It's a relatively quiet racing weekend in Massachusetts, but that doesn't mean teams aren't loading up the buses and seeking out the competition close to home or just across state lines. While we have a solid contingency of local teams heading all the way down to Van Cortland Park for the Manhattan Invite, a good number of MA squads will be heading to the Wachusett Invite and Battle of the Border in Hudson, NH.
Battle of the Borders Preview:
A relatively modest cross country meet thats averages around fifteen to twenty teams, Battle of the Border is still always full of quality individuals and teams from MA and NH. This coming Saturday will be the 13th edition of this fine meet and it should a good showcase of some top ranked NH teams locking spikes with a few select schools from Massachusetts.
On the boys side, Noah Bellomo of Alvirne HS will be out to take the top spot after finishing as runner-up in 2015. Bellomo has looked strong in the first few weeks of the season, but he should have his hands full with Chris Zaino of Londonberry HS. Appearing to be different runner this year, Zaino started off his season by beating Bellomo and finishing third at the Manchester Invite with his 16:05 performance. The top competitor from Massachusetts should come from a member of Lowell's junior varsity squad. As Lowell is sending a varsity and junior varsity squad to the Manhattan Invite, we suspect the top Lowell runner to be Daven Rosa or Carlos Rivera. Both have been strong components of Lowell's top notch JV squad and should gain good experience competing as varsity runners.
As mentioned, the MA#1 Lowell boys will not be fielding a varsity squad on Saturday. That certainly opens up the team race and leaves the door wide open for New Hampshire teams. Heading to Hudson as the #7 team in the state, Londonberry boys appear to be the team to beat. They opened their season a few weeks ago at the Manchester Invite and placed 12th overall among some strong New England competition. While they beat teams like Nashua South and Alvirne at Manchester, they'll need to watch the sizable gaps between their varsity five. If they're not careful, Nashua South could sneak up on them for the win. #4 MA Marshfield Boys will also be in the mix in Saturday, as this will be their first major test of the fall. They competed in mid-September at the Big Wave Meet, but it was only 2.5 mile race with limited competition. For a junior varsity squad, the boys of Lowell are quite formidable and should find themselves fighting for 4th with Alvirne.
The fight for border supremacy in the girls individual race will be spearheaded by last year's winner, Lily Voke of North Andover. Similar to last year, Voke will be using the Border Meet as her season opener. Obviously, that makes it a bit difficult to tell Voke's current status in terms of fitness, but the returning victor cannot be counted out. After finishing fourth in 2014 and runner-up last year, Emily Wilson of Groton-Dunstable is poised to strike it rich and finally take the individual win in Hudson. We will also have to keep an eye on Jaylan Fraser-Mines of Tyngsborough, as he won this race in 2014 and finished 4th overall in 2015.
The biggest threat to a Massachusetts victory will come from, Rebecca Durham of Milford NH. Having a few races under her belt this season, Durham will be entering Saturday fresh off her 18:58 PR performance at the Black Bear Invitational. Hoping to join her Granite State counterpart at the front will be, Katie Bellomo of Alvirne. Bellomo will not only have the task of securing an individual victory, but also leading her Alvirne squad to victory.
Heading to Hudson as the #4 team in New Hampshire, the young ladies from Alvirne should secure the team race with relative ease. Looking to keep it close as possible will be girls from Andover, MA and the #8 ranked squad from NH, Manchester Central. Rounding out the top three will be two top ranked NH squads, Merrimack and Concord.