Millrose Games Entries

Hey guys, I will be putting the previews up tomorrow for the Carnival and I will be there working along side the Milesplit team which is quite exciting for me. Working meets is probably all I will be doing, but look for me on Saturday. I will be conducting interviews throughout the day and I hope to meet some of you!

For Millrose I did write-ups for all the events that really stood out to me/that I am particularly interested in. I separated them in sections and the High Schoolers are first, so if you don't care about the Collegiate or Professional races you can skim that stuff over.

High School

John Lewis will be racing with Cheltenham’s 4x2 as they look to put out a blazing time, but North Penn is also in the race, as is Del Val. I think we will see sub 1:30 from all 3 squads along with a 1:28.7 from Cheltenham.

Tony Russell will be the only PA runner represented in the Mile invitational, and I’m frankly pretty surprised Sam Ritz did not get in/is not attending. I think Russell is going to complete the triple. He’s been racing extremely strong and isn’t messing around this season. This is no slouching field however with guys like NY regional XC champion Mike Brannigan and Sean Kelly of Chaminade who has run some fantastic times already this season. The Millrose field is always deep so anyone could surprise, but Russell seems almost too good right now.

Penncrest’s entered 4x8 has Emanuel and Kamat which were expected, but James Teal and Colin Tyson? Teal has almost no results to his name, but is a junior who might be having a breakout year on the relay scene that we’ve totally missed, and Tyson’s 800m PR came earlier this season in December and he ran 2:10… he’s got a 25.04 200m PR to his name which means he’s got speed and if he’s figured out the distance and the Kazanjian’s are freed up for the 3k at states I’d be pretty excited. Watching this pan out will tell us a lot about the Penncrest squad.

Also in the 4x8 is a hot running State College squad who I believe will go ~ 7:50: Golembeski (1:59.5) Post (2:00.5), Adams (1:56.0), and Cather (1:54.0). I honestly think that is fairly reasonable, if not a bit on the cautious side. Adams might be in better shape than I think and Post is a 6’3 400 guy moving up in distance which thrills me and he could be a total stud and split 1:57. But we shall see J

Henderson is trying out the 4x8 and I’m sure they’ll break 8, although I’m surprised to see Barchet on the relay. Moy is most likely in 1:55 shape if he is splitting 3:06 for 1200m (from a post) and Thompson should be in mid 1:58 shape by now. Stratman can go ~2 flat and I see Barchet running 2:02.

The College 4x8 will have quite a few PA guys including an almost exclusive PA team from Duke with Kunzweiler, Moran, and McClafferty. Next season they’ll have Francis as well which makes me pretty excited. Magaha is on U Penn’s team and hopefully we’ll see a bounce back race for him and Palmisano running for ‘Nova.

Professional

Big gun Abington graduate Jarret Eaton in the 60m Hurdle Elite section as he was recently signed by World Express. He’s an absolute animal.

One battle I’m super excited for is the Womens Elite Mile featuring high school junior stud Alexa Efraimson who will be racing Mary Cain for the first time! Cain is clearly a stronger mid-distance runner, but Efraimson just recently broke Cain’s Junior 3k American record… Also featured as studs like Uceny, Moser, McGee, Grunewald (just had a great 2 Mile), and Lipari.

The 1000m American Record might fall as well as an absolutely amazing group of mid-distance men have assembled. Matt Scherer, the world’s best pacer, will be helping lead the charge for Mike Rutt (recently ran 1:46 low on back to back days), Erik Sowinski (600m American Record Holder, recently split 1:46.2 to anchor the World Record breaking 4x8 team), Nike Symmonds (Silver Medalists in the 800m at the past world championships and is the 3^rd fastest American All-Time at the 800m distance), along with past 800m NCAA champion Robby Andrews, and Tyler Mulder a man who ran 1:46 on 4 separate occasions last summer. My goodness am I hyped up for this race. It’s going to be incredible.

In the Men’s Elite Mile we have some of my favorite runners and characters on the national scene along with PA alumni Craig Miller. One of my top 5 favorite professional runners looks to have the first big race of his post-collegiate career and that’s Miles Batty who graduated last year from BYU. Lawi Lalang just dropped a massive 3k effort of 7:44 and is in amazing shape. I think he could break Chris O’Hare’s college record that was set at this meet last season, and by the way, O’Hare is in the field as well. Not to mention Nick Willis who grabbed a big win at New Balance this past weekend in a 3:57 effort (after the race went out in 2:04.5 through 800m), the Australian is always ready to roll and is one of my favorites. We’ve also got Will Leer who is fantastic at complaining, but is almost as good at coming up big in non-championship races so he could shock with a big race. On the other side of the spectrum from Leer is Leo Manzano who is still unsigned! He’ll be looking to prove he’s worth it as the Olympic silver medalist looks for a big victory which is must needed. Lalang isn’t the only Collegiate however as Kirubel Erassa of OSU looks for redemption after XC nationals along with a big PR and not to mention Austin Mudd the stud from Wisconsin who always races superbly. 

--ForrestCRN

Weekend Results 2/8

I am going to attempt to get back on track these next few weeks. I will be at the Lehigh Meet next weekend to do analysis and video coverage, so I hope to see all of you there. Sorry for the late weekend results, but my goal this week is to post every day so let’s begin!

New Balance Grand Prix

There were so many fantastic results this weekend, but Tony Russell’s victory in 4:11.56 was in my opinion the most impressive result of the weekend. In an interview afterwards he said: “I really didn’t think of it that much when he passed me, I have a history of giving up right when I get passed back in junior year. I am really trying to break that and I believe I have.” Frankly I’m really happy he’s acknowledged this and so far it’s made him much better of a racer this season. Going out in 2:07 and coming back in 2:04 is so impressive. He’s clearly the top Miler in PA and I believe he’s taken the next step and could be one of the top Milers in the nation. After that race I’m thinking he could double the Mile and 3k for a double gold victory at states. If he did that the DMR for Henderson would still be solid after they ran a 10:27.53 without him this past weekend. They went 10:15 last weekend with him and a 12 second spread is quite a bit, but they’ll be one of the top DMR’s in the state if they can be running low 10:20.

New Balance Amory Invitational

                The success for PA continued at the Armory this weekend with a slew of top tier results. Joe Logue placed 5^th in the 1k with a time of 2:28.66. I’m surprised he wasn’t a bit more competitive for the win which was 2:26.94. Logue does his moments at longer distances like his 3:57 1500 outdoors last season, but they’re quite rare. His time still transfers into a 1:54 so we know last weekend wasn’t a fluke against Cather. It seems as though Logue often doesn’t race to win and waits too long to kick. He’s got amazing finishing speed and if he races like he did against Cather he’ll have a really great chance to win the state meet. Cather however will be looking for some redemption and he’ll also have to deal with Jeff Wiseman who just ran 1:20.67 giving him a 1:52.85 equivalent. I’m about equally impressed with both Logue and Wiseman’s performances because I see the 600m as Wiseman’s ideal distance while the 1k is a bit out Logue’s range. By states I think both guys will be in low 1:52 shape.

                In the boys 4x800 PA continued to come up big with O’Hara placing second in 7:50.98. This is the effort that I was expecting a few weeks ago. I’m glad they’re really rolling now a couple weeks before the state meet. The battle between them and State College should be epic. I still think they would have a stronger DMR than 4x8, but for point purposes at the state meet the 4x8 seems like the better option. Penncrest also ran very well as they dropped some more time running 7:57.86 which was good enough for 6^th place. I’m still unsure of their legs so we’ll find out if Chris Kazanjian will be running the open 3k or just the 4x8. Either way this squad will be totally fresh at states making them very dangerous since most relay teams have one or two studs that will be coming off the double. This team is very consistent and the times are evenly distributed. If someone can have a really big day they could easily grab as high as top 3 at states, although beating O’Hara and State College will be tough.

TFCA of GP Meet #8

The boys in Division I did not want to be showed up by all the strong performances by PA guys outside of the state as we saw strong results across the board.

In the 400 Eli Mercado of Boyertown ran a strong 52.41; I like this result since his speed has clearly increased over the course of the season and I see him as a real threat to medal at this point. Also of note Tyler Johnston of NP is making a comeback off injury and just ran 53.14, he was a key relay runner for them last season splitting sub 2 and he could be an importance piece on whichever relay they choose.

Andrew Stewart of Upper Dublin has a big race grabbing the SQS and a win in the 800m with a 2:00.41. He’s been very quiet all season in terms of open events (running mostly relay legs) and it’s good to see him really breakout here. I bet UD goes for the DMR at MoC’s to try and get the SQS. Stewart would be a strong 1200 leg for him.

In the Mile, Andrew Hanna bounced back winning over XC studs Dan Shalala and Alexander Balla with a time of 4:35.46 (1.5 second victory). Many of the CR South guys did not race well the last few weeks and it is good to see that they’re starting to peak again and rounding into better shape. One surprise was Joe LeConey running 4:49 in the Mile. He’s split quite well for North Penn this season, especially in the early going, but he is beginning to fall off the train.

The 3k got me really excited because I’ve been waiting for Comber to break the 9 flat mark after his strong 9:02 effort earlier this season. 8:56 is really solid and I have no doubt that he’ll be in contention for the podium at states. HH has a new distance coach in Mike Mahoney who is bringing some CR North workouts over there and I’ve heard Comber is eating them up. Speaking of CR North, Brian Arita really impressed me this weekend running a strong 9:09.24 which is a big PR for him. Other solid results was a 9:21 for Dave Garton as he’s coming back from injury as well running a longer event is always tough, I’m hoping he’ll be ready to roll in the open 8. Jeff Kirshenbaum also pretty impressive as a sophomore running 9:21, he’s a guy to watch in the future.

Saint Joseph Prep threw together an 8:15.21 to get the SQS! Who are the runners on this relay, because I’ve got no idea, either way congrats to them! They could be the big underdog for states like Upper Darby was last season. I’m hoping they race hot again at MoC’s before states so we can get another preview of this squad.

The DMR was HOT this weekend with 9 teams breaking 11. From what I’ve heard Jake Brophy lead off for CB East in 3:13 which is fantastic for the sophomore, but even stronger was Billy Caldwell who blew everyone’s doors off in the last 400m of the 1200 leg, splitting 3:09!! Around the 3:17 mark was Tung of NP, Simmons of CR North (coming off sickness) and a LaSalle runner who I believe was Grant, which would be a great time for the sophomore. Bilotta and Grace battled it out on the Mile leg with Grace taking over in the last 400m grabbing the victory for NP in a strong 10:38.11 to LaSalle’s 10:39.57. CR North went under the SQS again in 10:47 despite a 2:12 800m leg, but Wilson was able to split 4:23 and get them back into the race. DTE was 4^th in 10:51.95, Bensalem was 10:52, CB West was 10:54 (I’d love to know Fonta’s split), Upper Darby showed longer distance chops in 10:58, Roman Catholic was solid in 10:59 as was CB East.

Pretty great to see so many squads trying out the Distance Medley before states, and I think there is a lot to learn from this. North Penn always goes 4x8, so despite this big win I have no doubt we’ll see them in the 4x8 at states. LaSalle will definitely go DMR which means we’ll see Brendan Bilotta in the Mile and then doubling back for the Mile leg. I wanted to see him try out the open 3k again, but I doubt he’ll run it at states. CR North seems set on the DMR but they need to work on getting a stronger 800 leg. DT East is better in the 4x8 for sure, but I’m still impressed with the 10:51 none the less, that being said it’s 4x8 at states for them no question. Bensalem has an interesting qualm, but I think they’ll be better in the DMR than the 4x8 for the same reasons as I stated last weekend, Francis is a strong Miler and can do more damage on the anchor for a full Mile than 800m. Upper Darby is a lock to run the 4x8, but I’d like to see CB West try again at MoC’s got get the DMR SQS. Every year they seem to throw some relay together and get it qualified and I have no doubt they can do it again this season. Roman Catholic is getting really close, but Brown would need a big leg for them to get the SQS.

Division II wouldn't be shown up as they threw down some solid results to finish off the weekend.

Dan Ferraiolo of Malvern Prep continued his late season success running 2:00.26 over a pretty strong field that saw 5 guys sub 2:02. Under 2:01 as well was Tyrell Maddox of Del Val who just missed the SQS by .05 seconds. He’s having a nice breakout season and I’m really rooting for him to get into the state meet. Behind him was Sam Ritz who ran 2:01.29. He’s a big strength runner and I think he’s going to have a successful meet at nationals. This is a big training blog for him and I like that result. Julian Degroot-Lutzner ran solid with 2:01.36; I’m surprised Masterman hasn’t ran a fast relay yet, but hopefully we’ll see one soon leg by this junior who is running strong. Tre Williams of Penn Charter also ran well in 2:01.52 and will be a key piece for any relay that they decide to put together.

Malvern Prep continued the winning with Colin Wills over Chris Kienzle 4:37.04 to 4:39.30. It must have been a slower race, because Wills 3:14 split for them in the DMR means he’s got to have the Mile SQS in him (4:32). Either way MP only needs him in the 1200m and he’ll be great for them at states. Also to note Ben Szuhaj is getting back in shape after injury running 4:49.

Big race in the 3k with Jonathan Perlman of Lower Merion peaking at the perfect time once again winning in a time of 8:58.18. He ran really well at districts in XC but hasn’t done anything big this season until now. Lower Merion coaches know that they’re doing and I bet he breaks 8:50 at states. Helping push Perlman under 9 was Scott Mason of Penn Charter who missed the SQS mark by .01!! He’ll be running fresh on a relay most likely, but it’s a shame he didn’t grab the standard. If he does choose to run the 3k I wouldn’t doubt that they’d let him in. 

Radnor barely grabbed the state standard in the 4x8 running 8:22.01 over Wissahickon and Masterman who were 8:28 and 8:31 respectively. Give Masterman a 2:01 leg and I have no doubt they can get the standard. Not sure who Wissahickon’s legs are, but if they run hot at MoC’s the SQS is within range.

Upper Merion beat out Bonner in the DMR 10:55 to 10:57. Both have strong Milers in Cooper and Sullivan. Bonner seems to like the DM and I wouldn’t be surprise to see both squads run this hot again at MoC’s and race them fresh at states to try and grab a medal.

Training must be tough on the West side of the state, because I know it’s tough over here on the East side and we don’t get it nearly as bad weather wise, but Patrick Miller of Kiski ran 2:03.96 at the Youngstown Meet this weekend which is pretty solid. I think we’ll see strong things from him in the Mile come outdoors.

Jeff Van Kooten snuck into the state meet winning the Mile in 4:32.08. I’m not sure how the track is, but times are usually pretty slow from what I’ve seen. I’m glad we’ll get to see him race at states, especially after not seeing him race since his big break out at states.

Ethan Linderman dropped a huge PR in the 3200m run in 9:54. He’s a junior who hasn’t even broken 10 outdoors and could be on his way to a very nice season outdoors.

  

Again, I'm really sorry for the lack of posting and I promise that I'm back for real.

--ForrestCRN

The Varsity Classic Results

Hey everyone, I hope all of you are getting some good training in despite the bad weather!

I was super impressed by Kyle Francis' double victory in the Varsity Classic yesterday (at the armory), he went 1:54.4 in the 800 and 4:22.5 in the Mile. The Bensalem kicks always peak very well and he's coming into great shape right now. Both the 800 and the Mile are pretty stacked and I'm not sure which one he will end up choosing with that strong 800. He's got a great kick and if he's going to double back for the DMR (which seems likely) then I believe going for the Mile is the best call for him. He could very well compete for the gold in the open 800 as well.

Sam Ritz also impressed in the Mile running 4:22.9 finishing second to Francis. They were 2 seconds ahead of FL finalist Louis Corgliano, which probably means a quick last 400 for both Ritz and Francis. Ritz is running well and I have no doubt will be sub 4:20 by states so look for him in the mix in the Mile. Reiny Barchet finished 4th place, but the website doesn't have his time. Based on the results he's most likely in the high 4:25's which is impressive. If they go the DMR route he could be a good anchor if Russell is on the double with Mile and 3k.

Jaxson Hoey tried himself out at the 800 and it turns out he's got some real wheels as he finished 6th in 1:57.5. Going under 4:20 and 1:58 as a freshman indoors is extremely impressive, especially with time to spare in the season. He is going to be a scary anchor in the DMR and he's a threat to beat Russell in the Mile.

Gunnar Sjoreen also looked strong running 2:00.4. Hopefully the rest of Conestoga is coming along as strong as he is, if so they'll have some strong relay teams.

I also wanted to point out that Ross Wilson of CR North has not run a 3k yet this season and will be unable to run that event at states. It seems as though he might be going for the Mile/DMR double! If that's the plan it's quite an interesting choice.

--ForrestCRN

Weekend Results

Douglas W. Wesner Memorial Inv.

Andrew Miller is a solid 800m runner with nice leg speed.  He's also a AA state medalist in the 800m. This weekend he hit the SQS going 51.05 and did it in a solo effort, which is pretty impressive. He hit 2:00 earlier in the season at Kevin Dare and his fitness seems to be steadily improving. He has a 1:57.8 to his name and by the time indoor is over, he should have a new PR heading into outdoor. Watch out for this guy come outdoor.

As for Colin Abert, I don't know what's going on with him. He is running worse than he did last season and he had a heck of a XC season this year. At this point last season he ran 12 seconds faster in the mile and .3 faster in the 800m, but ran it over a month earlier. The only event he's done better in is the 3k and that's by .4 and he ran it three weeks later. Not sure what's up, but I hope he's not hurt and trying to continuously run on it. That wouldn't be a good move on his part. The season still has a few key meets left so I hope to see him bounce back in a big way.

Methacton pulled out the DMR win in a heated battle with Conestoga. I believe Andrew Marston anchored in a heated battle against Pat Hopkins. I heard "Come on, Andrew!" in the race, so I assume that's who they were talking about. I'd love to know splits for both relays if anyone has them. Wyomissing had a solid DMR as well, they have nice pieces in Andrew Miller, Kyle Shinn, and Jack DiCintio. If they play around with their order I believe they can punch their ticket into States in the DMR with Miller doubling from the 800.

Paul Power continuing his undefeated season with another victory going 4:30.36 in the 1600. He essentially popped out of no where in XC and then continued to roll in indoor. He ran a 9:18 uncontested earlier in the season and I have a feeling he's not done in that event. Don't sleep on Paul Power. Mitchell Croakley had a great 1600m as well going 4:33.68.

TFCAoGP Meet #7

This was a relatively quiet meet as well, but there were a few gems to be mentioned.

WCE ran a 10:56 DMR. I'd love to know splits, but as of now all I know that Diestelow lead off and Cummings anchored in around 4:30-ish. Solid time for the team though, especially taking into account that Diestelow is still bouncing back from injury and it was done on Glen Mill's "track." Put them in spikes, on Lehigh's track, and Diestelow fully recovered, I think this squad has 10:45 potential. Masterman coming in second in the DMR in 11:02. They have a few nice pieces and ran a solid 4x800 last year so not totally surprising, but definitely a shock.

Not sure exactly who was in O'Hara's 4x800m, but I'm sure it wasn't fully stacked. Solid running by their B squad and Kevin James though who ran a solid anchor leg. That 4x800m is looking pretty good for them if they run hot, but the DMR is definitely more of a fit still. That and SC looks crazy scary right about now. The only teams right now that looks like they can challenge them in the DMR is a WCH squad with Russell or a completely fresh HGP, but after Kardish dropped that 8:46 I have to think he goes 3k at States.

TSTCA Meet #3

Colin Martin dropped the hammer with a solo 8:46. Martin has really emerged this year and hopefully continue to drop PR's this year. Without Ethan he finally gets the recognition that he deserves. Speaking of Ethan, where is he? West doesn't have too many meets, which makes me think he is training through indoor to get back to where he wants to be outdoor. Hopefully he's not injured again. Behind Martin was a Matt McGoey and Mike McLaughlin who ran 9:05 and 9:08, respectively. Both of which are PR's for them. In two weeks at the TSTCA championships, they will need each other to push for States and ultimately I believe they both will get it. In the second chase pack was Hunter Wharrey and Patrick Quirk. This was Wharrey's first 3k ever and he ran a solid opening race of 9:25 with Quirk chasing in 9:26, both also running PR's. At the championship race, I can see the 3k will be a very packed event with many shooting for States.

In the mile Michael Becich won in an impressive 4:24, especially impressive since he's more of an 800m runner than a miler. His 1600m Pr is from sophomore year and he only ran it once junior year, he focused more on the 800m. He has 1:56 speed to his name and with his impressive mile, I want to know what he can do in the 800m. Keep your eye on Becich. James Smith came in second in 4:30. Smith is also more of an 800m runner, with a PR of 1:55. He hit the SQS in the mile and now should try for the 800m. Hopefully next meet out west we will see a rematch between Becich and Smith, only this time in the 800m.

That's all for now, I'll try and add more about the TSTCA meet when I can find the results. 4x800m, 800m, DMR, and more on the mile hopefully.

-RTJ