Friday Night - 5/2/14
Everyone will be focused on the Henderson meet, so I’ll
start with the other hot races that happened on Friday Night.
40th
Trojan Track Classic
John Lewis had a killer double winning both the 400 (48.74)
and the 800 (1:54.74). He’s getting really quick and I wish he could run the
open 8 at Districts, but it makes more sense for him to run the 400.
Across the board I was impressed with North Penn’s
performances. 4/8 runner Tyler Johnston ran a solid 50.74 in the open 400 and I
have no doubt he can break 2. Joe LeConey seems to have turned the corner with
a big PR of 1:56.34 in the open 800. He’ll be a big piece on their 4x8, which
is starting to look dangerous. Ryan Grace continues to run well as he dominated
the 1600 with a 6 second win clocking 4:19.33. Do not sleep on this 4x8 team.
Austin Cooper also had a solid race placing second in the
open 800 – 1:55.54.
Pine- Richland
Invitational
Nathan Sloan continues to roll very strong 1600m races
winning in a time of 4:20.05. Luke Regan held on as best he could and dropped a
big PR of 4:22.78.
Sloan came back on the double and outkicked Carter Smith by
a second running 9:41.He’s clearly gotten in some great blocks of training
coming off injury. He’s a medal contender in the 16 at states.
9th Nike Henderson
Track and Field Invitational
I’ll start this post with a quick shout out to my boy Dean
Dupree who dropped two big PR’s yesterday in the open 400 (50.60) and the 800
(2:01.60).
As I posted last night, Logue made a major challenge to
Wiseman with his 1:52.04, and Wiseman responded in turn. He took the race out
in 24.5 and continued to roll. He ended up clocking a 1:52.10, but .06 behind
Logue. These two are really going to go at it at districts. It’s fantastic because
they have different racing tactics as well. Billy Caldwell also dropped a bomb
with a 1:53.91. The man is a gamer and will be a scary anchor for D-East’s
4x800. Dave Garton is coming off a 4:20 1600m PR only to drop some major time
off his 800 PR hitting 1:54.02. Garton has been working at the longer
distances, and the extra strength is coming in handy now. The states open 800
is going to be blazing.
Dan Ferraiolo is starting to get his legs under him after a
rough indoor season. He dropped his PR down to 1:54.62. Just behind him was
Steve Thompson who has made a name for himself this track season, as he
continually drops more and more time (1:54.79). In the end 19 guys broke 2
minutes, the last to do it was Ryan Mucha. Congrats to you, I know it’s been a
long time coming!
These are Sam Ritz’s splits from the 1600: 58-67-68-65.
The rest of the field went out between 63 and 65 lead by Sauer and Moy. Ritz
dropped a 31 last 200, but clearly it was an odd race for all. Ritz does end up
winning in 4:20.04 with Sauer edging out Moy by .02 for second
(4:21.18/20). Wills and Stec are looking
solid for Malvern Prep both hitting under 4:28.
Now to the race you’ve all been waiting
for: The 2 Mile!
The race went out 67-2:13.8 and then Deluca
took the lead and slowed the pace down considerably, so they went through the
Mile in 4:34/4:35. After that Wilson and Russell started hammering 67’s and 68’s
for the rest of the race as Russell slowly pulled away. He closed in 4:25,
while Wilson closed in 4:29. Everything about this race worked to Russell’s
strengths: going out slow and then enacting a war of attrition starting at the
halfway point. It’s how he won XC states and regionals two years ago, and it’s
a shame he just missed breaking 9 (9:00.34). Wilson has another nice race under
his belt with a 9:04.77 (9:01.47 -- 3200), but I know he’s pissed not to break
9. It’s a shame because this field has the potential if they go out faster, and
they should have. Barchet comes up big at his home invite for the second year
in a row just sticking on Wilson and Russell for a fantastic 9:06.44 to beat
out Deluca (9:06.87).
Jaxson Hoey is making me look good by
running 9:09.01! I can’t remember the last time a PA sophomore broke 9:10 for
3200 let alone 2 Miles. His 9:05.64 converted 3200m time is really
unbelievable. He’s a scary good athlete and runner, who is clearly the future
of PA distance running.
Overall 14 guys broke 9:20 over 3200m’s.
Jeff Groh ran very well with a 9:17.04 full 2 mile, and Andrew Marston was extremely
even paced going out in 4:38.5 and coming back in 4:39.5 for a 9:21.02. He’s so
consistent and will be dangerous later in the season and should be an XC stud
next year. Comber was very gutsy running
up front with Russell and Wilson for the first 2k. He faded hard, but came out
with a 9:22.25 PR to show for it. He’s fearless, which is great to see.
Molino (9:22.54) and Webb (9:29.07)
suffered from going out hard as well, and both seem to be more speed (1600m
runners) rather than 3200m guys, but they are both very dangerous in XC.
--ForrestCRN
P.S. Tomorrow I'll do a post on some theoretical 4x8 teams to watch for with potential splits. PA is strong this year in the 4x8.
Would anyone happen to have any photos from the guys Henderson 3200 (the 2nd heat)? Penntrack doesn't have anything from that race...
ReplyDeleteThe 2-mile didn’t live up to the hype but the men’s room added some intrigue. Best sign of the evening, in the men’s restroom:
ReplyDelete“Please flush the urinal after use – No excuses.”
The immediate interpretation with the excuse reference being plural was that it seems those folks up at Henderson must hear it all when it comes to non-flushing. Which suggests they must monitor and inquire about that sort of thing. I was so worried that I’d forget to flush and be interrogated that I got stage fright. That held up the process and extended the line and wait for others. After that experience I used the porta-potties since no flushing was required.
I did PR in my race so overall it was a great day.
This was the best damn thing I've read all day
DeleteThat sign made me feel a little pressure too, like I was being watched, but was able to get through it!
DeleteForrest, you should have closed with "The force is strong with the PA 4x8's this year"
ReplyDelete