The Wrentham Developmental Center has been a busy place this past week, hosting a plethora of conference and divisional championships. This Saturday, the moderately-challenging five-kilometer course will be the site of the Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational, the final stop before next weekend’s MIAA Divisional State Championships.
Here’s a look at the Small School races at Saturday’s meet.
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Boys’ Sophomore 5K- 9 a.m.
There’s a good chance we could see several runners battling for the individual title as the field heads into the horseshoe finish over the final 500 meters. Four athletes enter this race with sub-17-minute clockings this season.
Based on time, Bromfield’s Kai Kemeza holds the No. 1 seed, thanks to his PR of 16:21.91 on the slick 5K at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational a few weeks ago. The Trojan tenth-grader is coming off a strong showing at the Midland Wachusett League Championships, where he placed seventh in the Division C race with a time of 16:35.58. This meet will serve as his final tune-up before next weekend’s Division 3 Championships.
Kemeza should have some company during the last stretch, particularly from a runner that has perhaps the coolest name in the Bay State, Atticus Jakious of Swampscott. Jakious placed fifth at the Northeastern Conference Championships last weekend where he raced to a time of 16:27. Jakious also ran a strong 16:40.8 at Franklin Park two weeks ago to place seventh at the Catholic Memorial Invitational.
Other top runners expected to be in the mix are Martha’s Vineyard freshman Ben Fuller and Shepherd Hill’s Rydyr Finlay, who both are coming off sub-17s at their respective championship meets.
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Girls’ Sophomore 5K – 9:25 a.m.
The favorite here is Norwood’s Bridget Fuller, who broke 19 minutes for the first time at Wrentham less than two weeks ago with a time of 18:59.9 at the Tri Valley League Championships, an effort that earned her a bronze medal. The odds are favorable she’ll be turning that medal into gold this weekend in her return to the familiar, multi-looped 5K course. Fuller was second in the Sophomore racer at the Frank Kelley Invitational back on Sept. 20, running six-minute pace with a time of 11:20.43 for the 3K.
It does appear as though Fuller could have some separation on the field as this race develops into the late stages. Sturgis Charter West’s Grace McGlinchey, who is listed as the No. 2 seed, recently ran 19:33.5 to place fourth in the Lighthouse Varsity race at the Cape & Islands League Championships, a time that is two minutes faster than the 21:33.7 effort she clocked at the Twilight Invitational two weeks earlier.
Whitinsville Christian’s Inez Smith should also be among the top finishers. She had a PR of 20:01.8 at the Catholic Memorial Invitational, which was just under her previous best of 20:06.5 from Twilight.
In all, seven in this race have seeds under 21 minutes.
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Boys’ Freshmen 5K – 9:55 a.m.
Who’s battling for second? That might be the question most people will be asking in this race. Hopedale’s Quinn Cook is the clear-cut favorite. As an eighth-grader last year at Wrentham, the gifted freshman broke 17 minutes at the Division 3 Championships, placing 16th overall in 16:45.5.
Cook has picked up right where he left off, putting together an impressive fall campaign that includes a sub-16 performance at Twilight (15:57.6) and a seventh-place finish in the Varsity Boys Red Race at the Catholic Memorial Invitational (16:05.9). He recently coasted to victory at the CMAC East Division Championships in 17:51.5 — clearly saving some energy for the divisional state meet and Meet of Champions over the next two weekends. For the 3K distance he’ll be racing Saturday, Cook holds a best of 9:26.3, which earned him a win in the Frosh race at last month’s Kelley Invitational.
Sandwich’s Alex Palomar-Nelson appears to be the most solid bet for the runner-up spot. He was third at the Cape & Islands League Championships in 16:32.4 on what proved to be a quick 5K course at Dennis-Yarmouth. Palomar-Nelson also finished sixth in the Freshmen race at the Kelley Invite with a PR of 10:12.7. As an eighth-grader, he ran a strong 17:47.2 at Wrentham to finish 40th at the Division 3 Championships.
Tri-County’s Jude Fougere and Melrose’s Lincoln Schuyler are others who could factor into the top pack.
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Girls’ Freshmen 3K – 10:15 a.m.
Looking deep into the entries, the most consistent performer in this field appears to be Sandwich’s Grace Smith. She was runner-up at the Cape & Islands League Championships with a 5K best of 19:34.2 and placed third in the Frosh race at the Twilight Invitational, clocking 12:58.6 for the 2.1-mile course. Smith owns a PR of 11:43.1 for 3K, which earned her second place in the Freshmen race at the Kelley Invite.
Another top contender is Dighton-Rehoboth’s Alyssa Daniels, fresh off a victory at last weekend’s South Coast Conference Championships where she clocked a PR of 19:52.8 at Wrentham. Daniels also placed seventh at Kelley with a 3K PR of 12:15.3.
Expect Smith and Daniels to push the pace early and possibly dip into the 11:30 range if the conditions cooperate.
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Boys’ Junior/Senior 5K – 10:35 a.m.
The top seed here is Parker Charter’s Nathaniel Henshaw, who’s experiencing a stellar season. Henshaw captured the Small School race at Twilight with a PR of 15:41.9 and nearly matched that at the CMAC North Division Championships, winning in 15:42.0. He was also runner-up in the Senior race at last month’s Kelley Invite with a 3K best of 9:09.8.
His closest challenger could be his own teammate — freshman Jett Johnson. Johnson was second to Henshaw at the CMAC meet and placed 15th at Twilight in 15:46.6. He was also third in the Freshmen race at Kelley with a 9:38.2.
This race should feature a fast front pack, with Bromfield’s Ben McWaters (15:46.9) and Dedham’s Townsend Roussin (15:59.0) both breaking 16 this fall. In total, 19 runners come in with seed times of 16:30 or faster — expect a flurry at the finish line.
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Girls’ Junior/Senior 5K – 11:00 a.m.
The overwhelming favorite is Emily Flagg of Whitinsville Christian, the defending champion and reigning titlists in Division 2C. Flagg ran a then-PR of 17:21.9 to win last year’s race and looks poised to go even faster this weekend — possibly into the low 17s — as she gears up for a three-peat at next week’s divisional meet.
The Crusader junior clocked an all-time best of 17:17.3 to win the Small School race at Twilight and followed that with her second consecutive title at the Catholic Memorial Invitational (17:37.5) at Franklin Park.
Challengers include Wakefield’s Quin Wilcox (18:04.1) and Melrose’s Reilly Powell (18:07.1), who went 3–4 at the ML-12 Championships earlier this week. Keep an eye, too, on Abby Flagg, Emily’s sister and teammate, who’s consistently in the low-to mid 18-minute range.
Expect Emily to command the race from the gun — the real question may be who joins her on the podium.
