With no premier meet this weekend, we saw a ton of different meets produce some really impressive results this weekend. Some races in the past couple days have really complicated the state qualifying picture for many districts and classifications. Let us jump into the madness!
Big South Championship-
In a dual meet fashion showdown, Chartiers Valley and Ringgold clashed at Mingo Creek Park, with Ringgold coming away victorious, 33-47. Look for Lucas Pajak as a sleeper as we enter the postseason. Ringgold has produced postseason studs in the past like Noah Curtin, so Pajak could make a big jump come the postseason.
The Legends Meet-
While only one PA team competed in the Ohio meet this past weekend, it was a performance worth discussing. PA #5 Mount Lebanon headed out west, and took down some high profile Ohio programs in Louisville and Solon to claim the team title. On an incredibly tough course, Mt. Lebo wasn't even able to keep their scoring 5 all under 18! Nonetheless, this is a big victory for the boys in blue and gold as they continue to try and keep pace with NA and Seneca Valley out in District 7. If Alex Brokaw can continue to move up closer and closer to Anderson, this Mt. Lebo may be even better than we thought as we approach the postseason.
Soudy Twilight Invitational-
I've always thought the idea of having a XC race under the lights would be really damn cool. It's different, and it probably makes for really favorable racing conditions when the sun goes down. In a surprising upset, North Penn took down Central Bucks East for the team title, winning by just six points. These are two squads that I don't quite have locked in for states, but are lurking in the top 10 out in District 1. North Penn is sneaky good, and have been improving steadily throughout the season. However, with that being said, Endres looked really solid finishing runner up overall, and one of the Sands twins opted to run in the JV race, running 17:22 and winning by 40+ seconds. His presence in the varsity race would have swung the scoring in favor of CBE, so they are not a team to be counted out.
Salesianum Invitational-
Down in Delaware, the Carlisle boys tried their best to hang with perennial powerhouse and host school, Salesianum. On one of the well-known hardest courses in the northeast, the Carlisle boys were able to put just three boys under 18, and averaged 17:51 on the course. Jack Wisner ran well to take 3rd overall, as the team settled for 2nd place. In the large school division, Wissahickon took the win with a 18:04 average and a very tight spread.
Ridgway Invitational-
Big surprises on both the team side and the individual side out at this meet! Individually, we saw Ben Hoffman show us a glimpse of his form from last year, as he took the down Carter Kauffman, who has been red hot to kickoff the season. Perhaps the even bigger surprise of the meet, was Smethport upsetting ECC, 91-95. The 5th man woes continue for ECC, who, despite putting 4 in the top 12, couldn't get their 5th man to break 20:45. This is a strong core who just can't overcome an absolutely disastrous drop off to their last scorer. It allowed Smethport, who put all 5 in the top 35, to just eek out the title, led by Christian Tanner's 3rd place finish. I didn't even have Smethport in the top 3 in D9 back in my rankings, yet they came out and toppled all three teams I had ranked above them! This pack is much tighter than I thought, and now it is likely that ECC and Smethport will be the teams to advance to Hershey, which would send both Cranberry and Clarion home.
Grove City Invitational-
In dominating fashion, GC scores just 35 points to win their home meet by nearly fifty points, without Jonah Powell! This team is locked and loaded as they continue their campaign for a state title in AA.
Harbor Creek Dirty Dawg Invitational-
Another meet, another victory for the home team. The boys of HC utilized a 1-2-3 finish to hold off the likes of some pack running A teams like West Middlesex and Seneca. Looked like a pretty easy effort for Starvaggi and Weber out front.
Gettysburg XC Invitational-
In a pretty star-studded individual field, Mifflin County's duo was able to go 1-4, with Brayden Harris picking up the victory, and Chayce Macknair finishing 4th. Finishing between them were seasoned veteran Garrett Baublitz, and emerging D3 star Luke Kingenberg. This looked like a really fun meet to watch individually, and we got some really good team results out of it as well. The D3 schools swept the meet, going 1-2-3. Hershey just snuck away with the team title in a bit of a surprise, defeating Chambersburg by just five points, while Cumberland Valley finished back in 3rd. As of right now, I don't have a single one these three squads moving on to states, which should be a testament of how just how deep District 3 is this year.
Delco XC Championships-
In a really impressive performance, the Haverford Township boys made their statement this past weekend, taking five of the top nine spots in a decent field. With Great Valley struggling this week (which we'll get to), this performance likely slides Haverford into that #2 spot out in District 1. Right now, that 2-7 is so crazy teamiwse, that there are legitimately programs that could finish as runner ups, but also not even make it to Hershey. Penncrest ran decently, but not well enough to truly include them in the qualifying picture moving forward. Individually, although Mike Donnelly picked up the win, I really liked the race from Ethan Zeh. I mentioned him as a sleeper a couple weeks back, and this was a big step forward for him. The 1:54 speedster is only going to excel on a course like Lehigh, so don't be surprised if he finds his way somewhere near the front come districts.
Bill Lennox XC Invitational-
In a battle of some Pittsburgh teams, Butler delivered an impressive performance, putting 5 in the top 20 to easily take down a solid team in Taylor Allderdice. Its a shame, because Butler will likely be sitting out states as a team, barring something crazy, so its nice to see them getting some much deserved attention before they get swallowed up by one of the strongest years in D7 in a long time. Seneca Valley raced their JV team this weekend, so it was a rest week for the top guys before they enter the postseason. Zach Leachman continues to have a quietly stellar season, winning by over 20 seconds.
William Tennent Invitational-
On a course known for being fast/possibly short, we usually see some quick times. With Jack Wisner and Luke Klingenberg headlining the individual race out in D3, the Manheim Township duo of Evan Dorenkamp and Ian Miller threw their names in the conversation after going 1-2 in this meet. Dorenkamp ran 4:23 for a full mile last spring, while Miller snagged a medal indoor last year, finishing 7th in the 3k with an 8:55. These guys both have stellar resumes and each other as training partners, so its not out of the question that one of these two could snag the district title. Coming up just short in 3rd place was Twin Valley's Dylan Servis. This was the race that Twin Valley desperately needed after struggling the past couple weekends. Taking the team title over CR South, they are now alive and well in the District 3 madness. Speaking of CR South, what happened to Collin Ochs? After winning Abington in the early weeks of the season, he has fallen further and further from his teammates. If Ochs was still right around their #1 spot, this would absolutely be a contending squad out of District 1.
Chesmont Championships (Monday):
In debatably the toughest league in the state, we kicked off our week with some of the best teams in PA and in District 1 going at it on Unionville's home course. Unsurprisingly, Downingtown West made light work of the field, using a 33 second time spread, and putting 5 in the top 10 to ultimately win the title with just 32 points against a high caliber field. The surprising results came from behind the Whippets dominant win. With three of D1's qualifying contenders clashing, West Chester East was able to secure 2nd, scoring just 90 points. In an even bigger surprise, Unionville snagged 3rd overall, beating Great Valley by just 2 points to push them back to 4th place. After talking all season about Great Valley being one of the top 8 teams in the state, this was a very disappointing race for them. So the question becomes, is Great Valley no longer safe in qualifying for states? Or was this just a fluke? I think the answer is a mix of both. They have been extremely consistent this fall, and have showed up every weekend, even when down a man. Considering this is their first bad race of the year, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and say they still have the chance to finish 2nd at districts. However, WC East beat them handily in this meet, and they are now a legitimate team threat for 2nd. Throw in the emergence of Haverford, and we've got ourselves a battle behind Dwest. And clearly we can't count out Unionville. They've got a monster top 3 that could just be too hard to overcome at districts. It's crazy to think that we have 4 Chesmont teams that could legitimately all make it to Hershey this year. Look for the D1 rankings this weekend to see exactly how I have them all stacked up going into the postseason...
Individually, I think Christian McComb is the favorite when the 50+ teams converge on Lehigh's course. But Cole Walker is on a mission to prove that its not going to be easy. In what were apparently very muddy conditions, Walker took the title by over 10 seconds against some big time names in Lewin and Sewall. This is a huge confidence booster for Walker, who is actually undefeated this year. I think he is I shape enough to run 15:20's at Lehigh right now (if conditions are normal). The question is, will that be good enough to beat McComb?
As always, thank you for tuning in!
Stay healthy, stay happy
-The RunningHub
Soudy Twilight Invitational-
I've always thought the idea of having a XC race under the lights would be really damn cool. It's different, and it probably makes for really favorable racing conditions when the sun goes down. In a surprising upset, North Penn took down Central Bucks East for the team title, winning by just six points. These are two squads that I don't quite have locked in for states, but are lurking in the top 10 out in District 1. North Penn is sneaky good, and have been improving steadily throughout the season. However, with that being said, Endres looked really solid finishing runner up overall, and one of the Sands twins opted to run in the JV race, running 17:22 and winning by 40+ seconds. His presence in the varsity race would have swung the scoring in favor of CBE, so they are not a team to be counted out.
Salesianum Invitational-
Down in Delaware, the Carlisle boys tried their best to hang with perennial powerhouse and host school, Salesianum. On one of the well-known hardest courses in the northeast, the Carlisle boys were able to put just three boys under 18, and averaged 17:51 on the course. Jack Wisner ran well to take 3rd overall, as the team settled for 2nd place. In the large school division, Wissahickon took the win with a 18:04 average and a very tight spread.
Ridgway Invitational-
Big surprises on both the team side and the individual side out at this meet! Individually, we saw Ben Hoffman show us a glimpse of his form from last year, as he took the down Carter Kauffman, who has been red hot to kickoff the season. Perhaps the even bigger surprise of the meet, was Smethport upsetting ECC, 91-95. The 5th man woes continue for ECC, who, despite putting 4 in the top 12, couldn't get their 5th man to break 20:45. This is a strong core who just can't overcome an absolutely disastrous drop off to their last scorer. It allowed Smethport, who put all 5 in the top 35, to just eek out the title, led by Christian Tanner's 3rd place finish. I didn't even have Smethport in the top 3 in D9 back in my rankings, yet they came out and toppled all three teams I had ranked above them! This pack is much tighter than I thought, and now it is likely that ECC and Smethport will be the teams to advance to Hershey, which would send both Cranberry and Clarion home.
Grove City Invitational-
In dominating fashion, GC scores just 35 points to win their home meet by nearly fifty points, without Jonah Powell! This team is locked and loaded as they continue their campaign for a state title in AA.
Harbor Creek Dirty Dawg Invitational-
Another meet, another victory for the home team. The boys of HC utilized a 1-2-3 finish to hold off the likes of some pack running A teams like West Middlesex and Seneca. Looked like a pretty easy effort for Starvaggi and Weber out front.
Gettysburg XC Invitational-
In a pretty star-studded individual field, Mifflin County's duo was able to go 1-4, with Brayden Harris picking up the victory, and Chayce Macknair finishing 4th. Finishing between them were seasoned veteran Garrett Baublitz, and emerging D3 star Luke Kingenberg. This looked like a really fun meet to watch individually, and we got some really good team results out of it as well. The D3 schools swept the meet, going 1-2-3. Hershey just snuck away with the team title in a bit of a surprise, defeating Chambersburg by just five points, while Cumberland Valley finished back in 3rd. As of right now, I don't have a single one these three squads moving on to states, which should be a testament of how just how deep District 3 is this year.
Delco XC Championships-
In a really impressive performance, the Haverford Township boys made their statement this past weekend, taking five of the top nine spots in a decent field. With Great Valley struggling this week (which we'll get to), this performance likely slides Haverford into that #2 spot out in District 1. Right now, that 2-7 is so crazy teamiwse, that there are legitimately programs that could finish as runner ups, but also not even make it to Hershey. Penncrest ran decently, but not well enough to truly include them in the qualifying picture moving forward. Individually, although Mike Donnelly picked up the win, I really liked the race from Ethan Zeh. I mentioned him as a sleeper a couple weeks back, and this was a big step forward for him. The 1:54 speedster is only going to excel on a course like Lehigh, so don't be surprised if he finds his way somewhere near the front come districts.
Bill Lennox XC Invitational-
In a battle of some Pittsburgh teams, Butler delivered an impressive performance, putting 5 in the top 20 to easily take down a solid team in Taylor Allderdice. Its a shame, because Butler will likely be sitting out states as a team, barring something crazy, so its nice to see them getting some much deserved attention before they get swallowed up by one of the strongest years in D7 in a long time. Seneca Valley raced their JV team this weekend, so it was a rest week for the top guys before they enter the postseason. Zach Leachman continues to have a quietly stellar season, winning by over 20 seconds.
William Tennent Invitational-
On a course known for being fast/possibly short, we usually see some quick times. With Jack Wisner and Luke Klingenberg headlining the individual race out in D3, the Manheim Township duo of Evan Dorenkamp and Ian Miller threw their names in the conversation after going 1-2 in this meet. Dorenkamp ran 4:23 for a full mile last spring, while Miller snagged a medal indoor last year, finishing 7th in the 3k with an 8:55. These guys both have stellar resumes and each other as training partners, so its not out of the question that one of these two could snag the district title. Coming up just short in 3rd place was Twin Valley's Dylan Servis. This was the race that Twin Valley desperately needed after struggling the past couple weekends. Taking the team title over CR South, they are now alive and well in the District 3 madness. Speaking of CR South, what happened to Collin Ochs? After winning Abington in the early weeks of the season, he has fallen further and further from his teammates. If Ochs was still right around their #1 spot, this would absolutely be a contending squad out of District 1.
Chesmont Championships (Monday):
In debatably the toughest league in the state, we kicked off our week with some of the best teams in PA and in District 1 going at it on Unionville's home course. Unsurprisingly, Downingtown West made light work of the field, using a 33 second time spread, and putting 5 in the top 10 to ultimately win the title with just 32 points against a high caliber field. The surprising results came from behind the Whippets dominant win. With three of D1's qualifying contenders clashing, West Chester East was able to secure 2nd, scoring just 90 points. In an even bigger surprise, Unionville snagged 3rd overall, beating Great Valley by just 2 points to push them back to 4th place. After talking all season about Great Valley being one of the top 8 teams in the state, this was a very disappointing race for them. So the question becomes, is Great Valley no longer safe in qualifying for states? Or was this just a fluke? I think the answer is a mix of both. They have been extremely consistent this fall, and have showed up every weekend, even when down a man. Considering this is their first bad race of the year, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and say they still have the chance to finish 2nd at districts. However, WC East beat them handily in this meet, and they are now a legitimate team threat for 2nd. Throw in the emergence of Haverford, and we've got ourselves a battle behind Dwest. And clearly we can't count out Unionville. They've got a monster top 3 that could just be too hard to overcome at districts. It's crazy to think that we have 4 Chesmont teams that could legitimately all make it to Hershey this year. Look for the D1 rankings this weekend to see exactly how I have them all stacked up going into the postseason...
Individually, I think Christian McComb is the favorite when the 50+ teams converge on Lehigh's course. But Cole Walker is on a mission to prove that its not going to be easy. In what were apparently very muddy conditions, Walker took the title by over 10 seconds against some big time names in Lewin and Sewall. This is a huge confidence booster for Walker, who is actually undefeated this year. I think he is I shape enough to run 15:20's at Lehigh right now (if conditions are normal). The question is, will that be good enough to beat McComb?
As always, thank you for tuning in!
Stay healthy, stay happy
-The RunningHub
Really curious to see how you have District 1 stacked up right now.
ReplyDeleteChesmonts sent 4 teams to states before, in 2012. It's definitely the toughest league over the last 10 years.
ReplyDeleteHaverford is the real deal.
ReplyDelete