AAA Boys 800m Preview
Eric Albright of Garnet Valley came out on top in a very competitive District 1, running a 1:53.57, which will give him the top seed in the AAA 800 meters. Albright did it with a big kick. After going through the first 400 in 59 seconds, Albright dropped a very quick 54 second last lap to take the district title against a great field that will account for five of the top eight seeds on Saturday in the event.
If the state race is similarly tactical, it could favor Albright -- who will be fresh -- once again, but we could see some other tactics used to switch things up. Pottstown's Darius Smallwood sits at PA No. 1 on the season. Smallwood is also the state's No. 2 300m hurdler, but he chose to go after just the 800. He's run 1:52.79 in a solo dual meet effort (and has run similar times in the same solo dual meet conditions five other times). He's been a bit under the radar, but the times speak for themselves: he's a contender.
That then brings us to Gary Martin. The Archbishop Wood junior is entered in the 3200 and 1600, which both come before the 800. A lot depends on what his legs are leg after those two races, but Martin has been putting down jaw-dropping performances all year long, and it's to the point where not much is surprising. A win here would still be surprising, but Martin has proven he's not one to count out. He ran a PR of 1:53.71 at the District 12 meet.
Two others have run sub-1:54 in this field: Central Bucks East's Holden Emery and State College's Brady Bigger. Emery -- like Albright and Smallwood -- will be on fresh legs. He ran 1:53.95 to win the SOL Colonial title and edged out Smallwood for second in District 1. He's a talented runner, who has a great chance to be right in the mix to win the state title. Bigger will be on his third race of the day; the 800 will be after the 4x8 and 1600. Bigger has run 1:53.75 this season and definitely can't be counted out. His teammate Sean Adams has run 1:54.89 this year. He has good potential in this field and seems primed for a big PR.
District 3 champion Tommy Bildheiser has run 1:55.44 this year. WPIAL champion Jacob Puhalla has gone 1:56.59. They are district champs that could threaten the top five here. The same goes for District 1 qualifiers Benjamin Horner of Conestoga and Sam Elsen of Unionville.
This field, perhaps more than any other distance event, has the highest chance to see some runners from the "slower" section make some moves into medal territory.
ENTRIES:
Event 708 Boys 800 Meter Run AAA
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NFHS Record: 1:46.45 1996 Michael Granville, BellGardensHS,CA
PIAA Record: 1:48.72 2015 John Lewis, Cheltenham 01
NFHS Hnr Rol: 1:52.00
1:57.00 SQS
Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Albright, Eric 12 Garnet Valley 01 1:53.57 SQS
2 Martin, Gary 11 Abp Wood 12 1:53.71 SQS
3 Emery, Holden 12 C B East 01 1:55.05 SQS
4 Smallwood, Darius 12 Pottstown 01 1:55.05 SQS
5 Bigger, Brady 12 State College 06 1:55.75 SQS
6 Adams, Sean 11 State College 06 1:55.94 SQS
7 Horner, Benjamin 12 Conestoga 01 1:56.28 SQS
8 Elsen, Sam 12 Unionville 01 1:56.32 SQS
9 Bildheiser, Tommy 12 Cedar Crest 03 1:56.43 SQS
10 Puhalla, Jacob 10 Moon Area 07 1:56.61 SQS
11 Formica, Mike 12 Knoch 07 1:56.76 SQS
12 Hess, Thomas 10 Lewisburg 04 1:56.76 SQS
13 Norton, Bennett 12 State College 06 1:56.84 SQS
14 Harnish, Arik 12 Lmptr Strsbrg 03 1:57.38
15 Wolfe, Ryan 11 Cedar Crest 03 1:57.50
16 Roden, Timothy 10 Cntrl Dauphin 03 1:57.57
17 Hensinger, Chase 11 Sthrn Lehigh 11 1:57.63
18 Smith, Jacob 11 Warwick 03 1:57.66
19 Simpson, Luke 11 Seneca Valley 07 1:57.86
20 Williams, Victor 12 Pine-Richland 07 1:57.94
21 Konieczny, Andrew 12 St Joe's Prep 12 1:58.25
22 Petty, Tyler 12 Abington Hts 02 1:58.65
23 Eagle, Holden 11 Allderdice 08 1:58.96
24 Klein, Kody 12 Cathedrl Prep 10 1:59.40
25 Hoffman, Brady 10 Parkland 11 2:00.45
26 Amador, Alex 10 Saint Marys 09 2:04.37