The BSR Elite Scholastic Mile is less than a month away, and all eyes should be on the clock in the girls’ race.
Pre-race favorite Abby Hennessy appears to be in prime position to not only to break the meet record, but possibly her own personal best, too. The Westford Academy senior owns a top time of 4:34.69, set during her third-place finish at New Balance Nationals last year.
She enters this race with serious momentum after earning the biggest victory of her high school career last weekend—an effort that signals she could be ready for something special.
That potential was on full display last Saturday, April 11, at the Arcadia Invitational in California. Facing some of the nation’s best in the Invitational 3,200-meter run, Hennessy captured individual honors in an electrifying 9:50.84, winning by nearly nine seconds.
The Ghosts standout’s time was just shy of the all-time state best of 9:50.19, set by former Belmont standout Ellie Shea at the 2023 Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle.
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As noted above, the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile, which is part of the BSR Elite Scholastic Meet, is less than a month away.
Sponsored by Marathon Sports and New Balance, the meet, held at UMass Lowell on May 15, has expanded its schedule to include unseeded races in addition to its invite-only mile, 800m, and 400m events.
Registration for the unseeded races remains open until May 6 on DirectAthletics for athletes who have met the qualifying standards. The standards are as follows: Girls — Mile: 5:05; 800m: 2:17; 400m: 58.0. Boys — Mile: 4:22; 800m: 1:57; 400m: 50.0.
Don’t forget this week’s BSR Eagle Invite, formerly known as the Mid-Distance Classic. This year’s meet, hosted by St. John’s Prep in Danvers, will take place on Friday. The fourth annual event, sponsored by Marathon Sports and New Balance, begins with the pentathlon at 9 a.m., with running events and the shot put starting at 3 p.m. The running events include the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 400m hurdles, and 4x400m relay.
Registration for the meet is open until Wednesday on DirectAthletics.
We’ll be previewing the meet later this week, and BSR will also provide a live stream.
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As usual each year, school vacation week features several statewide competitions. It’s not any different this season.
The MSTCA Warrior Invitational at Foxborough High and the third annual Outdoor Mercury Games at Norton High will both be held on Thursday. Friday at Andover High features the annual MSTCA Invitational and Pentathlon.
Several notable athletes are entered in these meets. Multiple All-Stater and record-holder Nina Kyei-Aboagye of Sharon is entered in the 100m at the Warrior Invite. The indoor All-American in the 55m dash brings a best of 11.54 into the event. Also competing is Cohasset’s Nicholas Askjaer, the state leader in the shot put this past indoor season with a mark of 65 feet, 5 inches. He’s also the No. 1 seed in the discus at 176-6.
At the Invicational, one of the state’s top hurdlers will be in action, as Abington’s Aidan Calcano-Da Silva is entered in both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles. He has already posted state-leading times of 14.45 and 53.94 in those events, respectively. The girls’ pole vault features Parker Charter’s Kinsley Kline, the bronze medalist at last year’s Meet of Champions. She owns a personal best of 12-1.5, set during her second-place finish at the USATF New England Championships in late February.
The Mercury Games will showcase Malden’s outstanding freshman Khadijah Diagne, who is entered in both the 100m and 200m. The indoor 300m Division 3 champion has seed times of 11.60 and 24.41, respectively. The 200m could be one of the top races of the day, featuring two additional sub-25-second runners – Malden freshman Sabrine Harrzaquia (24.34) and Randolph’s Jayden Adora-Bleus (24.99).
In the boys’ 100m, one of the state’s fastest sprinters, Randolph’s Mekhi White (10.64), is entered.
