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 2 State Relays, which will be held on Saturday at Reggie Lewis, beginning at 3 p.m.
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Division 2 State Relays – Girls
Day/Time: Saturday at 3 p.m.
Teams: Algonquin Regional, Arlington, Barnstable, Belmont, Beverly, Bishop Feehan, Bridgewater-Raynham, Catholic Memorial, Chelmsford, Concord-Carlisle, Diman Regional, Everett, Hingham, Hopkinton, King Philip, Leominster, Lynn English, Malden, Marshfield, North Andover, North Attleboro, North Quincy, Peabody, Plymouth North, Reading Memorial, Sharon, Waltham, Wellesley, Westborough, Whitinsville-Christian, Winchester, Woburn Memorial
Athletes & Teams To Watch: A 42-year-old record could be in jeopardy in the shot put relay. The current mark is 106 feet, 10 inches by Acton Boxborough in 1982. That appears to be a mark that is well within the reach of North Andover with the trio of Makenna Dube, Elif Altunkillic and Naomi Herold. Combined, this talented group of throwers has a total distance of 106-8.25 based on their seeds. Dube has the best of all the athletes in the field with a seed of 38-0.75. Altunkillic has a PR of 37-6.25 and Herold is at 31-1.25. Dube and Altunkillic currently rank fifth and sixth in the state…The 4x200m is certainly a must-see event. Woburn Memorial, which is ranked No. 5 in the state right now, will be looking to take over the No. 1 spot in this race. Nicole Gangi, Sydney Metivier and Kayla Buback all return from last year’s team that finished fifth at the Meet of Champions with a best of 1:46.07. With the solid addition of Riley Power, the Tanners are capable of running a time in that low 1:46 range or faster. Reading Memorial, the No. 2 seed, could certainly pose a challenge to Woburn. The Rockets have a seed of 1:48.0…We could have a race in the DMR. Arlington owns the No. 1 spot with a seed of 12:39. Algonquin (12:50) and Marshfield (12:58.0) are also sub-13 squads in this race. No doubt Arlington will be looking to earn an automatic qualifier for the New Balance Nationals by running a time of 12:35 or faster. Will Algonquin and Marshfield be up for the challenge, too?…With Metvier, Gangi and Buback back on the oval, top-ranked Woburn will be looking to win the 4x400m, too, with the possibility of breaking four minutes. The Tanner come in with a seed of 4:00. Who will be pushing Woburn for a good portion of the race? It’s looks their ‘B’ team, which has the No. 2 seed at 4:10.
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Division 2 State Relays – Boys
Day/Time: Saturday at 3 p.m.
Teams: Algonquin Regional, Arlington, Barnstable, Belmont, Beverly, Bishop Feehan, Bridgewater-Raynham, Catholic Memorial, Chelmsford, Concord-Carlisle, Diman Regional, Everett, Hingham, Hopkinton, King Philip, Leominster, Lynn English, Malden, Marshfield, North Andover, North Attleboro, North Quincy, Peabody, Plymouth North, Reading Memorial, Sharon, Waltham, Wellesley, Westborough, Whitinsville-Christian, Winchester, Woburn Memorial
Athletes & Teams To Watch: Could we have a record in the 4x50m? The record is 22.15. The top five teams in this field have seeds under 23 seconds so, yes, it could happen. Catholic Memorial checks in as the top seed with a best of 22.27. North Andover is at No. 2 with a time of 22.39. Hingham (22.50), Winchester (22.70) and North Andover (22.76) are also among the sub 23ers…We could have a battle at the long jump pit. Based on their seeds, Peabody, Woburn and Reading are all in the 59-foot range when you combine the performances of their trios. We did the math and Peabody is at 59-10, Woburn’s at 59-6 and Reading’s at 59-1. Individually, Peabody’s Evan Bedard has the No. 1 seed of 21-2.5, which is currently ranked 11th in the state…There’s potential for a nail-biter in the final race of the meet, the 4x400m. Marshfield has a seed listed at 3:32.0. Winchester and North Andover are at 3:33.0 and 3:33.96, respectively. It could come down to the wire in this one…How about the SMR? The top four squads in this race are separated by a second and a half with few others not too far behind. Reading holds the top spot with a best of 3:39.54. Belmont (3:40.46) Algonquin (3:40.5) and Milford (3:41.0) are right there, too. Beside a victory at the end, the magic number in this race is 3:40.0. That’s the time that’s needed for an automatic qualifier for NBN.
