In the title of this article we put, Top Events to Watch. But looking through the entries for Saturday’s MSTCA Coaches Invitational (Small Schools), nearly every event should spark quite a bit of excitement inside Reggie Lewis.
While there certainly could be plenty more, here’s seven that we picked out for this weekend’s competition.
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Girls’ 55m
A lean at the finish, perhaps? That’s what this race could come down to. The top seed is Dennis Yarmouth’s Breanna Braham, who has a PR of 7.16 from last year’s victory at the Div. 5 Championships. Braham’s best time this season is 7.46. In all three of her races, the D-Y senior has won convincingly. On Saturday, she’ll be challenged with a talented field that features two sprinters ranked among the top 10 – Mansfield’s Chloe Guthrie (7.25) and Oliver Ames’ Lavendar Kozaka (7.30). The meet record is 7.06 by former Norton great Brooke-Lynn Williams in 2016. That record does appear safe, but you never know.
Girls’ 600m
Keep an eye on the clock in this one. The meet record is 1:32.95, set 13 years ago by former Lincoln Sudbury standout Andrea Keklak. We think that 2011 mark is well within the reach of our No. 1 seed, Giuliana Ligor of North Reading. The defending state titlist has a best of 1:34.88 from her victory at the Meet of Champions in 2014. Here’s two reason why we feel it might be a special day for Ligor. The multiple all-stater is already ahead of schedule from last year’s pace and she looked very strong in winning the 400m a few weeks ago with an indoor PR of 57.44 from the Northeast Invitational. Also, the No. 2 seed isn’t too shabby either, so Ligor will be pushed. Westford Academy’s Emma Wierenga holds that status with a PR of 1:37.64.
Boys’ 600m
The top three seeds have all run 1:23 this winter and two of them own PRs of 1:21 – Bishop Stang’s MIchael Veegh (1:21.53) and Ayer-Shirley’s Cole New (1:21.66). At the No. 3 seed is Amherst-Pelham’s Nicolas Lisle, who currently ranks No. 4 in the state with a best of 1:23.32. Expect this to be a fast one with a potential down-to-the-wire affair.
Girls’ 2 Mile
This race could be one of the best of the day. The top seed is Whitinsville Christian’s talented sophomore Emily Flagg, who ran a state best and PR of 10:45.38 to take individual honors at the Freshmen-Sophomore meet on Jan. 4. The next two seeds are Billerica’ s Gianna McGowan, another tenth-grader, and Westfield’s Megan Moran. Both appear to be taking a well-calculated approach to the season, priming themselves for upcoming championship meets. McGowan owns a PR of 10:48.47. This winter, she’s run the deuce twice, clocking a season best of 11:12.13 in a league meet on Jan. 8 and 11:47.95 in another league match-up on Wednesday. In both those competitions, Billerica had a 1-2-3 finish. It was no doubt a race that McGowan ran to help pace her teammates. Moran, who clocked an all-time best of 11:02.05 to finish second at last year’s Meet of Champions, has also run the two mile twice this year. Each time, she’s won handedly. Moran has a season best of 11:51.0 in a league meet, which was nearly three minutes ahead of her closest rival. In her other race, she took the crown by almost 50 seconds with a time of 12:08.54. As for Flagg, her current best was a solo effort. She won it by 1:15! With the meat of the Championship season on the horizon, we expect this gifted trio to be all in when the gun is fired. The meet record of 10:24.03 from 2002 will be a stretch, but don’t be surprised to see a time in the 10:30-10:40 range with these runners on the line.
Boys’ Shot
As we often say, don’t ignore what goes on behind the cage. We should have a good one here. Hopedale’s Ari Levine leads a field that feature four athletes that have exceeded 50 feet in their careers. The Blue Raiders junior is unbeaten this season with a PR of 57 feet.,6.5 inches, an effort that ranks No. 2 in the state behind nation-leader Alex Jackson of Peabody. Behind Levine this weekend are Amherst-Pelham’s Logan Alfandari (56-6.75), Lunenburg’s Ray Beardmore (54-1.75) and Chelsea’s Ariel Chacon-Aracena (50-11.5). Beardmore currently is No. 3 in the state, while Alfandari is at No. 4 with an indoor best of 53-2.
Girls’ 4x200m
This is a race that could certainly get very interesting at the Meet of Champions. Presently, there are four teams that have run in the 1:46 range, and one more on the cusp. Two of those quartets will be facing each other this weekend for the second time in seven days with Amherst-Pelham and Duxbury answering the gun. At the recent Div. 3 State Relays, Amherst-Pelham narrowly defeated Duxbury with a state-leading 1:46.13 to Duxbury’s 1:46.27 effort, a time that ranks No. 2 statewide. Could the Dragons return the favor on Saturday. It could be all about the handoffs in this one.
Boys’ Long Jump
The state’s top leaper is scheduled to compete this weekend with Thalys Silva in the field. The Atlantis Charter senior soared to an all-time best of 22-10.25 to capture his specialty at the MSTCA Speed Classic on Dec. 22. Since that performance, he has exceeded 22 feet two other times. His most recent effort was a ninth-place finish at the Northeast Invitational two weeks ago where he went 20-10.25. No doubt he’ll be looking to get back on track this Saturday and certainly has the field to push him. Right behind are a few others that have gone further than 21 feet over the last year with Worcester Tech’s Christian Agyekum (21-11), Ayer Shirley’s Jacob Teo (21-8.25), Billerica’s Gryffin Bordeau (21-8) and Grafton’s Calvary Jamoko (21-7) expected to compete.
