Bay State athletes may have a break from school this week, but not from competition.
Scattered throughout the week will be several league meets as well as handful of statewide competitions, including the BSR Mid Distance Classic. The third annual event, which is sponsored by Marathon Sports, will be held on Friday at St. John’s Prep, beginning at 4 p.m. The meet will live streamed by Bay State Running.
With one more day left to register – the deadline is Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. – the competition appears solid for this weekend’s meet.
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The boys’ 800-meter run has potential to stir some excitement. The top seed is Logan Walsh of Ludlow. Walsh comes in with a PR of 1 minute, 54.81seconds, which he did to place second overall for the two-lapper at last year’s Meet of Champions. The talent and versatile senior, who’s also a 12-foot pole-vaulter, was the 1K winner during the indoor MOC where he was timed in a best of 2:30.93. This will be his first 800m of the spring. He’s already proven that his speed is on point, clocking a PR of 24.44 for the 200m and a season best of 52.64 for the 400m in a league meet with West Springfield on April 7. Walsh will likely be pushed on Friday by No. 2 seed Daniel Padley of St. John’s Prep. Padley won the 800m at the 2024 Weston Twilight Invitational with a PR of 1:56.05. At the Catholic Conference Double Dual Jamboree last week, the SJP senior blazed a triumphant and all-time best of 50.25 for the 400, proving that he’s also ready for a fast time.
The mile features six runners that have seeds of 4:30 or faster. St. John’s Prep teammates – junior Liam Mahoney (4:28.75) and sophomore Henry McDonnell (4:28.88) – are the top two seeds. Andover’s Landon Ross comes in with a seed of 4:29, but has run faster. This past indoor season, he was eighth at the MOC with a PR of 4:22.53.
The 200m should produce a fast time with a plethora of sprinters in that 22-second, low 23-second range. Catholic Memorial’s Jameson Booker and Paul Dottin-Campbell are listed as the top seeds. Booker, a sophomore, ran a best of 22.95 last year as a ninth-grader. Dottin-Campbell ran a PR of 23.03 from this past indoor season.
The shot features 50-footer Anthony Ragosa of St. John’s Prep. He has a best of 52 feet, 2 inches to take individual honors at the Catholic Conference Championships on Feb. 5. Last week he went 50-plus for the fifth time this year (indoor and outdoor) with a season best of 51-7 at the Catholic Conference Double Dual Jamboree. The next two seeds are his Eagle teammates Ethan Caulfield (48-0.75) and William Shea (44-6).
The 400m includes three with seeds under 52 seconds – Devan Tavares of Saint Raphael Academy (RI), St. John’s Prep’s Doug Clement and St. Ray’s Daniel Akan-Disu.
For the girls, both the 200m and 400m looks as though they’ll come down to the final few meters. In the half-lapper, Essex North Shore’s Nora Kisel and freshman Francesca Justin come in with best of 25.54 and 25.72, respectively. The 400m features a pair of sub-60 runners with St. Raphael’s Jayla Grimes (58.5) and Kisel (59.0) on the line.
It could be a close one in the mile, too, will several Rhode Islanders among the top entries. The No. 1 seed is La Salle Academy’s Alyssa Parenteau, who comes in with a seed of 5:07.0, based on her 4:49.73 best for 1,500m this past winter. St. Raphael tenth-grader MacKenzie Lickert is the No. 2 seed. She’s coming off an indoor season where she ran a best of 5:13.06 at The CIRCUIT Boston back in February. La Salle’s Caroline Tarlato (5:15) and Bromfield’s Evelyn Wool (5:16) are the next two seeds.
Three in the field have seeds under 2:30 in the 800m. Nashoba Regional’s Lailee Joyce is the No. 1 seed with a best of 2:23.57. Masconomet’s Savannah Stevens (2:24.15) and Pentucket’s Susan Wisniewski (2:27.0) are the next two seeds.
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SCHEDULE
Running Events
200m
400m
800m
Mile
Field Events
Shot
