Middle, Long Distance Events
There will be two notably missing athletes in these events, last year's 1,000-meter champion Bridget Mitchell of Milton and Natick's multiple all-stater and defending mile and two-mile winner Grace Connolly. With these top performers out of the individual events - Mitchell can still compete in the relay - things might be a little different up front. It shouldn't change much in the 1,000m where we expect top seed Samantha Friborg of Acton-Boxborough to run away with the title. Friborg won last week's Division 1 meet with a PR and meet record of 2:49.86. It was basically a solo effort for Friborg, who won the race by nearly 13 seconds! On Saturday, we predict she'll be pushed in the early stages by Woburn's Alexina Hurley, Tewskbury's Rachel Sessa, Milton's Elise O'Leary and Lynnfield's Kate MItchell, who all have done 2:55 this season. Sessa is the only runner among the group that will not have fresh legs as she's also entered in the mile. But the Redmen standout has proven she can still run a competitive race with one already under her belt. It will be difficult to defeat Friborg, though. In addition to her sub 2:50 last week, she also ran 2:10 for 800m to capture the crown at the Yale Track Classic on Jan. 20. Based on what she did at the divisionals by herself and how her season has gone so far - she also ran 1:33 for 600m - Friborg has potential to improve on her nation No. 5 for the 1K. The top time in the country is by Pennslyvania's Gabrielle Wilkinson, who captured the Dr. Sander Invitational in 2:47.22 back in January. That's a time we believe Friborg is capable of going under this weekend with the right kind of race.
With Connolly out of the mile, this is a race that appears to be wide open. The Natick junior was a noticeable no-show at the divisionals, especially after running a PR of 4:51 at the New Balance Grand Prix. Newton South's Lucy Jenks would have to be considered a slight favorite. She looked smooth and relaxed in winning the Division 1 title on Friday where she clocked 5:02, covering her final 200m in 32 seconds. A week earlier, Jenks ran a PR and state No. 2 of 4:57.94 to take individual honors at the Last Chance To Qualify Meet. Sessa is certainly someone that can win on Saturday. She ran a season best of 5:01 at the Grand Prix meet and has an all-time best of 4:51, which she did to win the Emerging Elite mile at the New Balance Nationals in June. Wellesley's Margaret Donahue is another sub-5 runner. She ran 5:02 at the Grand Prix and also at the Division 2 meet where she grabbed the title. Concord-Carlisle's Sarah Reichheld and Littleton's Sarah Roffman are two others you can't ignore. We predict a tactical affair in the early goings with the lead pack hitting 800m around 2:30. From there, it will be negative splits with a winning time in the mid 4:50 range. How about the two mile? We have at least five in the field that are capable of breaking 11 minutes. A few, such as Roffman and Donahue, could be going into this race after running the mile an hour and a half earlier. But that shouldn't matter too much as they'll have ample enough time for a quality effort in the deuce. Newton South's Caroline Barry looked strong last week running 11:01 after a 5:05 mile earlier in the meet. Amherst-Pelham's Sofia Jacobs-Townsley. a third-place finisher at last year's meet, won the Division 4 meet with a season best of 10:59.76. Donahue also ran 10:59 in a Bay State Conference meet. Roffman has the fastest time of them all, clocking a state best of 10:46.51 to win the Coaches Invitational in January in a solo effort. There will be no solo effort effort this weekend as we anticipate a crowded lead pack with the aforementioned for much of the 15 laps. Will this pack, or at least part of it, still be together with a lap remaining. It could happen, but we predict someone will make a decisive move with about 600m left. Who will it be? Take your pick? In this race, like most on Saturday, there is no clear-cut favorite.