Boys 3,000m Preview
The 3K is looking very wide open on the boys side with just 12 seconds separated the first seed from the 12th and final seed in this field. This is going to be close!
The top seed is North Allegheny's Scott Nalepa, who rolled to a 8:40.27 for the win at last week's TSTCA Championships. He's progressively dropped time in the event, and looks to be in a great spot to go after his first state title on Sunday. His NA teammate Jack Bertram, just a freshman, was second to Nalepa at TSTCAs, running 8:42.38 last week. That's the fastest 3K time ever by a PA ninth grader indoors, and in his first indoor state meet appearance, he will contend for the title.
Hatboro Horsham's Brian DiCola went 8:42.90 at a TFCAofGP meet a few weeks back and is in a good position to go for the win here. He's a savvy racer and that will come in handy in what should be a fairly packed in field. North Pocono's Caleb Kenyon is another contender. The senior, who was third at the XC state meet in AAA, went 8:43 to win the Carnival a few weeks ago. He rises to the occasion in big meets and he'll be a factor up front.
Danville Area's Rory Lieberman was a close second to Kenyon at the Carnival, running 8:44. He's been getting better with each passing week, and he, too, should figure right into the conversation for the win. The same goes for Ringgold's Ryan Pajak, who dropped a fast 9:18 for 3,200m at the SPIRE Showcase earlier this season. Pajak, just a sophomore, is a tough racer, and should put himself right among the leaders.
Susquehannock's Matthew O'Brien put down an 8:47 for 3K. He's a consistent performer as we saw in XC, and though he hasn't raced a ton this winter, expect him to take a crack at the title, too.
Some big names like Gary Martin and CJ Singleton have opted for other events at the state meet, but that doesn't mean that this boys 3K won't be an exciting battle between some of the state's top distance runners. The tactics should get interesting in such a wide open field where, frankly, any of the 12 entries could take the win with a good day.
ENTRIES:
Event 16 Boys 3000 Meter Run
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Meet Record: 8:22.65 2/25/2006 Craig Miller, Manheim Twp.
Name Year School
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1 Bertram, Jack 9 North Allegh
2 Bondy, Ray 12 Carlisle
3 Brill, Drew 11 LaSalle Coll
4 DiCola, Brian 11 Hatboro Hors
5 Gargani, Anthony 12 Lansdale Cath
6 Kenyon, Caleb 12 North Pocono
7 Lieberman, Rory 11 Danville Are
8 Nalepa, Scott 12 North Allegh
9 O'Brien, Matthew 11 Susquehannock
10 Pajak, Ryan 10 Ringgold
11 Pena, Vicente 12 Conestoga
12 Ryan, Quentin 11 Haverford To