Willard Park at Fort Devens, site of the MIAA Meet of Champions, will once again be open for business before the state’s best collide on Nov. 21.
But first comes Saturday’s second annual Devens Pre-Championship Classic, when 22 high schools – and possibly more – will test their mettle on the five-kilometer course.
Presented by Marathon Sports and New Balance, the meet will feature five races, beginning with a Co-Ed Middle School 3K, followed by a pair of Championship Varsity High School 5Ks and concluding with Junior Varsity 5Ks.
Boston College High grad Greg McGrath and Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Sophia Juanes-Seto established the meet records at last fall’s inaugural event, with McGrath clocking a winning 15:21.5 and Juanes-Seto breaking the tape in 18:26.8.
There is still time to register for this weekend’s meet, with entries closing at noon Wednesday. Based on the teams entered so far, however, it appears those marks have a slim chance of being broken.
The top seed in the boys’ Varsity Race is Andover’s Landon Zoss, who finished second to McGrath at last fall’s Division 1A Championships with a best of 15:39.1 at Wrentham. Zoss was also the runner-up in the Open 5K at this past weekend’s Frank Kelley Invitational, where he raced to a season-best 15:44.8.
Lincoln-Sudbury, ranked No. 7 in our recent New Balance Boys’ Power Rankings, will have three sub-16-minute runners on the line with sophomore Josh Gamel (15:44.8), senior Lukas Masiakos (15:55.2) and Brandon Ma (15:56.2). The Warriors trio all set their current PRs at the Kelley Invitational.
In the girls’ Varsity Race, Winchester senior Julia Ramsay and Lincoln-Sudbury sophomore Avery Gibson headline the field. Ramsay has a season best of 18:38 from an ML-12 meet on Sept. 30. In her cross-country debut, Ramsay finished fifth in the Open 5K at the Kelley Invitational, where she raced to an impressive 18:58.7. As a team, Winchester is currently ranked No. 7 in the Power Rankings, while Bishop Feehan, which will also compete Saturday, is ranked No. 11.
Once again, entries will be closed on Wednesday at noon. Registration can be done on Atheltic.net.
SCHEDULE
10 a.m. – Co-Ed Middle School -3K
10:20 – Boys’ High School Championship – 5K
10:45 – Girls’ High School Championship – 5K
11:20 – Boys’ Junior Varsity – 5K
11:45 – Girls’ Junior Varsity – 5K
12:30 p.m. – Awards
