The wide-open fields of the Wrentham Developmental Center are open for business this weekend.
The popular cross-country venue, site of numerous league and statewide competitions—including this year’s Division 1 Championships—will host its fall opener on Saturday: the MSTCA Frank Kelley Invitational.
This meet highlights each individual class, with separate Freshmen, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior three-kilometer races. It’s also divided by school size, with Large Schools (Division 1) competing in the morning session and Small Schools (Divisions 2 and 3) racing in the afternoon.
Will this weekend’s meet give us a glimpse of what to expect once championship season rolls around?
Well, sort of.
Because of the timing and shorter distance of the races, several schools will opt out of sending their “A” teams to Wrentham. There will still be some top talent on hand, but it will be limited. On the flipside, Saturday’s invite should offer a sampling of some of the rising stars, primarily in the Freshmen and Sophomore races.
We’ll do our best to project how the individual titles may shake out based on the entries.
Here, we focus on the Small School races.
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GIRLS
Freshmen Race – 12:20 p.m.
As we noted in our Large School preview, this race might be the toughest to predict with so many runners yet to compete this season. The individual pick, however, seems a bit clearer. Our choice is also one of the youngest — perhaps the youngest — in the field. We’re going with Norwell eighth-grader Shelby Maguire.
Maguire was fourth at the South Shore Middle School XC Championships last fall and has already made a strong impression at the high school level. She opened her season at the Vineyard XC Invitational on Sept. 8, placing third overall in the Freshmen 3K with a time of 12:39.7. In her first two league meets, she has been Norwell’s No. 5 runner, helping a Clippers squad that currently holds the No. 16 spot in our BSR Power Rankings.
Norwell has two other runners in this race that should be among the top finishers with freshmen Kalen MacGuire (13:25.92) and Madison Butler (13:32.8). We’re also not counting out Sandwich’s Grace Smith to challenge up front. On Wednesday, Smith took runner-up honors in the Blue Knights’ league competition with Falmouth, touring the 5K course in 21:56.
Sophomore Race – 1 p.m.
This race has the potential to be very exciting in the closing stages, with several athletes still in contention. Based on last year’s results and some early-season performances, Norwood’s Bridget Flynn and Norwell’s Katherine Murray appear to be the top contenders. Flynn has already shown remarkable improvement this fall, clocking 19:06 for 3.05 miles on her home course at Coakley Middle School—more than a full minute faster than her time on the same layout a year ago.
Murray, however, may hold the edge. The Clipper standout ran a season best of 19:13.5 to place third at the Vineyard XC Invitational. As a freshman last year, she broke 19 minutes on four occasions, including back-to-back 18:50 performances at Wrentham to capture individual titles at both the South Shore League Championships and the MIAA Division 3A Championships. Performances like those suggest she is capable of running in the low 11-minute range for 3K this weekend, possibly even dipping under.
Greater Lowell Tech teammates Lily Beland (19:13.3) and Teagan Galvagni (19:20.8) are also athletes to watch, both having broken the 20-minute 5K barrier as ninth-graders in 2024. Norwell’s Hadley Amon (20:14.0) is another runner we expect to factor into the mix.
Junior Race – 1:40 p.m.
We’re sensing this one is going to be fast — potentially one where an all-out sprint down the stretch secures the individual title. There are two reasons we feel that way. First, it’s the level of talent that will be on the starting line. Four in this field broke 19 minutes for the 5K distance last year as tenth-graders. The other reason is that most of our top runners will be competing in just their first or second race of the season. We expect their coaches will give them the green light to cut loose on Wrentham’s fair — and often quick — layout.
In case we missed any while stat-digging, Hamilton-Wenham’s Grace Rich has the quickest time in the field. Rich raced to an all-time best of 18:34.1 for 5K to place second in the Division 3B Championships. She was also sixth at the Meet of Champions and the victor at the Cape Ann League Championships at Wrentham where she was timed in 18:38.5.
Canton’s Lauren Raffetto (18:40.3), Ashland’s Sophia Warnetski (18:48.5) and Hamilton-Wenham’s Asa Labell (18:50.0) were also members of the Sub-19 Club. Wilmington’s Charlotte Kiley and Norwell’s Audrey Birtwell could also make an impact on Saturday. Kiley comes in with a 19:13.0 best from last fall, while Birtwell went 19:15.0.
Senior Race -2:20 p.m.
Can anyone beat Elise Casso?
That question should be answered around 11 minutes after the start of Saturday’s race. In her first meet of the season, the Falmouth Academy standout will be looking for two in a row at the Kelley Invite after winning last year’s Junior Race last year in 11:29.4. Casso carried that momentum through the season. She capped her fall season with a five-kilometer best of 18:22.8 at the Frank Mooney Invitational and a third-place finish in Division 2C.
Who are some of the other top runners in this field? Glancing through the entries, there’s at least three that have 19-minute 5K efforts from last year – Norton’s Molly Mcntyre ( 19:37.9), Archbishop Williams’ Maddie Hussey (19:21.3) and Bedford’s Addison Poulter (19:21.3). Don’t forget Sandwich’s Kylee Beaudoin, too. She finished third at the MARSHVegas Classic this past weekend. With hay bales and a water pit as obstacles, she ran best of 20:28.7. Right now that ranks No. 10 among seniors this fall, slightly behind Hussey (20:19) and McIntyre (20:22).
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BOYS
Freshmen Race – 12 p.m.
With an appropriate first name, the top seed in this race is Jett Johnson. The Parker Charter standout ranks No. 1 among freshmen this fall, opening up with a season best of 16:41.0. That’s right — a season best? He’s actually run faster, blazing to a PR of 16:33.2 two years ago as a seventh-grader at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational. He finished 14th at last fall’s Division 3C meet, where he ran 16:39.1.
While Johnson has some impressive credentials, you can’t ignore another gifted freshman — Hopedale’s Quinn Cook. The Blue Raiders’ underclassman was not too far behind Johnson at the divisional states, where he posted an equally impressive 16:43.96 to place 16th overall. Cook was also fourth at the recent Highland Park Invitational, where he ran a season best of 17:06.4. Could this weekend’s race come down to the wire? It sure looks that way.
While anything can happen, it does appear the 1-2 positions are locked up in the 3K race. The next three spots are up in the air. Based on the entries and their top 5K performances this season, Sandwich’s Alex Palomar (17:45), Parker Charter’s Zephyr Schermerhorn (18:05), and Hopedale’s Cedric Arthurs (18:11.6) could be vying for those coveted places. Other runners to take notice of include Hopedale’s Asher Schermerhorn (19:08) and Greater Lowell Tech’s Patrick Sullivan (19:25.0).
Sophomore Race – 12:40 p.m.
This could be one of those races where a small lead pack pushing the pace for much of the 3K distance. From what we’re seeing in the entry list, the pack could include Burlington’s Liam Poland, Parker Charter’s Stellan Ogilvie, and Wayland teammates Cyriaque Schaff and Brandon Hopps. Schaff ran a 5K best of 17:27.3 at the Meet of Champions last year and a couple of weeks ago kicked off his season by running 17:39.2 at the Vineyard XC Invitational. Poland (17:28.1) and Hopps (17:49.4) both broke 18 minutes last fall and Ogilvie had a best of 18:07.0.
Junior Race – 1:20 p.m.
Here’s another race where there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut favorite. Parker Charter’s Danny Garrison opened his season with a solid 17:01 for 5K at a league meet on Sept. 9. He went under 17 minutes twice last year, including a fifth-place finish at the Division 3 Championships, where he ran a PR of 16:22.3. So far this early season, Archbishop Williams’ Nick Antonellis has the top 5K time in the field after clocking 16:56.6 at the Highland Park Invitational last weekend. Hopedale’s Ben Stone (17:03.6) and Boston Latin Academy’s Adam Kramer (17:07.3) are on the verge of breaking 18 minutes, and Burlington’s Henry Stefanowicz (17:24.6) could also figure in the mix.
Senior Race – 2 p.m.
There’s no doubt this is the most intriguing matchup of the meet, coming in one of the last races of the day. The top two runners in the field — and the ones we believe will separate themselves early — also happen to live in the same town: the talented brother tandem of Falmouth’s Silas Gartner and twin Nathan Gartner of Falmouth Academy.
In 2024, Silas Gartner capped a very successful fall campaign by winning the Division 2B title with a PR of 15:42.6 and claiming the individual crown at the Meet of Champions. It’s unclear whether he was nursing an injury prior to this season or simply used his first two meets as tune-ups. The low nine-minute two-miler came first in a league meet versus Sandwich on Tuesday, running 17:16.0, and he placed second, two seconds behind teammate James McGlinchey, in the Panthers’ season-opener against Barnstable with a 17:50 effort. If he’s healthy, Saturday’s race at Wrentham could feature a thrilling battle between the two siblings.
During the 2024 cross-country season, Nathan Gartner did not compete in any MIAA or MSTCA events. As a sophomore, he was second in the Freshmen-Sophomore race at Kelley and ran a 5K best of 16:19.3 to win the Small School Sophomore Race at the Frank Mooney Invitational. This year, he ranks No. 2 in the state after capturing the Vineyard XC Invitational with a PR of 15:47.4. Like his brother, Nathan has excelled on the track, running 3:53.38 for the 1,500m at the Battle Road Twilight Series and 4:16.96 for the mile at the New Balance Nationals. We’re anticipating a winning time under nine minutes. How low it will be is the bigger question.
As of now, the weather appears perfect for Saturday’s race, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s — prime conditions for a fast time in what we expect will be a thrilling showdown.
Other runners in this race that should be among the top finishers are Burlington’s Roy Kanyike (16:27.6), Parker Charter’s Nathan Henshaw (16:40.0) and Norwell’s John Donerty (17.11.5).
