Ask Nick Carleo who his top competition is during the cross-country season and rarely does the Newburyport High senior have an answer.
“I don’t know too many individuals,” he admits. “I do in track where everyone runs on the same surface. But with cross country and the different type of courses, the times aren’t always the same with each individual so I don’t try to get caught up with who is running what. I just don’t look at it.”
Safe to say that Carleo’s rivals can’t say the same, especially after another mega-successful season on the dirt trails.
One week after a dominating victory in the Division 5 race of the MIAA Eastern State Championships, Carleo will be running his final high school race on Massachusetts’ soil this Saturday. He’ll be looking to defend his Div. 2 crown at the MIAA All State Finals at Franklin Park.
Carleo, undefeated against state competition this fall, is not only aiming to win this weekend but also move high on the all-time list since the new five-kilometer course was established at the historic park in 1995. The current record is held by former Oliver Ames great and current Oregon track and cross-country coach Andy Powell, who sizzled the challenging course in 14 minutes, 52 seconds in 1998.
“I do want to kind of break the top five all-time. I think it’s 15:23 or around there,” said Carleo, making reference to the No. 5 time clocked by ex-Brookline standout Jonathan Riley in 1996. “That’s definitely a goal. If I feel I have a chance I will go for it.”
The Newburyport runner is coming off a relative easy 15:39 effort at the Eastern States, a time that earned him his second straight title and a 43-second win over second-place Alex Demeule of Pentucket. In fact in most races this year the results have been similar for the gifted Carleo. He was 26-seconds ahead Northampton’s Liam Sullivan at the Bay State Invitational on Oct. 4 at Franklin Park where he ran a winning time of 15:40.12. At his home course of Maudslay State Park on Sept. 23, he matched his CR of 14:59 for 2.95 miles when he beat teammate Joe Molvar by nearly 300 meters in a dual meet with Masconomet.
Carleo’s latest effort at the Wrentham Developmental Center this past Saturday was more a controlled pace, at least after the 4:38 opening mile.
“We went out pretty hard, which I was fine with,” he said. “Once everyone starting falling off, I eased up a little bit. As far as the class and all-state meets, it’s all about the team. I’m not concerned about fast times.”
For Carleo, he’s hoping to save his best for last, possibly beginning at the All State Meet this weekend on a course that’s not necessarily suited for fast times. Franklin Park includes several inclines, including a long, steep hill shortly after the first mile.
“It’s pretty hilly, but it’s not brutal,” he said. “It’s not an easy course, but I love it. It has a little bit of everything. It’s definitely challenging.”
As he’s proven throughout his career, Carleo gets serious when the major meets and invitationals arrive. He’s the defending indoor and outdoor state champion for the mile and was also sixth in the mile at last year’s New Balance Indoor National Championship. Even though he’s primarily a middle-distance runner with a 4:14 best for the mile and sub two minutes for 800 meters, he’s also had his share of success on the uneven surface prior to this year. In 2013, he beat the heavily-favored Paul Hogan of Burlington at the state meet, held at Gardiner Municipal Golf Course. He broke away from the graduating senior, who later would crack nine minute for two miles at NBNI, with a mile remaining and won by six seconds with his time of 14:15 for the 2.9-mile course.
“It was a little surprising,” he recalled. “I ran really, really hard that day. It was a good day.”
Carleo comes from a strong pedigree. His father, Tom, a standout middle distance runner at UMass and Boston College, competed in the 1,500m at the 1988 Olympic Trials. His younger brother, Jack, a sophomore, also excels at Newburyport. He was fifth at the Eastern States.
Despite his own success, Carleo doesn’t get too much ink outside the borders of the Bay State.
“I don’t really look too much into it,” he said. “I guess I probably do go under the radar sort of. It’s fine. I like being the underdog rather than the (predicted) winner.”
There’s a good chance within the next few weeks that the recognition he rightly deserves could change. After competing at the state meet, Carleo will set his eyes on the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals at Van Cortlandt Park in New York. He has a legitimate shot to finish among the top 10 finishers and earn a trip out west to the national championship in San Diego.
Last year, Carleo fell one placement short of making it to the finals of the Nike Nationals by taking tenth overall in 16:01.40. After the displacement of the teams, the first six individuals across the line earned a slot.
“The goal was to go out hard. I went out too hard. I was sort of leading after the first 800. I was hurting going up the hills and pulled myself together. But I wasn’t ready for the down hills and also tripped over a runner,” he said. “I made some tactical mistakes. It was a bummer but I was over it quick.”
Carleo hopes to erase that mishap from a year ago. But before shifting his attention to Foot Locker, first he’ll tend to business at the states. Whether he goes all out this weekend is not guaranteed. The main focus is the win.
“If I don’t feel great, I am not going to push it,” he said. “If I feel I can go, I will. But if anything feels wrong, I will back off. I want to prepare for Foot Locker.”
