For the next few months, it’s all about the outdoor track & field season as our MA athletes look to achieve PRs, individual and/or team titles this spring on the state level and, for some, even beyond the borders. Who are some of the top individuals we should keep an eye on this spring? Here we preview what we consider some of the best in the boys’ hurdling events.
110m HH
It could be a very big season for the 110-meter hurdles. This event will not only have seven podium finishers from 2024, but also recent indoor 55/60m HH state and New England record-holder Lucas Andrade. Coming off a record-breaking winter campaign where he won the state and New England 55m HH title and finished third in the 60m HH at the New Balance Nationals, the Brockton senior has indicated to us that he will be shifting his attention to this event more than he has in the past. Last year, he competed in it just three times. The defending 100m champion owns a best of 14.54 for this event. We’re predicting he’ll be significantly faster this spring based on what he did on the indoor surface. The current state record is 13.82 by Winchester’s Easton Tan from the Nike Outdoor Nationals in 2022. While it may seem out of reach for most, we’re not ruling out the three-year-old mark for Andrade. But he’s certainly not the only one that can win this event. Among the top returnees are the 1-2-3 finishers from last year’s Meet of Champions – Westford Academy’s Ryan Kyle (PR, 14.10), Milton’s Zakai Perkins (1PR, 14.45) and Lowell’s Khai Yin. Yin clocked 14.46 at the MOC and raced to his all-time best of 14.21 to place second at the New England’s. He was Andrade’s top rival during the indoor season, placing second to the Brockton standout at the Div. 1 Championship and MOC. Kyle certainly proved last year he has the ability to make it two straight this season. Perkins had a best by more than three tenths of a second at last year’s MOC. He knows how to perform when the competition is at its best. Look for a few hurdlers in that low 14-second range with the potential for at least two, maybe even three going sub-14. Other top hurdlers that could figure in the mix are Greater Lawrence Tech’s Elizardo Melenciano, Brockton’s Nazier Blue Gomes and Hopkinton’s Harry Millar, just to name a few.
400m IH
Just like the 110m HH, this event could also get intense this spring. The top three finishers from last year’s MOC are all coming back with Brockton’s Jarred Mighty, the Ghosts’ Kyle and Central Catholic’s John Ryan. Mighty (54.87) and Ryan (55.71) both ran PRs at the championship meet with Kyle posting the fastest time of the season among the trio, winning the Twilight Invitational with a time of 54.74. There’s also Xaverian Brothers’ Mitchell Kisgen, who raced to a state No. 2 of 54.23 to win the Catholic Conference Classic and was third (55.0) to graduating seniors McKenna O’Hare Gibson (53.19) and Acton Boxborough’s Noah Stegmeier (54.15) at the Div. 1 Championship, a race he finished ahead of Kyle (fourth) and Mighty (fifth). Kisgen did not compete in this event at the MOC, focusing instead on the relays (4x100m, 4x400m) and the 400m where he was second overall. Will any of that change this year? If so, you have to put the speedy senior among the favorites.
