The grounds of the Wrentham Developmental Center will be open for business on Saturday. The future site of this year’s Division 2 Championships, kicks off the 2023 season by once again hosting the annual Frank Kelley Invitational.
This is one of those meets that provides a good gage for coaches on how their teams and athletes are progressing after the first month. With several top returnees expected to race, the Kelley Invite also provides a glimpse of some of the key players that we could see up front during championship time, which will be here sooner rather than later.
Here’s some proof.
As a sophomore last year, Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Aoife Shovlin finished second overall in the girls’ Championship race. That would be the start of an outstanding x-c season for Shovlin, who would place fifth in the Division 1A Championships and win it all at the Meet of Champions (MOC). Wellesley’s Charlotte Tuxbury, a winner at the Div. 1B meet, would take third overall. Brookline, the eventual team champion in Div. 1A and the MOC last fall, showed their dominance by capturing the top prize with just 39 points, nearly 100 more than second-place Wachusett Regional.
In the boys’ Championship race, one of our state’s top runners this season, Billerica’s Ryan Leslie, was fifth overall. Leslie would follow his cross-country campaign, one where he finished fourth in Div. 1A and ninth at the MOC, by clocking bests of 9:09.52 for two miles and 4:18.88 for the mile on the outdoor surface. Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Jacob Bronstein (sixth) and Lowell’s Jack Courtney (seventh), two more stars to look for this year, were among the top 10.
The popular meet ,which features Large and Small School boys’ and girls’ 3K races for freshmen, sophomores and juniors/seniors as well as Middle School 3Ks at the conclusion, starts at 9:30 a.m. The Large School races begin the competition. The Championship 5K races are scheduled for 11:30 (boys) and noon (girls). Small Schools hit the trails at 1 p.m.
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ORDER OF RACES
(Schedule Subject to Change)
9:30 a.m. – Large Freshmen Boys Race – 3K
9:50 – Large Freshmen Girls Race – 3K
10:00 – Large Sophomore Boys Race – 3K
10:30 – Large Sophomore Girls Race – 3K
10:50 – Large Junior/Senior Boys Race – 3K
11:10 – Large Junior/Senior Girls Race – 3K
11:30 – Championship Boys Race – 5K – 10 max per team
12:00 p.m. – Championship Girls Race – 5K – 10 max per team
1:00 – Small Freshmen/Sophomore Boys Race – 3K
1:20 – Small Freshman/Sophomore Girls Race – 3K
1:40 – Small Junior/Senior Boys Race – 3K
2:00 – Small Junior/Senior Girls Race – 3K
2:30 – Middle School Boys Race – 3K
3:00 – Middle School Girls Race – 3K
