Guys, The Two Part Recaps Are Back!

By Jarrett Felix

Gotta say Pennsylvanians, this was one heck of a weekend. The PA contingent represented the state to the fullest with excellent performances both in and out of state. Obviously, we had a ridiculous 1-3 finish up in Boston, but in New York PA was unbelievable as well. There were so many heat winners and section winners across the board and our awesome depth was on full display. Back home on flat tracks, fast times were dropping as well. Through all the efforts, the state rankings were completely rewritten. It looks incredibly likely (to me at least) that it will take at least 1:59.5 banked to make states in the 800, by far the quickest year in the 3-year implementation of the maximums.

Basically, I’m trying to say two things here. #1 – I’m proud of you guys. You killed it. #2 – This recap will have to be a two parter. There are too many props I would like to give out to squeeze it into one reasonably sized post. If you wanted to spent a half hour reading a post, then you would just go read the running diaries (which by the way has its ownwebsite now)! It’s recap time! Let’s do this thing!

Franklin & Marshall Invite #2

Shout out to the F&M Meet. They put on a great meet out in Lancaster and the strong group of District 3 talent showed up and put on a show. So they get the starting spot in a crowded weekend recap. In the 1600 meters, Nate Henderson of JP McCaskey dipped into his first individual indoor event of 2017. It worked out pretty darn well as Nate ran 4:20.05 to win the race by over 10 seconds. Henderson, who has raced the 3k/3200 at all the major state championships he has participated in, has underrated speed. Remember, he split a 1:53 last spring and also soloed a very fast 4:14ish for 1600. Henderson also doubled back to post a 2 flat in the 800 for 5^th overall. I’m excited to see how Nate approaches this indoor season. He gets a late start thanks to his Footlocker appearance and, historically speaking, a national appearance often makes guys put their focus in the mile over the 3k. He’s also got a sleeper DMR team that could may sneak in to the state picture if Nate drops something big. Stay tuned to see what he’s got to give.

PA’s second best finisher in the 1600 also had a strong double. That was Kamil Jihad who ran 4:32 before adding a seasonal best 800 victory in 1:58. As of now, Jihad still sits outside the top 10 in the state for this event thanks to the madness at Ocean Breeze (we’ll get to that, but probably tomorrow), but even on the double nobody can beat these guy. He’s still undefeated at 6 or 800. He defeated Austin Padmore who ran a big season best to dip under 2 minutes for the first time. Padmore, who has run 1:56 low in the open outdoors, joined a list of 15 runners who improved their seed times on Saturday with marks below 2 minutes even for banked track equivalent. That’s not even counting the Sunday boys, Sam Affolder and Nick Feffer, who appear to have been well under 2 minutes (those results have not gone final as of the writing of this paragraph).

Josh Endy of Boyertown had an awesome race, dropping a 2:02 for 7^th overall and first in his heat. Ephrata also had a nice showing with a pair of top 13 finishers in Shue and Morales, including a heat winner in Shue.

Did someone say Ephrata? Ok, fine I just set myself up for that transition somewhat clumsily, but it gets the job done. Zach Lefever, the 4^th place finisher from XC states, rolled in his first marquee race of 2017. Lefever dropped an 8:58.30 to win the 3k over fellow state medalist Nick Norton (9:10) and Manheim Township’s talented youngster Ian Miller (9:11). Boyertown went 2 for 2 in the “that was a nice race they had there” performances as Dominic Derafelo picked up a nice seasonal best with a 9:13.27 for 4^th.

Lefever, who if you remember back was the #1 District 3 finisher at outdoor states for the 3200 last year, is off to his best ever indoor start. I think he has the chance to surprise some people in the state 3k final and maybe mix it up for the victory. That race is still pretty up in the air as it doesn’t appear either Affolder will give it a try. If Henderson doesn’t run for some reason, or honestly even if he does, things could be wild. It is worth noting however, that Zach may need to dip down a little faster in the coming weeks to keep his state spot. He is currently 11^th on the rankings I have in front of me (6^th if you count my current projected scratches) but his time is about a second slower than what the cut off ended up being in 2016 (faster than the 2015 cut off though).

Guys, I gotta tell you one last thing. Boyertown had one more “hey I like what you did there” race! They dropped an 8:28 in the 4x8 (with some doubling pieces maybe?) to take the silvers. That moves them ahead of DT West with the conversion and slips them into the state qualifying picture. I think they will be #17 at week’s end as Cumberland Valley may have knocked them out. But don’t sleep on Boyertown. I think they may pop one more strong DMR before this season is said and done.

TSTCA Meet #3

Eat your heart out District One! We have another meet to recap outside of the Philadelphia Area! The TSTCA has finally gotten a little lucky with weather and they’ve managed to already post 3 different meets before February! Shout out to the TSTCA. The extra meets should really help the western schools get the reps they need for states and could lead to a couple surprise performances (maybe a surprise winner?) when PSU hits.

The big match up of the day came in the 800 meters. Ryan Thrush of Brookville went head to head with Nick Wagner of Penn Trafford. Both guys have run 1:56 this year and moved into the state title discussion. Thrush got the best of Wagner in this match up, running 1:58 to defeat Wagner’s 2 flat. That’s a big win for Thrush (who has PRs of 48 and 1:52 I feel compelled to mention) and further solidifies his case for a state title in the event. It looks like Hoey will run the event (maybe fresh?) so that could be an up hill battle, but I’d very interested to watch a fresh Thrush duel with a fresh Hoey.

Winchester Thurston’s Tristan Forsythe held his own in the battle, grabbing 3^rd in the 800 with a 2:02. Forsythe has also run a top 5 time in the state for the mile this year. Elias Zajicek continues to be a consistent 800 performer in his own right, running 2:03 for 4^th just ahead of Seneca Valley stand out Sam Owori. Jake Schneider of Seneca got the win in heat 4, running 2:07. Put him together with the Myers twins and you might have a pretty nice DMR/4x8. Keep your eyes peeled.

Owori was apparently on the double in that 800 performance as the Seneca Valley sophomore just finished a thrilling mile battle. The top 6 runners were all at 4:34 or better with Owori running 4:32.36 and defeating Eric Kennedy, the outdoor state medalist, but one hundredth of a second. But that was the battle for second. Sam Snodgrass of South Fayette got some revenge this weekend on Owori and dropped a season best of 4:28.80 to move into a potential state qualifying position in the mile. His teammate, Aaron Pfeil, ran 4:33. The two together combined for one of the best 1-2 punches in the state this past fall and were both top 10 performers in the AA state championship. Speaking of XC, A state champ Noah Curtin ran what might have been his first meet of the season for Mercyhurst, dropping a 4:40 and taking 9^th.

Ben Littman won the gold in the 3k dropping a 9:20. He bested Seneca Valley’s Seth Ketler (9:26) and Norwin’s Matt O’Neill 9:26. O’Neill may have been on double duty after a sub 4:40 mile performance. State medalist Amadou Diallo was also under 9:30.

Indiana Area dropped an 8:30 to win the 4x8. They’ve done a really nice job with the relays and seem to be putting a lot of focus into dropping a nice time. Hopefully they get the chance for some competition at one of the big championship meets (North Allegheny? Seneca?) and maybe they can dip under 8:20. Meanwhile, if you were wondering where Butler top 50 XC finishers Noah Beveridge and Brett Brady were during all the individual festivities, they were busy with the gold medal DMR. Butler dropped an 11:03.46. Seems like we could see them take another shot at this relay down the stretch. Keep in mind schools like Seneca Valley (sub 11), Winchester Thurston (lots of pieces, great time last year), South Fayette (Snodgrass-Pfeil) and more could run awesome DMRs if they get after it. Hopefully we see a loaded one down the stretch like the 4x8. We’ll see where the West wants to focus.

TFCAofGP Meet #7

Division I

Alright east coast fans, you can stop protesting against me and tune in. I’ve moved on to the Philly Area meet of the week. We were back at Glenn Mills for another exciting meet. In the 800, sophomore Collin Ochs continues to prove himself as a name you gotta know for 2017 and beyond. The youngster ran a 2:03.23 to defeat a couple 4x8 phenomes in Cameron Mitchell (2:03.60) from Abington and Dennis Manyeah (2:05.46) of Penn Wood. Ochs and teammate Evan Kutney make up a dynamite 1-2 start for a potential 4x8 in the future at South.

Souderton’s Joe Breen continues to have a fantastic season. He easily ran away with the mile title, running 4:37 to defeat Upper Dublin’s Ben Brugger and CR South’s Gavin Ricchini (they both ran 4:49). Like I’ve said before, you may not know Breen’s name because of his proximity to Connor McMenamin, but he’s a monster. He’s had a couple nice performances and could potentially pop something quick at the end of the season (similar to McMenamin last year honestly) and make a run at a SQG.

Evan Hutton of William Tennent picked up a season best in the 3k with a 9:17.37. CR South posted another top 3 finish (Ian Welborn was 3^rd) and LaSalle apparently still has good dudes left who didn’t go to Ocean Breeze. Greg Galbreath ran 9:28 for second in the 3k and his teammates left with DMR golds. Neshaminy was the 4x8 winners in 8:39.

Division II

I’m running out of nice things to say about Rustin’s Brandon Hontz, but I’ll give it a shot anyway. Hontz dropped a big time 4:33 to win the mile over a formidable opponent in Peter Cooke (4:40) but a solid margin. For Hontz it’s yet another big win in a smaller meet setting. He’s just a consistent performer. No matter where he shows up, you know he is going to run hard and put up a good time. I’m rooting for him and hoping that maybe that Rustin squad can snag a DMR spot before all is said and done.

Bishop Shanahan’s Josh Hoey wasn’t the only gold medal winner this weekend. How about Jonathan McGrory’s season? He’s quietly doing an awesome job representing the team and he posted a 9:26 for gold in this one. It’s probably too early to be talking XC, but I will mention that McGrory, Yoquinto, both Hoeys and Jack Ettien are all going to be around next year as well. Just saying, if they decide to pursue it, it could be interesting.

In a good old fashion West Chester duel, East beat Rustin 11:32-11:34. Ches-mont competitors Great Valley were 3^rd in 11:49. Gotta imagine that was a fun one for all involved. Maybe not the fastest times, but sometimes the rivalries and the competitive fires make up for that stuff. Congrats to East for sneaking out the win.

CSU Run at the Rec #2

Apparently there have been two of these? I’m not sure I ever discussed #1 so my apologies. But #2 had some real good stuff. North Pocono took 1-2 in the 800 finish as Randy Bocan and David Hanes ran 2;05 and 2:06 to get the victories. Hanes also ran an 8:59 for 3k to get the runaway gold. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that’s actually faster than teammate Matt Kravitz ran last indoor season. For those who don’t remember (it was a bit of a shocker), Kravitz won the outdoor state title in the 3200. Just throwing that out there.

That’s all for now. Ocean Breeze, Susquehanna and New Balance Grand Prix to come tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Oh and one more quick thing. If you haven’t yet, you should definitely check out “The Commit”, a group of posts that our own Garrett Zatlin has been working hard on. He interviewed Nick Dahl a little ways back about Yale and now is talking to a Division 3 man (shout out D3) in Matt D’Aquila who is headed to Middlebury next fall. Both kids clearly are super smart, dedicate runners and great teammates! Any school would be lucky to have them.

The Commit: Matt D'Aquila

By: Garrett Zatlin

The next runner in "The Commit" series is Lower Merion senior Matt D'Aquila! Matt is one of the top long-distance runners in the state who has made great improvements over the past few seasons.  We can't thank Matt enough for his time and we hope you guys enjoy!

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Garrett: Before we begin talking about college, I would like to take a step back and look at your past cross country season. You had an outstanding fall where you placed 5^th individually in District 1 and then medaled at States by placing 20^th. What did you do in your training to get yourself to that next level of fitness?

Matt D'Aquila: Starting summer practices with the team in late June, I knew I needed to start off slowly if I were to run my best in October and November. To peak at the right time, I focused on building a base in the summer and worrying about workouts when training camp came around. Moreover, getting into the pool was essential, and I thank my coach for facilitating this. Without the extra pounding, I was able to amass an extra 90 to 120 minutes of supplemental cardio a week. It was also very important that my co-captains and I held 4 voluntary practices a week throughout June and July to make sure guys were keeping up with their miles. These practices were great for building team unity and camaraderie, which defines what LMXC is all about.

G: Staying with cross country, there was a lot of debate surrounding which teams would make it out of District 1 (and Lower Merion was in that discussion). What was the mindset for you and your teammates as you toed the line at districts? What was the reaction from you and your teammates when you found out that you guys had made it to states as a team?

MD: Making States as a team had been on our minds since the 2015 XC District meet where we tied for 12^th as a team. So naturally we had established this as a top goal going into the season; and let’s just say it was a goal we were all dead set on accomplishing. At Districts this past year, the V-squad was all ready to have the races of our lives and finish with “no regrets.” We were to stick with the race plan we had been following all season. This was to go out smart and get into the passing lane in the 2^nd and 3^rd miles of the race. At the finish, we knew we had left it all out on the course. In the dreadful minutes that came between the finish and hearing about our placement, Ethan Boyer, one of our more spirited Varsity guys eagerly checked Penntrack non-stop for the results. When he announced that we got 4^th in the District it was surreal; all of our hard work had finally paid off at the most pivotal meet of our careers.

G: Let’s move away from cross country and talk about last year’s indoor track season. Last winter you put together a string of solid 3k’s and eventually ended up with a PR of 9:00.00. Unfortunately, that was a few spots off from indoor state qualifying. In the end, only 13 runners ran the 3k at states*. Do you think the PTFCA should consider expanding the number of state entries for the 3k field? If so, by how many?

*The entry cutoff for the 3000 metes is 12 runners. However, both Henry Sappey and Seth Slavin tied for the 12^th spot with the same exact time.

MD: Yes. The 3k is a race that can accommodate more runners than other, shorter races. Since every year PA sees a large number of State qualifiers in this event, it’s doesn’t really make sense that there’d be a qualifying time that keeps out top runners unless they rank in the top 12 in PA. We could definitely see an expansion to allow for up to 20 3k qualifiers, the same number as the mile, all the while doing away with the time standard altogether.

G: Later that spring, you were able to run 9:21 at the District 1 championships and earn the final spot to Shippensburg. Did missing out on the 3k during indoors provide any extra motivation in the spring?

MD: While it was definitely disappointing missing out on the Indoor State Meet last year, I took some down time in my training so that I could refocus my attention immediately to spring track. The end of my indoor season certainly motivated me to do even better in the spring. Even though the spring track season would be sort of touch- and- go due to nagging shin pain, I stuck it out and made sure I’d get to Shippensburg. By the time the District meet rolled along, I knew that I had done the training and would be able to finally drop below the 9:30 mark in the 3200m race. Little did I know; I’d be the last qualifier in a time 10 seconds faster than the SQS. I think it’s pretty crazy that 12 guys hit the standard very convincingly and yet District 1 is only allowed 8 total qualifiers. Perhaps this fact peeves me more than the state qualification set up for the indoor 3k!

G: What can we expect from you and your teammates for the rest of the current winter season?

MD: The LM squad is really using its XC momentum to accomplish some pretty big relay goals this winter. Our top priority right now is to qualify a DMR and 4x8 relay to States. I plan running in both of those relays as we try to dip under the SQS in these two, always competitive events. Our individual events have currently taken a back seat. I think the team’s depth is our most pivotal asset right now. We have a lot of good mid distance guys, who were not top 7 XC guys, being trained by LM alum Neal Berman. This should help us with the faster legs of our relays. The ultimate goal is to secure as many medals as possible at States, so we will focus on the events that will be the most likely to get us to that goal.

G: Now that we have that covered, let’s move to your college decision. Where will you be continuing your academic and athletic career? Have you declared your major?

MD: I will be attending Middlebury College in Vermont this fall and running XC, indoor and outdoor track. While I have not yet declared a major I plan on studying International Relations and French. 

G: What were some of the other schools that you were considering? What made Middlebury stand out from the rest?

MD: This past Fall I took overnight visits to Wesleyan, Tufts, Brown, Dartmouth and Middlebury. What stood out most to me at Middlebury was the strong team culture and the academic balance. All of the schools I visited were terrific, but I just knew deep down that Middlebury was special. The fact that I will have the ability to craft an interesting double major and be encouraged to take rigorous courses in the humanities all really appealed to me. There is a lot of opportunity to go far both academically and athletically. At Middlebury, on the athletic side of things, there’s an awesome team environment, great coaches, phenomenal running trails and a state of the art indoor track facility (all of which made a difference as I was making my college decision). Furthermore, I was really leaning towards the NESCAC (The New England Small College Athletic Conference) schools from the get-go since the member institutions (Middlebury included) all have stellar academic and athletic programs. NESCAC is always competitive in track and XC nationally in D3 and I would really feel comfortable competing against similar schools to Middlebury.

G: What was the hardest part about going through the college selection process?

MD: There are so many great academic institutions that also have fantastic track/XC programs, let alone in the liberal arts realm, so culling a list was challenging. For any runners out there starting to look at colleges, I recommend filling out “recruiting forms” on schools’ XC webpages. I probably did this for over 10 schools to start out, which was very helpful with getting in contact with coaches and learning more about the running programs. While this sometimes prompts correspondence from coaches, there are instances where it’s necessary to keep updating the recruiting forms with new PRs and standardized test scores. Admittedly, these forms were a little time consuming although they were definitely helpful in getting noticed by coaches.

G: I noticed that Lower Merion alum Jon Perlman is on the Middlebury roster. Did the Lower Merion connection with Perlman influence your decision at all?

MD: The NESCAC schools were already on my radar, and I have known for a long time about Middlebury’s stellar French program. Although Jon represents well what it means to be a Middlebury student-athlete, this fact didn’t influence my final college decision. He did however host me on my recruiting visit and gave me good insight into the track/XC program. I could easily relate to how Jon has transitioned to the college level having been part of the same high school program. I definitely look forward for us to be teammates again.

G: Have you talked to the coach at all about what your future training might look like? What kind of changes can you expect in terms of mileage?

MD: One thing that I really liked about the Middlebury program was the individualized training plan that would help me transition into my freshman year. Since the men’s XC and distance squad is capped at just 25, coaches Wilkerson and Schilit have time to focus on each of their runners individually, based on where they’ve come from in high school training. My high school program’s mileage is in the 40 to 50-mile a week range. Since I am not yet accustomed to a high-mileage program, I anticipate getting a summer training plan that will steadily allow me to increase my mileage. I wouldn’t be surprised if, by my senior year in college, my weekly mileage is doubled.

G: Despite an undergraduate enrollment of just 2500 students, the Middlebury program has displayed some respectable depth and has even made appearances in the Division 3 NCAA championships. Did this mix of strong athletics at a smaller school appeal to you?

MD: Absolutely! I found that a small school with fantastic athletic facilities like Middlebury’s were two very key components in my decision. I was blown away on my visit by the quality of the indoor track facility, along with the pool, weight room, and team locker room. Additionally, the fact that Middlebury is in a rural environment with an abundance of trails and mountains in every direction, means that I will have plenty of places to train. Contrasting this with my current running environment at Lower Merion High (which is in a dense area, with few soft surface running routes), being in a rural area should lend itself well to higher mileage and better, more consistent training.

G: What goals do you have for your collegiate career? What is the legacy you would like to establish while at Middlebury?

MD: Middlebury has been consistent lately in making the NCAA XC National Championship, and I want to do whatever I can to continue this momentum and further improve the team. My dream goal is to be on a national champion XC team by my senior year. On the track, I hope to run the 3k, 5k and 10k. Individually I would love to see how far I can get within the NESCAC and maybe even becoming a D3 All-American. My main focus, by the end of my career, is to do whatever I can to contribute to the success of the Middlebury men’s program.

G: Any shoutouts?

MD: I’d like to give a huge shoutout to my coaches at Lower Merion! Coaches David Van Houten (DVH) and Meg Capewell have encouraged my growth from an out-of-shape freshman to a senior team captain. Both have influenced me as a runner and as a person in different yet profound ways. I appreciate that they saw potential in me, and have displayed a commitment to the LM running program and the sport of running that can only be described as inspirational. Also, a quick shoutout to Neal Berman (LM ’09) who has been an awesome role-model and coach since he came onboard in 2016. We did a lot of summer running together and I’m extremely grateful for all of his encouragement along the way. Finally, shoutout to the senior varsity runners: fellow co-captains Teddy Neckowicz and Evan Hassman, along with David Vonderheide and Ethan Boyer. The team wouldn’t be what it is today without these guys’ leadership and hard work.