Beginning on Wednesday and stretching to Saturday, we’re expecting some intense competition with the MIAA Divisional Championships. The individual and team battles with be fierce with the best of the best competing inside the confines of the Reggie Lewis Center.
Throughout the week, Bay State Running will be providing preview capsules of each division. Here we feature Division 3 boys.
***
DIVISION 3 – BOYS
Day/Time/Place: Friday, 4:30 p.m., at Reggie Lewis Center
Teams: Agawam, Amherst-Pelham, Billerica, Boston Latin, Burlington, Burncoat, Canton, Chelsea, Canton, Chelsea, Chicopee Comprehensive, Dartmouth, Doherty Memorial, Dracut, Duxbury, Fitchburg, Grafton, Greater Lowell Tech, Greater New Bedford, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Lynn Classical, Malden Catholic, Mansfield, Marblehead, Masconomet Regional, Melrose, Middleboro, Milton, Minnechaug, Nashoba, Northampton, Norwood, Notre Dame Academy – Hingham, Oliver Ames, Plymouth South, Putnam Voc Tech, Scituate, Shepherd Hill, Silver Lake, Somerset Berkley, Somerville, South High Community, Southeastern Regional, Stoughton, Tantasqua Regional, Walpole, West Springfield, Westfield, Westwood, Whitman-Hanson, Worcester Tech
Events To Watch: It should be a thriller in the 600-meter run where a little more than a second separate the top 7 runners. The top two seeds have broken 1:24 with Amherst Pelham’s Nico Leslie and Marblehead’s Jacob Szalewicz occupying the 1-2 spots with best of 1:23.53 and 1:23.73, respectively. Right behind is Mansfield’s Marco Geminiani (1:24.50), Duxbury’s Connor Earle (1:24.62), Middleboro’s Lekan Sotonwa (1:24.63), Melrose Adam Caldwell (1:24.76) and Mansfield’s Matt Sullivan (1:24.83). It’s really anyone guess who will win this race on Friday night…Marblehead’s Nathaniel Assa will be looking to sweep the distance events. He’s the No. 1 seed in the mile (4:20.09) and the two mile (9:24.99). Assa will be pushed in the mile where the next three seeds have all broken 4:25. That trio includes Milton’s Joshua Toth (4:22.67), Billerica freshman Mason Niles (4:23.86) and Plymouth South’s Anthony Lyons (4:24.45). In the deuce, his closest rival is 20 seconds behind. Assa is coming off the same double at the Northeast Conference Championship. He won both races, clocking his best in the mile and taking the two mile in 9:43.08, a race he won by 37 seconds. He’ll be ready to do it again this weekend…As this race often does, the 4x400m should electrify the crowd in the meet’s finale. The squads we expect to make it that way are Masconomet Regional and Milton. The two schools are the only quartets to break 3:30 with near identical seeds of 3:28.22 and 3:28.24, respectively…We could have a fast one in the 1,000m with Atley Phinney and Billerica’s Shane Leslie on the line. The talented duo occupy the top two seeds with bests of 2:32.48 and 2:33.58, respectively. Phinney has demonstrated his impressive range this winter, clocking PRs of 38.27 for the 300m, 1:23.46 for the 600m and 4:26.56 for the mile. These times have proven that his 1K best from his victory at the South Shore League Championship on Feb. 3 was no fluke. Look for another low 2:30 time with Leslie expected to be on his heels. HIs PR effort earned him the crown at the recent MVC League Championship…The 55m hurdles should produce a fast time. It features Milton’s Zakai Perkins, who owns the third fastest time in the state with a PR of 7.49.
Teams Outlook: Milton appears to be the favorite for the team title with Billerica a solid candidate for that runner-up finish.
