Throughout the week, Bay State Running will be providing quick capsules of the girls’ and boys’ meets of the MIAA Division State Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center. We begin with the Div. 5 meet, which takes place on Wednesday.
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DIVISION 5 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – Girls
Day/Time: Wednesday at 4:30 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, Joseph Case, 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, Pioneer Valley, 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 600m should produce some excitement on the oval. The three-lapper features North Reading’s Giuliano Ligor (1:36.59) and Weston’s Sloan Hinton (1:37.17), who rank No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, in the state. Hinton is coming off a PR and triumphant 41.64 for the 300m at the MSTCA State Qualifier this past weekend. Ligor’s most recent performance was a pair of victories at the Cape Ann League Championhips on Feb. 6 where she had her season best in the 600m and clocked 41.12 in the 300m. Both runners appear ready for a fast time on Wednesday in a race that could come down to the final few meters. Don’t ignore Murdock’s Avery Murphy, too. She is the No. 3 seed with a time of 1:39.84…Both Murphy and Ligor will be entered in a few other events that could get interesting. Murphy is the top seed in the 1,000m with a time of 3:04.38. With a pair of 3:07s to their credit are Sutton’s Annabella Lamoureaux and Pentucket’s Susan Wisiniewski. Ligor is the two seed behind Dennis-Yarmouth’s Breanna Braham in the 300m. Braham, a sophomore, is just two hundredths of a second ahead of Ligor in terms of seeds with a time of 40.92. Lunenburg’s Carli Stanford is at No. 3 with a 41.19 best. The versatile Ligor is also in the long jump where she is the top seed with a leap of 17-10.5. Four in this event have gone further than 17 feet, including Norwell’s Lilliana MacDonald, whose best of 17-9.5 is just an inch behind Ligor. Could we have an 18-footer on Wednesday?….One of our state’s top high-jumpers will be competing in this meet. Tri County Regional’s Averie Dennelle holds that distinction. Her best of 5 feet, 6 inches is ranked No. 2 in MA and a quarter of an inch behind state-leader Charlotte DiRicco. We’re expecting Dennelle to come out on top at this mee with a possible new state-leader. Her seed is four inches higher than her closest rival.
Team Outlook: With the ability to score as many as 40 points in the sprints and the jumps, North Reading is the favorite to win the team title, less than a month after taking the State Relays crown. Lunenburg, Weston and Pentucket are all capable of taking that runner-up spot.
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DIVISION 5 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – BOYS
Day/Time: Thursday at 4:30 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, Mohawk Trail. 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: Littleton’s Bona Bradshaw is the No. 1 seed in the mile (4:23.12), two mile (9:33.23) and the 1K (2:35.11). In the mile, he’s more than 10 second faster than his closest rival. Bradshaw’s time in the deuce is close to 20 ticks better than the No. 2. We expect he’ll run just enough to win the mile with hopes of having enough to face his biggest challenge of the night in the 1,000m where he’s matched up with Carver’s Luke Holden, who is seeded No. 2 with a time of 2:36.69…The 600m could be a good one. Bromfield’s Jack Stahl is the runner to beat in this race with a best of 1:22.87, a time that ranks No. 7 in the state. Right behind Stahl is Cole New of Ayer-Shirley, who checks in at 1:23.91. Connor Stach of Parker Charter could also be in this race. He has a seed of 1:24.42… Camren Allain will be looking to leave Reggie Lewis with two gold medals wrapped around his neck. He’s the top seed in the high jump and long jump. Allain is currently tied for No. 1 in the state in the high jump with a best of 6-6, four inches higher than the two seed in this event. Allain and North Reading’s Kiernan Miller are tied for the No. 1 seed in the long jump with best of 20-11.5.
Team Outlook: Littleton and Amesbury look to be the top contenders for the team title. The Tigers will be putting their faith in Bradshaw leading the way. The Red Hawks, who won the D5 State Relays, are expected to score a majority of their points in the sprints, relays and shot with top-seeded Aidan Donovan (54-7.75) entered. Looks like a tight battle for the third spot with Weston, Ayer-Shirley, East Bridgewater and Norwell among the teams that could be involved.
