Boys' Distance Medley Relay
This will be an interesting race with a lot riding on which pieces teams decide to put on the line late in the day Sunday.
One team we don't have to question is Seneca Valley, the current PA#1s and the top seed. The Raiders dropped a 10:23.07 at the New Balance Games at the Armory to take the top spot in the state. With strong legs like Sam Owori and Seth Ketler bookending this relay, look for Seneca Valley to be a difficult team to take down, especially considering they are all in for this DMR on fresh legs.
Then there's Bishop Shanahan. They are not going after the 4x800-meter relay, but many of the relays legs have quite a few other obligations before the DMR (Josh Hoey is entered the mile and 800, Jonah Hoey the 800, Rick Zink the 400 and 200) and a looming 4x400 afterwards. Shanahan ran 10:24 at the VA Showcase earlier this season and that was with Josh Hoey running the 800 leg. If they decide to put the older Hoey on the anchor, his 4:07 speed will be hard for anyone to overcome (even if he already has two races under his legs). That will be something to watch for.
Central Bucks West is another team to watch for. West is entered in the 4x8 earlier in the day, but has a strong squad that ran 10:29 to win at Lavino earlier this season. Look for the Bucks to be in amongst the leaders on Sunday. Butler is a talented squad that will likely have Noah Beveridge on the anchor (4:16 miler). It ran 10:33 to win the TSTCA title last weekend and seems primed for a big day at Penn State this weekend.
Wyomissing Area is going all in for the DMR and it could pay off. Joe Cullen is a very solid miler and the rest of the team has the depth to hang with these schools near the front (keep in mind, Wyo is a AA school, whereas the others are AAA). LaSalle will make some noise in this race. The Explorers have a good miler in Evan Addison that can roll with the other anchors in this field.
Penncrest, Spring Ford, Neshaminy, and Council Rock North are other teams in this field looking to put themselves in the mix for the win.
This is a pretty wide open field and we could certainly see more than a few surprise performances that help define this race.
Entries:
Event 20 Boys Distance Medley (12)
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Meet Record: 10:13.12 2/25/2017 Carlisle, Carlisle
S Affolder, J Griffie, I Kole, N Affolder
School
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1 Bishop Shanahan
2 Butler
3 Central Bucks East
4 Central Bucks West
5 Council Rock North
6 Germantown Friends School
7 LaSalle College High School
8 Neshaminy
9 Penncrest
10 Seneca Valley
11 Spring Ford
12 Wyomissing Area