Kansas Runners

Since it has been a few years since I posted on this site, I thought it was about time for me to do so. My title is pretty self-explanatory: what do you guys think about some of the races this coming weekend in Wichita? I think the boys 6A 3200 and 1600 should be particularly interesting, especially because some of the top 16 guys are not doing the 3200 that morning. The athlete to watch for, in my opinion, will be Cash as she goes for the individual triple and will probably anchor their relay.

@lionccrunner I think it's going to take a sub-4:15 1600m to wint it for 6A (could be couple people). Also, the is going to be won by Jonah Heng, no one is on his level right now I feel.

@lionccrunner
IMHO the 6A boys 3200 will likely come down to Heng, Morgan and Anderson. Kain Anderson is going to be a factor in any race he enters regardless of his season best time. I don’t think he’s had the opportunity this year to show how good he can be in any one event because he’s done everything but sell popcorn for Free State -- 4x8, 800, 1600, 3200 and 4x4 at the very least and maybe a triple jump and shot put here or there – so with the 3200 being his only race of the day he will be in the mix. It’s going to be hot even at the beginning of the day so we probably won’t see a sub 9:20.

The 1600 will probably depend on a few things. Anderson and Bryan would be the favorites because of their raw speed but both will be running the 4x8 about 90 minutes earlier and it’s supposed to be a very hot day. Will the 4x8 take too much out of them and give the advantage to Guinn and Heng? Will the heat even things up enough physically to bring the rest of the field into play or will it convince the favorites to make it a more strategic race and it ends up being like the Kansas Relays 1600? Whatever happens it should be one of the more entertaining races of the weekend.

The girls side isn’t likely to produce much drama in the 1600 or 3200 unless you’re focusing on who’s going to finish second.

@funnrunn You are exactly right on the girls side. Only question is whether MacDannold or Holbert claim the runner up spot in the 3200.

Boys 1600 I would give the edge to the guys who aren't in the 4x800. Guinn/Anderson/Bryan/Heng are definitely the class of the field and it could be the best race of the day. Personally, I hope it's not a tactical race.

@EKGRUNNER I agree completely about hoping that the boys 1600 won't become a slow-paced tactical race. How about four wide, stride-for-stride coming down the home stretch to finish in 4:15?

It's a tough call between McDannold and Holbert in the 3200; McDannold put up a really good time in the 1600 at Sunflower League and seems to be peaking, so she might have a slight advantage.

In the girls 1600, McDannold, Schroeder and Eickhorn should provide an entertaining finish in the fight for second. Again, I'd lean ever so slightly toward McDannold.

@funnrunn If the 1600 comes down to who has the best kick I would go with MacDannold. She has a killer kick! Holbert has been outstanding all year in the 3200 and is only a freshman. Hard to pick against either one of those girls in the 3200.

For the guys... 3200 Heng/Anderson should battle it out.

5A girls 1600 can the STA girls run down Kaelyn Balch and sweep?

@EKGRUNNER The 5A girls 1600 looks like another great one to watch. I don't know if the STA girls can finish ahead of Kaelyn Balch but Morgan Wedekind can. Wedekind had to do even less than Balch to qualify; both turned in regional winning times well below their normal times.

I'm assuming Cofer, Hopfinger and Mahon will be running the 4x8 earlier in the day since they are the top 800 runners for STA and the relay team looks like it has gold medal potential. That might work against them winning the 1600, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Aquinas with three in the top five (and not necessarily three through five).

Imagine how good the 5A girls 1600 race could be next year at State with ALL five of these girls coming back: Cofer being a soph and the rest juniors. Throw in a couple of promising frosh who are on the 5A 1600 charts and you've got a race to really look forward to.

Interesting how several of you have already written Morgan off the 3200. He is in better shape now than when he ran 9:18 at KU.

Hey Shuf,
That kinda reminds me of this commercial with Tim Tebow:
If you know Jacob, he enjoys that kind of thing.
My prediction: A great time will be had by all!
-Wiens

That's a great commercial. I guess it is good to be so good and still be the underdog. My feeling is that the runners involved know more about the competition than those of us posting comments about them. See you Friday???

@shufesco My stated thoughts were that the 3200 will likely be between Morgan, Heng and Anderson. Certainly Morgan's in better shape than at the KU Relays, but so are Anderson and Heng. Heng ran a leg of the 4xMile relay earlier in the day at the Relays before running the 3200. Anderson has run numerous 800s and 400s since then which can only sharpen the advantage in speed he already has. The 3200 times of both Morgan and Heng since then have gone in different directions since the Relays, which pretty much means absolutely nothing without knowing what else they were running in those meets and what the conditions were, etc. While I respectfully disagree with ac117 and don't believe you can call Heng a prohibitive favorite, you can't say that about Morgan, either. And Anderson's season best 9:26 means less than nothing considering that he ran multiple races at pretty much every meet. As I said earlier you can never count out Kain Anderson in any race even if it's his fourth of the day and this is his ONLY race of the day. Heng and Morgan will be very aware of where the other is and both will be very aware of where Kain is. While there doesn't appear to be quite as many at or close to the top end of this field as in the 6A 1600 it has all the makings of having just as much excitement and just as good a finish. Hopefully the morning start will provide for a reasonable temperature at start time and we'll see all sixteen qualifiers rested, ready to go and at their best.

@shufesco Tough crowd today?! I think I was the only one who left off Morgan's name by mistake. I was in a hurry what can I say.. I apologize if I offended any of you. Certainly wasn't intentional. I should have said the boys 3200 will be Heng/Anderson/Morgan battling it out.

No offense taken. The 6A 3200 is going to be a fantastic way to start the State meet. Cash is the most dominating Kansas girl since ???? As good as Mortimer, etc., were, Cash is better. The boys' 3200 could have 6 or 7 guys under 9:30 if conditions aren't too windy. If it is a relatively calm day I think you could see 4 or 5 guys under 9:20 with the winning time under 9:15. Can't wait. Those missing the Friday morning races can only wish they were there.

Well I guess ac117 was right on target.
1. Heng 9:06 2. Morgan 9:20 3. Anderson 9:30.

@lionccrunner You said it: ac117 was definitely on target. I stand corrected: Heng COULD be considered a prohibitive favorite.

The weather was perfect for a 3200. Heng went out very fast and Anderson followed. Morgan ran his race, looked very strong through six laps and appeared to be in position to take over if Heng faltered late, but it didn't happen. Heng's splits appeared to be consistent for all eight laps and he kicked it in down the stretch to secure a new meet record. Morgan ran an excellent race; can't be disappointed with a 9:20 at State (or anywhere else, for that matter).

Congrats to all medal winners in all classes! Here's hoping for some unexpected overcast skies tomorrow to provide prime conditions for all the finals.

Heng had a phenomenal 3200, and what a nice kid. Are all distance runners really good kids or what? It is really fun to watch all these high school kids getting so involved in track and field. It does seem like you almost have to specialize now in class 6A. Three different winners in the boys 8/16/32. Cash is officially the most dominating high school girls I've seen since I started my career in 1982. There have been a few but she has my vote. Below is a link to a Capital Journal article you my like reading. cjonline.com/sports/2012-05-25/rurals-morgan-cant-....

@shufesco Thanks for the link. I've had the chance to briefly meet Jacob and he seems to be a very nice young man. Congrats to him on a great career. Not winning the 3200 championship is no shame when you run a 9:20, especially when you've already won two state XC championships. He appears to be a hard worker who doesn't take his talent for granted and respects the efforts and achievements of other runners. From what I hear that seems to be the rule among the top distance runners. It will be interesting to see what this class of boys' distance runners (Morgan, Anderson, Heng, the Bryans, Thor, etc.) achieves on the next level. Best of luck to all.

Anybody know where Heng is headed next fall? I'd imagine his options changed after laying down a 9:06. Also, I heard Jonny Giess's phone was ringing off the hook after jumping 7'1" at regionals. Has he changed his decision from his basketball offer to Rockhurst?

I just talked to Jonah last night and he is sticking with Nebraska at Lincoln.