Championship Weekend

This weekend is certainly one of the most significant of the indoor track season, and it gets under way this afternoon.

Mass All-State Meet

The Mass All-State meet gets underway this afternoon, with field events starting at 4:30 and running events at 5:00. ALL the races are special at this meet, but here are a few that I'll be watching especially closely:

Girls 1M - Three girls who can run sub-5:00: Jess Barton, Emily Jones, and Bridget Dahlberg. Dahlberg gets a chance to redeem herself after last week's third place in the Div I meet. Jones is a huge talent who has a 10:38 2M to her credit. Barton is tough as nails. Will the pace be as fast as last week? Meanwhile, Carolyn Ranti ran 5:10 last week and goes into the race seeded 3rd. Could she place that high against the best in the State?

Girls 2M - There are 7-8 girls capable of running sub 11:20. This should be one of the most exciting girls 2Ms in recent memory. Winchester's Johanna Eidmann has the fastest seed at 11:02, but watch out for Colleen Wetherbee, who is more than capable of running sub 11:00. Also, don't be surprised if the two Natick girls (Rebecca White, Anya Price) place in the top six.

Boys 1M - My prediction: a junior will win the race. I think it might be time for Robert Gibson to win the a championship race, a goal that has eluded him so far. The winning time will be sub 4:20. As long as the pace is fast and honest, Gibson has an excellent chance. Otherwise, look out for Chelmsford junior Chris Brown, or Central Catholic's Angus Macdonald. Seb Putzys will be running in the unseeded heat, and will be hoping to break 4:30 for the first time.

Boys 1000m - The most stacked running event of the meet. Mark Amirault seekes to add an All-State 1000 title to his 1M (indoor) and 2M (outdoor) titles from last year. There are four runners in the race seeded at under 2:30, and 11 under 2:35. That's sick! If Amirault falters for any reason, I'd pick Jeff Moriarty, seeded 4th, but with the raw speed to win a finishing sprint.

Boys HJ - Last week's Div I battle between Meikle Paschal and Jordan Maddocks didn't really take off, but this week could be different. Paschal has to worry about running the 300m, which puts him at a distinct disadvantage. I expect either Maddocks, Burlington's Greg Nelson, or Old Rochester's Peter Asci to jump 6'8 or better today, which should make for a great competition, and a lot of oohs and ahhs from the crowd.

Boys SP - Newton North's David Smith seeks an indoor state title to go with his 2006 outdoor title. Smith feels he can throw 57', but BC High's Jake Bradley would love to take the crown from Smith.

Girls 4x800 - Newton North hopes to run the table and prove itself as the dominant 4x800 team in the state. Standing in their way will be Bromfield and Newton South.

Boys 4x400 - Lexington is the best in the state, but Newton North has a team, and hopes to catch lightning in a bottle and get on the medal stand.

US Indoor Championships

On Saturday and Sunday, the Reggie Lewis track hosts the US Indoor Championships. The two-day meet is a showcase for the best American athletes. ESPN will have two hours of coverage on Sunday. For schedule information, see the following link.

USATF Indoor National Championships - Schedule

College Conference Championships

This weekend also has numerous collegiate conference and regional championships. Newton North alum Chris Barnicle will be running in the SEC championships. Noah Jampol runs in the Centennial Conference championships. The New England's are being held at Boston University, so perhaps David Polgar will see action in a relay or two. Dan Chebot should be competing at the NY State championships.

All-in-all, a weekend full of competition. Oh, and Saturday is also the Kenya Cross-Country Championships, in case you're in Nairobi and want to see who qualifies to run on the Kenyan national team for the word championships next month.

Anyway, good luck to all!