Not that we’re surprised.
As the outdoor season approaches its midpoint, things are beginning to heat up in the Bay State, with a number of athletes producing elite and national-level performances.
This past weekend at the Penn Relays Carnival, Westford Academy’s Abby Hennessy continued to prove why she’s one of the best—if not the best—distance runners in the country, earning her second major victory of the spring.
Two weeks after a near state mark of 9:02.84 in her 3,200m win at the Arcadia Invitational, Hennessy broke the meet record at Penn with a four-second victory in 4:38.13 – her fifth time under 4:40. It’s only a matter of time before she lowers her own state record of 4:34.69, set at last year’s New Balance Nationals. Could it come at next weekend’s BSR Elite Scholastic Meet? Will she have the competition to push her early? The field is loaded. It could happen.
It also seems like only a matter of time before Chelmsford’s Gable Gray takes down the 16-year-old state record in the javelin. The current mark of 217 feet, 11 inches was set by former Easton standout Kyle Quinn in 2010. Gray came within three feet of that record last year when he won the American JavFest.
At the Penn Relays, the Chelmsford All-American moved even closer, earning a silver medal with a personal best of 216-7. Gray was fourth at last year’s New Balance Nationals, a result that has no doubt boosted his confidence as he looks to climb higher on the podium. He currently ranks No. 3 in the country. Winning at Penn was Jamaica’s Addison James of Edwin Allen with an astonishing 237-8.
There’s a chance we could see several state records fall this season. Along with Hennessy, four returning individual record holders are back this spring -Natick’s Emmanuella Edozien in the 100-meter hurdles, Catholic Memorial’s Amar Skeete in the triple jump, and Sharon’s Nina Kyei Aboagye in the 200m.
In 2025, Edozien set her mark at the Meet of Champions, blazing to 13.57. So far this season, her best is a state-leading 14.52, which she ran in a league meet against Milton and Walpole. It was just her second competition of the spring—and she still won by 0.62 seconds. As always, expect her to keep improving and peak during championship season. She has proven time and again that she performs best against top competition. She’s also coming off an outstanding indoor season, where she defended her state title in the 55m hurdles, won the New England championship, and placed third in the 60m hurdles at New Balance Nationals.
Skeete joined the 50-foot club at New Balance Nationals last June with a state-record leap of 50-5, good for third overall. The Knights senior has yet to compete in the triple jump this season, but he was seventh at nationals this winter with an indoor best of 49-11.5. He did compete in the long jump at last weekend’s Warrior Invitational, where he soared to a winning 23-11 – just four inches shy of his lifetime best of 24-3 from the Coaches Invitational on Jan. 24. Skeete has a legitimate shot at two state records this season. The current long jump mark is 24-11, set by Chicopee alum Alex Niemiec in 2013.
Kyei-Aboagye swept the sprint events at last year’s Meet of Champions, winning both the 100m and 200m. She followed that up with another double victory at the indoor state meet in the 55m and 300m. We expect her to continue that success in her final high school season this spring.
One record she’ll be aiming for is her own 200m mark of 23.28, set at the MOC. The Sharon senior, who also added the 55m indoor state record (6.83) to her résumé, has competed twice so far this season, capturing the 100m at the Warrior Invitational in 12.10 and running a strong 24.74 in a meet with Taunton earlier this week.
As in past seasons, Kyei-Aboagye will have plenty of competition pushing her. Currently leading the 100m and 200m are familiar indoor rivals Lauren Quarm of Methuen and Malden freshman Khadijah Diagne. Quarm won the 100m in a state-leading 11.96 at the 47th annual Ottaviani Haverhill Invitational on April 18. A day earlier, Diagne placed second in the collegiate race at the George Davis Invitational at UMass Lowell, clocking 24.65 – a time that currently ranks her No. 13 among ninth-graders nationwide.
