With our athletes now leaving the dirt trails of cross country behind, it’s time to shift our focus to a different kind of competition—one where running, throwing, and jumping take center stage. The indoor track & field season has arrived.
As always, we have several talented returnees set to make an impact, a group of notable newcomers ready to challenge the field, and—without question—a few surprises waiting in the wings. Expect plenty of new faces atop the podium this winter, with only six state champions from the 2024–25 season returning.
Over the next few weeks, Bay State Running will preview the upcoming winter campaign. We’ll take our best shot at predicting the top performers in each event.
Here we feature the girls’ throwing events, which includes the 20-pound weight throw and the shot.
***
SHOT
t was an interesting year in the shot put in 2025. While the top performer at both State Meets remained the same—Haverhill’s Madeline Goncalves, who claimed the indoor and outdoor crowns—the remaining spots on the podium looked far different, with very few athletes finishing in the top eight in both seasons. What does that mean? With five two-season athletes returning from that group, it’s shaping up to be another unpredictable year.
Right now, the top two athletes to keep an eye on are West Springfield’s Nahla Williams and Lexington’s Ainsley Cuthbertson, the third- and fourth-place finishers from last winter’s Meet of Champions. Both hit 40 feet last spring, with Williams unleashing a best of 42-10 during a league meet and Cuthbertson reaching 41-10.25 at the Division 1 Relays. Cuthbertson did not compete at the MOC in the spring, and Williams finished outside the top eight, so both will have something to prove this winter.
Look for Auburn’s Isabel Zukowski to be in the mix as well. She’s the only returnee who made the podium at both MOCs, placing eighth indoors and third outdoors. She enters the season with an all-time best of 37-7. There’s also Melrose’s Emeline Boyer, last spring’s MOC runner-up with a PR of 38-9.25; her indoor best stands at 36-6.75.
If she competes this winter, the sleeper could be Dedham’s Tracey Brown. In her first season of high school competition as a ninth-grader last spring, Brown won the Division 5 outdoor title with a throw of 39-1.25. We’re assuming that she will be competing this indoor season. If so, you’d have to list her as a possible contender, considering she had a near 40-footer as a freshman.
WEIGHT THROW
It appears we could see some familiar faces occupying the top spots on the podium once again. Returning this season are the 1–2–3 finishers from last year’s Meet of Champions — New Bedford’s Nialonis Smith, Lexington’s Ainsley Cuthbertson, and Hopkinton’s Kaelyn Faber.
Smith unleashed a season best of 48-1.5 at the MSTCA Speed Classic and surpassed the 46-foot mark seven times, including a seventh-place finish at the adidas Track Nationals with a throw of 46-11.75. Cuthbertson recorded a top mark of 47-1.5 to win the USATF-NE Youth Vacation Week Meet just three days before earning runner-up honors at the MOC. Faber closed out the year with a best of 45-2.5.
