Track is Heating Up the Holidays!

Hello everyone! Merry Christmas, and happy holidays. While we're here to discuss the latest action surrounding the meets from this past weekend (as well as Burdette yesterday), I hope all of you have enjoyed spending time with family, reflecting on your year, and having time away from academics. However, some individuals’ relaxation time was short-lived, as Burdette unfortunately fell on the day after Christmas (which we'll get to). It is hard to believe that we are almost in January, meaning winter is finally in full swing. Lets take a look at some of our big performances from the past week!

Ursinus College Holiday High School Open:

In a meet that was largely dominated by out of state schools, PA still brought some impressive performances to the track that hosted opening weekend two weeks ago.

While the 800 was mostly NJ and MD kids, Pottsgrove's Simon Keen held his own for 3rd, running 2:04.52. Keen ran 2:01 last spring, and while it may sound like I'm beating a dead horse, he increases the list of guys that have the potential to dip down to that 2:00/2:02 range for state qualifying. Also to note, Bishop Shanahan's Ryan Doherty ran 2:05.33 for fifth. I think its nice to see the program still developing new guys even after a large majority of the team's talent has graduated. While it is highly unlikely, Doherty did run 4:37 last spring, meaning this team could have relay potential...

In the stacked event of the day, Sam Keeny (MD) outlasted PA's emerging stud, Ben Kuhn, 4:26.33 to 4:26.96. While many already know who Kuhn is, I call him an emerging star because he is absolutely taking it to another level to start off the indoor season. With only two performances this year, and those two races being 9:02/4:26, Kuhn debatably has had the hottest start to the season alongside Aidan Tomov. Last week, I had no doubt in my mind that Kuhn would be one of the 12 guys on the line for the 3k at states. However, after this early season 4:26, the question becomes, what event will Kuhn opt to run at Penn State?

Behind Kuhn, Josh Lewin made his individual indoor debut with a 4:34 for 3rd. Although some may have expected something a little quicker for the West Chester East phenom, his inexperience of training during this time of year will likely cause him to take longer to develop his peak fitness. Have no doubt, Lewin will be a threat to all of PA over the next two months.

Rounding out the top 5 in this deep field were Robert DiDonato and Mike Donnelly. I am VERY excited to see what DiDonato does this year. This was his indoor debut, which follows his unbelievable debut XC season from this fall, where he stole the Independent League (Private School State Championship) title from Jeffrey Love. DiDonato ran 4:37 here as just a sophomore. Truly, I have no idea what event he'd be best off running, but you'd have to think that he could run something pretty dang solid in the 3k. XC state medalist Mike Donnelly came in 5th with a 4:40. Its a slight improvement from his 4:43 at Ocean Breeze where his Haverford team cleaned up last week. I think Donnelly's best event is also the 3k, though it will be interesting to see where Haverford assigns their guys on relays, as they are quickly a growing threat for the team title at states.

Also to note, Davis Piercy of Kennett ran 4:44 in this race, as he was a state qualifier last year.

In the 3000, it was all about the Haverford boys, finishing 1st-3rd-5th, led by Aidan Tomov's 9:09 victory. I spent a lot of time talking about how impressive his 1000 was at Ocean Breeze was, and now here he is, blowing away a field in the 3k. I think at this point, Tomov is racing everything around his best event, and soon, he is going to blow us away with a mile. I don't know when or where, but watch for a 4:21 or faster from Tomov in the coming weeks. As with Donnelly, Josh Fingerhut and Brendan Campbell both ran well considering the 3000 isn't their best event. Liberty's Darlyn Fermin ran well for 2nd, finishing in 9:21.

A pleasant surprise in this meet was Perkiomen Valley picking up the win in the DMR with an 11:14. They were likely led by Tyler Clifford on the anchor, who quietly had an incredibly solid XC season.

TFCAofGP Meet #2: 

In the second installment of our weekend Lehigh meets, it appears the two divisions were combined for this meet, meaning we got some more competitive races.

The deepest event of the day was probably the 800. We saw our first sub 2 performance, and unsurprisingly, it came from Council Rock South's Collin Ochs. His 1:58.1 on Lehigh's track for this time of year is very impressive. Ochs was a state qualifier indoor last year, but didn't really attract any attention until he suddenly found himself on the medal stand in the spring, with a new 1:54 PR. He has emerged as a favorite rather quickly, so while some may not believe the hype quite yet, there is no doubt that Ochs is amongst the elite 800 runners in Pennsylvania right now.

Another emerging star is Holy Ghost Prep's Jarett Zelinsky. Like Ochs, he was a state qualifier indoor last year, but quietly ran his race in the slowest of the three heats. Zelinsky went on to run 1:58 outdoor, so while he might not be as big of a name as Ochs, he is another guy who has state level experience and could be a deep sleeper for a medal this year.

An interesting name to watch from this race would be Chester's Malachi Langley, who ran 2:02 for 3rd. Chester has done a great job of slowly transitioning their sprinting powerhouse into a middle distance program. Lamaj Curry broke through and made it into the middle heat at states last year, and I think Langley could have a similar trajectory if he finds the right race. Another situation you could say the same exact thing for would be Kylan Willis of Cheltenham, who also ran 2:02 in this race.

In the mile, it was more of the same thing. Christian McComb drops another solid mark of 4:30 en route to victory. After his 9:09 last week, Saabir Ali continues his hot start to his season, giving McComb a slight push as he runs 4:34 for 2nd. Hermann ran 4:41 to finish 4th in this race. Hopefully he's just regaining fitness from being sick or injured, because at this point last year, he had already opened up in the mid 4:30's.

The 3000 was incredibly deep this past Saturday. In a deep race that had well over 5 guys contending for the win, Ethan Saville of Pennridge prevailed, taking the win in 9:18 over some really solid guys. Saville had a great XC season in which he broke 16, and is now adding his name to the Pennridge powerhouse. It would be interesting to see what would happen if Saville were able to make the 3k field, as I'm not sure what Pennridge's plans for states will be (they're sub 11 in the DMR and 8:15 in the 4x8). After a big mile at Ocean Breeze the previous week, Matt Varghese punched his ticket to MOC with a 9:20 and 2nd place finish in this race. Personally, I think Varghese has more to give in XC that we didn't see this year, and I think its starting to come out in the beginnings of his indoor season.

A host of SOL guys rounded out the top 5. McManus of CB East ran a solid 9:26 for 3rd, while Comber and Sears ran 9:27's for 4th and 5th. It should go without saying, but obviously, watch for the development of Devon Comber. The sophomore had a great XC season, and his older brother is fresh off of being an All-American at NCAA's for Villanova. I know those are big shoes to fill, but seeing what Devon is doing as only a sophomore shows me he is going to be star soon enough. Also, while Blatz didn't have his best race here, don't forget that he ran 9:31 3200 last spring.

Danny Ling impressively won the first heat, solo'ing his way to a 9:32.

Bensalem took the win in the 4x8, running a solid 8:28 that likely had Dabi Chanez contributing a solid split. Central Bucks East and Downingtown East also dipped below the 8:36 MOC qualifying time too.

A pretty huge result came from the DMR. Twin Valley dropped a PA #1 10:54 for the win over Council Rock South's solid 11:03. Before I get to Twin Valley, my big question would have to be whether or not this relay had Ochs on it, seeing that he ran the 800, because I know the TFCAofGP often does not allow athletes to double at their association meets. If CRS ran an 11:03 without Ochs, then truthfully, this might be one of the best performances in PA so far. Back to Twin Valley though. Well, I suppose I'm an idiot for saying this is a 4x8 team, not a DMR squad. While I still believe there is some truth to this, this was a big statement for the boys in green. After a rough performance last week, Servis likely had a great anchor leg, and while I'd imagine Hill ran the 1200 and Schlegel ran the 800. Regardless, these guys stepped up big. The crazy part is, this time likely still won't get them into states, so I'm excited to see if these guys can get on a bigger stage or a banked track to try and dip into the low 10:40's.

Franklin & Marshall High School Invitational #1:

In another meet that saw many talented out of state guys, our PA kids still had some truly impressive races. In the 800, Spring Ford's Joey Power ran 2:01 for 2nd. Although Spring Ford graduated the core of their team last year, they still have great pieces in Power and Zawislak that will make for a great relay (which we'll get to). Spring Ford has produced some solid 800 marks from guys like Milan Sharma and Zachary Smith, but there hasn't been a sub 1:57 stud to come through in a decent while. I think Joey, who is a bit more of a speed type guy than his older brother Paul was, has the chance to be that breakthrough middle distance stud for this program.

The 1600 ended up being super tight up front, with 4:22/1:55 stud Connor Shields taking the win in 4:33. Shields has one of the best resumes in Pennsylvania this year, and after a breakthrough spring, is likely out for vengeance after he finished in the dreaded 9th place at indoor states last year. Until we see a more impressive mark from Shields I'm not ready to consider him one of the favorites, but his resume certainly suggests he might be. Zawislak added to Spring Ford's solid day with a 4:36, and its really easy to forget that this kid is just a sophomore. Senior Jake Barrett of Cedar Crest also ran a solid 4:36, while Jakolby Fackler ran 4:37 fresh off a great XC season. Warwick showed their relay potential off as well with Noah Martin adding another sub 4:40 behind Shields with a 4:38.

The 3000 came down to a finishing kick in which Ephrata's Andrew Foster held off a doubling Jakolby Fackler, 9:13-9:14. I think Foster and Shue could combine to make a great DMR, but they did lose the other pieces from their Championship of America 4x8 last year. Also, while Zawislak ran great, don't let this performance from Fackler go unnoticed. A 4:37/9:14 double for a sophomore in December is ridiculously good.

Dickinson College HS Holiday Invitational:

Let it be known that of all the meets we've recapped so far, Dickinson is probably the slowest track. It may not be as bad as a Glen Mills or Kutztown, but it is a very cramped facility that I would say is a slight step down from Ursinus, Lehigh, and F&M.

In a surprising twist, Quaker Valley's XC stud Daniel Ford dropped down to the 800, and ran away victorious with a 2:03. To me, this is a scary result. Ford has only ever run 2:06. and doesn't seemingly have much of a middle distance background. For him to come in and dominate this 800 tells me he might be ready to drop a very quick mile. Elias Zajicek only ran 2:05 in this race, but he was doubling off the mile, and is a 2:01 guy who might be ready to make that push for sub 2 if he can progress well this season.

The 1600 wasn't lightning quick, but it was big win for State College's Joe Messner in 4:41. As State College tries to rebuild their national caliber middle distance program, this isn't exactly a 7:40 4x8, but it is a step in the right direction. Messner is a 2:03 kid who is building his strength as he tries to become another crucial piece to a relay for the Little Lions. He outlasted the aforementioned Zajicek, who ran 4:44 for 2nd.

The best race in probably all of PA's indoor season took place at this meet. The 3200 at Dickinson was FAST. In a battle between Mifflin County and State College, Mifflin County's Brayden Harris, one of the best distance runners in the state, ran an absolutely incredible 9:32 for the win. Given the venue and time of year, this is undoubtedly the best performance of the year so far. While I don't know the exact conversion, I'm fairly certain this converts to around an 8:53/8:54. This is the first sub 9 performance of the year, and punches Harris' ticket to states. Not to be thrown out of the spotlight, his teammate Chayce Macknair threw down a 9:46 3200 as well. Macknair's time converts to about a 9:06/9:07 if I'm correct. While this won't get him into the state field quite yet, that's still the 4th fastest time in PA behind Harris, Kuhn, and Theveny. I still really liked the performance from the State College duo in this race. Juniors David Gluckman and Ben St. Pierre ran 9:50 and 10:03 to finish 3rd and 4th respectively. While these times aren't as mind-blowing, these guys were frankly two lesser known names within the State College army. For a "lesser known" guy like Gluckman to go run a 9:09/9:10 converted 3k shows just how dangerous this State College team can be.

Adding to the Mifflin County craziness, they ran a 8:26 4x8 that likely had 1:55 man Seth Phillips contributing a strong leg. That's good enough for PA #3 right now.

Robert J Burdette Indoor Classic:

The day after Christmas, I suppose there are many factors that could come into play, so credit is given to those who stayed focused and came out and delivered with strong performances.

We saw a great race in the DMR. The aforementioned Spring Ford boys came out hot, with Joey Power blowing away the field on the 1200 leg, giving the Rams a big early cushion. However, in a huge upset, Zawislak's best efforts fell slightly short to a monstrous kick from Central Bucks South, and the likely anchor leg Gavin Campbell. When I saw that CB South won this race with a 10:57, I was pretty shocked to be honest. However, when you go look at this roster, CB South quietly has amassed a strong group of youngsters. Junior Gavin Campbell ran 4:36 last spring, while fellow classmates Jared Fenessy and Owen Moelter ran 2:00 and 2:02 last spring as well. There are plenty of pieces for this relay, and all of a sudden, they're in the mix for state qualifying. Big shoutout to this squad. As for Spring Ford, I still think they have a very high ceiling. Zawislak is young, and the anchor leg of a DMR can come with many complexities. Power ran unopposed and likely has more to give when pushed. While I don't think Spring Ford will match their epic 10:21 from last year, don't forget about this squad just because they lost this race.

Keeping the impressive relay performances coming, we finally saw our first big time in the 4x8. The Pennridge boys delivered a dominant 8:15 PA #1, US #9 (flat track conversion) race. In all likelihood, Luke Eissler and Andersen Dimon gave the relay enough of a lead that Eissler might not have even gone 100%. With CB West's relay dominance coming to an end, its hard not to think that this experienced Pennridge squad isn't the favorite for the 4x8 this year. Matt Eissler is probably the most experienced doubler in PA, having juggled relay duties alongside his multiple state medals throughout practically his entire career.

I also liked Penncrest's 8:30 for 2nd place. They don't have any big studs or any guys that are really even sub 2:05, meaning this was a really balanced effort. My guess is this relay had guys like Narbus, Woolery, and Abahazy, who are all 2:07-2:10 guys. Anytime you have a relay this balanced, there is a ton of room for improvement, so keep an eye on the growth of this relay.

Speaking of Penncrest, it was all Patrick Theveny in a small 3k field. The 10th place finisher from last year's state championships stormed his to a PA #3 9:03. Considering the fact that he won by over 20 seconds, Theveny is clearly looking fit enough to crush his 8:55 PR from last year and challenge for a state medal. Sam Karstonis finished 2nd with a 9:23 in what appears to be his 3k debut, which makes that time that much more impressive.

As PA's top distance stars start to trickle their way back into racing after taking some time off after regionals, our talent pool indoor begins to rise. Jenkintown's new state champion Jack Miller cruised his way to an impressive 4:32 to open up his indoor season. He closed in a 2:14 after slowly jogging his way away from the field in the opening 800. Seeing as that Miller hasn't quite had the same resounding success on the track as in XC, this is an excellent start for the recent Pitt commit. Miller did dip under 9 last winter, so it will be interesting to see which event he chooses to focus on.

Penncrest junior Andrew Woolery ran a very solid 4:39 for 2nd before he likely contributed to the aforementioned 4x8. This seems to be Woolery's first time breaking 4:45, let alone 4:40, so hats off to Woolery for an all around solid day. One of the many pieces in the CB East masses, Sean Lahetta, ran 4:41 to round out the top 3.

The last distance event to discuss from Burdette would be the 800. Though we didn't see another sub 2, we saw a solid race from a top group of 3 that broke away from the field. Saabir Ali seems to be covering all corners to kick off his season. He picked up the win in a solid 2:01 for a PA #4. Considering this is not Ali's main event, this is an impressive race. However, it is fair to raise the question, what is Ali's best event? In 3 weeks, he's ran 9:09/4:34/2:01. I'd argue he's still more of a mile/3k guy, but we're three weeks in and there still hasn't been many big 800 times dropped. Regardless, Ali is right behind Tomov and Kuhn for the hottest starts to their seasons. Finishing in 2nd was Kylan Willis of Cheltenham in 2:03. I mentioned him earlier alongside Langley of Chester as a big candidate to run well out of a traditional sprinting powerhouse program. Willis is now consistently in the 2:02/2:03 range, and has run 2:00.91 outdoor. While I've mentioned too many guys as sleepers in the 800, I'm going to say Willis is one of my top picks to breakthrough to the 1:59 range if he could get up to somewhere like Ocean Breeze. Radnor's Doug Rosin round out the top trio in this race with a 2:04 for 3rd. With guys like Frank Brown and Ethan Zeh, Radnor's potential for a killer relay increases....

That's all we got for now! Keep an eye on the Marine Corps Classic coming up at the Armory! Eissler and Hoey are in the field, so my guess is we're going to see new PA #1 and PA #2 times in the 800 very soon...

I'm also very excited to see that Zelinsky just snuck into that invitational field. This might be the perfect place for him to breakthrough to that next tier of 800 runners in PA.

Also, if you guys have any suggestions or ideas on what you'd like to see, please comment and let me know! I feel as if I'm stuck in a rut of just recaps and I'm lacking creativity for more interesting ways to give you guys the info. Enjoy the recaps, and Happy New Years!

Stay happy, stay healthy

-The RunningHub