Mother Nature looks as though she’s going to cooperate and the competition is strong for this Saturday’s MSTCA Coaches Invitational meets. Be prepared for some top performances when teams compete in the Shore and Metro competitions this weekend.
Here’s what we consider the events of the must-see variety in the Coaches Shore Invitational at Braintree High.
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Girls’ 200m
It doesn’t get any better than this. This events matches two of our state’s top sprinters and the only ones that have broken 25 seconds for the 200-meter dash this season, Dennis Yarmouth’s Breanna Braham and defending state titlist Nina Kyei-Aboagye of Sharon. It will be the second time this season that this talented duo has competed against each other. Just a few week ago at the Warrior Invitational, Braham got the best of her rival with a PR and state-leading 24.09 seconds. Kyei_Aboagye took the silver at 24.19. The Warrior junior has an all-time best of 23.97, which she did win the Meet of Champions last year. Braham is coming off of impressive performance at the Weston Twilight Invitational where she captured the 400m with a PR and state No. 1 of 54.89. We can almost guarantee this race will come down to the final few meters with a lean at the finish determining the winner. If the weather cooperates, sub-24 will happen on Saturday, perhaps by both in this rematch from the Warrior Invite.
Boys’ 110m HH
During what’s been his best season yet on the track for the hurdles, one that’s included a state and New England records and titles in the 55m HH and an All-American finish at the New Balance Nationals for the 60m HH, Brockton’s Lucas Andrade indicated to us that he’s going to focus on this event a little more than in the past. He’s already proven that he hasn’t missed a beat since the winter campaign and means business in this event, blazing to a PR of 14.02 in mid April. Up until this past weekend when Westford Academy’s Ryan Kyle won the Twilight Invitational in a 13.92, Andrade owned the state’s best. There’s no doubt in our mind that he wants the spot back and also the added bonus of breaking 14 seconds. He has the competition this weekend to do both with Milton’s Zakai Perkins and Southeastern Regional’s Joseph Cook in the field. Perkins has a best of 14.22 from his recent win at the New Bedford Voke Sunset Invitational. Cook has a PR of 14.24 from his league opener on April 1. The meet record in this one is 14.00 by Oliver Ames’ Jeray Sadberry in 1988. That 37-year-old mark is certainly in jeopardy.
Boys’ Long Jump/Triple Jump
The competition could certainly get intense at the long jump pit this weekend. The top seven seeds have all exceeded 22 feet. Catholic Memorial sophomore Amar Skeete and Perkins are tied as the No. 1 seed with bests of 22 feet, 10 inches. Skeetes’s achieved his mark with his sixth-place finish at the New England’s this past winter. He was the Div. 3 indoor champion. On Saturday, he’ll be just a week removed from his all-time best and state-leader of 46-.025 in the triple jump at the Weston Twilight Invitational. Perkins’ PR occurred with his victory at the Bay State Conference Open meet on Jan. 28. He won the New Bedford Invite with a leap of 22-5. Cohasset’s Will McLoughlin (22-6), Cardinal Spellman’s Andrew Bertarelli (22-3.5), Catholic Memorial’s Jelani Semper (22-2.75), Cohasset’s Nathan Askjaer (22-1) and Brockton’s Jaden Lopes Ribeiro (22-0.25) are the other 22-footers in this event.
Skeete’s will also be in the triple jump where he has a outside chance to break a 48-year-old record with one big leap. The current mark is 47-1.25 by Holliston’s Jason Caffrey in 1977.
Girls’ High Jump
As always, the high jump is going to be a hotly contested event this season with no clear-cut favorite to win gold at the Meet of Champions. So far, eight athletes have exceeded 5-4 or higher this season with Monument’s Lily Haskins leading the way in the MIAA with a best of 5-6 this spring. We could have a few more join her after Saturday’s meet. The top seed is Ella Turner of Milton, who has a season best of 5-4 from a league meet back on April 9. She does own a PR of 5-6, which she did to win the Bay State Conference Championships. Other top competitors in this event with their bests are Attleboro’s S’starr Parham (5-5), Carver’s Carly Peterson (5-4) and Nauset’s Violet Roche (5-4)
Boys’ Two Mile/Mile
The top seeds in both these events is Falmouth’s Silas Gartner. Will he run both events or just focus on one? That’s the question here. He owns times of 9:07.95 for the two mile and 4:12.92 for the mile, the latter happening last weekend at the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile.
