Strong Fields Expected At MSTCA Auerbach Freshmen-Sophomore Large Schools' Meet

Newton North's Raghav Kadambi is the overwhelming favorite for 600m.

The underclassmen will be taking center stage this weekend with the annual Auerbach Freshmen-Sophomore meets at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center. The Large Schools will contest on Saturday, while the Small Schools will compete on Sunday.

Here we feature the Large Schools and a glimpse of some of the top events to watch.

In the boys' mile, Franklin's Tyler Brogan and Newton North's Ian Horsbugh lead a field that includes five runners under 4 minutes, 40 seconds. As a ninth-grader last year, Brogan clocked an all-time best of 4:29. He has a season best of 4:31, which he did to finish third overall at last week's Boston Holiday Challenge. Horsbugh has a best of 4:34.

The boys' 600-meter run will include a half dozen that have cracked 1:30, but the overwhelming favorite is Newton North's Raghav Kadambi. Kadambi ran a PB of 1:24.81 to place fourth at the Winter Festival a few weeks ago. That time is nearly three seconds ahead of his closest rival and ranks No. 2 nationwide among tenth-graders.

Expect a down-to-the-wire affair in the girls' 300m where the top three seeds are have all dipped under 43 seconds - Wellesley's Abby Comella (42.03), Shepherd Hill's Madison Marsh (42.06) and Milford's Kerry O'Connor.

Freshmen occupy the No. 1 seeds in the girls' 55m hurdles and boys' 55m dash. Winchester's Hannah Curtin owns the fastest time in the hurdles with a 7.65 clocking. Three of the top four hurdlers in the event are ninth-graders.

Freshmen Alexander Dacruz of Greater New Bedford shares the top spot in the short sprint with Medford's Tristen Howard with both registering times of 6.5.

 Large Schools' Performance List


SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

(GIRLS compete before BOYS in running events)
Field Event Starting Times: 10:00 a.m.
SHOT PUT (Boys throw in the cage; Girls throw in the area to the left of the score board)
Top 9 to finals
LONG JUMP (Girls before Boys) --Top 9 to finals
HIGH JUMP (Two Pits) -- Opening Heights: Girls - 4'04"; Boys - 5'00" [Starts after
Hurdles/Dash]
Running Events (first event check in 10:15 a.m. then listen for call:
ONE MILE RUN - FINAL - Sections on time, fastest section last
600 METERS - FINAL - Sections on time, fastest section last*
1000 METERS - FINAL - Sections on time, fastest section last*
300 METERS - FINAL - Sections on time, fastest section last
TWO MILE RUN - FINAL - Sections on time, fastest section last
4 x 200 Meter Relay - Sections on time (A teams only, NO B teams allowed)*
4 x 400 Meter Relay - Sections on time (A teams only, NO B teams allowed)*
*Lane preferences for these events: 5-6-4-3-2-1.
INFIELD START TIME: 10:00am [Check in for Hurdles 9:40am]
Hurdle Trials: serpentine seeding based on entry time, fast to slow, fastest 16 advance to
a two-section final.
Dash Trials: serpentine seeding based on entry time, fast to slow, fastest 16 advance to a
two-section final.
Hurdle Finals: BOYS before GIRLS
Dash Finals: GIRLS before BOYS