The region’s elite all under one roof. The best of the best from Maine to Connecticut and everything in between competing for individual (and team) glory inside the confines of the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center.
That’s right, it’s here. The 37th annual New England Interscholastic Indoor Track & Field Championships. We glanced through the entries for Saturday’s meet and, yes, some of our top performers have skipped the regional competition to focus on the upcoming national meets in mid March. But that doesn’t mean this meet will be short on talent. There are plenty of athletes that will spark some excitement for this weekend’s competition.
Throughout the week, we’ll do our best to get you charged up for the New England’s by previewing who we believe will be the top athletes in each event.
Here’s we feature the girls’ and boys’ middle and long-distance events.
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GIRLS
1,000m
The overwhelming favorite in this race is Brooke Strauss of Glastonbury (CT), the defending champion. Straus is coming off a win from last week’s CIAC State Open where she clocked a time of 2:54.52. That effort came after placing second in the 1,600 at 4:57.49. Strauss, a 4:47 miler, raced to a PR of 2:51.05 from the Dr. Sander Scorcher on Jan. 25. We predict she’ll be sub 2:50 in her final preparation for the New Balance Nationals where she’ll likely compete in the mile. There are three other runners in this field that have also broken three minutes for the six-lapper – CT’s Liv Sherry of Conard (2:56.51), RI’s Kiley DeFusco of Cumberland (2:58.06) and ME’s Rowan Barry of Greely (2:59.79). DeFusco, a gritty competitor, is also entered in the mile. She proved at her State Meet that she can still run a fast time off a double. After claiming the 1,500m crown in a meet record and PR of 4:35.82, she raced to her current 1K best. Both efforts were solo for the last few laps. Other top runners in this field, to name a few, include CT’s Alexandra Morgan of Fairfield Warde (3:00.65), ME’s Amelia VanDongen of Mount Desert Island (3:01.33), RI’s Maura Whitney of North Kingstown and RI’s Rose Tuomisto of Cumberland (3:01.69).
Mile
This certainly has potential to be one of the races of the day. The No. 1 seed and the favorite is Chase Gilbert of Old Lyme (CT). The gifted junior won the recent CIAC State Open with a US #2 of 4:44.68 for 1,600 meters. In mid January, Gilbert was a convincing winner in the mile at the East Coast Invitational in Providence, where she was timed in a season best of 4:55.88. So who will be able to chase Gilbert on Saturday? The top threat is Haley Kavanaugh of Oyster River (NH). Kavanaugh nearly broke 4:50 earlier this season at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational where she clocked a PR of 4:50.18 on BU’s lightning-fast oval. There’s also DeFusco, who has not been pushed in the Ocean State, winning most of her races by large margins. Besides her 1,500m best, she has a mile PR of 4:57.94 from the Glenn B. Loucks Games last spring, Will a faster pace bring the Clipper all-stater to a faster time? At her best, DeFusco is someone that could surprise with big-time PR at Reggie Lewis. She certainly has demonstrated the confidence in her ability with her often take-charge running style. Sherry has an all-time best of 4:49.80 from the New Balance Nationals last spring. She’s had a later start to her season this year after competing in the Foot Locker Nationals and overcoming a sickness in January. Other top runners in this race are Sophia Spelman of Fairfield Warde (CT), Lauren Driscoll of Scarborough (ME), Shealyn Brochu of Morse (ME) and Maggie Kuchman of Holliston (MA), who all have bests in the low five-minute range.
2 Mile
We’re expecting at least three runners, maybe more, to still be in this race in the late stages. Perhaps even the last lap. The top three seeds are Mackenzie Cook of Oyster River (NH), Emily Flagg of Whitinsville Christian (MA) and Keaney Bayha of Pilgrim (RI). These are the main players in this competition and the ones that have the best chance at winning on Saturday. All three have bests of 10:45 based on 3K times or actual two-milers. Cook won the 3K at the NHIAA Division 2 Championship on Feb. 8 in 9:57.73, nearly match her best of 9:57.69 from the Terrier Classic the weekend of Jan.31-Feb. 1. Her last time at Reggie was a runner-up finish in then deuce at the Northeast Invitational where she was timed in a season best of 10:49.88. Bayha won her class meet with a 3K best of 9:59.38. She also ran 3,200m in a PR of 10:36.76 at the New York International Showcase a few weeks ago and clocked a best of 10:45.40 for two miles at the Beantown Winter Classic on Dec. 23. The URI-bound senior is used to running anywhere from two to four races in a given meet. This is a meet she’s solely focused on the 2M. Flagg ran an all-time best of 10:45.38 at the MSTCA Freshmen-Sophomore Invitational at the start of the year and broke 11 minutes for the second time this season last weekend where she was fourth at the MIAA Meet of Champions in 10:51.84. It will be interesting to see how this race develops with the level of talent fairly equal. The field also includes a few other solid runners with MA’s Megan Moran of Westfield and the RI trio of North Kingstown’s Lucy Stowe, St. Raphael’s Mackenzie Lickert and North Kingstown’s Abbie Tighe. All four are in that low 11-minute range.
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BOYS
1,000m
This is a race that pits MA vs. CT. Of the top eight seeds, the Nutmeg State has three runners, including the 1-2 seeds, while the Bay State has five runners among the group. With the talent on the line, we’re predicting a winning time in the 2:28 range with the possibility of two or more under 2:30. Hamden’s Alexander Medina holds the top seed with a PR of 2:29.55, an effort that earned him a silver medal at the CIAC State Open. Medina also has 1:55 speed for the 800m, running that time thrice during the outdoor campaign last spring. Cromwell’s Dyland Bathrick ran 2:30 for the six-lapper his last two meets with a best of 2:30.44 to win the Class S Championships. He was third at the CIAC State Open in 2:30.51. MA’s top runner is Ludlow’s Logan Walsh, who won the 1K out of the unseeded heat at the Meet of Champions with a huge PR of 2:30.93. With a faster field to race against and increased confidence from his recent victory, Walsh could be one of those runners still in the contention for the title last in the race. He did indicate after his win at the MOC that he’s aiming for a sub-2:30 performance. Marblehead’s Jacob Szalewicz, who fell short just short of the overall crown in the 1,000m at the MOC after taking the seeded section in 2:31.12, will no doubt have extra motivation to make it happen this weekend. Among others that will be looking to earn podium placements are CT’s Dillon Stoeffler (2:32.18), MA’s Owen Bernstein (2:33.12), MA’s Alex Rodgers (2:33.31) and MA’s Atley Phinney (2:33.54), just to name a few.
Mile
Our pick to win it all in this race is MA native Matt Giardini of Bishop Guertin (NH). The Cardinal senior has run only a limited amount of races this indoor season after a splendid cross-country campaign that concluded with a seventh-place finish at the Foot Locker Nationals. Giardini comes in with a seed of 4:24.27, which he did to win the Northeast Invitational at Reggie Lewis back on Jan. 10. The Bishop Guertin standout has run faster, twice breaking 4:20 recently. On Feb. 21 at The Circuit in Boston, he won the mile in a PR of 4:18.43 on the fast oval of the TRACK at New Balance. Two days later, he was third overall at the USATF-NE Championship with a 4:19.18 effort at Harvard. This will be his first race of a mile-two mile double this weekend, so he’ll have fresh legs to continue his sub-4:20 streak. There’s also Newton South’s Alex Friedman, who will be a week removed from a fifth-place finish at the MOC with a PR of 4:19.83. MA’s Joshua Toth of Milton (4:20.07), CT’s Sam Leone (4:21.54), and MA’s Lekan Sotonwa (4″23.32) are a few others that will make this race interesting.
2 Mile
There’s some talent up front in this race. Don’t be surprised if there’s a sub nine-minute effort on Saturday. The race features our 1-3-4-5 finishers from a very competitive 3K at the Yale Track Classic on Jan. 11 with CT’s Jack Ouellette (first, 8:28.33), RI’s Colby Flynn of Bishop Hendricken (third, 8:28.91), CT’s William Simard of ConVal (fourth, 8:32.22) and CT’s Sean McCauley of East Lyme (fifth, 8:35.47). Also on the line is Marblehead’s Nathaniel Assa who shocked the field last weekend to win the two mile at the MOC with a 20-second best of 9:05.30, the best time among all his rivals. There’s a lot of runners here that like to make a race honest. Look for an opening mile around 4:27-4:28. From there, it will get interesting. Right now it’s anybody’s guess who will break the tape at the end. Don’t count out Giardini, too. He’s capable of pulling off a strong double.
