Boys Race Previews - Paul Short Run
Brown Race - 3:30 PM
The individual race in the Brown Race is going to be interesting. Gary Martin will be running at Paul Short, but he's in the White Race (more on that below), so that means that the race for the top spot in the Brown is up for grabs, and it should be a good one.
Entered in the race is Ringgold's Ryan Pajak, Hempfield's Aidan Hodge, and Lewisburg's Jacob Hess. Those three come in as the three favorites, but this field is deep and the lead pack through the midway point will likely be jam-packed. Pajak, a sophomore, has been on a roll this season, winning at Marty Uher, Red, White & Blue, and last week at Foundation (in the day's fastest time). Now he'll see perhaps his best competition. Hodge has claimed a pair of wins at invites this season, and placed fifth in the loaded Carlisle Invite in 15:40. The junior will be aiming for another fast time and what would be the biggest win of his career in this race. Hess, a senior who was second in AA at states last year, was third at PTXC 12.2 and won't be afraid to go to the front and push some pace in this race.
Those three will have company up front, though. There are six other PA top 25 ranked boys in this field. Andrew McGonigle of Owen J. Roberts made a big statement with a second place finish in the Gold Race at Foundation last week. The junior has a lot of momentum coming into Paul Short and should be in line for a major PR. The same goes for the Downingtown East tandem of Brendan Flynn and Caiden Leen. The pair went 3-4 at Foundation, and are in a good spot to contend for the win here.
Manheim Township's Tyler Stevens was leading at Foundation before he was forced to drop out due to injury. If healthy, expect him to be right up front, just like at Hershey. Exeter Township's Alex Holbrook has been running well all fall long and he'll aim to continue that on Friday. Kennard-Dale's Garrett Quinan was fourth in the Foundation Blue Race, and should factor in up front, too. North Pocono's Caleb Kenyon has won some dual meets, but should be looking towards a breakout performance in this race -- his first big one of the year.
After that, look for a number of boys to get into contention. On a fast course, aggressiveness can pay off. Others to look out for include Tatnall's (DE) Nicolas Pizarro, Cedar Crest's Luke Hinegardner and Ryan Wolfe, Hershey's Dillan O'Shell, Hempfield's Joseph Fahrney, Owen J. Roberts' Thomas Damiani, Haverford's Quentin Ryan and Ethan Fingerhut, and Freedom's Alex Heidemann.
The team battle should get very spicy with a number of top teams set to mix it up. Three top ten ranked PA teams and a number of deep bubble squads will clash in this Brown Race.
Hempfield come in as the PA favorites at PA#3. Led by lowstick Hodge, this team has a good mix of individual medal contenders. After a fourth place team finish at Carlisle, Paul Short will be a good test for the Knights against some strong District 1 squads. Those teams include PA#4 Downingtown East and PA#5 Lower Merion. D-East was second to North Allegheny at Foundation and Lower Merion wasn't far behind in third. Those two are very different teams as far as their make-up, but should wide up close in the final team standings.
This race has a lot of room for teams to step up and make their presence known with the calendar flipping over to October. Lewisburg Area, PA#3 in AA, looked strong at PTXC and if Hess returns to its lineup this week, will be a team that can compete with the AAA powers. Exeter Township won at Ben Bloser a few weeks ago and returns to action this week with a chance to make a big statement. Owen J. Roberts, behind its terrific top two, was fifth at Foundation and should fare well in this field. Methacton has been impressive all season long, most recently grabbing sixth at Foundation, and that should translate into a shot at the top five in this race.
Haverford Township is an interesting squad that raced well at Unionville and is yet to run a 5K in an invitational setting. The Fords could certainly surprise with a big run here. Manheim Township was 11th at Foundation, but would have been right up with OJR and Methacton were it not for Stevens' DNF. Look for Township to mix it up for a high finish. Cedar Crest, North Penn, Conestoga, and Hershey are all teams worth keeping an eye on in this very deep field.
Looking to spoil the party for Pennsylvania is Maryland squad Loyola-Blakefield, which was second at Bull Run (MD) a few weeks ago.
White Race - 4:30 PM
Normally, the Brown Race tends to be the premiere race at Paul Short. And while the Brown Race is loaded with talent, the White Race features one of the nation's top runners. Gary Martin of Archbishop Wood is entered in the White Race for Friday afternoon and Martin will be aiming for a big race on a big stage.
Martin, a Virginia commit, opened his season with a 15:13 win at Northampton. The 4:03 miler heads to Lehigh where he will surely have a fast time and the course record on his mind. The meet record is 14:55 by Colin Abert (Easton) from 2014 and the course record is 14:47 by Paul Springer (Unionville) from 2006. Both are on high alert for Friday, and the conditions seem like they will be good for Martin to chase some more history. Don't miss this one.
Martin isn't the only big name in this field, though. Hatboro Horsham's Brian DiCola is entered in the White Race and should put down a fast time. DiCola went 15:52 to take second at PTXC and then easily won at Council Rock last week. The junior is running great and should see a huge PR on the Lehigh course.
Others to watch for in this field are Schuylkill Valley's Luke Seymour, Lansdale Catholic's Anthony Gargani, Germantown Friends' PJ Kresloff, and Phoenixville's Bryan Kerchner. Each of these biys have turned in strong performances as of late and should be looking to drop some quick times on Friday.
The team race should be close with teams like Iona Preparatory (NY), Germantown Friends School, Garnet Valley, South Western, and Phoenixville Area aiming to take the top spot.