100M Dash
1 Chris McConnell SR Andover 10.86
2 Kamal Riley SR Charlestown 10.88
3 Delano Brown SR Cathedral 10.95
4 Anthony Arcari JR Tewksbury 10.97
5 Chrys Malone SR Sci-Tech 11.02
6 Jayson Martin SR Central Cath 11.05
7 Francis Nova SR Lawrence 11.05
8 Phito Gondre JR New Bedford 11.06
10 Nick Bronsdon SR Foxborough 11.12
15 Quinn Ryder SR Oliver Ames Reg X11.25
Who said nice guys finish last? You’d have a hard time finding two greater guys than Chris McConnell and Kamal Riley – and one of them will win. McConnell had a rare loss to Vinnie Lee by .02 last year. Chances are he won’t let past 200M state champ Close between Delano Brown and Anthony Arcari for 3rd place. That is, unless Phito Gondre and Francis Nova run the way they did at trials of the D1 meet. There Gondre went 10.86 and Nova 10.94 as they bracketed McConnell. That’s before McConnell dusted there slower times in finals. For the Hock, Quinn Ryder (returning from injury) isn’t quite ready and Nick Bronsdon looks to be a lean too slow to place. NA’s Brady Shorey was Hock champ but didn’t qualify.
200M Dash
1 Francesco Cuesta SR Lawrence 21.95
2 Dana Lindberg SR Hingham 22.08
3 Donovan Henry SO Cath. Mem. 22.16
4 Alex Durand SR Monument High Sc 22.18
5 Pat Farnham JR Andover 22.30
6 Tyler Singer Clark SR Falmouth HS 22.31
7 Trent George SO Mahar 22.41
8 Steve Gannon JR Mansfield 22.57
10 Josh Arons JR Sharon X22.58
Francesco Questa is the besta. He was poised to win last year but was edged by Evan White. This year he has been under 22.00 multiple times. Dana Lindberg gets second after placing 4th in ’09. I can’t tell the difference between Donovan Henry and Alex Durand for third. In fact, I can’t tell if their names should be Henry Donovan and Durand Alex. Neither made the state finals last year but both are cruising now. Durand was 8th indoors in the 55M so the longer race is to his liking. Henry was 7th in the 300M. Steve Gannon could make finals. If he does, anything can happen.
400M Dash
I don’t see Jared Kadich not winning, or Jon Raduazzo not placing. Jared was 4th last year behind three seniors. His closest challenge may be Mark Vetere who ran 49.03 earlier this season. Rad-man has been on a tear of late, but will have to work for his supper. All in all, he should do much better than his 8th place finish in the 300M indoors. He could get as high as 4th. How about those Greene twins from Norwell! There ain’t many twins that can both go sub-50. Both ran the 300M indoors where Ted was 4th and Chris was 10th.
1 Jared Kadich SR St. John Prep 48.87
2 Isaiah Penn JR Newton North 49.30
3 Chris Greene SR Norwell High Sch 49.43
4 Ted Greene SR Norwell High Sch 49.62
5 Jon Raduazzo JR Oliver Ames Reg 49.75
6 Mark Vetere SR Andover 49.79
7 Nik Andrews SR Drury 49.90
8 Marcus Cusick SR Diman Voke 49.99
800M Run
I think this could be the race of the day. I love the 800M for the way the competition unfolds. It seems like the best (in this case up to 10 runners) all find a way to be within striking distance with 100M to go. Then it’s a case of who’s got their bio-rhythms in sync.
Even better, this is a whole new cast of characters. The highest returning athlete from last year is Andy Sukeforth who placed 13th. He’s seeded 9th. Where’d those other guys come from? Who knows, but they’re good.
Clint Burns was 5th in the 600M indoors, evidence of his raw speed. Burns threw down a 1:53.43 earlier this year. Joel Hubbard was 3rd in the 1000M indoors so strength is his forte.
The Hock has a good chance for two placements in Josh Lamprom (Hock Champ) and Brian Williams.
1 Clint Burns SR Whitman-Hans 1:54.02
2 Joel Hubbard SO Marshfield 1:55.14
3 Josh Lampron JR Mansfield 1:55.41
4 Alex Jagelsky JR Wachusett 1:55.93
5 Jake Reed JR North Middle 1:55.97
6 Brian Williams SR Foxborough 1:56.44
7 Jeff Brown SR Medfield 1:56.72
8 Billy Looney JR Bish Feehan 1:56.84
9 Andy Sukeforth SR Middleboro 1:56.85
10 Mike Gaffney SR Dartmouth 1:56.90
24 Stephen Souza SR Durfee 1:59.25
Mile
Byron Jones won last year at 4:14.5. He was an easy winner in the 1K indoors. Don’t bet against him. The rest of the field was non existent in ’09 so it behooves us to sit back and watch without pre conceived notions. Then again, Darryl Varney and Alec Barnes went 2 and 4 indoors so they are proven entities. Better yet, Max Darrah went 4:15.5 at the Danbury Dream Invitational. If it wasn’t just a dream, he could challenge Jones. It could be a real donnybrook. Brendan Boyle and Christian Bates appear to be too far out to be factors. But wait! Brendan ran 4:23.52 indoors for 6th, so there’s hope.
1 Byron Jones SR Westborough 4:18.14
2 Ben Pare SR Methuen 4:20.66
3 Darryl Varney SR No. Andover 4:22.54
4 Andrew Stamatopulos SR Methuen 4:24.17
5 Max Darrah SR Dennis-Yarmouth 4:24.95
6 Alec Barnes SR Lincoln-Sudbury 4:24.96
7 Romey Sklar JR Brookline 4:25.34
8 Ezra Lichtman JR Newton North X4:25.62
9 Jeremy Bennie SO Wachusett 4:26.31
10 Andrew Ryan SR Gloucester 4:26.44
11 David Melly JR Newton South X4:26.58
12 Brendan Robertson SO Westborough 4:26.66
13 Brian Greenfield SR Reading 4:26.70
14 Brendan Boyle SR Mansfield 4:27.60
17 Christian Bates SR Canton 4:32.08
Two Mile
Meet Record: 9:00.0h 1975 Alberto Salazar, Wayland HS
1 John Murray JR Shrewsbury 9:07.38
2 John Bleday SR Xaverian 9:13.88
3 Steven Sollowin JR Weymouth 9:16.03
4 Coby Horowitz SR Nashoba 9:16.22
5 Jared Reddy SR Methuen 9:19.95
6 Patrick McGowan SR Mansfield 9:20.66
7 Kieran Kinnare JR Ispwich HS 9:21.96
8 Chris Allen SO King Philip 9:23.48
9 Andrew Herring SR Lexington 9:29.42
All of the top runners are just rounding into shape. Start with John Murray who was only 3rd indoors but has recently been on fire. He’s chased by indoor mile champ John Bleday. John was 10th in ’09 at 9:26.05. It would be an understatement to say he’s gotten better. Bleday ran a 4:10.87 at the Hartford Public Invitational so he has both the speed and endurance to challenge Alberto Salazar’s record. Coby Horowitz won last year in a time that only seeds him 4th in ’10. Pat McGowan was 4th last year at 9:20.66. It was a great time for him then but he’s much better this year. He was 2nd in the indoor 1K. Expect him up with the leaders. This is a solid field. Chris Allen is the top soph but he’ll need to PR to place. Chris was 4th indoors at 9:30.81.
110M Hurdles
1 Jon Gomes SR New Bedford 14.12
2 Sidney Chambers SR Brockton 14.31
3 Xavier Dixon SR New Bedford 14.38
4 Jackson MacDonald SR Hamilton Wenham 14.81
5 Hunter Mott SR Medway High Scho 14.84
6 Cameron Mitchell SR Wakefield Mem. 14.86
7 Chris Chu SR Andover 14.88
8 Steve Bigelow SR Winchester HS 14.97
9 Liam Cross SO Falmouth HS 15.03
10 Tim Moan SR Watertown High S 15.04
Jon Gomes was third last year behind two seniors. He’s the only returning point scorer. I don’t expect him to have any problems winning. This is an event where you anticipate athletes to work their way up slowly. But in this case, very few of these names appeared on the big stage last year. Cameron Mitchell was 17th in ’09. But on the other hand, all are seniors except for soph Liam Cross who is on the cusp of placing.
400MH
Meet Record: 54.02 6/6/2009 Davis VanOpdorp, WINCHESTE
Even though this event is in its infancy, it is still dominated by seniors (8 of the top 10). Aaron Arujo and Nick Russo will have to go some to challenge Davis VanOpdorp’s record of 54.02. Michael Mailloux was 6th in ’09 but is seeded 10th. Vlad Fracois could place, and if Dillon Myers can find the closing speed he showed in winning the Hock Championship, he could too.
1 Aaron Araujo SR New Bedford 54.66
2 Nick Russo SR Natick 54.98
3 Peter Finigan SR Reading 55.13
4 Jair Cruikshank SO Nashoba 55.46
5 Vlad Francois (55.48PR) SR NO Attleboro 55.59
6 Riley Kelly SR Longmeadow 55.60
7 Nate Bruno SR Lenox 55.74
8 Chris Pulleritis (55.24PR) JR Acton-Boxboro 55.85
9 Kevin MACIEL SR Tewksbury 56.41
10 Michael Mailloux SR Northampton 56.56
11 Dillon Myers (55.26PR) SR Foxborough 56.59
4 X 800M
Newton South won last year and Mansfield was 6th. The rest of this year’s top seeds were out of the money in ’09. This will play out very close to the seeds – something that doesn’t always happen in this relay. The biggest question is Gloucester who beat Methuen indoors for the state title. Will the Fishermen show up to cast their net over the rest of the teams?
1 Methuen 'A' 7:58.73
2 Andover 'A' 8:00.91
3 Newton South High School 'A' 8:05.11
4 Mansfield HS 'A' 8:06.93
5 Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High 'A' 8:08.15
6 Central Catholic-Lawrence 'A' 8:10.94
7 Westborough 'A' 8:10.99
4 X 100M
Last year Lawrence edged Andover by .19. New Bedford and Central Catholic went 3-4. North Attleboro and Central Catholic are the newcomers to the seeded heat. Handoffs will mean everything. One bad one for NA spelled disaster at Hocks but at the DII meet they found their timing.
Andover set the state 4X2 record indoors and is looking to throw down a big time here!
1 Andover 'A' (42.63PR) 42.82
2 Lawrence HS 'A' (42.74PR) 42.88
3 Catholic Memorial-W.Roxb 'A' 43.16
4 New Bedford 'A' 43.19
5 Central Catholic-Lawrence 'A' 43.32
6 North Attleboro HS 'A' 43.59
7 Brockton HS 'A' 43.59
8 Randolph HS 'A' 43.87
9 Lynn English High School 'A' X43.92
10 Springfield Central HS 'A' 43.99
11 Mansfield HS 'A' 44.12
4 X 400M
Andover is attempting to repeat, plus remove the sting of losing indoors this year to Mansfield. The come from behind effort of Kyle Kilduff also erased Andover’s hopes of a team title. Reading also has motivation as they were dq’d in ’09. Mansfield was 4th. Foxboro is definitely in the hunt.
1 Andover 'A' 3:21.21
2 Reading HS 'A' 3:23.68
3 Mansfield HS 'A' (3:23.87PR) 3:24.08
4 St. John Prep (Dan) 'A' 3:24.33
5 Acton-Boxboro HS 'A' 3:25.10
6 Randolph HS 'A' 3:27.51
7 Bridgewater-Raynham 'A' 3:27.87
8 Foxborough HS 'A' (3:27.08PR) 3:28.51
9 Norwell High School 'A' 3:28.82
High Jump
Based on PR’s, this competition could be much better than seeds suggest. One top-seed, Brandon Higgins was 6th last year. Maybe he could steal a win, but there are many athletes who have soared higher this year. I guess what I’m saying is that the field is wide open! The highest returning placement is Tobey Belton who was 5th but is seeded 11th. Andre Santana is a newcomer but has serious ups. Nick Staley and Corey Fairfield were just out of the money in ’09 but they have the highest jumps in the state this year. Tristan Richardson has jumped (6’5”) what it probably takes to place.
1 Brandon Higgins SR Bourne 6-06.00
2 Andre Santana JR Doherty 6-06.00
3 Corey Fairfield (PR-6’9”) SR Millis High Scho 6-06.00
4 Nick Staley (PR-6’8.5”) JR BC High 6-05.00
5 Jon Gomes (PR-6’8”) SR New Bedford 6-05.00
6 Jake Connors SR Winthrop High Sc 6-04.00
7 Sam Yoder (PR-6’7.5”) JR Bish Feehan 6-04.00
8 Kevin Nichols JR Nauset Reg. 6-04.00
9 Angelito Destin SR Doherty 6-04.00
10 Cory Babinski JR Westfield 6-04.00
11 Tobey Belton JR St. John's 6-04.00
12 William Callahan SR Auburn 6-04.00
13 Connor Sullivan 53 Oliver Ames Reg 6-04.00
17 Matt Sidney JR Canton 6-02.00
22 Tristan Richardson JR NO Attleboro 6-00.00
Long Jump
Perhaps it’s time to review qualifying. What would it hurt to add the “state list leader” as an automatic qualifier? Jon Williams has jumped 23’10.5” this spring!! Whatever went wrong at the DI meet where he placed 6th at 21’4” is a shame. The people it hurts most are the fans who deserve to watch the BEST of the state. In this case, anyone else who wins will wear the asterisk of - * what if Jon were there? Worst yet, teammate (and brother?) Ricky Williams PR’d and beat him by 1/4” in the DI meet. Ricky got the last additional spot!
Back to the athletes who are there. You don’t see many New England sophs jump 22’8”. Maybe it’s Phito’s time to shine. Mark Hill also has the goods to get it done. Both will be challenged by Jackson MacDonald who placed 3rd last year at 22’7”. Terrence Gibson may be seated 8th, but he has soared 23’3.5” this year, the only other person other than Williams to clear the 23’ barrier. Can a Hock jumper make it to the podium? It may take 22’ to place, which is within Nick Bronsdon’s range.
1 Phito Gondre JR New Bedford 22-09.25
2 Mark Hill SO Sutton 22-08.00
3 Jackson MacDonald SR Hamilton Wenham 22-04.00
4 Marquis Weaver SR Brockton 22-02.25
5 Arthur Williams SR Sci-Tech 22-00.25
6 Gregory Hilliard SR Brockton 22-00.25
7 Jason Roche SR Palmer 21-11.75
8 Terrence Gibson JR Rockland High Sc 21-11.75
9 Brendan Whitson SR Auburn 21-10.50
10 Quinton Perkins SO Fitchburg 21-10.50
19 Nick Bronsdon SR Foxborough 21-01.00
26 Patrick Greaney JR Mansfield 20-01.00
Triple Jump
Last year Gregory Hilliard was Clark Kent placing 10th at 43’2.75”. His coach showed him the way to the phgone booth and now he’s superman. Only kryptonite could keep him from winning. Tom Donovan was 2nd last year at 45’3.75” so he is a threat to move up from 9th seed. Jeff Hill has jumped over 44’ so his 22nd seed means nothing. He’s still a threat.