Tony Russell pushed and pulled his Henderson teammates to the title.
Tony Russell was doing his teammate a solid. Because in reality, there was more at stake than just this one race, a contest he was expected to win anyway.
And because the West Chester Henderson senior had come to the point in his career where he could dictate exactly how he races, there wasn’t much of an issue when he changed his race strategy.
In trying to “break” the field after one mile, he accomplished the feat he was hoping to achieve for his teammate, for his team and also for himself.
Photo by Megan Clugh
On Saturday, Russell won the PIAA Class AAA boys’ championship for the second straight year, positioned teammate Reiny Barchet toward a top five finish and captained Henderson’s state title win for the second consecutive year.
The goal in that first mile, Russell said, was to break the field into a pace they couldn’t maintain. He zipped out to a 4:47 first mile. A few seconds back, in an intermediary pack, was Barchet, who would use the performance to pick up runners late in the race.
“Reiny doesn’t like going out as fast as I do,” Russell said. “And I knew for the team and for Reiny, it would be in our best interest for me to get out, keep the pace hard and see if any of those other guys could stick to the pressure or crack. I knew a lot of people could drop off the pace.”
Ultimately, Barchet thanked his teammate for the effort. He finished fifth in 16:04, the best state performance of his career. Easton’s Colin Abert was second in 15:54 and Council Rock North’s Ross Wilson was third in 16:01. Cardinal O’Hara’s Kevin James was fourth in 16:02.
“Tony and I talked and I can’t keep up with him,” Barchet said. “I’m not in that shape in my season yet. I told him to take it out really fast and try to break the top group. That’s what he did.”
Russell, meanwhile, completed out his race in impressive fashion. A week after a season and career best 14:59 at the District 1 Championships, he led a comfortably fast race from the 1.5 mile marker on.
It’s there, he said, where he took control and dictated the race as he’s done so many times this season.
“I felt like I had a pretty good race,” he said. “I definitely didn’t have anything left at the end. I went out a little fast, maybe not the best decision from me. As a race, racing wise, just for the win, it was a good strategy.”
Russell had learned from previous mistakes earlier in his career. At certain moments, he said, he would let off the gas pedal after facing adversity. But as a senior, Russell said he had gained confidence to push through that pain and determine how his races would ultimately finish.
“[In the past] I didn’t necessarily give up, but I don’t have a great kick,” he said. “And if there was someone who would pass me, I would crack. I wasn’t as mentally strong as I am right now. This year, I knew I would be able to stick with those guys. So I just knew I’m capable of doing that.”
What also helped, however, was his emotional state. As one of the best runners in the state, Russell was highly coveted by a number of colleges. He decided to continue his career at Penn State recently, which he said cleared up any stress that was lingering.
“It made things a lot easier,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about where I’m going. I don’t have to worry about how much money I’m going to get. So it made things a lot easier. It took things more off my shoulders.”
Russell will move on with his team to Nike Cross Nationals Northeast Regional, and hopefully, Nike Cross Nationals.