Historic Franklin Field, home to so many great performances over the years, could be extra special for some of our track & field athletes making the trip to Philadelphia for the New Balance Nationals Outdoor Championships.
The four-day meet, which begins on Thursday, could have several make the podium, including taking the top spot.
On Sunday, the final day, Westford Academy will be making an attempt at a sub 10-minute performance in the Distance Medley Relay. The Ghosts finished second in the DMR at the Division 1 Relay, clocking a time of 10:20.20 out of the unseeded heat where they were 40-plus seconds ahead of the next team. This quartet will be ready to challenge a sub-10 at NBN. The foursome will be anchored by senior Paul Bergeron, who lowered his state record in the two mile Wednesday night at the Brooks PR Invitational with a fourth-place finish and PR of 8:39.37. Bergeron has a best of 4:07.96 for the mile, a time he ran two days after his short-lived state mark of 8:4.763 from the Meet of Champions. Running the opening 1,200m leg is junior Jack Graffeo. At the Div. 1 State Relays, Graffeo ran 3:05 for his leg. Since then, he’s registered best of 4:09 for the mile and 8:52 for the deuce, which he did to take second to Bergeron at the MOC. Ryan Kyle, the runner-up in the 400m hurdles at the MOC and a 50-second 400m runner without hurdles, will run the one-lapper and Adam Wedlake will do the 800m leg where he’s capable to a low two-minute effort. Add it up and this squad is well within their intended goal and a possible victory. Natick, Marshfield, Brookline and Billerica will all also have talented squads in the field.
In the 4xMile on Thursday, Boston College High will be taking aim at the state record of 17:34.34 by Medfield in 2014 at the Div. 3 Relays. The squad includes Shamus Larnard, Greg McGrath, John Wilson and Chris Larnard, who has a PR of 4:09 as the Eagles’ anchor. The remaining three boast times between 4:17-4:20. A new state mark appears inevitable for this quartet. Competing in the heat before the Eagles are Winchester, Algonquin and Wellesley.
Franklin’s Sarah Dumas will be competing in the Heptathlon, also on Thursday. At last year’s meet, Dumas earned All-American honors by placing second in the Pentathlon with a state record of 3,518 points. She was third in the Pentathlon during the indoor nationals this past winter.
Giuliana Ligor of North Reading will be looking to place high in the 400m hurdlers where she is one of the top seeds with her best and state record of 58.97 from the Meet of Champions two weeks ago. No doubt, the Hornets’ junior gained some confidence after her more than two-second PR at the MOC.
The two-mile races on Friday will features some of our top distance runners. In the seeded section of the boys’ race are Graffeo and Phillips Academy’s Tamrat Gavenas, who has bests of 4:09 for the mile and 8:58.33 for 3,200m. For the girls, Dana Lehr of Belmont and Emerging Elite leads the entries with her best of 10:36.51 from her victory at the MOC. Wellesley’s Charlotte Tuxbury, Windsor School’s Meg Madison and Bishop Feehan’s Lauren Augustyn are also among the field.
In the Championship Mile on Saturday, Northbridge’s Marcus Reilly will be competing in the seeded section. Reilly is coming off a second-place finish from the Brooks PR Invitational Wednesday night where he ran a near best of 4:03.85. Reilly will toe the line in a star-studded heat that includes Daniel Simmons of American Fork (UT) and Drew Griffith of Butler (PA). Simmons, who is also entered in the mile, recently followed up his insane national indoor 5K mark of 13:38.86 from NBN this past March with an even-more superlative national outdoor record of 13:25.86 from the Portland Track Festival last weekend. Butler, the indoor 2M record holder, became the first runner this year to break four minutes by winning the HOKA Festival of Miles last month in 3:57.72. He improved his nation-leader in the two mile at the Brooks PR Invite where he was timed in 8:31.46. Gavenas, Chris Larnard, and Natick’s John BIanchi are also among the entries. Westford Academy’s Abby Hennessey is MA’s top entry in the girls’ competition. She has the ability to make a prime showing this weekend, something she solidified after winning the MOC with a PR and state best of 4:48.53.
Lincoln Sudbury’s Gabrielle Pierre, who leaped a state and New England’s record of 43 feet for the triple jump at the Division 1 Championships in late May, is the top seed in her specialty on Saturday. She currently ranks No. 2 in the country.
The 400m features Haverhill’s Natanael Vigo Catala, who was third in this event at the Nike Indoor Nationals.
Below are the entries for the New Balance Nationals and a link to live results. The Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in Oregon and the adidas Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C., will also be destinations for some of our local athletes. We’ve provided links to Live Results and Entries for those meets, too.
NEW BALANCE NATIONALS
at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Penn.
MA ENTRIES/SCHEDULE – CHAMPIONHIP EVENTS
THURSDAY
Heptathlon (11:45 a.m.)
Sarah Dumas, Franklin
4xMile (6:12 p.m.)
Winchester
Algonquin
Wellesley
BC High
Natick
Winchester
Girls’ 4xMile (7:15 p.m.)
Weymouth
Boys’ 5K (8:11 p.m.)
Adam Balewicz, Nashoba Regional
FRIDAY
Boys’ SMR (12:07 p.m.)
Marshfield
Lexington
Girls’ SMR (12:47 p.m.)
Weymouth
Lowell
Framingham
Girls’ 400m IH (4:05 p.m.)
Nicole Gangi, Woburn
Giuliana Ligor, North Reading
Boys’ 4x800m (5:25 p.m.)
Marshfield
Newton South
Boys’ 4x200m (6:52 p.m.)
Xaverian Brothers
Boys’ Two Mile (8:11 p.m.)
Tamrat Garvenis
Jack Graffeo, Westford Academy
Shamus Larnard, BC High
Ryan Leslie, Billerica
Silas Gartner, Falmouth
Girls’ Two Mile (8:24 p.m.)
Dana Lehr, Belmont
Charlotte Tuxbury, Wellesley
Lauren Augustyn, Bishop Feehan
SATURDAY
Boys’ Hammer (9 a.m.)
Alex Jackson, Peabody
Girls’ High Jump (11 a.m.)
Zoe Santos, Norton
Chase Hoey
Girls’ Shot (11:30 a.m.)
Lily DeForge, Franklin
Boys’ 4x100m (11:48 a.m.)
Wellesley
Milton
Needham
Boys’ 400m (2:14 p.m.)
Elias Sposato, Chariho
Girls’ 400m (2:56 p.m.)
Xenia Raye, West Warwick
Boys’ Shot (4 p.m.)
Brandon Wolfenden, Pilgrim
Girls’ Discus (4 p.m.)
Lily DeForge, Franklin
Morgan Hallett, Norton
Boys’ Mile (6:15 p.m.)
John Bianchi, Natick
Chris Larnard, BC High
Tamrat Gravena,
Marcus Reilly, Northbridge
Girls’ Mile (6:57 p.m.)
Dana Lehr, Belmont
Charlotte Tuxbury, Wellesley
Abby Hennessey, Westford Academy
SUNDAY
Javelin (9 a.m.)
Judge Martin, Mount Greylock
Gable Gray, Chelmsford
Matthew St. Cyr, Walpole
Girls’ Long Jump (10 a.m.)
Gabrielle Pierre, Lincoln Sudbury
Boys’ DMR (10:22 a.m.)
Natick
Marshfield
Brookline
Billerica
Westford Academy
Boys’ High Jump (11 a.m.)
Derek Shimer, Shrewsbury
Girls’ DMR (11:19 a.m.)
Woburn
Javelin (12:30 p.m.)
Elizabeth Hopkins, Franklin
Teresa Adams, Tabor Academy
Diana Won, Norwell
Haley Bilodeau, Blackstone Valley Regional
Alessandra Forgione, Peabody
Boys’ 800m (1:30 p.m.)
Marcus Reilly, Northbridge
Girls’ 800m
Charlotte Tuxbury, Wellesley
Sasha Lamakina, Framingham
Macey Shriner, Plymouth North
Lucy McLean, New England Elite
Boys’ 4x400m (3:04 p.m.)
Needham
***
NIKE INDOOR NATIONALS
at Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore.
***
ADIDAS TRACK NATIONALS
at Marcus T. Johnson Complex, Greensboro, N.C
