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 knowledge.
Here we feature the girls’ hurdling sprinting events, which include the 100-meter High Hurdles, and 400m Intermediate Hurdles.
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100m HH
There’s little debate about who sits atop this event. The real question is just how fast Emmanuella Edozien will run this season and how she’ll stack up against the nation’s elite.
The Natick senior was a dominant force last spring. Undefeated against in-state competition, Edozien capped her season by breaking the state record at the Meet of Champions with a blazing 13.57, good for No. 23 in the nation.
All signs point to continued success this spring, with even bigger performances on the horizon. The University of Arkansas commit backed that up during the indoor season, where she once again owned the hurdles. Edozien went unbeaten against top state and regional competition, highlighted by another Meet of Champions title, a New England crown, and a record-breaking 7.92 in the 55m hurdles at the Division 1 Championships.
She saved her best for last. In mid-March, the Natick standout earned All-American honors with a third-place finish in the 60m hurdles, an effort that signals she’s ready to take on the country’s very best this outdoor season.
Last year, Edozien came up just a few spots short of advancing to the finals at the New Balance Nationals. Judging by how she’s performed since that meet, we’re expecting that to be reversed this season with more dominance – and state records – leading up to the big meet.
Battling for those other key spots on the podium will certainly get interesting. Returning are three hurdlers that cracked the 15-second barrier, and other on the cusp of doing the same in 2025 – Central Catholic’s Arianna DiPietro (14.32), Reading’s Isabelle Lightbody (14.67), Milton’s Annaliese Aguilar (14.72), Canton’s Chloe Dubuisson (14.81) and Weston’s Solana Varela (15.01). DiPietro and Varela finished second and third, respectively, in the 55m HH at the MOC this past winter. Dubuissoin (fifth) and Aguilar (eighth) also made the podium.
400m IH
The last two years, this event has been dominated by state record-holder and North Reading graduate Giuliana Ligor. Now that she’s moved on to college, competing at the University of Pennsylvania, who will take over the reigns this season? With six athletes returning from the podium at the 2025 Meet of Champions, it could be anyone.
Early-season favorite is Solana Varela of Weston. Varela finished second to Ligor at the MOC and twice last season came within a second of breaking a minute, capturing the Division 5 title in 1:00.97 and placing 18th overall at the New Balance Nationals with a PR of 1:00.84. Could she go sub-60 this spring? It’s possible. Varela has already showcased her speed indoors, taking the bronze in the 300m at the MOC in 40.44 and posting a personal best of 25.83 in the 200m at NBN.
Wayland’s Sazie Wrentmore and Chloe Dubuisson are also expected to make an impact. Wrentmore was third at the MOC, posting a best of 1:02.67. Dubuisson, also a podium finisher, captured the Div. 4 crown in a PR of 1:02.95.
Other key returnees include Cardinal Spellman’s Abigail Clark, Nipmuc’s Riley Restic, and King Philip’s Alex D’Amadio, who finished fifth, sixth, and eighth at the MOC with times in the 1:04 range.
