Above: DiCola beats Pajak to the line - Photo by Phil Grove
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We've seen the discussion.
Saturday's PIAA 3A 3200m Championship race is being hailed as THE deepest field in PIAA History.
That reaction is warranted when ten boys run 9:12 or faster and four break 9 minutes. So we decided to take a look at the data. We plotted the last ten years of finishes based on the average time of the Top-10 in each 3A 3200m Championship.
Looking back to 2013, you'll see that 2023 offered the fastest Top 10 average. However, 2015 provided a similar metric. The difference in average came down to just over one second.
In 2023, Brian DiCola (Hatboro Horsham) won in 8:47.39 - adding to his stellar resume. He outkicked Ryan Pajak (Ringgold), Drew Griffith (Butler), and Matthew O'Brien (Susquehannock) to earn the win. DiCola closed in 58.11.
Pajak ran an incredible last lap as well. He closed in 58.31 to run 8:47.39. Griffith and O'Brien ran 8:52.20 and 8:55.76, respectively.
Patrick Lawson (Haverford Township), Colin Whitaker (Lampeter Strasburg), Drew Brill (La Salle College), Jack Bertram (North Allegheny), Brett Kroboth (Peters Township), and Ian Johnson (Perkiomen Valley) rounded out the Ten Finishers that sub-9:13.
In 2015, Carlisle standout Zach Brehm won it with an 8:55.60.
He held off Colin Abert (Easton), Kevin James (Cardinal O'Hara), and Paul Power (Spring-Ford), who all joined him under 9. But the similarities don't stop there. Ten boys also ran 9:12 or faster in that race; in fact, ten boys ran 9:08 or quicker.
To compare the depths of these two fields, we should look deeper. So how about we make the cut-off position 20?
In 2015, the 20th placing time was 9:26.10. In 2023, Luke Bodden ran 9:26.50 to place 25th.
Eerily - the stats between these two years are so similar that it is difficult to decide which field was "deeper". This year's results certainly benefited from incredible times out front.
After all, Dicola, Pajak, Griffith, and O'Brien ran four of the Top-10 PA All-Time Marks. DiCola and Pajak posted the third and fourth fastest 3200m times in PA History.
Top 10 Recorded 3200m Times (All-Time)
| RANK | TIME | ATHLETE/TEAM | GRADE | MEET DATEPLACE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8:41.57 | 2022 | ||
| 2 | 8:44.98 | 2021 | ||
| 3 | 8:47.39 | 2023 | ||
| 4 | 8:48.20 | 2024 | ||
| 5 | 8:49.68 c | 2007 | ||
| 6 | 8:52.20 | 2024 | ||
| 7 | 8:53.46 c | 2004 | ||
| 8 | 8:53.58 | 2021 | ||
| 9 | 8:55.60 | 2015 | ||
| 10 | 8:55.76 | 2023 |
We are living in the golden age of Pennsylvania Track and Field. DiCola broke the PIAA State Championship record with his 3200m effort, but who knows how long that mark will stand. Pajak and Griffith will return next year as senior, and both are obviously hungry for more.