A lot of talk this off season focused on the record-breaking performance of Abigail Hennessy of Westford Academy. But as we mentioned in the team rankings, the Ghosts won the Meet of Champions last season without her. The driving factor behind their success last season was incoming senior Emily Wedlake, who was fifth at that race. That she is the number three returner from that race is a testament to how strong the girl’s field is this year in the Bay State.
This fall Wedlake will team with Hennessy to form one of the best tandems the state has ever seen. With the two of them up front, Westford Academy will look to go 1-2 in almost every race this season, as they fight to defend their title.
Wedlake enters this season with an 18:11 PR from the Bob Glennon Twilight meet. She won the Frank Mooney Invitational and was runner up at the Division 1A race. After the Meet of Champions, she chose to toe the line at the Foot Locker Northeast Championships and finished 22nd. Of the returning runner’s, she is eleventh, which would put her just out of a national qualifying spot. She followed that up with an outstanding season on the track, running 4:58 and 10:41 for the Two Mile. At the Meet of Champions, she was runner up in 10:47 on a day with blazing temperatures.
In light of recent news regarding the Brooks XC Championships, it will be interesting to see what Westford Academy does. Given their strength as a team, they may consider the NXR Regional race. If not, perhaps Wedlake will look to qualify on her own through the new Brooks race. As previously mentioned, she’s eleventh based off returning runners, giving her an excellent chance to qualify. Then there’s the Running Lane Championship which accepts runner’s and teams through an application process. Given that we’re back to three championship race series, it will make November even more exciting to see where everyone winds up.
