moser had push his way into 7^th and Sappey was holding tight to the final medal spot. But most eyes were on Hockenbury as he opened up a small cushion on Brophy who looked tired and fatigued. Hock looked smooth and strong, powering around the track gracefully and perhaps beginning to break Jake. Eventually, a little after the 2k, Henderson made another small move to push up to third. The trio of Henderson, Kirshenbaum and Wolk had the advantage of working together and seemed to have Brophy in their sights.

 

At about 500m Henderson caught Brophy and kept his eyes ahead. Hockenbury was still looking good at the front of the pack. Kirshenbaum had a solid hold on fourth and then Wolk was fighting to hang tough in 5th. Kujdych was still in 6^th, but a flurry of runners were now jockeying together for the last medal spots, thanks to a big second half from Seth Slavin. Taking away the focus from the medal fight was an intense battle out front as Hockenbury held a commanding lead entering the bell lap, roughly 3 seconds up on Brophy. Amazingly, Brophy found a gear and starting kick, distancing himself from Henderson before finally, absurdly, emerging back into sight and sprinting his way just ahead of Hock to claim his first indoor state title.

Analysis

In one huge kick, Jake Brophy transformed his legacy. I doubt he was thinking about that while it was happening (in fact I know he wasn’t thinking about that), but it really was a huge moment for him historically. Up until that point with one lap to go, Jake had finished 5^th and 8^th in his last two individual track state championships (plus an 8^th in the DMR). He had entered the state meet as a co-favorite with his 8:57, but had ended up slipping in an absolutely stacked field.

Flash forward to indoors. Jake is a favorite and near unanimous pick for state gold. The pace isn’t back breaking (he’d already basically run a mid 8:30s 3k solo at Lehigh) and he’s fresh after scratching the 4x8. He slips all the way back to third, looking tired and it seems like he’s got no shot at the gold. That would put him 0/3 in state gold attempts on the track the last two seasons. But instead, he rallies with a tremendous display of guts and determination and nips Hockenbury at the line in an eerie flash back to McGoey a year ago. Now we will remember Brophy as a champion with a strong kick who holds 3 state golds (and counting) who measured himself out perfectly to be as fresh as possible for the DMR. That’s a clutch finish.

Listening to Jake’s post race interview, it’s clear that his mind was somewhere else during the race. He was very focused on saving something for the DMR (a very tricky double) and just wanted to do the minimum he could and still win. That extra mental strain almost proved to be too much to overcome. You have to respect how team oriented the guy is. Even after the race, when he nearly cost himself a state title because of his focus on the relay, he said his goal outdoors was to win a state title on a relay. And it’s not like the kid is all talk either. His sophomore year, after finishing 3^rd indoors at 3,000, he completely gave up the 3200 to run the 4x8 outdoors (and anchored the team to a school record and top 3 finish). As a junior, after winning states in XC and being arguably the favorite for state gold in the 3k, he passed on his better event to run the mile in the hopes that he would be better rested for the team’s DMR at meet’s end. Outdoors of the same year, he first ran the 4x8 prelims at Penn Relays, possibly taking some juice away from his 3k later that night (although it seems like it didn’t), and helped his team qualify for the COA. Then, he was willing to run the 3200-4x8 double at districts outdoors, but his team ended up missing out on a top 8 spot. And after everything he achieved this past XC season, in the interview he did with the blog, he said his favorite moment of the year might have been qualifying for states as a team in cross country. Unselfish seems like it may be an understatement.

But moving on from the Brophy love fest, there were plenty of other terrific performances to appreciate. Dominic Hockenbury and Nate Henderson may have each featured a little déjà vu on race day, but both should be very proud of their achievements to date. Hock ran yet another gutsy race, closing furiously and nearly stealing the state title in an upset victory, but once again ended up being run down at the line. Despite that fact, Hock picked up his 3^rd state silver to go along with his 4 state golds. Starting his sophomore year, Hock has finished 1^st or 2^nd in every single state championship he has contested. That’s a brilliant resume. I’m hoping he gets his sub 9 this spring. The Henderson Invite could feature a special rematch between himself and Brophy.

Meanwhile, Henderson, too, was in a familiar position at states. Last outdoors, the sophomore ran a brilliant race, patiently running the first mile before attacking the second half of the race. Outdoors, he moved into medal position before falling to Brophy’s absurd kick on the last lap. Indoors, Henderson was making a charge for the lead before Jake ended up finding that extra gear once again. But, as just a junior remember, Nate is mixing it up with two guys that have a combined 7 state championships. With 400 meters to go, I really thought he might win the race. He’s been tops in his grade at each of his last four state championship competitions. With continued to development of his finishing kick, a state title could be just around the corner.

Say what you will about Jeff Kirshenbaum’s false start in the mile, but in my opinion, it was definitely a smart move in terms of optimizing his chances of getting a top state medal. Kirsh has been one of the best in the state at this distance and has already made huge drops in time (he’s taken roughly 15 seconds off his outdoor PR). Nick Wolk continues a strong season finishing 5^th in the championships, I believe his first career track medal. In head to head races, I don’t think Wolk has lost to anyone in the WPIAL with fresh legs since last spring, which is a pretty impressive feat in that district. I believe this was his third straight week running the 3,000 which, in my opinion, can be a little tiring. It’s also just his second trip under 9 minutes in his career. He’s got upside for outdoor in both the mile (where he might have been undefeated this year) and the 3k.

Seth Slavin and Henry Sappey barely scratched their way into this meet. They both had the exact same seed time (8:56.13) and were originally added as #12 and #13. Once Hockenbury was added, that pushed them to #13 and #14. So it’s not crazy to think if Hock had not been mistakenly left off the first round of acceptances, there’s a chance both Slavin and Sappey would not have qualified (there were only supposed to be 12 spots). Which goes to show you the “top 12 system” may not produce the best 8 guys in the state on the medal stand. But regardless, this isn’t supposed to be an indictment of the system (I’ve already done that), it should be a celebration of a couple smart racers who ran PRs at the perfect time. Sappey continues a nice clutch streak with his 3^rd individual state medal. With the ability to focus full time on the longer distance , rather than the relays, he’s excelled. Meanwhile, Slavin earns his first state medal after barely missing one in XC (but running a terrific regional race). Gotta say, watching Slavin run such a poised and smart race was incredibly impressive. One of the strongest performances of the day. Slavin vs. Lapsansky this outdoors in the 3200 should be a fun match up and hopefully some of the District’s talented milers jump up every once in a while to add an extra twist.

Will Loevner of Winchester Thurston rounded out the group with an 8^th place finish, avenging his 9^th place finish from a year ago. The WT senior has qualified for states in this event 3 straight years while also acquiring two XC individual medals and two outdoor 3200m medals (and counting). Marc Migliozzi, also of the WPIAL, fell to the dreaded nine spot, but still cracked 9 minutes for the second straight week. Just a few weeks ago he was sitting with a PR around 9:12. Now he has experience as a medal contender in a state championship final (his first on the track). It’s been a big breakthrough year for Migz and, knowing this team and his talent, I’d expect it to carry through to the track.  

800m Recap

by Jarrett Felix

The Race (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNADfa2QSrA)

Peter Cooke’s big surge in the first section and Sean Conway’s super quick opening laps in the second section put the pressure on the fast heat to deliver a fast time and try and snag the medals. The 800 was arguably the most wide open race at the meet’s start with arguably 4 runners having realistic state title dreams before the gun sounded, especially when Jax got to conserve a tiny bit in the mile.

When the gun sounded, the runners jockeyed for position a bit around the turn before cutting in. No one seemed incredibly eager to lead the race out so Peretta jumped just ahead of Kolor headed into the 200m split. Hoey was in 3^rd alongside Wagner in a tight group of athletes. As they rounded the track again, things continued to thin out. Hoey moved up ahead of Kolor to chase Peretta and the top three began to inch their way ahead of the chase pack. The clock read right around 55 seconds or so when the hit the split marking two laps to go.

On the third lap, the order stayed virtually the same, but Matt Wisner began to make the most significant move, going by Wanger and into 4^th overall. But he still had work to do to catch the top three. As they approached the bell, Kolor swung wide to go by Hoey and make his bid for the lead, but Peretta surged ahead to fight off the challenge and keep position on the rail. Peretta carried his momentum around the back straight and into the home stretch, powering away over the last 50 meters and taking the state title. Meanwhile, the hard charging Wisner got by Hoey and then barely Kolor in the race’s final strides. Wolfinger sprinted home in 5^th.

Analysis

Dang, Domenic. Back at it again with the state championships. Peretta has now won five individual state titles, all on the track, and will enter this upcoming outdoor season the favorite to win two more if he’s healthy. The Senior has been somewhat unproven against AAA competition (besides arguably the best race of his career at Baldwin last spring) and after a loss in last race before states at Spire, I was concerned maybe I had overestimated DP. But then he hit the track and I was easily reminded of what a remarkable talent this kid is. He glided smoothly around the track at a pretty quick pace and torched the field over the final 200m (an area where has sometimes struggled in 800s). Against Hoey and Kolor, two of the state’s best in the mile, he out strengthed his way to the finish. I’m very interested to see how he does at nationals, which can get crowded and get crazy (just ask Elias Graca).

And hey, it looks like the WPIAL now can add a state title for the indoor 800m to their list of achievements. I’ve been remarking that I have no clue when the last western 800 indoor champ was all week (still haven’t found any going back through 2000), but now we have a nice easy answer. Dom Peretta in his first year of indoor track. Not too shabby.

Matt Wisner ended up finishing in second, grabbing a PR in the process thanks to a big finishing kick. Wisner now steps into the AAA state championship as the favorite while Peretta moves to AA and Kolor and Hoey likely focus on the 1600. Wisner seemed gassed for much of the early stages of this race before finding enough gears to run down Kolor and Hoey at the end. Peretta’s early pace was just a little too much to handle and he ran out of track to cover any big moves to the finish, but 2^nd place to one of the top mid distance stars of the decade (and ahead of two 4:10 1600m guys) is nothing to just brush off. If Wisner does win the 8 outdoors, it will be the 4^th straight year Carlisle has taken one of the distance events (8-16-32 last three years from Brehm).

Kolor dropped a few more ticks off his personal best as well, finishing just behind Wisner in the final standings. Kolor transitioned well into the 800m this year after focusing much of his energy on the 16 last spring (did he ever run a fresh 8?). I’d imagine that’s where he is headed come outdoors considering he has run 4:12 for a full mile already and now should have a good amount of confidence in his speed. Kolor is headed into the outdoor season with much more momentum than he had last year as well. Keep in mind, due to health issues, Kolor barely made it through last fall’s XC season and didn’t really start to feel good until outdoor track (when the time started falling off in a hurry). This year he comes into the spring off a Tri-States XC win, another medal performance in cross and two 1:53s during the winter (and a 4:15.0).

As for Hoey, he hung valiantly on his second race of the day and was up in the lead back the whole way. He’s got excellent speed, but that double is a very hard one, even with a (relatively) relaxed effort in the mile. He still came within a couple fractions of his overall PR and cut a second plus off his previous season best (which was run fresh).

Brett Wolfinger was one of the surprises of the day for me personally, hanging on brilliantly in this very fast heat and coming away with a 1:55 PR. Wolfinger had looked a little flat in recent meets and didn’t have the same momentum I would normally hope for when selecting a top five, but the senior stepped up under the bright lights and hitched himself into the tight pack for his first state medal.

I was really impressed by the running done in that second section. I was a big fan of Conway, Fletcher and Armand coming in, but watching those three battle it out was still very impressive. Conway hammered the pace from the gun and Fletcher hung tough to his shoulder, priming himself for the kick. Fletcher is AA runner, finishing off his first serious indoor season with another trip into the 1:55s (I think this his 3^rd straight state championships where he ran 1:55). In theory, a fresh Fletcher could have a shot at Dom in the 8 at outdoor states. Fletcher is a great race and a great finisher while Peretta has struggled a bit with the 16-8 double after going out hard at the start and pushing things solo (going for the record). It’s not likely, but I wouldn’t count Fletcher out.

Really nice races out of some lesser known guys in the back heats. Peter Cooke ran a monster race and I think this guy could be real good outdoors in the right race. Radnor continues to churn dudes out for sure. I also thought Matt Kraus had another good race to add to his resume. He was completley off my radar prior to this season, but he's torched almost every race he's had. And Bove had a real nice race, definitely his best of the season. He ran 1:55 last outdoors in the shadow of Graca, but the kid is a real talent. 

Lastly, doubling is hard. Especially the 4-8 double. That one might be the hardest one there is.

Mile Recap

by Jarrett Felix

The Race (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofhpuutWR9c)

After an exciting finish in the first section of the mile, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgSFH10i0JE), the fast heat took the track to battle it out for the title and sort out the medal positions. Just like State College before him, Jaxson Hoey was the heavy favorite in the mile, but there were challengers lurking in this field with the potential to surprise. The race didn’t get out crazy fast through the opening quarter (maybe 64 high) and Josh Hoey made a bid for the lead just as they passed two laps. His brother Jaxson was lurking nearby along with Matt Scarpill and Tucker Desko at the front. Desko ending up being next to seize the lead and inject some pace while McMenamin and Galligan rounded out the field which was beginning to string slightly. Desko led through 800m in about 2:09 while Jaxson now moved to his shoulder ready to take over, Josh hanging in third.

Jaxson moved to the lead by the end of the first k, continuing the trend of straight 32s, Desko slightly boxed in by Josh on his outside. Wills was now up in fourth with three laps to go. Then at 1200m, Josh moved ahead of Desko and the two brothers took over, coming through around 3:15. The top three began to break away from Wills and Cooper Leslie of Camp Hill who were leading the chasers. Falasco, McMenamin and then Galligan remained in the hunt but were a few steps behind. As they hit the bell, the Hoey brothers continued their surge at the front. Meanwhile, Liam Galligan began to really turn things over and make up ground. Galligan found his way all the way up to 4^th, nearly catching Tucker Desko, but there was little drama out front as the Hoeys sprinted their way to a 1-2 finish, each closing at or under 30 seconds by my watch.

Analysis

A lot of people I talked to, including myself (yeah, I talk to myself), thought Jaxson Hoey may get a bit of a challenge from some of the other top dogs in this field, but in the end he looked very comfortable en route to the state championship. The time wasn’t anything blazing, but he still ran under 4:17 looking very in control. Keep in mind, only Mike Kolor has broken 4:17 for the mile this season in any race.

However, I feel like Jaxson’s younger brother Josh may have stolen the spotlight when all was said and done. Josh had a pretty killer meet, finishing 2^nd overall in the mile (and adding a really impressive 4x4 split). Few people were putting Josh or his speed on the level of his brother, but in recent weeks he’s beaten arguably the state’s most well respected kicker, Jake Brophy, in an 800 and then closed right on the heels of the reigning indoor and outdoor state champion at this distance. And, in case you forgot, Josh is still just a sophomore. How many sophomores left the meet with an individual medal? Most guys aren’t poised enough at such a young age to pull that off, but Josh left with a silver. In his five state meets to date here’s his resume: 2^nd at Independent XC (ahead of McDevitt, Dahl, etc.), anchors DTW with a sub 4:20 DMR split into the medals, grabs an individual medal at states in the 1600, finishes 3^rd in the state for XC behind two of the four fastest dudes in course history and now silver at states in the mile. To go along with a freshman mile national championship, a #1 finish for DTW at Manhattan and a #1 finish for DTW at Regionals and Nationals.

But enough about the Hoey brothers. This race also featured some nice breakthroughs from the rest of the field. Producing his own impressive sophomore race was District 7’s Tristan Forsythe. He won the first section, outkicking a 1:55 half miler, and brining the WPIAL its only medal at this distance. He will be in AA come outdoors where the battle behind Domenic Peretta for silver is very up for grabs. If Forsythe pulls it off as a sophomore that would be quite historic. Sullivan had a great race for 2^nd, nearly stealing the thing but getting nipped right at the finish, perhaps starting his kick a tiny, tiny bit too early (but really just a perfectly timed move by Forsythe). Ryan Barton also had a very impressive race and that, combined with his excellent 1200m leg (sorry for the spoiler), really made for a nice meet for one of the lesser known stars of the loaded DTW squad.

In the fast heat, I was quite impressed with the effort Liam Galligan threw down over the final 400m. He looked dead in the water at 1200m and seemed like he would fade out of contention. But he dug down and rallied with a huge finishing kick and nearly moved all the way up to third. He’s still just a junior, gaining a lot of positive experience. He’s not quite as polished of a racer as Josh is just yet, but these two will be an interesting matchup next year. Also set to come back next year is Souderton’s Connor McMenamin who ran a beautifully even race en route to his first state medal. I really feel like this was a big breakthrough for Connor who has had his struggles at states in XC. He’s really got underrated speed to pair with his impressive strength. I think come outdoors he is a candidate for sub 9:20 in the 32 if he moves back up. He qualified for states in that event last year when the field was absolutely loaded. Of course he likely has a lot of confidence in his mile chops right now (in a seemingly more wide open event right now?) so he will likely keep his options open.

Great, consistent season from Cooper Leslie who caps it off with another season best in the mile. I believe he has dropped a couple seconds every time he hit the track which is no easy task. He and his Camp Hill teammates will hit the track in AA this coming spring and will look to build off their state champion momentum from the fall. Leslie ran both the 32 and the 16 last outdoors. Meanwhile, Tucker Desko of Pennridge finished 3^rd in the state championships for the mile, a dramatic improvement on his finish from a year ago. This was really his first time on this stage for an individual event and might have been the most competition he has seen in a race under 3k this winter. Most of the races I remember him contesting, he left with gold. I think this was a great opportunity and should him up nicely for the 800m at Nats, which might be his best event right now.

9^th place is never an easy spot and Upper Merion has had a couple 9^th placers recently in Austin Cooper and now Noah Falasco. But Falasco made big strides forward during indoors and his 4:24 would have been a substantial PR even two weeks ago. Falasco has good speed and now has a little extra motivation after just missing out on some hardware. 

4x800m Recap

by Jarrett Felix

The Race (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBTDyER9WMk)

State College entered the race as a heavy favorite after their Millrose Games victory, but a week after some heavy travel, the boys from SC got all they could handle from a few of PA’s top programs. Jake Good of Abington and Dennis Manyeah of Penn Wood jumped out to set a fast pace while Nick Dahl of GFS (who nearly was tripped 200m in) poised ready to strike. He had a huge third lap and broke the race open for the Tigers, giving Jonnie Plass the lead. Penn Wood and Abington (who closed a bit on the last lap) were the closest competitors and SC was back closer to 5^th.

On the second leg things got crowded again as a pack of six or so teams jockeyed for position, including Abington led by Cameron Mitchell. O’Hara was in the mix with some of the favorites with Justin Jones going out hard to close the gap. It strung out a bit to the point where that was a group of seven or so battling and then a group of six trying to get the final medal. CB West decided to run arguably their best leg in Rock Fortna at the second spot and he came up with a clutch kick handing off right along with Penn Wood, who got a big lift from Seck. Through two legs, the field was at about 3:53 which was within record pace. State College was still back in about fifth.

Penn Wood used arguably their best two legs on the first spot which left them a bit vulnerable. But they were in excellent position in the five way battle. Abington once again surged to the front with CB West running a gutsy leg alongside. But Tony Degleris of State College rallied hard on his leg to kick ahead of the top two competitors and give Alex Milligan a lead. O’Hara had worked up a bit into 6^th within striking distance of Penn Wood and GFS after falling a bit behind. But the top three, as expected, were away as CB West and Abington gave chase to SC.

Milligan let Broadus and Claricurzio for Abington and West move back up and take over the lead as he sat in waiting through 400m. GFS’s Grayson Hepp was making a strong charge in 4^th, but he had some room to make up against some strong anchors. But just as Hepp began to move within striking distance, Milligan threw down a killer surge. Meanwhile CB West and Abington both had each other to race as both teams were right alongside one another. From about 300m out, it was clear State College was now just racing the clock. Milligan got to the line first with a somewhat comfortable margin, getting the gold on his home track. Just behind Claricurzio barely held off Broadus on the anchor leg, the two teams finishing just inches from one another. I don’t think Broadus forgot that race quickly (foreshadowing).

Despite a valiant early effort, Hepp finished in 4^th place for GFS and Penn Wood held on for 5^th, escaping the clutches of a fast closing Logan Yoquinto of Bishop Shanahan who helped run down a flurry of teams to get his squad into the medals. Rounding out the medals were the teams from LaSalle and CR North, running 8 flat and 8:02. CB East originally finished in 9^th, but were later disqualified for throwing the baton.

SC: Wing 1:59.2, Feffer 1:56.3, Degleris 1:56.6, Milligan 1:55.9

CBW: Zerweck 1:58.4, Fortna 1:55.0, Hofer 1:59.8, Claricurzio 1:56.7

ABG: Good 1:57.7, Mitchell 1:56.6, Singh 1:58.9, Broadus 1:56.7

GFS: Dahl 1:55.7, Plass 1:59.5, Riley 2:00.3, Hepp 1:57.0

PW: Manyeah 1:56.5, Seck 1:56.6, Jackson 2:04.1, Smith 2:01.2

BS: Kolimago 1:59.5, Breslin 2:02.2, Fromhartz 2:00.0, Yoquinto 1:57.7

LS: Price 2:00.0, Addison 1:58.0, Livolsi 2:03.6, Grant 1:58.4

CRN: Keller 2:01.6, Early 2:02.2, Haldeman 1:59.6, Heintz 1:58.3

OH: Francis 2:00.3, Jones 1:59.2, Morro 1:59.8, Inglis 2:04.9

Pennridge:

Upper Darby:

North Penn:

CBE: Eisenlord 2:04.9, Motter 1:58.8, Kettelberger 1:59.6, Shahideh 1:59.1

The Analysis

With the win and the fast time, State College becomes just the 4^th team in state history to break 7:50 in a winning effort at the state meet (Abington broke 7:50 when they finished second in 2011). They ran faster than CB South did in 2009 (before they ran 7:33 outdoors) and North Penn did in 2008 (also a sub 7:40 team outdoors and former indoor state record holders). Of course, SC was running 4 fresh legs which puts an asterix next to their time relative to many of the other top squads (including their 2014 state championship squad that ran 7:50.72). But all the same, there are few teams, even with fresh legs, who have run under 7:50 in the 4x8 indoors. By a quick count the list is: North Penn 2008, CB South 2009, Abington 2011, CB West 2011, Pennridge 2012, State College 2014, State College 2016. Those schools went on to run something like 7:37, 7:33, 7:37, 7:38, 7:44 and 7:41 come outdoors. All the teams who broke 7:50 at indoor states have gone on to run under 7:40 outdoors, a very exclusive list.

This win also marks the second title in three years for the Little Lions, the first team to pull that off since North Penn (by my count North Penn won 9 titles in 11 years from 1998 to 2008). Their back three legs each ran 1:56.6 or faster according to my splits. And Milligan only went out in like 58, kind of playing with his food before eating it so to speak. It looks like there were only two guys in the entire field (Dahl and Fortna) who were more than a couple fractions of a second faster than their 3^rd best runner. It was going to be very tough for a team to topple them. However, I did find it interesting that in the post race interview on penntrack, the team seemed kind of upset rather than exciting about the win. I think they really wanted that record and they couldn’t quite get there. Maybe we see another push at Nationals with a title on the line.

Meanwhile, there were other great performances just behind them. CB West and Abington ran 7:50.03 and 7:50.09 which would have been state championship winning performances five out of the last seven years (and every year prior to 2008). The second leg of this race was absurdly fast (just about everyone in contention was out in 55 or faster) and CB West’s move to run Fortna second ended up looking pretty brilliant (my fastest recorded split of the race). Abington’s sophomore Cameron Mitchell also stepped up big time for his own 1:56 split. Both teams had 4 guys under 2 minutes which is pretty remarkable inside. Still waiting on that Isiah Smith appearance in the 4x8. Can’t imagine it’s not coming soon.

GFS raced very admirably in this one, but just couldn’t quite finish the job. Hepp ended up really closing the gap through 600m but ran out of gas after some hard fought chasing. Dahl looked really impressive on the lead off leg. He actually fell off just a bit that last 200m or he could have been in the 1:54s. That’s pretty impressive considering this guy is a two miler at heart. He made big improvements to his speed this winter, however, so we could see something historic come outdoors. Remember, Dahl ran 9:15 equiv for 3200m as a freshman in high school and now he’s added 4:14-1:55 indoor relay speed? Look out. Also worth noting, GFS returns 3 of 4 if memory serves (no Hepp) so they could run this one back next year and be dangerous.

Penn Wood, for the second straight state meet, really impressed me. I think Seck is going to be a really good 800m runner. He’s got such massive wheels and he’s getting consistently stronger each week. Manyeah is a real talent as well. Those two ran clutch first legs, broke the race open and then their back legs hung on valiantly. Props on a nice run. With a little more development at the 3 spot, they would be right there in the top 4. Considering the jump they made for outdoors last year, it just might happen. Bishop Shanahan, who is found a way to finish side by side with Penn Wood in almost every major meet, also continues to impress. Logan Yoquinto, their sophomore anchor, ran a gutsy anchor leg to get this team across the line in 6^th, splitting around 1:57. I was nervous about how he might handle the moment, but he stepped up big time.

LaSalle and O’Hara were both right in the hunt but perhaps just a piece away. O’Hara’s Justin Jones went out in 53 according to my watch which is straight flying. Interested to see who is tops in the PCL come outdoors and curious how much O’Hara will commit to this relay. Speaking of talented sophomores, Evan Addison of LaSalle had a huge split on his leg. That class is absolutely monstrous right now. CRN held their own, running a very poised race from the get go and reeling teams back in gradually over the second half of the race. As Forrest mentioned, they didn’t have Ryan Campbell, but they did have a crop of clutch youngsters who looked very formidable. Two straight state meets now that CRN’s young team has vastly exceeded my expectations.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that CB East ran a pretty solid race without Brophy. They fell behind a bit early, but rallied with 3 sub two minute types to close out and nearly get a medal. They were 9^th before the DQ. Technically, if you assume Brophy could run right around Dahl, the team could have been almost 10 seconds faster and running near GFS. If their guys are in the top pack, maybe they race up to the competition and chip a few more seconds off and then suddenly they are in the top 3. It’s not crazy. And if you watch Jake’s post-race interview, he says he wants to go for a state title with his relay squad come outdoors. So expect to see CB East competing for a shot in the COA and looking for a state gold at Shipp.