Yes, it’s early and, as we all know, a lot can occur over the next three-plus months. Still, what happened during the indoor season last year and the subsequent outdoor campaign, and even cross country this past fall for our distance runners, can provide us enough background to make some good ole’ fashion predictions. So what will happen this season by our talented athletes?
Here we begin with the girls’ throwing & jumping events.
Shot
From last year’s Meet of Champions, six of the top eight shot-putters have graduated, including 1-2 finishers Elena Chaplin of Ludlow and Franklin’s Lily DeForge. One thing is for sure. There will be several new faces occupying the podium this winter. Returning this season will be two shot-putters that went further than 40 feet last year, Bishop Feehan’s Brooke Serak and Haverhill’s Madeline Goncalves. Serak, who was third at last year’s indoor states, had a best of 41-4 to capture the Northeast Invitational. Goncalves was third at the outdoor championships with a PR of 41-7. During indoor, her best was 40-9.5 in a league meet. Other top throwers coming back are Arlington’s Meghan Prior, Natick’s Angela Leavey and Lincoln Sudbury’s Sonia D’Ambrosio, just to name a few.
Weight Throw
For the first time last year, this event was added to Meet of Champions. The top returnee is New Bedford’s Nialonis Smith, who was fourth at the 2023 meet with a PR of 41-7.5. O’Bryant’s Samantha Scheill (seventh, 36-6), Lexington’s Ainsley Cutherbertson (eighth, 36-0) and Prior (ninth, 35-3) also are coming back from last year’s competition.
Long Jump
There’s no doubt we could have a few 19-footers in this event? How about a 20-footer? The state record is 20-2.75, set by Medford’s Arantxa King back in 2006. We believe that mark has a slight chance at being broken this season. During the spring, Lincoln Sudbury’s Gabrielle Pierre came less than five inches from hitting the 20-foot milestone by soaring to a distance of 19-7.75 to take the individual title at the Meet of Champions, PIerre also exceeded 19 feet two other times last season and also had a near Olympic Trials qualifier in the triple jump with a distance of 43-feet even at the Division 1 Championships. Three weeks later, she won that event at the New Balance Nationals. Can that success and momentum be transferred to the indoor surface? It’s possible. Prior to her splendid spring, Pierre was second at the indoor states and had a state-leading 19-2.25 from her victory at the Division 1 Championships. You can’t ignore Wellesley’s Annie Comella, the defending indoor titlist. Comella, one of our state’s top sprinters, is often competing in three to four events at championship meets with limited rest when heading over to the long jump pit. Despite this, she still manages to produce some strong efforts in this event. Her best last year was 18-10.5 during the outdoor season and a season best of 18-6 from the Bay State Conference Championships last February. She twice went 19-plus as a sophomore. There’s also talented underclassman Lavender Kozaka of Oliver Ames. As a ninth-grader last year, she was second at the MOC with a PR of 19-2.25. If she can remain consistent in this event, she could be a factor. Other top athletes in this event ate Woburn’s Nicole Gangi, Gloucester’s Aili Spencer, North Reading’s Giuliana Ligor and King Philip’s Alex D’Amadio, who all went further than 18 feet last year.
High Jump
A breakthrough performance by Norton’s Zoe Santos during the indoor season and a breakthrough performance by Tantasqua’s Haley McCormack on the outdoor surface earned the two-high-jumpers state titles last year with identical PRs of 5-8. Could we see this talented tandem at it again when the State Meet rolls around on Feb. 22? Among others, more key returnees include Martha’s Vineyard’s Camille Brand, North Reading’s Callie MacLellan, and Carver’s Carley Peterson, who all cleared 5-4 last year.
