The MSTCA Division State Relays have arrived.
A majority of coaches will agree that this weekend’s meets represent a true team champion; where depth and talent play a more important role than next month’s championship meets. Throughout this week, we’ll provide a capsule of all five divisions. Who are the teams that will be facing each other this weekend and what are some of the top events and athletes that will be competing in their respective divisions?We’ll have it here. Below we feature the Division 5 State Relays, which will be held on Friday at Reggie Lewis, beginning at 4 p.m.
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Division 5 State Relays – Girls
Day/Time: Friday at 4 p.m.
Teams: Abington, Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter, Amesbury, Ayer Shirley, Bellingham, Blackstone-Millville Regional, Boston Collegiate Charter, Brighton, Bromfield, Carver, Clinton, David Prouty, Dennis Yarmouth, Douglas, East Bridgewater, Frontier Regional, Gardner, Hamilton-Wenham, Hampden Charter, Hampshire Regional, High School of Commerce, Hopedale, Hudson, Hull, Innovation Academy, Ipswich, Littleton, Lunenburg, Madison Park, Mahar Regional, Manchester Essex, Mashpee, Maynard, Medway, Millis, Murdock, Narragansett Regional, Neighborhood House Charter, Nipmuc Regional, North Reading, Norwell, Oakmont Regional, Parker Charter, Pentucket Regional, Quabbin, Randolph, Rockland, Sandwich, Seekonk, Snowden, South Hadley, Southwick, Stoneham, Sutton, Swampscott, Tri County, Triton Regional, Uxbridge, Wareham, West Bridgewater, Weston
Athletes & Events To Watch: The 4×200-meter relay could be a close one. Four teams in the field have a seed of 1 minute, 50 seconds or faster. Weston comes in at No. 1 with a best of 1:47.81 from a dual meet back on Jan. 10. North Reading (1:48.0), Nipmuc Regional (1:49.70) and Lunenburg (1:50.0) are also top teams in this event. Look for the potential of Weston and North Reading engaging in a battle down the stretch. Both have strong anchors with the Wildcats relaying on Sloan Hinton and the Hornets counting on Giuliana Ligor, both who are ranked among the states’ best 300m runners…The top leaper in the long jump relay is Hamilton-Wenham’s Georgia Wilson, who has a best of 17feet, 8 inches as a sophomore last year from her fourth-place finish at the Andover Booster Invitational…The high jump relay features eight athletes with best of five feet or higher. Leading the group is Ligor, who cleared 5-5 last month at a dual meet in early December. This should be an event that the Hornet win going away with a record performance. North Reading’s other two jumpers have also gone five-plus with Callie McLean (5-2) and Abigail Lilley (5-0). The current record in this event is 14-10.25. Based on their bests, North Reading has the potential of 15-7 if everyone shows up with their ‘best’A’ game….There’s also potential for a record in the shuttle hurdle relay. The time to beat is 24.97 by Newburyport in 2017. North Reading (25.60), Littleton (25.80) and Medway (25.80) all have seeds that are close to that mark….The 4x400m appears to be a race that at least three, possibly more, have a chance to win. Ipswich comes in as the top seed at 4:15.0. Lunenburg (4:16.0) and Triton Regional (4:19.0) also have seeds under 4:20. In the low 4:20 range are North Reading, Norwell, Hudson and Medway
Division 5 State Relays – Boys
Day/Time: Friday at 4 p.m.
Teams: Abington, Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter, Amesbury, Ayer Shirley, Bellingham, Blackstone-Millville Regional, Boston Collegiate Charter, Brighton, Bromfield, Carver, Clinton, David Prouty, Dennis Yarmouth, Douglas, East Bridgewater, Frontier Regional, Gardner, Hamilton-Wenham, Hampden Charter, Hampshire Regional, High School of Commerce, Hopedale, Hudson, Hull, Innovation Academy, Ipswich, Littleton, Lunenburg, Madison Park, Mahar Regional, Manchester Essex, Mashpee, Maynard, Medway, Millis, Murdock, Narragansett Regional, Neighborhood House Charter, Nipmuc Regional, North Reading, Norwell, Oakmont Regional, Parker Charter, Pentucket Regional, Quabbin, Randolph, Rockland, Sandwich, Seekonk, Snowden, South Hadley, Southwick, Stoneham, Sutton, Swampscott, Tri County, Triton Regional, Uxbridge, Wareham, West Bridgewater, Weston
Athletes & Events To Watch: A time of 3:40 will earn teams an automatic qualifier to the New Balance Nationals Indoor Championships in March. This event features one that’s already made the cut and another that’s on the cusp. The No. 1 seed is Weston, which clocked 3:38.19 at a dual meet at the beginning of the month. The second seed is Norwell, a squad that’s penciled in at 3:40. This could be a tight one coming down the stretch…Like the girls’ meet, the 4x400m could prove interesting. Norwell is the top seed with a best of 3:29.30, a time that currently ranks No. 3 in the state. Amesbury (3:30.0) and Weston (3:31.50) are also right there…The shot put relay features two 50-footers with Lunenburg freshman Ray Beardmore and Amesbury’s Aiden Donovan expected to step into the circle. Donovan currently ranks third in the state with a best of 53-3.5. Beardmore is at No. 9 with a PR of 50-5…Carver’s Camren Alain will be looking for a big performance this weekend in the high jump relay. As a junior last year, he had a best of 6-6. He’s been locked in at a respectable 6-2 this season, an effort he last did at the Boston Holiday Challenge on Dec. 27….Could we have a record in the 4x50m? The current mark of 22.78 was set two years ago by Randolph. North Reading (22.0), Randolph (22.50) and Amesbury (22.60) all have seeds that are faster.
