Relays Weekend Begins Friday
The MSTCA Kalperis Relays begin this weekend with three relay meets. The first ever D5 meet goes first on Friday (1-10) at 4:30, then D2 on Saturday, and the D3 on Sunday. Both D2 and D3 meets begin at 9:30. This is the first year for five relay meets due to the fact the MIAA went to five divisions in their indoor state meets this year, so the MSTCA decided to add D5 relay meet to the line-up.
All the winners in Friday’s D5 meet will be record setters. Due to the massive realignment by the MIAA there is no clear favorite in either the boys and girls D5 meet. But, there are teams that have compiled good resumes so far this year. Teams that should not be overlooked in the boys: Newburyport, No. Reading, East Bridgewater, Hopedale. Nick Carleo (Newburyport) hopes his distance crew will bring the championship home. While the girls favorites come from: Old Rochester, Ursuline Academy, Norwell, Manchester-Essex, and Ipswich. Manchester-Essex is lead by one of the top girls distance runners, Olivia Lantz, who could Manchester-Essex girls bring the title to the North Shore also.
On Saturday D2 takes the stage. Not many D2 teams have been moved out of the division so the contenders will be very familiar to each other. North Andover was the 2013 girls champions with Whitman-Hanson and Marshfield only one point back. The boys champion was Woburn followed by Reading and Tewksbury. Not much has been seen of some teams but Woburn and Reading promise to be tough to beat. The girls champ North Andover will be pressured by Marshfield again. Marshfield two outstanding athletes, Kelsey Sullivan (Hurdles and Spring) and Ellen DiPietro (Nation leader in HJ at 5’10” and Mass # 1 in hurdles) will make Marshfield the team to beat. However, Wellesley, the best team in the Bay State League, should not be overlooked. They have good sprints, hurdlers, field and distance runners will be going after their first girls title. Central Catholic, Needham will also fight to get top places.
On Sunday D3 takes over the Reggie track. Hingham is the defending champ in both the boys and girls relays. That makes them a marked team. Runner-up’s Hopkinton and Danvers would like to see a different result this year. The Hingham boys lead by Andrew Bolze could be on top again with a strong challenge from Bishop Feehan and Hopkinton. So what else is new? The Hingham girls also will be targets of Bishop Feehan and Hopkinton this year. All three teams have outstanding depth with top-quality athletes all over. Feehan’s Abbie McNulty, US # 1 at two mile, will make the Feehan distance squad that much tougher. Hopkinton has the number two distance squad in the division, but they also have the best sprinter/jumper in Jessica Scott. So where does that leave defending champion Hingham? With the state’s # 1 300 meter girl, Sierra Irvin, they will be ready to go. Good sprint relays, excellent jump teams, and some distance runners could propel Hingham back to the winner’s circle. There is a rumor floating around is the Dracut’s girls want to break some records. Most logical is the Sprint Medley of 4:09.1 set by Stoneham in the 90’s. Karina Shepherd’s 2:10 800 last week at the Hispanic Games (Armory NYC) could set up a record try. They will need a 2:10, a 60-61 and two sub 29 200’s to break the record.
So a lot of exciting things happening at Reggie this weekend 4:30 on Friday, and 9:30 on Saturday and Sunday. Come watch the best H.S. boys and girls teams in action.