Weekend 3/29

This weekend has plagued with terrible weather, so the times are slower than expected, but there's always a silver lining and that's the runners that still ran well despite the weather. So let's get to it.

Mt. Lebo invite

Billy Doughetry absolutely commanded the 800 in a solo effort in 2:03.90. He's a 1:57 runner and given the conditions, that's a solid opener for him. Mt. Lebo boys are in pieces right now and I don't see a relay in the future for this team so I expect Dougherty to fully focus on the 800 and make it to States. I can see him running a low 1:55 by the end of outdoor.

Ian Baun opened up his season with a win and a new PR for the 1600. That's always a good sign no matter what the conditions and in this case, it's a great sign. Just falling short was Ryan Lerda who dropped a lot of time this indoor season and dipped under 4:30 in the mile. Keep tabs on him for a low 4:20 by the season's end.

39th Annual Altoona Igloo Inv.

Mitch Endress killed the 800 in a 2:01.42, the fastest he's ever opened up and following his season last year and family name, I expect big things from him in his final season. He had a solid indoor season, resulting in a 5th place medal in the 4x800.

Continuing the Altoona wins was Brad Foust in the 1600 in a 4:31. He was also a part of that 4x800 indoors and this squad is only looking to improve places for outdoor. Following Foust was Patrick Miller in 4:33. He's always been a part of the relays and if Brent Kennedy is back to strength he would be a solid 1200 leg to kick off their relay. If my memory serves correctly, he was the leadoff of Kiski Area's DMR at Indoor States. He's a gutsy racer and isn't afraid to go out hard. Speaking of Kennedy, Eric Kennedy opened up his freshman year in a 4:40, which is very impressive. To give some perspective, Willig was 4:51 when he opened up his season and Magaha was 4:37, but Magha's was late april. That was Magah's freshman PR and Willig ended in 4:33, so Kennedy is off to a great start.

Brent Kennedy lead the 3200 wire to wire running a solo 9:31.96. It's great to see him back in action after missing XC and indoor. Seems as though he trained through indoor and got back into great shape to end his career on a high note.

In the relays, Altoona kept the ball rolling in the 4x800, winning in an 8:17. Not a bad mark to start at. This team definitely looks to make it back to states in the 4x800 and have the pieces to do it.

PA Track Classic

There were a ton of scratches which is disappointing, but given the weather, it's understood. I wasn't at this meet, but I live 25 minutes away from the school so I could feel how bad the weather was.

The 800 had John Lewis being the stud that he is going 1:59.81 to take the win. No surprises there. Jon Carroll coming up big keeping it close in a 2:01 effort. Opening up exactly where he left off indoors. That's basically the dream to end where you peaked indoors. His season will be huge and for everyone who didn't know who he was, you'll know by the season's end. Speaking of starting where you left off, Charlie Hoyt left off better than he ended indoor season. Give him a few weeks and I expect him to be at 1:56 or better. He has solid 400 speed as well and I always love when 400 runner step up to run the 800.

Ryan Grace taking the mile by 5 seconds in 4:25.68. I figured he'd run 4:25, on a good day, but for the conditions to be as they were, that's incredible to me. Kudos to him. Dan Shalala, yet another runner to open up the season in this miserable weather to drop a PR. On a side note: What a name! Anyway, he surprised me huge here running better than he was running in May last year. Not sure what to expect from him, but he can only get better from here. Glad to see Eric Diestelow back at it. He's a very talented runner with a lot of potential. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him go low 4:20's by May. Pat Hopkins is piecing together a solid senior year and a 4:33 is a great way for him to start it. To round out the top 5, Billy McDevitt. He truly confuses me as a runner. a 4:35 is a solid mark, but his 1200 suggests he could go faster, but then he has a great 3k time to his name as well. Not sure what the future holds for him, but I can imagine it's a 3200. A fast one.

Jim Belfatto easily winning the 3200 in 9:37, not an impressive time, but a win is a win. Chris Kazanjian and Dominic Hockenbury battling it out for second with Chris just beating him out by .59. Hockenbury was the best performance of this race in my opinion, as just a sophomore running .23 under his PR in these conditions and beating out some pretty big names. He's definitely going to do big things this outdoor season. Casey Comber rounding out the last of the district qualifiers in 9:45 and Matt Kazanjian rounding out the top 5 in 9:52.

Radnor winning the DMR in an impressive battle with Spring Ford and SJ Prep in 10:46. Spring Ford running 10:46 and SJ Prep running 10:49. All solid times, but my biggest question is: Was David O'Such running the 800 leg for Spring Ford and if he was, what did he run? He is Joe O'Such's little brother and Joe had 1:55 speed to his name. He also had mile strength which David doesn't have, but he has more 400 speed. I'm not sure how low he can go, but I would love to see him run it at Henderson or the TFCAoGP meet at Coatesville.

There was an impressive battle between Malvern Prep and Carlisle, both going 8:06. Brehm and Hoey had a great dual. Not sure of the time, but word is Brehm was in third and by the end of the first lap was leading, but couldn't hold is as Hoey outkicked him. Not sure who was in each of the relays, but I have a pretty good idea. If anyone could throw up splits that would be great. Jon Carroll had a solid day, running that 2:01 off the double. I assume both teams wanted to try and get an invite to the Penn Relays 4x800 and with that time I wouldn't be surprised if they did. North Penn was close behind in 8:11. Solid time for them as well. Was Ryan Grace on that relay? Splits for them would be great as well. They ran 7:58 indoors so I would be very surprised if they didn't get the Penn Relays invite.

All-in-all, this weekend was a solid one given the circumstances. It's supposed to rain next Friday so I'm not sure how the weather will be on Saturday, but let's hope it's not as bad as this one.

-RTJ

PA Track Classic

This meet is now one of the premier meets of the outdoor season. The first true test of your fitness level early on in the year. With each year this meet becomes more impressive and this year will hold true to that. Here is the starting list: http://pa.milesplit.com/meets/152496/attachment/288682

After viewing this list, three things stood out to me: The 800, the 1600, and most impressive by far, the 3200.

In the 800 we have some big names on this list, but after looking at the schedule it's after the 1600, so hopefully they're ready to pull off some sick doubles. Reigning state champ Zach Brehm looks to make his come back after a pretty rough indoor season. I'm actually surprised to see Carlise at this meet, but not as surprised as I am excited. I want Brehm to absolutely kill it. While on the topic of Carlise, Jon Carroll is also in this event. He has 1:58 speed to his name and I'd like to think he wants to remind people that Brehm isn't the only stud on the team. We also have newly turned miler, Billy Caldwell in the mix, taking a stab at his old event. With his mile strength, it can only help him become a better 800 runner. State medalist Eli Mercado looks to continue his string of solid races and make his way back onto the podium this spring. Speaking of Mercado, the runner that he edged out for the last medal spot, Andrew Stewart, is definitely looking for some revenge. 9th place is  a sour taste in your mouth and a crazy hunger to never let that happen again. Stewart does everything in his power to not let Mercado get the better of him again. Twin Valley's Charlie Hoyt has been running sub 2 since he was a sophomore, he is one of the leaders in the field with 1:57 speed. 400m State Champ John Lewis rounds out this top pack. This will be a fast race from the start and I love the Brehm, Caldwell, Lewis match up.

Top 5:
1. John Lewis 1:56.36
2. Zach Brehm 1:57.12
3. Billy Caldwell 1:58.68
4. Andrew Stewart 1:59.14
5. Eli Marcado 1:59.22

The 1600 has some solid runners in that list. Zach Brehm is the leader on paper looking to make people forget his not breaking 4:30 indoors. I also noticed Eric Diestelow. An injury-plagued indoor season slowed him down, but he came back towards the end and I'm hoping he's 100% healthy and ready to go. He also almost broke his mile PR indoors so I'm hoping that will foreshadow his very successful outdoor season. Ryan Grace had a breakout indoor season, setting huge PR's in the mile and grabbing the last medal spot. I expect big things for him this outdoor season and with the athletes in this field, I'm hoping it starts with this meet. Billy McDevitt had a successful indoor season, more so in the longer events like the 3k, but also ran a few solid 1200's through the year, don't sleep on him. Malvern Prep has stepped it up severely this year and I only can imagine them continuing this success. Pat Hopkins put together a sub 4:30 mile indoors, he will definitely be looking to keep pace with the field. Lastly, Nick Smart. I am very interested to see how he does in the 1600. He's had an unbelievable indoor season and I can only imagine someone with 1:53 wheels and low 16 XC credentials will be able to pull off a huge mile, potentially even an upset. He ran a 4:27 mile at PCL's this year so I'm hoping something in the low 4:20's is in his future.

Top 5:
1. Zach Brehm - 4:24.43
2. Ryan Grace 4:25.26
3. Nick Smart 4:25.64
4. Pat Hopkins 4:29.94
5. Eric Diestelow 4:30.58

The main event is here, the 3200. Over the last couple years, there has been a huge, sometimes breakout, performance. Last year it was Kevin James with a 9:15, before that it was Francis Ferruzzi and Zach Trama with a 9:28 and 9:29.  Who's it going to be this year? The field is absolutely stacked. I like the O'Hara duo of Kevin James and Jim Belfatto vs the Penncrest twins of Matt and Chris Kazanjian vs the Penn Charter duo of Scott Mason and Ben Szuhaj. All of these runners have run a sub 9 3k, or it's equivalent (Belfatto 9:01 early season, but 9:22 last year XC season). Adding on to the sub 9 3k club Christian Kardish, Casey Comber, and Paul Power join the front pack. Matt Willig, Rob Morro, Drew Pastore, and Dominic Hockenbury are no slouches either, all of them sub 9:20 3k runners and 2 of them sub 9:10. This field is absolutely filthy and has 6 state medalist, whether that be in a relay or open event.

Top 5:
Kevin James- 9:13.95
Jim Belfatto- 9:16.19
Casey Comber- 9:26.24
Paul Power-9:28.06
Chris Kajanzian-9:30.11

The relays are up in the air, but seeing as most of the relay's top two runners are going open, I'm going to assume only one or two 4x800's will be stacked and no DMR's, like most years. If I had to take a guess, Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy stack their 4x800s and Radnor stacks its DMR.

-RTJ

Indoor Nationals

This has been one of the most impressive performances from PA at this meet’s history. Let’s get started.

Ross Wilson has impressed me so much this year. I always thought of him as a 3k/5k guy, but this year he has straight killed the mile. Hitting 4:15.09 for a full mile translates to a 4:13.61 1600. During the Henderson night invite I can honestly see him going sub 9 in the 3200. Also in this race we had the sophomore sensation Jaxson Hoey running 4:16.72. He’s put together quite the year as well. The last sophomore to be as dominant as him was Tom Mallon running a 1:52 and shocking everyone at the state meet to win. I fully believe that if Tony Russell wasn’t in that race Hoey would have had the calmer pace and would have pulled out the win in around 4:15-ish. Sam Ritz ran a great race as well in 4:16.85, bouncing back from his States race. He has 4:09 speed so this outdoor season he will definitely be one to watch.

State College running a 7:46 indoor is extremely impressive, especially when all of the runners didn’t run a PR. Cather had a monster anchor in 1:53 and This relay looks unbeatable outdoors. Mason Post has really progressed nicely in his 800 this season and only can get better from here. O’Hara ran a 7:54, nothing too impressive for them, but since they ran out of their minds the day before, I think we can give them a free pass. D-East was the last PA team and didn’t run too hot. On the bright side, even with a bad day they can still run close to 8 flat indoors which means they will be a solid squad outdoors.

Henderson had a solid showing in the 4xMile. Definitely thought they could go faster, but there’s always a bright side and that’s Barchet still showing he can perform in the post-season. Yes, Russell did “only” run a 4:20, but there was honestly no point in him going any faster. The top three teams were way too far for him to catch so why waste energy that you don’t have to? I wish Moy/Stratman ran a little faster, but I’m sure they will both drop solid miles outdoor. NA shocked me. For being such a strong XC team, I expected at least a sub 18:00, but they are more 3200 runners than milers.

Colin Martin continues racing impressively by dropping a sub 14:50 5k for fourth place! Max Norris and Brendan Shearn didn’t even go that low and both were very impressive 3k/5k runners. Shearn went 9:04 so this makes me think Martin has a shot to go sub 9, especially since Martin has better 1600 speed than Shearn. He’s had such a great season and will only improve when he gets his training partner back.

Cardinal O’Hara, wow. Just wow. If there was a team that improved the most over this season it is definitely them. Kevin James rocking a 3:03 is blazing fast. He went 3:04 last year at Penn Relays so I can only imagine he will be close to 3 flat this year. Nick Smart dropping a 1:53 amazes me as well. He went from 2 flat at Delco’s to 1:53 about a month later. That’s on some serious Sam Ellison-type dropping of time in the 800. Last, but not least, Jim Belfatto absolutely killing the anchor leg in a 4:11. Not sure what O’Hara’s coach did the last month of the season, but he did it right. In THREE weeks he went from a 4:22 at PCL’s, which was his PR, to 4:17 at the state meet, to 4:11 at Nationals. Wow. I’ve never seen anyone drop that much time. The anchor split of the DMR is a 1600, which would be about 4:13, but still a ridiculous drop in time over three weeks. Congrats to the national champs and PA’s all time best, they deserve it. Henderson also ran very impressively going 10:04 for fourth. That was also a PA all time best. Moy was a little off, but Stratman ran a great race in 1:57 and Russell Absolutely killed the anchor leg in a 4:07! I believe he will dip under 4:05 in the 1600 if he gets in the right race and for the mile I think he can go 4:07-ish.

If only Jeff Wiseman repeated his feat at State he would be the National champ right now. It’s insanely difficult to run a PR two weeks in a row though, especially when you’re that low. He ran a solid race and grabbed sixth place. Cather ran a solid race as well placing 14th.

Gotta mention the double national champ, Tessa Barrett. She has had an unbelievable year this year and to break the National record is insane. She also broke the 3k state record in her two mile… and in her 5k. She is actually a monster.

-RTJ

Kyle Francis

I was not planning on blogging during the races (Jarrett and I are watching them on a big screen together), but I can't ignore discussing the race that I just saw. I haven't jumped around watching a track race since the 800m Finals last summer when Simmons placed second overall.

Francis' performance was legendary. Taking out a field with 3 sub 1:54 guys in 26 low, into a 53.7, continued to push the pace coming through 600m in 1:22.1 (remember that 600m specialist Jeff Wiseman ran 1:20.67 for the open 600 a couple weeks ago) and then continually dropped the hammer despite pushes from Wiseman and Logue to finish in a overall state record, and a state indoor meet record of 1:50.55. Just brilliant. It was a ballsy move by all accounts and it clearly paid off for the young man.

Congratulations Kyle Francis.

--ForrestCRN