The inaugural Northeast Freshmen Sophomore Championships debut this weekend at the Reggie Lewis Center. Underclassmen take center stage, and many will have their first taste of a championship feel to a meet. The opportunity comes at a great time during the first weekend of the New Year, as the action heats up and more invitationals began to take the focus.
Being the first edition of the meet there are no standing meet records, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see some elite performances. Here are some top events to watch:
Girls 600m
The top three in the girls 600m are seeded at 1:42 or better with Lunenberg’s Sophia Viveiros at 1:40:85. If the sophomore can crack 1:40, she’ll enter the top five in the overall state rankings. Seeded two and three are Dover-Sherborn’s Julia Ritchey and Old Rochester Regional’s Phoebe Cowles, both sophomores. Both are coming off strong outdoor season’s where they ran fast 800s, so look for them to come on strong in the last lap. Hopefully all three can push each other under the 1:40 barrier.
Boy’s Mile
The boy’s mile could wind up stealing the show with three runners entering under 4:40. Top seed Lucas Allen of Newton North has a PR of 4:36.70. The Tiger’s sophomore has also run 10:09 this season so he has plenty of strength. Dover-Sherborn’s William Smith has run 4:38.56 this season, but he also ran 4:39 last spring as a freshman, so he could be primed for a big day. However, the runner to watch may be freshman Thomas Dewitt of Cambridge Rindge and Latin. His mile PR is 4:39.89, but he’s coming off a phenomenal Cross-Country season. The youngster ran 15:46 this past fall as well as finishing 17th at the Meet of Champions. Based off his resume, we could see something much faster on Saturday.
Girls 300m
Newburyport’s Audrey Roebuck currently sits at #9 in the overall state rankings with her PR of 42.13. To crack the top five, she’ll have to run faster than 41.80. Cambridge boast’s another strong freshman with Naomi Baldwin, the #2 seed. In her young track and field career she’s already run a PR of 43.67. Freshmen-Sophomore meets are great places for stars to emerge. With a big PR and win Saturday, Baldwin will prove she’s one state’s rising stars. Norton’s Celine Daher enters under 45 seconds as well with a PR of 44.94. The Lancer’s star has a wealth of experience running everything from the 55m to the 1 Mile.
Boys Long Jump
It’s rare to see top marks from underclassmen in the field events as it can take longer to develop the technique required to excel. That’s not the case in the boy’s Long Jump. Newburyport’s Judah Pilz is near 21’ feet this season, with his PR of 20’9.25”. With a new title on the line and strong crowd support, hopefully we can see Pilz soar to new distances. Shepherd Hill’s Caedon Cristo comes in with a PR of 20’. Cristo is another athlete with a lot of experience to draw from as he competed in the Decathlon last spring.
Girls High Jump
The same can be said for the girls High Jump. Sophomore Emma Wall of Carver comes in with a season record of 5.0’. However, she’s cracked the five-foot barrier before. Just this past spring as a freshman she jumped 5’2”, to finish second at the Division 6 Championships. With championship experience, she’ll be tough to beat. Brooke Lanno of Arlington Catholic enters with an early season PR of 4’10”. Saturday will be great day for PR. With some crowd support, hopefully we can see two jumpers over five feet.
