PIAA A State Championship Recap

In the most predictable classification of the three male races on Saturday, we still had a race that produced some history and excitement. The pace went out conservatively, with the leaders coming through the 1600 north of 5:00. The top 3 separated themselves right around the 3200, and for a brief moment, it was a Miller versus Healey battle before Jack Miller comfortably pulled away to secure his state title. For all 3 divisions, I thought the finish to the course really benefited both fans and athletes. The long climb parallel to the finish gave fans a better glimpse of the last 800 or so, whereas the rounding turn around the shed gave the leaders an idea of the gap they had before charging down the final straightaway.

After I watched Miller breaked the tape, I turned to see the rest of the top 10 come through. I saw Routledge in 5th or so, and saw Patton and Laudermilch gaining on him. For a brief moment, I thought my upset pick for the podium was holding together. At that point, the team race was comfortably in Jenkintown's favor, and we watched the rest of their scoring 5 come storming down the last 200m, all landing in the medals. It was more than just a great day for the Drakes, it was a historic one.

The Winchester Thurston boys ran really well. Despite Malone fading hard in the last mile, the WT squad still comfortably finished runner up. Even with Malone running well, there was no catching Jenkintown. I thought Bermann ran really well, and I liked that the squad at least went for it. Through the mile, they were within 5 points of Jenkintown. With Jenkintown returning 3 medalists, and Winchester Thurston returning their entire varsity, the question becomes, who is the favorite next fall?

Truthfully, the only team in the top 5 that was senior heavy was Montrose. Penns Valley and Wyalusing both return a solid core of guys to build around as well. It seems like the A division is slowly getting stronger and stronger as these small school programs learn to develop more than just one or two guys.

With all the focus on Jacob Hess in AA stealing the show, CJ Singleton's run should not go unnoticed. His 20th place finish made him the top freshman in A by 33 seconds, over another recognizable name in Matt Woolcock.

I mentioned this in my quick recaps, but I was really impressed with Hessler's run. With that being said though, I feel that Healey didn't get quite enough credit. The junior fell one spot short of a state title to probably one of the top 5 runners in all of Pennsylvania. He has proven to be extremely consistent in the postseason, and was rewarded with a state silver. He'll have his hands full with some guys next year, but Healey will be the favorite looking ahead to 2019. 

Overall, I though the sophomore class stole the show in this race though. 7 guys in the class of 2021 (wow I feel old) had a medal around their neck after the race was over. Granted, 5 of them were either from Jenkintown or Penns Valley, but statistically speaking, that's pretty unusual. Mason Ochs is absolutely a name to watch in the WPIAL as he will be one of the top 3 returners next fall behind Hessler and Routledge.

With minimal blowups in this race, I think most of these results weren't too surprising. Nonetheless, I really had fun kicking off the day with this one.

My two favorite personal races of the day were Christian Tanner and Wayne Reilly. Tanner was 44th at the mile, and finished 9th. Reilly was 113th at the mile, and finished 38th. Tanner's 2nd mile was as fast as the leaders up front (about 2-3 seconds off). Having that much patience and trust in your fitness is rare at the high school level, so kudos to these guys for rocking the middle and later parts of the race.


-The RunningHub