Heard Around the Track
November 9, 2001
By Ira Josephs
INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF
O'Hara boys have
a plan to succeed
They hope
their individualized training pays off Sunday in the Catholic
League championship meet.
Cardinal O'Hara boys' cross-country team captains
Joe Francisco and T.J. Coll appealed to head coach Tom Kennedy
about a month ago. The Lions won the Delaware County title on
Oct. 13, but Francisco and Coll wanted more work, less rest and
even better results.
"Joe and I thought we needed more mileage," Coll said.
"Over the summer, we sometimes did 9, 10 or 11 miles a day."
Kennedy, a first-year cross-country coach who guided the Lions
to the Catholic League indoor and outdoor track and field titles
earlier this year, prefers quality over quantity. The Lions rarely
covered more than 30 miles a week, but they ran those miles quickly.
After meeting with his captains, a compromise was reached. Some
runners added an extra 10 miles per week.
"Some of the guys challenged me to change a bit,"
Kennedy said. "There are some guys who don't need the
higher mileage, and there are others who might need a little more.
I gave them what they asked for. We're trying to individualize
it a bit."
O'Hara will find out Sunday at 3 p.m. whether the new
plan worked when the team steps to the starting line for the Catholic
League championship meet at Belmont Plateau. La Salle is expected
to be the Lions' toughest competition. At the Eastern States
meet in New York City's Van Cortlandt Park last month, only
three points separated second-place O'Hara from third-place
La Salle.
"We thought we ran pretty decently," Kennedy said.
"We understand a lot can happen. I think the guys are waiting
for Sunday to come around. I haven't heard anybody talking
cocky or saying it's a done deal."
Said Francisco: "We have our heads on pretty good. We're
looking to perform our best."
Three top runners from last year's championship team -
Sean Duffy, Rich Anderson and Kevin Cunningham - graduated. Both
Francisco and sophomore Steve Hallinan have performed capably
in the No. 1 spot.
"It wasn't a surprise to us that [Francisco] would
be this good," Kennedy said. "He's been there
since freshman year. He and the rest of the seniors started as
freshman under [former coach Ed Adams] when all the really good
stuff started to happen."
Hallinan proved himself as a freshman last year, placing second
in the Catholic League's outdoor two-mile race to Anderson
with a time of 9 minutes, 40 seconds.
"That turned a lot of heads," Kennedy said. "He's
just one tough customer. He's a really good racer and very
strong."
Moving between the No. 3 and No. 4 positions are Coll and Vince
Gravelle. While there had been doubts earlier in the season about
the No. 5 position, Mike Callanan has been closing the gap. Jack
Braconnier and Matt Toldero provide depth. At the Catholic League
Southern Division championships on Nov. 1 at Belmont, O'Hara
scored 22 points to beat Monsignor Bonner (47) and St. Joseph's
Prep (55).
La Salle, meanwhile, was nearly as dominant in winning the Northern
Division title that same day at Belmont. Behind Ryan O'Donnell's
first-place finish, the Explorers scored 25 points. Father Judge
was second (53), and Archbishop Ryan was third (59). Joe Fedorowicz,
Ronan McDermott, Dominic Panza, Brian McElroy, and Eric Franz
give the Explorers the best depth in the league.
"O'Hara is the team to beat, but I think we are legitimate,"
La Salle coach Pat Devine said. "We have to break up their
top four kids somehow. It's a chess game here and there.
It makes for an interesting championships."
St. Joseph's Prep's Tim O'Neill, a resident
of Springfield, Delaware County, placed second in the Southern
Division race. Steve Prybella, a Southampton, Bucks County, resident
and the Hawklets' No. 1 runner last season, is expected
to compete after being diagnosed with asthma and recovering from
a turned ankle.
"We could have two kids in the top five," St. Joe's
Prep coach Curt Cockenberg said.
Christian Barlow, of Springfield, Delaware County, is St. Joe's
No. 3 runner.
Bonner should also be competitive with Pat Hayburn, Mark Simpson,
Dave McGuire, Matt Carmody, and Joe McDevitt.
Ira Josephs' e-mail address is
ijosephs@phillynews.com.
Ira Josephs' e-mail address is ijosephs@phillynews.com.
