3200m
Tony Russell grabs the win in 9:07 followed by Ross Wilson (9:11) and Sam Webb (9:11). Behind them was a group of 4all around 9:17 of Barchet, Marston, Comber, and Chris Kazanjian. The last qualifier was a man I totally left out of my predictions, which was clearly a poor choose -- Alexander Balla who came up with a big PR in 9:24. Perlman ran 9:33, Knapp was 9:35, and Arita was 9:40.
Webb comes off a major injury in XC, but rehab clearly went well and his patience has paid off. He PR's by 2 seconds at districts and puts himself in major contention to medal at states. He loves to work off a fast pace, and that's what he'll get at states, no question about that. Also congrats to Balla for coming up big and grabbing that last spot.
District 3 Championships
Carlisle gets the 4x8 win after a big anchor leg from Zach
Brehm. They run 7:57. The team had a lot of promise coming into the season, but
the pieces haven’t come together. Central Dauphin (7:59) and Cedar Crest (8:01)
both get the SQS. CC has run 7:57 this season and any one of these teams could
challenge for a spot in the finals if they can drop 2 to 3 seconds into the
7:54 range.
At the start of the day Jeff Groh had a killer 3200m win
over a strong field that had 6 guys hit the SQS. Groh’s 9:13.91 beat out XC
state medalist Aaron Gebhart (9:16.15), XC District Champion Patrick Reilly
(9:18.90), the multi time District Champion Zach Brehm (9:23.06), XC medalist
and teammate Cole Nissley (9:25.00), and sophomore stud Zach Seiger (9:31.08).
I hope Groh, Gebhart, and Nissley choose the 32 at the state meet despite
getting the SQS in the 16 as well. I think Groh and Gebhart have legitimate
chances of medaling at the state meet, especially Groh with his great
speed/strength combo. He’s been doing tons of work in races this season by leading
the whole thing, but with a fast pace to tack onto I believe he’ll go sub 9:10.
Also to note that another sophomore gets the SQS in Zach Seiger, which is a
really tough thing to do, so congrats to him.
The 1600m brought in 7 qualifiers as Jeff Groh led an even
2:11 pace through the halfway point. Brehm waited until the last lap to blast a
58 to win in a 4:16.40, while Groh faded to second in a 4:18.33 effort. The
other qualifiers are Luckanitz (4:21.60 – a really nice PR for a man who has
dropped major time all year), Gebhart (4:21.94 – some solid speed for the XC
man), Wilson (B) (4:22.70 – Another strong junior in the bunch), Nissley
(4:22.89), and Sponaugle (4:24.02). The two LD runners will graduate, but the
other 5 boys will return next year for furthered battle. The district record is
4:10.73, which I would love to see Brehm go after senior year, but he seems to
love quadrupling at the district meet.
Brehm finished off his day with a 3rd win in the
open 800m where he cruised to a win in a strong time of 1:53.96 over Jarrod
Cruise (1:55.60) of Cedar Crest. Cruise did what he needed to in order for CC
to get into the state meet, and I think that relay squad has a lot of
potential. Ryan Wolf was the 3rd and last qualifier in a 1:57.21
effort.
Also shout out to Darien Knudsen from Mifflin County who won
the 32 out of district 6 and ran 9:33.14 on his own. This is why I’m glad
winning a district race gets you an auto-Q, because he just missed the state
time.
--ForrestCRN
First Post from Indiana! Hopefully more to come :)
District 3 gets 5 automatically qualifiers in AAA for all events.
ReplyDeleteBrehm only ran 2:00 on the anchor leg of Carlisle's 4x8 to win it. Plus Carroll is coming off a stress fracture and that is the first time Wisner ran under 2:00, and was just off the medal stand in the 1600. Yeah he's also a sophomore. Another week from now Carroll will be more healthy and Wisner will be more seasoned, they should still make finals as long as Brehm runs.
ReplyDelete7 of the top 8 in the 800 at District 7 qualify.
ReplyDelete1. James Smith 1:53.2
2. Elias Graca 1:53.9
3. Dylan Wilhoite 1:54.3
4. Brett Foster 1:55.4
5. Billy Dougherty 1:55.8
6. Mike Becich 1:57.1 (from the slow heat)
7. Marcus Smail 1:57.1
knapp was 9:32 in 9th
ReplyDeleteand arita was 9:42
ReplyDeleteCedar Crest did not just do what they needed to do to get to states in the 4x8. I think they were over confident coming into the meet with their seed time that was almost 8 seconds faster than the anyone else. They let Carlisle and Central Dauphin get away and could not chase them down. They were visibly disappointed with 3rd place, and I think Cruise was looking for redemption in the open 8. It will be very interesting to see what happens next weekend.
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with WCH? All those guys with great times and they focus on the 4x800. Even without Russell they should go 7:46. Are some of their guys hurt? Or maybe their track short is a couple of yards short.
ReplyDeleteIf Tony Russell wins the 3200, would you guys consider Ross Wilson as one of the greatest to never win a state title? At the same time, if Russell wins double gold, is it safe to say he's one of the greatest in state history?
ReplyDeleteTony has a lot of fans on here who would be more than happy to rattle off his accomplishments. I will not do so, but suffice it to say that he is one of the greatest.
DeleteOthers whom I would consider to be among the greatest include Magaha, Willig, possibly Shearn for his AA dominance, Tom Mallon, possibly Dustin Wilson, and possibly Ryan Gil.
Ross definitely belongs in the conversation of "Greatest to Never Win States," if he doesn't win this weekend. His converted 3200 time ranks 7th all-time on PennTrack, and, as far as I know, everyone before him won a title. The best comparison, perhaps, is Tom Kehl, who ran a 4:09 converted 1600 (3rd in the 2010 Penn Relays Mile), and came in 2nd at both indoor states (lost to Tom Mallon) and outdoor states (lost to Will Kellar). Tom also ran 1:52 or 1:53 for 800 (probably significantly faster than Ross) but never broke 9:30 for 3200. I believe that Ross has better range than Tom, and would therefore be the best runner to never win States.
I also think that if Jeff Wiseman doesn't win this weekend, he would also have to be considered to be "The Greatest To Never Win States"! He was US#2 indoors, and has now run a few 1:51's along with some low 48's in the 400 and 47 splits.
DeletePaul Vandegrift and Drew Magaha are the greatest in PA history. There are maybe 10-15 others who are the next tier down, Russell would be in there. Wilson would be in the next tier after that, and there's probably 50 in that group. Very, very good, but not among the greatest either with or without state gold.
DeleteMagaha only raced well outdoors. And Paul had one great race where he ran 4:03 in the 1600 and Russell still has the distance festival to break or at least get extremely close to Paul's record. Tony Dominated all three seasons over this year and Xc last year without a problem at all. Magaha's 1:48 was crazy but he only had 2 amazing races where he ran 1:48 and 4:07. Tony is a 2 time state and regional XC champion even after his injury, indoor state record holder in the mile and has a 4:07 split after going out in 58 for his first lap. He ran 1:54 off of 59 first lap and he ran 8:57 for the 3200 after a 4:35 first mile. Lets not forget his 14:58 where he had to lead the whole thing to blow away Ross. Russell has by far the best range any runner has ever had in this state and he's been running these times without having anyone having times anywhere near his. Put Russell in a fast race where the first 1600 goes out in 4:26 or so with people who have an actual chance of beating him like at nationals and he'll break 8:50.
DeletePaul Springer had better range than Russell. Better times too.
DeleteSeveral things here in response to the guy 2 posts above.
DeleteMagaha's best races were outdoors, but he did not "only race well outdoors." During his senior indoor season, before contracting mono, he ran a 1:54 at Lehigh. Lehigh's track wasn't even Mondo when he did that; it was that weird green rubber. Drew also won District 1 XC in 15:16. And his great track races are not limited to the 1:48/4:07. I won't list everything, but seriously, do some research.
I cannot seem to find Springer's alleged 4:03, but he certainly did run 4:08 as well as 8:49 converted. Tony's 1600 PR is roughly the same, but I will not accept a hypothetical 3200 as justification of his superiority to Springer. Until he runs faster, Tony's 3200 PR is 8:57, period. No excuses. And Springer ran 14:47 at Lehigh.
Tony's times are elite, yes, but they alone do not qualify him as one of the greatest. He is one of the greatest primarily because he won XC states twice and because he won NXN regionals twice, rather than because his track times are very, very good. You fanboys would be better served using this argument, because a hypothetical sub-8:50 simply does not stand up to a real one.
Tony is probably most comparable to Vince McNally or Craig Miller. Vince had PRs of 1:55/4:07/9:05/15:02, and Craig ran a 4:06 full mile, an 8:22 3k, and a 14:56 5k. Both were great runners, and so is Tony. But the distinction between Magaha/Vandegrift/Springer is that those guys have state records. Tony will likely not break any of these, although he does have the XC state course record. If this holds up, he will have been one of the best ever.
If Russell wins both the 32 and the 16, I believe he is definitely in the conversation as a top 5-10 guy in state history ... Vandegrift won two XC state titles just like Russell, ran 4:03 and 1:48 and won a total of 5 outdoor state titles ... he won the penn relays twice in an individual event and was top 10 or so at foot locker nats his senior year ... he held the indoor state record in the 800 until mallon began the assaults on that record, but u gotta remember indoor tracks were a lot worse back in grift's day
ReplyDeleteas russell's resume currently stands, it isn't quite vandegrift level
tom mallon deserves some credit here as i have discussed before, not a direct comparison bc he obviously specialized at 800m but mallon had a phenomenal career (1:49/7:33 held multiple state records, 7 total state championships)
paul springer 14:47/8:49/4:08/1:52 but lacks a bit of the state championship pop that russell has (just one for springer as a junior in the 32)
chris spooner 1:51/4:08/8:53 with 6 state championships on the track, although many are at AA
craig miller 1:52/4:05/8:22 multiple time footlocker finalist, 3 time xc state champ, injuries his senior year kept him from doing historic things but as a frosh and soph he was unreal
hopefully didn't give away too much here as i will be doing a post on my top 50 distance runners in pa state history once the events of the state meet have concluded
small edit, springer actually had 3 state titles, he won a pair of indoor miles at states
DeleteMarston is going to do work at states
ReplyDeleteWilson will take the 3200 and then Brehm will wreck in the 1600.
ReplyDeleteWilson has no chance. Brehm has the ability to win fresh or maybe even with one 4x800 in his legs but, with competition, Carlisle can run fast enough to make it to the finals so then he'd have to run the 4x800 that morning after the 4x800 trials the 1600 and the 800 trials the day before and thennn after all of that come back to face Tony Russell after he waxes the competition in the 3200. Russell can go 9 flat then come back with a 4:10 because he made districts look like a joke against the previously #2 ranked guys in the state in both events. I don't think brehm has what it takes to run sub 4:13 to win after 2 fast 800's and a moderately fast 1600 prior. He definitely has no shot if Carlisle makes the finals which would ad yet another 800 to the list Russell is just way too strong.
ReplyDeleteAlsooooo... No one wants to lose to Zach Brehm after he tripped Cunzweiler last year. (I think that's how you spell it) no one is going to let that guy win another state championship this year.
I'd just like to point out that no one is going to "let" anyone win a State Championship; everyone will be going for it. Logue and Wiseman did not "let" Francis run 1:50 and win; they did all that they could, which wasn't good enough on that occasion. There was no consent at all such as "Okay Kyle, I guess I'll let you win today," nor will there be anything like "Hey, this guy tripped Kunzweiler, so he definitely can't win" this weekend. I mean, just my take.
DeleteMy personal predictions (ideal conditions):
3200
Russell 8:59
Wilson 9:05
James 9:07
Martin 9:08
Deluca 9:09
Comber 9:12
Webb 9:15
Reilly 9:17
One of the things I hated about the World Championship 5k and 10k was that the field took it out slow every time, perfectly setting Mo Farah up for the win, since he had the best kick, without making him work too hard for it. Everyone knows that Tony will win this race, but these guys will make him work. Deluca balls out from the gun, and Ross will push it up front with him. Think sub-4:30 for the first mile. This will really string out the field, and predictions are really a crapshoot. Colin Martin did show that he can thrive off a fast pace at indoor states, and Kevin James is due for a big one, no doubt. Webb is really a fighter, and maybe Pennsbury doesn't have a great shot at 4x8 finals and so runs one of their 2:00ish guys in his place in the prelims. Gotta love Comber for breakthrough of the year...dude's 32 PR was 9:52 last year, and I'm not sure if he broke 17 at Lehigh. A lot of people have picked Reilly as a sleeper. I'll probably get in trouble for not picking Reiny, but he tanked at states last year, and I can kind of feel it coming again this year.
1600
Abert 4:12
Brehm 4:12
Russell 4:14
Van Kooten 4:14
Belfatto 4:15
Caldwell 4:15
Sloan 4:16
Holm 4:18
Tony last tried this double at indoor states last year, though in the reverse order. He is more fit, but this field is deceptively strong. He'll be a bit tired from the 32, and I think these guys take it out hard on him. I think Abert leads the charge in a really bold move, but that the field follows him. He'll drag the D7 boys to nice PRs in good weather, as well as Holm. Belfatto should be right up in front as well, as he has no fear of a fast pace, but I don't think he's as strong as Abert due to the disparity in their 3200 season bests. Finally, Brehm and Caldwell both hang a bit off the pack and pick up the pieces on the last lap. Brehm makes it really exciting, but Abert squeaks it out.
800
Wiseman 1:50
Logue 1:52
Smith 1:52
Francis 1:52
Brehm 1:53
Willhoite 1:53
Cooper 1:54
Garton 1:54
Brief thoughts: it's Jeff's time to win a championship and run 1:50; he's had a phenomenal season. Logue and Brehm are gamers, but tired from their earlier races. Kyle can't quite recapture his indoor magic and is a bit burnt-out. Wilhoite and Smith are ready to drop big PRs. Garton sneaks in for the last medal. Don't know enough about how Cooper runs. If Cather makes the final, he could either be really dangerous or too tired from his relay to be a factor.