Five Events To Watch At Coaches Invitational!


Boys' Two Mile - Large School

Check out this lineup. You have last year's national outdoor 5K champion, the recent state cross-country and Foot Locker Northeast winner, another Foot Locker qualifier and the New England outdoor 3,200m victor. If none of these runners scratch before race time, you know it's going to be fast. Based on what he's done on the track recently and his past success, Arlington's Ryan Oosting would have to be the favorite. Oosting, who won the 5K title at the New Balance Nationals last June, also ran 9:02 for 2M during the outdoor season. Right now, he appears to be on pace for prosperity this season. At the recent Division 2 State Relays, he ran 4:15 for his leg on his team's winning DMR squad. Oosting ran a modest, at least by his standards, season best of 9:37 for two miles during a dual meet a few weeks ago, a race he won by more than 20 seconds! This will be Oosting's first competitive two mile this season, and with the field behind him, we feel he's capable of clocking a time in the 9:15-9:20 range, possibly faster. Who are some of those top runners that should also be battling up front? There's Tristan Shelgren of St. John's Prep, who was second in the mile this past Saturday at the New Balance Games where he ran 4:18. Coming off a stellar X-C season where he captured his first individual state crown and qualified for the nationals with a win at the Foot Locker regionals, Shelgren will be focused on a victory, something that is certainly within his grasp. He's a 9:10 two-miler. Newton North's Andrew Mah is always someone you can count out, and always someone that will make the race honest. Mah was the state runner-up to Oosting at last year's outdoor state meet and has a 9:10 best for 3,200m, and effort that won him his New England title last spring. He's the primary reason we feel this race won't be tactical. Mah, who was second to Shelgren at the All State Meet this past fall and qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals, likes to do the front-running duties, and always appears focused on a fast time. The darkhorse in this field is Brookline's Lucas Aramburu, who would be considered a long-shot to make it happen this weekend, but he's certainly a worthy contender. Aramburu finished third at the Foot Locker Regionals. He has a PB of 9:24, which he did to finish second at the Weston Twilight Invitational in May.