AA Boys' 800m Preview
Grove City's Jonah Powell will first be going for the 1600 state title, but after that he'll look to add an 800 meter state title. If his District 10 meet was any indication, Powell certainly has the ability to find another gear on a double. He took the D10 race out hard and came home in 1:54.36 for the win, which is the state's fastest AAA time by over 2 seconds.
He looks to be the one to beat heading into the weekend. Juniata's Garrett Baublitz, also running the 1600 earlier in the day, will look to give Powell a run in the 8. Baublitz went 1:56.58 to win the District 6 title in the event and should be a formidable opponent.
District 11 proved it will have some title contenders. In a very competitive D11 race at Whitehall, Jim Thorpe Area's Samuel Hydro scored the win in 1:56.99 over North Schuylkill's Luke Halko (1:57.48). Meanwhile, Palmerton Area's Jacob Martinez was third, but he went 1:56.34 a week earlier in the event. All three can make some noise in this field.
Jake Schneider of Seneca is the top returner in the field from last season and he should play a big role in this race. A year ago, he was fifth. he's run 1:56.99 this season and was second to Powell in that wild D10 final. Two other returning medalist from 2018 are Mid Valley's Sebastian Brudnicki (seventh) and Deer Lakes' Josh Yourish (eighth). Both are back with their sights set on a return trip to the medal stand.
District 4 champ Addison Magyar of Warrior Run and District 3 champ and impressive freshman Luke Seymour of Schuylkill Valley are among the others to watch for here.
Fresh legs may make a difference, but some of the doublers will have something to say about that.
ENTRIES:
Event 608 Boys 800 Meter Run AA Prelims
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NFHS Record: 1:46.45 1996 Michael Granville, BellGardensHS,CA
PIAA Record: 1:50.10 2016 Domenic Perretta, Beaver Falls 07
NFHS Hnr Rol: 1:52.00
1:59.70 SQS
Name Year School Seed relim Time
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1 Powell, Jonah 12 Grove City 10 1:54.36 SQS
2 Baublitz, Garrett 11 Juniata 06 1:56.58 SQS
3 Hydro, Samuel 12 Jim Thorpe 11 1:56.99 SQS
4 Halko, Luke 12 No Schuylkill 11 1:57.48 SQS
5 Schneider, Jake 12 Seneca 10 1:57.62 SQS
6 Martinez, Jacob 12 Palmerton 11 1:57.91 SQS
7 Magyar, Addison 12 Warrior Run 04 1:58.03 SQS
8 Yourish, Josh 12 Deer Lakes 07 1:58.28 SQS
9 Seymour, Luke 9 Schuylkll Vly 03 1:58.74 SQS
10 Brudnicki, Sebastian 11 Mid Valley 02 1:58.94 SQS
11 Newton, Logan 11 Wyalusing Vly 04 1:59.99
12 Tanner, Christian 12 Smethport 09 2:00.17
13 Bucher, Will 12 Trinity 03 2:00.17
14 Belczyk, Colby 10 Riverside 07 2:00.76
15 Morales, Damian 11 Derry Area 07 2:00.91
16 Roberts, Corey 10 Cntrl Cambria 06 2:01.00
17 Maxwell, Nathaniel 12 Everett Area 05 2:01.42
18 Schill, Noah 12 Clarion Area 09 2:01.49
19 Frost, Stephen 11 Eliz-Forward 07 2:01.67
20 McCoy, Carson 9 Deer Lakes 07 2:02.21
21 Purdy, Andrew 12 New Hope-Sole 01 2:02.51
22 Yeager, Clay 11 Juniata 06 2:02.85
23 Capaci, Dominic 12 Holy Redeemer 02 2:03.21
24 Ruiz, Camilo 12 Sla Beeber 12 2:03.23
25 Bradley, Noah 11 Masterman 12 2:03.31
26 Cotton-Jones, Michael 12 Paul Robeson 12 2:03.41