Robert J. Burdette Indoor Classic Meet Preivew (Boys&Girls)

I am totally stoked for the Robert J. Burdette Indoor Classic. To me the individual distance events get better as you scroll down, so this will be a bit of a buildup post. Here is the Performance List: http://pa.milesplit.com/meets/155789/attachment/279229

Starting with the 800m I’m pretty excited about the group of guys racing. Liam O’Connell rarely races open events so I’m excited if he can pull away with the victory. Connor Holm could be a big breakout guy on the track this season so watch out for him. He ran 1:56 last outdoor season, but made huge leaps in XC placing 53^rd at States and he ran 16:04 at Districts. That’s a solid amount of strength as he ran very well on hills and I like how that can translate to the 800 and possibly the Mile later in the season. Maddox seems to be seeded a bit high, since his PR is only 2:01 that he ran this summer at AAU.  Hopefully Dan Ferraiolo for Malvern Prep can have a bounce back race in the 800. Other sleepers that I like to win are Ramsey Kerkula of Upper Darby who is their anchor from last season’s  4x8 team, he runs strong and likes to go out hard so he’ll be in the mix with 200 to go. Also look out for Eli Mecado of Boyertown who’s got nice 800m speed and Pat Hopkins of Methacton, those boys always run well on the track. I think the winner will be sub 2, but I don’t think anyone else will dip under, but still a solid field this early that we can look for later. I really like Kerkula for 3^rd right behind O’Connell and Holm for the win. 

Wow, look at this Mile field! Colin Abert and Jaxson Hoey banging it out? Are you kidding me? Boy am I excited to see these two young guns battle, and that’s not all! Billy Caldwell of DT East is coming off a solid XC season and he’s got a 4:20 PR to his name and the best 800m speed of the group. Behind him is another 800m man in Dave Garton from Perk Valley. He ran 3:22 last weekend for 1200 which didn’t impressive me too much, but a few weeks later I believe he’ll be able to handle that pace. Watson Hanson is another breakout guy from Radnor who I really like. He didn’t run as well at Districts for XC as his teammate Holm (was 16:26), but has a 4:25 1600m PR and should be able to stick with this group. Ryan Tung of NP had a solid race for 3k last weekend and was sub 16 at districts, so expect good things from him, along with Jae Kim and Austin Cooper. I think we’ll see that top 3 all sub 4:30 pretty easily. I have no doubt Abert is pissed after getting 3^rd a few weekends ago and will hammer out ~4:27 (his seed) for the win. I’m not sure what to expect from Hoey out on the track, he’s got a kick as we saw out at Singer Farms, but I think Caldwell gets him at the end. Look for just under 4:30 for those guys. Kim and Tung could surprise up front as well. 

And now onto the 3k, and what a stacked field we have! Matt Willig is making his comeback appearance and maybe I’m too hype over him, but I think he could go sub 9 with the help of this field. Jake Brophy should be able to dip under 9 minutes and he and Casey Comber will battle it out up front. The two are SOL Continental rivals and won’t let the other one get away. Jim Belfatto never shies away from the front either and I have no doubt will be right there the whole race. And don’t forget about Ryan Grace and Billy McDevitt. Grace is a 15:47 5k guy so 9 flat is definitely possible and McDevitt was 44^th at regionals and seems to be more of a track guy, so I think he’ll be able to hang in there. The only thing that would have made my more excited for this race would have been a sophomore battle between Hoey and Brophy.

All of this being said, how will the race play out?? I see Comber and Brophy rolling out in 2:55 through the 1k with Belfatto on their backs; Willig, McDevitt, and Grace in a chase pack around 3 flat. Through the 2k the top pack continues to pull away being around 5:57 with the second pack around 6:05. In the last 400m Comber will probably fall back as Belfatto and Brophy really start to kick it in, and I think Belfatto takes the win in 8:54.8 to Brophy’s 8:56.1. Comber will hang on for the Q in 8:58.9. I depending on how good of shape Willig is in, he could close well and run ~9:05, but I see Grace and McDevitt around 9:10 to 9:15. Behind them I like Colby Geary of TV to lead the ‘3^rd’ pack with 5 or 6 guys running between 9:18 and 9:25. Don’t sleep on Jeff Kirshenbaum and Kevin Lapansky, both are sophomores, and like to put themselves out there. I think both can break 9:20 on this fast day.

Wow! With so much excitement in the open events, what will we see in the relays?

First off, I’d like to mention the 4x2, where Pennsbury and Cheltenham will battle it out. Both teams have run crazy fast times early this season at the armory, and I’m hype to see them getting together on the quick mondo track at Lehigh. DVC is seeded at 1:30 as well, but I don’t think they’ll be able to hang. I would recommend watching that for an awesome race.

For the 4x8 Penncrest and Bonner are shooting for the SQS as they’re putting really strong teams out on the track. I be the Kazanjian twins will be working hard at the faster event not that track has rolled around. Don’t sleep on Malvern Prep or Pennsbury, I’m not sure who will be doubling for either team, but they could be strong up front as well. This is one of the last events of the day however so most teams will be on the double. I think Penncrest is the only team who could get the SQS and it'll be tough for them. This race seems to be more of a workout for the teams entered.

The SMR is rarely run, but I see Pennsbury taking the win handily. With Alec Sauer not racing an open even, I bet he’ll be anchoring this team of very strong sprinters who will be coming off the 4x2. Not sure who Bonner has racing as their seeded first at 3:40, but Joe Sullivan (1:56.94) should be anchoring them.

Finally we have the DMR where 8 teams are ranking at 11 flat or faster! CR South should be lead off by Jeff Wiseman (my bet at least) which I would personally love to see. I think I’d be good for him to move up in events on occasion and this is perfect for him. GV will load up with Zatlin and Doran on the anchor/lead (not sure which on each spot, but that’s my guess) and hopefully we’ll see the Kazanjian twins lead/anchor their team as well with Evan Emanuel and Colin Myers taking the 800 and 400 leg’s respectively. The DMR is before the 4x8, and I’d love to see this squad double for a workout and I have no doubt they could so sub 10:50. RC has Matt Brown to anchor who had a big breakout XC season, but also has a 4:30 1600 PR to his name. Don’t sleep on what Cardinal O’Hara could put together, I have no idea who they’ll run (maybe Smart/James combo), but if that’s the case, I don’t know why they’re only seeded at 10:55. Either way this team has the most potential and I think there is a chance the MR of 10:41 goes down! I would guess 1 or two teams hits the SQS, but 5 will find themselves sub 11.

On the girls side I like the 800m battle between Hanna Brosky (awesome last name btw) from Emmaus and Lawren Wright of PW. Wright ran a swift 600 just two weeks ago at the armory and we’ll see how it translates to Lehigh’s track, but I think she can break 2:20. Brosky is seeded at 2:18, but hasn’t run anything too stellar yet this season, although a 42.66 300 and then on the double a 3:11 1k does get my attention. Both of these girls are 4/8 runners than 800/Milers, which will make for a good battle and the winner will most likely run 2:18. Behind them Jada Wilson has already gotten the Q for the 800m and is now looking to dip under 2:22. With 4 other girls seeded at 2:24 or better we should see a few more Q’s out of this group.

For the Mile Tabitha Wismer opens her Lehigh season after running a solid 1k in 3:12 last weekend at the BL Games. Her seed seems a bit overboard for me, but she should get the Mile Q of 5:23. Mikayla Stoudt from Parkland is a dark horse to watch. Just yesterday she doubled a 5:30/11:06. Later in the season she should be a threat, since she ran 5:09 as just a freshman last year and placed 14^th at states this XC season. Anja Weiler is opening up her season and has a 5 flat PR under her belt and will be challenging Wismer for the win. All 3 young ladies should dip under the Q and if Wismer and Weiler go at it hard early we could see a new state lead.

In the 3k Haley Quinn, Emily Schumaker, and Jenna Reimer will all be looking to push the pace a bit to try and dip under the SQS of 10:45. I think Quinn just misses it and the other two ladies fall off the time around the 2k mark. 

Much like on the Boys side, the Girls 4x8 seems to be a workout for most of these teams as the DMR is stacked. I am excited to see how the NP girls do when coming off the DMR or if it’s a totally different squad that’s shooting for sub 10. 

DMR: This is by far the most stacked race on the ladies side and I’m really excited for the results. Great Valley is putting all their big guns in with a seed of 12:30! North Penn and DTown East will be battling again much like they did two weeks ago at the DVGTCA Meet #2 when they both got the Q. SCHA will be joining in the fun as well. Terri Turner is a very strong leg for them and I bet she gets the lead by running the 1200. They have a great 400 leg in Brooklyn Broadwater and I like Jamie Costarino on the anchor. They’ll need someone else to step up into the 800 role however. Although GV girls haven’t had the best start to their season I really like Anna Willig on the anchor and Elise Claffery hanging with Turner on the 1200 leg. They’re strong all the way around and I think they win in 12:46 with NP right behind in 12:48.

Extra Note: RESULTS!

The Wm. H. Emrey Christmas City Relays is new to me, but some solid runners showed up: (Full results here http://pa.milesplit.com/meets/155234/results/279231/raw)

On the boys side Joe Logue solo’d a 1:58.17 to get his 800m qualifying time in which is great to see. If you’re like me and were wondering, who is North Warren?, they’re a team from NJ, so no need to worry about Charlie Eiserle, but that’s a nice time of 9:15 for the senior. Back to PA guys I wasn’t super impressed by Ben Ziegler as he only ran 9:24 for second place, I really would have like to see him win the race, but the District 11 teams always end up running much better outdoors than indoors, so I’m not worried. 

On the girls side I am ecstatic about Paige Stoner’s double of 5:19.65 in the Mile (win by 8 seconds) into a 10:35 3k! That’s really great to see this early and I have no doubt she’s on the hunt for some high placing finishes at the state meet. Usually I would say she’s got a shot at top 3 no doubts, but with the strength of PA girls this season, nothing is for curtain, but keep her on your radar for sub 10 in the future potentially.

 

Best of luck to everyone tomorrow!

Also, on the 30^th will be parts 2, and 3 for the year and part 4 will be out the 31^st, so look out for those. I will not be attending the RJB Indoor Classic as I will be travelling to CT.

--ForrestCRN