2016 Eastern MA Boys XC Individual Preview (D4-D6)

D5 INDIVIDUAL 

Jack Carleo  SR  Newburyport HS 

After a one-year hiatus, we like the chances of the D5 individual title heading back to Newburyport this season. Despite coming up little short last year at Eastern MA Champs, Carleo rebounded from his 3rd-place finish to eventually place 6th overall at All-States. That performance alone makes Jack the third-fastest returner and real threat to take both the D5 race and the All-State race. Plus, Jack really fine tuned his speed to get down to 1:57 and 4:21, so that will be a big help in the final stretch of any race this fall! 

Daniel Allara  SR   Hamilton-Wenham HS 

Can Daniel Allara prove to us that lighting strikes the same place twice? The 2015 Eastern MA Champs race was a career day for Allara, as he finished runner-up and led the Generals to a team title over their rivals from Newburyport. It certainly came as a surprise to many to see Allara finishing 2nd, as prior performances hadn't really indicated he could match Joseph Molvar or Jack Carleo. Though we won't overlook the Hamilton senior this fall, we still feel that he will have hard time stoping Carleo. Allara made nice progress on the track, but still is a bit behind Carleo in terms of PRs. He will really need to be well prepared this fall in order to stop Carleo and take that #1 spot. 

Nick Murphy  JR  Pentucket HS 

Pentucket's Murphy will be on a quest this year to break up the D5 lead pack and prove he is one the best small school runners in the state. Just missing out on a top-5 finish by taking 6th at Eastern MA Champs in 2015, Murphy came back hard a week later to finish in 21st at the All-State meet. On the track, Nick continued to pick up speed and worked his way down to 4:36 and 9:50 for the mile and two-mile, respectively. The small school field will be a crowded and competitive affair this fall, so hopefully Murphy has put in a strong summer with the intention of leading the pack. 

James Piccrilli  SR  Watertown HS 

Over the past year, Piccrilli of Watertown has proven to be a true cross country runner. Last year, which appeared to be his first year of high school cross country, James came out swinging with his 5th-place finish at Eastern MA Champs and 26th-place finish at All States. The Watertown runner didn't have too much in terms of big track performances over the past two seasons, but he was in a very similar boat this time last year. I think if Piccrilli trained smart this summer and upped his mileage from the previous summer, we should still see him in the top 5 at Eastern MA Champs. 

Steven O'Driscoll  JR  Norwell HS

Looking to do big things both individually and on a team, Steven O'Driscoll's fire should be burning bright this fall. The start of last fall was a bit up and down for O'Driscoll, as he had a strong showing at the Twilight Meet but was well off his personal best on Wrentham at Eastern MA Champs. Not willing to throw in the towel, Steven came back a week later with a 16:40, 38th-place performance at All-States and a solid showing in the FootLocker Northeast sophomore race. On the track, O'Driscoll dipped under 10:00 for the first time with a 9:57 at the Outdoor All-State Meet and earned a new mile PR of 4:35 earlier in the spring. Making sure Steve races to his potential, we should expect to see teammate Andrew Corbett right on his side and the duo putting up big performances this season. 

Pre-Season Eastern MA (D5) Rankings (FULL LIST)