Christopher Allen

Southlake's Reed Brown (TX) coasted to a 15:01.80 en route to victory at Foot Locker Nationals in 2016, posting the 36th fastest time run at Balboa Park.

WHITMAN — It’s a common cliche in many sports: Speed kills. But at yesterday’s Division 2 championship, both the Central Catholic boys and girls teams used their depth to come away with the hard-earned hardware. While Mansfield’s Josh Lampron had the best individual day, setting meet records in both the mile and 800 meters, it was the Red Raiders who got the important points in nearly every event to bring home the team titles.The win was the boys’ first since back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010, while the girls gained their first since 2008, ending Mansfield’s three-year reign atop the division.“Our field events carried us,” said Central boys co-coach Sully Grella. “It’s a numbers game. Our assistant coaches do a great job coaching all the events, and every year we’re scoring in all the events.” (via Boston Herald)

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.

A stacked field has been assembled for both mile races, and the addition of the boys 4x800m and girls 4x400m has given high school track fans even more to cheer for.  The Reggie Lewis Center track is considered a relatively fast surface, and if athletes get after it early, we may see some jaw dropping times.

New  York NY - The mile is a classic distance.  About 8 meters longer than the now standard 1600m, the mile recently has seen a movement encouraging its' return.  There is even a website dedicated to this very thing, petitioning high school sports to return to the classic distance.  And if there ever was any indication that the mile was still alive, the fields for the mile at the upcoming US Open, New Balance Grand Prix, and Millrose would be it.  See if your favorite made the cut.

Meet directors of the New Balance Grand Prix announced the high school fields on Wednesday afternoon, with the boys and girls mile races highlighting the prep action.  In years past, the race has focused on athletes from New England and the New York Metro area, but this year’s field has expanded to include athletes from as far away as North Carolina. 

 For the first time in over a decade, the King Philip High boys' track team has tasted victory over Hockomock League rival Mansfield. (via www.thesunchronicle.com)

THE HERALD TEAM Nathaniel Adams Jr. Lexington Chris Allen Sr. King Philip David Allen Sr. Sandwich Drew Beck Sr. Oliver Ames Nicholas Christensen Sr. Peabody Wesley Gallagher Sr. Pembroke Ben Groleau Sr. Framingham Peter Hale Jr. Swampscott Matthew Herzig Jr. Weston Joel... (via Boston Herald)

It has been an exciting week for Chris Allen.  On Sunday, the King Philip senior returned from the Foot Locker National Championships in San Diego where he finished 24th, then on Thursday he received his acceptance letter from Harvard.  Allen made his decision to run for the Crimson earlier than most, and MileSplitMass had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about it.

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

Very few states can brag about having three athletes compete at the Foot Locker National Championships in one year.  In fact, only Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, and Texas can make claim to the accomplishment in 2011.  When compared based on population, the feat is even more pronounced, and the quality of Massachusetts distance running was truly on display Saturday in San Diego. Jonathan Green (St. John’s High School Shrewsbury), Chris Allen (King Philip High School), and Joel Hubbard (Marshfield High School) represented their state with pride as the three made their first trip across the country to compete in the prestigious individual competition.  

The boys race at Foot Locker Nationals has the potential to be a very special event.  The course record of 14:36 at Balboa Park has been held by Reuben Reina since 1985.  This record is in serious jeopardy as both Edward Cheserek (NJ) and Futsum Zenasellassie (IN) have been consistently under 15 minutes this year.  Photos by Victah Sailor/Photorun.net.  Center Photo by Don Rich.

Peabody’s Nick Christansen crossed the finish line after turning aside the Div. 1 EMass field and hardly broke stride as he raced through the chute and out the back. The Tanner standout had good reason to be excited. His time of 15 minutes, 46 seconds was a personal best on the 3.1-mile Franklin Park course and Christansen accomplished what he had set as a goal during the summer months.

King Philip High senior Chris Allen set the pace and the Mansfield High boys' cross country team was in hot pursuit, despite the rain and challenging conditions in running the Hockomock League Championship Meet Saturday at Borderlands Park. (via www.thesunchronicle.com)

Cheserek sets another meet record and Pembroke wins their third in a row.

41 of the 80 state ranked teams are scheduled to compete at the Bay State Invitational.  

Check for the latest scores and highlights each week as we gather information from around the state.

Check for the latest scores and highlights each week as we gather information from around the state.

Chris Allen has only run two cross country races in his lifetime. So how does somebody with such little experience get recognized as one of the best cross country runners in the state?

We continue the series with Massachusetts' top runners including defending state champion Wes Gallagher (Pembroke, photo above left), Foot Locker Nationals finalist Catarina Rocha (Peabody, photo above right), Josh Lampron (Mansfield), Chris Allen (King Philip), Marika Crowe (Lincoln-Sudbury) and Annika Gompers (Gann Academy).

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. (Photo by Ron Crocker)