The 2016 Twilight Meet: Start List, Previews, and All-Time Lists

Across all varsity races on Saturday, there will be not a single returning victor from last year's meet. Now don't be disappointed or fear a lack of top talent. As the Girls D1 race this Saturday is going to feature a great clash between the seasoned veteran and the rising star of the future.

On end of the starting line, you will have Clare Martin of Newton South and the runner-up from last year's race. The Newton South senior has been at the fixture at the front of every race for the past few years and entered this fall as the top D1 runner in the state. Saturday night will be Martin's first major race this Fall, due to dealing with an injury in early September. Though you better not count her out, for she has already proven to be in top notch form despite the delayed start. As she ran 14:53 to shatter the course record set by Ariel Keklak at Cold Spring Park in Newton in DCL Tri-Meet at the end of last month. 

Toeing the ling with the masses and looking to challenge Martin for victory will be sophomore, Grace Connolly of Natick. After a terrific freshman campaign, Connolly has come out the gates hard this fall and kicked off the season with a very impressive 18:00 victory in the Championship Race at the Ocean State Invite. While Connolly might be outmatched by Martin in terms of foot speed, the Natick sophomore has shown she is on another level this year and will most likely press the pace from the gun to put Martin under pressure. 

Hoping to hang with the front running duo will be a pair of Concord-Carlisle runners, Margot Ehrenthal and Elina Laurent. We got our first sight of this strong 1-2 punch at the Amherst Invite in September, where Ehrenthal ran 18:31 to take 2nd and Laurent was right behind in 18:43 for 3rd. Laurent's performance at Amherst was almost a minute faster than her 2015 race and it was the first time ever racing cross country for Ehrenthal. While she is a relative novice to cross country, Ehrenthal is familiar with track and dipped 5:00 at last year's All-State Meet. You should pay close attention this duo on Saturday and in the coming weeks, as we gurantee they will be turning some heads with their performances. 

A few other top contenders on Saturday evening will be Jamie Falla of Wachusett, Sam Curtin of Plymouth North, and Katherine Collins of Newton South. 

The two dominant forces in Saturday's team race will be a clash between MA#1 Newton South and MA#3 Hopkinton. Newton South has been sitting at #1 rankings all fall, despite only competing for the first time two weeks ago at Frank Kelley and without Martin in the lineup. If Martin did compete at Frank Kelley and was at 100%, Newton South would have certainly won over Lincoln-Sudbury and Westwood. Though we cannot rely on hypotheticals and the Lady Tigers of Newton South will have to prove they are the real deal on Saturday. The lineup of the ladies from Hopkinton is little different than Newton South, as they a lack strong frontrunner. Meanwhile, the Lady Hillers have been competing at high level with their very tight pack which has averaged a 44 second spread last two meets out. Other teams in the mix on Saturday will be Shepherd Hill, Wachusett, and Concord-Carlisle. 

The lead pack of Saturday's D2 race should be a fine exhibition of the terrific 1-2-3 punch that is currently present on the MA#1 Milton team. Not only the best D2 team in the state, but the best overall team in the state, Milton girls got things rolling this fall down at the Bowdoin XC Classic in NY. Leading the charge for the Lady Wildcats at Bowdoin was last year's Twilight runner-up, Bridget Mitchell. Now a junior, Mitchell possesses the speed and strength to handle the Barnstable Fairgrounds and take the individual victory. Perhaps her biggest threat to her taking the "W" will come from her two teammates, Elise and Colette O'Leary. These two young ladies have terrific speed over mid-distance events and could up the ante down the homestretch.

Who has the best chance of breaking up this Milton trio, you ask? One possible candidate would be Weston senior, Jillian Howard. She took fourth last year in the D2 race and just missed beating Colette O'Leary. Though it's obvious the Milton runners have raised their game from last fall and Howard will need to do the same on Saturday in order to be a contender. Ashley Walker of Westwood will also have a viable shot of breaking up Milton and finishing in the top five. Opening up her season at Frank Kelley, Walker easily won the D2 race in 19:18 and improved by almost a minute from her Frank Kelley performance in 2015. 

Other faces to keep an eye on this Saturday evening will be, Phoebe Von Contra of Parker Charter, Emma Jourdain of Lenox Memorial, and Sarah Tully of Wayland.