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 the national level. 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’ sprinting (and long sprinting) events.
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100m
As is typical in this event, the competition is going to be close, really close. Returning this season are our 1-2-3 finishers from the Meet of Champions – Brockton’s Lucas Andrade, Winchester’s Daniel Kisgen and Randolph’s Mekhi White. Andrade and Kisgen finished the season with the two fastest times in the state in 2024 with the Brockton senior clocking 10.59 seconds with his victory at the Division 1 Championships and Kisgen racing to his best of 10.69 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. With their consistency (and success) over the last few years – Kisgen was our 55-meter dash MOC winner during the indoor season, Andrade dominated the 55m hurdles – we’re predicting they’ll be our leading contenders again come championship time. Other top returnees include White, Methuen’s Joshua Kwakye, Monomoy’s Alique Brown and Marshfield’s Nathan Looney, just to name a few. All were in the 10.7-10.8 range last year.
200m
The MOC last year certainly proved there’s plenty of speed in the Bay State.. At the late May, early June competition, seven sprinters broke 22 seconds in the finals of this event. Our top returnee from that race was Lincoln-Sudbury’s Nicholas Begic, who blazed to an all-time best of 21.59. Kisgen, who placed fourth in that race, clocked a PR of 21.48 to capture the Div. 2 title. We’re expecting Newton North’s Reese Connors to have a big year. The Tigers senior had a breakthrough indoor season this year. He broke the 300m state record with a time of 33.94 at the Div. 1 meet and then came back the following week to capture his first individual title at the MOC. During the spring last year, Connors did not compete at the MOC, but finished the year with an outdoor best of 22.52. He ran an all-time best of 21.87 at the New Balance Nationals last month. Walpole’s Austin Feener and the Rams’ Looney, who were sixth and eighth, respectively, at the the MOC in 2024, are two others that will be back this season.
400m
It was the year of the 400 last spring where we had 23 runners break 50 seconds, two more than the year prior and the most ever in the history of the state. From that list, 11 have graduated. This doesn’t mean the number of sub-50s this season will diminish. In fact, we think it will likely be just as much, if not more with the level of talent the state has produced. Coming back from last year’s MOC are the 1-2-3 finishers with Begic (48.59), Kisgen (48.76) and Lawrence’s Cristian Reinoso (49.06). All three raced to PRs at the season-ending competition. Other top runners from last year are Wellesley’s Sincere Fontaine (49.05), Newton North’s Juan Talisayon (49.19), Beverly’s Ryan Kwiatek (49.30), Bishop Stang’s Michael Veegh (49.34) and Lowell’s Ethan Thevenin (49.45). Will we see Connors, and maybe even Reading’s Ryan Pulpi, who finished second in the 300m at the MOC in his first season on the indoor surface, venture into this event? They certainly have the capabilities of breaking 50 seconds and making an impact.
