The New Balance Nationals have arrived.
For four straight days beginning on Thursday, The Track at New Balance will play host to The Fastest Party on the Planet. Few will argue, and most might add the Furthest, Highest and Longest, too. Though that doesn’t quite have the ring of Fastest.
But you get the point.
As they always do, the nation’s finest track & field athletes will put on a show down in Boston, and we’re expecting several of our Bay Staters will, too. Here’s what we consider the top events on Sunday.
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Girls’ Mile
This could be one of the marquee races of the meet as Westford Academy’s Abby Hennessy squares off with Union Catholic (NJ) standout Paige Sheppard. The race marks the third high-level showdown between the two talented milers since last spring.
As a sophomore last year, Sheppard stunned pre-race favorite Sadie Engelhardt to capture the title at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in June, clocking 4:33.67. Hennessy finished third in that race, just 1.02 seconds behind the winner while setting a state record of 4:34.69. The two were separated by less than a second at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Jan. 24, where Sheppard and Hennessy finished second and third in 4:40.29 and 4:40.87, respectively.
We expect Sunday’s race to be another close affair between the gifted duo, with the winner determined in the final few meters. Don’t be surprised to see a time in the 4:30–4:32 range. Yes, we even believe a sub-4:30 is possible. It’s a longshot, but we do think it’s possible. We’ve been to these meets enough times to know that anything is possible in the electrifying atmosphere of New Balance.
Both runners have already left their marks at New Balance this weekend. Hennessy came just 0.20 seconds from the state record in the two mile on Friday, where she placed second overall in 9:52.55. On Friday, Sheppard was on Union Catholic’s winning DMR squad that set a meet and national record of 11:06.13. She set the tone for the race, running an opening 1,200m leg of 3:19.26.
Don’t rule out Sheppard’s teammate Sophia Thompson. She was Union Catholic’s anchor in the historic race, clocking 4:41. She has a PR of 4:37.60, a performance that placed her second to Sheppard at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions last week.
Among Bay Staters, this race also includes Holliston’s Lucy Downin, Whitinsville Christian’s Abby Flagg, Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Sophia Juanes-Seto, and Lexington’s Amelia Whorton. On Thursday, Downin finished second in the freshmen mile with a near-best of 4:54.16. She was eighth in the frosh 800m with a PR of 2:17.63. Flagg has a best of 4:55.18 from her win at the Division 4 Championships. Juanes-Seto and Whorton have a pair of 5:04s to their credit.
Boys’ Mile
This race features three of our state’s top milers — Natick’s John Bianchi, Falmouth’s Silas Gartner, and Newburyport’s Michael Mohoric. While making the podium is not likely, there is a chance we could see one or more dip under 4:10 in a race loaded with talent.
Bianchi won the Meet of Champions a few weeks ago, breaking the tape in a PR of 4:11.83. On Friday, the RedHawks senior anchored his team’s eighth-place DMR squad (10:13.77) with a 1,600m leg of 4:13.97.
Gartner has a best of 4:13.77, an effort he ran to place second at the Apple Bank Hispanic Games. The Falmouth standout also ran a PR of 8:28.27 for 3,000 meters at the BU Mini Meet. This will be Gartner’s first race since the Div. 4 Championships, where he clocked a state-leading 2:29.0 for the 1,000m.
Mohoric was third at the Meet of Champions with an all-time best of 4:15.46.
4×400-Meter Relays
The boys’ race features three of our state’s best four teams with Newton North (3:24.38), Boston College High (3:24.99), and Brockton (3:25.92). State leader Brookline is not entered in Sunday’s competition. Look for all three of our top entries improving on their best this weekend
In the girls’ competition, the state’s top three teams are entered with Central Catholic, Newton North, and Amherst-Pelham. Central Catholic captured the titles at the Meet of Champions and the New Englands, the latter producing a sub-four-minute performance of 3:59.53. Newton North clocked a season best of 4:02.01 to place second to Central Catholic at the MOC. Amherst-Pelham brings a 4:02.14 best to the line. Could we see all three dip under four minutes on Sunday? It’s not too far-fetched.
