It’s now time for Part 2 of the fall cross-country season. On Saturday, the best of the best from each division, from each sub division, will battle each other at their respective races at the MIAA Divisional Championships. We broke it down into capsules on who will be some of the top teams and athletes to keep an eye on this weekend.
We begin our previews with Division 1 boys, which includes Div. 1A, 1B and 1C.
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DIVISION STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Northfield Mountain
Division 1A
Day/Time: Saturday at11:45 a.m.
Top Teams: Brookline, Newton South, Boston College High, Lexington, Newton North, Cambridge Rindge & Latin
Runners To Watch: Altamo Aschkensay, Brookline; Shamus Larnard, Boston College High, Greg McGarth, Boston College High, Thomas Flaig, Newton South; Alex Friedman, Newton South; Lysander Hartmann, Brookline …plus a bunch more!
Outlook: Talk about a loaded field. Last year, just one runner in the entire division broke 16 minutes on the demanding 5K layout of Northfield. We could have several break the mark just in this race. Larnard and McGrath finished 1-2 at the recent Catholic Conference Classic with bests of 15:16.53 and 15:16.95, respectively at Wrentham. On the same course, Aschkensay clocked 15:25.07 to capture individual honors at the Bay State Conference Championships. The talented trio appear to be our front-runners, but are certainly not a lock to make it a 1-2-3 finish. Take you pick in this group. Just to name a few, Flaig and Friedman lead a very-talented Lion squad with recent sub 15:30s to their credit from this past weekend’s Frank Mooney Invitational. Teamwise, Brookline and Newton South appear to have the two strongest teams heading into this weekend, but don’t count out the others we mentioned to make things interesting.
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Division 1B
Day/Time: Saturday at 1:15 p.m.
Top Teams: Natick, Concord Carlisle, Arlington, North Andover
Runners To Watch: Jack Graffeo, Westford Academy; John Bianchi, Natick; Jason Provost, Beverly; Ethan Sholk, Lincoln-Sudbury
Outlook: The overwhelming favorite is Graffeo, who finished second in this race last year to teammate and current Stanford freshmen Paul Bergeron. The Ghosts’ senior, a Foot Locker finalist in 2023, has only run twice this season with his prime focus on the championship meets (and beyond). He ran a 5K best of 14:56.1 on the quick 5K terrain of the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational. Look for Graffeo to run a strong effort on Saturday, just enough for a comfortable win. There’s no need for breaking records, especially at Westfield. We’re expecting Bianchi to be one of our leading contenders for the runner-up position. He recently place second at the Bay State Conference where he clocked a solid 15:27.65. Sholk, a 1:56 half-miler, went 15:29.09 at Twilight. Provost is coming off an impressive 15:49.91 from the Mooney Invite. On the team side, this race has the No. 4, 5 and 6 teams in the recent MSTCA Coaches Poll with Natick, Concord-Carlisle and Arlington. The fifth runner will be crucial in this one.
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Division 1C
Day/Time: Saturday at 2:45 p.m.
Top Teams: Oliver Ames, Reading Memorial, Catholic Memorial
Runners To Watch: Graham Heinrich, Marshfield; Tim Connolly, Reading Memorial; Michael Upton, Catholic Memorial; Alex Bluman, Sharon; Anthony Malakidis, North Attleboro; Chris Barbato, Reading Memorial
Outlook: Individually, we could have a tight lead pack throughout the race with limited breathing room between the top runners. Heinrich, Connolly, Upton, Bluman and Malakidis are all in that15:40-15:50 range on a fair 5K. It might be slightly slower on the demanding layout of Northfield, but don’t expect a runaway winner. As for the teams on the line, Oliver Ames, Reading and Catholic Memorial look to be our strongest. Oliver Ames, which scored a low 33 points to win the Hockomock League Championships, appears to hold the edge. In winning their league title back on Oct. 26, the Pirates top five averaged 16:23. Junior Landon Sarney is their No. 1 runner with a best of 16:07.07 from his third place finish at the Hocks.
