To say the Boston Holiday Challenge isn’t loaded with talent would be an understatement of the highest degree. Saturday’s meet features high-level competition and national-caliber athletes in nearly every event contested inside the TRACK at New Balance.
We took a glance through the entries and picked out the events that were just a cut above the rest featuring our top Massachusetts’ athletes. Trust us—it wasn’t easy.
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SHOT PUT
While the track events often steal the spotlight, there are several field competitions you won’t want to miss, and the shot put is certainly one of them.
On the girls’ side, three athletes enter with seeds beyond 40 feet: Lexington’s Ainsley Cuthbertson, Payton Sirdine of Bloomfield (CT), and Westfield’s Nahla Williams. Cuthbertson holds the top seed at 41 feet, 10.25 inches, a mark she recorded at the Division 1 Championships. That performance kicked off a stretch of four straight 41-foot throws to close out her season. Sirdine was the runner-up at last winter’s CIAC State Open and owns a best of 40-3.5 from the Throwbacks Field Party on Jan. 25. Williams captured the Div. 3 title in 2025 with a personal best of 40-2. When this much talent is packed into the circle, big throws usually follow.
The boys’ competition is equally compelling and features the state’s top thrower, Hopedale’s Ari Levine. Levine is the only athlete in the field to eclipse 60 feet, accomplishing the feat three times during the outdoor season, including a best of 60-8.75 from his runner-up finish at the Meet of Champions. He recently notched his indoor best with a winning toss of 58-9.25 at last weekend’s Beantown Winter Classic. Could we see a 60-footer on Saturday? It’s certainly possible.
The field is deep, with four additional athletes boasting bests over 50 feet. Attleboro’s Noah Williams enters as the No. 2 seed at 55-10.25, followed by Nipmuc Regional’s Dashel Correia (52-9.5) and Framingham’s Luke Stubbs (51-6.5).
BOYS’ HIGH JUMP
This event features last year’s New England Championships runner-up, Ethan Rowe of Bloomfield, who comes in as the top seed. In his first season of track & field, Rowe cleared a personal best of 6-7—twice—at the Last Chance State Qualifier and New Balance Nationals.
Massachusetts is well represented, with Central Catholic’s Carlos Quintana, Wachusett’s Jackson Eisi, and Lowell’s Parris Mbeca occupying the next three seeds. Quintana is coming off a career-best 6-6 jump to win last week’s MVC meet, and the Raider senior could carry that momentum into Saturday. Mbeca owns a best of 6-4, achieved in the same league meet.
LONG JUMP
The boys’ long jump could be one of the most exciting field events of the day. Eight athletes in the field have surpassed 22 feet, with two breaking the 23-foot barrier—Catholic Memorial teammates Amar Skeete and Jameson Booker. Skeete, the state’s top triple jumper, reached 23-1.5 in a league meet two weeks ago, while Booker, the reigning Div. 2 outdoor champion, owns a best of 23-0.25.
The depth continues with Bay State standouts MacIntyre Slowey of Bishop Feehan (22-7.25), Weston’s Oscar Torres (22-6), and Catholic Memorial’s Jelani Semper (22-5.75).
The girls’ competition could rival the boys’. Four athletes have exceeded 19 feet, with three more reaching beyond 18. Leading the way is 2025 New England champion Vanessa Agyemang of Bloomfield. The defending CIAC State Open champion jumped a season-best 19-7 at New Englands and surpassed 19 feet three times last winter. She enters fresh off a victory at the Beantown Winter Classic.
Natick senior Emmanuella Edozien is seeded second and poses a serious challenge. The versatile standout won last year’s Meet of Champions and finished runner-up to Agyemang at New Englands. Edozien owns a best of 19-4 and has built a reputation for delivering her best performances on the biggest stages—something we don’t expect to change this weekend.
The next two seed and 19-plus athletes are Oliver Ames’ Lavendar Kozaka (19-2.25) and Blomfield’s Saphyr Brown (19-1.25).
BOYS’ TRIPLE JUMP
Skeete, who leaped a season best and nation No. 4 mark of 48-10 to win last weekend’s Beantown Winter Classic, is not entered in this event on Saturday. That doesn’t mean the potential isn’t there for something special to happen.
The top seed is the Catholic Memorial’s biggest rival, Weston’s Oscar Torres. The Wildcats senior was the runner-up to Skeete at last spring’s Meet of Champions with a best of 47-7. He’ll face stiff competition from three other athletes who have surpassed 45 feet – Molenson Jnmary of Uniondale (NY) at 46-4, Whitinsville Christian’s Enson Enoch (46-0), and O’Bryant’s Lendz Joacine Desamours Jr. (45-4).
GIRLS’ 55m Hurdles
This event features the state record-holder, with top-seeded Emmanuella Edozien on the line. The RedHawks standout is the only athlete in the field to have broken eight seconds, owning the state mark of 7.96 from last year’s Div. 1 Championships. She opened her winter campaign with a victory at the Beantown Winter Classic, clocking a fast early-season time of 8.16.
Bloomfield’s duo of D’Asia Duncan (8.18) and Vanessa Agyemang (8.30) should provide a challenge to Edozien, while Brookline’s Grace Dow enters as the fourth seed at 8.61.
The Bloomfield duof of D’Asia Duncan (8.18) and Agyemang (8.30), should pose a challenge to Edozien. Brookline’s Grace Dow occupied the fourth seed at 8.61.
GIRLS’ 55m
Look for a fast one here. The top seed is defending champion Lauren Quarm of Methuen. The gifted senior won last year’s race in 7.08 and remains the lone sprinter in the field to have broken seven seconds, owning a PR of 6.95 from her sophomore year. She was the New England runner-up last winter with a season best of 6.97 and recently captured the MSTCA Speed Classic in 7.19.
This race should be hotly contested, with seven athletes seeded at 7.30 or faster. Bloomfield’s Saphyr Brown (7.15) and Edozien (7.20) hold the second and third seeds.
BOYS’ NEW BALANCE CHAMPIONSHIP MILE
Is there potential for a sub-4:00 effort on Saturday? Early in the season it may be a long shot, but it’s not out of the question with Carter Smith on the line. The Mifflin County (PA) senior was the individual champion at last spring’s New Balance Nationals, where he ran 4:01.20—his second 4:01 performance of the season.
If Smith is on point this weekend, he could be out front alone, as the next seed sits more than nine seconds back. Expect the race to be fast nonetheless, with several Massachusetts runners in the mix. Natick’s John Bianchi is the No. 4 seed with a PR of 4:11.88, an effort that placed him fourth at the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile on May 2. Newton North’s Theodore Butty enters as the ninth seed with a best of 4:19.
BOYS’ 400m
The competition could get fierce in the one-lap sprint. The favorite is Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo of La Salle Academy (RI). The Boston University commit carries a top seed of 48.75 from his victory at the RIIL Outdoor Championships. He’s already shown strong early-season form, placing fourth in the Open 400m at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Dec. 4 with an indoor best of 49.41.
Giroux-Pezzullo will face stiff competition from several Bay Staters. Milton’s Mile Fergus holds the second seed after winning last spring’s individual title at the Meet of Champions with a PR of 49.02. He recorded four sub-50 performances last year. Walpole’s Brady Thomas is also among the contenders; the defending champion won last year’s race in a PR of 49.43 and is one of five entrants seeded under 50 seconds.
BOYS’ 800m
Massachusetts owns the top seed in this race with Brookline’s Harry Flint expected to toe the line. Flint enters with an all-time best of 1:53.10, run during his third-place finish at the Meet of Champions. He was also part of Brookline’s runner-up 4x800m relay at last year’s New Balance Nationals, where he split a hand-timed 1:51.5. With sub-50 speed in the 400m, Flint will likely focus on a fast time Saturday.
In addition to chasing the automatic qualifier of 1:57.50 for New Balance Nationals, Flint could be aiming for a mark that places him in a higher-seeded race in mid-March. Middleboro’s Atley Phinney (1:55.36), Wellesley’s Martin Draganov (1:56.83), and Lexington’s Matteo Sanchez de Rojas (1:56.91) are seeded two through four and could make things interesting.
GIRLS’ TWO MILE
The clear favorite is top seed Emily Flagg of Whitinsville Christian. The Crusaders junior is only a few weeks removed from another stellar cross-country season, during which she defended her Div. 2 Meet of Champions title and earned All-American honors with a 10th-place finish at the New Balance RunningLane XC Championships.
On the track, Flagg owns a two-mile best of 10:42.59 from her victory at last year’s New England Championships. Expect her to focus on a personal best and possibly a sub-10:40 effort on Saturday. She holds a commanding 19-second advantage over the No. 2 seed, Bromfield’s Rosie Bradley (11:01.03), and may find herself running solo, particularly in the latter stages. That scenario, however, is something Flagg has grown accustomed to—and it rarely slows her down.
