We didn’t forget. We’ve just been a little busy. Over the next few days, Bay State Running will wrap up it’s previews for the indoor season by highlighting the top athletes in the middle to long distance events.
Here’s we feature the top boys in the 1,000-meter run, mile and two mile.
1,000m
During the 2024 season, we had a plethora of talented runners in this race and even a down-to-the-wire finish at the Meet of Champions where Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Jacob Bronstein edged Acton Boxborough’s Ajay Raina by less than two tenths of a second to take the crown. The one thing we didn’t have last winter, was a sub 2:30 effort by one of our athletes. We believe that has to chance to change this season. While 2:31 guys Bronstein and Raina has since graduated, we have several coming back that could make this winter interesting and possible produce the state’s 25th (possibly more) sub 2:30 performance in its history. The top returnee is Foot Locker National champion Tamrat Gavenas of Phillips Academy Andover (MA), who ran 2:31.01 at the UMass-Amherst Flagship Indoor Invitational in mid January. Gavenas, who recently won the Invitational/Club 2M at the Beantown Winter Classic in a nation-leading 9:04, has certainly proved he’s ready to PR in the six-lapper with potential to hit the milestone in the limited times he’ll more than likely be racing this event. He only raced it twice last year. Other top runners we believe have a shot are Brookline’s Altamo Aschkenasy and St. John’s Prep’s Daniel Padley. Aschkenasy won the Bay State Conference Championships last winter with a best of 2:31.87. Padley, who was third at the Meet of Champions on Feb. 24, ran an all-time best of 2:31.27 to capture the individual title at the MSTCA Coaches Invitational. Could we see Weston’s Ben Tavares taking a shot at it, too. Tavaras is primarily a 600m runner and was our New England champion in the event. But the versatile senior has range from the 300m to the 800m/1K. He owns an indoor best of 1:56 for the 800m. Focusing on this event at one or two meets this season could put Taveras in the conversation, too. Other top runners we’re expecting to see in this race are Marshfield’s Graham Heinrich (PR, 2:32.67), and Boston College High’s Shamus Larnard (PR, 2:33.64), just to name a few. Heinrich is our early-season leader right now with a best of 2:34.66 from a Patriot League meet last week.
Mile
In this event, the podium was filled with seniors at last year’s MOC. The top six were all 12th graders and have since graduated. With that being said, we’ll have several new faces this time around. While we don’t expect him to race much this indoor season, concentrating more on the postseason like he did last year, could we see Westford Academy’s Jack Graffeo take a crack at a low four-minute effort in the mile? In one of two serious efforts during the outdoor season last spring, Graffeo ran a best of 4:09.80 to place third at the Meet of Champions. He’s coming off a cross-country campaign where he won the Div. 1 crown at the MOC and was third at the Foot Locker Nationals after winning the Northeast title. He’s capable of a fast one if that’s his intention. The same could be said for Gavenas, who has a best of 4:09.15 from the BSR Scholastic Mile. Falmouth’s Silas Gartner is certainly someone you have to keep an eye on this season as well. Gartner had a breakthrough outdoor season last spring where he ran an all-time best of 4:16.30 to place sixth in a loaded mile race at the MOC. He’s also coming off his best-ever cross-country season where he was the Div. 2A champion and MOC winner and also a qualifier for the Foot Locker Nationals. Based on what he’s done since the outdoor season, we predict he”ll be in that 4:10-4:15 range this winter and a contender for the mile title if that’s a race he focuses on at that MOC. There are a bunch more that we expect could figure in the mix, too. Among those are Natick’s John Bianchi, Boston College High’s Shamus Larnard, Newton South’s Alex Friedman, Ludlow’s Logan Walsh, and Brookline’s Altamo Aschkenasy, just to name a few. Friedman and Walsh were third and seventh, respectively, at last year’s MOC. All five runners were under 4:19 last spring.
Two Mile
In a classic duel with Oliver Ames’ Andy Powell 25 years ago, Lynn English’s Franklyn Sanchez set the current state record of 8:49.60 in this event. The last two years, that incredible mark appeared to be jeopardy with Belmont Hill’s James Donahue coming the closest after finishing third at the 2022 New Balance Nationals with a best of 8:51.87. We believe that record will be eclipsed this season by one, potential two runners. The runners in question are Gavenas and Graffeo. The 1-3 finishers at the recent Foot Locker Nationals appear primed to challenge Sanchez’s record this winter with the right kind of race, probably at the NBN in mid March or some other national-level meet. Graffeo twice clocked 8:52 for the deuce last spring, including a PR of 8:52.67 at NBN, where he was second overall. Gavenas, who ran a solo 9:02 at the Beantown Winter Classic this past weekend, clocked his best of 8:54.72 at NBN, placing third. Gavenas does not compete in MIAA events so we won’t see him at the MOC. As for Graffeo, will he toe the line at the MOC or concentrate more on high-level competition at Boston University and postseason meets, like he did last year. If he does the former, he’s a heavy favorite to claim the crown, but we don’t anticipate a record performance as his focus will likely by on the nationals two weeks later. Last year’s MOC, which did not include Graffeo and fellow All-American teammate Paul Bergeron, was won by Billerica’s Ryan Leslie in 9:20.87. Leslie has since graduated. Some top runners coming back are Larnard, Gartner, and Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Paulino Guevara-Mateo. Larnard came on strong in this event during the outdoor season twice dipping under 9:10, including a seventh-place showing at the MOC in 9:07.12 and sixth-place finish at New Balance where he ran at PR of 9:02.53. The Eagles’ senior is coming off a cross-country season where he was fourth at the MOC. Gartner was eighth at the MOC with a best of 9:07.95. He could certainly be a factor come championship time. Guevara-Mateo, who was a runner-up at the indoor MOC, twice ran 9:11 for the 2M last spring. He was eighth at the MOC. Just as in the past, it should be another great year for the two mile with potential for two (or more) runners breaking nine minutes and a longstanding record getting eclipsed by season’s end.
