Grace Connolly, Natick
Connolly will be aiming for her second straight Division 1 title and we feel there is no doubt it will happen on Saturday. She's been dominant once again this fall versus her MA rivals and should coast to another state crown with ease. The question is how big will her margin be over the second-place finisher and will she break the course record of 17:27.40 by former Peabody great Catarina Rocha in 2012. In answer to both those questions, we're guessing Connolly will win by at least 30 seconds and the course mark by Rocha will be erased. The Natick standout won the EMass Division 2 State Meet this past weekend in 17:40, a race she won by 50 seconds! A week earlier, she captured the Bay State Conference Championships where she clocked 16:48.0 for three-plus miles. Connolly is ready to explode on Saturday with a record-breaking run. She stated after her race this past weekend that she wants the record. We feel she's ready!