Boys’ New Balance Nationals Preview

The New Balance Nationals feature the best of the best from across the country.

It takes a special kind of talent to make it this far.

Beginning Thursday and running through Sunday at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Massachusetts’ finest track and field athletes will be looking to make some noise in the City of Brotherly Love.

By our estimation, more than 50 athletes and several relay squads from the Bay State will compete in Championship races. A top-six finish earns All-American honors and, of course, we know what a victory means: a coveted national title.

Kudos to everyone who made it this far. It’s a testament to the hard work, dedication, and sacrifices you’ve made throughout the year—and throughout your career. This is your reward for a job well done, and something you should be proud of.

LIVE RESULTS/ENTRIES

Day 1 Preview

Day 1 in Philly kicks off today so stay tuned as we update throughout the weekend with results. Massachusetts has had an exception crop of freshmen Milers this year and a few of them have made the trip down for one more race. Newburyport’s Nordeen Fadil has run 4:26.73 this season and will run in the second fastest heat this afternoon. Also keep an eye out for Xaverian’s Desmond Sullivan, Melrose’s Lincoln Schuyler, Joshua Gamil of Lincold-Sudbury, and Stoughton’s Trevor Martorana.

Cohasset’s Nicholas Askjaer was All-American indoors in the shot put. Today he will compete in the seeded section of the Discus. The Junior has a best of 187’1” from the Meet of Champions. While the shot may be his better event, he’ll vie for top six today in the disc.

While you’re reading this, Wayland’s Ryan McCormack will already be competing in the Decathlon. You may know now him from his exploits in the Pole Vault. The senior took first at the Meet of Champions. He is also an exception multi-athlete so keep an eye out as more results come in. As of this writing, he’s already tied his best in the 100m (11.30) and jumped 22’1.75”. Watch out for Saint John Prep’s Tyson Stroope as well. Stroope sits in eighth through two events with McCormack in fifth.

In the freshmen Pole Vault, Dover-Sherborn’s Jack Smith will contend for medal. Smith owns a best of 13′ and finished 3rd at the Division 5 Championships.

The boys from Cambridge Rindge & Latin will run in the seeded section of the 4xMile later this evening. The Falcons team of Leon Ibanez-Fraile, Liam Eldrige, and Kieran Eichler, and Gael Berzin can run well under 18 minutes. All four return next year, so this could be a preview of what they can do next fall in. Speaking of XC, keep an eye out for Brookline in the unseeded section. The quartet of Theordore Butty, Ibrahim Abdel-Dayem, Liam Hartman, and Aidan Vandor are more than capable of running well under 18 as well. Running in the same section is Boston College High School. Theo Weiss, Colin Kurtz, Owen Geagan, and Joseph Hayes have all run under 4:30. Running as the Scarlet Knights, North Andover have all the ingredients of a sub 18:00 minute run. Brogan Zwinggi, Liam Rand, William Thomas, and Nicholas FloresQuero-Llamas have all run 4:29 or better.

Day 2

The boys Shot Put features the trio of Nicholas Askjaer, Olive Ames’ Mitchell Callender, and Hopedale’s Ari Levine. As previously mentioned, Askjaer earned All-American honors indoors by finishing runner up with a throw of 65’5”. He came close to tying that mark last weekend at New England’s. Callender and Levine have both cleared 60 feet and have a great shot at a top ten finish.

Keep the 400m Hurdles on your schedule Friday. Abington’s Aidan Calcano Da Silva currently sits at #10 in the country with his best of 52.37. A top sixth finish is within his reach. Also keep an eye on Westford Academy Alum Ryan Kyle’s state record of 51.72.

If the weather cooperates, we could see some fast two mile times. Boston College High School’s Greg McGrath will attempt to crack nine minutes again, after running 8:56 at Indoor Nationals. He’s coming off a dominant win at the Meet of Champions where the temperature was pushing 90. If he can run another PR, he’ll likely move up the all-time rankings. Keep an eye on Oliver Ames’ Landon Sarney, Hopkinton’s Sean Finnegan, and Weymouth’s Seamus Egan.

Friday’s Action will wrap up with the 4x800m that will see the top two teams from the Meet of Champions. Brookline will run a different quartet with Harry Flint, Santi Sierra, Jonathan Traub, and Tony Carballo and will look to challenge the 7:44 they ran at to win the State Title. BC High will run Greg McGrath, Owen Geagan, Theo Weiss, and Joseph Hayes. It will be a tough double for McGrath. He should have somewhere between 3-4 hours in between. The dark horse of the race will be Xaverian. An unfortunate stumble cost them their race at the Meet of Champions. Based off their PRS, the group of Jack Weintraub, Marco Petrino, Scott Feeney, and Jacob Edgar could run well under 7:50.  Andover’s group of Landon Zoss, Ben Falk, Zain Shah, and Elye Berman will look crack 7:50 as well. They ran 7:51.90 at the Meet of Champions.

Day 3

Freshmen Benjamin Scanga of Lincoln-Sudbury will toe the line in the freshmen boy’s 800m. Scanga has run 2:00.65 this season. Sub two minutes will be on his mind Saturday morning.

The two top hurdlers in the state will make the trip to Philly. Simon Tandeih of Lexington and Malik Washburn of Old Rochester Regional will see if they can advance one round at a time. Tandeih ran his PR of 14.25 to win the Meet of Champions two weeks ago.

Xaverian’s Alex Todorov will lead a strong contingent of 200m athletes. Todorov is coming off a runner up performance at the Meet of Champions where he ran 21.42. He’ll be joined by Clinton’s Sean Blaze, Stoughton’s Alexander Andrade, Governor’s Academy’s Aidan Bly, and Walpole’s Arnold Obour-Mensah. All four will look to crack 21.60.

Concord Carlisle’s Mathew Logan, Millbury’s Jayden Delaleu, and Waconah’s Cooper Culvert will look to take flight in Philly. The trip is currently ranked 1-3 in the state in the High Jump. Calvert emerged victorious at the Meet of Champions.

State record holder Amar Skeete of Catholic Memorial returns to the site where he earned All-American honors last season. It was a major breakthrough for Skeete, who enters this weekend with a best of 51’2”. This year he’ll be vying for the crown. Skeete leads a large contingent of Massachusetts jumpers. Keep an eye on Siddy Culbreth of Monument Mountain, Cleavon Manor JR of Lexington, Nick Kelter of Lynnfield, Mathis Cineus of Attleboro, Oscar Torres of Weston, Jordan Oge of Lowell, Jacob Codio of Weymouth, and Enson Enoch of Whitinsville Christian.

Newburyport’s Michael Mohoric will feature in the seeded section of the boy’s mile. Mohoric launched himself into the nation’s elite with his 4:05 performance at the BSR Elite mile. He looked strong running 4:07 at the Meet of Champions in hot conditions. This race could be won in under four minutes, so Mohoric has a great opportunity in front of him. Falmouth’s Silas Gartner will most likely be in the second section. He’s run 4:08 twice this season, most recently at Adrian Martinez. This weekend may also be Natick’s John Bianchi’s last attempt at sub 4:10. Bianchi has been a staple in the four lap race his whole high school career. Keep an eye on Brody Richardson of Easthampton, William Trautz of Belmont Hill, Maruice King Jr of Greater Lowell Tech, Patrick Geagan of Weymouth, and Andrew Kosiba of Groton-Dunstable.

Arlington’s Daichi Collins has been prepping his whole career for the steeplechase. With bests of 57.49 in the 400m Hurdles and 9:25.80 in the two mile, the steeplechase is perfect for him. Collins won the Weston Twilight in 6:08.76 and will look to better that this weekend.

Day 4

Make sure you’re up early on for the final day of competition, as the DMR could be one of the best events for the Bay State. Despite having three athletes qualify in individual events, Billerica has opted to go all in on the DMR. They’ll have 4:13 Miler Mason Niles leading off, and 4:12 Miler Shane Leslie anchoring. They’ll have 4:20 Miler Sahill Ghandi running the 800 and their top sprinter Ben Pena running the 400. With all four running fresh we could see something special. Don’t count out Brookline. While they’re running a few other relays, the DMR could be their strongest. Ibrahim Abdel-Dayem, Elijah Sweeney, Harry Flint, and Theodore Butty are slated to carry the batons. Then there’s Natick who finished seventh Indoors at New Balance Nationals, and will be running Freddie Van der Velder, Kenny Chiu, Calum Doyle, and John Bianchi. Keep an eye on squads from Weymouth, Weston, and Andover as well.

In the Long Jump, Wakefield’s JaMauri Belmer will look to see if he can rekindle the magic from the ML-12 Championships where he jumped a US#13 24’11”. If he can match that he’ll find himself on the podium. At the same meet. Lexington’s Simon Tandeih jumped a US #19 24’9.5” and will look to podium as well. Then there’s his teammate Amari Mow who showed when it mattered most to win the Meet of Champions with a leap of 24’2.25”. Don’t count out Amar Skeete either. While he’s known more for the Triple Jump, he’s a fantastic Long Jumper as well with a best of 24’3”.

Jiai Gonzalez of Blue Hills Regional will look to continue his success from the Meet of Champions where he ran a PR of 47.77. Most recently he ran 47.83 at New England’s. Abington’s Nathan Calcano Da Silva will look to crack 48 seconds for the first time. He owns a best of 48.07. Although it’s possible he chooses to save his legs for the 4x400m.

He may choose to go all in on relays, but if not, Sunday may be Brookline’s Harry Flint’s last chance to crack 1:50. Only a handful of athletes from the Bay State have accomplished that feat while in high school. Based off what he’s done the last few weeks, we think he can. Keep an eye on Arlington’s Nico Peukert, Xaverian’s Jack Weintraub, North Andover’s Aidan Siwicki, Amherst’s Nicolas Lisle, Medford’s Adam Lewis, and Greater Lowell’s Maurice King JR.

The final event of the meet will feature Abington as they attempt to lower their current state record of 3:15.01. They keep getting better as they ran that mark last weekend at New England’s. This group could be special. Aidan Calcano Da Silva, Nathan Calcano Da Silva, Lucas De Oliveira, and Nazir Paulding return next season.