The final statewide competition before the upcoming divisional state championships will be held on Saturday with the MSTCA South Shore Invitational. Here’s a few events that could spark some interest.
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Boys’ 100m/High Jump
These events include our state’s most versatile athlete, Lucas Andrade. Just a few weeks ago, the Brockton senior smashed the state record in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.69 seconds at the MSTCA State Coaches Invitational. On Saturday, Andrade will forgo the hurdles for two other events where he also excels. The defending state 100m champion is the top seed in his specialty with a PR of 10.58, which he did to capture the Div. 1 title last spring. That’s an effort that’s a comfortable four tenths of a second ahead of his closest rival. For the high jump, Andrade has a season best of 6-4, and a PR of 6-8 from the Coaches Invitational this past winter. This one could get interesting. The No. 2 seed is Old Rochester’s Braeden Christopher, who has a PR of 6-5 from a South Coast Conference meet in mid December.
Boys Mile
This may turn into one of the more exciting races of the meet. It features three runners that have run 4:20 or faster. Leading the way is top seed Altamo Aschkenasy, who clocked an all-time best of 4:18.76 to place fourth at the Div. 4 championships last spring. Milton’s Joshua Toth (4:20.07) and Danvers’ William Conklin (4:20.95) will also be toeing the line on Saturday night. If this trio is still together in the late stages of the race, which we believe will happen, you have to give the edge to Aschkenasy. He has the quickest leg turnover with 52-second speed for the 400m and a best of 1:55 for the 800m.
Girls’ High Jump
So far this season, we’ve had three athlete that have cleared 5-6 this season. Could we have a fourth after this weekend’s competition? While she’s consistently been at 5-2 this month, Milton’s Ella Turner has gone 5-6 before, achieving the height to win the Bay State Conference Open Meet back on Jan. 28. This spring, she has a SB of 5-4, which she did in her first two meets of the season.
Boys’ 400m IH
Just a few days ago, Westford Academy’s Ryan Kyle became our latest state record-holder by winning the Dual County League Championships with a time of 52.72. Kyle will not be answering the gun on Saturday, but two of some of our state’s other top hurdlers will be there with Xaverian Brothers’ Mitchell Kisgen and Jarred Mighty among the entries. Kisgen has a best of 54.23 from last year. Mighty is unbeaten so far this season and raced to an all-time best of 54.69 to capture the MSTCA Coaches Shore Invitational a few weeks ago.
Girls’ Mile
The state has really produced its share of quality milers this season. So far this spring, seven have broken five minutes and nearly 30 have dipped below 5:10. One of those runners that will be looking to move up in the rankings is the No. 1 seed at Twilight, Norwood’s Natalie Martin. Just a few days ago, the talented senior placed second overall at the TVL Showcase Meet where she was timed in a PR of 5:09.28, a more than two-second best from what she did nearly three weeks earlier at the Weston Twilight Invitational. Martin’s top challenger appears to be Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Fiona Litman, who owns a best of 5:11.84. Litman was fifth at the recent Dual County League Championship where she ran a SB of 5:18.65.
Boys’ Long Jump
You don’t want to ignore this event. It features two 22-footers with Burlington’s Ryan Brooks and Tyngsborough’s Christian Riley. Brooks has a best of 22-10 from last spring and has a SB of 22-1 from the MSTCA Division 4 Relays. Riley leaped an all-time best of 22-9 to finish third at the 46th annual Ottaviani Invitational last month.
