It will be a busy day of championship racing this weekend as teams from across the state compete in the MIAA Divisional Championships. Who are the top teams and individual runners to watch in Saturday’s competition?
Here, we break down the boys’ Division 3 races at Northfield Mountain with previews of Divisions 3A, 3B and 3C.
BOYS
DIVISION 3A
Day/Time: Saturday, 11:45 a.m.
Teams: Hudson, Triton Regional, Pittsfield, Greater Lowell Tech, East Bridgewater Jr/Sr, South Shore Reg Voc-Tech, Sandwich, Belchertown, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional, Southeastern Reg. Voc/Tech, Quabbin Regional, Tri-County RVT, Saugus, Nipmuc Regional, Pentucket Regional, Bellingham, Southeastern Reg. Voc/Tech, Seekonk, Upper Cape Cod Reg Voc Tech, Old Rochester Regional, Taconic, Abington, Norwell
Runners To Watch: Harrison Mello, Hudson; Cassidy McBee, Triton Regional; Cohen Zahn, Pittsfield; Matt Guerin, Greater Lowell Tech; Thomas Rhuda, East Bridgewater
Top Teams: Greater Lowell Tech, East Bridgewater State
Outlook: There should be several familiar faces among this weekend’s top finishers. Six of last year’s top 10 are returning, each looking to build on their 2025 performances. That group includes Pittsfield’s Cohen Zahn (third), East Bridgewater’s Tommy Rhuda (fourth), Triton’s Cassidy McBee (fifth), Greater Lowell Tech’s Matt Guerin (seventh), Southeastern Regional’s Omar Eltersly (eighth), and East Bridgewater’s Benjamin Levesque (tenth).
One of the leading contenders, however, is a relatively unfamiliar face. Hudson sophomore Harrison Mello enters Saturday’s race as the top seed based on time after twice breaking 16 minutes this fall. He clocked a PR of15:52.3 to capture the Midland-Wachusett League Championships on Oct. 24, following up an earlier 15:53.4 performance for eighth at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational.
McBee was ninth at the Twilight Invitational, just behind Mello, with a best of 15:54.5. He recently added a Cape Ann League Championship to his resume. Guerin (16:15.2), Rhuda (16:24.3), Levesque (16:26.8), and Eltersly (16:44) are also among the runners to watch. With several other competitors capable of joining that group, Saturday’s race could produce a tightly-packed finish with runners coming across the line in bunches.
Just like last year, it does appear to be a two-team battle with defending champion Greater Lowell Tech and and 2025 runner-up East Bridgewater, who both have squads that are familiar in strength.
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DIVISION 3B
Day/Time: Saturday, 1:15 p.m.
Teams: Frontier Regional, Lunenburg, Gardner, Littleton, Hamilton-Wenham Regional, Hampshire Regional Middle/High, Amesbury, Tyngsborough, West Bridgewater Mid/Sr, Cape Cod Reg Tech, Nantucket, Southwick Regional, Uxbridge, Monomoy Regional, Carver Middle/High, Wahconah Regional, Millbury Memorial, Westfield Technical Academy, Avon Old Farms, Sturgis Charter East, Bristol County Agricultural, Sturgis Charter West, Cohasset
Runners To Watch: Evan Hedlund, Frontier; Matthew Pilon, Lunenburg; Sokari Jenkins, Gardner; Adrian Loan, Littleton; Maxwell Thompson, Littleton; Seth Glidden Hamilton Wenham
Top Teams: Littleton, Hampshire Regional, Amesbury
Outlook: The favorite nod here goes to Frontier’s Evan Hedlund, the defending champion and top seed in the field with a PR of 15:24.0 from the Twilight Invitational. Hedlund was also the runner-up at this past weekend’s Western Mass XC Championships, where he clocked 15:39.4 at Stanley Park.
Two other runners in the field have broken 16 minutes: Lunenburg’s Matthew Pilon and Gardner’s Sokari Jenkins. Pilon owns a best of 15:42.3 from Twilight and finished second at the Midland-Wachusett League Championships in 15:47.5. Jenkins captured the Mid-Wach title with a PR of 15:42.5 and also came out on top at the Devens Pre-Meet of Champions on Oct. 10, where he was timed in 15:58.3.
Littleton teammates Adrian Loan (16:06.8) and Maxwell Thomas (16:08.6), along with Hamilton-Wenham’s Seth Glidden (16:10.6), are among several others who could factor into the mix near the front.
With a team average of 16:42.9 among its scorers, Littleton looks primed to capture its first Div. 3B crown since 2021. Defending champion Hampshire Regional appears to be its biggest threat.
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DIVISION 3C
Day/Time: Saturday, 2:45 p.m.
Teams: Hopedale Jr/Sr, Granby, Maynard, Parker Charter Essential, Bromfield, Lenox Memorial, Mt Greylock Regional, Ayer Shirley Regional, Douglas, Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter, Narragansett Regional, Salem Academy Charter, Monson, Sutton, Mahar Regional, Innovation Academy, Chelmsford, Greenfield, Frontier Regional
Runners To Watch: Quinn Cook, Hopedale, Trevor Sullivan, Granby; Konrad Schluter, Maynard; Jett Johnson, Parker Charter
Top Teams: Hopedale, Parker Charter, Mount Greylock, Bromfield
Outlook: Individually, this could be the race of the day. The state’s top three sophomores – Hopedale’s Quinn Cook (15:15.8), Granby’s Trevor Sullivan (15:16.8) and Parker Charter’s Jett Johnson (15:38.6) – are all scheduled to compete Saturday.
Cook has demonstrated remarkable consistency throughout the season, breaking 15:40 in each of his last four meets. That stretch includes his PR of 15:15.8 in winning Twilight and his recent victory at the Frank Mooney Invitational, where he was timed in 15:27.2.
Sullivan comes in with a season-best 15:16.8, recorded in last week’s victory at the Western Mass Championships. He also captured top honors at Twilight in 15:35.2 and clocked 15:20.7 at the Bay State Invitational on Oct. 3. Adding another interesting wrinkle to his resume, the talented tenth-grader placed second in a half marathon over the summer at the Funky Monkey Running Festival, finishing in 1:22:40.
Johnson owns a best of 15:38.6 from Twilight. Also worth watching is Maynard’s Konrad Schulter, who owns a 15:29.6 PR, recorded at Twilight.
This race certainly has all the makings of a classic, with a potentially thrilling finish down the stretch.
With Cook and teammate Ben Stone (15:56.7) leading the way, Hopedale is favored to take home the team title. Reigning Div. 3C champion Parker Charter could also be in the mix.
