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 feature the girls’ sprinting and hurdle events
55m
While the state has produced its share of quality sprinters over the years, the last two winter seasons have been particularly strong, perhaps a notch above what we’ve seen in the past. In 2023, a dozen sprinters met the qualifying standard of 7.29 seconds for the New Balance Nationals. Last year, 13 were under the mark. Could we see something similar this season. Based on our returning athletes, it sure seems that way. The top returnee also happens to be the defending champion, Methuen’s Lauren Quarm. As a tenth-grader last year, Quarm became our state’s fourth runner to break seven seconds with her winning time of 6.95 from the Meet of Champions. While it was considered an upset, it certainly wasn’t a complete surprise. She was coming off a second-place finish a week earlier to Framingham’s Abby Desmarais with a then-best of 7.08 to her rival’s 7.03 effort. Desmarais has since graduated and so has three more that made the podium at the MOC. But there’s plenty more that can make this race interesting, and fast! Wellesley’s Annie Comella, a star sprinter since she was a freshman, will be competing in her last indoor season and, no doubt, would like to finish it at the top of the podium, a goal she’s certainly capable of attaining. She was fourth last year and a runner-up as a ninth-grader. Comella achieved an all-time best of 7.13 to capture the MSTCA Coaches Invitational last January, a time that she was one hundredth of a second of matching at the MOC. Also coming back are Dennis Yarmouth’s Breanna Braham and Natick’s Emmanuella Edoizien, who were fifth and seventh, respectively, at the MOC and have bests of 7.16 and 7.20 for the short sprint.
55m hurdles
This event also features the defending champion with Billerica’s Nyrah Joseph coming back for her final season. Joseph was consistent all season in 2024, capping off a successful year with her best performance at the MOC where she blazed to a PR of 8.26. Her top competition appears to be Middleboro’s Mia Lee-Bowens, who was fifth at last year’s meet and owns a best of 8.39. Edozian, who ran a best of 8.40 at the New England’s, could also be a threat.
300m
From last year’s MOC, we have four podium finishers coming back this season, three of who were mere strides from breaking 40 seconds. In all, six returnees broke 41 seconds. It should be a very competitive season with no clear-cut favorite for individual honors come championship time. Braham leads the way with her PR of 39.62 from a bronze-medal performance at the New England’s. Sharon’s Nina Kyei-Aboagye, a runner-up to Desmarais at the MOC with a best of 40.0, is also returning. Other key sprinters that should be in the mix are Wachusett’s Rahwa Giwa, Comella and Woburn’s Nicole Gangi, just to name a few. All three dipped under 41 seconds, as did North Reading’s multi-talented Giuliana Ligor, who was second at the Div. 5 Championships with a time of 40.11. We’re expecting Ligor to defend her 600m crown, but count on her running a handful of 300m race where she has the ability to go sub-40.
600m
Speaking of Ligor, she will be tough to beat in an event that she has been unbeaten for nearly two years. Her lone defeat during that span was a third-place finish at the MOC in 2023. The North Reading standout ran her all-time best of 1:34.88 at the MOC last year. We feel she has the ability to get that time in the low 1:30 range this winter. She’s coming off an outdoor season where she broke the state record for the 400m hurdles with a PR of 58.97 from the MOC, a meet she also captured the 400m (w/o hurdles) in a best of 55.62. Div. 1 champion Sasha Lamakina of Framingham, who was second to Ligor at the MOC with a best of 1:35.43, should also fare well. A total of 28 returnees broke 1:40 last year. This event is absolutely loaded with talent. A couple more that come to mind when talking about championship meets are Wellesley’s Kayla Bohlin and Newton South’s Emily Frawley, who were 1:36 runners last year. Westford Academy’s Abigail Hennessey and Plymouth North’s Macey Shriner also fall into that category, but we expect they’ll be focusing on 1,000m and the mile, utilizing the 600m as more a way to work on their speed for their longer races.
