Three days of action at the Reggie Lewis Center. What more could you ask for to start the new year? The MSTCA Northeast Invitational offers athletes a plethora of events, pretty much every running event from 55M up to 2 Miles. But here we’ll focus on day one.
Oval
Mile
The top two seeds in the boy’s mile come in with almost identical PRS. Henry McDonnel of Saint John’s Prep ran 4:23.72 last spring while James Kelly of Lowell ran 4:2376. Both will be gunning for the win but will also have the New Balance Indoor Nationals Standard of 4:21.50 in their sights as well.
At this point in the season, we can start to expect the distance runner’s to be rounding into form. Most of these seed times are current PRS, either from this season or last, so we could see quite a few bests. Newburyport’s Michael Mohoric is primed for a big day. He’s coming off an excellent cross season and has already shown off his speed running 1:25 for the 600. The same can be said for Groton Dunstable’s Andrew Kosiba, who’s run 1:24. Also watch out for Division 3 Cross Country Champ Nathaniel Henshaw of Parker Charter. He’s run 4:27 already this season and is ready to go.
The girl’s race is a who’s who of standouts from the fall. However, the number one seed is coming off her first XC season. Wakefield’s Quin Wilcox ran 5:02 last spring before deciding to give Cross Country a go. Her PR is well under the New Balance Standard of 5:08. She won’t be alone though. Both Emily and Abby Flagg of Whitinsville Christian are entered. Emily recently won the Two Mile at the Boston Holiday challenge and Abby won the Mile at the Winter Festival. Division 3 Cross Country Champ Rosie Bradley of Bromfield is in the field and has a PR of 5:12. Also watch out for Sophie Shaw of Bishop Feehan and Mairead O’Neil of Northampton. All the Bay State Athletes will have to watch out for North Shore, NY’s Joanna Kenney as well, who has a PR of 5:02.
Two Mile (Note: the seeded heat will be on Sunday, so some of these runners will not need to double Friday)
The Boy’s Two-Mile features Hopkinton’s Sean Finnegan. The Division 1C Cross Country Champ ran 9:20 last spring and enters Friday as the favorite. How fast will he go? Depending on what the rest of the field decides to do, he could be out there pushing the pace alone. After his success this fall, he’ll be looking to get close to that 9:00 barrier this season. Will that happen this weekend? Maybe not, but we still expect Finnegan to make a statement.
Parker Charter’s Henshaw may try and go with him. While his PR may “only” be 9:50, he’s ready to run much faster. He ran one of the fastest times of the day at the Meet of Champs in XC.
Patrick Geagan of Weymouth, Declan Hava of Natick, Nicolas Floresquero-Llams, and New Hampshire’s Patrick Youngs of Coe-Brown could form a strong chase pack.
In the girl’s race, Westford Academy’s Emily Wedlake leads a strong contingent from the Bay State. Wedlake has run 10:41 and is no stranger when it comes to competition as she trains with one of the best runners in the country. She’ll be up against Exeter’s Alexis Paterna. Paterna ran 10:46 last spring and has already run 4:54 for the mile this season. However, she’s coming off an excellent cross season that saw her finish sixth at the Brooks Northeast Championships and book her ticket to nationals. Viewers may see double as Brianna Paterna of Exeter is entered as well. She holds a mile PR of 5:11.
Watch out for Lunenburg’s Olivia Coronella as well. While we may be used to seeing her in the 800m, she’s run 2:19, like some of the other athletes mentioned, she’s coming off her first XC season. That combination makes her a bit of a wild card. St. Mary’s Kelsey Kwiatek may be in line for a PR. She enters with a best of 11:30.
Relays
In the boy’s DMR Hamilton-Wenham enters as the top seed at 11:10. At this point in the season it’s hard to set expectations for relays, but if they can get closer to that 11-minute mark, it will be great performance for early January. Both Hamilton-Wenham and Milton have two teams entered, alongside Lunenberg and Quabbin Regional.
The girls field also features double doses of Hamilton-Wenham and Milton. It’ll be a great battle to see who has the best combined time. Sandwich enters with the top seed at 12:50. They must have their focus on the 12:40 entry standard for New Balance. The race also features Littleton and Quabbin.
The SMR fields are a bit deeper with a few teams chasing the New Balance Standard. 3:39 for Boys and 4:21 for Girls. After a fantastic spring, Amherst-Pelham is back in the SMR, entered at a blazing 3:33. Can this group equal what they did last year at Nike Nationals. Both Nicolas Lisle and Owen Platt return. Algonquin, Milton, Snowden International, and Pentucket are all entered under 3:40.
The Girls from Amherst-Pelham will look to outdo their counterparts, as they’re entered at a blazing 4:05. Claire Fortin returns from the squad that ran that time last year at Nike Nationals. Milton, Algonquin, and Weston will all be chasing that 4:21 standard as well.
Field
Weight Throw
Friday’s competition will also feature the weight throw. Top Seed Ryan Morin of Hopkinton has already thrown 56’11.5”. A massive PR over last season. Thomas Blaszka of Pinkerton Academy in New Hampshire and Dash Correia of Nipmuc Regional aren’t far back. Blaszka has thrown 56’8.75 and Correia 55’2”. The Girls competition features defending state champ Nialonis Smith of New Bedford. She enters as the favorite with a PR of 48’1.5”. Her closest competition is Kaelyn Faber of Hopkinton. She’s thrown 45’2.5 and will look to give Smith a run for her money.
Triple Jump
If you haven’t had the chance to see Catholic Memorial’s Amar Skeete jump this season, you should focus your attention on the infield. The Knight’s junior was third at last year’s New Balance Outdoor Nationals and is currently ranked fourth in the country with his mark of 49’7.25. The current State Record of 49’11” by Ricardo Jaquite of Madison Park is officially endangered. Skeete jumped 50’5.25” outdoors, so the record could go down any week now. While Skeete may draw the crowd, keep an eye on Weston’s Oscar Torress. He has a best of 47’7” and was runner up to skeet at last spring’s Meet of Champions.
While the girl’s competition may not see a state record, it won’t be short on competition. Blake McNeil of Newton North enters with a best of 38’0.5” from her third place showing at last spring’s Meet of Champions. Stella Agyemang of Lowell, Claire Fortin of Amherst Pelham, and Elizabeth Zickus of Advanced Math and Science have all jumped over 36’ and will look to challenge.
One Response
I feel this meet has become TOO big. Does anyone enjoy it, besides the athletes who don’t run on a banked track otherwise? Nice to see a second meet this weekend at New Balance – surprised more teams aren’t going to that one – or do all the coaches feel obligated to attend this one because its MSTCA? Beantown Classic was such a well run meet with a great atmosphere – I’d think some coaches would find it to be better for their athletes.