MIAA Eastern State Championships 2013

I am not the truly gifted.  In fact, I might be the complete opposite.  My gangly frame and choppy stride are stark contrasts to idealistic vision the sport places on a pedestal.  I was not created in a lab; rather, I was forged on the road by the scorching summer sun and the hammer of the endless asphalt.  The genetic lottery ticket I hold is the product of two equally unathletic parents, and any perceived talent I may display is the most certainly the product of hard work.  But don’t feel sorry for me, because I know that my team’s success often rests in my hands.

A few years ago I compiled this list of all the Champions going back to our first State Meet in 1938. It was an incredible project, and hopefully this brings back some memories for some coaches and athletes. If any mistakes were made please forward them along, we are also missing some  assorted results here and there, mostly prior to 1970. Please help Milesplitmass fill in the remainder of the missing data. The MIAA will crown new Champions this weekend, and we are looking forward to adding them to our "List of Champions" !

The departure of Seekonk to Division 5 has certainly opened the doors for several teams. The race should be a battle between Coyle Cassidy and Manchester Essex.  Both teams are coming off strong Conference performances, and these teams are so evenly matched that it will most likely come down to the wire on Saturday. Look for Dover Sherborn, West Bridgewater, Innovaton Charter, and Ipswich to all battle for a trip to Gardner.

After removing the Cape Ann League from the 5k database (it's slightly over 3 Miles but a solid course), the virtual meet slides newcomer Seekonk as the Top contender, followed by Norton High School. Cape Ann rivals Newburyport and Hamilton Wenham will make this a very close team battle. Both teams know each other very well, and look for this rivalry to be strong enough to make a difference. Look for a tough four way battle, with the defending Champions (Newburport) squeaking out a close one. Don't be surprised if Martha's Vineyard knocks off one of the four as they have two front runners for low scoring points in the top 10. The Individual title should be one of the best races of the day, as Nick Carelo will clash with Matt Mahoney of Swampscott, and Mike Wyman of Old Rochester. At the early seas

The EMass Division 4 team race will feature a sea of Pembroke uniforms dominating the Top 10 spots in the race. The Titans will score somewhere between 28 & 35 points, and basically the real race will be for the remaining All State spots. Medfield, Tewksbury, and Marblehead will fight for the three remaing tickets to the "Chair City" .  When scored as a tri meet heres what the magic of Milesplit came up with:

The Virtual Meet system is not perfect, these teams run on a wide variety of courses with different levels of toughness. The Twilight times are no doubt very fast and for those teams that did not attend they might be behind on the virtual rankings. The Virtual Meet system is a guideline for us to follow and have fun with it. When we write these small previews we do our best to take all things into consideration. In the past coaches tend to use these small previews for bulletin board material, and some actually take things personal. These are meant to be fun and to just kill time as we wait for the best day of the year to arrive.

There is only one other Division that can say they are stronger and deeper and that is Division 1. This should be a very competitive and fun race to watch come Saturday morning at Wrentham. Unlike Division 3 there is not a clear individual favorite going into the meet which could lead to a large pack in the early part of the race. The top pack should include Joshua Kerber (LS), Dan Romano (Mansfield), Adrian Amaya (Needham), Thomas D'Anieri (Wellesley), Quinn Cooney (Chelmsford), PJ Garmon (Billerica), Mike Mullaney (NQ), Martin Conrad (NA), Harry Kent (Masco), Matt Meehan (Marshfield), Mike Duggan (Mansfield), Ben MacDonald (LS), and Mike Tautiva (Marshfield). In the end, I think it comes down to D'Anieri, Romano, Kerber, and Cooney with Romano edging out the field.

This should turn out to be the race of the day with so many strong individuals and teams. One thing is a guarantee, with Gabe Montague (NN) in the race it will be a fast race from the gun. Other runners that will be in the hunt for the individual crown include Johnny Abraham (Lowell), Drew Fossa (Peabody), Mike Schlichting (NN), and Sam Stubbs (CR&L). Right now it's tough to imagine anyone beating Montague after the last couple of weeks, but if anyone can accomplish this it's the battle tested Abraham. I'm still going to give the nod to Montague in what I believe will be the fastest race of the day. Other individuals in the top pack include Elliot Kelly (Attleboro), Allen Shiu (NS), Michael Scarlett (CR&L), Randy Nong (Lowell), and many more.

It's been 16 weeks since many of the Massachusetts State harriers first laced up their running shoes in preparation for this weekends State Championships. Everyone is prepared and ready to go. This is the most exciting meet of the year for many runners. For some, it's the final destination, but for others, it is nothing but a speed bump in the road to the State finals in Gardner.

It was a chilly day at the Wrentham Developmental Center, but that didn't slow down the best cross country runners in Eastern Mass. We had some fantastic team battles, record times, some new champions, and even a few repeat winners.  The best day of the year has come to an end and we will have several articles,  photo's,  video's, and interviews rolling out by tomorrow. Here's some quick highlights from todays action.

The checklist is almost complete for Abbie McNulty. One more victory to finish off an unbeaten and dominating cross-country season against her Massachusetts’ rivals. That appears inevitable for the slender runner at next week’s MIAA All State Finals. McNulty’s latest conquest occurred Saturday morning on 3.1 miles of real estate at the Wrentham Developmental Center where the Bishop Feehan senior ruled the competition once again with a winning time of 17 minutes, 39 seconds at the Eastern Mass. Division 3 Championship. She was 200-meters ahead of Dracut senior Karina Shepherd, who took runner-up honors in 18:16.4.

  "I felt comfortable the first two miles," said Hogan. "I didn't expect that time. I just wanted to win. It got so cold at the end. The record is just the cherry on top."

Manchester Essex's Olivia Lantz continued her stellar rookie season to easily capture the Div. 6 race in 18:13.1. Ursuline's Lindsay Baryluck of Ursuline was second in 18:41.9 and Dover-Sherborn's Michelle Alessandro took the bronze in 18:42.4. The team results reflected the top 3 in the individual competition with Manchester Essex winning with 50 points, Ursuline clinching second with 87 and Dover-Sherborn putting up 98 points for third.

Since the 1st girls EMASS cross country races in 1971, no school had ever won both the boys & girls Division I team titles in the same year. Now, in the last 365 days Lowell High School has done it twice. It seems only fitting, that Lowell, the oldest co-ed public high school in the country would be the school to pull off such a difficult feat.  Behind a dominant, 26 second individual victory from sophomore superstar Kaley Richards (18:17) and some gutsy 3rd mile running from her teammates, the Red Raider girls (80 points) were able to take down powerhouse Weymouth (93) and defending state champion Peabody (102) en route to the schools 2nd ever MIAA EMASS D1 Cross Country Championship. 

There were no surprises in the lead pack of the Div. 1 race with the Newton North duo of Gabe Montague and Mike Schlicting up front with Lowell's Johnny Abraham. The race became a three-runner affair shortly after the halfway point and it was Schlicting who struck first with a half mile to go. The Tiger surged into the lead and held off the hard-finishing Abraham for the 15:29.9 win. Abraham was three seconds back in 15:32.4 and Montague finished strong in 15:40.8.  

The Top 50 times from Saturdays races at Wrentham Developmental Center.

We will combine each of the three State Meets by division, look for the Western and Central Division later tonight or by the morning.

Steve Infascelli and Owen Wiggins worked hard last weekend to capture all the great races and interviews. Another great video production job by Coach Infascelli.