Throughout the week, Bay State Running will be providing quick capsules of the girls’ and boys’ meets of the MIAA Division State Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center. Here we have the Div. 1 meet, which takes place on Thursday.
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DIVISION I STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS– GIRLS
Day/Time: Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Teams: Acton Boxborough, Andover, Attleboro, Boston College High, Boston Latin, Braintree, Brookline, Brockton, 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, Taunton, Wachusett, Westford Academy, Weymouth, Xaverian Brothers
Athletes & Events To Watch: Could we have our first 300-meter run under 40 seconds this winter? There’s a good chance it will happen. This race features four that have gone faster than 41 seconds, including top seed and defending champion Abby Desmarais of Framingham. Desmarais ranks No. 1 in the state with a season best of 40.03. She has a PR of 39.83 from last year’s D1 race. Also scheduled to compete are Wachusett teammates Nyah Santana (40.14) and Rahma Giwa (40.48) and Central Catholic’s Anya Neira (40.73), who are all within reach of the milestone….How about the 600m? This one features some of our state’s best, too. The top seed is state-leader Sasha Lamakina of Framingham, who clocked a PR of 1:36.15 at the Bay State Conference Championships last week. Six more in the field have broken 1:40 this season, including Central Catholic’s Laura Fennessy (1:38.07), Haverhill’s Brenna Corcoran (1:38.59) and Brookline’s Anna Leschly (1:39.13)…Keep an eye on Audrey Seeger in the mile. The Brookline senior could be our third runner to break five minutes this season. She’s the No. 1 seed with a best of 5:00.41 from her win at the Bay State Conference meet. This one could be a solo effort for Seeger, at least the final few laps. Her time is 10 seconds faster than the No. 2 seed in this race…We could have a race in the two mile where Brookline’s Lucia Werner is matched up with Central Catholic’s Madeline Courtemanche and Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Aoife Shovlin. Werner is the top seed and one of just two runners to break 11 minutes this season with a best of 10:57.80. Courtemanche has a seed of 11:03.75. Shovlin, the two-time state D1 titlist in cross-country, is at No. 3 with a season best of 11:09.86. Shovlin has an all-time best of 10:40.01 from outdoor. With this talented trio on the line together, we could have a few under 11 minutes on Thursday. The top time in the state right now is 10:54.51 by Billerica’s Gianna McGowan. That could be challenged…The meet-ending 4x400m could certainly create some excitement. The teams that have the possibility of doing that are Framingham (4:05.30), Needham (4:06.80). Central Catholic (4:07.08) and Brookline (4:08.65)…The state has four shot-putters that have thrown the metal ball more than 40 feet this season. This meet has half of them with Haverhill’s Madeline Goncalves (40-9.5) and Franklin’s Lily DeForge (40-3.25) expected to step in the circle. Both currently rank No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, in MA….Franklin’s Sarah Dumas will be looking for the three-peat in the 55m hurdles. The odds are favorable that will happen. With a season best of 8.39, Dumas is currently tied for No. 1 in the state with Plymouth South’s Camryn Travis. Westford Academy’s Alin Aydogan will try and play the spoiler against the Panther senior, who is unbeaten this winter. Aydogan is the two seed with a best of 8.53.
Team Outlook: Judging by the entries, the team title could come down to three teams – Central Catholic, Framingham and Franklin.
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DIVISION I STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – BOYS
Day/Time: Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Teams: Acton Boxborough, Andover, Attleboro, Boston College High, Boston Latin, Braintree, Brookline, Brockton, 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, Taunton, Wachusett, Westford Academy, Weymouth, Xaverian Brothers
Athletes & Events To Watch: It could be insanity n the 600m. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise us if we have a sub 1:20 on Thursday. Why? For starters, we have the top two runners in the state expected to answer the gun with Acton Boxbrough’s Ajay Raina and Brookline’s Cameron Walter toeing the line. The two talented runners come in with times of 1:20.59 and 1:20.96, respectively. Keep an eye on the clock and the finish line where a lean at the end just might win this one. At the No. 3 seed is Lexington’s Nayan Das with a best of 1:22.48. The top seven in this race have seeds under 1:24. Wow!…The 1,000m is another race where the winner might not be determined until the last few meters. It features the state’s 1-2 runners in the rankings with St. John’s Prep’s Daniel Padley (2:31.27) and Brookline’s Altamo Aschkenasy (2:31.87) holding that distinction. Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Jacob Bronstein is also in this race. He ranks No. 7 in the state with a best of 2:32.97…Be prepared for a very competitive mile with three of the top four runners in the state squaring off at Reggie. Boston Latin’s Colin Fisher is the state-leader with a best of 4:19.31. Boston College High’s Shamus Larnard is at No. 2 with his PR of 4:21.48. Haverhill’s Keith Korir is the third seed and ranks No. 5 statewide with a PR of 4:22.31. Eight in this race have done 4:25 or faster…The talent is overflowing in the high jump. Brockton’s Lucas Andrade leads the field with a best of 6-6, which ties for No. 1 in the state. Andover’s Harvey Lys and Attleboro’s Maxwell Crawford both have seeds of 6-5 and Brockton’s Jaden Lopes Ribeiro is at 6-4. You certainly don’t want to miss this one…The 300m could be one of the races of the meet. If not, THE race of the meet. On the line are the state’s top two runners in this event with Havehill’s Natanael Vigo Catala (34.36) and Lincoln-Sudbury’s Nico Begic (34.80). There’s also Taunton’s Dmitrius Shearrion (35.11) and Xaverian Brothers’ Mitchell Kisgen, who both have potential to join the sub-35 club…How about the 4x200m? The state’s 1-2-5-6 teams are in this race with Acton Boxborough (1:29.74), Xaverian Brothers (1:30.17), St. John’s Prep (1:30.83) and Lexington (1:30.83) schedule to answer the gun. The question here is how many will go under 1:30? We could have several.
Team Outlook: With potential to do some damage in the sprints and the relays, Acton Boxborough gets the favorite nod in this meet. Brockton, Lexington and Haverhill should also be in the mix for top placements.
