Jordan O'Dea

Mike Miller does a fantastic job recapping al of Saturdays Divisional Championships.

In what is the first true invitational weekend on the calendar, we in Massachusetts now have a much more defined look at the top teams in the state. On the boys side, top-10's Lowell, Pembroke, Brookline, Shrewsbury, and Westfield were all in action in three different states. On the girls side of things, the top four was idle, but Weston, Newton South, Lincoln-Sudbury, Amherst, Wachusett, Needham, Longmeadow, Concord-Carlisle, Haverhill, Notre Dame, Brookline, and Dennis-Yarmouth all took to the races, all except Weston and L-S at Amherst. The highlights were plenty...

Jordan O’Dea dashed across the finish line and then limped through the finish chute at yesterday’s Amherst Cross Country Invitational, gasping for air and looking to get out of the hot sun. The Dennis-Yarmouth senior quickly made her way to the makeshift first aid tent just beyond the finish line and began drinking cups of water and cooling herself off with cold facecloths. As tired as O’Dea was though, her smile was unmistakable. O’Dea has every reason to smile after her first invitational performance of the fall. The defending Div. 2 state cross country champion got bumped around at the starting line, but by the time she reached the mile mark in a quick 5:19 O’Dea had a 20-yard lead and was starting to pull away. She ran unchallenged the rest of the way and crossed the finish line of the rural, 5K Hampshire College course in a quick 18 minutes, 6 seconds. O’Dea’s time put her well ahead of Stella Worters of Shepherd Hill (18:37) and Mel Devoney of Amherst Regional (18:42).

Alli Cash rolls Rim Rock. US#1 Christian Brothers Academy started their quest for another national title in Wappingers Falls NY with a perfect 15 score. (Photo by Michael Frazier)

On paper, and heck, in reality, the two best teams in the entire state reside right here in this division. Pembroke and Bishop Feehan each return squads that boast a sub-16:30 five-man average…. No other team in Mass. brings back a team under 17:00. However, one of these two teams, just as in 2011, can’t win its own division. Perhaps, as in 2011, they will split the trophies. Then, Pembroke narrowly escaped EMass with a 49-54 decision, only to watch in horror as the Shamrocks swept the leg at All States, 59-61. Coach Greg Zopatti of Pembroke and Coach Bob L’Homme of Feehan have had this back-and-forth going for a few years now, and this one will be no different. You have to feel for Steve Infascelli and his Sandwich squad, a team good enough to win many meets, and historically many class meets, who looks a distant 3rd on paper against these two Regional-powerhouses. There are other really good teams in this division, Hingham comes to mind, that just don’t seem close to those top two.

The buzz about how good Precious Holmes really was began early this winter and continued through the indoor season. The Hillhouse, CT phenom didn’t disappoint the Reggie Lewis Center crowd at Friday night’s 25th New England Interscholastic Indoor Track & Field Championships.

A bit of gamesmanship is underway by the coaches of prominent teams in New England. The meet rules for the New England Championships state that an athlete can only be entered in four events including relays, and several coaches have their top tier athletes slated for the maximum allowable amount. The fact that an athlete can even qualify in four events is a testament to their tremendous talent, but the likelyhood that it will actually happen is slim.

Every event in a state championship provides excitement and drama, but this year the relays may decide the team title. But don't expect to see the same line-ups from last week. Some additional fresh legs --courtesy of athletes that did not qualify in an individual event-- may help the common man become the hero. We watched it happen on Sunday at the Division 1 Championships, and those same teams remain in the hunt this week.

What happens when you combine a cross country team with a future decathlete during an indoor championship?  You get a division title. Pembroke took the versatility of Kris HornKri  and combined it with the foot speed of their middle distance stable to rack-up big points.  Horn finished third in the 55m hurdles, second in the long jump, and ran 50.4 anchor leg to help win the 4x400m.  The Hingham girls walked away with the team title and most of their damage was done on the track. The difference maker for Hingham was the relays, where they won the 4x200m, finished second in the 4x400m, and fifth in the 4x800m. 

Jordan O’Dea ran a personal best time of 5:13.1 in the mile run to take eighth place in a field of 24 at the Massachusetts State Coaches Association Elite track meet at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. “Other than the girl who won, the top 10 runners were so close they could flip-flop at any time,” said Dennis-Yarmouth High School girls’ coach Jim Hoar. (via http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod)

Nathan Pierre-Louis of Waltham scorched a US#2 time of 1:21.88 to win the 600m at the Dual County League Indoor Meet #2.  He was helped, and pushed, by Brian Sommers of Acton-Boxborough who finished second with a US#16 time of 1:24.49.

THE HERALD TEAM Olivia Brackett Sr. Weston Christine Davis Jr. Acton-Boxboro Priyanka Fouda Sr. Wellesley Alexandria Giese Sr. Franklin Sarah Keiran Jr. Ipswich Julie McConville Jr. Hingham Abigail McNulty So. Bishop Feehan Lee Milne Jr. Dover-Sherborn Maggie Mullins Sr. Andover Grace... (via Boston Herald)

The 600m has always been a strong event in Massachusetts, and this year is shaping-up to be no exception.  Dan Duquette of North Attleboro leads 8 Massachusetts athletes on the list with his US#11 1:23.95 from the Hockomock League Meet #2.  Camille Blackman (Longmeadow) leads the state and is US#14 after winning the mile in 5:13.94 at the PVIAC Dual Meet #2.  She joins Bryanna Allison, Jordan O’Dea, Katie Powell, Alex Giese, Alli Wood, and Brynna Harum in the national top 50.

The indoor track season is upon us and it’s time to take a look at the top returners from each event.

High school coach Jack Dempsey combines his knowledge of sports with over twenty years of video production experience to create high quality highlight videos for athletes.  His crew from JD Sports Video was on site for the 2011 Massachusetts State Championships and created highlight films from all four races.

Katie Powell and Abbey McNulty finished second and third, respectively, leading Bishop Feehan to its third Division 2 state title in a row. The Shamrocks finished with 65 points to Hamilton-Wenham’s79.  Abby Baker led the Whitman-Hanson girls to the Division 1 team title with her 19:27 for 15th overall.  The Panther's top five couldn't have run much better as they finished within 20 seconds of each other.  Jordan O'Dea and Catarina Rocha ran from the field in their respective divisions to post impressive individual wins.    

The pressure was on the Weymouth girls in Saturday’s Div. 1 EMass Championship race, but Mike Millers’ Wildcats were primed and ready to turn away their competition over the 3.1-mile Franklin Park course.

As expected, the unexpected happened on the course.  Most teams rested the majority of their top runners in preparation for next week’s division championships, but a few marquee names laced it up and raced hard.  Team scores were not recorded; so many teams used the opportunity to challenge their young athletes in a varsity race with the hope of finding a 6th or 7th runner that could withstand the rigors of the post season.  Several delivered, even with the large gaps that were created early on by some of the state’s elite.

There was no cotton candy. All the games and rides had long been stowed away. But the lights shone brightly and a carnival atmosphere hung in the chilly fall air Saturday night as more than 1,400 high school runners from across the state competed in the inaugural Bob McIntyre Twilight Cross Country Meet at the Barnstable Fairgrounds. (via www.capecodonline.com)

Bishop Feehan and Brookline were locked in a heavyweight fight at the MSTCA Twilight, while St. John's rolled to a relatively easy victory at Wachusett.

There is something about racing at night that causes athletes to lose their feel for pace and forces them to run an abnormally fast first mile.  This scenario will force athletes out of their comfort zone early in the race, and will once again separate those pack running squads that thrive on their ability to work together.  The team that maintain their composure in the first mile, and practice patience until the half-way point, will most likely prevail.