The graduation of two of the state’s all-time track greats should figure greatly into the 1000 and mile events this winter.
Gone are Newton South’s Amelia Everett in the 1000 and Brookline’s Camille Jordan in the mile, but still on the scene is a huge middle-distance presence.
The 1000 is still top-heavy with talent with Plymouth North’s Macey Shriner, Weymouth’s Gracie Richard and Carmen Luisi of Holliston. Add Delaney Dyer of Wellesley, Marshfield’s Ava LoVuolo and Audrey Adam of Needham to the mix and the 1000 should be a can’t miss event for fans.
Ditto in the mile.
Oliver Ames’ Katie Sobieraj had a big cross country season and that base should carry over to the winter season. Ciara Evans of Newton North, Charlotte Tuxbury of Wellesley and Holliston’s Maggie Kuchman are enormously competitive, as are Eliza Dickie of Cambridge, Woburn’s Sinead Butler, Paige McInerney of Acton Boxboro, Lilly DeDecko of Barnstable and North Quincy’s Aluna Coogan-Coyne.
Two-time Div. 1 All-State champion and Foot Locker finalist Aoife Shovlin of Cambridge should be the favorite in the 2-mile with a talented bunch looking to take its shot at the talented Falcon. Bishop Feehan’s Lauren Augustyn, Elizabeth Latham of Acton-Boxboro, Lucia Werner of Brookline, Elyse Srodawa of Hopkinton, Marshfield’s Eleanor Angeles-Whitfield and Ella Dunbury of West Bridgewater are all capable of medaling in the deuce.
The top three finishers in long jump graduated, but the competition promises to be tough all season. Quinn Petzold of Lowell fronts a group that includes Char Collins of Burlington, North Reading’s Madison Vant, Middleboro’s Isabel Wheeler, Billerica’s Lily Bower, Reading’s Katie Caraco, Veralie Perrier of Central Catholic, Gabrielle Pierre of Lincoln-Sudbury and Newton North’s Dolapo Soyoye.
The 55 dash returns the top three finishers and four of the top eight. A blink of the eye separated defending champion Sarah Claflin of Pembroke from Concord-Carlisle’s Julienne Warner and Abby Desmarais of Framingham. Norton’s terrific sprinter, Jillian Strynar, will almost surely move up from last year’s sixth-place finish.
Strynar will also be focused on moving up in the 300 in what looks to be a wide-open event. Wachusett’s Rahma Giwa is the top returnee, heading a field that will include Veralie Perrier and Anya Neira of Central Catholic, Avery Glidden of Whitinsville and Acton-Boxboro’s Mia Sullivan. The 600 should be deep with the likes of Kayla Buback of Woburn, North Reading’s Giuliana Ligor, Weston’s Sloan Hinton, Framingham’s Sasha Lamkina, Emma Wierenga of Whitinsville and North Quincy’s Salma Boukhtam.
Three more defending champions are back and looking to be back at the top of the podium at the Meet of Champions.
The great Sarah Dumas of Franklin is a good bet to defend her title in the 55 hurdles, but she’ll still have to contend with Isabel Wheeler of Middleboro, West Bridgewater’s Aly Bassett and Billerica’s Nyrah Joseph. Another defending champion, Haley McCormack of Tantasqua, also has some talented contenders to deal with in Charlotte DiRocco of Concord-Carlisle, Reading’s Katie Caraco and Mollie Osgood of Wilmington.
Bishop Feehan’s Brooke Serak took the gold medal in the shot put and has tossed more than three feet further than Ludlow’s Elena Chaplin. Franklin’s Lily Deforge was sixth last year and Chicopee’s Maria Fareti of Lowell was eighth.