Like Clockwork, Ocean Breeze Shakes Things Up

Every season, since Ocean Breeze opened its doors a few short years ago, the Ocean Breeze Invitational in late January has consistently blown up the PA state rankings. With things taking longer than usual to heat up in PA, many were wondering if this was simply going to be a down year in competition. Foolishly, I was starting to join that collective mindset.

But without fail, a host of Pennsylvanians made the trek up to Staten Island, and wreaked havoc on what we thought were pretty stable state rankings. Most notably, before this weekend, there had been only 6 individuals to have broken 2:00 before this weekend.

There are now 15.

The breakthrough at the very top of the 800 was imminent as well, with only 2 athletes having broke 1:58 before this weekend.

There are now 8.

In all honesty, many of the distance events are still slightly below average, when referencing year-by-year data. Many people are still wondering when we're going to see someone go sub 4:20, or drop a massive 10:20's caliber DMR. Its fair to say that PA is still looking for that performance that puts our state on the radar of everyone nationally. But after this weekend, one thing to me at least, is very clear.

The competition is alive and well headed into February folks.

Ocean Breeze High School Invitational:

800m Red-
If you didn't get the vibe from my intro above, the intention was to convey just how big of a race this was for PA. In a race where the top 18 athletes all broke 2:00, 10 of them were from Pennsylvania. Lets start up top. In an almost exact replica from last year, David Endres pulled out a big time PA #1 1:55.18 to finish 2nd overall. He ran 1:55.05 last year in this same race, and then of course went on to be a state medalist. The question is, can he improve upon that 6th place finish from last year? With the field looking a little thinner up front, if Endres is fresh, he could definitely be in contention to win this thing.

Coming up just short of Endres was Mr. Consistent Matt Eissler from Pennridge, also running 1:55. While some may be surprised that Endres came out on top, the big factor to remember is that Eissler had already split 1:55 earlier that morning! However, although many could make this excuse as for why Endres ran faster, it cannot be forgotten that Eissler is almost guaranteed to have this same double at Penn State, so if Eissler wants his state gold, he's going to have to do it on tired legs.

The next name that we were unsurprised to see up front was Ethan Zeh, the last Pennsylvanian to finish in the top 5, running 1:56.67. Zeh has also established a reputation for being extremely consistent up to this point. With Endres starting to run this well, I think Zeh has a real business decision to make as to whether or not he should run the mile or 800. I think a lot of it depends on his Radnor squad. The DMR/mile double is doable, and the 4x800/800 double is doable, but the other combinations are not too easy. Zeh will definitely be a big name to watch in terms of scratching events.

The biggest performance of the season so far in my opinion was Eric Albright's 1:56.86 from this weekend. When this sophomore broke 2:00 out of nowhere at Lehigh earlier this season, I knew he was good. But to go ahead and run 1:56 as a sophomore indoor is just ridiculous. Dating back all the way to 2013, only 6 other runners have broken 1:57 as a sophomore! Seeing as that Albright is now on a list of names that includes Eissler, Shue, Jonah Hoey, Sam Affolder, Nick Wagner, and John Lewis, this kid is no longer just a diamond in the rough. He has catapulted himself into an elite group of names at a young age, and I'm super excited to see what this kid can do moving forward.

Jarret Zelinsky continues to assert himself as a growing force in the 800, as his 1:57 this weekend helps him cling to his spot in the fast heat at states- for now. Truthfully, I think Zelinsky is someone who could actually benefit from being towards the front of the middle heat, with guys in the 1:56-1:57 wheelhouse pushing each other to a 1:55 ish mark.

A whole host of guys with big relay duties dipped below 2 in this race. Luke Fehrman's 1:57 likely indicates that he'll opt for a 4x8/800 double at states. Brendan Campbell dropped a solid 1:58 in this race, but your guess as to what Haverford is going to do come states is as good as mine. The Twin Valley squad had both Servis (1:57) and Hill (1:59) dip below 2 in this race. The 800/DMR double is possible (Jonah Hoey did it pretty successfully last year) but it is certainly one of the tougher ones in my opinion.

LaSalle had two solid finishes in this race as well with Mac Costonis running 1:59, and Michael Eastmond running 2:00 as the relay pieces start to assemble for the LaSalle army.

Radnor had two other guys run 2:01 in Frank Brown and Luke O'Malley behind Ethan Zeh, so on paper, this relay can run 8 flat with Doug Rosin beintg thrown in there as well.

Joey Power once again just continues to inch closer and closer to that SQS, running 2:00.54.

One Mile Red-
While there wasn't total PA domination in the mile like there was in the 800, we still had an impressive 6 guys dip under 4:30 in this field this weekend. Taking top honors was outdoor state medalist Vincent Twomey, blasting an impressive 4:21.88 to make him the 3rd fastest miler in PA as of now. The other usual suspects were up at the front too, with Jack Miller ripping a huge PR of 4:24. Although some may not be surprised by this (and rightfully so), this is a huge race for Miller. It has been discussed many times how his track resume hasn't matched the caliber of his XC performances, so for him to showcase this type of speed is a dangerous sign. Other District 1 guys in Aidan Tomov and Josh Lewin came away with 4:25's to add to the quickly growing level of depth in the mile field. Lewin has already run 4:24 this year, but the fact that he's developing consistency now is an exciting sign for the likely DMR anchor.

A big race came from Downingtown West's Joe Chamoun. For how dominant Dwest is as a program, they usually don't seem to put a huge emphasis on indoor compared to XC and outdoor. With that being said, a 4:26 for Chamoun is an all-conditions PR for the senior, who, after a tough outing at XC states this past fall, is looking for vengeance. Sewall also ran 4:30 in this same race, which leads to the question as to whether or not Dwest will take a serious stab at a DMR before the season is over with.

LaSalle also got great races from Seiberlich and Ghantous, who ran 4:26 and 4:31. The fact that this squad quietly threw down 4:21/4:26/4:31 and 1:59/2:00 from 5 separate guys shows the potential for just how dangerous this relay could be.

Other guys that just hit the SQS were John Zawislak (4:31), Linus Blatz (4:32), and Nick Rhodes (4:32).

Two Mile Red-
Patrick Theveny dropped a really impressive 9:31 full two mile as the lone Pennsylvanian in the field. Given that its a full two mile, his conversion is looking to be right around 8:49 ish if I'm not mistaken. With this being the case, it would make Theveny the new PA #1 over Foster, with both guys holding a slight edge over Brayden Harris's 8:51 from Kevin Dare, and Zach Leachman's converted 8:50 from TSTCA (we'll get there).

In the two mile "White" section, Joey Litvin ran a solid 9:45, which is just shy of 9 flat. He'll be short of the 12 man field for now, but he is one of the first guys out as of now.

4x8 Red-
I mentioned a week or two ago how despite CB West's solid run at Lavino, I still thought Pennridge was the favorite. They backed that statement up big time with a 8:02 PA #1 as they won the race as well. Dimon and Luke Eissler ran 2:01 splits, with Matt Eissler anchoring in the aforementioned 1:55. With Eissler anchoring, I just don't see any other team that's good enough to beat this squad. After years of seeing PA teams throw down 7:40/7:50 type marks, this 8:02 is more of what us fans are used to.

Despite the fact that I see Pennridge as the clear favorites, I was blown away by Wyomissing's 8:08 in this race. Even though Ben Kuhn has been lights out so far this season, we really hadn't seen much of anything from his supporting cast. For this team to fly so under the radar and then drop the second best time in PA this year really added some excitement to a lackluster 4x8 field.

Haverford continues to improve upon their 4x8, with a solid 8:11. Downingtown West's 8:17 was really impressive if you look at their lineup. Not a single one of the listed guys on their lineup was a varsity runner on their XC team. It is a real testament to the development of their talent. It'll be interesting to see how much damage this relay could actually do if someone like Valderrabano or Chamoun were to hop on it.


Susquehanna University HS Classic:
In the 800, State College's Zachary DeCarmine ran a solid 2:00.33 to win the 800. With the conversion, Decarmine's 1:59.73 puts him in the state qualifying field as of now.

Jack Wisner opened his season with a very solid 4:30 in a runaway victory. Given this was his debut and the Susquehanna track is not all that fast, this is a great showing for the Pitt commit.

In the 3000, we had an epic dual between D3 rivals in Brandan Knepper and Luke Klingenberg, with both guys running 9:04 ad Knepper coming out on top. Like Litvin, these times will make these guys some of the first names out of the 12 man field, but there's obviously still time for them to sneak in.

Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge:
Ok guys, so somebody has to help me out here. For starters, Radnor ran a really solid 8:11 4x8 in this field. So when did this event run? Either Radnor ran this Friday night, and then headed over to Ocean Breeze to run their aforementioned events, or they headed over Saturday night after their races and ran this? Regardless of which of the two scenarios it was, it makes their performances all that much more impressive.

Franklin & Marshall High School Invitational #2:
Andrew Foster flexed his range a week after a PA #1 3200, holding on for the win in the 800 with a solid flat track 2:02. He beat out the junior Riley Klick, who ran 2:03 for 2nd. You might remember the name from when Derin Klick went on a tear his senior year, and eventually ran 1:53. While a 2:03 from a junior isn't anything insane, Riley definitely has some sleeper potential.

We had a great battle between two big name guys in Chayce Macknair and Connor Shields. The two pulled away from a solid field, and both guys were rewarded with flat track 4:27's. I'm pumped about this race for Macknair, who is finally getting some love that doesn't involve running fast behind Brayden Harris. As for Shields, this was his first real test of the season, so to still come away with a narrow 2nd and a 4:27 is still a very solid day. Ian Miler also ran well to run 4:32 for 4th.

In a very similar fashion to the Klingenberg/Knepper battle, Nate Grucelski dueled with Daniel O'Brien (VA) to a 9:04 victory. There is a quickly growing crop of guys in the 9:00-9:05 range who will be fighting for the last few spots in the small states field.

Also to note, Shue ran a 50 point in the open 400 for the win, and Ephrata also ran 8:31 to win the 4x8.


TSTCA Meet #4:
In the first meeting of the big names in western PA, we saw some great battles. The highlighted event of the day was the mile, where state champions and national qualifiers met. In a battle of Powell-Anderson-Kinne, it came out in that order, with Powell running 4:22, Anderson running 4:24, and Kinne finishing in 4:26. All three of these guys were some of the top names in XC, and all made their debut in this race. All three of these guys have sub 4:20 PR's to their name, and all are candidates to compete for state gold. I did expect to see Kinne run a little faster, but nonetheless, all three guys are safely qualified for states with their rust-busters. Cameron Binda and Volk-Klos also ran very well, with both guys running 4:29's respectively.

In the 3000, Zachary Leachman opened up with a huge race, running 8:52 and dropping McGoey in the process. Both guys broke 9, and I would consider both of these guys candidates to compete for the state title. Its hard not to favor these guys given how the Pittsburghers just absolutely dominated the rest of the state in XC. Dalton Kaulbaugh of Shaler had a massive breakthrough race, running 9:00 for 3rd. Up until this meet, he had never really run a fast 3k, and only ran 9:52 in the 3200. The junior now suddenly sits just barely inside the qualifying field. Alex O'Brien adds his name to the mix as well with a 9:01.

Indiana Area ripped an incredible 8:11 4x8, winning by over 30 seconds. This team was a big surprise in XC, and now they're holding strong at PA #3.


After this weekend, we now have a much better understanding of how the state championship fields are going to take shape. With really only two weekends left of racing before the fields are set, it'll be exciting to see how fast those cutoffs end up being! Good luck everyone!

Stay Happy, Stay Healthy
-The RunningHub