Bay State Meet Preview: Dec 21

Thursday is the second Bay State league meet, featuring these match-ups:

Newton North vs Weymouth
Braintree vs Brookline
Framingham vs Needham
Dedham vs Milton
Walpole vs Norwood
Wellesley vs Natick

Before looking in depth at Newton vs Weymouth (tomorrow), let's review the other meets. First the boys:

Brookline boys should handle Braintree by taking lots of points in events from the 300 up. Braintree junior Kyle Higgins is a fine miler, but Brookline has too much depth in the distance events, and will outscore the Wamps by plenty in the 1K, 1M, and 2M. Braintree dominates the hurdles, and holds its own in the dash and field events, but Brookline wins the relay and the meet by about 20 points.

Framingham won its first meet against Braintree last week and is favored to beat Needham easily. The two teams are fairly evenly matched in the running events from the 600 on up (here's hoping for a duel between Sam Miller and Alex Chmielinski in the 1M), but Framingham obliterates Needham in the short running and field events. Framingham should score over 60.

Dedham vs Milton should be a great meet, featuring two fine athletes in Milton's Eric Wornum (fastest runner in the league) Dedham's Phil Weltman. Both will likely compete in three events -- the 300, the 55, and the High Jump. Milton has a strong advantage in the distance events, but Dedham makes up some of that in the field events and relay. If Dedham can reverse some points in the 600 and 55 hurdles, the meet will be within 10 points.

Walpole has a slight edge over Norwood, but it could be very close. Walpole is much deeper in the events on the oval, but Norwood is much stronger in the hurdles and dash. Also, Walpole needs to find a high jumper. I don't think they can afford to let Norwood sweep there. Thoe shot put and relay bail them out, however, but just barely.

Wellesley vs Natick is a toss-up, in which every event matters. Wellesley relies on its strength in the distance events, with Tom Mayell, Nick Carroll, and freshman phenom Frode Van der Meeren (4:55 mile last week!). Natick will sweep the hurdles, and take big points in the shot put. The critical events for both teams will be the high jump, the 55 dash, and the relay, where the outcome could determine the meet winner.

---

Braintree vs. Brookline girls is a study in contrasts. Brookline might well outscore Braintree 32-4 in the events from 600 on up, but might be outscored 21-5 in the 300, dash, and hurdles. Braintree's sophomore Adrienne Lutz is a rising star with a 9.81 hurdle time and a 4-11 high jump. Brookline should prevail in the shot put, survive the high jump, and win the relay to win by about 20.

Needham has some outstanding performers, especially in the running events, and might win the majority of events, but lacks depth. Framingham will take a lot of seconds and thirds, and then sweep the shot put and perhaps the 300. If Needham can fill out its roster, it has a chance, otherwise Framingham wins a close one.

Milton should prove too strong for Dedham, scoring a lot of points in the distances, hurdles, and field events. Milton's Jackie Imhoff has the league's best 55H time (9.38) and high jump (5-1). Dedham counters with Madison Ferrell who has run 44.39 for the 300 and 7.81 for the 55 dash. Still, Milton prevails.

The most lopsided meet of the week is Walpole vs. Norwood. Walpole has good performers in all events and outstanding performers in the 55 dash (Emily Hayes, 7.81), 300 (Mary McEvoy 45.12), and 2-Mile (Olivia Perry, 12:49). Walpole will win everything in sight and cruise to victory.

Natick ran its two best distance runners in the 1000 (Becca White) and 600 (Anya Price) last week. Good for them for working on their speed. This week, I'd expect both runners to move up to their specialties where they will give Wellesley all kinds of problems. I think this meet could be very, very close. Both teams have good depth and no event will yield easy points. I expect it to come down to the relay, where I give Wellesley the edge.

Good luck to all the teams!