It’s not late February or the Meet of Champions, but there’s no doubt it might feel like it.
While not every top athlete will be there, a hefty dose of talent will still descend on Reggie Lewis on Saturday for the annual MSTCA Coaches Invitational.
After glancing through the entries for this weekend’s competition, it’s clear the vibe of a championship-caliber meet will be in the air—and, of course, on the track.
Here’s some of the more intriguing match-ups that we noticed in the girls’ events.
55-meter dash
A preview of the Meet of Champions? This race could very well unfold on Saturday. It matches our top two finishers from last year’s meet and the100-meter dash during the outdoor season, with Sharon’s Nina Kyei-Aboagye and Methuen’s Lauren Quarm set to square off once again.
In both of those races, Kyei-Aboagye got the better of her rival. What will happen this time? Both gifted sprinters are enjoying strong seasons so far.
Quarm has dipped under 7.20 seconds four times this winter, including a season-best 7.00 in her victory at the Northeast Invitational two weeks ago. While she has competed in only a handful of races this season, Kyei-Aboagye has shown she’s ready for a fast one this weekend. She placed third overall in the Club/Unattached race at the Nor’ Easter at the Track on Jan. 11, clocking a personal-best 7.14.
Last weekend at the Pre-Nationals Tune-Up at The TRACK at New Balance, Kyei-Aboagye captured individual honors in the Women’s 15–19 60m dash with a time of 7.71—equivalent to a sub-7.10 performance for the 55m
Quarm has broken seven seconds twice in her career, including a PR of 6.95 during her sophomore season. Kyei-Aboagye has yet to reach that milestone.
Expect this one to come right down to the wire on Saturday, with both sprinters having a legitimate chance to break seven seconds and eclipse the 10-year-old meet record of 7.06, set by former Norton standout Brooke-Lynne Williams.
Mile
So far this season, just one runner has broken five minutes in the mile, with Lexington’s Amelia Whorton clocking a season-best 4:58.70 to place third at the Millrose Games Trials in New York on Jan. 7.
Whorton won’t be competing on Saturday, but there are several athletes in this field capable of joining the sub-5 party—or at least coming close. The top two seeds have already dipped under the mark in their careers, with Westford Academy’s Emily Wedlake (4:58.94) and Wachusett’s Naomi Witt (4:59.09) answering the gun.
This season, Wedlake has posted a state No. 8 time of 5:09.42, while Witt owns a season-best 5:19.11 from her victory at last month’s Distance Classic. In a race of this caliber, with championship season on the horizon, expect both to be locked in and ready to push the pace.
And the rest of the field isn’t too shabby either.
Among the top contenders are Wakefield’s Quin Wilcox, Central Catholic’s Kyla Breslin, Whitinsville Christian’s Abby Flagg, St. Mary’s Kelsey Kwiatek, and Swampscott’s Annabelle Averett, to name just a few. All five have broken 5:10 in their careers, with Wilcox (5:06.88), Flagg (5:05.83), Kwiatek (5:06.92), and Averett (5:07.36) accomplishing the feat this season.
300m
The meet record of 39.26, set by Dennis-Yarmouth’s Breanna Braham, could be short-lived. This race features two sprinters we believe have the ability to break it this weekend—Natick’s Chloe Elder and Malden freshman phenom Khadijah Diagne.
Elder, who owns a personal best of 39.72 from 2025, captured the Speed Classic last month with a strong early-season time of 39.95. She has also clocked an indoor best of 25.57 in the 200 meters, an effort that earned her a victory at the Northeast Invitational.
In her first season as a high schooler, Diagne has already begun turning heads. She has run faster than the current meet mark, placing second at the Nor’ Easter at the Track with a best of 39.25. Last weekend, she blazed to a personal-best 24.99 at the Colgate Women’s Games in New York.
This one could shape up as one of the best races of the day, with an intense battle that comes right down to the final meter.
4x200m
You want to talk about races that will be exciting right until the finish? This should be one of them. It features four teams that currently rank among the state’s top 10, including the No. 2 and No. 3 squads in Andover and Duxbury.
Andover placed second to state leader Newton North at last weekend’s Division 1 State Relays, clocking a time of 1:46.41. Duxbury, meanwhile, captured the Division 3 Relays with a winning mark of 1:46.63.
Wachusett (1:47.49) and Wilmington (1:47.58) add even more quality to the field. As always in this event, handoffs will be critical—and could very well decide the winner
High Jump
Don’t just keep your eyes on the oval. The field events could also deliver plenty of excitement, particularly in the high jump. A total of 31 competitors have cleared the five-foot standard, setting the stage for a highly competitive showdown.
Leading the way is the state leader and No. 1 seed, Attleboro’s S’staarr Parham, who soared to a state-best 5-6 at a Hockomock League meet last Friday. Nauset Regional’s Violet Roche, who owns a personal best of 5-6 from last season, enters with a season-best mark of 5-4. Bishop Feehan’s Michaela Poidomani has also cleared 5-4 this winter.
Add in Hopkinton’s Bella Walkiewicz, East Bridgewater’s Elizabeth Willis, and Lexington’s Felice Haverly—each with strong personal bests to their credit—and this is shaping up as an event that could very well be decided by a jump-off.
