The MSTCA Division State Relays have arrived.
A majority of coaches will agree that this weekend’s meets represent a true team champion; where depth and talent play a more important role than next month’s championship meets. Throughout this week, we’ll provide a capsule of all five divisions. Who are the teams that will be facing each other this weekend and what are some of the top events and athletes that will be competing in their respective divisions?We’ll have it here. Below we feature the Division 1 State Relays, which will be held on Saturday at Reggie Lewis, beginning at 9 a.m.
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DIVISION I STATE RELAYS– GIRLS
Day/Time: Saturday at 9 a.m.
Teams: Acton Boxborough, Andover, Attleboro, Boston College High, Boston Latin, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge Rindge & Latin, Central Catholic, Durfee, Framingham, Franklin, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lexington, Lincoln-Sudbury, Lowell, Medford, Methuen, Natick, Needham, Newton North, Newton South, Revere, Saint John’s, St. John’s Prep, Shrewsbury, Tajnton, Wachusett, Westford Academy, Weymouth, Xaverian Brothers
Athletes & Teams To Watch: It looks like we’ll be in for a battle in the 4×800-meter relay. Eight teams in the field have seeds under 10 minutes with the top four under 9:45. Cambridge Rindge & Latin is at No. 1 with a 9:40 seed time. Needham (9:42.0), Acton Boxborough (9:44.5) and Franklin (9:45.5) are the next three. The 16-year-old meet record of 9:16.79 appears safe, but predicting the winner in this one could be very difficult. It could be one of those races where a large pack is still in contention during the late stages…So far, it looks like we have only one team that has earned an automatic qualifier for the New Balance Nationals in the Sprint Medley Relay. We could have several more after this race. Ten teams (that’s right, 10 teams!) have seeds that are under the time of 4:21 that’s needed to get into the race in mid March, including Haverhill, which has already qualified with a best of 4:18.39. Five other schools in this race have listed seed times faster than the Hillies. Framingham is at No. 1 at 4:12. The Flyers are followed by Wachusett (4:13.8), Weymouth (4:14.940, Braintree (4:15.0), and Central Catholic (4:18.39). Framingham could hold the edge. The Flyers 800m anchor is sophomore Sasha Lamankina, who won the four-lapper at the Northeast Invitational this past weekend in 2:18.54. She also ranks No. 2 in the state in the 600m with a best of 1:37.39…The 4x200m always seems to manufacture a very strong field each year and this weekend is no exception. Nine teams have seeds faster than 1:50. Sitting atop is Acton Boxborough with a seed of 1:46.30. Among others that should be in contention are Wachusett (1:47.20). Acton-Boxborough (1:48.0), Lexington (1:48.0), and Franklin (1:48.0), to name a few. How important will handoffs be in this event? You could say, very important. This one could come down to the final few meters…It’s not often you have a half dozens teams in the distance medley relay with seeds under 13 minutes. This weekend is one of those rare times we do. Weymouth holds the top seed at 12:30. Westford Academy, Newton North, Andover and Brookline are between 12:40-12:50. This is a race that could get competitive once the anchors receive the batons for the last 1,600m…In the high jump relay, we’re predicting a victory for Central Catholic, who have two of the top three leapers in the field – Macy Daigle at No. 1 with a best of 5-7 and Veralie Perrier with the third seed with her PR of 5-4. Individually, this could be quite the competition. Franklin’s versatile senior Sarah Dumas is also in this event. She owns a best of 5-5…Keep an eye on the shuttle hurdle relay with Franklin and Lexington holding the top two seeds at 30.47 and 30.99, respectively. Four more are under 32 seconds. Franklin gets the edge here with Dumas as their anchor. Right now she ranks No. 1 in the state with an 8.41 best. Her teammate, Ella Chandaria, is at No. 4 with a PR of 8.62…The long jump relay should prove to be exciting. Four teams have the potential for a combined distance between 48-51 feet. Lincoln Sudbury gets the favorite nod with the trio of Gabrielle Pierre (18-4), Emma Ciaffoni (17-1.5) and Annabel Jackson (16-1.25). Weymouth, Cambridge Rindge & Latin and Newton North are the other squads we expect to be in the mix.
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DIVISION I STATE RELAYS – BOYS
Day/Time: Saturday at 9 a.m.
Teams: Acton Boxborough, Andover, Attleboro, Boston College High, Boston Latin, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge Rindge & Latin, Central Catholic, Durfee, Framingham, Franklin, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lexington, Lincoln-Sudbury, Lowell, Medford, Methuen, Natick, Needham, Newton North, Newton South, Revere, Saint John’s, St. John’s Prep, Shrewsbury, Tajnton, Wachusett, Westford Academy, Weymouth, Xaverian Brothers
Athletes & Teams To Watch: Nearly every event in this meet could generate some electricity inside Reggie Lewis. The 4x200m is one of those events we expect will undoubtetly excite a sure-to-be packed house. The top five teams in this race are separated by just one second based on their seed times. The state’s 1-2-4 ranked teams are all in this race with Xaverian Brothers (1:30.17), Acton Boxborough (1:30.75) and Lexington (1:30.83) scheduled to toe the line. Four more in the field have seeds under 1:32 with Cambridge Rindge & Latin (1:31.0), Saint John’s ((1:31.29), Franklin (1:31.64), and Brockton (1:31.86). The odds of a sub 1:30 sure seem favorable on Saturday. …Fresh off their third-place finish at the Yale Track Classic, Brockton leads a talented bunch in the DMR. The Warriors clocked a nation No. 3 of 10:31.12 from this past weekend’s meet but list 10:25 as their seed. More than likely it because that’s a time they’ll be shooting for this weekend. The foursome of Altamo Aschkenesay, Andrew Bamberg, Cameron Walter and Kailas Ciatto proved at Yale it’s well within their reach. There are several other strong squads in this race that could push Brookline and also come close to the automatic qualifier for New Balance of 10:35. Those squads include Natick (10:32), Andover (10:40), Acton Boxborough (10:40.18) and Newton North (10:44)…The long jump relay record of 62-10.75 is shared by two schools with Newton North first setting the mark in 2008 and New Bedford Voke tying the record three years later in 2011. Acton Boxborough, one of the favorites for the team title, could challenge that mark. The Blue & Gold is right around 62 feet with the trio of Christopher Adamchek (22 feet, 1.75 inches), Ivan Yan (20-4) and Zachary Parados (19-6) in the field…Sub-8 is within reach in the 4x800m. Lexington and Brookline are on the cusp of going under the mark with nearly identical times of 8:00.49 and 8:00.50. Cambridge Rindge & Latin and Newton North are at 8:04 and 8:06.40, respectively.
