2011 Indoor State Meet Preview - Boys

Here we go with a tour of the performance lists for the boys indoor state meet. While compiling this, I noticed that the combined projected point total for Cambridge, Brockton, Lexington, and Xaverian was one point. Does anyone else think that's a strange sign of the times?

Note: I didn't bother assigning 0.1 points for the nine high jumpers seeded at 6-1. I probably should have, but I was in a hurry.

To no one's surprise, Mansfield is the big favorite and will be tough to beat. New Bedford is probably the team with the best chance to pull an upset. After that, it seems unlikely that any team could amass enough points, but we'll see.

Mansfield - 49

Mansfield has the top seeds in both the mile and two-mile. After he ran 2:29 for 1000m and the next weekend ran 4:17 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, I jumped on the Josh Lampron bandwagon. He has plenty of competition in the mile, but 2:29 -- my goodness! I think he'll win a close race against St. John's Dan Zawalich, with Pembroke's Wesley Gallagher and Brendan Adams right there. It's amazing to me that the mile has ten guys seeded at sub 4:24.

Meanwhile, Shayne Collins has the top seed in the 2-mile at 9:14. His main competition will be the enigmatic John Murray, who won D1 last week with a wire-to-wire 9:23. Murray does not mind leading and I've seen him close a two-mile in a silky smooth 29s 200, but he has looked completely average running the 800 in relays this year. I expect Collins will follow Murray's pace, and the two will kick to see who wins. I don't see anyone else being able to stick around long enough to be in it for the win, but who knows?

In the 300, Mansfield has two guys -- Steve Gannon and Nick King -- under 36 seconds. In the relays, they have the third seed in both the 4x2 and 4x4, and the sixth seed in the 4x8. They'd love to get points in the long jump, but that's a volatile event. If Patrick Greaney can jump in the mid-21's Mansfield will be in great shape.

New Bedford - 31

The long jump has been very good to New Bedford this year. Phito Gondre is the top seed and Justin Callendar is the fourth seed. I'm sure they're hoping for a 1-2 finish, and it's not out of the question. Gondre is the third seed in the 55, and if he could do better that would again be huge. The Whalers are the top seed in the 4x200 and have pretty much owned that event. So if Mansfield stumbles, and especially if the long jump and 55 go the Whaler's way, they have a real shot to win the team title.

Bishop Feehen - 24

It's a little surprising to see Feehen up there, but they have Billy Looney in the 1000 (2:29.99), Tim McMakin in the shot put (53-5), and Sam Yoder in the high jump (6-4). There's certainly upside in the SP and HJ. They also have 5th seed in the 4x400. Probably not enough to catch Mansfield, but definitely a shot at the runner-up trophy.

Newton North - 23

I don't want to sound like a starry-eyed optimist, but North has to be thinking upside in every event. Isaiah Penn is seeded 2nd, but he has proven again and again that he rises to the competition. Swardiq Mayanja is seeded 2nd in the shot put, but has the best throw in the state this year. Ezra Lichtman is seeded 6th in the 1000, but only six-tenths of a second behind the third seed. And if North's 4x200 team can keep their shoes on this week, they can improve on their fifth seed.

Again, if Mansfield takes care of business, all of that won't be enough to win, but might be enough for second.

Andover - 22

18 of Andover's 22 projected points come from the 4x800 and 4x200 relays. The other four come from Pat Farnham in the 300. Missing from the total is any points from Simon Voorhees in the mile (seeded 10th at 4:23.28). A great race from Voorhees and a top three finish is definitely possible.

The Rest

Hard to choose from among the 19 schools projected at between 10 and 20 points. Somerville is pro0jected at 20, and speaking of bandwagons, I love watching Somerville's sensational sophomore Andre Rolim, the top seed and defending champ in the 600. Acton-Boxboro also projects at 20 points. The aforementioned Pembroke is at 18, as are Marshfield and Woburn.

The meet gets underway at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 26. Alas, I will be away. Anyone with a Twitter account want to post updates?

MIAA Performance Lists - Boys