Bay State Invite Tomorrow

(Edit: 9/30 -- Oops, Newton North boys did not compete at the Boston Invite. Sorry for the false alarm. Did anyone watch the meet?)

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This Saturday, the Newton North Boys are scheduled to run at the Boston Invite at Franklin Park. This will be the first big meet experience for several of North's varsity runners, and will give the team a chance to see how it stacks up against the very best in Massachusetts. The Newton North girls will NOT be competing.

The meet is set up as two meets, with Div I teams (including North) running in the morning, and smaller schools running in the afternoon. The schedule of events for the morning session is:

9:00 JV Boys Div. I 5k
9:20 JV Girls Div I 5k
9:45 Frosh Boys Div I
10:00 Frosh Girls Div I
10:15 Varsity Boys Div I 5k
10:40 Varsity Girls Div I 5k

Bay State Invite Meet Schedule and Information (pdf)

There is a lot of buzz about the Boys Div I varsity race, as defending state XC champion Mark Amirault (Xaverian) races defending state runner-up Kevin Gill (Brockton). Amirault won the Manchester Invitational elite race last Saturday and would love to post a fast time at Franklin Park. Gill and the Brockton boys have been very quiet so far this fall. What kind of shape are they in? Another runner who could make it a three-person race is Mansfield senior Ryan Collins, who ran second to Amirault at Manchester in a tremendous time of 15:55. Those three figure to be the top individual runners.

The team race is absolutely stacked with the best in the State. According to the latest MSTCA rankings, the top teams in Division I (Boys) are:

1. Brockton
2. Ludlow
3. Brookline
4. St. John's (Shrewsbury)
5. Xaverian
6. Mansfield
7. Amherst
8. Chelmsford
9. Gloucester
10. Cambridge 

Seven of these ten teams will be competing on Saturday, with only Ludlow, Amherst, and Gloucester sitting it out. One team of special interest is North's Bay State rival and state #3-ranked Brookline. Robert Gibson is one of the elite runners in the state and could crack 16 minutes at Franklin park. Fellow juniors Mike Burnstein and Eliot Lehane are both capable of running 16:30 for 5K. After that, it's not clear who will step up to fill the #4 and #5 roles, although senior Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot is probably the team's #4 right now.

Here are the MSTCA rankings for girls Div I teams:

1. Lincoln-Sudbury
2. Dennis Yearmouth
3. Amherst
4. Newton South
5. Newton North
6. Haverhill
7. Marshfield
8. Franklin
9. Westford
10. Wachusett 

Dennis-Yarmouth and Amherst are skipping the meet, as is Central Mass power Wachusett, but all the rest will be there. Lincoln-Sudbury has been dominating in early meets, easily crushing Newton South in a duel meet, and finishing a strong fourth in the Manchester Invitational to nationally-ranked Burnt Hills. Will the L-S train continue to roll? Another team to watch for North is Bay State rival Weymouth, who are hoping to qualify for the State meet for the first time ever this year.

While I haven't mentioned the Div II races in the afternoon, one of the highlights of that part of the meet will be watching the Bromfield girls team, the consensus pick to win the Div II State Championship.