Topping last season for Needham will be tough. After narrowly losing their conference meet to Wellesley, Needham will look for revenge this year. The Rockets are led be one of the best runners in the country in Greta Hammer.

Reading matches up well with anyone on this list and may be the dark horse for the 2025 season. They have a standout up front in Tim Connolly, the top returner from the blazing fast Middlesex League Meet last year with a PR of 15:10. He’s joined by four more runners from that same team that finished runner up to one of the few remaining teams on this list.

Newton North comes in at the sixth spot with four runners returning under 20 Minutes for 5K. They were fifth last year in the Division 1A race and should improve on that this fall. They’ve got a top contender in the lead with Maggie Abely. She’s coming off a strong outdoor season where she ran 5:04.

Saint John’s Prep may not have the firepower up front as some of the other contenders on our list, but they make up for it with strength of pack. Top returner Liam Mahoney is the only runner with a sub 16 PR to his name, but from two to seven they have a spread of 16:18 to 16:47.

Last we saw Westwood they were winning the 4x800m at the Meet of Champions in a blistering 9:17. Unfortunately for their competition, that entire squad returns and will be running this fall. They also return six of the seven runners that won the Division 2 race at the Meet of Champions last November. That quartet from the 4×800 along with incoming sophomore Ciara Chi will make up the top 5 for a strong Westwood team that should contend all season long.

Last year’s runner up at the Meet of Champions Division 1 Race comes in at the eighth spot. Up front they’re led by Division 1’s top returner, and arguably, number one overall, Greg McGrath. After a strong indoor and outdoor season where he ran 9:06, McGrath will be fighting for the individual title at the front of the race.