Penncrest seniors Chris and Matt Kazanjian are twins in so many ways.
Obviously, they look alike, but their running styles are similar, too. They each know exactly how the other runs and, while many runners can analyze a race after it’s over, you get the impression the Kazanjians can measure their progress during a race based on what their twin is up to.
Take last week’s Central League championship meet at Rose Tree Park. They finished 1-2 with Chris beating Matt to the finish line by a second. Chris often finishes ahead of Matt, but not by much and not always.
But when Matt pulled ahead of Chris late in the race, it was a signal to Chris to pick it up.
“He was waiting for the Conestoga kid (Andrew Marston Jr.) to pull ahead of him,’ Matt Kazanjian said. “But (Marston) was going too slow. So I ran up and actually passed (Chris) because I knew he didn’t want to finish behind me.’
Chris got the message, finishing first on the Rose Tree Park course at 15:56.5 with Matt not far behind at 15:57.1 Chris finished second (16:02) to Cardinal O’Hara’s Kevin James and Matt finished fifth (16:27) a week earlier at the Delco Championships.
They were starting to prepare early this week for Friday’s District One championship meet at Lehigh University. Chris Kazanjian can’t wait to return to a course at which he bettered his previous-best time by 30 seconds while finishing ninth at 15:44 a year ago.
“I was the slowest first-mile split of the top 10,’ Chris Kazanjian said. “I was basically five (minutes) flat for the first mile. You can really get some momentum on that Lehigh course. The last mile, it’s all downhill.’
The general Kazanian strategy is to lay back early and come on strong. Matt Kazanjian didn’t do quite as well as Chris at the district meet, finishing 32nd in 16:12, but it got him to the PIAA Championships and he too, likes the Lehigh course.
“You can really get into a rhythm at the Lehigh course,’ Matt Kazanjian said. “Once you get going, there’s no stopping you on that last mile.’
They push each other in training and in races.
“I didn’t have my best race at districts last year,’ Matt said. “But usually, (Chris’) best races are my best races.’
While Chris and Matt are both hoping to travel together again to the PIAA Championships, they’re also hoping to be joined by their teammates if Penncrest can qualify as a team. They know two-time reigning PIAA champion West Chester Henderson and Central League champion Conestoga will probably contend for the team title, but there should be three or four other team berths available in Class AAA.
The Kazanjians have been running since their older brother Paul, a former Cardinal O’Hara standout, started coaching them in fourth grade at St. Mary Magdalen. They run distances during the indoor and outdoor track seasons, but it is cross country they like the most.
“You get 3.1 miles to do what you can do,’ Chris Kazanjian said as Matt nodded in agreement. “If you get behind early, there’s still time to get back in the race.’
Chris Kazanjian owns Penncrest’s all-time record with the 15:39 he ran at Haverford High’s course at Coopertown Elementay School this season. Matt Kazanjian’s personal-best of 15:42 that he ran at the Abington Invitational early season is fourth on the Penncrest list.
Haverford’s Dave Fowler, who was fourth at both the Delco and Central League meets, and the Radnor pair of Connor Holm and Watson Hanson will also be hoping to reach the PIAA meet. Holm and Hason finished fifth and sixth, respectively, at the Central meet. Hanson was sixth and Holm seventh, respectively, at the Delco meet.
On the girls side, Strath Haven, which edged Cardinal O’Hara on a tiebreaker for the team championship at Delcos and dominated the Central League this fall, will be hoping to advance as a team in Class AAA to the PIAA Meet at Hershey.
The Panthers are led by Delco meet champion Abby Kennedy, but have the kind of depth needed to finish in the top five. Sophomore Maia Mesyinger finished ahead of Kennedy at the Central meet, taking second to Kennedy’s third. Claire Wolters finished seventh for Strath Haven at Centrals.
Among some individuals to watch for are Springfield’s Grace Galligan, who won the Central race in 19:31, Haverford’s Courtney Nasser, who placed fourth at Centrals, and Penncrest’s Laura Krasovek, who finished sixth at Centrals.
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Penncrest twins Chris and Matt Kazanjian often take cues from and compete with one another on the cross-country course. The brothers also run indoor and outdoor track. (Robert J. Gurecki)
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