AAA Boys 3200m Preview
It's no secret that this has been a legendary season in the boys 3200 meters. In early May, Archbishop Wood's Gary Martin ran the third fastest outdoor 3200 in state history with an 8:49.96 at the Henderson Invite in a race that he didn't even win (Germantown's Academy's Robert DiDonato, who won in 8:44, is not in the PIAA). Now Martin will look to win his first outdoor state title to go with his AA XC state title from the fall.
Martin is attempting the 3200-1600-800 triple, so we'll see what his tactics will be to start his day off in the 3200. While his 8:49 is historically fast, we will still see a great race for the state title. That's because Hatboro Horsham's Devon Comber and Donwingtown West's Aiden Barnhill also went sub-9 in that same Henderson 3200. Both will be looking to give Martin a run for his money.
Comber may have the best kick in the field. He ran the fastest last 400 in that Henderson race to finish in 8:53.58. That kick could come in handy in this race, where it could come down to the last lap. Barnhill went 8:58.53 at Henderson and was second to Comber in District 1. Both boys will surely be right there in the mix.
There's no shortage of other contenders. Greencastle-Antrim's Weber Long won District 3 and has a 9:12 to his name this spring. He beat out Penn Manor's Graham Thomas at D3, but Thomas went 9:08 at Henderson. J. Henry Lyon of Williamsport won the District 4 title in a quick 9:12.03. WPIAL champion CJ Singleton of Butler is the 20th seed, but he went 9:09 this season. General McLane's Dylan Throop ran 9:12 this spring before capturing the District 10 title last week. There is simply some remarkable depth here.
Others like the LaSalle trio of Drew Brill, Max Manganiello, an Zach Brill, Manheim Township's Tyler Stevens, McCaskey's Stephen Schousen, and Exeter Township's Alex Holbrook aren't ones to sleep on either. This is one of the deepest 3200 fields we've ever seen at the state meet. Surely, plenty of boys will be looking to mix it up near the front. The battle for medals will be a dogfight.
Up front, it won't be a race to miss.
ENTRIES:
Event 710 Boys 3200 Meter Run AAA
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NFHS Record: 8:24.23 2008 German Fernandez, RiverbankHS, CA
PIAA Record: 8:55.60 2015 Zach Brehm, Carlisle 03
NFHS Hnr Rol: 9:02.00
9:31.71 SQS
Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Martin, Gary 11 Abp Wood 12 9:10.03 SQS
2 Lyon, J. Henry 12 Williamsport 04 9:12.71 SQS
3 Long, Weber 11 Greencastle 03 9:18.97 SQS
4 Hess, Jacob 11 Lewisburg 04 9:19.63 SQS
5 Thomas, Graham 12 Penn Manor 03 9:21.24 SQS
6 Throop, Dylan 12 Gnrl McLane 10 9:22.59 SQS
7 Comber, Devon 12 Hatboro Hrshm 01 9:23.03 SQS
8 Brill, Drew 10 La Salle Cllg 12 9:23.36 SQS
9 Manganiello, Max 12 La Salle Cllg 12 9:23.81 SQS
10 Stevens, Tyler 11 Manheim Twp 03 9:24.08 SQS
11 Brill, Zachary 11 La Salle Cllg 12 9:24.65 SQS
12 Barnhill, Aiden 12 Dtown West 01 9:25.29 SQS
13 Holbrook, Alex 11 Exeter Twp 03 9:26.59 SQS
14 Schousen, Stephen 12 J.P. McCaskey 03 9:28.25 SQS
15 Flynn, Brendan 11 Dtown East 01 9:28.86 SQS
16 Miller, Charlie 12 Conestoga 01 9:29.80 SQS
17 O'Brien, Matthew 10 Susquehannock 03 9:30.19 SQS
18 Mcgonigle, Andrew 10 O J Roberts 01 9:30.29 SQS
19 Pena, Vicente 11 Conestoga 01 9:30.98 SQS
20 Singleton, CJ 11 Butler 07 9:32.61
21 Pajak, Ryan 9 Ringgold 07 9:39.48
22 Harris, Brayden 12 Mifflin Cnty 06 9:42.65
23 Jubert, Alex 12 Norwin 07 9:43.65
24 Kane, Alex 11 Sthrn Lehigh 11 9:43.75
25 Frank, Cole 12 Liberty 11 9:44.91
26 Beckwith, Joel 12 Indiana Area 07 9:46.48
27 Kenyon, Caleb 11 North Pocono 02 9:53.12
28 Foster, Wyatt 10 Saint Marys 09 10:35.39