It’s Preview Time!
With the outdoor track & field season licking off, it’s time to spotlight the top athletes who could dominate this spring. We’ve based our projections on performances from the 2025 outdoor season, results from this past winter campaign, and some inside knowldege.
Here we feature the boys’ throwing events, which include the shot, javelin and discus.
***
SHOT
There’s a real chance we could see three—possibly more—athletes surpass 60 feet this spring.
During the indoor season leading up to the New Balance Nationals, the battle for the No. 1 spot came down to Oliver Ames’ Mitchell Callender and Hopedale’s Ari Levine. Callender ultimately won the final showdown at the State Meet, then carried that momentum into a victory at the New England Championships. Levine finished second and third in those meets, respectively.
Callender closed out the season with a PR of 62-7.75, with Levine just five inches back at 62-2.25.
At New Balance, we were introduced a new name to the 60-foot club—one we hadn’t seen all season at any MIAA or MSTCA meets – Cohasset junior Nicholas Askjaer.
The Skippers standout emerged as the state leader at the mid-March competition with a massive 65-5 throw to place second at the Nationals, improving his personal best by nearly six feet! Askjaer did compete during last year’s outdoor season, where he posted an outdoor best of 52-4 to win the Lou Tozzi Freshman-Sophomore Invitational and later placed 14th at the Meet of Champions.
The question now is whether Askjaer will be an active participant in MIAA and MSTCA competitions this spring, or continue competing primarily in USATF, Trials of Miles, and other non-scholastic events, as he did during the indoor season. If the choice is the former, this could be one of the best years we’ve seen in this event in state history.
The state record of 67-10.75 was set more than 25 years ago by Seekonk’s Jeff Chakouian at the MIAA All-State Meet (now the Meet of Champions). While that mark may be a longshot, it’s not entirely out of the question that it could be challenged this season.
Other top throwers include Stoneham’s Thomas Wood, who owns a best of 58-4, and Lunenburg’s Ray Breadmore. The Blue Knights senior was one of three athletes to surpass 55 feet this winter. During the spring last year, he came less than a foot of 60 feet with a throw of 59-3 at the Outdoor Mercury Games.
JAVELIN
It’s highly possible we could see a record-breaking season in this event. The athlete to watch is Chelmsford’s Gable Gray, the defending Division 2 and Meet of Champions winner.
As a junior last year, Gray surpassed 200 feet three times during the spring, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at Nike Indoor Nationals with a then-best of 208-8.
But that mark didn’t last long.
Less than a month later, during the offseason, he delivered a massive PR of 214-8 to win the American JavFest in East Stroudsburg, Pa., on July 18-19. That effort put him just three feet shy of the current state record of 217-11, set by former Somerset standout Kyle Quinn, and ranks him No. 4 all-time in Massachusetts history.
Gray had competition pushing him last year. Right behind him at the Meet of Champions was Walpole’s Matt St. Cyr, who earned silver with a PR of 204-8.
Based on what returns this season, matching that level of competition may be a tall order if everything remains status quo with Gray. But it doesn’t mean we’re short on talent.
Three of the top eight finishers from last year’s Meet of Champions are back, including Reading’s Luke Rogerson (fifth), Groton-Dunstable’s Alexander Crouse (seventh), and Brookline’s Hunter Robin (eighth). Robin owns the top returning mark at 183-10, followed by Rogerson at 179-2 and Crouse at 173-7. Six more athletes enter the season with bests over 170 feet from 2025.
If the season plays out as expected for Gray- and there’s little reason to think it won’t – the real intrigue may be the battle behind him at the Meet of Champions.
DISCUS
No one was touching Alex Jackson in this event last year. The former Peabody star capped his high school career with a dominant, undefeated season that included a best of 191-2 at the MSTCA Division 2 Relays and a victory at the Meet of Champions, where he finished 16 feet ahead of his closest competitor.
With the graduation of Jackson, along with the next two finishers—Medfield’s Mike O’Reilly and Lawrence’s Argenis Luciano—this event now appears wide open.
Among the top returners are Nipmuc’s Eben Consioli, Cohasset’s Nicholas Askjaer, Uxbridge’s Julian Rosenburg, and Oliver Ames’ Mitchell Callender. Consioli, who placed fifth at the Meet of Champions, matched that finish at the New England Championships while throwing a PR of 171-3. Askjaer also surpassed 170 feet, taking fourth at the Meet of Champions with a best of 170-9. Rosenburg reached 168-0 during the season, while Callender recorded a top throw of 167-0.75.
This shapes up as a true toss-up when it comes to determining who will emerge victorious at the Meet of Champions.
