PA steals New York spotlight with huge performances
On the Monday before 2014 came to a close, PA's top stars shined the brightest with several top performances from PA's heavy hitters.
After a somewhat slow first half of the meet at the Marine Corps Holiday Classic, Sam Ritz of Germantown Academy and John Lewis of Cheltenham provided the jolt of energy the building needed. Ritz and Lewis turned an invitational 10 man 800 meter race into an epic one-on-one battle. Lewis pushed the pace with a 55 second 400 meter split, with Ritz right behind him. As Lewis pushed the pace, Ritz was growing into the race and seemed the stronger of the two heading into the final lap. Sure enough, the task of leading from the front got to Lewis, and Ritz came from behind to win by under a tenth of a second. Both runners ran 1:52 and both still sit as US#1 and US#2 in the event. It was an indoor best for both athletes.
After some top 3 finishes from Ciara Leonard of Cheltenham in the 55 meter hurdles and Charles Snorweah of Pennsbury in the 55 meter dash, we had two of PA's top 200 meter runners put PA back in the meet's spotlight.
Christian Brissett of Cheltenham made his season debut in the 200 meter dash and made the biggest splash a runner up can make. Brissett ran 21.89 to finish US#2 and 2nd in the 200 meter dash. It was the first time Brissett ever broke 22 seconds indoors, became the 16th PA athlete to break 22 seconds, and is the first PA athlete to break 22 seconds before January!
In the same event, PA's sprinter of the first month of the season, Taylor Chapman of Pennridge snagged the 200 meter title with a national leading 24.72, by far the earliest she's dipped under 25 seconds. The US#1 mark is icing on the cake for a runner who is starting the season setting indoor career bests virtually every time she steps on the track.
For the night cap, Penncrest slapped the tag of 4x800 meter relay state favorites on their back with a state leading 8:08.73 to win the event.
PA's top stars and teams have hit top form in the first month. Will they be able to keep it up?
Schools take advantage of holiday meets by competing in large numbers
The holiday break for teams and coaches can be very difficult. Kids are away from school and some are out of town with family members, which makes practices difficult to arrange at times. The weather can also be a problem as well, as colder and treacherous weather can make training difficult for teams looking to stay fit before returning to the normal routine in January.
But for this holiday period, many teams managed to keep it together and compete in large numbers at some of the holiday competitions. The Burdette meet last Tuesday was the largest the meet has been in several years, especially with the girls' events. The Christmas City relays also had large numbers, with PA performing at a high level. The Marine Corps meet at the Armory had about 10 schools compete.
The performances were excellent, with big marks being set in New York, and the Burdette classic had a couple meet records set and a lot of PA top 3 performances.
How much will the winter break activity help these teams as the schedule gets packed in January and February? Will the teams who rested be able to catch up when they return from the break? We will follow this trend in the next few weeks.
How well is PA doing nationally?
After one month of the season, how well is PA doing against the rest of the United States?
Very well indeed!
The boys have 3 US#1 marks, with two of them belonging to Sam Ritz of Germantown Academy. Ritz is number 1 in the 1000 (2:28.81) and 800 meter runs (1:52.81). The other US#1 mark for the boys come from long jump state champion Isaiah Brooks of Woodland Hills. His mark of 23-6 on December 18 at State College is his best mark indoors, and his 2nd best mark in his career.
The 800 meter run has three PA athletes in the top ten, with Ritz being joined by John Lewis of Cheltenham (US#2) and Alek Sauer of Pennsbury (US#6). Sauer is also US#9 in the 1000 meter run, while Ritz us US#2 in the mile. Two of PA's top cross country runners from this past fall, Paul Power of Spring Ford (US#7) and Colin Abert of Easton (US#8) are in the national top ten in the 3000 meter run.
Christian Brissett of Cheltenham is US#3 in the 200 meter dash with his 21.89 performance on December 29th. Charles Bowman Jr of Central Dauphin East (US#5 60m HH) and Cornell Richardson of Cheltenham (US#9 55m HH) are in the top ten in the hurdles.
In the relays, 4x400 meter relay champions Cheltenham sit at US#8 with their 3:2621 win at the Burdette Classic. Penncrest sit at US#9 in the 4x800 meter relay with a time of 8:08.73 performance.
In the field, joining Brooks in the long jump list is PA#3 Saahir Bethea of Cheltenham with a mark of 23-4. Chris Stone of Springfield Montco is part of a group of 15 guys sharing the US#9 spot in the high jump (6-6). His pole vault rival, Ryan Wilkes of Valley View, is US#10 in the pole vault at 15-6.75.
The girls only have one national leader in 60 meter hurdle state record holder Ciara Leonard of Cheltenham (8.66). Markeeta Thomas of Paul Robeson (US#4), Aspen Gaita of Stroudsburg (US#6), and Uchechi Onuoha of Pennsbury (US#7) are also in the top ten for 60 meter hurdles. The close finish at Christmas City between winner Taylor Chapman of Pennridge and Jaylyne Aminy of Liberty put them at US#4 and US#6 respectively in the 60 meter dash. Chapman is also US#2 at 200 meters in 24.72. Brooklynn Broadwater of Springside Chestnut Hill is in the top ten in 3 events. She is currently US#2 in the 600 meter run (1:34.59), US#5 in the 300 (39.66) and US#7 in the 400 meter dash (57.55). Outdoor state champion McKenna Keegan of Avon Grove is sitting at US#10 in the 400.
In the distance events, PA has four of the top ten spots led by US#5 Terri Turner of Springside Chestnut Hill. Outdoor AAA state champion Maddie Villalba of Central Bucks East (US#6), Karli Visconto of Nazareth Academy (US#8) and Agnes Mansaray of Penn Wood (US#9) are all within two seconds of the state leader. Marissa Sheva of Pennridge and her huge 4:50.73 mile win in New York before Christmas is US#2 in the event. Mady Clahane of Cumberland Valley is US#8 with a Burdette Meet Record 5:05.89. Olivia Young's post NXN 3000 meter run of 10:17.36 on December 17 currently sits at US#5.
Her Unionville 4x800 meter relay team from the same night (9:27.52) sits at US#3. Harriton are top of the state in the distance medley relay, with their 12:43.71 sitting at US#9, just .29 seconds ahead of US#10 Friends Central. 4x200 meter relay indoor state champions Cheltenham sit at US#8 in the event with their 1:43.08 performance at the Marine Corps meet. Cheltenham is also US#5 in the 4x400 meter relay (3:59.02) ahead of US#7 North Penn (4:01.16), but behind US#4 Springside Chestnut Hill (3:55.54). The Inter-Ac squad is also US#4 in the sprint medley relay (4:12.57).
In the field events, AA outdoor high jump champion Erika Voyzey of Tyrone Area sits at US#2 with her 5-8 clearance from the State College Invite on December 18. Moira O'Malley of Souderton is part of a group of eight jumpers in the US#5 spot with her meet record 5-6 from the Burdette Classic. The 2013 indoor shot put champion, Emily Stauffer of Cocalico, has had a strong start to her comeback, sitting at US#3 in the event with a mark of 45-11.50.
So PA is all over the national rankings list after one month. How many more athletes will join the list? Stay tuned to PennTrackXC to find out!