Let’s start here by congratulating MA’s newest NCAA track & field champion, Makyala Paige. In a race she took charge from the beginning, the University of North Carolina senior and former Tewksbury standout captured the 800-meter run at this past weekend’s indoor championships in Virginia Beach with a PR of 2 minutes, 0.39 seconds.
We had the opportunity to witness firsthand the greatness of Paige as a high-schooler. The gifted runner demonstrated uncanny range from the 200m to the 1,000m. She still holds the current state record for the 600m with an all-time best of 1:29.70 from her junior season, just a hundredth of a second from her previous best as a tenth-grader in 2019.
Paige, who signed an NIL deal with On Running back in the fall, has endured her best season as a collegian. Prior to her amazing victory at the NCAAs, Paige achieved PRs in the 400m (52.70), mile (4:38.51) and the 800m.
Kudos once again for a job well done, Makayla! We’re sure we can talk for the entire track & field community here in the Bay State when we say this, we’re all beaming with pride by what you accomplished out in Virginia!
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While most of our track & field athletes stayed close to home at the New Balance Nationals this past weekend, we can’t forget about the few that made the trip to New York City for the Nike Indoor Nationals.
The top performance was achieved by Dennis Yarmouth’s Breanna Braham of Dennis Yarmouth. The 300m winner at the Div. 5 championships and the Meet of Champions, was third overall in the Emerging Elite 200m where she was timed in an all-time best and state No. 1 of 24.23. Two weeks prior to Nike, Braham pushed recent New Balance Nationals’ 60m titlist Lisa Raye of West Warwick (RI) to the limit in the 300m at the New England’s where she recorded a near state mark of 38.0. The current mark is 37.88, set 39 years ago by Boston Tech’s Tasha Downing.
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The outdoor season has started with the competition set to begin, at least in MA, on April 24 with the William Kane Freshmen-Sophomore Invitational at Holyoke High and the MSTCA Warrior Invitational at Foxboro. The Division State Relays will be held May 16-18. As been typical the last few years, Marathon Sports will be sponsoring two meets this spring – the Mid Distance Classic on Friday, April 25 at St. John’s Prep and the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile on Friday, May 2 at Souhegan High in N.H. Along with the 400m, 800m, mile and shot, new this year at the Mid Distance Classic is the 200m for our fleeted-footed athletes. Some top runners have already committed to this year’s BSR Mile, which features some of the bests from the region. Last year’s event saw nine runners under 4:12 in the boys’ race and eight under five minutes for the girls. We’ll keep you posted on both these great events as the season progresses.
