More than 1,200 athletes and a bunch of relay squads have met the qualifying standards for Wednesday’s MSTCA Boston Holiday Challenge (BHC), the popular regional competition that will take place this year at the TRACK at New Balance.
It certainly doesn’t surprise us that each event is loaded with talent. For the runners, they’ll be looking for take advantage of the one of the fastest ovals on the planet at the BHC. No doubt, most will be looking to reach the strict qualifiers for the New Balance Nationals in mid-March.
While each event appears to have some great competition, here’s some of the events that kinda grabbed our attention a little more than the rest.
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Shot Put
Could we have a 60-footer on Wednesday? There’s definitely a possibility. This event has three throwers that have seeds further than 58 feet with Shenendehowa Central (NY) senior Braiden Pulver (58 feet, 10.5 inches), Peabody junior Alex Jackson (58-6) and Burlington (VT) senior Winslow Sightler (58-5.5) scheduled to step in the circle. East Lyme (CT) junior Thomas Matlock (57-7.5) is the No. 4 seed.
Long Jump
Speaking of milestone efforts, we could have one in this event, too. The number here is 23 feet. Attleboro senior Adrian Rivera is not too far from that mark with a seed of 22-10. Acton-Boxbrough senior Christopher Adamcheck (22-1.75) and Archbishop Williams’ sophomore Amir Chapman (22-1) have both exceeded 22 feet. All it takes is one big jump to win this event. In all, 14 athletes in this field have seeds that are 21 feet or more.
High Jump
Here’s an event that could get interesting between our top three seeds – Carver senior Camren Allain (6-7.25), Bloomfield (CT) senior Ja’Mari Manson (6-7) and Brockton junior Lucas Andrade (6-6).
Sprint Medley Relay
An automatic qualifying time for the NBN in this event is 3:40. Our top four teams all have seeds that are under that mark. This one should be fast and ultra-competitive. Handoffs could prove crucial. Who are the teams? It’s St. Johnsbury Academy, CT (3:36.85), East Hartford, CT (3:36.41), Columbia, NY (3:36.81) and Newton North (3:38.63)
600m
We’re guessing a winning time in the 1:20 range on those crazy banks at New Balance. This could be an event dominated by our Bay Staters. The No. 1 seed is Greater New Bedford’s Daniel Ward with a best of 1:22.41. St. Johnsbury’s Andrew Thornton-Sherman (1:22.44), Newton North senior Theo Teszler (1:23.04) and Bromfield senior Jack Stahl (1:23.9) occupy the next three seeds.
400m – Championship race
Here’s one of two elite races in the meet with the Mile being the other. This should be a good one; not to mention a potential nail-biter. Fordham Prep (NY) senior Jaylin Santiago is the favorite based on his top seeded time of 47.60. Right behind is Haverhill senior Natanael Vigo Catala (47.82). The field also features sub-49 guys, junior Kofi Rossi (48.24), senior Jalen McCoy (48.47) and senior Neil Howard (48.49).
4x200m
Could this be a preview of what to expect at the Meet of Champions. Occupying the top two seeds are Lexington (1:29.01) and Acton Boxborough (1:30.43). Amity, CT, is the three seed with a time of 1:32.10.
Mile – Championship race
The facility HS record in this event is held by Idaho’s Jackson Heidesch, who edged Rhode Island’s Devan Kipyego at the line at last year’s NBN with a time of 4:02.25. While it is early in the season, that less-than-one-year-old mark has a chance of getting erased on Wednesday. The top seed is Adam Burlison. The Oregon-bound senior from Lubbock Coronado (TX) boast a best of 4:03.85 from last spring’s RunningLane Track Championships. That’s a time that’s nearly five seconds faster than our No. 2 seed, senior Miles Ramer of Ravenwood (TN), who has a best of 4:08.20. Wester North (OH) senior Ben Gabelman has also gone under 4:10 with a seed of 4:09.60. MA’s top entry is Colin Fisher of Boston Latin. Fisher holds the seventh seed with his best of 4:18.55.
60m
There will be plenty in this race looking to get an automatic qualifier for NBN. The time they’ll be focused on is 7.1. Seven in this race have seeds under that time. That list includes Littleton senior Tyler Castillo (7.03). Andover senior Jason DeJesus (7.04). Keene (NH) senior Chris Stevens (7.04), Newton North’s Donnell Harvey (7.06), Winchester junior Daniel Killian (7.07), Pentucket senior Joel Spaulding (7.07) and Minnechaug’s Noah Brathwaite (7.08)
