We conclude our previews for Saturday’s MIAA Meet of Champions with the longest races on the oval – the 1,000-meter run, Mile and Two Mile.
BOYS
1,000m
Who’s taking the lead in this race? That could be the biggest question here. The top five seeds in this race are separated by just about half a second. The next two are not too far behind. Expect a sizable lead pack to still be in contention in the closing stages of this race. The state’s No. 1 runner in this event, Marshfield’s Graham Heinrich, will not be in this race, opting for the mile instead. But Heinrich’s teammate, senior Matt McCabe, will be answering the gun and occupies the top seed with his PR of 2:32.34 from his second-place finish to Heinrich at the Coaches Invitational last month. McCabe worked on his speed for this race at last Friday’s Div. 3 Championship where he was third in the 600m with a time of 1:24.83, his second straight 1:24 effort. He’s followed by four others that have gone 2:32 for the 1K distance – Billerica’s Shane Leslie (2:32.43). Middleboro’s Atley Phinney (2:32.48), Winchester’s Owen Bernstein (2:32.65) and Peabody’s Declan Smith (2:32.85). We looked at each runner’s bio and they all display similar stats and worthy of contender status in this race. Maybe a slight edge goes McCabe, who has the best range among his rivals. The Rams senior ran a PR of 4:24.14 at the Patriot League Championship less than two weeks ago. During the outdoor season in 2024, he clocked a best of 1:55.71 for 800m at the Patriot League Spring Championship, a meet where he also ran a 50.9 hand-held 400m split as a leg for his team’s 4x400m squad. An early-season injury appears to be behind him, evident by his performances of late. He should be ready, Leslie won the Div. 3 title last week with his current best, edging Middleboro’s Lekan Sotonwa by about two tenths of a second. This gives proof that he can win a close race, one that we’ll likely witness at Saturday’s race.
Mile
Here’s our guess. The mile will come down to the final stretch with the winner determined in the final few meters. We’re also thinking the time on the digital clock will be between 4:10-4:12. The runners that we feel will make this one of the more exciting races of the day are our top three seeds – Boston College High’s Shamus Larnard, Natick’s John Bianchi and the Rams’ Heinrich. Larnard is coming off an impressive double at the Div. 1 Championship last Wednesday where he won the mile in a PR of 4:14.14 and then came back and clocked a season best of 9:15.2 for the two mile. At the beginning of the month, he ran his all-time best of 2:30.35 for the 1K. Bianchi was second in the mile at the Div. 1 meet with a best of 4:14.95. Heinrich has a seed time of 4:16.66 from the Patriot League Championship earlier in the month, but ran slightly faster on Jan. 19 when he was second at the GBTC Invitational at Harvard in 4:16.02. He twice has gone under 2:30 for the 1,000m with a best of 2:29.02 from the Coaches Invitational. To be honest, this is a take-your-pick race. All three are capable of breaking the tape at the end in a race we predict will not be tactical but fast from the start. Expect an opening 400m of 61-62 seconds. The race features a few others that should figure in the mix, such as Newton North’s Knox Wallask (4:18.64) and Newton South’s Alex Friedman (4:20.76).
2 Mile
Here’s another event that could have a number of runners among the lead pack for a good portion of the race. The top seed is Andover’s Ryan Todisco with a best of 9:22.72 from his runner-up finish at the Div. 1 Championship. Danvers’ William Conklin is at the No. 2 seed with a time of 9:23.13. Five more in this field have broken 9:30 this season, including Marblehead’s Nathaniel Assa (9:24.99), Hopkinton’s Sean Finnegan (9:26.94), Brookline’s Lysander Duffield (9:27.16), BC High teammates Greg McGrath (9:29.03) and John Wilson (9:30.66) and Lincoln-Sudbury’s Ethan Sholk (9:29.14). Don’t ignore McGrath and Wilson, in fact we’re listing them as co-favorites. Both have only run the deuce twice this season.. From last spring, McGrath ran a PR of 9:17.48, while Wilson clocked a PR of 9:11.76. Both are also 4:19 milers. Don’t be surprised to see the Eagles duo working together in this race and securing a potential 1-2 finish.
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GIRLS
1,000m
We’re predicting this event will come down to two runners, the 1-2 seeds in this race, Haverhill’s Lauren Downer (2:54.08) and Newton South’s Emily Frawley (2:58.92). Downer clocked her best to win the Div. 1 Championship on Feb. 12, a race that Frawley was unable to complete after an unfortunate and unintentional elbow knocked the wind out of her at the start. The Lions’ junior raced to an all-time best of 2:58.92 to capture the 1K at the MSTCA Qualifier four days prior to the divisionals. She’s a gutsy runner and will be ready to race on Saturday. Downer gets the slight favorite nod here. She also owns a 1:33.89 best for 600m. But don’t count out Frawley. She has the talent to produce a big race this weekend if she’s at her best. She has a best of 2:12 for the 800m from last spring and ran a solid 2:16 for the half to win the Northeast Invitational last month. Other top runners in this race are Ila Zollo of Walpole (3:00.42), Milton’s Grace Danielson (3:00.82), Newton North’s Maggie Abely (3:02.11), Holliston’s Maggie Kuchman (SB, 3:02.21) and Wellesley’s Delaney Dyer (SB, 3:03.13), to name a few. Keep an eye on Kuchman and Dyer. Both have sub 3-minute efforts to their credit from last year with Kuchman owner of a best 2:58.80 and Dyer at 2:58.02. Kuchman is also competing in the mile, but Dyer will have fresh legs. Look for a winning time in the low 2:50 range for this race.
Mile
This event features three runners that have broken five minutes. But the one that stands out the most among the trio is Belmont’s Dana Lehr. The gifted senior has a seed time of 4:57.71 from a league meet, but has run much faster this season. Lehr clocked an all-time best and nation No. 18 of 4:48.67 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University on Feb. 1. That time puts her nearly 10 seconds ahead of the next seed, Newton North’s Ciara Evans (4:57.76). At the three seed is Taunton’s Emersyn DePonte with a best of 4:59.92. Lehr is scheduled to also compete in the two mile so don’t expect her to go all-out, we’re figuring a time around 4:53-4:54. Expect runners like Westfield’s Megan Moran (5:04.49), Billerica’s Kylie Donahue and Kuchman (5:09.46) to also be fighting for spots on the podium. Kuchman does have a best of 5:04.98 under her belt from last year.
2 Mile
This race could get interesting. Lehr is listed as a No. 3 seed with a time of 10:56.10. This past Friday at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at BU, she gave indication that she’s capable of a lot faster with the right amount of rest. At the Valentine Invite, the Belmont standout ran an all-time best of 9:40.84 for the 3K, a time that computes to about a 10:20 for two miles. She will have a fresh-legged Emily Flagg to contend with in this race as well as Westford Academy’s Emily Wedlake. Both have gone sub 10:50 with Flagg clocking a best of 10:45.38 and Wedlake at 10:49.55. Keep an eye on few others in this race, too. Among them are Billerica’s Gianna McGovern, Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Aoife Shovlin and Needham’s Greta Hammer, who have all broken 11 minutes this season. The one runner that has really caught our attention is Hammer, the Div. 1 cross-country champion and a Nike Cross Nationals finalist. She has only run a limited amount of races this winter, perhaps to prepare for the MOC (and further). Last spring, she was the runner-up in the 2M at the MOC with a PR of 10:39.90.
