The miles and miles of Christmas lights. The music blaring. The nighttime atmosphere. The hundreds of spectators and runners screaming along the course.
As is always the case, the excitement will be at a high level this weekend at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds, the host site of the mega-popular Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational, a two-day extravaganza featuring Small and Medium School teams on Saturday and Large Schools on Sunday.
And then, of course, there’s also what happens once the starter’s gun fires.
Twenty times over the course of the two days, runners will explode off the starting line, surrounded by the lights, the noise and the roar of the crowd.
To no one’s surprise, the varsity competition will feature some of our state’s best. Last year’s event included a new course record by former Westford Academy great Abby Hennessy, who won the girls’ Large School race, torching the five-kilometer course in 16:43.0. The fastest time among the boys was produced by Brookline’s Liam Hartmann, who captured the Medium School race in a PR of 15:04.80.
Here’s our preview of the four races scheduled in the Small and Medium School divisions.
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Medium School Girls
Could we see a course record? We’re not counting it out.
With the conditions expected to be ideal, the one thing we are confident will happen on Saturday is a sub-17-minute performance on the fast 5K layout.
The runner in question is Whitinsville Christian’s Emily Flagg. The Crusaders senior will be seeking her fourth straight title at Twilight. She won last year’s race with the third-fastest time of the day, claiming her individual crown in a then-PR of 17:17.3.
Flagg demolished that time in a big way at this past weekend’s Bay State Invitational, which was also held under the lights. In a dominating victory in the ‘B’ Race, she clocked 17:05.70.
She gets the favorite nod, but don’t expect this one to necessarily be a runaway win like most of her previous victories. We believe she will be pushed, at least for the first half of the course, and possibly more.
While we do feel Flagg will win on Saturday, we believe the biggest threat to any kind of upset will come from Holliston’s Lucy Downin. In a completely different race from Flagg at Bay State, Downin came from behind in the closing stages to take the ‘A’ Race in 17:44.99, just 5.9 seconds ahead of Billerica’s Kylie Donahue.
The Holliston sophomore told us after her win at Bay State that she has a goal of running in the mid-17-minute range by season’s end. We think she’ll do that on Saturday. Can she run faster at the Fairgrounds? You never know. This course is one of the quickest in the state, and keep in mind, Downin does have some talent. Remember, she ran a 4:51 mile as a freshman last year.
Whitinsville Christian, a team that showed it can contend for a Division 2 title this year, also has Emily Flagg’s twin sister Abby, who was third at Bay State with a solid 18:11.30. Her effort was a big confidence-booster, considering that she was nursing a stress reaction in her foot over the summer and went into this past weekend’s race with no speed workouts to date.
Among some of the other top runners are St. Mary’s teammates Kelsey Kwiatek (18:21.68) and McKenna O’Connell (18:32.72), Northampton’s Mairead O’Neil (18:40.45) and Bishop Fenwick’s Adelaide Sweatman (18:44.44).
In total, there are seven who have broken 19 minutes this season and an additional nine who have gone under 20 minutes. That’s a solid field.
Medium School Boys
This is a race that has a chance of coming down to the final stretch.
The No. 1 seed is Groton-Dunstable’s Andrew Kosiba, who looked strong in winning the ‘B’ Race at the Bay State Invitational. Kosiba was timed in a PR of 15:30 at Wrentham, a slightly more difficult course than The Fairgrounds, where he ran his previous best of 15:46.1 at last year’s Twilight meet.
Also entered in the race is Winchester’s Hunter Waechter, who was fourth in the ‘B’ Race at Bay State in a best of 15:37.9, and Whitinsville Christian’s Benjamin Barron, who went sub-16 this past weekend at Wrentham with his current PR of 15:59.7.
Keep an eye on Amherst-Pelham’s Calvin Miller. We saw him a few weeks ago at the Amherst Invitational, where he captured individual honors in 16:18.7 in his only all-out effort of the season. With a faster course and the competition he’ll be facing, he could certainly be in the mix.
Eighteen in this race have broken 17 minutes this fall, including Groton-Dunstable’s Greyson Duane (16:19.51), Dover-Sherborn’s Jackson Doyle (16:23.2), and teammate Christopher Pan (16:25.0).
Small School Girls
It should be a competitive race here, too.
Take your pick on the favorite. There are a few that come to mind.
Norwell’s Katherine Murray has only run one competitive 5K this season, winning the season-opening Vineyard XC Invitational with a time of 18:56.3 back on Sept. 6. Murray competed at the Frank Kelley Invitational, clocking a winning 11:29.6 in the 3K race of the Small/Medium School Junior/Senior division. She has a PR of 18:04.3 from her victory in the ‘B’ Race of last year’s Bay State Invitational and went 18:11.3 at Twilight a few weeks later to place second in this race in 2026.
The field also includes Hamilton-Wenham teammates Grace Rich and Asa Labell, who went 4-5 at Bay State with times of 18:40.1 and 18:41.8, respectively. Rich has run faster, capturing the Cape Ann League Championships at Wrentham in a PR of 18:37.1.
Oxford’s Cameron Davis is another runner who could be a factor. She was seventh at Bay State with a best of 19:00.9.
In her first invitational meet as a high-schooler, freshman Evelyn McKenna of Parker Charter raced to an impressive time of 19:18.7 at Bay State. It will be interesting to see what she does this weekend.
Fourteen in this race have seed times that are under 20 minutes.
Small School Boys
The final race of the night could certainly generate some electricity.
Leading the entries is Hopedale sophomore Quinn Cook, the recent winner of the Open 5K at the Frank Kelley Invite. Cook ran a nearly 30-second PR of 15:28.8 in that race and admitted he gained quite a bit of confidence from his effort. There’s no doubt he’ll be carrying positive vibes into Saturday’s race.
The race also features East Longmeadow’s Nick Rivera, who was seventh at Bay State with a PR of 15:41.1, and Maynard’s Konrad Schulter, who captured the MarshVegas XC Classic in mid-September and was eighth in the ‘A’ Race at Bay State with a time of 15:49.1.
Parker Charter sophomore Jett Johnson (15:50.8) and Lunenburg’s Matthew Pilon (15:52.97) are two other sub-16 competitors. Several more are in the low-to-mid 16-minute range.
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SCHEDULE
Saturday Night – Small & Medium Schools
5:15 p.m. – Novice Co-Ed – 2.1 miles
5:45 – Freshmen Girls – 2.1 miles
6:05 – Freshmen Boys – 2.1 miles
6:25 – Sophomore Girls – 5K
6:55 – Sophomore Boys – 5K
7:20 – Junior Varsity Girls – 5K
7:50 – Junior Varsity Boys – 5K
8:15 – Varsity Small School Boys – 5K
8:45 p.m. – Varsity Small School Girls – 5K
