#18 Amherst Pelham Regional
After finishing third in Division 2 last season, Amherst-Pelham is poised to make a run at the two teams that finished ahead of them last fall. Leading the attack for the Hurricanes is Calvin Miller. Fifth last year, Miller is one of the top overall returnees across all three divisions, running 16:09 on the tough Willard Park Course. Teammate Peter Nedeau wasn’t far back, finishing 22nd overall in 16:48. If Nedeau can climb the ranks and finish in the top ten this season, the Hurricanes will look to topple a few of the other Division 2 teams we still have to come in our rankings.
Perhaps the biggest question mark for Amherst-Pelham will be incoming sophomore, Otis Fairey. He had a tremendous freshmen campaign last year, finishing 40th at the Meet of Champions and running a PR of 16:38 at Twilight. However, he did not run track. We’re not holding that against him, but it does leave a bit more mystery and intrigue into what his form may look like this fall.
Calvin Cusick returns with a PR of 16:57 from the Western Mass XC Championships, giving the Hurricanes four runners under 17. Their projected fifth runner could be another sophomore in Jeremiah Hayslip. As a freshman, Hayslip ran a PR of 17:56 last fall. Relying on two underclassmen for your top five can be risky, however, there is also a lot of upside, as we could see a big jump in performance with more experience and training.
Projected Top 5
Calvin Miller 15:39
Pater Nedeau 16:07
Otis Fairey 16:38
Calvin Cusick 16:58
Jeremiah Hayslip 17:56
