
All eyes will be on Franklin Park this Saturday for the 64th edition of the Catholic Memorial Invitational. Later this fall, Franklin Park will also host the Brooks Cross Country Northeast Regional Championships, so this is a great opportunity for runners to see the course.
Boys
Newburyport’s Michael Mohoric is one of the top returners after winning the silver race last season in 16:23. Mohoric is coming off a big runner up finish at the Deven’s Pre-Championship Classic, where he ran 15:49. This year he should look to join the sub 16 club at Franklin Park. (Editor’s note: they will be running a different route this year due to construction)
Last year Keene, NH’s Sullivan Sturtz won the red race in the fastest time of the day running 15:50. Keene is scheduled to return so keep an eye on the clock for how fast Sturz can run this season. Also from NH, keep an eye on defending champs Pinkerton Academy. They had five runners in the top 15 last season, and all five of them return.
The home team will be one to watch, as #13 Catholic Memorial appears set to race their top runners. They’ll be led by Michael Upton, who comes in with a season best of 15:41, and he’ll have his eyes on cracking 16 on the Franklin Park course.
#15 Boston Latin Academy will challenge them for top team from the Bay State. They appear to get better every week and will look to continue their rise. A win here would cement them as the team to beat in Division Two. Up front they’re led by Brandon Spiess, who ran 15:47 last week at Twilight.
Also watch out for Hopedale Jr/Sr. They won the Highland Park Invitational earlier this season. Super Freshmen Quinn Cook is coming off a massive PR of 15:57 at twilight, where teammate Ben Stone also ran a PR of 16:14.
Girls
Last year’s winner Emily Flagg won by over a minute in a blistering 17:48. Sub 18 on Franklin Park is rare and an incredible performance. She’s back and the bad news for her competition is that she’ll have her sister running with her this year. Both Emily and Abby have gone 1-2 in two different invitationals this season. Keep an eye on the clock and don’t be surprised if you’re seeing double.
For the team race, it appears that #1 Lexington will be rolling with their A squad. Given the strength of the field, it’s unlikely they’ll duplicate what the boys did in Wickham, but this may be an exercise in how many runners they can place in the top 10-20. This will be a great test for their top runner Jane Conrad, with both Flagg sisters pushing the pace. Just a few days ago, Conrad ran 17:55. As mentioned before, cracking 18 on franklin park is quite the feat. A time like that could be in play.
#9 Bishop Feehan is in the race, and they’re led by top contender Sophie Shaw. Shaw has run 18:17 this season at Wrentham where she was runner up at the Bay State Invitational. Duplicating that time at Franklin Park would be fantastic.
Also in the mix will be the surging #10 Boston Latin Academy. They’ve run strong all season and Bishop Feehan will be a great challenge for them. (Note: Top runner Sara Blanco is not in the entries so keep an eye on that)
We haven’t seen much from North Quincy this season but that could all change Saturday. They came into the season on our preseason watch list and are led by two strong runners in Ada Cote and Maddy McGillicuddy. Cote has a best of 19:32 and McGillicuddy has run 19:46.
Look for Central Catholic’s Kyla Breslin to be up front as well. This season she was tenth at Ocean State, and comes in with a 19:24 PR.