Weekend INSANITY 1-19-14

PA blew up the Track and Field scene all over the state and the Northeast this weekend with some incredible races. I'm glad to say that my season is up and running as well, so lets roll right into this!

I’m really excited about the Yale races so we’ll start with there!

Tony Russell leads off the split 3:01/3:02 which is an incredible way to rust-bust a season. I can’t explain enough how difficult the first race of the season is and to come out blazing like that is fantastic. I do really like him running that 12 leg at states and doing the same double that Willig did senior year. I think it could workout very similarly (4:14/3:00 double). I know some of you guys have talked about the possibility of WCH going for the state championship, but I don’t think they’ve got a shot. They have no field or sprinters to note (58 leg on the DMR, come on!). I think Thompson will be a great leg for them however after his double (noted later). I heard Moy split ~1:57 and a low 4:30 for Reiny which isn’t surprising. I would much rather see Moy anchor this team, but I do believe Reiny can split mid 4:20’s at the state meet, especially if he’s fresh, although I think he would be move useful in the open 3k. Overall really great for this squad as they ran a 10:32.

Malvern Prep ran without Hoey on the anchor to pull together a 10:42 effort! Wills ran a 3:14 on the 1200m leg and I think he’ll be their man for states. That’s a wonderful for him and he’s really becoming a stud. I like Hoey doubling at states with McDevitt in the 3k while Wills runs the 1200 on the DMR. McDevitt had a very solid split, but his second race of the weekend was much more impressive. Replace Hoey as they anchor and you’ve got a shockingly strong team. I like all of the pieces they’ve got.

GTF pulled together a relay team that really game out of nowhere to run 10:40! I know Finnerty would be a strong anchor leg, but wow that's fantastic for them as they clearly jumped up into medal contention. Behind them was Great Valley who ran 10:46, but missed the SQS by .06 seconds! Absolutely brutal. I have no doubt they'll get a bid to the state meet if they don't get in on a later race this season.This squad has medal contention abilities although guys like Willig and Zatlin are moving down in distance to help it out. Locke is a very nice 400m leg however which will help bring down the time.

In the Boys 4x800m Downingtown East came up with a PA #2 in a solid 8:07.33. I’m not super impressed, but it is a fantastic start to this relay. They’ve got 3 sub 2 guys and I do expect a sub 8 by states from them. I have high expectations because I think this team has a ton of potential and Caldwell is a great anchor. They’ve got a month and I have no doubt they’ll pull together something special. Henderson ran a ‘B’ team of Collins, Thompson, Knapp, and Stratman which got them a solid 8:14.82. I’d love to know splits since I have high hopes for Knapp as a breakout star for this squad. Collins and Stratman haven’t made much of a jump as seniors, but if they want to double Barchet, Moy, and Russell in open events this relay team has medal capabilities. 

In the 3k we saw some solid times, my top performance coming from Billy McDevitt who placed 11^th overall in section two with a time of 8:56.52. He had a rough start to his season with a bit of back problems, but clearly those are fixed as he ran very well both last night and this morning. Chris Cummings beat him out by .1 seconds for 10^th place, which is fairly disappointing. Cummings has been running some solid mile races and opened up by solo’ing 8:50. He was in the second section, but it was won in 8:37 and Alex Ostberg (FL Finalist) placed 3^rd in the section with 8:41. The competition was their and he didn’t step up as I think he would have liked. Hopefully this leads to some redemption in the coming weeks for Mr. Cummings. 

In the next section we saw decent times out of the GV boys who have had it rough all season. Willig ran 9:06, while Zatlin hit 9:19. Not too bad of a double for these guys and I bet if Willig would have raced fresh he could have gone sub 9.

Ferraiolo of MP finally caught a break in the open 800m as we saw him back on the prowl with a solid time of 1:59.41 to place 3rd overall for the meet. He’s got some wheels and will be a crucial piece for the MP DMR going forward. Steve Thompson made a name for himself and if there were an award for breakout star of the week, he’d win it easily. Coming up for second place in his heat and 5^th overall on the day he ran 1:59.56! Wow that’s quick! Not sure what he split the day before, but man that’s an SQS and a really nice new piece for Coach Kelly and the WCH boys, so congrats Thompson. 

Carcella (1:59.92) and Fitzgerald (2:01.09) both looked strong for DTE in the open 800m. That puts 3 guys at 2:01 or fast for them and McLaughlin has 2 flat potential as well after running 1:58 last season outdoors. I noticed McLaughlin was not in their 4x8 or at the meet, does anyone know if he is injured?

And last, but definitely not least, Tony Russell wins on a lean over FL regional runner-up Christian Alvarado in a time of 4:16.26. This is a fantastic race for him after getting the rust buster DMR last night. I’m really impressed and I think he could go for the indoor record, especially with the field behind him. A 3:02 into a 4:16 is no joke. Russell is clearly the man to beat in the Mile right now. Not too far back from him was MP’s sophomore Jaxson Hoey who placed 4^th overall in 4:19.24! He’s having an unbelievable season and is one of the most talented sophomores we have seen in a long time. He could have the opportunity to anchor Malvern Prep to a DMR victory indoors.

Billy Caldwell ran a very solid 4:23.96 for 10^th overall. He wasn’t a 4:20 runner until the Distance Festival last season, but he’s looking to be on pace to run low 4:20’s this indoor season. I really would like to see him in the Open Mile and anchor DTE’s 4x8 at states. I think he can be a big time medal contender.

Kevin Moy started his season nicely with a 4:26.84 for 15^th place. I had a feeling it would take him a bit more time to start up, but he’ll be in good shape when it matters towards the end of the season. Teammate Eric Stratman ran 4:30.30 which is a bit disappointed from the 4:19 guy, but he too has time. Alex Knapp was clearly hurting from the day before as he ran 4:37. From GTF we saw Nick Dahl, apparently a freshman, run 4:35.12 in the Mile! We’ll have to keep an eye out for him as well. That’s an unreal time for a freshman this early. 

In the TFCA of GP Meet #5 we saw Joe Logue (52.57) and Gregory Dix (53.75) move down in distance from the 800 to the 400 for some extra speed. I’m pretty surprised about Logue since he was splitting 50 as a sophomore and in the low 50’s as a freshman. I’m not sure if he’s losing his edge or it was just a slower race. I also liked that Dix (Upper Darby) moving towards that speed as well.

In the open 8 I was really happy to see Frank Brophy move up in distance, something I’ve been hoping he would do for a while, as he dropped a very strong 1:58.84 which got him a victory and an SQS. I think CB East will have a very solid 4x8 team and clearly he’ll be a strong leg for them.

Andrew Stewart emerges as a strong leg for Upper Dublin’s relay squads as he ran 2:01.2 which was good enough for second place as he beat out Rob Simmons of CR North by .34 seconds. Simmons is a much stronger relay runner, but if Wilson chooses the 3k he’ll need to step up his game in the open races.

Another CB East/CR North battle took place between Wilson and Brophy as Wilson grabbed the SQS in a solid 4:31 effort just a week after splitting 4:24 at the Lavino Relays. It’s clear Wilson is in really good shape right now and I hope we see him run a 3k in the coming weeks. Brophy shows off some speed as well running 4:33.39 and just misses the SQS. He’s in an odd position since his team might have relay potential and he’d be a strong leg. Does this mean Brophy will opt out of the 3k at states? We’ll have to wait and see. 

Behind them Fowler improved his SB down to 4:36 where be heat out Kerkula of Upper Darby who put on a 4:36.87 effort for himself. I like the UD team getting some open races in. They’ll be a strong relay team next month.

Tyji Mays of Bensalem came up with a big victory in the 3k as he out kicked some strong XC runners in Hanna (9:13.22), Brown (9:15.08), and Arita (9:20.96) with a win in 9:12.54. Bensalem’s runners always peak at the right time and I have no doubt we’ll see some large time drops from this squad as a whole very soon. Hanna on the other hand had a very strong opening to his season solo’ing a 4:36 Mile and the next meet solo’ing 9:08 for 3k. He hasn’t touched those marks since and is starting to worry me that he peaked far too early. Brown has slowly improved his season and I’m really excited for Roman Catholic to put out another DMR since they ran ~11 earlier in the season. If he can be a strong anchor leg in sub 4:30 they should be able to hit the SQS and I believe in his late season fitness to be strong. Arita is starting up his season as well and I think it’s a good opener to the second half of his season after as very, very extended XC season.

CB West just missed the SQS in the 4x800 as they ran 8:22.83, which is just .77 over the mark! They’ve got a lot of strong young runners and a strong coaching staff. I think they’ll dip in the low 8:10’s by states. They should be able to get that SQS at MoC’s. Abington is possibly making a comeback as a relay threat after having graduated so many strong runners a few years ago as they ran 8:26 for second place. I think they can get back to the state meet and build up that program.

In the DMR we saw LaSalle going for the SQS and missing by about 3 seconds as they ran 10:52. I would love to know the splits for this relay and I’m sure Bilotta carried them with a strong anchor leg. Grant should be able to run a strong 1200m. I think this team is at the mercy of Bilotta however and if he chooses 3k, which I believe he should, then I doubt they’ll run a relay at the state meet.

Division II

We saw some other impressive results out of the second division as Jim Belfatto went 1:59.96 to get the SQS and a win over Graham Allen and Tyrell Maddox who both have been running fairly solid this season. They need to get in a race that’s going 1:57 so they can hold on for a sub 2 time however as they’ve been running 2:01’s/2:02 all season. Sean Dougherty of WC East was 4^th in 2:05.54. Hopefully he’ll get that time down to low 2’s for the state meet, especially in a split as he looks to be part of their DMR.

Jonathan Perlman continued rolling some decent times as he put down a 4:36.29 for the win over Hare (4:40), Diestelow (4:44) and Price-Sanchez (4:47). P-C ran 4:40 early in the season, but is trending in the opposite direction. I think Perlman will be able to get the SQS however at the MoC’s in a faster race. Hopefully Hare puts together a solid race as well.

Kevin James opened his season in wonderful fashion as he won the 3k in a solo’d effort of 8:57.87 which gets him the SQS. I’m sure he wasn’t pressing much at all. I wish we could see him in the 3k at states, but he’s going to be needed on the O’Hara relays so I bet he runs the open Mile next weekend to qualify. 

Penn Charter and HGP went at it in the 4x800 as Penn Charter came up with the win and the SQS in the process with a time of 8:20.17. HGP just missed it however running 8:23.82. I believe Penn Charter would be better off in the DMR, but it’s good to see them running a mid-distance team, since I see Szuhaj as much more of a distance guy and the speed is good for him.

Over in the DMR the Radnor boys listened to my calls as they dropped a nice DMR time of 10:51 to beat out O’Hara who ran 10:57. (Splits anyone?!?!) It’s a shame the SQS isn’t ~11 flat or 10:55. I’m sure they’ll get it in the next few weekends, but I wish they had been able to get the SQS out of the way. As for O’Hara running a team sub 11 without Belfatto and James is impressive.

DVGTCA Indoor Meet #5

Wow the meet results couldn’t be more confusing! It was tough to sort it all out, but how about Maddie Villalba and Allie Wilson battling it out in the 1000m! Villalba came up big in the final stretch to win by just under a second with a time of 3:00.27. The equivalent is about a 2:19 800m, but Villalba ran 2:17 in early December and Wilson has been tearing up the track all season. The win is the biggest part about this race and I see Villalba as a pretty big threat in the open 800m since so many girls theoretically will be racing the Mile and relays so it could potentially be left open.

Kelsey Brady of CR South improved her seed time by .06 seconds after a month of training, which again worries me about the team as a whole peaking too early (similar to Hanna). Maybe they’re going through some intense work now before February, but we shall see. 

In the 300m dash Miller (SH) ran a solid 42.24 for a win showing off her speed, as she’ll be a clear threat in the open 800m as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if she ran the open 8 and doubled back for another 800m for their 4x8 at states

The big story of the day however is SCHA and O’Hara going at it on the track, while pulling along a slew of teams! I was hoping Broadwater and Turner would get together for this relay and boy did they show up running a PA #1 in 12:21.42 over O’Hara’s 12:22.60!!! I know not many girls read this blog so I doubt we’ll see splits, but Turner battling Kelly on the anchor leg must have been a stellar race. Those are some fast times for a DVGTCA meet and I think both squads have no reason not to run this relay. No doubt Turner and Broadwater will be on the double, but still, both are clearly top tier DMR squads.

Garnet Valley put together a very strong team that took 3^rd place in 12:40.38. They haven’t shown a ton of strong races, as they have no girls qualified in open events, but I know they’ve gotten very close with many making them a strong medal contender come states since I highly doubt they’ll have anyone on the double. NP, Haven (without Wilson or Miller!) and Haverford all hit 12:46 getting the SQS as well. NP has slowly improved all season which is good to see. 

Dickenson College HS Invitational #2

Carlisle opened their season with quite the bang this weekend winning the 4x8 in an SQS time of 8:21.93 (they barely slipped under!). Zach Brehm won the Mile in 4:30.14 and Cole Nissley placed 4^th in 4:37.47 which is fairly surprising. I like Brehm’s opening season rust buster and I’m really hoping we see Carlisle at Kevin Dare. I think Nissley is taking indoors slower this season to peak well outdoors, but I would really like to see him and Groh go sub 9 in the 3k this season.

Carlisle runners continued their winning ways as Sean Collins won the 400m dash in 53.24 and will be a key member of their DMR squad if they choose to go in that direction.

Jon Carroll doubled back form the 4x8 to place 3^rd in 2:04.94. It’s not a bad opening season double for him at all, but he will need to be splitting sub 2 on a 4x8 or ~3:12 for a DMR if they want to be really competitive. I like the start a lot though.Cole Nissley doubled back as well in 2:07 to try and grab some speed. I also like the Avon Grove boys double of Joe Wheeler and Josh Smith in 2:05 and 2:06.

Nothing overly impressive in the 3200, but I like the younger guys going longer distances as Quincy Amabile (Mifflinburg) ran 10:07 for second place, while the young guys from CV in Seeber and Soliman placed behind him in 10:18 and 10:23 efforts of their own. All underclassman that ran quite well. I don’t expect anything really big from these guys on the track, but I do believe they’re worth watching out for in the coming XC season as breakout potentials.

It was a fantastic weekend all-around! If anyone has splits they would like to share feel free to post them or e-mail me at fk246898@muhlenberg.edu

Stay Classy in the comment section Folks! We've been pretty good recently and I'd love for it to stay that way :)

--ForrestCRN