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’ sprinting and hurdling events.
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GIRLS
55m
Here’s something we can guarantee. Lisa Raye will win this race. The defending champion from West Warwick (RI) is the nation’s top-ranked sprinter. She’s been unbeatable against her state rivals and facing some of the nation’s best this winter at elite, out-of-state competitions, the results have been the same. At the Millrose Games on Feb. 8, Raye set the current national 60-meter record with a sizzling 7.13. En route to her victory, she passed through the 55m in 6.63, also a national record. For the solo 55m, her best is 6.77. No one else in this field has broken seven seconds this season. While there are a few that could it this weekend, Raye should have this race won by the time she leaves the starting blocks. Who will be battling for second? There’s a chance we could have a 1-2 sweep by Raye and her older sister Xenia, who occupied those positions in 2024. In last year’s race, Xenia clocked an all-time best of 6.95. She has a 7.02, which she did in mid January at the VA Showcase. She’s two weeks removed from a 7.06 effort at the State Meet, a time that put her at the No. 2 seed. Sharon’s Nina Kyei-Aboagye (7.09) and Methuen’s Lauren Quarm (7.11), the 1-2 finishers at the MIAA Meet of Champions (MOC), and CT state champion Samiya Eady (7.09) are some of the other top contenders. Quarm is the only other runner with a sub-7 to her credit. She raced to a PR of 6.95 at last year’s MOC. She has a season best of 7.06 this winter.
300m
This will be a race! A good one, a very good one. While we predict another win for Lisa Raye in defense of her title in this event, she will be challenged. At last week’s MOC, three runners broke 40 seconds with Dennis Yarmouth’s Breanna Braham clocking a triumphant 38.94. Finishing behind Braham were Kyei-Aboagye (39.61) and Natick’s Chloe Elder (39.92). Braham is the No. 1 seed based on her most recent effort, but Raye has run faster with her 38.74 best from last year’s New England’s. She comes in with a seed of 40.24, which she did to cap off a four-win day at the RI state meet. In one of few all-out efforts this year, she ran a season best of 39.66 on the flat oval of the PCTA field house to take the Class C title a few weeks ago. She’ll be ready to roll this weekend. This will be her last race before the New Balance National in two weeks where she’ll be focused on pulling off a 60m-200m double. Don’t be surprised to see the junior phenom run a time in the low 38-second range, possibly faster with the level of talent she’ll face this weekend. Xenia Raye does own the second fastest time in this field after racing to her all-time best of 39.02 at Millrose, but is seeded at No. 7 in this field based on her runner-up time to Lisa at the State Meet where she ran a time of 40.27. This winter, she’s gone under 40 seconds three times. Based on her seed, she will be running in the unseeded section and will more than likely have to win her heat convincingly to secure a top finish, which we’re confident will happen.
600m
The favorite here is Lauren Kropo of Naugatuck (CT). The talented junior comes in with a best of 1:33.08 from her win at the CIAC State Open. Kropo has strong range with bests of 7.07 for 55m, 39.17 for the 300m and 55.46 for the 400m, the latter coming from her second-place finish at the New England’s back in June. Kropo’s 300m also came at the State Open where she pulled off a difficult 300m-600m double, No doubt, she’ll be tough to beat. The real race could be for second with the next five runners in the field coming in with bests in the1:36-1:37 range – Westwood’s Tea Pagnotti (1:36.50), CT’s D’Asia Duncan of Bloomfield (1:37.18), MA’s Maddy McGillicuddy of North Quincy (`1:37.38), RI’s Skyler Maxwell of Moses Brown (1:37.55) and CT’s Sultana Ali of New Britain (1:37.57).
55m HH
One clip of the hurdle could make a difference in this one. The top two seeds in this race also rank among the best nationwide with Anika Scott of Bedford (NH) and Emmanuella Edozien of Natick (MA). Scott has a best and US #8 of 7.84 from the NHIAA Division 1 Championship, while Edozien has a PR and US #11 of 7.96 from the MIAA Division 1 Championship. The next quickest in the field is CT’s Vanessa Agyemang of Bloomfield with a best of 8.30. Sources tell us that Lisa Raye will not be in the race. She has a best of 8.11
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BOYS
55m
The two fastest runners in this field also hail from the same state with CT’s Jay Vanterpool of Burnell and Bethel’s Luke RIchardson. Both come in with PRs of 6.34 with Vanterpool clocking his best to win the SWC Indoor Championship and Richardson breaking the tape at the CIAC State Open. NH’s Caesar Flahn of Manchester Central (6.40), ME’s Max Shapiro (6.41), NH’s Matthew Morrison (6.42), ME’s Andre Clark (6.42) and Winchester’s Daniel Killian (6.46) are also among the other top entries. A time of 6.31 would crack the top 10 nationally, With Vanterpool and Richardson on the line, that could happen this weekend.
300m
This race should be close with several capable of winning on Saturday. Among the top entries, four have broken 35 seconds this season with RI’s Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo of La Salle Academy (34.87), MA’s Joey-Brown-Wright of Sharon (34.97), and CT’s duo of Sebastian Perez of Trumbull (34.44) and Pierce Graber of Ridgefield (34.78). NH’s Owen Janetos of Winnacunnet has the best time based on recent state meets, winning the Div. 1 title in the Granite State with a one-second best of 35.15. This event has all the makings for a mass finish at the line. A lean (or dive) at the finish seems probable by the winner of this race.
600m
The favorite for individual honors is defending titlist Ben Tavares of Weston (MA). Tavares claimed gold in 2024 just a week after a third-place finish at the MOC. This time it will be different for Wildcats’ senior, who last week captured the MOC title with a time of 1:21.21, a race where the top three finishers were separated by less than a half a second. For Tavares to make it back-to-back crowns, he may encounter a similar type competition as a year earlier. The field includes four that have broken 1:22 and an additional four more that have gone sub-1:23. Among those runners are CT’s Thomas Conklin (1:21.26), MA’s Cole New of Ayer Shirley (1:21.43), CT’s Yendri Ruiz of New Britain (1:21.80), CT’s Emmett Kristoff of Rockville (1:22.49), RI’s Thaden Leomensah of La Salle Academy (1:22.80), CT’s Mahkai Heyward of Hillhouse (1:22.81) and CT’s Yee-Jun Ng of Bethel (1:22.86). Tavares owns a PR of 1:20.59 (US #13) from his divisional state meet two weeks ago. As we stated earlier, we give him the favorite nod, but only slightly. One thing to consider among our CT and RI entries, their performances we’re done on a flat track as opposed to the banked oval of Reggie Lewis. That makes a difference. Keep an eye on Conklin. His time in particular sticks out. He overcame a crowded field to come from behind and solidify his title. He also happens to be a 1:52 half-miler.
55m HH
Could we have a repeat of the MOC? It could happen. The top two seeds in this race are defending titlist Lucas Andrade of Brockton (MA) and Khai Yin of Lowell (MA), who went 1-2 at the MOC last week. Andrade claimed the title by breaking his own state mark with a US #10 of 7.29. A stride behind with a US #11 of 7.31 was Yin. While the two Bay Staters are the class of the field, it’s not a shoo-in they’ll take those top spots on the podium. Lyman Hall’s Owen Rich finished second at the recent CIAC State Open with a PR of 7.37. Among other top entries, there’s also last year’s runner-up Bobby Wind of Barrington (7.47).
