Ches-Monts:
Well the race went pretty well all things considered and it
has gotten me hype for Districts. We saw some great pack running by Henderson
and I’m glad Stratman had a bounce back race for 3rd. Cummings took
off and Henderson let him go, but they really underwhelmed with their 4-5 guys.
If they don’t have a 5th man breaking 17:30 at Lehigh I’ll have a
difficult time putting them through to the state meet.
Downingtown West ran very well despite what it might look
like. They packed it up really solid and Sappey is starting to emerge as the
front runner he seemed to be for this team early on. Pelcin won the JV race in
17:05 to grab himself a varsity spot for Districts and if he were in the race
they would have been just behind WCE instead of 17 points behind. Great Valley
gets 5th, but I think they’ll mix it up at the district meet, they
always do. Plus they’ve got a healthy Zatlin, Willig, and Doran for the first
time all season.
Also of note Diestelow, Smith, and Caldwell all had very solid
races today and I can’t wait to see them turn it up at Lehigh. Caldwell, in my
opinion, has the advantage on faster courses, but they’ll be mixing it up for
top 15.
SOL's
The SOL National race went out very slow, with Wilson and
Webb just under 5 for the first mile with 11 other runners coming through from
5:12 to 5:14. Teams like Pennsbury and Bensalem tried to continue to slow the
pace in order to force a kickers race. Arita of CRN had none of it and
attempted to push from 3k out. It was
very windy and CRN’s Griswold was pushed into the bridge at about halfway
causing a bruise to form on his hip (finished 11th). He’ll be ok for
Districts however.
Well Ross Wilson made a huge statement this weekend, even
splitting the race while dropping Webb pretty hard in a 15:31 effort at Lehigh.
He’s ready to roll and I think he and Russell have a shot at sub 15. Russell
said in an interview that he wants it, and I know Wilson does as well.
Before this meet I had WT at 5th in the District,
but they did not race well at all. They had a ton of guys mid 16’s at their
home invitational, and I expected them to run similar times today, but that
didn’t happen at all. If they don’t bounce back they might not even be a top 10
squad. Bensalem pulled two juniors in Mays and Ramirez out of nowhere, but they
don’t have a strong enough 4-5 to do much damage at the district meet.
Pennsbury however looks really solid. If their 4-5 guys can just run just 10
seconds faster next week they can squeak into the state meet.
Austin Cooper looked good in a 16:08 effort for the Victory,
I think we’ll see him in a sub 16 effort next weekend. I like Dan Shalala a lot
and I think he’ll get a spot to the state meet. Not sure how I feel about the
Marcelis twins, but they’ll need big races to be in the top 40 (top 25 make it
to States).
Casey Comber with the big win over Jake Brophy (15:41 to
15:45) and I think they’ll both be low 15:30’s if not breaking that. Behind
them Balla beat out Logue and I think they’re both strong enough for a sub 16
clocking. Balla has had some great races this season. Matthew Scarpill looked
great as just a freshman running 16:32! He could be the only 9th
grader to move onto the state meet. Look to see more from him in the future. As
for the NP squad I hoped to see more from them, but there is a chance they
squeak into the state meet.
That's all for Now Folks!
--ForrestCRN
P.S. I just finished the District One Virtual Meet with Top 50 Runners and Top 8 teams. I'm pretty excited about it and I'll probably post it up tomorrow. I'll be working on other District Previews as well with teams going to state, their scores, along with the runners who make it into the state meet(they'll be bolded).
P.S. I just finished the District One Virtual Meet with Top 50 Runners and Top 8 teams. I'm pretty excited about it and I'll probably post it up tomorrow. I'll be working on other District Previews as well with teams going to state, their scores, along with the runners who make it into the state meet(they'll be bolded).
Why does everyone here and on Penntrack hype Dwest? They make excuses for them, the call them the team of the future they brag about how many guys broke 17:00.(at questionable courses). But get them on a real 5K course like today and reality sets in, on runner under 17:00. Meanwhile Malvern, William Tennent and Conestoga are the real deal and get no press.
ReplyDeleteWhere's the excuse? He said he liked the pack running, Sappey is becoming a solid front runner, and Pelcin will move out of the JV race next week to help this squad. There aren't many excuses being said, unlike a lot of other teams where so and so was under the weather, or lost a shoe, or fell, etc.
DeleteStoga and Malvern do get press, a decent amount. WT doesn't really get that much press though, I must admit.
I'm surprised Wilson pushed so hard. Having a 20 second lead seems excessive when districts is next week. They finally have a 5th runner though, which finally makes me believe they can place top 3 in the district!
Happy to see Willig back in form, he ran faster than he did last year (even though last year was muddy). Hopefully this team can pull it together and sneak into States.
fun fact: Henderson had all 7 of their guys in front of six of teams in that race. They weren't even using their real varsity/running as hard as they could... impressive.
-RTJ
Uh, the excuse is in the first line, "Dwest ran very well despite what it looked like". It's nice to try to put a positive spin on it but that was not what they were looking for, or close to the build up, especially a week before districts.
DeleteTennet showed why they arent talked about. They placed 4th and its just a conference meet. No shot at districts with those times.
DeleteGV looked awful at ChesMonts. Willig was only about 10 seconds faster than last years time. Compare that to most of the other runners who had significant improvements over last years mudrun and I'd say his time was way worse.
DeleteI would definitely say that D-West is the team of the future. They have 6 Frosh in the top 25 Freshmen in the state, two of which are first and third.
DeleteGV's top three have been hurt or sick all season. For Willig to run that time was a good sign.
DeleteWe love Dwest and their sponsor. In fact I wrote a positively sparling piece on them on Penntrack.
ReplyDelete-Don
I saw that article Don, it was absolutely exquisite. There is no doubt that the "coaches poll" will have them in the top 10 where they surely belong.
DeleteWho is their sponsor?
DeleteI am not Don but I find the references to him distasteful and unnecessary. Forrest, please remove as it does a disservice to your blog and reflects poorly on your decision to allow them continue and remain on your site. I like Etrain's motto of "STAY CLASSY"
DeleteI don't find it distasteful at all, unless vulgarity is used or a direct slight of a particular individual is written. It doesn't reflect poorly on the blog a bit to express opinions. There's a fine line between free speech and censorship.
DeleteAgreed. Leave Don alone
Delete-Lex
What race did you watch? Dwest ran poorly today. Their inexperience was obvious. WCE put 3 guys in front of their first. Packs are great, but a pack of 5 guys in the 16:30 at Districts is going to score them 250- 300 points.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you say a runner who ran at Chesmonts today could expect to chop off their time for districts at Lehigh next week? Assuming weather conditions are good?
Delete40-50 seconds.
DeleteI heard 35-40 seconds thrown around. likely more for the Henderson guys since they held back a bit
DeleteThat's a bit aggressive, 30 - 35 is probably more likely. The courses are very similar, relatively flat with one hill right after the two mile mark. I'm a little surprised the times weren't faster at Unionville.
Deletehaving run today the course felt soft, not muddy, and the two hills, right before and right after the 2 mile mark are deceivingly difficult.
DeleteI ran the course today too. It seems a little longer than 5k? And it's definitely not flat like Lehigh. It beats you up a lot more.
DeleteI third that. Not really much like Lehigh. If you get in a groove at Lehigh, you're set. But the ground was pretty uneven and the hills at the course were a little tricker than I think a lot suspected. I wouldn't be surprised guys cutting off 40-50 (depends on runner but it's definitely possible)
DeleteLehigh is in much better shape. The fields at Unionville are not very good so the footing isn't great. It's not a bad course, but it's deceptively slow. I'd be surprised if the JV guys don't run 40+ seconds faster at Lehigh. The varsity guys who were hammering should run the same(40 seonds faster). Some guys will run a lot faster(1:00+). It would not shock me to see the top 15 guys from this race under 16:00.
DeleteStop with the drama, Courtney Smith ran 18:00 alone, there's nothing wrong or challenging with that course.
DeleteCourtney Smith is not your typical runner and shouldn't be used in this conversation for comparison. a.) She is elite and b.) this is her home course, which she has undoubtedly run, countless times. I swear her feet don't even look like they touch the ground.
DeleteThat course is tough. Not Hershey tough, but considerably more challenging than Lehigh.
I hear a cold rain is forecasted for Lehigh next Thursday and Friday so time predictions may be off.
DeleteCheck the weather. A high of 50 and partly cloudy. No rain in the forecast. If it's not windy, Courtney could break 17. How many boys' teams would take her in their varsity? She would have been Unionville's #2.
DeleteSOL results
ReplyDeletehttp://brynmawrrunningco.com/wpp/race-results/
Anyone check out those Bicentennial Leagues results? Most impressed that Church Farm Schools # 1 runner is a dude named "Slam Dunkley".
ReplyDeleteJust watched the Ches-Mont race video....love Tony Russell laughing at the guy taking it out in the first 400.
ReplyDeleteWe've all been that guy before, usually in our very first distance race though. At least he can say he held the lead at a Chesmont XC championship, I'm not sure Tony can say that...lol.
DeleteSecond that.
DeleteI think he might have been doing a Forrest Gump imitation.
DeleteI just think its funny that tony didn't even win chest monts and yet a lot of the runners in the stands were yelling out his name instead of Cummings'. I just think its funny that a state and north eastern regional champion isn't a league champion. At least he has his priorities in check.
DeleteAvon Grove and Coatesville worship Russell.
DeleteI died when I saw that. Also Forrest your times for sol's so you might wanna fix them are off but thanks for getting us the results quickly.
ReplyDelete