MIAA Division 1 Championships Preview


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On paper, Newton South's Lucy Jenks is listed as the No. 1 seed in the Div. 1 mile by more than nine seconds. In reality, the defending All-State champion is even further in front of the pack.

The Stanford-bound Jenks dominated the field in the scholastic mile at last month's New Balance Grand Prix to the tune of a blazing 4:47.83. It's a safe bet that the Lion talent will do the same Wednesday evening. The field behind Jenks is a talented one freshman teammate Amelia Everett in the No. 2 position, followed by Lowell's Slap Mirambeaux and Phoebe Smith of Cambridge. Jenks and Everett will also lead Newton South in the 4x800 later in the meet.

Jamie Chamberlain of Brookline has had a great winter so far in the 55 hurdles and the favorite in her specialty. Look for Andover's Jodi Parrott, Brockton's Susan Takang, Acton-Boxboro's Amanda Sullivan and Lowell's Deborah Ofodile to challenge Chamberlain for the top step on the victory podium. Chamberlain is also the clear favorite in the long jump.

Brookline also has the favorite in the 55 with Sarah Schlosberg looking to turn away Lucia Seide of Everett, Peabody's Jolene Murphy, Annabel Cloney of Brookline and Lexington's Keena Gao.

Murphy will be tough to beat in the 300, but she'll have to contend with a field that includes Aleia Gisolfi-McCready of Lexington, Peabody's Sadai Headley-Mawasi and Franklin's Jillian Fenerty. The 600 looks to be a wide-open affair between top-seed Amyah Santana of Wachusett, Taunton's Olivia Dias, Shrewsbury's Kiera Hurley and Lily Sheth of Lexington. Sonja Nagle of Brookline is the lone entrant to break 3 minutes in the 1000 with her 2:56.38 and that should be enough to capture gold. Look for Newton South's Lily Bulczynski and Boston Latin's Annie Jackson and Lucy Abdow to get under the 3-minute barrier.

The 2 mile could be a wide-open race with Andover's Molly Kiley, Mirambeaux, Sophia Price of Cambridge and Smith all fighting for the top spot. The shot put, too, should be a barn burner with Peabody's Arlene Davila, Iyonna Dinsmore of Durfee, New Bedford's Kennedy Johnson and Brockton's Nkechi Nwosu all in contention for gold. Framingham's Sophie Albright has cleared 5-8 this season and is the clear favorite in the high jump.

On the boys' side, Lowell's Samuel Mutiso is a fast closer and that should bode well in the 55 hurdles. Newton North's Otis Love, Lawrence's Jordany Volquez and Xaverian's Mike Mazzocca could push Mutiso to the tape. Lowell's terrific trackster, Richmond Kwaateng is the top seed in both the 55 and long jump and could come away with two gold medals. Look for Peabody's Frederick Koffi and Jerimil German of Lawrence to push him in the dash, and Eddy Gonzalez of Lawrence, Westford Academy's Christian Grenier and Jose Nieves of Springfield to challenge on the long jump runway.

The 300 should come down to the five athletes who have run under 36 seconds: Top-seed Stanley Hanci of Methuen, Brockton's Isaiah Laguerre, Jacob Kao of Acton-Boxboro, Shawn Carter of Boston College and Newton North's Alexander Sherman. The 600 has a loaded field with the likes of Lexington's Joshua Backert, Haverhill's Hayden Makarow, Justin Levy of Newton South, Lexington's Andrew McGovern and Newton North's Raghav Kadambi.

Myles Liss-Riordan of Brookline is the top seed in the 1000, followed closely by Franklin's Nicholas Calitri, Winston Thompson of Acton-Boxboro, Lexington's Andrew McGovern and Peabody's Antonio Craveiro. Franklin's Tyler Brogan heads an impressive mile field that includes St. John's Stephen Jackson, Ian Horsburgh and Alexander Ivanov of Newton North, St. John's terrific freshman, Nathan Lopez, and his teammate Connor Hughes. Horsburgh could also come away with a medal in the 2 mile in a field with Micah Benson of Lexington, Needham's Thomas Flanagan, St. John's George Nikolakopoulos and Kelvin Santana of Lowell.

Weymouth's Ronan Folan could own the shot put cage, but contenders Max Klein of Newton North, Salvatore Lando of Wachusett and Luis Cadime of Lowell should put the pressure on the Wildcat. The high jump features five athletes who have cleared 6-6: Nathan Gill of Shrewsbury, Jack Drake of Andover, Danny Collins of Newton South, Acton-Boxboro's John Lung and Michael Makiej of Andover.

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