We’re expecting some stiff competition this weekend in several events at the MSTCA Winter Festival. What events do we feel will stick out more than the rest inside the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center? Here’s what we consider could be among the best for Saturday’s Small School meet.
***
Boys’ Shot
This event will be without the state’s top shot-putter last year, indoor and outdoor titlist Alex Jackson of Peabody. Jackson’s absence doesn’t mean the shot will be short on talent on Saturday, not by any means. In the circle this weekend will be three athletes with seeds further than 50 feet – Hopedale’s Ari Levine (54-3.75), Lunenburg’s Ray Beardmore (52-0.75) and Chelsea’s Ariel Chacon-Aracena (50-11.5). Levine is just a few days from a near PR of 54-2.5 in a Dual Valley Conference meet on Tuesday. He might be the slight favorite here.
Boys’ Long Jump
Sticking with events away from the oval, this one could also create some excitement at Saturday’s meet. It features our state’s top returnee from last year, Burlington’s Ryan Brooks. The talented junior is one of two in this field that have leaped more than 22 feet with his best of 22-10 from outdoor. His biggest threat could be Atlantis Charter’s Thalys Silva, who has a seed of 22-6.75. Three more have gone 21-plus with Grafton’s Calvary Jamoko (21-7), Chicopee’s Jacob Lozado (21-3) and Shepherd Hill’s Noah Boulfard (21-2).
Girls’ Mile
It’s early, but there’s a slight chance we could have a sub-5 this weekend. The top seed is Megan Moran of Blackstone Valley Tech, who comes in with a best of 5:03.20. With a time that is more than 20 seconds faster than the next seed, it would appear that Moran will be running this race solo. But we don’t think that will happen. The No. 2 seed is Erin Regan of Littleton, who ran a best of 5:24.67 to take second in the District E Div. 2 Central Championships last May. At the third seed, is Div. 2 cross-country champion Emily Flagg of Whitinsville Christian, a runner we feel is capable of running a lot faster than her seed of 5:30.0. The Crusaders’ sophomore actually has an all-time best of 5:16.55 from the Nike Indoor Nationals last March. Based on what she did on the trails this past fall, it certainly wouldn’t surprise us to see her run under 5:10 this weekend.
Boys’ Mile
There are a few reasons to watch this race. First of all, it features not only the best para-athlete in the state but of of the nation’s best as well with Delmace Joseph Mayo on the line. The Boston Green Academy senior, who became the first para-athlete to win the wheelchair mile at the New Balance Nationals last March, is a holder of several sprint and distance records. In this event, he comes in with an all-time best of 4:24.39 from outdoor. His best on the indoor surface is 4:32.79 from last year’s MSTCA Boston Holiday Challenge last year.
How about the other talent in this race? Our top seeds there are Parker Charter’s Henry Jacobsen and Burlington’s Krish Almeida. Jacobsen has an all-time best of 4:26.79 from the Div. 6 Championships last May. He begins his indoor campaign after another successful cross-country season that included a win at the Div. 3A meet and a runner-up finish at the Meet of Champions (MOC). With the X-C season just concluding, no doubt he’s in shape for a fast time this weekend, perhaps a low 4:20 effort. Almeida, a sub two-minute 800-meter runner, brings a 4:31.80 best to Saturday’s competition.
Girls’ 600m
This is a race that was loaded with talent at last year’s MOC. How loaded? A stat that clearly show this is the amount of runners that broke 1:40 at the season-ending meet. That number was 17! Whitinsville Christian’s Emma Wierenga was one of them, placing tenth overall in 1:37.97. Had she run just a half a second faster, she would have landed on the podium with a sixth-place finish. The Crusader senior is the top seed in this race, nearly four seconds faster than her closest rival. After a solid cross-country season where she was one of Whitinsville’s top harriers, we’re expecting Wierenga to kick off this event – long considered a signature one in MA – in style this weekend.
Girls’ 1000m
The winning time in this event last year was 3:21.26. Prepare for a time a lot faster on Saturday, a whole lot faster! The top two seeds and the runners that we’re could be battling it out at the end are Murdock’s Avery Murphy and Nashoba’s Lailee Joyce, the defending champion. Murphy, the Div. 5 winner last year, has a best of 3:04.38. Joyce finished off her indoor season in 2024 by taking runner-up honors at the Div. 2 meet with a best of 3:05.00. Don’t ignore No. 3 seed Grace Rich of Hamilton-Wenham, too. She has a seed listed at 3:12.00. As a ninth-grader last year, Rich had a best of 5:11.13 for the mile. Her cross-country season included a second-place finish at the Div. 3B Championships and sixth-place showing at the MOC. She’s ready!
