It’s Preview Time!
With the outdoor track & field season licking off, it’s time to spotlight the top athletes who could dominate this spring. We’ve based our projections on performances from the 2025 outdoor season, results from this past winter campaign, and some inside knowledge.
Here we feature the boys’ sprinting events, which include the 100-meter dash, 200m, and 400m.
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100m
Based on what we saw during the indoor sprint season, we’re expecting several new faces to emerge on the podium this spring. Just a few weeks into the outdoor campaign, one of those names is already making a strong case as a contender.
In a league meet against Bromfield last week, Clinton’s Sean Blaze clocked a quick early-season mark of 10.57 (hand-timed). Blaze is coming off a strong winter campaign in which he established himself as one of the state’s top 55m specialists, placing fourth at both the Meet of Champions and the New England Championships.
From last year’s outdoor season, a number of sub-11 sprinters return – several of whom we expect to make significant jumps after impressive indoor performances.
Among them is Greater Lawrence’s Gustavo Varela. Varela finished second in the 55m dash at the Meet of Champions, clocking a PR of 6.44. The speedy senior was fourth in the 100m at last year’s Division 4 Championships with a best of 10.86. What’s different this year is that Varela is coming off a full indoor season – something he didn’t experience in 2025.
Could Essex North Shore’s Makaio Bey be in line for a breakthrough outdoor campaign? He placed third in the 55m at the Meet of Champions with a PR of 6.45. In limited 100m races last spring, Bey posted a best of 11.58, but his consistency under 6.50 this winter – nearly two-tenths faster than a year ago -suggests significant improvement.
The top returnee from last year’s Meet of Champions is Attleboro’s Zayne Thomas, who finished second overall with a PR of 10.69. He also placed sixth at the New England Championships, giving him one of the more proven resumes in the field.
It will be interesting to see if Reading’s Ryan Pulpi ventures more into the 100m this spring. Pulpi capped a standout indoor season by winning both the 55m and 300m at the MOC, posting the state’s top times of 6.40 and 33.39, the latter a new state record. The versatile senior is the defending 400m state titlist and a bronze medalist in the 200m, events he’ll likely focus on this spring. Still, with a 100m best of 10.92 and the speed he displayed indoors, he has the potential to improve significantly if he commits to the event.
Other top sprinters are Randolph’s Mekhi White and Xaverian Brother’s Alex Todorov, who were sixth and seventh, respectively, at last year’s Meet of Champions, as well as Catholic Memorial’s Ramar Thomas, who ran 10.77 at the AAU Junior Olympic Games last summer. Thomas did not compete for the Knights last spring, but did this past winter where he was the Division 2 runner-up in the 55m with a PR of 6.46.
200m
The state record in this event is 20.93, set way back in 1981 by former Ayer standout Mike Morris. Could that 45-year-old mark be challenged this season? Even under perfect conditions, it won’t be easy.
But it’s not out of the question. At the very least, we’re expecting a time in the low 21-second range.
We have two runners in mind who are capable of getting there. Put them head-to-head, and magic could happen. Defending champion Nicholas Begic of Lincoln-Sudbury and Pulpi, a third-place finisher at last year’s season-ending meet, headline that group and have the talent to push each other to elite times. Both runners achieved their all-time bests with respective times of 21.56 and 21.59 at the Meet of Champions. Begic was second to Pulpi in the 300m at the MOC this past indoor campaign and ran a PR of 34.29 to take gold at the Dual County League Championships. He also ran an indoor best of 21.78 for the 200m at the New Balance Nationals.
Pulpi twice broke 34 seconds for the 300m, highlighted by his PR at the Division 3 meet and a 33.82 effort at the MOC. Based on his speed in the 55m and his performances in the 300m, that level of range suggests a conversion that brings him close to Morris’s remarkable and long-standing record.
This is certainly an event to keep an eye on throughout the season.
So who else could make a difference this spring? That list includes Ramar Thomas, Alexander Todorov, Zayne Thomas, and several others who dipped under 22 seconds in 2025.
400m
Once again, we have Pulpi and Begic leading the way after their first- and third-place finishes, respectively, at the Meet of Champions.
Expect this event to be highly competitive.
Last year’s meet saw six runners break 49 seconds and an impressive 17 dip under 50. Only six of those athletes graduated. It may very well be déjà vu all over again in the one-lapper.
Pulpi captured the state title in 2025 with a PR of 48.08. He also dipped under 49 seconds twice more that season, winning the Division 3 crown in 48.46 and placing third at the New England Championships in 48.49. Since then, he has shown signs that a time in the high 46-second range is within reach.
Pulpi could become the third with the right kind of conditions and competition to push him. The competition is something he’ll have plenty this season.
Begic appears to be his biggest threat. He is the state’s No. 2 returner after running 48.61 at the Meet of Champions. Also in the mix are Blue Hills’ Jiai Gonzalez, who was fourth at the MOC in 48.75, along with Lowell’s Ethan Thevenin (sixth, 48.76) and Milton’s Miles Fergus (seventh, 49.02), all of whom reached the podium last year.
Beyond that group, it’s anyone’s guess who else could emerge this spring in an event loaded with talent.
