After a strange, foggy excursion to the wilds of Wrentham last Saturday, it's back to Franklin Park November 12th for the EMass Championships (also known as the "Class Meets, because the schools run in four different divisions, or classes, based on the number of students enrolled in that school). The EMass meet is for the top seven varsity runners only, and is the qualifying meet for the State Championship to be held Nov. 19th.
On the boys side, David Polgar and Doug Brecher are hoping for top ten finishes in what is always one of the most competitive races of the year. Polgar finished 3rd last year in the snow, and would dearly love to improve on that. He'll have a race on his hands trying to handle Brockton's Kevin Gill and Jose DePina, Xaverian's Mark Amirault, and Haverhill's Pat Fullerton. Brecher might not be quite ready to run with that crowd, but he's not far behind. Other North varsity runners include senior Noah Jampol, who wants to go sub-17:00 in what seems likely to be his final HS cross-country race, Seb Putzeys, Charlie Krasnow, and Peter Sun. It is not known whether Ben Chebot will be able to run, but if not, the seventh spot will likely be taken by Tim Abbott.
As for qualifying, the top five teams in Division I move on to the State Meet. Realistically, NNHS has only a remote chance to make it. In a typical year, teams need to have all of their top five runners under 17:30 to have a chance to be in the top five teams. The teams in Div. I with the best chance to move on include Brockton, Cambridge, Methuen, Brookline, Chelmsford, and Haverhill. North has an outside shot, as does Newton South.
Strangely, it will be the first race of the year at Franklin Park for the North boys.
Not so the Newton North girls, who competed in the Bay State Invitational last month. Unlike the boys, the girls are definitely making a run at a State qualifying berth. The team is led by defending Div I State champion Jess Barton (2nd in the EMass meet last year) and by Junior returnee Haleigh Smith, who has been running well all year. But the future hopes of the Tigers will rest on their talented group of freshmen, including Carolyn Ranti, Adina Hemley-Bronstein, and Nora Barnicle. While I don't know for certain the seven runners who will be competing, other likely members of the team are Jackie Faneuil and Szeman Lam.
Teams that have a good shot at qualifying for States include Newton South, Newton North, Haverhill, Weymouth, Chelmsford, and Lincoln-Sudbury.
One thing that is a big variable is the condition of the Franklin Park course. As of last Sunday, footing was firm, but uneven. Previous races in the rain have left the surface chewed up and uneven. I would venture the opinion that course seems to favor strength runners over speed runners right now. That should be good news for Polgar and Barton.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
-Peter
For Noah Jampol, did you mean sub 17:00 or sub 16:00 for the 5k?
Hey Jon, in the second paragraph you wrote that Jampol's goal would be to break 16. That's great and everything but I'm just wondering if maybe you meant break 17 and not 16, but if not, hey, that's alright too. I would love it if he broke 16!! Another thing is that SzeMan Lam is not going to run at the Class A Meet due to a possible stress-fracture in her foot.
that 2nd anonymous comment seems like it would be no one other than szeman herself. speaking of szeman and noah, i think it'd be interesting to read a blog about "inter-race" relationships. By race i mean track, not like ethnic background. haha im so funny. anyway yea it's interesting to hear from non-runners that the track team appears to have the most relationships.there are many many many to consider.
Post a Comment