Over the last week – and with still more to come – Bay State Running has been highlighting what we believe are our top 20 cross-country teams for 2025-26 season. It’s only a matter of time before we see just how strong those squads are when the racing begins.
Once again, the competition starts early on the up-and-down terrain. The season officially kicks off on Sept. 6 with a pair of meets in Massachusetts — the MSTCA XC Relays at Highland Park and the Vineyard XC Invitational on Martha’s Vineyard. Below is a list of statewide invitationals and championship events as well as a few popular out-of-state competitions. Of note, the MIAA Division State Championships will be held on Nov. 8, followed by the Meet of Champions at Fort Devens on Nov. 15.
Also, Marathon Sports will be sponsoring three events this fall – the inaugural MARSHVEGAS Invitational (Marshfield Fairgrounds – MA) on Sept. 13, the Ocean State Invitational (Goddard State Park – RI) on Sept, 26 & 27and the Devens Pre Championship Classic (Willard Park, Fort Devens) on Oct. 11. We’ve provided links below for more information on those meets.
SCHEDULE
Sept. 6 – MSTCA XC Relays, Highland Park, Attleboro
Sept. 6 – Vineyard XC Invitational, Martha’s Vineyard, Oaks Bluff
Sept. 6 – Shawn M. Nassaney High School XC Invitational, Bryant University
Sept. 13 – MARSHVEGAS Classic, Marshfield Fairgrounds
Sept. 13 – MSTCA Ted Dutkiewicz Invitational, Stanley Park
Sept. 20 – MSTCA Frank Kelley Invitational, Wrentham Developmental Center
Sept. 26 – Ocean State Invitational (Middle School), Goddard State Park
Sept. 27 – Ocean State Invitational (High School), Goddard State Park
Sept. 27 – Bay State Invitational, Wrentham Developmental Center
Oct. 3 & 4 – Great American XC Festival, Cary, NC
Oct. 11 – Devens Pre-Championship Classic (high school & middle school races), Fort Devens
Oct. 11 – Manhattan University Invitational, Van Cortlandt Park, NY
Oct. 11 – MSTCA Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational (Large Schools), Cape Cod Fairgrounds
Oct. 12 – MSTCA Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational (Small & Medium Schools), Cape Cod Fairgrounds
Oct. 18 – MSTCA Dick Atkinson Invitational, Stanley Park
Nov. 1 – MSTCA Frank Mooney Invitational, Wrentham Developmental Center
Nov. 8 – MIAA Division 3 Championships, Fort Devens
Nov. 8 – MIAA Division 2 Championships, Northfield Mountain
Nov. 8 – MIAA Division 1 Championships, Wrentham Developmental Center
Nov. 15 – MIAA Meet Of Champions, Fort Devens
Nov. 22 – Nike Cross Regionals Northeast, Wappinger Falls, NY
Dec. 6 – Nike Cross Nationals, Glendoveer Golf Course, Portland, OR
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Once our team previews are complete, BSR will shift focus to some of the top individual harriers set to return this fall. It promises to be another exciting (and intriguing) season.
Five individual winners are coming back from last year’s Meet of Champions – Needham’s Greta Hammer (Div. 1 girls), Falmouth’s Silas Gartner (Div. 2 boys), Whitinsville Christian’s Emily Flagg (Div. 2 girls), Monument Mountain’s Everett Pacheco (Div. 3 boys) and Oxford’s Cameron Davis (Div. 3 girls).
The boys’ race in Div. 1 should look drastically different this season. Thirteen of the top 15 finishers from the 2024-25 season have since graduated, opening the door for a new wave of competitors.
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Kudos to MA native Gabby Thomas. The reigning Olympic 200-meter gold medalist – and former standout at Williston Northampton School and Harvard – placed third in her specialty over the weekend at the USATF Track & Field Championship. Thomas clocked a time of 22.20 seconds to secure the final qualifying spot for the World Athletic Championships in Tokyo, to be held on Sept. 13-21.
Former Peabody Star and University of Massachusetts Amherst Alum, Heather MacLean, just missed a spot on the world team, finishing fourth in the women’s 1500m. MacLean represented the United States at the Tokyo Olympics after finishing third at the trials. She has a 1500m best of 3:58.31. This past March at Boston University, she ran a 4:17.01 Mile putting her fourth all time on the Indoor Mile Rankings. She also eclipsed the American record for 1500m indoors, splitting 3:59.60.
In a competitive and tactical men’s 5K, former Concord-Carlisle and Stanford great Thomas Ratcliffe was seventh overall with a time of 13:28.22. Ratcliffe, now competing for the Nike Swoosh TC, was less than two seconds behind teammate and race winner Cole Hocker, who broke the tape in 13:26.45. The Nike Swoosh TC dominated the event with five of the top 10 finishers. Joining Hocker and Ratcliffe were Grant Fisher (second, 13:26.75), Cooper Teare (fifth, 13:27.56), and Woody Kincaid (13:29.92).
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