Running it Back with PA's Biggest Performances

As promised, with so much action happening in the past two weeks (as well as this current weekend), lets highlight some more of the big time performances that our top Pennsylvanians have thrown down recently. If you haven't already, feel free to check out Jiminy Cricket's awesome top 50 power rankings, which will surely see a massive shakeup after these past results.

Rather than going through meet by meet, and laboriously telling you the results of every event from every meet, I decided to outline this recap by just going through every event, and sharing the biggest performances we've seen over the past 2-3 weeks. Lets see what we got!

DMR:

Across all 5 distance events, the DMR definitely saw the biggest shakeup in terms of the state rankings. After a very slow start to the year, things ramped up extremely quickly, truly just within this past weekend. Just a few days ago, we had only one team sub 10:55, and nobody sub 10:50 and anywhere near the SQS. Between Yale, Lavino, and TFCAofGP, we saw 4 teams dip below the SQS of 10:43. Lets start with Yale. In two different sections, West Chester East and Twin Valley ran beautiful races to secure their spots in the state meet. West Chester East blasted their PA #2 10:40.50 in dominating fashion, winning the "over 600" section. Twin Valley on the other hand, opted to race against the region's best, running 10:42.82 and finishing 7th in the championship section. For West Chester East, Domenic Moser led off with a 3:18/3:19 ish leg, with Lewin anchoring it home in roughly 4:24. It will be really interesting to see the approach WCE takes to this race come states. The mile/DMR double is very doable for Lewin, but I think if he stays fresh they could contend for a top 3 finish. The x-factor for me will be Moser. With this 4:24 split, I think Lewin is showing he is rounding into shape, and will be able to go sub 4:20 and hang with just about anybody come states. If Moser can drop a sub 3:15 split to keep them towards the front of the race, I think WCE becomes a big sleeper for this title.

Twin Valley ran a more balanced race, with Trey Hill leading off in a 3:15/3:16 split, a 2:01 ish split from Schlegel, and a 4:29ish split from Servis. These guys are obvious contenders for a medal, but how far up can they really finish? I think Schlegel has the opportunity to be one of the best 800 legs in the field come states, with a 1:57/1:58 ish type carry. I've also already discussed my feelings on Trey Hill having the capability to breakthrough to another level. On an absolutely perfect day, this team resembles 2016 O'Hara, where great 1200 and 800 legs got Ryan James a big lead on some sub 4:20 studs, and he was just able to hang on. If Hill and Schlegel and can run 3:10/1:57 splits, a mid to low 4:20's leg might be enough for Twin Valley to contend for a win as well.

At Lavino, we saw CR South rip a 10:41 themselves, to add to the growing top tier of DMR teams in the state. I couldn't quite get splits for this race, but I'd have to imagine Ochs dropped a pretty herculean split on this relay. My big question is, where do you put him? Obviously it seems sensible to put your star on the anchor, but could the 1:54 man do more damage on a 1200 leg?

After all these races, LaSalle returned to ol' reliable TFCAofGP and dropped an absolute bombshell PA #1 10:40.55. The flat track conversion gives them a good PA #1 by almost 3 seconds or so. Twomey dropped a 4:29 split en route to the blowout victory. Given that his leg was solo and on Lehigh's track, this is extremely impressive. We've discussed the LaSalle army multiple times, and we all know the biggest question here is the firepower. Twomey was stud miler last spring as only a sophomore, can he match his 4:20 PR and carry the Explorers to a state title?

Outside of this new top 4, Penncrest dropped their own solid 10:51 flat track, putting themselves in decent position for state qualifying. Lower Merion joins the host of sub 11 schools, running 11:01 on Lehigh's flat track as well. (conversion)


4x8:

The depth in this event is rapidly increasing, but we have yet to see the breakout, dominant performance of the season. Or maybe we've just become accustomed to seeing Shanahan, Pennsbury, and other schools going out and running 7:55 US #1's by this point. I will say though, the defending champions really threw us a curveball this weekend. After losing three of the legs from their title winning relay, I truthfully gave CB West no consideration to even qualify. I even went as far as to talk about Luke Fehrman's individual aspirations because he wouldn't have rely duty this year. Welp, the boys in gold and black went out ran a PA #1 8:11 at Lavino this weekend. I was shocked when I saw this. Although I don't have splits, my guess is some assortment of guys like Fehrman, Laatsch, Shields, and a 4th leg got the job done. As I look back, I suppose I shouldn't have been so foolish. I completely forgot about Shields who ran 1:59 last spring. Pair him with super experienced guys like Fehrman and Laatsch, and you've got a great relay. Are these guys back in the driver's seat in the 4x8? I think they can contend for gold again, but it certainly won't be as easy as its been in years past. Truthfully, I still see Pennridge as the favorites.

As aforementioned in the last post, Bensalem uncorked an 8:14 up at Ocean Breeze. Considering there isn't THAT much firepower on this lineup, I would love to see Dabi Chanez hop back in an open 800. I think this kid is running really fast.

After an early season 8:14, Haverford replicated that same time on a flat track, further showing their interest to pursue the event in the postseason. I think both relays are still very wide open at the front right now, and given Tomov's promise on the anchor, I'm still waiting to see just how fast Haverford can run in the DMR before I get behind their efforts in the 4x8.

CB East also threw down a solid 8:15 at Lavino. I think like Haverford, they're also an up in the air team between both relays, having already run in the 10:50's in the DMR. I question Endres' ability to have a strong double, so it will be interesting to see what the coaching staff prioritizes when the postseason rolls around. You can successfully double the 800 with either relay, but the 4x8/800 is certainly easier in my opinion.

After so much talk about Radnor's relay potential, they finally threw down a 8:16 on Lehigh's flat track. Considering Zeh only split 1:59 on this relay, they definitely have the potential to run something quick on this relay. However, given the fact that they already have two sub 4:30 milers, I think the boys from Radnor could quickly join that top tier of DMR teams.

Rounding out the list of top performances in the relays was CB South, finishing just short of Radnor in the 4x8 with an 8:17, likely using a very balanced attack from Moelter, Campbell, and Fenessy.


Mile:

With no massive sub 4:20 performances, there remains no true favorite for this mile field. Ethan Zeh still holds his top spot with his 4:23 from Kevin Dare, but between his 800 resume and possible relay implications, I don't even foresee him contesting it at states. Lewin finally got his breakthrough race indoor, blasting a 4:24 PA #2 the day after running the same time in the DMR. Honestly, of the ten athletes to break 4:30 so far, there are very few I feel confident about running it at states. Zeh and Hoey are both known for running the 8, while Kuhn, Harris, and Macknair have all been running just as well in the 3k. We haven't seen Walker in over a month, and Brown might tag along with Zeh on relay duty. The point is, I think of all the distance events, the mile is the one we still have the least amount of clarity on. It seems to happen every year where we have a host of really solid guys that scratch, and the cutoff ends up falling back to the low to mid 4:30's. One of the few guys that I feel set on competing is Grucelski of Conestoga Valley. He ran a really solid 4:27 at Kevin Dare and I think he's a likely medalist.

I really liked Joey Budjos' 1600 out west. The Indiana Area senior ran a 4:28 1600 which ends up just missing sub 4:30 after conversions. After an XC season that was strictly pack running, its good to see some individual stardom emerging from the great team success they had this fall. Didonato is still a huge sleeper after the sophomore went 4:30 at the Hispanic Games. Established names such as Binda, Wirth, and Owori have all opened their seasons with rust-busters in the low 4:30's. Other big names such as Shields, Foster, and Ian Miller have all ran in the 4:30's as well and are looking to return to their top form with PR's in the low 4:20's. Needless to say, this thing is open to just about anyone right now.


800:
Unsurprisingly, our normal suspects have emerged onto the forefront of the 800 landscape. As we're probably right around halfway through the season, Eissler and Hoey have run 1:55 and 1:56 at PSU and the Armory. While there is a crop of some excellent speedsters behind them that all have state medals to their names (Zeh, Ochs, Endres), I simply see these two as the runaway favorites. I think no matter what spin you put on this race, I can't see one of these two not winning. Hoey tried to get his first state gold in the 1600 last spring, and ultimately fell short. Considering he's only run 4:27 this season, I'd imagine he will be all in on the 800 come the postseason in a month or so. As for Eissler, although he'll likely be doubling, he's proved time and time again that he can consistently still perform at the highest level even on tired legs.

Of course, there is still a deep field to be assembled across three heats at the state championship. The hot heat will likely be comprised of the 5 names above. Outside of these top 5, it will be interesting to see who sneaks in. Zelinsky looks to be a possible contender after his breakthrough race at Marine Corps back in December. After that, who ya got? Last year, I believe it took 1:56 to make the top heat. Ketler looks solid, but there's the high chance he scratches for the DMR. When will we see 1:55 man Seth Phillips drop a solid 800?

Naturally, almost everyone has their eyes glued to Tyler Shue, waiting to see when he'll return to his form. However, something, at least to me, seems off this season. Shue always is slow to start because he has to regain a lot of his track fitness after a long soccer season. So far, he's run 4:56 and 2:02. He had already run 2:00 at this point last year, so its hard to say whether its just taking longer for him to round into shape, or if maybe, just maybe, he'll struggle to replicate some of that magic from his sophomore year. My ultimate guess at this point in the year is that he still runs fast enough for one of the last spots in the hot heat, but doesn't finish as high as he did in his runner up performance from last year.

With all the talk about who is at the front of the state picture, the big thing with the 800 is watching those second tier guys. Three of the eight medalists from indoor states last year came from the middle heat. So, who will those new faces be that shakeup the madness up front? Albright and Raup look to be huge sleepers after popping off pretty unprecedented 1:59's at Lehigh. Thimons is running well out west. I'll go ahead and say my biggest sleeper in Joey Power. The kid is chipping away fractions of seconds off every weekend as he gets closer and closer to 2 flat (2:00.77 last weekend), and I just have a feeling this kid could really rip something in the right race.

3000:
The 3000 landscape was a mass of very solid XC guys coming out and running 9:0x's to kick off their seasons, building up the depth of the field, without any too flashy results to show.

And then Yale and Kevin Dare happened.

The two premier meets at two very fast tracks now account for the six fastest times in the state right now, with three coming from each meet. Our state leader is the often mentioned nowadays Brayden Harris, who's 8:51 as a midseason sophomore is still incredible. In this very race at Kevin Dare, we saw two District 3 seniors in Ben Kuhn and Ian Miller also dip into the 8:50's. Miller is the only returning medalist from last year's race, and is shaping up to try and improve upon his 7th place from said race. As for Kuhn, he's still sitting amongst the top names in both the mile and 3000, so it will be interesting to see where he ends up deciding to put his efforts towards.

After these guys threw it down in the first week of January, a contingent of PA boys made their way up to Connecticut for the Yale 3k, which has established itself as being a premier championship event for the entirety of the northeast and even beyond. After several mentions of how Jack Miller has failed to translate his XC domination into track success, things have clicked and he is absolutely rolling. He dropped a PA #2 8:53 en route to winning his heat. Not too far behind him was his XC A classification rival in Andrew Healey, who dropped a 8:54 for PA #3 honors. Rounding out the PA stars in the 3k was Downingtown West's Payton Sewall, AKA District 1's top finisher at the XC AAA state meet. Like Miller, it has been discussed how Sewall has struggled to find success on the oval relative to his XC resume, so his PA #5 8:57 is clearly a step in the right direction. His teammate Tyler Rollins medaled last year in this very event, can Sewall duplicate it?

Other notable performances from the past few weeks include Mitchell Rome rolling to a 9:02 flat track in a runaway victory at Susquehanna (keep an eye on this kid), and a very impressive 9:04 from the Shaler junior Dalton Kaulbaugh out near Pittsburgh. While the time isn't anything flashy, West Chester Henderson freshman Gavin Brophy ran 9:22 at Yale, which is extremely solid for his age. As the fastest in his class by almost 10 seconds, and having already run 16:01 as a freshman, keep an eye on this kid as he goes through the very prestigious Henderson program.


Speaking of which, because I've been looking to switch things up, you all might be getting a piece on that centers around putting the spotlight on some of the sport's up and coming young stars, and other new names to keep an eye on.


You know the drill folks,

Stay happy, stay healthy
-The RunningHub