by Jarrett Felix
So I decided, rather than split my time on recaps and previews (or picking one or the other) I might as well just combine them. So I'll be rolling up what happened in the league meets to help tell the story of what to expect at the district meet. It's not a perfect formula, but I'll go with it.
And I'm starting with the WPIAL because, ironically, that is a perfect formula. The WPIAL had their WPIAL qualifying meets this weekend and it's a perfect way to preview the action for district 7's championships. So let's get right to it.
AA
4x800m
Last year's champions, South Side, qualified out of their section, but were just 6th in the South. It appears like they will not be all in on this relay as they had been a year ago. But within their region, state title hopefuls Avonworth got a quality win in 8:22 for the #1 seed time. Right behind them, with a surprising run, was McGuffey who ran 8:23 and defeated a couple top notch programs like Beaver Area, South Park and 2014 state champs Washington (along with the aforementioned South Side).
Personally, I think Avonworth is the strong favorite here, with Beaver being the team most likely to spring an upset. I haven't seen enough to be completely sold on McGuffey despite their excellent qualifying run. I'm curious to see if Winchester Thurston, the 2014 XC State Champs, put any real stock in the 4x8. They qualified third in the north with a time of just 8:45, but they have a lot of talent on the roster and could definitely make a run at a low 8 minute time. They do have a lot tied up in individual events, however, so they may not go down that path.
1600m
Speaking of that Winchester Thurston squad, sophomore Tristan Forsythe has been on a tear since indoors and showed no signs of slowing down at WPIAL quals with a 4:28 2nd place finish in the North. He comes in with the second fastest time behind the heavy, heavy (heavy) favorite Domenic Peretta. Peretta ran 4:27 to win his section and enter the meet as a #1 seed. He will look to top is unreal performance from a year ago that featured runaway golds in both the 1600 and the 800. Big things should be in store considering he has already clocked 1:50 twice as a senior and cruised a 4:14. I don't know how much stock he will put into a fast time in the 16 as he may just run to win, but even a relaxed effort from Dom could be something in the meet record range the way he is running.
Behind Peretta and Forsythe in the North was state XC champion Griffin Mackey of Sewickley Academy. Mackey, who qualified in both the 16 and the 32, ran just the 32 last year (and the 4x8 I believe) and, although he has had considerable success in the 3200 over the past two years, may be trying to increase his chance at grabbing top flight WPIAL and state hardware this spring. At the Baldwin Invitational, the WPIAL showed just how formidable it's 2 mile chops were, including sub 9:20 runs from Zach Skolnekovich and Will Loevner.
From the South region, Beaver Area's Riley Lamison, a state qualifier a year ago, ran a strong 4:30.04 to run away from indoor state qualifier Ben Bumgarner of Waynesburg Central. The two were well clear of their competition, with Ben about 6 second ahead of 3rd place (also from Beaver, Dan Pollack). I like Bumgarner's potential in this race, having already run in the mid 4:20s and raced on the big stage a number of times, including an appearance at the indoor state championship at PSU this winter.
The District's quest to send 8 guys to the state championship will likely hinge on the depth of the North. Jarrett Boyd of Freedom, Gannon Leech of Shady Side and Billy Lott of Ellwood City (4:32, 4:33 and 4:34) are all terrific distance runners with impressive XC credentials. Leech had a massive day at states in XC this year that shows his ability to run clutch. Meanwhile, Boyd has posted some sub 4;30 and sub 2 minute marks, chasing Dom Peretta this season. He's got a terrific combination of strength and speed.
800m
As mentioned, Domenic Peretta is really fast. He cruised to a 1;56 in qualifying, the only runner to dip under 2 minutes. He will likely be aiming for sub 1:50 at WPIALs this year and, considering his times to date, he just might get it. He ran 1:52 there as a sophomore and a 1:51 last season. This year he's clearly a step above his 2015 fitness. So look out.
Behind him, it should be a thrilling race. Robert Reichenbaugh of Freeport and the aforementioned Jarrett Boyd of Freedom were both knocking on the door for 2 flat in qualifying and could certainly finish well under come districts. Boyd will be on the double from the 16 while Reichenbaugh may be doubling back from the 4x8.
In the South, it was Ben Heim of Washington who came away with the gold, running 2 flat to defeat an army of South Side, Avonworth and Beaver runners (those 3 schools combined for the other 7 qualifying spots). Heim, who I believe was a member of Washington's state championship 4x8 a few years back, is now ready to break out as an individual in his junior season. He's hitting his stride at the right time.
3200m
The WPIAL 3200 is sure to be one of the history books as the North Section put 7 guys at 9:50 or faster in qualifying including a trio of runners finishing side by side at the front. That group was Griffin Mackey, Will Loevner and Ben Bickerton of Southmoreland. Bickerton was 2nd to Skolnekovich at WPIALs in XC (AA) while Mackey and Loevner's XC skills are well documented (both have placed in the top 5 at states in A). Loevner is going for a third straight state medal in the 3200, but is still chasing his first WPIAL title in the event. Mackey, on the other hand, seems to really be rounding into top form. He's going to be doubling with the 1600 which could get complicated, but his strength has taken big steps forward in recent weeks.
Ready to challenge this trio from the South is Quaker Valley's star junior Zach Skolnekovich. Zach finished 2nd at XC states and has absolutely dominated his class of the WPIAL in XC. However, up until this year, he was relatively unproven on the oval. He's quickly changed that narrative, however, as he defeated Will Loevner at the Baldwin Invitational and clocked 4:23 and 1:58 type marks against Dom Peretta at the MAC championships. He will be tough to beat at WPIALs.
Adding to the tremendous depth of the field are a couple doublers, Tristan Forsythe and Ben Bumgarner. Both are capable of times in the 9:20s if their legs are fresh enough, but it will be difficult to navigate both races. Forsythe's teammate, Ben Littman, will also compete in the District Championships for Winchester Thurston. WT is hoping to qualify 3 for states in the 32 for the second straight year.
AAA
4x800m
I've been trying to figure this one out for a while. Who will be the WPIAL champion in the 4x800? The favorite right now might be a familiar face as the North Allegheny Tigers are looking formidable as always. They won their section, holding a couple recent sub 2 guys like Ehling and Lutz on the roster as well as sub 4:20 miler Jacob Stupak. They ran 8:12 to pull away from teams like Seneca Valley (8:17) and Knoch (8:24) with relative ease after coming in with a 7:58 seed time.
However, it's never clear how all in NA will go on the relay and, admittedly, they've rarely cruised to victory in the event, including last year when Norwin pulled out the W. That Norwin team will be back (they qualified 5th in the Central, running 8:22) and has run 8:04 this season. But it's going to take a big improvement to win gold.
As mentioned, Norwin didn't have smooth sailing in their 4x8 prelim and the Central featured some monster teams. Greensburg Salem is one of personal favorites from the 2016 season. This team has consistently improved each week and has a ton of depth. They won their qualifier in 8:12, entering with an 8:08 seed. They aren't a traditional powerhouse, but they could pull the ultimate upset at WPIALs, especially if they really focus on the event.
Kiski, qualifying 3rd from the Central, is always a team to watch. They have been recent state medalists in the 4x8 and have two sub 2 minute legs on their roster, including prominent miler Eric Kennedy and 1:58 man Nick Gabrielli.
But the day's fastest qualifiers were Chartiers Valley. CV nearly came flying in to pull an upset at WPIALs in XC but came up just a bit short. Now they seem poised to strike once again. Their 8:08 mark in qualifying was better than their 8:11 seed and their most complete race of the season. They defeated perennial powers Mount Lebanon and Baldwin in the process. The question becomes, how much faster can they get from here?
The most interesting element of this race will be watching to see which teams throw out which stars. Mount Lebanon, who has qualifiers in the mile, 8 and 3200, could potentially put together an absolutely loaded line up. However, they've yet to really load up a squad and crack 2 minutes. They may want to save their individuals for an opportunity to crack the top 8 in some deep individual events. What will Mike Kolor do for Seneca Valley? How about 3200 guys like Conboy, Westrick, Nick Wolk and the NA boys? It's going to be very interesting who feels this race is most important to them.
Whichever teams have that "all-in" attitude will likely pull off a surprise finish on race day. If you like sleepers, definitely keep an eye on USC. They have an up and coming star in Bennent Sneath and also qualified 3 individuals in the open 800 in the South.
1600m
Just as with the AA race, the 1600 will feature a big time favorite in Mike Kolor. After his memorable 4:11 run against Jeff VanKooten last spring, Kolor comes back with the fast times to back up his favorite status. He competed well at Penn Relays and showed skill at both under and over distances with state medals in XC and the indoor 800. But things will be anything but easy in this loaded field. It's a field so deep that Kolor and North runner-up Jacob Stupak nearly missed out on the fast heat.
Kolor and Stupak are returning state medalists, but the South region didn't seem to care much as they threw down 5 sub 4:30 marks in qualifying, led by Upper Saint Claire's emerging star Bennentt Sneath. Sneath has been on a roll lately and could continue to drop time at WPIALs. Remember, James Smith from USC was the star of the west not too long ago. Lebo took the 2-3 spots in the south with experienced runners Kalapos and Harris earning 2-3. If they aren't in the 4x8 line up, they should be right in the mix throughout the race.
That 4x8 could also potentially affected someone like Micah Colson of Chartiers Valley who had an absolutely killer qualifying run of 4:28 this past week. Sophomore and top XC medalist Sam Snodgrass also cracked 4:30 in qualifying.
When you add in 4 additional sub 4:30 guys from the Central (would have been 5 had Isaiah Bailey not scratched) and you have yourself a loaded field. Eric Kennedy leads that Central heat with his 4:2 qualifying run. He was a state qualifier a year ago as a sophomore for Kiski and could make a run at a sub 4:20 time in the right race.
I'll be interested to see how they split these heats as Butler's Noah Beveridge, who finished 5th in the loaded Baldwin mile at 4:24.49, is on the bubble for the fast heat. I believe he is tied for #12 on the time listing. Hopefully we see him in with the fast heat, otherwise he will need a big run, likely alone, to ensure a spot in Shippensburg.
800m
It looks like Mike Kolor will tentatively attempt the 1600-800 double at WPIALs (and then perhaps states). But it could be a very busy weekend for Kolor if he is also in on the 4x8 and 4x4 relays for Seneca Valley. That opens the door for a potential surprise upset. Michael Bove of Fox Chapel should have fresh legs and is fresh off a big breakthrough of 1:53 at Baldwin. He made his first splash on the big stage last year at this meet when he dropped a 1:55 to qualify for states. Now, back on the familiar landscape, he could spring for gold. However, he will likely have to contend for gold with Penn Hills star Isaiah Bailey, who scratched the 1600 to focus on this race. He ran 1:56 indoors for 800 and comes from a rich program of 800 stars, including recent state champ Will Bailey.
Keep an eye on out of nowhere performer Xaiver Stephens, who really impressed with a 1:57.85 in qualifying, finishing second to Bailey in the Central. Also be sure to watch for South regional champion Bryce Brandenstein of Mount Lebanon. The sophomore hasn't gotten a lot of chatter as guys like Todd Gunzenhauser and the strong mile core have grabbed the spotlight, but Brandenstein has quietly carved out a nice mid distance resume. He ran 2 flat for the win last week.
(Gotta say, Lebo qualified a lot of guys across the board. They had a strong meet on the distance side. Shout out to the Hattons).
Baldwin's Kevin Taylor, who ran 1:58 this year, didn't end up getting out of qualifying. So that likely means we will see him on the 4x8 at WPIALs, potentially unleashing a monster relay split and getting some redemption on race day.
3200m
This should be the race of the day and possible the race of the week. If you're looking for a bold headline for district week look no further than this: District 7 is better than District 1 in the 3200. Maybe they don't have quite the absurd depth, but if you score this thing XC dual meet scoring I think D7 could get the win. That's a rare statement. But hey, Nick Wolk and Todd Gunzenhauser both skipped the 1600 to focus on the 32 and come in with times in the low 9 teens. Wolk is having an absolutely monster year that included a 4:16 full mile-9:12 double PR, double gold. Todd has consistently impressed in the 3200 and has also shown big speed improvements with a 1:56 split and a 4:20 open 1600.
And don't forget the North Allegheny pipeline of talent. The latest addition to the all-time list is Marc Migliozzi who went from buried on the depth chart in 2015 to potential WPIAL champion in 2016. He finished just behind Wolk at districts in XC and at Baldwin in the 3200. He dropped a big PR his last race out, dropping all the way to 9:13, and is still getting better. Plus his teammate, Sam Blechman, is also no slouch. The 26th place finisher from XC states ran 9:32 at Baldwin (a big PR in his own right) and has the potential to maybe chase a low 9:20s mark on race day. The duo placed 1-2 at North qualifiers, running side by side in 9:53.
But you can't overlook the depth here. Jake Susalla of Plum, Casey Conboy of Baldwin and Joseph Westrick of Chartiers Valley are having unbelievable seasons. They clocked 9:19, 9:19 and 9:20 already this season, which most years would slot them easily in the top 4 auto qualifers. But this year they are amazingly only bubble contenders. If you slot them behind Wolk, Migz and Gunz, that means only one of them can get an auto qualifying spot.
And, if you didn't notice, a few guys ran very well in their qualifying sections. Mark Provenzo looks like a name on the rise after his sub 4:30-9:40 double at quals (but could potentially be tripling at districts). Don't forget Provenzo was 3rd at WPIALs for XC. And Aaron Pfeil of South Fayette, who climbed all the way into the top 10 in AA XC at states, just dropped a monster 9:42 at the South qualifier.
This event is going to be thrilling to watch and may feature a blanket finish for the final qualifying spots. Between the AA and AAA fields, we could see the fastest combined 3200 in any district and the WPIAL could place itself up there with the fastest district championships ever. Yes, ever. Don't sleep on the west.
And We're Back...
By: Garrett Zatlin
Finals are over and now I can focus on the most important things in life...like sleep. Of course, I can't be sleeping too much with all of things that I missed the past two weeks! Here are some of the big storylines I missed while studying...
Brandon McBride runs 1:44.63. Narrowly misses national record.
-McBride decided to forgo his indoor season to train and focus on the outdoor season...think it paid off? With the third fastest 800 time in NCAA history, we have to start questioning whether or not Clayton Murphy is still the favorite...
Mason Ferlic Runs 8:28 in steeplechase. Qualifies for Olympic Trials.
-Mason Ferlic has shown glimpses of promise in the steeplechase the past couple of years, but his 8:28 at PJ is something special. It qualifies him for the Olympic trails as well and makes him the favorite for a national title (some would even say lock).
Edward Cheserek withdraws from Payton Jordan. Out-kicked (again) at Oregon Twilight.
Finals are over and now I can focus on the most important things in life...like sleep. Of course, I can't be sleeping too much with all of things that I missed the past two weeks! Here are some of the big storylines I missed while studying...
Brandon McBride runs 1:44.63. Narrowly misses national record.
-McBride decided to forgo his indoor season to train and focus on the outdoor season...think it paid off? With the third fastest 800 time in NCAA history, we have to start questioning whether or not Clayton Murphy is still the favorite...
Mason Ferlic Runs 8:28 in steeplechase. Qualifies for Olympic Trials.
-Mason Ferlic has shown glimpses of promise in the steeplechase the past couple of years, but his 8:28 at PJ is something special. It qualifies him for the Olympic trails as well and makes him the favorite for a national title (some would even say lock).
Edward Cheserek withdraws from Payton Jordan. Out-kicked (again) at Oregon Twilight.
-When Colby Gilbert of Washington out-kicked Ches in the final 200 of a 5k, not many were too worried about the result. However, things haven't gotten much better. Ches withdrew from the 1500 at PJ and was later out-kicked by Sam Atkins of Lewis and Clark in the 3k. Cheserek is looking very vulnerable with only 3 to 4 weeks until NCAA's.
Futsum Z. is really fast.
-The man from NAU blasted an NCAA leading 27:52 at Payton Jordan. Matching this with his 13:37 makes him seem like a heavy favorite at nationals with Cheserek not at the top of his game (and not even qualified in the 10k).
PA Alumni Sanders and Willig impressing on the national scene.
Futsum Z. is really fast.
-The man from NAU blasted an NCAA leading 27:52 at Payton Jordan. Matching this with his 13:37 makes him seem like a heavy favorite at nationals with Cheserek not at the top of his game (and not even qualified in the 10k).
PA Alumni Sanders and Willig impressing on the national scene.
-It's easy to get distracted by the guys at the big name schools, but Christian Sanders (La Salle) has impressed me. He ran a couple early season 1:50's that gave an indication that he could improve on that. Sure enough, he did. Sanders dropped a crazy 1:47.43 at Larry Ellis which currently puts him at 25th in the nation. Of course, he hasn't been the only impressive PA alum in the 800. Ned Willig has caught everyone's attention with multiple 1:48 clockings which eventually led to a 1:47.53 PR at the Virginia Challenge. Add on the fact that Willig was the Ivy League half-mile champ, and this is a guy who could mix it up at regionals.
Rolling on with Race Recaps
By Jarrett Felix
Surprised Henderson got so much love relative to Baldwin in the comment section of the recap. Baldwin was an absolutely monster meet. I either have all D1 readers, or the WPIAL boys are being a little shy ....
In other news, I'm jumping back on the recap train. Let's chug right along.
Carlisle made a big statement about their 4x8 chops, jumping up into the elite tier with a 7:52 victory in the 4x8, defeating a couple out of state squads. 7:52 is the clear cut top time in district 3 and puts them on the CB West, Pennridge tier in terms of time. Wisner likely played a big part in that kind of time and I'm keeping my fingers crossed he continues to pursue the event with his teammates. Imagine a Wisner- Milligan-Desko show down on the anchor leg with 3 dudes already holding PRs in the low 1:53 or better (Milligan's being a split).
Wisner backed up his relay squad with a big 800 win over David Fletcher, both guys in around 1:55. Fletcher, like Wisner, was on the double from an earlier big effort. Fletcher clocked a shiny new 1600 PR, finishing first among PA athletes and 3rd overall in 4:19.51. Jesse Cruise finished 3rd in that race at 1:57, also doubling off a strong 1600 (4:22). Worth noting, two Lower Dauphin sophomores were up in the mix in the open 8, running 2 flat and 2:01.
Despite the fast times in the 2 lap races, the breakthrough performance of the day may have come in the 1600. Alex Tomasko of Mechanicsburg dropped a big 4:21.06, second only to Fletcher in terms of Pa talent. Tomasko was a solid runner within the district throughout his early years, but this time puts him in an entirely new, state caliber tier. Mechanicsburg also got a big finish from Andrew Sulon in the 16 and Morgan Cupp in the 32 (9:37 for 2nd). All three of those guys return next year. After Nicewicz last year in the 800 (9th at states) this program continues to show big improvement in the distance events and is a sleeper squad for XC yet again.
Dan Filler and Zach Seiger, a couple 2 mile types, dropped very strong 1600 PRs to get under the SQS in that event (although you have to run the time at districts to qualify, unlike the indoor system). Both runners were in the 4:23s and will be exciting to watch in their next 32 effort. I'm especially interested to see how Seiger does moving forward, as he seems healthy after a rocky XC year and is showing big time speed improvement.
Wisner's individual gold wasn't Carlisle's only home W, as Isaac Kole came through in a big way in the 32, clocking 9:35 for what I would call an upset win over Cupp. This was a pleasant surprise as Kole had mainly focused on the open 8 this year, but showed the true extent of his range with an impressive victory. He led the way for 11 sub 10 performances.
DELCO
Cardinal O'Hara, the reigning two time distance medley state champs, put up an impressive set of performances at the DELCO championships. The 10:19 squad showed depth across the board, starting with an impressive 4 runners under 9:50 in the 32 (3 of which return next year). We've been told Andrew Lombardi and Ryan James were switched in the results, so we will credit him with a big 9:25 PR. He and Morro (9:25 is faster than he ended last spring) are rolling at the right time and could be medal contenders like Savage-Pitone in years past.
Considering Patrick James also clocked an impressive PR of 9:39 (plus a 4:25 for good measure) the LaSalle vs O'Hara match up on the distance side at PCLs and districts is going to be a spectacle.
After Morro and Ry James took 1-2 in front of him in the 32, Haverford's James Abrahams came back with a vengeance on Saturday, clocking 4:20 for the win in the 16 (with Morro and James taking the next two spots). Abrahams is a very dangerous runner with 1:56 range through 9:34 strength (and sub 16 XC) so don't sleep on him when it comes to the D1 champs.
Nice fun by independent leaguer Jakob Jorgensen of 4:25.27 for 5th.
In the 800, we saw the crowning of a new star from Bonner. Dave Whitfield, who had yet to drop any serious 800s at a big invite (although he had run 1:55 in a dual I believe), dropped a 1:55.94 victory in the 800 field to run away from O'Hara's Justin Jones (1:56.71) and 9th place indoor finisher Jack Armand (1:56.77). With Whitfield and Sullivan on the roster for Bonner (both holding 1:55 PRs) the team could do something cool in the 4x8 looking ahead. However, I'm more interested to see how state qualifying plays out in D12 when the Bonner boys, St. Joe'a Preps McClellan (just ran a season best 1:57 after a 1:54 last year at districts), the LaSalle army and O'Hara's contingent of stand outs. I believe the district sends just 2 guys automatically, so sorting out the rest of that final could be laborious.
Let's hit some other meets and try and go quick.
Blue Streak Relays
Really sick DMR at this meet. Ephrata took the win in 10:39 just barely edging out Manheim Township who also finished in 10:39. Just behind them were McCaskey and Hempfield who each ran 10:47. Have to like what you've seen from Becker and Lefever for Ephrata (the later may end up in the low 9:20s at districts), but Manheim Township is quietly putting together some sick marks.
Neshaminy
Bensalem wins the 4x8 with a nice, fairly uncontested 8:09. They lurk as a potential dark horse, having won indoor and outdoor state titles as recently as 2013.
CB West continues to just roll, they posted a slew of fast times led by Fortna (4:20 in the 16) and Claricurzio (1:57.10 in the 8). Iatarola ran a nice 4:26 which should set him up well for a nice run at the 32. Remember he's an XC state medalist.
And West just pulled guys out of nowhere all weekend. Sophomore Ben Bunch ran a 9:43 for 3200 with a big statement run and they had 3 guys at 2 flat or under at Helman, none of which was on their PR 4x8 last weekend. Their top runner was frosh Luke Fehrman in 1:59.75 in that one.
WCC
Alex Milligan rolled to a solid 1600, Owen Wing won the 32 and SC looked solid all around. However, the performance of the day might belong to Altoona's Brett George who ran a solid 4:28 and followed it up with an impressive 800 victory of 1:57.65 over SC's Tony Degleris (1:58.32).
Shaner
Wyomissing reminded us all why they were state champs a week ago. The AA 4x8 race is incredibly interesting to me right now as Wyomissing makes a big statement running 8:01 and adding a 3:25 for good measure in the 4x4. They will chase gold in both relays outdoors.
Shout out to Daniel Boone for a nice 8:06 4x8 run. Really impressed me.
Pine Richland
As I alluded to in the Baldwin preview, Mark Brown, a frosh, dropped a monster 9:38 in the 3200 to win a tough fight with Mark Provenzo of Franklin Regional (9:40). The WPIAL 32 may be better than District 1's right now. They are doing sick running over there.
Soph Chad Grundy of Hickory added a 9:44 run for 3rd. He's an intriguing watch in the AA landscape for the long distances.
Also shoutout to North Allegheny for continuing to produce studs. Two more returners for next year's XC squad dipped under 10 as Hartigan and Greco dropped nice marks in the lesser known 32 out west.
Trojan
Love this meet. It's awesome for me because of some amazing memories. A few guys made their own pleasant memories on race day including sophomore Hudson Delisle who killed the open 8, running away in 1:56.99 to defeat studs Andy Harman (on his home track) and Dante Watson, who both ran 1:58.
Noah Falasco looks like he is rounding back into top form (he ran about 4:21 indoors) with a big win over one of the breakout stars from Penn Relays, North Penn's Daniel Santiago. They one went down to the wire Hunter style, with Falasco barely taking the lean by less than a hundredth of a second.
Shout to frosh Justin Ryan on his strong heat 1 victory of 4:45.
Helman
As alluded to, CB West put on a nice depth display in this meet, dropping some nice 8s, but the champ of that 800 was Tucker Desko. The Pennridge senior ran 1:54.77 to absolutely dominate the field. I think this guy could win the outdoor title in the 8 if he pursues it (especially on fresh legs) and I think Pennridge could make some very big waves in the 4x8 if they so choose. Especially if their Frosh Twins the Eisslers continue to roll. Matt dropped a 4:27 16 at this meet for the win.
ASD
Yes, this meet was technically last week, but I never got around to covering it so here I am! This is always a fun meet (one of the few I've personally attended) and the district 11 boys showcased some killer closing speed in the 1600. Joe Espinal won the race in 4:24 over Calvin Schneck of Whitehall and Will Alpaugh of Freedom who all closed in 62.0 or faster. Espinal has run 1:55 and Schneck recently clocked a 1:56 in a dual. Espinal also clocked a sub 50 split on Wilson's winning 4x4.
Sam Morgan from Parkland also killed it with a 4:26 of his own (just a soph I believe). He's a real talent.
Parkland won the 4x8 (possibly with Morgan) and clocked an 8:13, including a sub 2 minute carry by their third leg.
It was a big day for Parkland as Dan Kyvelos won the 3200 over indoor medalist Seth Slavin, making up roughly 11 seconds on the last lap (according to the online splits) in what must have been a race to remember. Looking forward to a rematch at districts (with Lapsansky thrown in there as well).
Baldwin vs. Henderson: Which Was the Better Meet?
by Jarrett Felix
If you told me Dom Peretta would be MIA at Baldwin this weekend, I would have expected the meet to be something of a let down. But, quite to the contrary, the Baldwin Invite was one of the greatest meets of the year so far, featuring perhaps the deepest WPIAL 3200m to ever be contested. The most famous west coast meet made a big statement with fast marks across the board: the winning times in the 8, 16 and 4x8 were impressive to say the least.
Of course Henderson was still Henderson. Their 3200m race posted the fastest two times of the weekend and unleashed a huge flurry of sub 10 guys and sub 9:40 guys. The depth was out of control on the track in West Chester and a few new stars gained impressive wins under the big spotlight.
So the logical question is: who did it better? I'll recap the action below and then you can be the judge.
4x800m
At Baldwin, two of the state's premier AA 4x8 talents faced off. Seneca pulled away from Harbor Creek for the victory in a very quick time of 8:04.75, led by the combined efforts of Donovan and Phoenix Myers. Seneca has dropped some quick 4x8s in the past (sub 8:10 at districts last year against Mercyhurst Prep), but they've struggled to advance out of prelims at states. Fingers crossed we get to see them in the finals this year as they could do big things. Meanwhile Harbor Creek, one of the best young squads in the state (keep an eye on them in XC next year) put up a great effort for second. They have young talent like Christian Babo (XC medalist as a frosh) and Ryan Starvaggi, but they get most of their power from Dan Kuhn, one of the best AA 800 runners in the state. Both these schools are from District 10, so get ready for a potentially thrilling rematch in a couple weeks (with some extra teams thrown in).
Chartiers Valley, Cathedral Prep, Norwin and Mount Lebanon rounded out the top 6 schools, all running between 8:11 and 8:13. The AAA 4x8 out west should be one to remember this season. I still think it's wide open.
The Henderson meet has never really been known for it's 4x8 prowess, but teams still put down excellent efforts on race. DT East ended up pulling away for a strong win in 8:12 over Methacton's 8:18. Methacton may have even pulled off the silver without Jeff Kirshenbaum, the team's long distance stand out who has been out of action since indoors. DT East, who made the D1 finals in the 4x8 last year (I think that might be three years in a row?) looks poised to be another sleeper squad in the event this year.
Meanwhile, AA XC champs Dallas ran 8:19 and D12 AA powerhouse Masterman clocked an 8:20. Dallas will run AAA during track and should have an exciting battle with North Pocono (ran around 8:13 at Lackawanna) for the D2 crown. Masterman, on the flip side, will be looking for yet another medal in the AA 4x8 landscape, led by Joe Previdi.
1600m/Mile
Out at Henderson, Delaware took the reigns behind a 1-2 punch of Andrew Hally and John Walker (no, not that John Walker) in 4:19 and 4:21. Both runners competed on the Salesianum DMR at Penn Relays last week. But PA still had it's fair share of top finishes and breakthrough performances. Sophomore Evan Addison of LaSalle led the PA contingent with yet another PR in this event, clocking 4:22 for the bronze. He defeated DT West's Ryan Barton (4:23) by two tenths of a second. Just behind them was Brandon Hontz of Rustin who continues a fantastic spring (and fall honestly) with a 4:23.41 for 5th overall. The mile is pretty loaded at the top for PA (we have 5 guys who have run 4:10 either on a split or in the open), but sorting out the last couple finalists and medalists at states is going to be tricky.
One of the sleeper picks in this field, Hershey's Andrew Sullivan, came through in a big way, winning his section in a 4:25.63 over Joe Angelina of Penncrest. The win gave Sullivan 7th place overall and sets him up among the favorites in the D3 1600. Considering guys like Wisner seem poised for the 800 and guys like Henderson seem locked in on the 32 (although he definitely could double, it's not too tricky at districts), I'm very interested to see how takes down the D3 individual crown with perennial champ Zach Brehm off at West Point.
15 guys cracked the 4:30 barrier including AA stand out Hunter Crawley, who ran 4:28.81. Shout out to Pennsbury's Jed Scratchard who won section 2 of 5 in a 4:38.54, a 4 second victory in his heat and good enough for 26th overall.
At Baldwin, Braydon Pyle of Grove City outlasted the field in the 1600 run, running 4:30. The opening section of the 16 included 9 guys under 4:40, including sophomore Sam Snodgrass of South Fayette who finished 2nd in 4:32 and small school stand outs like Billy Lott, Ryan Starvaggi, Jimmy Zimmerman and Sam Lander.
But the real action came in the famous Baldwin Invitational mile. Traditionally, this race has been an excellent opportunity for the best of the west to show their stuff. Especially the long distance guys. Runners like Ethan Martin, Ryan Gil, Rad Gunzenhauser, and Ian Fitzgerald have come to this meet in the past and shined at the under distance (they each have PRs from this race). Nick Wolk became the next distance stand out on that list, as he clocked a long overdue PR for the 4 lap event: 4:16.71 for the full mile. He defeated a loaded field of speedsters including state medalists Jacob Stupak of North Allegheny (4:19.11 full mile for him is an impressive PR as well) and Tristan Forsythe (just a sophomore from AA who has now clocked a 4:20 full mile).
The top 9 in this event all finished with times of 4:26 or faster for 1609, including sophomore Noah Beveridge (an impressive 5th in 4:24) and AA stand out Ben Bumgarner (4:24.79 for 6th). Mount Lebanon accounted for two of those top 9 (and neither was Todd Gunzenhauser).
800m
If you had told me Friday morning that the #1 contender position behind Peretta in the AA 800m would be secured later that night, I would have been expecting a big statement race from Dave Fletcher at Henderson. However, Fletcher skipped out on Henderson's invitation and, across the state at Baldwin, a new title contender emerged. Brookville junior Ryan Thrush unleashed a jaw dropping 1:52.76 for the surprise victory over a fresh Mike Kolor of Seneca Valley and Michael Bove of Fox Chapel (both ran 1:53s). Thrush, who focused on the 16 in the past, has made big strides at 400 and now finds himself with a 5+ second PR in the 800. If you chooses to pursue the event fresh (he may try the 4-8 double or the 16-8 double, both of which he's tried at state championships in the past), he could really give a tired Peretta a run for his money. Especially if Dom decides to chase the state record in the 16 (not expecting this to happen but still).
With Thrush's win and Fletcher's recent 1:53, the 800 crops in AA are growing quickly. Dan Kuhn of Harbor Creek added a 1:56.16 for 4th in this race and Donovan Meyers (who ran 1:59 at Baldwin) has run 1:56.21 in his own right. The AA 800 is looking incredibly deep right now and is arguably better out front than the AAA field.
North Allegheny put two runners under 2 minutes in this race with Zach Ehling and Bobby Lutz finished 7th and 8th at 1:58 and 1:59. Throw them together with Stupak and one more and they could steal the WPIAL title in the 4x8 in a few weeks time. Of course Greensburg Salem, Chartiers Valley (impressive meet last night) and defending champs Norwin will not go quietly. And heck, Lebo is still a very intriguing team with all their mile talent.
Meanwhile, at Henderson Sean McGinnis of Phoenixville made a big statement with his 80 victory. McGinnis powered away from Colin Wills of Malvern Prep to run 1:54.03 and win by nearly a second, dropping over a second from his PR. McGinnis is now a sneaky pick for state gold in what a remains a wide open AAA 800. A number of different guys could win it depending on if they want to pursue it fresh (my favorites as of now are Milligan and Desko with of course Wisner, Kolor and the Hoeys involved). Sean is really underrated as a talent and it's nice to see him get a win like this in a high profile meet.
Colin Wills ran a killer 1:54.93 to take a ton of time off his PR as well. The 800 had Henderson has been incredibly favorable to Malvern Prep runners. Take a look back. Brian Fulton, Dan Ferraiolo, Billy McDevitt and now Wills have all clocked huge PRs on this stage. Excited to see a possible Wills vs Dahl and Ritz match up at Independents in the 16. Dahl's a big favorite, but maybe they can push each other to a fast mark.
Matt Town comes up with a big breakthrough in 3rd, clocking a 1:56.28 for the strong PV mid distance program. Luke Everidge of CD East comes through one meet after I predicted him for the upset at Ship, running a 1:56.53 for 5th in the strong field. In heat #3 of 7, Joe Previdi dropped a monster 1:58.91. It was the 3rd fastest heat winner (ahead of 4,5 and almost 6) and placed him 9th overall. Also, DT West producing strong performances from all over the place! Chase Semanyk impressed with a sub 2 clocking.
Also be on the look out for Aidan Sauer of Pennsbury going forward. He dropped a 2 flat 800 mark in heat 4.
3200m
In a year where the AAA boys find themselves somewhat in the shadow of the great talents in the other divisions, the Henderson 3200 personified this trend. Independent League runner Nick Dahl battled AA super star Dominic Hockenbury for the second straight year in the 3200 at Henderson. Hockenbury pushed the pace early in classic Hock fashion but ultimately, the 1:54 speed of Dahl proved too much to overcome. Hockenbury was rewarded with a PR, running 9:03.45. He will look for a similar mark at states in the coming weeks, trying to break the AA State Meet Record. Meanwhile, Dahl will likely continue to focus on the Outdoor National Championships. There, he will need to be strategically sharp and fit if he's going to win a national title (has to be on his mind considering his performance last year). His mark once again puts him ahead of his pace from a year ago and this time in came in a win.
Hockenbury is going to be one heck of a 5k/10k guy at the next level you have to imagine and his speed has drastically improved over the past couple seasons. I really like what I've seen from him. That being said, I think he gets a real challenge at outdoor states in the 32. Which is good, as it will hopefully push that race towards a record setting time.
If you go down the line in this race, there weren't a ton of other all time marks (it may not feel like it, but Hock became the #26 performer on my all-time list with his run, just ahead of Dominic Deluca of Dallas, 13 of the marks ahead of him came in 2014 or 2015), but there were an amazing amount of fast marks. 8 guys broke 9:30, including sophomore Liam Conway who ran 9:24 to finish as the 3rd PA athlete in the field (if you don't count PA resident, MD high schooler Dalton Hengst who ran 9:15). Conway just barely edged out Joe Maguire of CR South by one hundredth of a second. Henry Sappey also finished in the 9:24 range with Kent Hall running 9:27 for 8th (a pretty sizable personal best). Brophy is at the top of the D1 list by time, but then there is a slew of talent around the 9:25-9;30 range this season. It's going to be wild sorting out the rest of the SQS spots.
Also running sub 9:40 from District One in this race were Ryan Campbell, Jack Carmody, Will Griffen, PJ Murray, Rusty Kujdych, John Conner, Matt D'Aquila, Austin Maxwell and Ben Ryherd (with Rob Moser and Carson Reuther ran at 9:40). All of those guys seem highly likely to contest the event at districts (with the possible exception of Carmody) which makes for one heck of a field. Amazing that they may need to consider lowering the District qualifying time again. Meanwhile, the state qual time is only like 9:30. Campbell, the sophomore from CRN, finished 12th overall after winning the slow heat in a tight battle with Lower Dauphin junior Kyler Shea. Both ran 9:32 and were separated by just .07 seconds.
Frank Livolsi of LaSalle had a monster race for 9th, clocking a 9:30.07. Livolsi wasn't necessarily the most talked about member of the LaSalle core, but he has dropped back to back big time 3200s and now has a PR that puts him the mix for state qualifying in District 12. That race is going to be another real toss up, especially with the amazing run Andrew Lombardi just had at Delcos. Owen Ritz of GA continues to drop big time PRs, clocking a 9:30 for 3200 and sophomore Jack Zardecki of Dallas cracked 9:40, running 9:39 for 32. He's likely the #1 contender behind Kravitz (who may scratch) for the 3200 in District 2.
The Baldwin Invite didn't include quite the same fire power in the front 2 spots, but they did post 7 sub 9:20 times and 11 under 9:30, with almost exclusively District 7 talent (only 10th place finisher Noah Curtin was from out of the WPIAL). Nick Wolk pulled off a terrific double gold, dropping his 3200 PR to 9:12.38 for the AAA state lead, defeating Marc Migliozzi (9:13) and Todd Gunzenhauser (9:14). It must have been a thrilling race between the top 3, who all suddenly find themselves right in the mix for the state title in the event. Wolk's double is really remarkable, unlike anything we've seen since maybe Ryan Gil back in 2011. He's in terrific shape. He and Migliozzi both have made massive jumps in PR for 3200 this year and they still have the season's stretch run left to cut off a few more seconds. But Gunz has the advantage of having been under 9:20 for two years in a row and having competed in the WPIAL and outdoor state title races gaining extra experience that could be invaluable come the big races. I also think he will benefit from the state schedule shift where the 32 is before the 4x8 (which he runs a lot).
Just behind the AAA big three, were a pair of AA stand outs. Zach Skolnekovich, who had run sub 2 and 4:23 against Peretta at the MAC, skipped the 9:30s and the 9:20s as he dipped under 9:20 in a time of 9:16.54. The AA XC runner up (who is still just a junior), clocked a sub 9:20 mark to rival Hockenbury (albiet he's still got a solid amount of time to cover to catch him) and join a crowded contender pool. That pool also includes Will Loevner, who finished just .09 back of Skolnek, getting a big breakthrough in the 32. Loevner somewhat stagnated last outdoors after his dynamite indoor campaign. He's flipped that schedule around beautifully this year and is peaking at the right time. Two years ago, he and Kachman were part of a AA sophomore trio that swept the top 3 spots in the 32. This year, he will look to get back in that lead 3. Junior Griffin Mackey, also of AA, dropped 9:22 for 9th and Noah Curtin (9:28) and Ben Bickerton (9:29) further added to the depth of the AA 32. Remember you also have Descavish, DiCintio and Kachman lurking out there (as well as guys like Connor Walsh who finished 14th in this race in 9:34) who I suspect are going to drop a lot of time and end up in the medal hunt. That race is loaded! Curious if anyone will make the switch to the 1600, hoping for a better chance at a medal.
Moving back to the AAA names, Casey Conboy, Jake Susalla and Joseph Westrick dropped 9:19, 9:19 and 9:20 marks to round out the top 8. That's 6 AAA guys at 9:20 or faster. Is D7 faster than D1 right now? That's a pretty deep core contingent and there's still a few more knocking on the door. Eric Kennedy and Sam Belchman both ran 9:32 in this race, AAA XC medalist Mark Provenzo ran 9:40 recently and freshman Mark Brown from Greensburg Salem dropped a killer 9:38 in the same race. WPIALs is going to be a ton of fun.
So that's it for the distance events at these two meets. Which meet impressed you more?
If you told me Dom Peretta would be MIA at Baldwin this weekend, I would have expected the meet to be something of a let down. But, quite to the contrary, the Baldwin Invite was one of the greatest meets of the year so far, featuring perhaps the deepest WPIAL 3200m to ever be contested. The most famous west coast meet made a big statement with fast marks across the board: the winning times in the 8, 16 and 4x8 were impressive to say the least.
Of course Henderson was still Henderson. Their 3200m race posted the fastest two times of the weekend and unleashed a huge flurry of sub 10 guys and sub 9:40 guys. The depth was out of control on the track in West Chester and a few new stars gained impressive wins under the big spotlight.
So the logical question is: who did it better? I'll recap the action below and then you can be the judge.
4x800m
At Baldwin, two of the state's premier AA 4x8 talents faced off. Seneca pulled away from Harbor Creek for the victory in a very quick time of 8:04.75, led by the combined efforts of Donovan and Phoenix Myers. Seneca has dropped some quick 4x8s in the past (sub 8:10 at districts last year against Mercyhurst Prep), but they've struggled to advance out of prelims at states. Fingers crossed we get to see them in the finals this year as they could do big things. Meanwhile Harbor Creek, one of the best young squads in the state (keep an eye on them in XC next year) put up a great effort for second. They have young talent like Christian Babo (XC medalist as a frosh) and Ryan Starvaggi, but they get most of their power from Dan Kuhn, one of the best AA 800 runners in the state. Both these schools are from District 10, so get ready for a potentially thrilling rematch in a couple weeks (with some extra teams thrown in).
Chartiers Valley, Cathedral Prep, Norwin and Mount Lebanon rounded out the top 6 schools, all running between 8:11 and 8:13. The AAA 4x8 out west should be one to remember this season. I still think it's wide open.
The Henderson meet has never really been known for it's 4x8 prowess, but teams still put down excellent efforts on race. DT East ended up pulling away for a strong win in 8:12 over Methacton's 8:18. Methacton may have even pulled off the silver without Jeff Kirshenbaum, the team's long distance stand out who has been out of action since indoors. DT East, who made the D1 finals in the 4x8 last year (I think that might be three years in a row?) looks poised to be another sleeper squad in the event this year.
Meanwhile, AA XC champs Dallas ran 8:19 and D12 AA powerhouse Masterman clocked an 8:20. Dallas will run AAA during track and should have an exciting battle with North Pocono (ran around 8:13 at Lackawanna) for the D2 crown. Masterman, on the flip side, will be looking for yet another medal in the AA 4x8 landscape, led by Joe Previdi.
1600m/Mile
Out at Henderson, Delaware took the reigns behind a 1-2 punch of Andrew Hally and John Walker (no, not that John Walker) in 4:19 and 4:21. Both runners competed on the Salesianum DMR at Penn Relays last week. But PA still had it's fair share of top finishes and breakthrough performances. Sophomore Evan Addison of LaSalle led the PA contingent with yet another PR in this event, clocking 4:22 for the bronze. He defeated DT West's Ryan Barton (4:23) by two tenths of a second. Just behind them was Brandon Hontz of Rustin who continues a fantastic spring (and fall honestly) with a 4:23.41 for 5th overall. The mile is pretty loaded at the top for PA (we have 5 guys who have run 4:10 either on a split or in the open), but sorting out the last couple finalists and medalists at states is going to be tricky.
One of the sleeper picks in this field, Hershey's Andrew Sullivan, came through in a big way, winning his section in a 4:25.63 over Joe Angelina of Penncrest. The win gave Sullivan 7th place overall and sets him up among the favorites in the D3 1600. Considering guys like Wisner seem poised for the 800 and guys like Henderson seem locked in on the 32 (although he definitely could double, it's not too tricky at districts), I'm very interested to see how takes down the D3 individual crown with perennial champ Zach Brehm off at West Point.
15 guys cracked the 4:30 barrier including AA stand out Hunter Crawley, who ran 4:28.81. Shout out to Pennsbury's Jed Scratchard who won section 2 of 5 in a 4:38.54, a 4 second victory in his heat and good enough for 26th overall.
At Baldwin, Braydon Pyle of Grove City outlasted the field in the 1600 run, running 4:30. The opening section of the 16 included 9 guys under 4:40, including sophomore Sam Snodgrass of South Fayette who finished 2nd in 4:32 and small school stand outs like Billy Lott, Ryan Starvaggi, Jimmy Zimmerman and Sam Lander.
But the real action came in the famous Baldwin Invitational mile. Traditionally, this race has been an excellent opportunity for the best of the west to show their stuff. Especially the long distance guys. Runners like Ethan Martin, Ryan Gil, Rad Gunzenhauser, and Ian Fitzgerald have come to this meet in the past and shined at the under distance (they each have PRs from this race). Nick Wolk became the next distance stand out on that list, as he clocked a long overdue PR for the 4 lap event: 4:16.71 for the full mile. He defeated a loaded field of speedsters including state medalists Jacob Stupak of North Allegheny (4:19.11 full mile for him is an impressive PR as well) and Tristan Forsythe (just a sophomore from AA who has now clocked a 4:20 full mile).
The top 9 in this event all finished with times of 4:26 or faster for 1609, including sophomore Noah Beveridge (an impressive 5th in 4:24) and AA stand out Ben Bumgarner (4:24.79 for 6th). Mount Lebanon accounted for two of those top 9 (and neither was Todd Gunzenhauser).
800m
If you had told me Friday morning that the #1 contender position behind Peretta in the AA 800m would be secured later that night, I would have been expecting a big statement race from Dave Fletcher at Henderson. However, Fletcher skipped out on Henderson's invitation and, across the state at Baldwin, a new title contender emerged. Brookville junior Ryan Thrush unleashed a jaw dropping 1:52.76 for the surprise victory over a fresh Mike Kolor of Seneca Valley and Michael Bove of Fox Chapel (both ran 1:53s). Thrush, who focused on the 16 in the past, has made big strides at 400 and now finds himself with a 5+ second PR in the 800. If you chooses to pursue the event fresh (he may try the 4-8 double or the 16-8 double, both of which he's tried at state championships in the past), he could really give a tired Peretta a run for his money. Especially if Dom decides to chase the state record in the 16 (not expecting this to happen but still).
With Thrush's win and Fletcher's recent 1:53, the 800 crops in AA are growing quickly. Dan Kuhn of Harbor Creek added a 1:56.16 for 4th in this race and Donovan Meyers (who ran 1:59 at Baldwin) has run 1:56.21 in his own right. The AA 800 is looking incredibly deep right now and is arguably better out front than the AAA field.
North Allegheny put two runners under 2 minutes in this race with Zach Ehling and Bobby Lutz finished 7th and 8th at 1:58 and 1:59. Throw them together with Stupak and one more and they could steal the WPIAL title in the 4x8 in a few weeks time. Of course Greensburg Salem, Chartiers Valley (impressive meet last night) and defending champs Norwin will not go quietly. And heck, Lebo is still a very intriguing team with all their mile talent.
Meanwhile, at Henderson Sean McGinnis of Phoenixville made a big statement with his 80 victory. McGinnis powered away from Colin Wills of Malvern Prep to run 1:54.03 and win by nearly a second, dropping over a second from his PR. McGinnis is now a sneaky pick for state gold in what a remains a wide open AAA 800. A number of different guys could win it depending on if they want to pursue it fresh (my favorites as of now are Milligan and Desko with of course Wisner, Kolor and the Hoeys involved). Sean is really underrated as a talent and it's nice to see him get a win like this in a high profile meet.
Colin Wills ran a killer 1:54.93 to take a ton of time off his PR as well. The 800 had Henderson has been incredibly favorable to Malvern Prep runners. Take a look back. Brian Fulton, Dan Ferraiolo, Billy McDevitt and now Wills have all clocked huge PRs on this stage. Excited to see a possible Wills vs Dahl and Ritz match up at Independents in the 16. Dahl's a big favorite, but maybe they can push each other to a fast mark.
Matt Town comes up with a big breakthrough in 3rd, clocking a 1:56.28 for the strong PV mid distance program. Luke Everidge of CD East comes through one meet after I predicted him for the upset at Ship, running a 1:56.53 for 5th in the strong field. In heat #3 of 7, Joe Previdi dropped a monster 1:58.91. It was the 3rd fastest heat winner (ahead of 4,5 and almost 6) and placed him 9th overall. Also, DT West producing strong performances from all over the place! Chase Semanyk impressed with a sub 2 clocking.
Also be on the look out for Aidan Sauer of Pennsbury going forward. He dropped a 2 flat 800 mark in heat 4.
3200m
In a year where the AAA boys find themselves somewhat in the shadow of the great talents in the other divisions, the Henderson 3200 personified this trend. Independent League runner Nick Dahl battled AA super star Dominic Hockenbury for the second straight year in the 3200 at Henderson. Hockenbury pushed the pace early in classic Hock fashion but ultimately, the 1:54 speed of Dahl proved too much to overcome. Hockenbury was rewarded with a PR, running 9:03.45. He will look for a similar mark at states in the coming weeks, trying to break the AA State Meet Record. Meanwhile, Dahl will likely continue to focus on the Outdoor National Championships. There, he will need to be strategically sharp and fit if he's going to win a national title (has to be on his mind considering his performance last year). His mark once again puts him ahead of his pace from a year ago and this time in came in a win.
Hockenbury is going to be one heck of a 5k/10k guy at the next level you have to imagine and his speed has drastically improved over the past couple seasons. I really like what I've seen from him. That being said, I think he gets a real challenge at outdoor states in the 32. Which is good, as it will hopefully push that race towards a record setting time.
If you go down the line in this race, there weren't a ton of other all time marks (it may not feel like it, but Hock became the #26 performer on my all-time list with his run, just ahead of Dominic Deluca of Dallas, 13 of the marks ahead of him came in 2014 or 2015), but there were an amazing amount of fast marks. 8 guys broke 9:30, including sophomore Liam Conway who ran 9:24 to finish as the 3rd PA athlete in the field (if you don't count PA resident, MD high schooler Dalton Hengst who ran 9:15). Conway just barely edged out Joe Maguire of CR South by one hundredth of a second. Henry Sappey also finished in the 9:24 range with Kent Hall running 9:27 for 8th (a pretty sizable personal best). Brophy is at the top of the D1 list by time, but then there is a slew of talent around the 9:25-9;30 range this season. It's going to be wild sorting out the rest of the SQS spots.
Also running sub 9:40 from District One in this race were Ryan Campbell, Jack Carmody, Will Griffen, PJ Murray, Rusty Kujdych, John Conner, Matt D'Aquila, Austin Maxwell and Ben Ryherd (with Rob Moser and Carson Reuther ran at 9:40). All of those guys seem highly likely to contest the event at districts (with the possible exception of Carmody) which makes for one heck of a field. Amazing that they may need to consider lowering the District qualifying time again. Meanwhile, the state qual time is only like 9:30. Campbell, the sophomore from CRN, finished 12th overall after winning the slow heat in a tight battle with Lower Dauphin junior Kyler Shea. Both ran 9:32 and were separated by just .07 seconds.
Frank Livolsi of LaSalle had a monster race for 9th, clocking a 9:30.07. Livolsi wasn't necessarily the most talked about member of the LaSalle core, but he has dropped back to back big time 3200s and now has a PR that puts him the mix for state qualifying in District 12. That race is going to be another real toss up, especially with the amazing run Andrew Lombardi just had at Delcos. Owen Ritz of GA continues to drop big time PRs, clocking a 9:30 for 3200 and sophomore Jack Zardecki of Dallas cracked 9:40, running 9:39 for 32. He's likely the #1 contender behind Kravitz (who may scratch) for the 3200 in District 2.
The Baldwin Invite didn't include quite the same fire power in the front 2 spots, but they did post 7 sub 9:20 times and 11 under 9:30, with almost exclusively District 7 talent (only 10th place finisher Noah Curtin was from out of the WPIAL). Nick Wolk pulled off a terrific double gold, dropping his 3200 PR to 9:12.38 for the AAA state lead, defeating Marc Migliozzi (9:13) and Todd Gunzenhauser (9:14). It must have been a thrilling race between the top 3, who all suddenly find themselves right in the mix for the state title in the event. Wolk's double is really remarkable, unlike anything we've seen since maybe Ryan Gil back in 2011. He's in terrific shape. He and Migliozzi both have made massive jumps in PR for 3200 this year and they still have the season's stretch run left to cut off a few more seconds. But Gunz has the advantage of having been under 9:20 for two years in a row and having competed in the WPIAL and outdoor state title races gaining extra experience that could be invaluable come the big races. I also think he will benefit from the state schedule shift where the 32 is before the 4x8 (which he runs a lot).
Just behind the AAA big three, were a pair of AA stand outs. Zach Skolnekovich, who had run sub 2 and 4:23 against Peretta at the MAC, skipped the 9:30s and the 9:20s as he dipped under 9:20 in a time of 9:16.54. The AA XC runner up (who is still just a junior), clocked a sub 9:20 mark to rival Hockenbury (albiet he's still got a solid amount of time to cover to catch him) and join a crowded contender pool. That pool also includes Will Loevner, who finished just .09 back of Skolnek, getting a big breakthrough in the 32. Loevner somewhat stagnated last outdoors after his dynamite indoor campaign. He's flipped that schedule around beautifully this year and is peaking at the right time. Two years ago, he and Kachman were part of a AA sophomore trio that swept the top 3 spots in the 32. This year, he will look to get back in that lead 3. Junior Griffin Mackey, also of AA, dropped 9:22 for 9th and Noah Curtin (9:28) and Ben Bickerton (9:29) further added to the depth of the AA 32. Remember you also have Descavish, DiCintio and Kachman lurking out there (as well as guys like Connor Walsh who finished 14th in this race in 9:34) who I suspect are going to drop a lot of time and end up in the medal hunt. That race is loaded! Curious if anyone will make the switch to the 1600, hoping for a better chance at a medal.
Moving back to the AAA names, Casey Conboy, Jake Susalla and Joseph Westrick dropped 9:19, 9:19 and 9:20 marks to round out the top 8. That's 6 AAA guys at 9:20 or faster. Is D7 faster than D1 right now? That's a pretty deep core contingent and there's still a few more knocking on the door. Eric Kennedy and Sam Belchman both ran 9:32 in this race, AAA XC medalist Mark Provenzo ran 9:40 recently and freshman Mark Brown from Greensburg Salem dropped a killer 9:38 in the same race. WPIALs is going to be a ton of fun.
So that's it for the distance events at these two meets. Which meet impressed you more?
Henderson Preview: No Excuses
by Jarrett Felix
We are
keeping the Henderson flow going here on the blog with a little preview action.
You can catch the meet out live on Milesplit tomorrow night which is a real
awesome addition to the site’s live schedule. If you’ve got an account (unlike
myself) and you’ve got time to kill, I suggest you tune in. Should be fun.
PS Tune in tonight at 8:45 when we breakdown Penn Relays, Henderson and more on a PA edition of TheRoundHouse!
This
year’s meet doesn’t seem like it’s going to be quite as jaw dropping as in
year’s past (on paper, which isn’t always an accurate representation) but it’s
still one of the biggest ensembles of individual talent we will see prior to
championship season. Let’s break down those individual events below. For full
entries, you can check in on penntrack’s home page which has the performance
list posted for this meet (as well as Stan Morgan and the Shaner Invite).
1600m
The
biggest name (on the guys side at least) is out of stater Andrew Hally of
Salesianum (Delaware). He’s a real good runner and all that jazz, but he’s not
from PA so all I’m giving you is his name. That goes for you too Michael
Flanagan.
Ryan
Barton of DT West and Patrick Grant will enter as the top two seeds. Both guys
had big meets here last year (matched up in this same race) and Barton in
particular has been rolling lately. He clocked a big 4:21 1600 last weekend and
seems poised to get down around the 4:18 mark he ran at districts last year
(his PR). His teammate, Henry Sappey, just clocked a 4:18 of his own so if
Barton dips under 4:20 he will be the fourth member of DT West to dip under
4:20 for the calendar year in the 16.
Grant,
who is coming off an 800 PR of 1:56 at the Knights Invite, leads a hungry core
of LaSalle runners. They make up 3 of the top 6 seeds overall and 3 of the top
4 PA runners (everyone outside of Barton). The LaSalle boys struggled a bit at
Penn, likely hoping for a sub 8 performance, but they will be ready to rock in
this event, aiming for some redemption. I actually think Grant’s teammate,
sophomore Evan Addison, may be the explorer to watch in this one if things
break right. I feel he may be on the verge of a break out performance after his
1600 victory at that same Knights Invite.
After
this top group, we will have a contingent of runners aiming for something in
the low 4:20s on race day. Among this group is CR North’s Ben Heintz, who
anchored North’s very impressive 4x8 at the Penn Relays. He ran around 4:23
last spring and could get back to that range tomorrow night. We also have
sophomore Spencer Smucker, who split under 4:20 indoors a couple times and is
running on home soil. He’s already grabbed two state medals in XC and, coming
off his first indoor season, is transitioning nicely to the oval. He’s got good
speed (ran around 2 flat last years at 800 I believe) and his strength is
undeniable.
Keep an
eye on Hunter Crawley of South Williamsport. The A XC state medalist (and
District 4 XC Champion) has quietly put together a string of solid 1600s at
Lock Haven and other, more local, meets. Now he travels to Henderson looking
for a breakthrough against top notch competition. Andrew Sullivan of Hershey is
another sleeper. He’s been running excellent races out in District 3 (including
a sub 9:40 3200) and could surprise on this stage. Also watch for Brandon Hontz
of Rustin. He’s fresh off a monster 800 run and his teammate Jack Carmody, who
he has been battling with consistently, just dropped a 4:24 of his own. He’ll
definitely have that mark in head on race day.
Looking
a little bit farther down the list, we can see a number of guys who will be in
the 4x8 discussions come districts and states. Guys like Jake Good of Abington,
Chris Kolimago and Seamus Breslin of Bishop Shanahan and Sam Early of CR North
will test themselves in a bit of overdistance.
800m
A year
ago, Malvern Prep’s Billy McDevitt dropped a massive 800 PR and defeated
Pennsbury’s Alek Sauer in a race to remember at Henderson. McDevitt dropped a
monster 1:51 to pull away for the victory. Now, Colin Wills of Prep will look
to repeat the feat (with his feet). While Wills likely won’t run a 1:51, he has
shown great potential in this race. He’s fresh off a 4:18 clocking at 1600 and
had a killer race at Meet of Champs in the 800 (1:57.48, which got him into the
fast heat at indoor states).
However,
the favorite in this race will almost certainly be AA silver medalist David
Fletcher of Mt Caramel. Assuming Fletcher toes the line that is. He’s also
entered in a battle with indoor silver medalist Matt Wisner of Carlisle at Stan
Morgan on Saturday. Not sure if he’s planning to race both or not, but a tasty
match up with Wisner may be hard to pass up.
Fletcher
recently competed at Bucknell’s Invitational and clocked a 1:53.30 against
collegiate competition. That time is one of the best in the state thus far and,
most years, would make him a clear favorite for the AA state title. Of course,
Domenic Peretta doesn’t hit peak form most years. That being said, if Fletcher
can cut a bit more time off, he still will make the state final interesting
against Dom, who will be doubling off the 1600 in all likelihood. This could be
a valuable moment for Fletcher to prove he’s on Peretta’s plane.
The guy
I’m watching in this race is Sean McGinnis of Phoenixville. He’s run some
monster 16s and 32s and, after a tough loss at the hands of Owen J’s Liam
Conway, I think McGinnis has a big breakthrough in the 800 this second time
around. McGinnis was one of the top runners in this event last year out of a
loaded District 1 and is stronger than ever after a monster XC season. I think
he may be able to steal gold at this race when all is said and done. I think of
him comparably to Billy Caldwell a few years back.
Grayson
Hepp of Germantown Friends will also take a shot at a fast 800. He ran the
second leg of GFS’s 4x8 at Penn Relays and has clocked a couple 1:55 marks from
the winter (both open and on a relay). Hepp’s teammate, Nick Dahl, just set the
league record in the 800 with his 1:54.20 (at this same track I believe). That
time may be on Hepp’s mind when he toes the start line for this race.
I’m
also really looking forward to watching Bryan Keller of CR North. Keller won
the Abington Invitational in a very impressive 1:56 and, after handing off at
the front of the pack at Penn Relays last week, now gets another shot at
crossing the line first. This will be the best field he’s faced all season and
should maximize his potential for a quick result.
As was
the case in the mile, there’s lot of intriguing future 4x8 talent in this race.
Abington has thrown some of their horses into the mix, including sophomore
Cameron Mitchell. Perk Valley will race Matt Town and Jon Adams near the top of
the field. Henderson has seeded five guys at the same time (1:59.3) so clearly
they like their chances as a sleeper team in the 4x8. GFS also added Gordon
Goldstein and Jonnie Plass to the performance list behind Hepp and LaSalle will
double back Price and Addison (with a fresh Costonis as well).
Watch
out for AA sleeper pick Mike Sheptuk of Notre Dame East. He’s a sleeper who
could really surprise now that he’s facing elite competition. Another big
sleeper to watch is Logan Yoquinto of Bishop Shanahan. He’s had some very
strong splits for the BS relays, now it’s just a question if the young
sophomore can duplicate those marks in the open.
3200m
This
race tends to be the race of the night and it’s for good reason. In 2015, we
saw an epic pack roll around the track, ending with Jake Brophy cracking the 9
minute barrier in 8:57. A year earlier, Tony Russell ran the equivalent of his
own 8:57, running about 9 flat for the full 2 miles and winning the race. In
2007 and 2008, PA also posted sub 9 marks with Paul Springer and Max Kaulbach
getting under the historic barrier.
This
year, we have at least two guys who will be chasing yet another trip another
540 seconds. Nick Dahl of GFS and Dominic Hockenbury of Lake Lehman headline
the field with the strongest two PRs in the field (by a good margin). These two
are no strangers to one another. They both were in the epic race last year
(Dahl ran 9:02 to best Hock) and they also faced off at this track prior to the
NXN regional meet (Dahl once again came out on top in a thrilling race). Hock’s
PR came in that fall battle (9:05ish) while Dahl ran the equivalent of an 8:58
for 3200 when he battled his way through 8 laps at New Balance Nationals.
In
“round 3” of this battle, it’s hard to doubt Dahl, who’s spent the past few
weeks dropping impressive PRs at his under distances of 800 and mile, but it is
worth noting that Hock will be much more seasoned at this distance. He’s also
never broken 9 minutes before and, as a senior, likely knows this could be his
last shot. Fresh off a Mile PR of his own as well as a 3k PR (8:27), that shot
is pretty good. With a little desperation on his mind, Hock could create a
thrilling environment for a memorable 3200 race.
There
will be a few guys trying to crash the battle between the XC State Champs. Kent
Hall of Unionville is fresh off a strong 1600 PR around 4:18 and will be hoping
to slice a large chunk of his 32 next. Hall’s mostly raced under distance as
well, but we saw just how strong he was during cross when he became PA’s
surprise qualifier for Nike Cross Nationals and placed 11th at XC
states.
Of
course if we are talking XC strength, you can’t leave out Downingtown West’s
Henry Sappey. The always steady senior leader has excelled this year on the
track, having the opportunity to focus on his more natural distance, rather
than 800 and 1200 relay legs like he did a year ago. Sappey just ran his own
1600 PR (again, around 4:18) and is coming off a medal winning performance at
indoor states in the 3,000. He tends to rise to the occasion at the big meets
(two top 10 finishes at states in XC), but he’s still looking for that big time
3200 PR to match his killer cross country success. I think it comes tomorrow
night.
Will
Griffen and Owen Ritz are two of the most intriguing wild cards on the entry
list. Griffen has gotten little to no love, but has posted some of the best 2
mile and 3200 marks in the state for the past 4 or so months. He briefly held
the PA #1 position for 32 before an assault on the leaderboard began. He comes
from Cheltenham (not known as a distance powerhouse) and didn’t have an epic XC
campaign, but the kid is really good at the 32. He’s a natural.
Meanwhile,
Owen Ritz gets your attention because of his last name, but he’s making his
learn more about his first name after his gigantic 1600 breakthrough a few
weeks back. He went from a mid 4:30s guy to a low 4:20s guy which basically
never happens. That’s a massive improvement that could mean big gains in other
areas. He has to be running with a ton of confidence and has a ton of upside in
this race at Henderson.
We will
get to preview some of the D1 state qualifying battles as well. Joe Maguire of
CR South, who qualified for outdoor states last year in this event, and Rusty
Kujdych of Neshaminy, the super soph who just cracked 9:30 last weekend, are
both poised for big runs in this meet. I think both guys are sleeper contenders
for top 5 finishes at outdoor states, but I also could see both fighting for
their lives just to make the top 8 at districts (D1 is, of course, loaded).
This could be a statement race for either of them.
If they
are at all off their game, Rob Moser of East, Austin Maxwell of Kennent and DT
West’s Ben Ryherd will all be ready to pounce.
LaSalle’s
Frank Livolsi and Eddie Goebel are also must watch talents in this field.
Livolsi is coming off a big run at the Knights Invite which I was very
impressed with. Goebel was the top dog during XC and ran the best 3k indoors
for this loaded squad. I’ll be very interested to see what they push each other
too in this event and compare it to the O’Hara 1-2 punch of Morro and James.
And don’t forget about Stephen Paul who finished in the top 50 at XC states and
has also consistently delivered in the long distances on the track this spring.
But
here’s the name to watch in this one: Liam Conway. The sophomore from Owen J
Roberts has been an absolute tear this spring. He’s clocked a 1:54 and a 4:15
to earn runaway golds in his big meets this outdoors. And guess what? The 3200
may be his best event. He must have thought so to some degree when he picked
the 3k at indoor states over the mile and the 8. He’s only seeded at 9:30, but
don’t get it twisted, Liam Conway is a must watch in this field.
Also,
speaking of talented sophomores, I hate to say it, but Dalton Hengst
(technically lives in PA but goes to school in Maryland) may steal the win in
this race. If he can hang on for 7 laps, he’s one of the best milers in the
entire region and will put on a show with his finishing kick.
By the
way, we could see 50 or so guys under 10 in this race. It’s positively loaded.
I love it. Gonna be a blast.
Henderson Flashbacks
by Jarrett Felix
The
Henderson Invitational has a history for producing memorable results and fast
times. A little top flight racing under the bright lights is usually perfect
conditions for an all-star distance night. Last year we saw a prime example
when a pack of runners went on an assault of the PA all-time list, led by Jake
Brophy’s Junior Class State Record 8:57.68. However, the meet has been putting
up historic marks for much longer than that.
The
Baldwin Invitational used to be the #1 meet in PA for a mid-season quick 32,
but Henderson made its case when Paul Springer, Craig Forys of Colts Neck NJ
and Jason Weller went head to head on the track. In one of the meet’s earliest
days, Springer, Forys and Weller traded off laps, agreeing to maintain a fast
pace in hopes of taking down their respective state records. The result? A sub
8:50 equivalent for Paul Springer in the 3200 (and an even faster victory for
Forys). It’s crazy to think Springer had the wheels to run basically 66 seconds
a lap. Especially when, as a freshman in high school at the time, the fastest I
could run a 400 all out was about 64 seconds. True story.
Three
years later, CB South’s Tom Mallon was beginning his quest for a state record
of his own in the 800 meters. He had shown flashes of his potential in the open
800, running a sub 1:50 split twice as a junior, but it wasn’t until
Henderson’s meet in 2010 that he finally cracked 1:50 in the open race. It was
a breakthrough run for Mallon who would go on to win gold at Shippensburg in a
then state meet record. Soon after, he returned to Henderson’s track for one
more shot at the record (he ran a “co-record” of 1:49.01).
Three
more years passed until the 2013 edition of the invite. North Schuylkill’s
Brendan Shearn, the 2011 AAA XC State Champ and 2012 Footlocker Finalist, was
heading into an eagerly anticipated match up with AAA XC State Champ Tony
Russell. Russell was fresh off a monster indoor nationals carry in the 4xMile
and Shearn was the underdog. The AA track and field scene had been relatively
barren in the last decade or so since Spooner had graduated and few thought of
AA runners on the same plane as their AAA counterparts. However, on the big
stage, on his opponent’s home track, Shearn defeatd Russell over the final 200m
and clocked a 9:04.51 for the victory. It was an incredibly deep race from top
to bottom as 7th place (another small schooler runner, Sam Williams)
was 9:12.13 and 13th place (another 2011 XC state champ, Conner
Quinn) was 9:17.83. 21st place was 9:29.
This
year, 2016, will mark the next three year interval in the Henderson cycle and
perhaps another historic and memorable race for us as fans. We’ve seen a slew
of sub 9 performances (including HS PRs for Russell, Brophy and Kaulbach),
we’ve seen some of the fastest performances by grade (Dahl and Jaxson Hoey 9:02
and 9:05 in back to back years), we’ve seen stars emerge (Greg Kareis, Brian
Fulton) and, of course, we’ve seen history (Springer, Mallon, Brophy). Some
could say we’ve seen it all.
But
I’ve got a feeling we ain’t seen nothing yet.
May the
4th be with you.
From Outside the Penn Relays Fog
By
Jarrett Felix
So a
ton of things happened outside the Penn Relays bubble this weekend. I’m talking
a real lot of things. I’ll do my best to fit them all into one post during this
train ride home, but it won’t be easy. So let’s start the clock and begin the
recap speed round.
Mars Invitational
Even
without Mike Kolor, Seneca Valley still had one of the stronger performances at
the meet. Justin Gaydos finished first in the 800 (2:02.00), sophomore Luke
Bellack took 6th in the same event and frosh Sam Owori took 4th
in the 1600 with a time of 4:30. That 4:30 mark was just a second behind the
winner, XC phenom Jake Susalla and runner-up finisher Griffin Mackey who both
ran 4:29. Mackey also added a silver in the 3200m, running 9:47. That event was
won by Will Loevner, who is on an absolutely monster tear so far outdoors. He
ran 9:30 for the big win. His teammate, Ben Littman, added one of his best
finishes of the year with a 3rd place finish in 9:53.88.
South Fayette
Adding
to the trio of XC state medalists, Winchester Thurston’s super star sophomore
Tristan Forsythe also excelled in the 3200 this weekend. He clocked a 9:35.90
for the silver medal in the event behind Mount Lebanon’s Todd Gunzenhauser.
That gives WT three guys at 9:53 or faster and a total of 5 guys around 9:40 or
faster over the past two seasons. Not too shabby for a “A” school.
Gunzenhauser,
whose winning time was 9:31, was also a part of the winning 4x800m relay squad
for Lebo, who continues to show a real focus on this relay. They added 4:26 and
4:28 1600 times for Kalapos and Harris as well in the opens. They’ve been
consistently pulling off these kind of results after a quiet indoors and I’m
intrigued to see how they do at WPIALs and where they end up putting their
focus. Todd continues to improve as a diverse runner with a strong 16 PR and a
big sub 2 800 split (to pair with his 3200 PR) making him an interesting
candidate for the state title discussion in the outdoor 3200, especially
considering the shake-up at Penn Relays.
Domenic
Peretta won the 1600m and finished second in the 400m at this event with times
of 4:23 and 49.68. Pretty solid marks, but nothing crazy. Especially
considering what he did at the MAC Championships.
MAC Championships
Another
beautiful transition! Peretta ran a crazy fast double at MAC this weekend that
has been overshadowed by the madness at Penn Relays. Dom P clocked a 4:14.83
1600m for a runaway victory and then doubled back to clock an absurd 1:50.70
(FAT) 800m with an 8+ second margin of victory. The kid dropped a 1:50 in April
with basically no push on the double! That’s amazing! 1:50.70 is the second
fastest 800 Dom’s ever dropped (besides his indoor nationals race this year) so
he’s not slowing down one bit after his busy indoors. Also worth noting, Peretta’s
previous trip into the 1:50s came in a close duel against Michael Slagowski of
Idaho who has since run 1:48 and 3:59 (yes, that’s 3:59 for a full mile), so,
in the right race, he could be on the verge of something historic. I’m thinking
the Baldwin Invite might feature a really quick time if Kolor and Peretta face
off (with an interesting preview of Peretta’s possible doubling chops for
outdoor states). This kid is on an absolute tear and, if he gets in the right
races, a lot of records are in serious jeopardy. 1:48 and 4:03 are the marks
this kid should be aiming for before he graduates and heads off to PSU.
Worth
noting, Zach Skolnekovich also had a really strong double. The junior is fresh
off a monster XC season, but he’s always been impressive on the trails
(multiple district championships and 3 state medals). He hasn’t done too much
on the track, especially over shorter distances, until now. Skolnekovich
dropped a 4:23 and a 1:58 on the double for a pair of silvers behind Peretta
the Go Getta. Still working on a nickname. Skolnekovich just put his name in
the loaded AA 3200m conversation along with guys like Loevner, Kachman and
Descavish.
Lock Haven
Yes, I
am one of the greatest in the game when it comes to transitions. The
aforementioned Bryce Descavish went off this weekend in a battle with District
4 rising star Brody Beiler (and some other members of a loaded field). 8 guys
covered the 8 laps in under 10 minutes, led by Bryce beating Beiler by ‘bout
four seconds 9:29 to 9:33. Descavish, the 6th place finish at AA
states in XC and a top 5 or so finisher from last year’s 3200m, broke the meet
record with his performance and has to be feeling confident looking ahead.
Isaac Davis, the soph from Jersey Shore, clocked a 9:38 for 3rd and
Sam Signor also dipped under 9:40 in 4th.
Both
Signor and Beiler produced not just one, but two strong performances at this
meet. Signor absolutely dominated the steeplechase with his 6:06 victory (51
second margin) and Beiler earned gold in the 1600 by nearly 7 seconds, clocking
another high quality 4 lapper in 4:23.77. Beiler’s an interesting name looking
ahead to states. Could he be a state medalist in this deep field?
This
race also featured some quality 4x8 relays. Lewisburg, with two 2 flat splits,
finished tops of the AA teams with an 8:15. Later, their top two legs came back
to run 1:59 and 2 flat in the open 800 off a negative split. Warrior Run was
third, showing signs they could be a contender in AA as well. They clocked an
8:17.
But the
race was one by Williamsport which, like Beiler, is a real sleeper out of
District 4. They ran 8:05.08 to runaway from the field in the late stages of
this one, led by a 1:57 anchor leg. They have made a state final before and
this team isn’t afraid to back down from a challenge. There’s lots of sneaky
strong talent in the small districts this year.
Cougar Invite
This
transition was a little forced, but whatever. I’m talking about District 2
stand out Matt Kravitz. He dominated this meet with 4:17 and 1:59 runs (both at
or near his PR) winning the two events by a combined 23 seconds (16 in the 16,
almost 8 in the 8). Kravitz has now run sub 9:20 for 3200 (in another runaway
win) and added these terrific marks with limited push. He was a state medalist
in the 1600 last year and is clearly in terrific shape (arguably significantly
better shape than last year, when he was already a beast). Don’t forget this
guy. I’m not sure he has the raw speed to outkick whichever Hoey brother is on
his game, but at the very least he’s in the mix for a top 3 spot at states. And
a very interesting possibility at 3200.
Washington Greene
You
know who else is a very interesting possibility at 3200 who just recently broke
9:20 and has good mile speed? Nick Wolk from Peters Township (and yes, I did
nail yet another transition so yes, I am the man). But in all seriousness, Wolk
was the man on race day for this meet, winning the 3200, the 1600 and the 800
in 10:17-4:21-2:00. That’s a strong triple for a strong runner who I believe
still holds the state lead at 3200 (although Henderson, Hockenbury and Brophy
ran faster 3k equivalents). He definitely belongs in the state title discussion
right now at 2 miles.
Alright
let’s take a quick look at some great performances I neglected because I was
trying to bang out strong transitions:
-
Avonworth
continues to excel in the 4x8 with an 8:11 victory
-
Eli
Urban with a 9:48 3200m at Lock Haven, but also a 1:59 800 victory lately. Nice
range for the AA talent
-
South
Side, the defending AA WPIAL 4x8 champs, had a strong 2 flat and 2:01 at MAC.
Beaver ran 8:16 for 4x8 as well.
-
Ben
Bumgarner picked a pair of silvers behind Wolk at Washington Greene, running
4:26 and 2:04
-
Bennent
Sneath of USC ran a very strong 1600 for second behind Peretta at South
Fayette, stopping the watch at 4:26.60
Alright
so I think I’m caught up and I still have a bit more time. On with the recaps!
Millersville
Sean
McGinnis, after missing out on the indoor season, is proving he’s a diverse,
polished runner. He’s run strong times at a variety of distances already this
spring and now adds a 9:29 3200m to his resume, pulling out the victory over a
stacked field that included D3 XC runner up Zach Lefever, who finished second
in 9:33. McGinnis’s best event may be the 800 (that’s what he ran last year,
qualifying for states), but after a terrific XC season and clearly improved
track strength, it’s hard to pidgeon hole this guy. That’s kind of the way the
PAC is heading with the impressive development of both McGinnis and Liam Conway
from Owen J.
Lefever
and teammate Nate Becker (9:41) both clocked strong marks for Ephrata, beating
split by Hershey’s Andrew Sullivan (9:35). Sullivan has had a real breakthrough
on the track and has put himself into a very wild looking District 3 3200.
Henderson is the big favorite, but behind him there’s a slew of guys with the
potential to run under 9:30 by season’s end and a lot of guys currently sitting
in the 9:30-9:40 range. That’s going to be a lot of fun. All in all, 9 guys
broke 10 minutes for 3200 in this race, most of which belong in the district.
JP
McCaskey clocked an 8:13 4x8 without Nate Henderson. Just wanted to throw that
in as well.
Unionville Invite
DT West
continues to show impressive depth across the board after they ran 8:04 without
the Hoeys in the 4x8. Conceivably we could see this relay trotted out at
districts (although I doubt it because Sappey and Barton both have better shots
scoring individually). Ryan Barton added a 4:21 1600m victory as well showing
signs he can once again crack 4:20 and compete for a spot in the state finals.
Barton is still just a junior.
Perk
Valley has quietly done some nice running as well. Without their 4x4 crew, they
still added a 2 flat 800 for 5th (Jon Adams, not the president of
course) and a pair of strong sub 4:35 1600s (Jeff Montgomery and Adam Styer).
Shout out to this team on some real nice running.
Shout
out to sophomores as well. The sophomore class is just going bananas this year
and Rusty Kujdych added another noteworthy performance to the list with a runaway
9:26 victory in the 3200. He defeated Avon Grove’s Jake Ilgenfritz (strong run
of 9:44) by almost 20 seconds and showed flashes of his potential to sneak into
the medal conversations in this event outdoors. He gained some valuable
experience during indoor states and looks just as dangerous as he did when he
clocked that fantastic sub 8:50 run against Jeff Kirshenbaum.
Rustin
produced some nice times in this one as well with a 1:58 run from Hontz (for
second) and a 4:24 run from Carmody (also for second). WC Henderson, not to be
out done, added an 8:07 time for the 4x8, second only to the aforementioned DTW
relay.
Westmoreland
Ben
Bickerton picked up a big win in the 3200 (is he AA or AAA for track?) with a
9:40 mark to beat out Mark Provenzo of Franklin Regional who ran 9:41. Provenzo
also finished a close 3rd in the 1600, which Eric Kennedy and Matt
O’Neill defeated him in (all guys ran 4:29). Norwin, the defending D7 4x8
champs, picked up a big 8:04 4x8 victory (D7 title is very up for grabs) and added
a 3:28 for good measure in the 4x4. Kiski was second in 8:07.
Wrapping
up some other relay news, Carlisle dropped a big time 10:36 DMR for a nice win
at Cedar Cliff relays. AA Harbor Creek crushed their 4x8 section at Franklin
Area, winning by over 40 seconds in 8:21. And Lakeland showed some serious
upside with 8:23 and 3:26 4x8 and 4x4 relay wins respectively. Watch out for
Lakeland, a program that always finds a way to be competitive in the mid
distance relays. Gotta love the squad they have there.
So I
almost finished everything, I’ll have to squeeze in the last of the recaps at a
later date. Stay tuned.
TheRoundHouse V: Sub 4
We breakdown all the best and brightest from a crazy weekend in track and field. Starting around 8:15 PM tonight!
Penn Relays Wrap Up
by Jarrett Felix
It was an amazing Friday night at Penn Relays. Honestly, the DMR was one of the best races I've ever seen and, if I'm continuing the aforementioned honesty, after that unreal event, it was impossible to get truly psyched up for a while. Spare me a brief moment of anecdote sharing before I get into some recap of the PA specific shenanigans.
So I had the pleasure of watching the race with my college roommate Charlie Kline and fellow writer/current Penn athlete Sean Collins. Charlie's a Vermonter with a runner's average familiarity with high school athletics and Sean is in our writer Facebook chat being overloaded with the stuff, so it was a nice range of experience. But regardless of who I was with, everybody was on some level aware of Andrew Hunter.
In our section of the stands, there were a couple kids behind us who were making race predictions for the DMR. One found out more quickly than the other where Andrew Hunter was located and picked his school, Loudon Valley. The other picked the field I guess? He may also have picked LaSalle (incidentally, that was my pre-race pick). Regardless, as soon as the race starts, the one kid who picked against Hunter gets excited as LV has an early fall. All the same, the mood in our section (and probably the stadium) seems to be, Hunter is going to win the thing and it's a race for second. Even when Hunter gets the baton some 10 seconds back from a sub 4:10 miler, that still seems to be the general energy.
Slowly, the drama builds as Hunter continues to close down the gap. He catches LaSalle's anchor (Salisbury) with about 200 to go and the sprint is on. Salisbury fights him off hard and coming off the final turn the two are going all out. Hunter never seems to pull ahead, especially from our angle, until maybe the last possible moment. He makes a wild lean, almost falls, and makes the thing interesting.
Now at this point, there's not a lot of dudes left in the stadium (it's pretty late, fairly cold and there's no Jamaicans left to root for). That makes for an excellent silence as everyone is listening to see who gets the win. Now our announcer, good old Ron, comes on the loud speaker and says "LaSalle". That sends the kid who picked them in a real tizzy. He's running around the stands laughing maniacally. But Lopresti comes back on and says something like "Wait, I didn't mean to say that, we don't know who won yet".
Then, on the scoreboard, they flash the name Loudon Valley and then the name LaSalle with the same exact time! So we all instantly turn to laugh and the formerly celebrating now devastated kid in our section. A nice cherry on top of an epic finish. Conspiracy theories aside, it's one of the most amazing races in the history of April and might have passed the 2010 College COA 4x800m on my "best races I've ever seen live" list. Maybe, but probably not. Almost certainly not. I'll never turn on you, Robby.
Of course, there was a strong PA presence in this one. Cardinal O'Hara, the surprise indoor state champions, came into this race with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Although they had won the state title the past two years, few really cared about their entry into the event. Most of the talk revolved around DT West and, on our Penn Relays preview show, just one panelist predicted a sub 10:20 time. But the O'Hara boys got there, breaking 10:20 by a small margin on what was not a perfect night for shorter distance running (especially if you are standing around cold in the waiting paddock). Rob Morro set the tone early, moving up from mid/back of the pack to jump all the way to 3rd by the time he handed off the stick. The Jones boys ran strong legs and gave Ryan the baton in a strong spot in about 3rd. Then Ryan James brought things home, busting out another big PR on the anchor with a 4:21. They ended up finishing 9th, but it's hard to argue this team didn't deliver with an optimal performance.
Now we will look to see what moves this team makes for outdoors. They have the pieces to put a strong 4x8 on the track (and maybe they will stack the relay at districts to get a state spot), but I think this team will ultimately be spread out in the individual events. Morro is an interesting name going forward in the 3200 and Ryan James has shown strong improvements in his track abilities this year so far (big speed improvements as well). Both guys (who've medaled in XC the last two years) would be fun to have in the deuce (a suddenly much more wide open deuce).
In the individual events, the favorites for the state title got, in the words of Elvis, "all shook up". A couple weeks ago, I was on the "Josh Hoey is the best miler in the state bandwagon" but then I backed off that logic hard. I picked him for 3rd PA finisher (shout out to Paul Hayes, who was in the Josh Hoey FTW camp). And I didn't think any of our PA guys would win the thing, let alone place top 3. But Josh Hoey proved he's hit another level this spring and continues to improve. Hoey won the open mile, something no PA runner had pulled off since Chris Spooner back in 2004. He did it with a beautiful kick from about 300 out (eerily similar move to the one his brother pulled off to win outdoor states last spring) and a massive PR of roughly 6 seconds! He was in a shaky position early in the race and had to swing way wide to get back into a good spot, but he managed to pull it off without sacrificing too much energy. His 4:11.90 brings him down to close to 4:10 for 1600 and makes him the clear PA #1 by time. This also is a faster outdoor mile than Kolor or Jaxson has run, making Josh the clear favorite for the outdoor 1600 title as we enter the month of May.
All of this comes as Josh is closing out the last semester of his sophomore year of high school. Now we've seen sophomores showcase this kind of speed, but rarely this kind of ability to win. That's the tricky one. Craig Miller and Zach Brehm are the guys who come to mind and both are two of the fastest sophomores in the history of the nation (especially Miller). Remember, Chris Spooner was the last guy to win this title for PA. The same Chris Spooner who would go on to break the state 2 mile record and win the 4x8, 16 and 8 outdoors (in AA) during that same season. That should give you an idea of how rare this kind of thing is.
Another fun fact, the 1600m state champ has been an underclassman a lot. We are talking 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015 (AAA exclusively here, but still). The last time a sophomore won gold was that 2004 race. The runner? Craig Miller, naturally.
Although our other guys didn't manage to crack the top 5, they still performed admirably during the weeknd. Kolor ran a strong 4:16 in his Penn Relays debut for 7th and was up in the mix throughout the race. Dahl made a strong move on the third lap, despite having a 4x8 carry in his legs and, although he couldn't quite find the extra gears on the last lap, he still ran what I believe is an open PR at 4:16. Kid is still just a junior and is learning a lot about how best to run the mile. I like his upside.
As for Josh's brother Jaxson, he didn't have the race he wanted Friday night, but the kid showed a lot of heart running for the West 4x4 the next day. He delivered a pair of 50 point relay splits on a couple sub 3:20 relays and helped the team compete as one of the top philly area schools. I wonder if we could see Josh in the 16 and Jax in the 8 come outdoors to try and grab double golds? I guess we will see what happens going forward.
The 3k was another fantastic race and, although PA didn't leave with the gold, I would say our state did leave with a lot to brag about.
Nate Henderson, a junior from JP McCaskey, had been known for his impressive mid race surging ability (at least by me), but had struggled to close an elite 3200 out with a final kick. Well, after a 4:14 1600 and a blazing 1:53 4x8 split (I've seen as fast as 1:53.1 reported by people at the meet), it was clear Nate was turning it up a notch. In his Penn Relays debut (something I thought would cause him to struggle) he ran a poised race, moving up at the right times in the crowded, fast paced field and then made a big surge to try and steal the thing with a lap to go. Ultimately, the race belonged to Eric Van der Els (shout out to Alex Fox who picked this on our recent episode of TheRoundHouse), but Henderson still held his own all the way through the line. He ran a big PR of 8:24 (converts to 9:01.13 for 3200m) and finished as the top PA runner in a field that included Dominic Hockenbury and Jake Brophy. With the victory, Henderson may now be the favorite to win the state title in the 3200 (an argument I made on the third episode of TheRoundHouse) and perhaps become only the second junior in state history to break 9 minutes for 3200.
Dominic Hockenbury added to his long list of top marks, running 8:27 (converts to 9:04 for 3200m) and placing 8th in this loaded field. A sub 8:30 3k is no joke and was also a big improvement on his time a year ago. Hockenbury will likely now turn his attention to rematch with Brophy at the Henderson Invite and then to the outdoor 3200 state record. Meanwhile, Brophy placed 12th in 8:30.11 for the 3rd PA finish. He looked a little uncomfortable in the race and never seemed to find his rhythm. It was a fast pace from the gun and perhaps that through him off his game a bit. However, Jake recently ran 4:15 in a dual meet (a very quick time) and is still one of the most proven state performers in Pennsylvania. He will be tough to beat, especially in a field where there are a lot less guys running sub 9:10 pace. Don't sleep on a motivated and hungry Jake Brophy.
Moving to Saturday, we had two PA 4x800s that qualified for the Championship of America: State College and CB West. After running very fast times in the previous day's preliminary heats, the teams were still recovering a bit on race day. Meanwhile, the Jamaican schools were ready to go from the jump. Things went out very quick and the PA squad's ended up a bit back from the 1:53-1:54 type pace. The top two Jamaican squads really ran away from this field, running 7:33 and 7:35. Those times are #4 and #5 in the event's history and the two fastest times from Jamaican teams in meet history. So it was going to be pretty tough to beat these guys.
State College managed to move up the field through and take 4th place overall, running some strong marks across the board. Nick Feffer really shined with a low 1:54 split that was extremely impressive (he held on valiantly after a real quick opening quarter). They ran 7:44, a comfortable state lead, and there's still room to drop here as well. I believe this mark is also faster than Pennsbury ran a year ago (and they went on to break 7:40 at states) so they are in a pretty good spot.
As for CB West, although they only finished 11th, they showed a lot of upside during both races. They have 4 guys who can run under 2 minutes and they have a gutsy group of guys. They mixed it up valiantly at the front of the field in prelims and put up a good fight on tired legs in the final. I'm very interested to see how they handle Pennridge (and the rest of a very deep district one) in a couple weeks (State College won't be there as they are in D6). The 4x8 landscape is still very in flux and, although SC ran very well, they didn't put down anything that makes them seem invincible (like North Penn in 2008, CB South in 2009, CBW & Abington in 2011) so no one will be afraid of them come states. That should bring out the best of all involved.
And isn't that what we all want to see?
More recaps on the non-Penn Relays events to come later in the week. We will also have another episode of TheRoundHouse this Monday night (and possibly another episode later in the week). Monday's episode will cover the biggest stories from around the nation (at all levels) and will be on at 8:15 here on the blog and on YouTube. If we have the man power (and the demand) we will put together a PA specific show later in the week.
So if you want it, comment away and tell us what's up! We will do our best to give the people what they want.
It was an amazing Friday night at Penn Relays. Honestly, the DMR was one of the best races I've ever seen and, if I'm continuing the aforementioned honesty, after that unreal event, it was impossible to get truly psyched up for a while. Spare me a brief moment of anecdote sharing before I get into some recap of the PA specific shenanigans.
So I had the pleasure of watching the race with my college roommate Charlie Kline and fellow writer/current Penn athlete Sean Collins. Charlie's a Vermonter with a runner's average familiarity with high school athletics and Sean is in our writer Facebook chat being overloaded with the stuff, so it was a nice range of experience. But regardless of who I was with, everybody was on some level aware of Andrew Hunter.
In our section of the stands, there were a couple kids behind us who were making race predictions for the DMR. One found out more quickly than the other where Andrew Hunter was located and picked his school, Loudon Valley. The other picked the field I guess? He may also have picked LaSalle (incidentally, that was my pre-race pick). Regardless, as soon as the race starts, the one kid who picked against Hunter gets excited as LV has an early fall. All the same, the mood in our section (and probably the stadium) seems to be, Hunter is going to win the thing and it's a race for second. Even when Hunter gets the baton some 10 seconds back from a sub 4:10 miler, that still seems to be the general energy.
Slowly, the drama builds as Hunter continues to close down the gap. He catches LaSalle's anchor (Salisbury) with about 200 to go and the sprint is on. Salisbury fights him off hard and coming off the final turn the two are going all out. Hunter never seems to pull ahead, especially from our angle, until maybe the last possible moment. He makes a wild lean, almost falls, and makes the thing interesting.
Now at this point, there's not a lot of dudes left in the stadium (it's pretty late, fairly cold and there's no Jamaicans left to root for). That makes for an excellent silence as everyone is listening to see who gets the win. Now our announcer, good old Ron, comes on the loud speaker and says "LaSalle". That sends the kid who picked them in a real tizzy. He's running around the stands laughing maniacally. But Lopresti comes back on and says something like "Wait, I didn't mean to say that, we don't know who won yet".
Then, on the scoreboard, they flash the name Loudon Valley and then the name LaSalle with the same exact time! So we all instantly turn to laugh and the formerly celebrating now devastated kid in our section. A nice cherry on top of an epic finish. Conspiracy theories aside, it's one of the most amazing races in the history of April and might have passed the 2010 College COA 4x800m on my "best races I've ever seen live" list. Maybe, but probably not. Almost certainly not. I'll never turn on you, Robby.
Of course, there was a strong PA presence in this one. Cardinal O'Hara, the surprise indoor state champions, came into this race with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Although they had won the state title the past two years, few really cared about their entry into the event. Most of the talk revolved around DT West and, on our Penn Relays preview show, just one panelist predicted a sub 10:20 time. But the O'Hara boys got there, breaking 10:20 by a small margin on what was not a perfect night for shorter distance running (especially if you are standing around cold in the waiting paddock). Rob Morro set the tone early, moving up from mid/back of the pack to jump all the way to 3rd by the time he handed off the stick. The Jones boys ran strong legs and gave Ryan the baton in a strong spot in about 3rd. Then Ryan James brought things home, busting out another big PR on the anchor with a 4:21. They ended up finishing 9th, but it's hard to argue this team didn't deliver with an optimal performance.
Now we will look to see what moves this team makes for outdoors. They have the pieces to put a strong 4x8 on the track (and maybe they will stack the relay at districts to get a state spot), but I think this team will ultimately be spread out in the individual events. Morro is an interesting name going forward in the 3200 and Ryan James has shown strong improvements in his track abilities this year so far (big speed improvements as well). Both guys (who've medaled in XC the last two years) would be fun to have in the deuce (a suddenly much more wide open deuce).
In the individual events, the favorites for the state title got, in the words of Elvis, "all shook up". A couple weeks ago, I was on the "Josh Hoey is the best miler in the state bandwagon" but then I backed off that logic hard. I picked him for 3rd PA finisher (shout out to Paul Hayes, who was in the Josh Hoey FTW camp). And I didn't think any of our PA guys would win the thing, let alone place top 3. But Josh Hoey proved he's hit another level this spring and continues to improve. Hoey won the open mile, something no PA runner had pulled off since Chris Spooner back in 2004. He did it with a beautiful kick from about 300 out (eerily similar move to the one his brother pulled off to win outdoor states last spring) and a massive PR of roughly 6 seconds! He was in a shaky position early in the race and had to swing way wide to get back into a good spot, but he managed to pull it off without sacrificing too much energy. His 4:11.90 brings him down to close to 4:10 for 1600 and makes him the clear PA #1 by time. This also is a faster outdoor mile than Kolor or Jaxson has run, making Josh the clear favorite for the outdoor 1600 title as we enter the month of May.
All of this comes as Josh is closing out the last semester of his sophomore year of high school. Now we've seen sophomores showcase this kind of speed, but rarely this kind of ability to win. That's the tricky one. Craig Miller and Zach Brehm are the guys who come to mind and both are two of the fastest sophomores in the history of the nation (especially Miller). Remember, Chris Spooner was the last guy to win this title for PA. The same Chris Spooner who would go on to break the state 2 mile record and win the 4x8, 16 and 8 outdoors (in AA) during that same season. That should give you an idea of how rare this kind of thing is.
Another fun fact, the 1600m state champ has been an underclassman a lot. We are talking 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015 (AAA exclusively here, but still). The last time a sophomore won gold was that 2004 race. The runner? Craig Miller, naturally.
Although our other guys didn't manage to crack the top 5, they still performed admirably during the weeknd. Kolor ran a strong 4:16 in his Penn Relays debut for 7th and was up in the mix throughout the race. Dahl made a strong move on the third lap, despite having a 4x8 carry in his legs and, although he couldn't quite find the extra gears on the last lap, he still ran what I believe is an open PR at 4:16. Kid is still just a junior and is learning a lot about how best to run the mile. I like his upside.
As for Josh's brother Jaxson, he didn't have the race he wanted Friday night, but the kid showed a lot of heart running for the West 4x4 the next day. He delivered a pair of 50 point relay splits on a couple sub 3:20 relays and helped the team compete as one of the top philly area schools. I wonder if we could see Josh in the 16 and Jax in the 8 come outdoors to try and grab double golds? I guess we will see what happens going forward.
The 3k was another fantastic race and, although PA didn't leave with the gold, I would say our state did leave with a lot to brag about.
Nate Henderson, a junior from JP McCaskey, had been known for his impressive mid race surging ability (at least by me), but had struggled to close an elite 3200 out with a final kick. Well, after a 4:14 1600 and a blazing 1:53 4x8 split (I've seen as fast as 1:53.1 reported by people at the meet), it was clear Nate was turning it up a notch. In his Penn Relays debut (something I thought would cause him to struggle) he ran a poised race, moving up at the right times in the crowded, fast paced field and then made a big surge to try and steal the thing with a lap to go. Ultimately, the race belonged to Eric Van der Els (shout out to Alex Fox who picked this on our recent episode of TheRoundHouse), but Henderson still held his own all the way through the line. He ran a big PR of 8:24 (converts to 9:01.13 for 3200m) and finished as the top PA runner in a field that included Dominic Hockenbury and Jake Brophy. With the victory, Henderson may now be the favorite to win the state title in the 3200 (an argument I made on the third episode of TheRoundHouse) and perhaps become only the second junior in state history to break 9 minutes for 3200.
Dominic Hockenbury added to his long list of top marks, running 8:27 (converts to 9:04 for 3200m) and placing 8th in this loaded field. A sub 8:30 3k is no joke and was also a big improvement on his time a year ago. Hockenbury will likely now turn his attention to rematch with Brophy at the Henderson Invite and then to the outdoor 3200 state record. Meanwhile, Brophy placed 12th in 8:30.11 for the 3rd PA finish. He looked a little uncomfortable in the race and never seemed to find his rhythm. It was a fast pace from the gun and perhaps that through him off his game a bit. However, Jake recently ran 4:15 in a dual meet (a very quick time) and is still one of the most proven state performers in Pennsylvania. He will be tough to beat, especially in a field where there are a lot less guys running sub 9:10 pace. Don't sleep on a motivated and hungry Jake Brophy.
Moving to Saturday, we had two PA 4x800s that qualified for the Championship of America: State College and CB West. After running very fast times in the previous day's preliminary heats, the teams were still recovering a bit on race day. Meanwhile, the Jamaican schools were ready to go from the jump. Things went out very quick and the PA squad's ended up a bit back from the 1:53-1:54 type pace. The top two Jamaican squads really ran away from this field, running 7:33 and 7:35. Those times are #4 and #5 in the event's history and the two fastest times from Jamaican teams in meet history. So it was going to be pretty tough to beat these guys.
State College managed to move up the field through and take 4th place overall, running some strong marks across the board. Nick Feffer really shined with a low 1:54 split that was extremely impressive (he held on valiantly after a real quick opening quarter). They ran 7:44, a comfortable state lead, and there's still room to drop here as well. I believe this mark is also faster than Pennsbury ran a year ago (and they went on to break 7:40 at states) so they are in a pretty good spot.
As for CB West, although they only finished 11th, they showed a lot of upside during both races. They have 4 guys who can run under 2 minutes and they have a gutsy group of guys. They mixed it up valiantly at the front of the field in prelims and put up a good fight on tired legs in the final. I'm very interested to see how they handle Pennridge (and the rest of a very deep district one) in a couple weeks (State College won't be there as they are in D6). The 4x8 landscape is still very in flux and, although SC ran very well, they didn't put down anything that makes them seem invincible (like North Penn in 2008, CB South in 2009, CBW & Abington in 2011) so no one will be afraid of them come states. That should bring out the best of all involved.
And isn't that what we all want to see?
More recaps on the non-Penn Relays events to come later in the week. We will also have another episode of TheRoundHouse this Monday night (and possibly another episode later in the week). Monday's episode will cover the biggest stories from around the nation (at all levels) and will be on at 8:15 here on the blog and on YouTube. If we have the man power (and the demand) we will put together a PA specific show later in the week.
So if you want it, comment away and tell us what's up! We will do our best to give the people what they want.
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