#8 Newton North
At #8 we have Newton North. On paper, based off their XC times, this may seem rather high on the list. However, we think based off what they accomplished throughout the year they’re going to be very tough to beat this fall.
It starts up front. While he may only have a 16:52 5K PR from last XC season, Ryan Costello returns as one of the top runners to watch this fall across the state. He made significant gains this spring running 9:12.31 for two miles, making him the top overall returnee at that distance. It will be exciting to see how that translates this fall. There’s also Jamie Evans, who returns with a 17:09 5K PR, but ran 4:34 for the mile this past spring. He should run much faster this fall based off his track success.
The Tigers also return a strong core from last fall. Lucas Allen and Alexander Daly were their top runners at Meet of Champions last season, running 16:47 and 16:49 at Fort Devins. William Kenneally was their third man at the Divisional race, running 16:39 at Wrentham.
Newton North have all the makings of a surprise contender this fall. They’ll have their work cut out for them through, competing in both the Bay State Conference and Division 1A.
Projected Top 5:
Lucas Allen 16:15
William Kenneally 16:29
Alexander Daly 16:31
Mathew Gallo 16:37
Ryan Costello 16:52/9:12
