In a little over twenty four hours, Westfield State will be rocking with the finest athletes in Massachusetts. We will have those going for the win, a few looking to take down meet records, and a large number just looking to end their seasons on a high note. To help you navigate the very busy day at the track, we are providing you with the five MUST watch events on the girls side of the action!
Girls 100m Final @ 7:05 PM
In one lane wearing the black and white singlet of Cambridge Rindge & Latin, there is the 2016 indoor All-State / New England 55m runner-up and defending All-State 100m outdoor champion. In another lane wearing the purple and white kit of Norton HS, there is MA state record holder for the indoor 55m and last year's 100m runner up. Brooke-Lynn Williams and Brianna Duncan have certainly spoiled us with their epic head-to-head battles over last few seasons andSaturday's 100m final will unfortunately be the last round in this prize fight. It's hard to pick one over the other, as they both have very strong credentials and have displayed excellent sportsmanship over the course of this rivalry. Though Williams currently has the slight advantage with her MA#1 time of 11.92, which is a tad faster than Duncan's lifetime best of 11.97 from last spring. But we need to keep in mind that prior to the 100m final, Williams has competed in the 100 prelims, 200m prelims, and 200m final. Duncan will have also been very busy, as she will have been on and off the rack for the 100m prelims and the triple/long jump. This certainly makes for a very interesting final showdown on the season's biggest stage!
Girls 2 Mile @ 4:30PM
She put together a strong two-mile / mile double victory at the indoor All-State Meet this past winter, got the job done very nicely in both events last weekend and will be looking to do the same this Saturday in Westfield. It wouldn't be hard to argue that given her accomplishments, Margie Cullen of Needham has been of the finest distance runners in New England this year and probably only second behind Hannah Debalsi of Staples, CT. Entering Saturday's race as the hands-down favorite, Cullen might have her eyes set on more than just picking up the win. Dipping under 10:30 last weekend for the first time in her career with her 10:28.5, Cullen joined a very elite realm of MA HS distance girls. Given that very recent performance, it definitely puts the seventeen-year-old meet record of 10:24.2 set by the legendary Shalane Flannagan within reach for Margie. While some may say it's not possible due to the lack of competition for Cullen, we have to remember that the future Georgetown Hoya is no stranger to these types of races and always comes up big!
Girls 800m @ 6:45PM
We are well acquainted with the likes of Sarah Edwards from Bellingham and Clare Martin of Newton South. Edwards has really wowed us over these past two years, as she has dipped under 2:10 twice and clocked in a superb lifetime best of 2:07.8 this winter to take 5th at New Balance Indoor Nationals. Meanwhile, Martin has an 800m All-State title from last year and very respectable career best of 2:10.27. What happened the last time these two mid-distance stars squared off? Well it was this year's 1000m at the indoor All-State Meet where they finished just behind Ariel Keklak and we had to go to photo finish to determine their final positions. In the end, both were given a time of 2:47.61, but Edwards was awarded 2nd and Martin took 3rd. We can't imagine things will be much different this Saturday, as both of these young ladies will be fighting tooth and nail for the title. Though we wouldn't also be surprised if they had company from the likes of Colette O'Leary of Milton. Yes, she is slightly off these two with her current PR of 2:11.7, but she has been having a great spring and will be well prepared to make some noise.
Girls Triple Jump @ 3:00PM
Brianna Duncan of Cambridge Rindge & Latin is going to have one busy Saturday and it's going to get started in a big way with the triple jump. Duncan is the defending All-State champion and she's had a pretty firm grip on the jumps runway for the past two years. While few have attempted to match the Cambridge senior, Adja Sackor of Worcester Tech is one of the few who has been able to surpass Duncan. After finishing runner-up to Duncan in this event last year at the All-State Meet and runner-up at this year's indoor All-State meet in the long jump, Sackor eventually beat Duncan a week later at New Englands. The two have yet to square off since that winter match-up, but Sackor heads to Westfield with the MA#1 mark of 39'10" from mid-May. While Duncan is just off Sackor with a lifetime outdoor best of 39'5.25", she did hit a jaw dropping 40'2" at New Balance Indoor Nationals this March. No matter what happens between these two in the triple jump, you better get ready for even more fireworks when they square off as the top two seeds in the long jump.
Girls 400m Dash @ 6:15PM
There is certainly a lot of buzz surrounding this event right now due to four girls all between 56.47 and 56.87. Leading the charge into Westfield with her MA#1 mark of 56.47 is Japhiah Gilliard of West Roxbury. Prior to her state leading victory last weekend at Eastern D2 Champs, Gilliard was relatively unknown. She had run 58.40 in early May and was runner up in the 300m D2 Indoor Champs with a time of 41.00. Now it's important to note that not only did Gilliard put up the fastest time in the state last week, but she also beat the very fast Ashley Lewis of Boston Latin. Though it appears that it was also Lewis's first race this outdoor season and she put up a very respectable 56.63. Despite the late start to the season, Lewis is still a huge threat due to her 55.98 lifetime best form last summer. Two other potential threats for victory have to be Wadeline Jonathas of Doherty and Elise O'Leary of Milton. Similar to Gilliard, Doherty's Jonathas had big jump in the 400m last weekend, as she PRed by over a second to win the Central/Western D1 400m in 56.76. Meanwhile, O'Leary is only a freshman who has steadily chipped away at her 400m PR this spring (56.87) and has shown her terrific strength in the 400H / Mid-Distance events.