800m Recap

Hello again everyone! So since I just received a message from ForrestCRN I will continue blogging for the time being. First up on the list is a recap of the State meet. So here it goes nothing

AA 800m
Going into this race Shawn Wolfe seemed to be like the clear favorite with the only time under 1:55. There were however some studs stacking the field behind him like Curt Jewett, Ryan Smathers, Dan Alexander and Jordan Jackson. The start of the race was one of the strangest I have ever seen with Shawn first false starting, then falling in the first few meters. After that they had the runners jog about 50m down the track and come back to the line. I feel this really freaked out some of the runners and the start showed how cautious they were. Curt Jewett went immediately to the back of the pack to block the wind. The first lap was lead by Dan Alexander with everyone still in the race. Around the back stretch Curt made a strong move to the front and took the lead. Around the final turn he held off a charging Smathers who took 2nd. I believe that being DQed from the mile motivated Curt greatly. I feel that even if he ran this race fresh and was not DQ he would not have won if not for the motivation of the mile loss. Smathers also had an excellent double coming back off a 1600m directly into the wind. The times of the race were relatively slow, but that is to be expected into the blistering wind of Shippensburg. It was a tough race for the top seed Shawn Wolfe, but he ran very well in his other events so this is just a minor setback for him.

Results:
1. Jewett 1:58.25
2. Smathers 1:59.06
3. Grim 1:59.84
4. Alexander 2:00.04
5. Wilt 2:00.44
6. Miller 2:00.83
7. Goodson 2:01.12
8. Brinkley 2:01.55

AAA 800m
This race was also very strange. Wiseman, many people's favorite to win the whole thing was unable to even make the final! It just goes to show that prelims can be just as important as finals when you are at the state level.  The field was composed of a lot of major studs with Kunzweiler, Brehm, Rivera, Logue, Stone, and Coburn in the field. I felt like going into this race without Wiseman in the field the state championship was Kunzwieler's for the taking. When the gun went off he went straight to the front taking the wind for the whole pack. This was ballsy for him, but if you want to get out of the pushing and shoving that comes with an 8. Kunzweiler had a solid lead on the chase pack at the bell, but you could tell they were all closing on him. Rounding the final turn there was a bit of contact and Kunzweiler went down. This left the door open for Brehm to storm home for the victory over Rivera and Logue. Now I know there is a lot of controversy over what actually happened. I was not close enough to tell but I do not think Brehm intentionally took him down. There is no way he would risk his own race to try and take down another runner. Brehm won the race and he deserves all the credit he received for winning it. It's difficult to say what would have happened if Kunzweiler had stayed up. I think it would have been a very interesting finish, but I think he takes the W. The rest of the field was very interesting as Rivera was 2nd and Logue was third. I would have liked to see Logue in a faster race because I feel like he can drop a fast time. Since The distance festival last year he hasn't had any really big wins. I feel like he has the potential to break 1:50 and the matchup between him and Brehm should be great for years to come. A nice race by Stone to grab 4th. I think he was disappointed in his finish, but I think the wind may have  affected him a lot. Also Coburn ran well on the double to grab 5th. I never really thought the 800m as his event but since Cumberland Valley established a 4x8 he's transitioned nicely.

Results:
1. Brehm 1:54.40
2. Rivera 1:55.73
3. Logue 1:56.37
4. Stone 1:57.31
5. Coburn 1:58.61
6. Nole 1:59.08
7. Caldwell 1:59.38
8. Wilhoite 2:00.16

I planned on doing some more of the recaps later but I thought I would break these up by event. I hope the first real post wasn't to rough for you guys. Any feedback would be appreciated.