John Lewis won the 400m Dash in 50.55, a meet record. As
much as I like Lewis in the 800, I think it makes much more sense for him to
run the 400 at states. It will be better for the team title which Cheltenham
will be going after and have a really great shot at. I’m a bit surprise Frank
Brophy only ran 51.72; I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to go with the
open 8 at states after his solid performance earlier this season.
The 800m was absolutely blazing as Francis took it out and
wouldn’t give up the lead, even with a late charging Wiseman on his heels. The
track was scortched as they Francis walked away with a PA #1 (conversion) of
1:53.85 to Wiseman’s 1:53.96! I can’t think of another time in PA where 4
runners were all right at 1:54 flat or under. This should be an incredible race
at the state meet!! Wiseman has been looking strong and apparently went a bit
late, but wow Francis has been on fire all season. Now it looks like Francis
will choose the 800 over the Mile at states! Also running solid was Jaxon Hoey
who took 3rd in 1:59.08 with Hoyt of PC behind him in 2:02.86.
LeConey still at the same place as he was earlier this year running 2:02.98 for
5th. Hoey must have gotten caught in no-man’s land or died after
trying to go with them, either way I see it as a solid tune-up race for him
before the state meet where he’ll have to be ready for a fast Mile. (Sorry for
all the fire references, I had to keep going with them)
Christian Kardish also had a nice tune-up winning the Mile
in nice fashion with a 4:28.23 over Matt Willig who got the SQS running 4:31.84
for second place. It seems to me like Kardish will run the 3k at states. It
seems to be his best event right now. This was a solid race however and he was
clearly the class of the field. Glad to see Willig making a bit of a comeback
as well, I think we’ll only see him in the DMR
(I’m assuming GV will get a bid into states). Not bad races from Alex
Kim of Haverford, just missing the standard in 4:32.68. He’s got a week to just
drop .25 seconds and I think he’ll get it. Diestelow looked ok in 4:36, but I
was hoping he’d be able to get the SQS by this point in the season.
In the 3k Jake Brophy shocked Ross Wilson in the final lap
dropping a 29/30 for the win in 8:52.95 to Wilson’s 8:53.16! Brophy had an
excellent XC season, but I didn’t expect him to beat Wilson in any race. I know
Wilson has been working on speed and took more time off after Nationals so he
wouldn’t peak indoors like Campbell did, but I’m very surprised he wasn’t able
to go under 8:50 at least. Looks as though the Mile/DMR Mile double is in
Wilson’s future at the state meet. Brophy on the other hand is looking to be a
real threat in the 3k with that type of closing speed. It looks like he’ll have
a real shot at top 3.
Upper Darby looked solid running 8:14.60 for a 6 second win
over Upper Dublin who got the standard. I think Darby has a lot more to offer
come the state meet, and like last year, has a very good shot at grabbing a
medal. They have the state meet experience now and that will help them greatly.
I’m glad Upper Dublin got the got a relay SQS since they clearly had the legs
to get one. I just wished they didn’t race each other so I could put UD for one
of the squads! Meep.
Methacton had a solid DMR team running 10:59.71 for the win.
The 1200 legs were very slow apparently as Arita for CRN handed off in first
leading the whole thing in a 3:19 effort, which isn’t that strong.
Millrose Games
I talked with some of the guys on my team who watched the
race live and they said Tony Russell led from the gun and fell apart at the end
as he was handed his first defeat of the season, placing 4th overall
in a very strong effort of 4:12.14. Russell is clearly in fantastic shape, and
it’s very tough to try and put together that many strong Mile’s in a row and he
did it. That is only .6 off the PR he ran last weekend and it shows that it was
no joke and he is in great shape. He may be a bit disappointed since the winner
ran 4:08.96, but Russell has continued to improve all season and is by far and
away the top Miler in PA this season.
The girls Mile was dominated by the PA presence as they
placed 2-4 and 8th overall in a field of 13 ladies. Kennedy Weisner
led the charge once again just two seconds behind the winning running 4:48.16!
Tessa Barrett followed up her state 3k record with a strong performance exactly
one second behind Weisner running 4:49.16. She’s got a lot of speed with that
strength and she beat out Mady Clahane at the line by just .01! All 3 girls are
in unbelievable shape and clearly Weisner had a ton of both speed and strength
right now. Marissa Sheva had a tough race recording a time of 4:58.69. I am extraordinarily
impressed by all of these performances Barrett is just an animal and I wonder
if she’ll attempt the Mile/3k double at states (I think so), which Clahane is
so strong for just a sophomore. These girls brought it and really showed, PA
Don’t Play.
I think Will Cather said it best after the race: “Statement
made”. That is exactly what State College did in the 4x800 this weekend running
7:47.75 for a PA #1 with Cather splitting 1:53.0 on the anchor leg. These guys
are looking like the class of the state in the Mid-distances right now.
Henderson and Penncrest both had a tough time running 8:03 and 8:15 each. I
think Henderson will go DMR for sure and it was just an off week for Penncrest,
all sorts of things could have happened, but I would have to guess someone
fell.
PTFCA Track Carnival
Really upset I couldn’t make it to the meet, there was too
much snow and I did not want to risk driving to Lehigh with a friend’s car. But
let’s get this started.
In the open 800m Zach Brehm proved me wrong, as I should
have expected, beating Alek Sauer in the final straight away running 1:58.41 to
1:58.72. Not the fastest of times, but very solid overall for both runners. It’s
one of Brehm’s first indoor races, so I’m not surprised it wasn’t too fast. The
key is he got the win and the SQS which is what it comes down to; nice race by
both guys.
James Chappell surprises for 3rd place in 2:02.23
over McLaughlin, Stec, and Ponzo who all ran sub 2:03 and got the MOC time.
Ow Ow, Dominic Deluca proved me wrong running much faster
than I expected and getting a big victory over the field running 4:22.93! Ritz
wasn’t even close in a 4:26 effort. I’d love to know how the race went, but I’d
have to assume Deluca went with ~600m out and nobody went with him, but again,
this is speculation. Overall Deluca in my opinion is the favorite going into
the 3k at this point. He’s got a fantastic Mile time to his name and a great
solo’d 3k. After missing Nationals he’s coming back for redemption, which is
awesome to see. Ritz did have a solid performance and it could be a tough training
block for him right now as he will definitely be peaking at nationals.
Mitchell Coakley from CD was a guy on my radar after a
strong XC season, but I left him off the preview and I’m not sure why, but he
showed up in a big way with a very strong 4:27.55 which got him 3rd
place. I think he’ll be low 4:25’s by states if not in the 4:24’s and could
potentially medal. Perlman had a very solid Mile (4:28.39) which sets him up
very nicely for the 3k at states. I think he’ll take next weekend off and can
go low 8:50’s at states. Colin Abert is making his comeback and grabbed the SQS
from the slow heat with a 4:31.64 solo effort (won by13 seconds). It’ll be
tough for him to make any noise at states indoors, but I’m glad to see him
racing healthy again. Put him in a faster race on a banked track and hopefully
he can go mid 4:20’s, but that might be a stretch.
Chris Cummings had a rough outing running 4:36, but he’s
more of a strength guy and I’m not too worried, he does have the 3k standard
which is all that matters right now. I was very impressed with the freshman
Scarpill of CB South dropping a 4:36.73 which was 12th place. He
really stuck it out and it worked well in his favor. Very strong result for a
freshman.
Patrick Reilly looked strong in the 3k winning with a time
of 8:53.69 showing he’s slightly improved from Kevin Dare. The field will not
be as strong this season as it was last year and he’ll be in the mix for a medal,
no doubt. Paul Power dropped the mile to ensure he got the standard and it went
perfectly as he hung on to Reilly until the very end hitting 8:55.91 and
getting into the state meet. I think he’s going to be able to drop quite a bit
of time in the next two weeks based on his previous time drops, especially
during XC. Cole Nissley also got the SQS in 8:58.66 which I am very happy to
see after he had a rough couple of races so far this season. These 3 runners
were all very strong XC guys and I think will have success at the state meet.
Griffin Molino had a tough first indoor race as he placed 4th in
9:03.38. I think he’ll be much more focused on succeeding outdoors and I think
this is a really great first step for him.
Dominic Hockenbury made the top 3 sophomore list with his
9:06 that I am quite impressed with as well. He had a strong XC season and is a
pretty small (skinny) guy so I feel as though longer distance benefits him more,
so seeing him succeed indoors is a slight surprise and a very good look
forward. Jack Tidball was also solid with a 9:09 effort.
The relays were slightly disappointing all around as nobody
got the SQS in either the 4x800 or the DMR. Upper Merion won the 4x8 over PB,
SH, and CBW in an 8:24 effort while the other 3 squads were all under 8:27. In
the Distance Medley West Chester East just missed out posting a solid 10:51.14
that could get them a bid into the state meet depending on the amount of teams
that will enter the race. They also have another weekend to run it. Radnor came
up in second as the only other team under 11 minutes in 10:57. Placing 3rd-5th
were Conestoga (11:05), Wyomissing Area (11:07), and Carlisle (11:10) who all
under performed in my opinion. Maybe I hyped these squads up a bit too much, but
I felt as though all of them had very strong relay potentials, but they just
did not pan out today. I am not sure if any of them will get another chance to
try and grab the standard next weekend.
More to come throughout the day as results come in!
--ForrestCRN
Russell was leading most of the race, pushing the pace; the kid that won and got the MR can thank him for setting the pace. Russell left it all out there and just didn't have the wheels for the last lap. In comparison, the kid that won scorched everyone over the last lap.
ReplyDeleteBut major props to him, it was a very gutsy race and I think he gave himself the best shot at winning.
DeleteHe? did and I've seen him do that before. Gavilan is a true kicker. Strong. Russell looked good but just got outkicked. He sort of deflates after the 1st guy passed him, making it easy for the other two to do the same. Any results from the Carnival?
ReplyDeleteYeah, he might have lowered his state record if he fought to the finish but since winning was his goal it's understandable to drop off when it's not going to happen.
Delete- Alan Webb
Carnival results were a little disappointing
ReplyDeleteYou're not kidding. Maybe the weather has taken it's toll on training.
DeleteWhat happened to Henderson and Penncrest, did they drop a baton?
ReplyDeleteI saw a botched handoff from leg 1 to leg 2 on the Henderson team. Also looks like they just got dug in too deep, too early to make anything of it.
DeleteWhy was Henderson even there? They had a poor 1st leg, a bad handoff, some lackluster slow middle legs and not enough on the last leg to pull them out of the hole.
DeleteAccording to the start sheets, Penncrest only ran 1/2 their A squad with Kamat and Emanual 1st and 2nd. The back half must have hurt them.
Delete^^Yes Pencnrest was in our heat and were about 3:55 after 2 legs and then died....hard
DeleteThey made the better choice going to Millrose either way. The Carnival today was just flat. Awful times. Certainly no Talent Showcase. Weather has to be a factor in some of these runners fitness?
DeleteBrianna Schwartz would have won Millrose since she ran a 4:42 unchallenged today at a meet in Ohio. She came back to run a 2:10, also alone. Wow.
ReplyDeleteI’m not positive how Russell’s race went down since the Lagat interview superseded the action. Lagat was understandably excited and gracious but…I tuned in to see Tony (and the PA girls and Mary Cain) so it was a little frustrating the Lagat interview dragged on into the mile. Anyways, I thought I heard the leader went through in 61ish and it looked in the background like Russell was in good position, maybe 2nd. Then I thought I heard 2:07 at the half which would be a bit too slow for Russell in this race, and then 3:10 at ¾ which in my humble opinion would leave him wide open to be caught by a kicker.
ReplyDeleteNow this is so easy to say with hindsight, and even easier to say than do, since I couldn’t be even come close to doing what he’s accomplished, but for Russell to win that race he’s got to be through ¾ in 3:07 or better, in my opinion. It’s incredible the level he’s reached where a second or two in 25% of the race can’t be made up, yet that’s the precision needed at those low times…again just my opinion. There’s no denying though that he ran a ballsy race, he took the lead when he needed to and ran his race to win. It’s a shame that the type of mile he needs to run plays so directly into the hands of some of the top guys who can just sit on his pace and have something left but, that’s the way it is. I do believe that if Gavigan was in the Boston Race, Russell goes sub 4:10 and the two go to the wire. Maybe Russell gets to rest up and get a rematch at Nationals. All that said, 4th at Millrose is an incredible accomplishment in a year that has been outstanding for him.
The PA girls were outstanding also. First off, Kennedy Weisner coming in 2nd, I don’t even know where Elk County Catholic is but it sounds like remote PA and cold so training must be a challenge. Barrett is well known and ran solid and then just a huge PR for Clahane. Sheva ran very well too but like Russell, back to back PR’s at huge national meets is too much to ask of anyone.
The State College 4x800, absolutely awesome. I thought their chances of going sub 7:50 were good but they destroyed in a US #2 7:47. I don’t know what happened to Henderson/Penncrest, but as we all know….it happens.
Great job PA!
- RJJL
Your 4x800 just released any doubt about what relay you'll be running at states, so the question is, who will be in that DMR. With no one in the 3000 that leaves fresh legs coming off the very early mile. But some good runners are going to be left out.
DeleteThat was pretty bad how the interview took priority over the action.
DeleteBrianna Schwartz running a 4:42
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteSchwartz is going to be hard to beat come States. For the mile I think she wins, then Weisner, Clahane. Barrett runs the 3k. Sheva will medal-I'm thinking 5th or 6th? She looks burnt out-too much high-intensity training/racing too early.
Delete"Statement made"? What's with Cather making such a douchbag comment post-race? I wasn't aware that anyone was ever knocking SC to begin with. Guess dude has to create some controversy to get some interest in his school or to validate his own self-worth. Just screams pathetic.
ReplyDeleteI read on Penntrack Sheva wery confidently stating that running NBGP the week before Millrose played perfectly into her training regimen for Millrose. Wonder if she feels the same way now?
DeleteIt just didn't work out the way she hoped it would. The beauty of being a high school runner is you're allowed some leeway where mistakes are concerned. Live and learn-she's still a great runner.
DeleteAgree with poster @ Cather-who was he calling out? Like, dude, chill. Good job and all but relax. You didn't break any world records or anything and I'd be careful calling out anyone so close to States-just the motivation some teams may be looking for. So good luck with that.
Where is this video?
DeleteMaybe he was just excited by the great performance. Dude is a high school runner, not a pro athlete trained in handling interviews by a publicist, cut him some slack.
Delete- JEB
https://twitter.com/willcather1/status/434851264631824384
DeleteCather didn't call any teams out...
DeleteGet over it. Cather isn't the first runner to have an overly healthy ego. If some teams need a statement
DeleteSo what? Looking at that link to Cather's twitter and all his congratulatory pics and such I'd
say he has quite a healthy ego. But you need that to be successful in running. And if some other teams interpret his words as trash talking, fine. Keep the chip on your shoulder-you'll need it to take this dominant team down.
Stop already. Kid had a great race -be happy for him and his team.
DeleteHe said thanks and congrats to a couple of people. Big deal. He's one of the nicest runners in the state and is having a heck of a breakout season so far.
DeleteWait seriously? He tweets "couldn't be more proud of the statement we made" and you guys trash him for that? What the hell is wrong with you guys? They did make a statement. A HUGE statement. He was proud of what his relay accomplished and it's not even like he said "hey look at me I'm awesome". If we chastised everyone who made a tweet talking about how happy they are with their race and what they accomplished then we would need an entirely new blog for it. Leave the dude alone.
DeleteTwitter is for narcissists. Stop all your bragging, tweeters and the hating will stop.
DeleteWhere's the video of him saying nice things???? huh??? Honestly, this is stupid.
DeleteStop making something out of nothing. That said, I think a lot of kids-athletes make the mistake of saying things on social media that is interpreted as arrogant or being general a**holes. And they have to take some responsibility for that. Messages you tweet, if your account is open, are often read by people who otherwise don't
know you. If you tweet pics or video of victorious events, quotes from other media praising you, pics of invites or shoes that companies send you, it does come off as being douch-y. Sorry. It's just bragging. There is no need to do that when there is this blog and other websites and word of mouth, etc...to sing your praises. Guess this is the age of social media that breeds arrogance. What Cather said though is so harmless-get real.
Will Cather is one of the nicest young men I have talked to since beginning blogging. He was very excited about his teams performance including a negative 1:57.0 split from Mason Post. He's a classy guy.
DeleteTake your word for it.
Delete,Forrest. Seems everybody is
a bit salty today-must be the weather.
Now isn't it about time for a refreshingly new post? Like has anybody figured out where to buy those high-top running shoes?
Probably the same place you can buy polyester running pants with suspenders and long sleeve shirts, that discussion guy on Penn Track knows..
DeleteNow that everyone has grown up (hopefully) in the past few hours, does anyone know what state college's 4x800 splits were? All I know is that Forrest's prediction came true, Mason Post, their 400m ace is a MONSTER. Apparently negative splitting a 1:57, easily a 1:56 leg come states in addition to Cather and Adam's already monster legs. O'hara needs to step up their game again if they're going to be in title contention, it's going to be an insane race, no doubt.
DeleteYo guys, keep this discussion to what we do on the track.This is a running blog and im disgusted by the way people are using this recourse to personally bash not only my competitors but my friends because you don't understand or see eye to eye with them. Being someone who is talked about on this blog a lot, I would think some of you would take this into consideration before you hit that publish button at any time in the future. If you have a problem with our attitudes or what we say in a stupid post race interview then come to us personally and maybe we might listen to you. What you say about my friends or me on this blog doesn't take away from anything we have ever done on the track and if your goal is to cause drama then apply for a TMZ magazine job, don't waste your time on High School athletes because you're making a fool out of yourselves. Thank you and good day
ReplyDeleteTony Russell
Tony,
DeleteYou make a valid point, and I'm sure that many of this blog's viewers, as well as myself, would be upset to find that we were the subject of petty, irrelevant, and frankly, immature and offensive gossip. You guys (and girls!) don't deserve that, and while a simple solution would be not reading this blog, you are as entitled to doing that as anyone else is.
But if you and other elites do continue to read this or any blog/forum, know that you will find lots of criticism, some of it well thought-out, most of it not so much. It's a simple fact of the running community; just check out letsrun.com (the most popular online running forum, which is full of trolls). I get the sense that the runners who are always bashed on letsrun, like Rupp and the rest of NOP, couldn't care less. Ultimately, it is your choice.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteTake your own advice then, Tony.
DeleteIs that moronic PATFCrushes twitter account that you are partly responsible for the kind of "immature and offensive gossip" you are referring to?
DeleteIf you are going to represent yourself as an example of a responsible, mature student athlete, just make sure that you actually are what you claim to be. That twitter account, aside from being a pretty transparent ploy to get in good with certain girls, is trash-worse than anything I've ever read on here.
^Pot, meet kettle. You sir, have no room to talk- let's just all move ahead and be respectful of each other. We ALL know what it takes to be a competitive athlete. Props to anyone out there giving it their all.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know why anyone is worked up by Cather’s remark, it was certainly benign and the fact is, State College did make a statement. They took 10 seconds off their seasons best, went 3 seconds lower than O’hara’s excellent 7:50, 1st in the state, 2nd in the nation, may have even broken their schools indoor record and may have set up for a potential great dual at states. That’s certainly reason to be proud about the team.
ReplyDelete-RJJL
Thank you, RJJL, for both validating hos "statement" comment, and pointing out that regardless of whether or not it was a statement that they made, the comment was in fact harmless.
DeleteI don't want to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong, but I will say this
ReplyDeleteIf I may propose something, a useful way to help eliminate some of the comments may be to turn on the moderate function ... no comment pops up until it has been approved by the blog admin and you can approve comments right from any smart phone or tablet throughout the day ... anonymous comments can still be contributed to the site, but you just make sure that no content is offensive, it's the way etrain's new site is set up now a days
i personally don't like the way let's run is at all, you have to sift through all the crap just to get to the real material and forrest writes strong stuff on here and does a great job facilitating discussion, i just think some changes could be made
keep up the good work forrest!
No censorship!
DeleteI only censor slander and libel on here, which has to be done. I do not in fact have a smart phone or tablet, and I only check the blog 2 to 3 times a day. I would like comments to continually be facilitated whether or not I am able to get online. I do not want it to get to that point. Although I think it may be an alternative I will have to choose if comments continue to be harsh towards runners.
Delete--ForrestCRN
How about we realize that high school runners should be able to read good analysis and coverage without seeing absurd comments about their personalities, or in some cases, their mothers.
DeleteIf your comment gets censored on a high school track blog, it was most likely uninformative, slanderous, or just plain stupid and unnecessary.
Don't complain about getting censored on a track blog; kids are getting slandered and trash-talked in that "free" environment. I trust Forrest is reasonable enough to approve nearly all comments if this proposed system was set up.