It’s only a matter of time before we get our first real glimpse of some of the top teams and athletes this cross-country season. While the competitive portion of the season begins on Sept. 7 with the Vineyard Invitational and the MSTCA XC Relays, we expect that will come later in the month at statewide meets like the Frank Kelley Invitational (Sept. 21) and the Bay State Invitational (Sept. 28).
The next few weeks, Bay State Running will be preview how we expect things will transpire on the dirt trails. We’re going to break it down by divisions and sub divisions (e.g. 1A, 2B, 3C). Here we feature Division 2B girls and boys.
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GIRLS
Division 2B
Teams: Canton, Grafton, Northampton, Nashoba Regional, Burlington, Chelsea, Scituate, Middleboro, Dracut, Amherst-Pelham, Wayland, Wakefield-Memorial, Bedford, Ludlow, Marlborough, Holliston, East Longmeadow, Ashland, Burncoat, Nauset Regional, Tewksbury, Danvers, Pembroke, Newburyport, Falmouth, North Middlesex, Foxborough
Top Athletes: Maggie Kuchman, Holliston; Lauren Raffetto, Canton; Maeve O’Neil, Northampton; Annabelle Lynch, Holliston; Lily Sallee, Wakefield
Outlook: Individually, the top two returnees are Kuchman and Raffetto, who both experienced strong seasons on the trails last fall. Kuchman was third (18:30.2) at the 2B meet and pulled off a mild upset over some of the early favorites to take the title at the Meet of Champions with a five-second victory over Mari O’Connell of Marblehead with a time of 18:38.8. She ran a 5K best of 17:48 on the generous layout at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational in Cape Cod. As a ninth-grader last year, Raffetto was second (18:23.9) in the 2B race and fourth overall (18:58.6) at the MOC. O’Neil, Lynch and Sallee, who were among the top six last year, are other returnees we expect will make an impact.
On paper, Northampton looks to be the favorite as a team. The Blue Devils, who were third in 2023, lost just one runner from last year. Squads like Holliston, Nashoba and Canton, to name a few, could also be in the mix.
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BOYS
Division 2B
Teams: Longmeadow, Shepherd Hill, Canton, Grafton, Northampton, Nashoba Regional, Burlington, Chelsea, Scituate, Middleboro, Dracut, Amherst-Pelham, Wayland, Wakefield-Memorial, Bedford, Ludlow, Marlborough, Holliston, East Longmeadow, Ashland, Burncoat, Nauset Regional, Tewksbury, Danvers, Pembroke, Newburyport, Falmouth, North Middlesex, Foxborough
Top Athletes: Joseph Keroack, Ludlow; Silas Gartner, Falmouth; William Conklin, Danvers, Luke Chisum, Wayland; Logan Walsh, Ludlow; Jonathan Rooney, Danvers; Will Jackson, Wayland
Outlook: Right now, the No. 1 spot in this division looks like it could go to Keroack or Gartner, the 2-3 finishers to Nashoba’s Adam Balewicz at last year’s 2B race with times of 15:55.20 and 15:58.90. In addition to his runner-up placement at the divisionals, Keroack won the WMass Championships, clocking 15:52.77 on a tough 5K terrain at Stanley Park, and was third at the MOC. As a sophomore last year, Gartner improved dramatically once the cross-country season was finished, particularly during the outdoor campaign, one that included huge PRs in the mile and two mile at the MOC where he had times of 4:16.30 and 9:07.95, respectively. We’re expecting Walsh, who was primarily a mid 16:30 5K runner last year, to be up there, too. He’s coming off a pair of track seasons that saw impressive PRs in events ranging from the 400m to the mile. With 51-second speed for the 400m and a best of 1:54.33 for the 800m, he should have an advantage over most of his competitors in the closing stages. Conklin (fifth, 16:05.20), Rooney (sixth, 16:09.60, Chisum (eighth, 16:16.40) and Jackson (tenth, 16:20) are among other top returnees from last year’s meet.
Teamwise, it’s tough to tell. Danvers, the defending champion, returns five of its top seven from last year. The Falcons will need to build up their strength in those other crucial spots to have any chance at contending. At this point, Ludlow appears to be the early favorite, led by Keroack and Walsh.
