But back to PA! We are one week out from opening weekend! I can not wait. This is my favorite time of the year, as some guys shake off the rust from soccer, and others try and adjust from the grueling mileage of XC. I can't wait to see what goes down at Ursinus and other places next weekend. If we get some early meet entries I will absolutely be giving some thoughts in a preview. Now on to our next event preview for the season!
Although every distance event from last year crowned a senior as champion, the 3000 will likely see the most new faces this year. In an event that only accepts 12 athletes, the top 6 finishers were all seniors, and there are only four returners from the entire race. I've mentioned this frequently during XC, but PA has been in unknown territory. For the first time in at least 5 years, we haven't had a seemingly generational talent making their way through the ranks.
But of course, that can never end up being the case.
If we thought Zach Kinne's dominant presence was felt during XC, then we should prepare ourselves for what the Duke commit has in store for us on the track. The Illinois transfer has electric PR's of 4:14 and 9:03 that simply outclass anyone else in our state. Both times would have won him a state championship last year, notably over Rusty Kujdych, while Kinne would have only been a junior. Am I saying Kinne would've stolen both the indoor and outdoor titles from Kujdych last year? Likely not. Does it give perspective on how good Kinne was as just a junior? I like to think so. Last year, fans of the sport debated over whether or not we would see the 3k indoor state record go down. I'm not sure there will be anyone in PA to push Kinne to this state record, but he could absolutely get this at nationals or another regional-type meet.
Naturally, we still have the rest of the PA landscape to discuss though. Despite all the big names you hear tossed around when it comes to PA distance running, I think many would be surprised to hear that Manheim Township's Ian Miller is the top returner in this race from last year, while, Chayce Macknair is the fastest returner by time from the 2017-2018 season. Both of these guys have incredible training partners next to them (Harris for Macknair, Dorenkamp for Miller) that will not only push them, but could also make impacts themselves.
Another obvious name is Kinne's training partner in Dan McGoey. While he has had success on the track before, he hasn't quite been able to translate his XC dominance over to the oval yet. If training with Kinne is what helps things click for him, this could be another deadly duo in the track medals at PSU. Don't forget that McGoey's older brother Matt was state champ in the 3k his senior year.
The remaining sub-9 returners from last fall include Patrick Theveny, Jack Miller, and Jason Cornelison. All 3 of these guys will be interesting to follow. I think Theveny and Cornelison both had higher expectations for their respective XC seasons, and will likely come into the indoor season fired up. On the other hand, Miller is coming off of a dream season. However, like McGoey, Miller hasn't quite found that magic spark in track like he has in XC. It'll be interesting to see what path Miller takes this season, as he opted to run in the mile indoor last year, but medaled in the 3200 outdoor last spring in AA.
As there always seems to be, there is a host of Pittsburgher's capable of throwing down some quick 3k's. Christian Fitch ran 9:01 last year, and had an absurdly good XC season that was completely overshadowed by the NA boys and Anderson. Josh Lewis made a brief appearance indoor last year, popping off a 9:09 at one of the TSTCA meets. He too, could definitely surprise some people after an overall great XC season. It should also go without saying that once his XC season is over, if Patrick Anderson chooses to take a stab at a 3k, he could drop an 8:40's type mark.
Sticking with the western PA kids, a big sleeper for me is Aden Dressler of Butler. He ran 9:15 last year, and will be taking over the distance helm at Butler this season. While he obviously isn't Beveridge, the kid has some clear talent, and I'm sure that having that kind of exposure to an elite talent can only be beneficial.
Two big question mark kids for me are Josh Lewin and Cole Walker. The two Chesmont league juniors both have very solid 3200 PR's (Lewin-9:31, Walker-9:29), and could both absolutely contend for a medal in this wide open field. However, we have yet to see Lewin indoor in his career, and we typically don't see much of Unionville during the indoor season.
The crop of Dwest and LaSalle guys are all great names to watch in this field. Sewall, Maher, and Koors all have sub 9:10 PR's to their names. If either of these teams choose not to pursue the relays, they could end up making up half of the 3k field.
Some deep sleepers to watch are Andrew Foster, Domenic Moser, Tyler Clifford, Noah Demis, and while he may not be much of a sleeper anymore, Christian McComb.
Check back in this week for the Mile and 4x800 previews! Its finals week, so things might be crammed, but I promise I'll do my best to give the people what they want!
-The RunningHub
Great Preview! Hopefully we can get some more comment activity going. Can't sleep on Tyler Wirth. Not sure what he will focus on indoor but its hard not to like his chances seeing his XC season. Also Kutney from CR South could be a sleeper. He has run 9:14 and had an excellent XC season.
ReplyDeleteI agree on Kutney, he went from something like 16:42 at Districts junior year to sub 16 this year. That's massive junior to senior improvement.
DeleteI'm just really excited for the season to start. Barring injury I predict Kinne wins states in 8:36
ReplyDeleteAnyone have predictions for Anderson at Footlocker?
ReplyDeleteI think top 20 on a good day. He's just doesn't have the firepower of some of those top gius, he's no Brophy
Delete32nd. Dudes a great runner but its so hard to keep a peak this long
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