1000m
This one could get interesting as #1 seed and state #1, Shane Leslie of Billerica, is scheduled to race the mile beforehand on Saturday. It’s not an impossible double. Lexington’s Amelia Whorton pulled off wins in both at the Division 1 Championship. At 2:28.98, Leslie, along with Falmouth’s Silas Gartner, are the only athletes under 2:30 this season. We doubt that will remain after Saturday’s race. After blazing a 1:19 in the 600m, Brookline’s Harry Flint now has his eyes on another barrier. Given his recent performance, we think he’ll get well under 2:30. Flint holds a best of 2:30.10 from his win at the Bay State Conference Championships. The state record stands at 2:24.18 from Marcus Riley of Northbridge. While that may be out of reach, something in the 2:26-27 range is in the cards. Can anyone else get under 2:30? Both Nicholas Lisle of Amherst-Pelham and Maurice King Jr of Greater Lowell Tech ran big PRS of 2:31.04 and 2:31.78 at their respective Division Championships. Do they have more in the tank? If Flint runs like he did last week, the race should get out fast.
1 Mile
The Mile features a great rematch from last week’s Division 1 Race, that saw Natick’s John Bianchi outkick Brookline’s Theodore Butty. The race went out relatively slow, they came through 809m in 2:10, with Bianchi closing in 2:03.37 (64.13, 59.24), for a winning time of 4:13.85. Butty finished fast as well, running 4:14.73. The whole field closed well, with Boston College High School’s Greg McGrath, Natick’s Freddie Van der Velden, and Saint John’s Prep Henry McDonnell all running 4:17.
How will the race play out this time? Newburyport’s Michael Mohoric joins the field after running a PR of 4:16.19 from the Division 4 Championships. (Mohoric also came through 809m in 2:10) Will anyone decide to take it out hard? The aforementioned Shane Leslie of Billerica could be the wild card. While he’s only run 4:20 this season, he holds a PR of 4:12 from last spring. Given his 1000m speed, will the rest of the field, in particular Bianchi and Butty, bet on themselves in a sprint finish? When it comes to tactics, the Boy’s Mile may be the most interesting race of the day.
2 Mile
We don’t expect tactics or slow early laps to be a problem here. #1 Seed Greg McGrath has made it known he wants to challenge nine minutes this season, perhaps even the legendary indoor record of 8:49 held by Franklin Sanchez. McGrath’s PR is 9:02 from the state coaches meet. Falmouth’s Silas Gartner has chosen the Two over the One Mile, so he clearly wants to chase something fast. That being said, if someone were to rely on speed, Gartner has the best Mile PR in the field at 4:12. He also recently ran 2:29 for 1000m. Add in Hopkinton’s Sean Finnegan, another athlete who spoke about running in the low nine-minute range this season, and we have strong reason to believe this race will be fast.
There’s also another reason: Oliver Ame’s Landon Sarney. Sarney holds a PR of 9:15.97 and is known for elevating his game at the end of the season. After winning this past fall’s Meet of Champions with a finishing kick runner’s will talk about for years, we’re confidant none of these athletes want him on their shoulder with a lap to go.
