League Meet Preview

It looks like a cold, rainy weekend for the Bay State League meet, scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 19th at Natick High School.

It's unfortunate that the weather threatens to dampen the competition, since otherwise this could be one of the best league meets I've ever seen. There are, potentially, some fine match-ups with some of the state's best athletes. I ami n favor of having the meet on a Saturday, rather than on a weekday afternoon -- it makes it feel like an elite meet, which it is.

Unlike indoor where everyone sees everyone else for two solid months, the league meet can be a revelation. For example, this will be the first time this spring that Newton North athletes see Dedham, Milton, Norwood, Walpole, and Wellesley.

As always, no one knows exactly who is running what, but let's take a look at events that have the potential to produce great battles.

Girls Distance Events

I'm hoping that we'll see a race in the 800m between Carolyn Ranti and Braintree's Amy Caldwell. Ranti has had an absolutely breakout season, and clocked 2:15.9 at the Weston Invitational two weeks ago. Caldwell, a soccer superstar has recorded superlative times at every distance from 200m on up, including a 2:17 800m. There are other talented runners in the league (including Weymouth's Carolyn Connolly, who has a 2:22 to her credit, but I think those top two are at another level right now.

If Jess Barton runs the mile, she's clearly the favorite, although it wouldn't be too surprising to see Caldwell take another shot at Barton, as the two were separated by only tenths of a second in North's meet against Braintree. Natick's Rebecca White ran 5:13 recently, and would certainly make a race out of it.

More likely White runs the 2M, and I think she is ready to run a great time -- under 11:10. Her teammate Anya Price has run under 11:20 indoors, but hasn't yet shown the same form outdoors. Could this be the day? Walpole's Olivia Perry and Weymouth's Kristen Mahoney are also solid 2-Milers and could be in the mix.

Boys Distance Events

A month and a half ago, I would have said this would be a romp for the talented distance crew from Brookline, but we've seen the emergence of several strong challengers in recent weeks. I think state indoor 1M champ Robert Gibson is close to unbeatable in the 1M or 2M, whichever he chooses to run (most likely the 1M... or even the 800), but Wellesley's Tom Mayell has run 4:24, NN's Seb Putzys has run 4:27, and Braintree's Kyle Higgins has run 4:31. Solid talent in the league this year!

In the 800, there's Matt Stewart (if he runs the 800, not the 400) and Braintree's Kieran (?) Stack, who ran 1:59 at the State Coaches meet last week.

There are plenty of solid runners in the 2-Mile, which might be the deepest in years. Assuming Gibson is in the 1M, Brookline still has David Wilson, Mike Burnstein, and Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot, then there's Higgins (if not in the 1M), Weymouth's Craig Myers and Wellesley's Will Volkman -- all having run or capable of running under 10:00.

Boys Sprints

There is a wealth of talent in the boys 100, 110H, 200, and 400 this year. Milton's eric Wornum is an all-state threat in the 200, but could drop down to the 100 where he would face North's Cailean Robinson and Brookline's Michael Bennett. Dedham's Phil Weltman is a strong contender in the 200. In the high hurdles, the league has three excellent hurdles in Braintree's Nate Starling, Brookline's Joel Parent, and North's Gordon Forbes. Avery Mitchell is a on a roll in the 400, although if Stewart runs, it will be a heck of a race.

Girls Sprints

I have a blind spot for the the 100 and 200, although I have been told that Brookline's freshman Amhodi Weerisinghe (?) is very good in both events. Johnson (Framingham), and Hull (Braintree) own the league bests. in the high and low hurdles, Wellesley's Lucy (?) Laffitte is the best. Michelle Kaufman and Morgan Faer will finalists, as will Braintree's Adrienne Lutz. The race to watch might be the girls 400, where Emma Kornetsky and Sam (?) Bennett will stage a rematch of their epic race from the Newton-Weymouth meet, which was decided by an eyelash.

Boys Field events

Will it be the David Smith show, or will Dedham's Dan Withrow spoil the party? It seems unlikely that anyone will top Smith in the shot put, but Withrow holds the edge in the discus -- so far, with Smith and Marvin Chan in contention.

In the HJ, it's good to see state indoor champ Framingham's Jordan Maddocks recovering from a leg injury that has hampered him for a few weeks. if he is healthy, he is the favorie, with his teammate Aaron Everett very much in contention. In the long jump, Weymouth's James Endres is the favorite. I believe he also has the league's best throw in the Javelin. In the TJ, I wonder if North's Adam Bao or Ivan Kostadinov could win? I'm not very familiar with the marks from the rest of the league, but Phil Weltman has also leaped 42' so he must be considered one of the favorites.


Girls Field Events

I'm really starting to show my ignorance, but I know that Kaufman has an excellent chance in the long jump against Laffitte. Wellesley's Muschetta has a league leading 34-5 in the TJ. Milton's Driscol has a 94' throw in the Jav (but watch out for Barton!). Hester Breen and Lily Brown could go 1-2 in the discus. Walpole's Bethony has thrown 33' in the shot put, but Brown is right behind, depending on whcih event she chooses to do.

Relays

The boys 4x100 will be a great race between Newton, Milton, and Wellesley, although I think Newton will take it.

I expect Brookline to win the boys 4x400, although Wellesley is very strong, and one should never count out North.

In the girls 4x100, Wellesley and Weymouth are very good.

In the girls 4x400, Wellesley, Weymouth, North, Brookline... there are a lot of good teams!