Don’t believe everything you read.
While this past weekend’s divisional state championships gave us a good glimpse of what to expect on Saturday at the MIAA Meet of Champions, don’t be fooled. It’s not uncommon for teams to hold back, for coaches to have their athletes run just enough to win or place high enough to qualify for this weekend’s competition at Fort Devens. If you doing some kind of virtual meet based on results from the division states, you also still have to factor in where they ran, did they compete on the moderately-challenging terrain of the Wrentham Developmental Center of the treacherous and hilly 5K at Northfield Mountain? Only the Division 2 meet gives us somewhat of a clue on the potential that can unload at the MOC, considering that Fort Devens was their home last Saturday.
Either way, regardless of the stats, regardless of what happened previously, one thing is always clear about the season-ending meet, at least for those not competing at the upcoming northeast regionals of Nike or Footlocker, we’re going to have some exciting competition, probably the best we’ve seen this fall. Why? It’s kind of the way this meet always seems to turn out. It’s evitable.
So, what should we expect on Saturday? Here’s our take on what will happen in the Division 3 boys’ meet.
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DIVISION 3 – BOYS
Time: 2 p.m.
Qualifying Teams: Belchertown, Bromfield, East Bridgewater, Frontier Regional, Greater Lowell Tech, Hamilton Wenham, Hampshire Regional, Hopedale, Hudson, Lenox Memorial, Littleton, Maynard, Mount Greylock, Norwell, Oakmont Regional, Parker Charter, Pioneer Valley, Southwick Regional, Swampscott, Triton Regional, Uxbridge, Wahconah Regional, Weston. Other Teams Represented: Advanced Math & Science Academy, Amesbury, Ayer Shirley, Carver, Dennis Yarmouth, Douglas, Gardner, Granby, Greenfield, Innovation Academy, Leicester, Lynnfield, Medway, Monument Mountain, Mount Everett, Nantucket, Narragansett Regional, Pittsfield, Quabbin Regional, Sandwich, Stoneham, Sturgis Charter West, Taconic,
Runners To Watch: Ben Rich, Hamilton Wenham, Evan Hedlund, Frontier, Henry Jacobsen, Parker Charter’ John Doherty, Norwell; Everett Pacheco, Monument Mountain; Nathaniel Henshaw, Parker Charter
Teams To Watch: Parker Charter, Hamilton Wenham, Weston, Bromfield
Outlook: It’s a crapshoot. Take you pick in this one. Any of at least four or five runners in this field can be the first one that crosses the line on Saturday. Rich, who won the Div. 3B race, comes in as the top seed with a PR of 15:36.9 from that meet. Pacheco was right behind in second with a best of 15:38.03. Several more that have also broken 16 minutes this season, have a chance to win this weekend. Jacobsen, who is the top returnee from 2023 with his fourth-place finish, proved he has legit chance to take gold at Fort Devens with his best race of the season last week inm Wrentham. The Parker Charter senior pulled away from Henshaw (15:58.63) late in the race to take the Div. 3C title with a season best of 15:47.8. Look for Jacobsen and his junior teammate, another contender, to work together this weekend to try and spur the Panthers to their second straight team title. The Clippers’ Doherty, the Div. 3A titlist, could also figure in the mix. He’s a sub-16 guy as well as Pacheco. It’s really anyone’s guess who will prove victorious on Saturday. This one could come down to the final stretch. Teamwise, Parker Charter and Hamilton Wenham have an edge on their competitors, At the divisional championships, Parker Charter had a gap of just 42.80 seconds between its one and five. The Panthers also have a more solid sixth and seventh runner than Hamilton Wenham. But the Generals, the 3B winners, could certainly take home the banner with their strong core that’s expected to show up at Fort Devens. Behind Rich are teammates and brothers James and Cole Regan, who have bests of 16:00.05 and 16:15.87, respectively, this fall. The key for Hamilton Wenham is what will happen from the back end of their lineup.
