(Updated)
Day or night, the schools will be out in force — 119 teams under the bright sunshine and 90 more when darkness sets in.
That will be the scene Saturday as more than 3,000 runners descend on the Wrentham Developmental Center for back-to-back cross-country competitions: the Frank Kelley Invitational and Bay State Invitational (Twilight Meet).
Here’s a look at some of the top competitors scheduled to compete in the four varsity races at the Bay State Invitational. The girls’ entries for this meets includes a host of individuals that have strong credentials and have posted bests for the five-kilometer distance under 18 minutes.
The sister duo of Emily and Abby Flagg are among the elite after finishing 1-2 at both the Division 2C Championship and Meet of Champions. This will be their first meet of the season on a course both know well — and one where they’ve had plenty of success.
Abby ran a PR of 17:59.6 to win the Small Schools race at last year’s Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational at Wrentham. Emily ran a season-best 17:22.0 to capture the Junior/Senior race at the Mooney Invite as a sophomore in 2024. Her personal best is 17:17.3, set at the MSTCA Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational last fall.
This will be the farewell tour for the Flagg sisters. Emily will be aiming for her fourth straight divisional state crown and third consecutive victory at the Meet of Champions.
Don’t be surprised to see Emily put together a low-17-minute effort, with Abby also capable of breaking 18 minutes in the early-season nighttime event. They’ll be the feature harriers in the ‘B’ Race, scheduled for 8 p.m.
Holliston sophomore Lucy Downin is another runner to watch. She won the Division 2B title last season and finished third behind the Flagg twins at the Meet of Champions as a ninth-grader. She’s among the top runners in the ‘A’ Race.
Downin is coming off a strong track season in which she clocked 4:51 for the mile and 2:14 for the 800-meter run. With the competition and the ideal conditions expected Saturday, she’s another runner capable of posting a time in the 17-minute range.
Canton’s Lauren Raffetto, a runner-up in Div. 2A and fifth-place finisher at the Meet of Champions, is also scheduled to answer the starter’s gun in the ‘B’ Race.
Raffetto ran a best of 17:52.4 at last year’s Twilight Invitational, and her only race at Wrentham last season produced a victory. She captured the Junior 3K title in the Small Schools division, crossing the line in 10:38.6.
Two-time Division 3C champion Cameron Davis will be toeing the line in the ‘B’ Race, too. It will be interesting to see how the Oxford senior fares this weekend. Davis competed in only one cross-country meet last year, skipped indoor track and raced just three times during the outdoor season, posting a season-best 5:55.91 for the mile.
At her best, Davis has been one of the top runners in the state. She won two divisional cross-country crowns and captured the Division 2 title at the Meet of Champions during her sophomore campaign. She also owns a 17:43.9 personal best at Wrentham, where she finished second at the Mooney Invitational that same year.
After such a limited 2025-26 season, Saturday should provide an intriguing glimpse at whether Davis can return to the form that made her one of the state’s top distance runners.
Hamilton-Wenham’s Grace Rich, the defending Division 3B champion from 2025, should also make an impact. She owns an 18:34.1 PR at Wrentham, set when she finished second at the divisional state meet as a sophomore. She ran a season-best 18:37.1 to capture the Cape Ann League title at — you guessed it — Wrentham. She’s in the ‘B’ Race.
Billerica’s Kylie Donahue, another top competitor, is also in the ‘B’ Race. She went sub 18:30 three times last fall with amazing consistency, clocking a PR of 18:28.0 to place eighth at the Twilight Invitational, 18:28.1 to take second at the Div. 1C Championship and 18:29.7 to finish fifth at the Meet of Champions.
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The boys’ field is equally deep. We have plenty there that are expected to have big performances.
In the ‘A’ Race, Brookline has at least two runners who should be among the leaders, senior teammates Liam Hartmann and Ibrahim Abdel-Daye.
Hartmann had a very strong season last year, placing fifth at both the Division 1A championship and Meet of Champions. He recorded five sub-16-minute efforts, twice coming at Wrentham. He was the runner-up at the Bay State Conference Championship in 15:36.8 and followed that with a 15:57.8 performance at the divisional meet.
Abdel-Daye ran his all-time best of 15:45.7 at the Bay State Conference Championship, where he finished sixth overall.
St. John’s Prep’s Leo Seltenrich should also be a member of the sub-16 club in the ‘B’ Race. He accomplished the feat once last year, running 15:48.6 to finish sixth at the Catholic Conference Championship at Wrentham.
Lenox Memorial’s Ben Harwood, a second-place finisher at last year’s WMass XC Championship with a solid 15:45.2 at Stanley Park, is another runner with potential for a top finish in the ‘B’ Race.
Billerica’s Mason Niles will also be lining up this weekend in the ‘A’ Race. He had a PR of 15:36.8 at the Twilight Invitational last year. He’ll be joined by teammate Sahil Gandhi, who ran 15:45.8 at Twilight and was third at the Div. 3C Championship at Wrentham with a time of 15:46.0
Weymouth’s Patrick Geagan is another runner to watch in the ‘B’ Race. He ran 15:42.8 at the Bay State Conference Championship.
SCHEDULE
5 p.m. – Co-Ed Novice/JV 3K Race
5:30 p.m. – JV Girls 5K (A and B) Race
6 p.m. – JV Boys’ 5K ‘A’ Race
6:30 p.m. – JV Boys 5K ‘B’ Race
7 p.m. – Varsity Girls’ 5K ‘A’ Race
7:30 p.m. – Varsity Boys’ 5K ‘B’ Race
8 p.m. – Varsity Girls’ 5K ‘B’ Race
8:30 p.m. – Varsity Boys’ 5K ‘B’ Race
