55m
This could be a pick’em on Saturday. With the way he’s running, it’s hard to bet against Reading’s Ryan Pulpi. He owns the fastest time this season at 6.40, and perhaps having already secured the 300m state record, more of his focus will be on the short sprint? It’ll have to be if he wants to win. With five runners at 6.46 or better, just getting into the final will be tough. Makaio Bey of Essex North Shore Agriculture is the #2 seed at 6.44 and is coming off a victory in Division 2. Gustavo Varela of Greater Lawrance Tech, Ramar Thomas of Catholic Memorial, and Sean Blaze of Clinton have all run 6.45-6.46. Watch out for Michael Frost of Boston College High School. He’s coming off a win at the Division 1 Championships. If someone can pull off the upset, it’s him.
300m
Can Pulpi lower his own state record? He’s got almost a second on the field in a race that’s supposed to be a lot closer. That being said, don’t count out Lincoln-Sudbury’s Nicholas Begic. He’s the Outdoor 200m champion with a PR of 21.56 and has run 34.29. Sub 34 is definitely in the cards here. Six other runners come in with PRs under 35, so getting on the podium Saturday will be tough. Nathan and Aidan Calcano Da Silva of Abington have come on strong as of late, running 34.56 and 34.87. The same can be said of Westwood’s Jayden Pillard, who’s run PRs in his last two outings at 300m. Can the magic continue? In the end, we think it’ll come down to Pulpi vs Begic. This is a matchup in the making since spring, when Pulpi won the 400m and Begic won the 200m.
600m
While this race won’t feature Division 1 Champ and state leader Harry Flint, it will feature someone else we didn’t see last week over three laps. Arlington’s Nico Peukert ran one of the fastest times in the state, 1:22.54, back in December. With a 1:53 800m best and sub 37 second 300m speed, the six could be his best race. He’ll have to contend with Lowell’s Denzel Kisekka, who ran a massive PR of 1:20.96 to finish runner up to flint last week. For pure speed, it’s tough to top his 6.87 55m speed. Could this be a speed vs strength race? Peukert has an XC background while Kisekka is no stranger to the short sprints.
Don’t count out Norton’s Sean Parnham and Duxbury’s Connor Earle. They’ve both run 1:22 and have been consistently at the top of the state rankings all season.
55m and 300m Dash Wheelchair
Colton Robinson of Westfield will compete in the Wheelchair division of the 55m and 300m dash. He’ll be looking to top his personal bests of 12.07 in the 55 and 1:01.03 for the 300m.
55m Hurdles
Like the 55 dash, the hurdles has no clear favorite. Brockton’s Jarred Mighty had been consistently at the top all season, with wins at Winter Festival, Boston Holiday, and The Nor’easter. But a rare off day resulted in a sixth place showing at the Division 1 Championships. Key word is rare. We think Mighty will respond well. He owned the fastest time in the state at 7.50 for most of the season. That was until Hopkinton’s Harry Millar ran 7.45 to take the Division 2 Crown. Millar leads the field as the #1 Seed and the only athlete under 7.50. Millar has got steadily quicker all season. He ran 7.48 in the prelims as well. Can anyone stop him?
Lexington’s Simon Tandeih made his case winning Division 1 with a PR of 7.51. Can elevate his performance again this weekend? If his name sounds familiar, Simon was also featured in our Long Jump preview. Attleboro’s Fareed Oseni was runner up in Division 1 and could play spoiler. He holds a PR of 7.54.
