Varsity Medium
(Note: Small and Medium Schools will not compete on Saturday as well)
Boys
Fans at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds may see double on Saturday. Silas and Nathan Gartner are the top seeds in the Varsity Medium school’s race, and will work together to challenge the large schools for the fastest time of the weekend. Who will win? We’ll have to wait and see. Nathan, of Falmouth Academy, already has one win under his belt from the Vineyard Invitational in 15:47, while Silas, of Falmouth High School, appeared to have Ocean State wrapped up before stumbling in the final straight to run 15:44. Silas was third in this race last season in 15:32.
Calvin Miller of Amherst Pelham comes in as the only other runner with a sub 16 to his name this season, after running 15:55 at the Southern Maine Classic. We don’t expect that to be the case after Saturday. Our prediction will be the top five will break 16 with the winner running in the low 15-minute range.
Girls
The girl’s race should feature another great battle up front, albeit not between twins. Northampton’s Mairead O’Neil and Holliston’s Lucy Downin come in after running 18:24 and 18:27 at Bay State. Both were top five in their races so a win here could build momentum toward the postseason.
This will be Ashland’s Sophia Warnetski’s first invite this season. She comes in with a season best of 18:57 but ran her PR of 18:48 at this meet last season. Like the boys race, those three are the only runners coming in with a sub 19 clocking, and we doubt that will remain on Monday. Watch out for the Oyster River girls of New Hampshire, as they’re coming off an impressive victory at Battle of the Border. Olivia Kavanaugh and Neely Roy ran well despite the heat last week and will enjoy the cooler temps as they represent the Granite State.
Varsity Small
Boys
Pre-race favorite Everett Pacheco of Monument Mountain Regional comes in as arguably the #1 runner in the Bay State after his win at Ocean State. Pacheco, the reigning Division Three Champ has a PR of 15:30. We expect him to lower that. How fast will he go? While he’s surely capable of running in the low 15 minute range, that may be difficult if there’s a large gap.
However, Pacheco is not the #1 seed. Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter’s Grafton Tolopko comes in with a 15:35 from their meet at Hopkins Academy. That’s the schools only result of the season, so not much else is known. Sunday will be a great opportunity to show he means business. Also watch out for Littleton’s Maxwell Thompson who clocked a sub 16 at the Bay State Invite, as well Lenox’s Benjamin Harwood. Harwood already has a victory from the Ted Dutkiewicz Invitational.
Girls
Despite being the “small” schools’ race, the girls varsity race may produce some of the fastest times of the weekend. And the state for that matter. Norwell’s dynamic duo of Katherine Murray and Audrey Birtwell will look to put on a show for the Clippers. Murray, who was third in Division Three last year at the Meet of Champs, already has two wins this season from Frank Kelly, and Bay State, where she ran 18:04. Sub 18 will definitely be in the cards on Sunday.
Birtwell has an 18:30 PR from Bay State and will do her best to make sure it’s Norwell 1-2. Monument Mountain’s Amelia Desilets will do her best to disrupt the 1-2 finish. She has a season best of 18:57 from Ocean State, but ran 18:16 at this meet last year. If she and Birtwell can work together, they should be able to close the gap on Murray and close in on 18 Minutes. North Smithfield’s Julia Dowling will do her best to break up the Bay State and rep Rhode Island on the podium. She has a PR of 19:15 and will look to crack 19 for the first time.
Sophomore Races
Boys
Freshmen Cooper Hunt of Wilmington comes in with the fastest seed time of 17:03 from a dual meet against Burlington. He was seventh in the Freshmen race at Frank Kelley in 10:14. Last year’s winner ran 17:07, so sub 17 would be a great winning time.
Teamwork could be a factor as Dover-Sherborn and Wayland have two runners each that have run under 18 minutes. Chistopher Pan of Dover-Sherborn ran 17:37 at Ocean State and will look to close in on the 17-minute mark as he’s joined by teammate William Smith. Cyriaque Schaff of Wayland won the sophomore race at Frank Kelley in 9:42 and comes in with a 17:27 PR from last season at the Meet of Champions. Twilight runs a lot faster than Devens, so expect him to lower that time. Teammate Brandon Hopps was third at Frank Kelley and enters with a 17:48 PR.
Girls
Jaylyn Albano of Seekonk could run away with this one. She ran 19:54 at Bay State and has the fastest time in the field by a wide margin. However, while Foxborough’s Emma Dorich has only run 20:45 this season, she was fourth and beat Albano at Frank Kelley in the sophomore race. Based off her performance there, she should lower her PR considerably.
Mackenzie Ahearn of Smithfield will represent the Ocean State. She ran 21:29 on August 30 at the Injury Fund Carnival, making her another runner we expect to have a big PR. Teammates Lila DeFrancesco and Jennifer Mosca of Watertown will look to lead the chase pack.
