Things should remain spooky on the trails again this fall.
While there is no clear-cut favorite this time around, there’s a pack of at least a dozen runners who have legitimate chances to come away with the gold medal when the state meet returns to Eastern Mass and Franklin Park in November.
Peabody’s enormously talented Nick Christiansen was just five seconds behind Sollowin last year in his bronze-medal effort on the rolling Gardner Golf Course layout. Look for fourth-place finisher Joel Hubbard of Marshfield to use his unmatched 800/mile speed over the final 600 meters to run down anyone within striking distance, assuming he doesn’t have the lead already. The Rams have the rare opportunity to capture the top two places with Hubbard and Kevin Thomas, while speedster Josh Lampron of Mansfield is looking to have a monster season after taking the state mile title last spring. Lexington’s Nathaniel Adams is proven tough and is looking to improve his 21st-place finish from a year ago to somewhere in the top 10.
Whether or not Eastern Mass harriers have an advantage on the Franklin Park course remains to be seen. There are two thoughts in this camp. Many coaches believe the Eastern Mass runners have an advantage because they run it so many times during the season. Others, though, believe those harriers who’ll be making the trek from Western Mass will find the course far less difficult than the Northfield Mountain layout they’re used to.
St. John’s Jonathan Green finished a solid fourth a year ago as a sophomore and there’s no reason to believe he won’t be near the front in the Div. 1 race again. The same holds true for Brookline’s Chernet Sisay and Matt Goroff, both of whom led Mike Glennon’s Warriors to yet another state title in 2010. The squad also has 9:20 2-miler Mark Perry in the fold, giving Brookline, arguably, the best 1-2-3 punch in Massachusetts.
Jeremy Bennie, a delightful talent out of Wachusett was 15th a year ago, which should translate to a finish somewhere in the top 10 in 2011. The same holds true for his brother, Colin Bennie.
Oliver Ames’ Drew Beck looks to be the top harrier in the Hockomock League, and the distance running machine that is Whitman-Hanson boasts yet another in a long line of Kevin Black proteges in Pat Ryan.
Pembroke will be an interesting squad to follow in Div. 2. Greg Zopatti had his Titans peaking in November, which resulted in the team destroying the competition in the state meet to give Pembroke its first title. How dominant were the Titans in the Div. 2 race? As a team, Pembroke averaged a time of 14:51.86 over the 2.9-mile Gardner layout, a whopping 38 seconds against a very good Hamilton-Wenham squad.
Defending champion Wesley Gallagher led the Titans to their win a year ago and should be the favorite this autumn. Foxboro junior Brendan Sullivan captured the Hockomock League title and could turn the Div. 2 championships into a two-man race with Gallagher. All bets could be off, though, if Chris Allen of King Philip decides to pass on soccer in favor of cross country.
Hamilton-Wenham’s Sam Malabre was key to the General’s runnerup finish in the states last year and with a year under his belt very could be running alongside Gallagher and Sullivan late in state meet.
The supporting cast has plenty of experience and talent. Without a doubt, there will be some surprises up front. Grafton’s Chaz Davis had a big state meet race last year, as did Scott Carpenter of Lenox. South Shore harriers Michael McConville of Hingham and Jason Angel of Duxbury both had big seasons, while Mark Hegarty of Cathedral was very much in the mix. Three more runners, David Allen of Sandwich, Mike Wood of Bishop Feehan and Nick Kronauer of the Bromfield School all have a top-10 finish on their minds.
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To call the Div.1 State title race from a year ago “competitive” is a gross understatement.