If you didn’t know the pre-race strategy Harry Flint had in mind for his 800-meter race at Saturday’s MSTCA Boston Holiday Challenge, all you had to do was watch the opening laps.
On the banked oval at the TRACK at New Balance, the Brookline standout left no doubt about his intentions to the talented field at the starting line.
Sizzling through his opening 400m in under 53 seconds, Flint quickly separated himself from the field and never looked back. He claimed the individual crown in a fast, early-season time of 1:54.75—an indoor best and nearly three seconds ahead of runner-up Attle Phinney of Middleboro (1:57.37).
Although ambitious for this point in the season, Flint’s aggressive opening pace was by design.
“I was actually looking to run sub-1:50 in this race,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about it for months. I got out hard and felt really strong that first 200—I felt like I was flying. It probably looked ambitious with that kind of field, but I thought I could break that barrier. I just haven’t had enough all-out races yet this indoor season to hold on. Still, I think sub-1:50 is definitely a barrier I’m going to break.”
The Brookline standout is following a strong junior campaign that saw him achieve bests in events ranging from the 300m to the 1,000m. For the 800m, he clocked a PR of 1:53.10 to place third at the Meet of Champions last spring. He also split 1:51 on his team’s silver-medal performance in the Distance Medley Relay at the New Balance Nationals.
Besides looking for special things to happen in the 800m, Flint is looking to earn his first individual state title at the Meet of Champions this winter. The question is will it be in the 600m or the 1,000m? In 2025, he was third in the 600m at the MOC. He raced to a PR of 1:21.58 less than two weeks earlier at the Division 1 Championships where he was second overall.
“Last year was my first year going mid distance,” Flint said. ‘The 600 has always been where I kind of feel the most comfortable. I think the 1K will be one of my stronger events as well, seeing how I’m coming off a really strong cross-country season. I have all this aerobic base, all this mileage. I feel I can do both. I guess we’re going to see as the season plays out, which I’m better at. I feel both I can be really strong.”
Catholic Memorial owned the boys’ long jump. Highlighting a 1-2-5 finish by the Knights was a meet record and huge PR of 23 feet, 10.5 inches by junior Amar Skeete on his final jump. His effort, which is more than a foot further than his previous best of 22-6.25, ranks No. 7 in the country. Skeete’s day included two more 23-footers, a 23-9.25 leap on his third attempt and a 23-0.5 on his fourth. Teammates Jameson Booker (second, 21-10) and Jelani Semper (fifth, 21-7) also made the podium. Taking third and fourth, respectively, were Bishop Feehan’s MacIntyre Stowey (21-10) and New Bedford’s Michael Antunes (21-7.5).
Methuen’s Lauren Quarm defended her title in the 55m dash with a time of 7.22. Talented freshman Terry Kwarteng of Wachusett Regional was second at 7.35. In the preliminaries, Quarm was timed in a season-best 7.17.
The speedy senior is coming off a victory at last weekend’s MSTCA Speed Classic, a race she felt she could have run faster despite crossing the line in a quick 7.19.
“I am happy about winning today and regaining my title again,” Quarm said. “Last week, I didn’t have a very good start, which I wasn’t happy with. This week, my coaches and I worked together to get my block starts better. In the prelims, I had a very good block start. In the finals, my block start wasn’t that good, but I was still happy with how I raced today. I could be happier.”
The Methuen standout, who finished second to Sharon’s Nina Kyei-Aboagye in the 55 meters at last year’s Meet of Champions after winning the title as a sophomore in 2024, has clear goals for her senior season in the event, where she owns a personal best of 6.97.
“I want to PR. I want to win states this year because it’s my senior year, and I want to win every title I can, including New Englands,” she said.
Wachusett was a dominant winner in the girls’ Sprint Medley Relay. The quartet of Kwarteng, Stella Morneault, Annika Kindorf, and Naomi Witt combined for a time of 4:11.76. Top seed Moses Brown of Rhode Island finished second in 4:18.06.
In a close battle with the Quakers for much of the race, Witt sealed the victory for the Mountaineers with a strong 800-meter leg. The talented junior also won the 1,000m at 3:03.89. Kindorf was second at 3:05.09.
Wachusett’s time was well under the qualifying standard of 4:21.0 for the New Balance Nationals in mid-March.
In the New Balance Championship Mile, Natick’s John Bianchi was fifth overall with an indoor best of 4:16.94. Top seed and New Balance National outdoor champion, Carter Smith of Mifflin County (PA), won the race in a nation-leading and meet record of 4:06.76.
