For most high school athletes in the New England region, the track and field season came to an official close this past weekend with their respective state championships.
For a selected few, there’s at least one (and possibly two) still left on the slate.
It all begins on Saturday with the 68th annual New England Championships, to be held at Willow Brook Park in New Britain, Conn. The following weekend from June 14-16, some of the best athletes in the country will be at A&T Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro, N.C., for the New Balance National Outdoor Championships.
This Saturday’s New England meet includes a slew of runners, throwers and jumpers that are capable of producing some exciting performances.
Here’s what it looks like for the girls’ competition:
The 100-meter dash features a solid trio of state champions - sophomore Quashira McIntosh of Hope High (R.I.), senior Adrian Jones of Bloomfield (Conn.) and sophomore Kate Hall of Lake Region (Maine). Hall owns the fastest time with a best of 11.68 seconds. She was also third in last year’s meet. But McIntosh, a seventh-place finishers in 2012, and Jones have potential to steal the show. Both are capable of dipping under 12 seconds, a time that will more than likely compute to a victory.
McIntosh looks to be the favorite in the 200 with her region and personal-best of 24.44. She was third in last year’s race and has consistently run times in the 24- and low 25-second range this spring. Notre Dame Academy (Mass.) sophomore Isabella DeMare (24.70), Londonberry (Conn.) junior Kristen Bourque (24.97) and Jones (24.97) should be the Hope sprinter’s biggest challenge.
The 400 will be without indoor national champion Precious Holmes of Hillhouse (Conn.), who is sidelined with an Achilles injury. Connecticut could still crown a champion in the event. Leading the entries is senior Sydnee Over of Windsor, who won the State Open title with a time of 54.81, nearly two-seconds faster than No. 2 seed, Exeter (N.H.) junior Sydney Peterson (56.54). Over, who was fourth at the Brooks PR Invitational during the indoor season, has a best of 53.62. She also has run 2:08 for the 800.
Speaking of the 800, that event could turn into one of the more contested races of the afternoon with an abundance of talented that will be toeing the line. Dracut senior Karina Shepard, who won the Massachusetts All-State Championship this past weekend with a PR of 2:09.29, should be the favorite, but it won’t be easy for her to snag the top prize. The top 10 runners in the field have all broken 2:15 and No. 10 on that list is Classical junior Maddy Berkson, who placed third at the New Balance National Indoor Championship with an outstanding 2:06.67 clocking. Berkson, who was dealing with fatigue from an iron deficiency for most of the season, appears to be healthy again. She won the 1,500 at the state meet with a region-best of 4:34.27 and was third in the 800 with a season best of 2:14.76. .
Also in the field is Coe Brown (N.H.) sophomore Hannah Brown (2:10.62), Richford (Vt.) senior Ellie Purrier (2:11.54), Hillhouse senior Kellie Davis (2:12.64) and Bay View Academy (R.I.) senior Erica Johnson, who have all won their respective state championships.
Berkson and fellow Rhode Islander, Sheridan Wilbur, a sophomore from La Salle Academy, are seeded 1-2 in the mile run with best of 4:52.27 and 4:53.21, respectively. Defending champion Bethanie Brown, a senior from Waterville (Maine), is also in the field. She’s No. 6 on the list with a top time of 4:51.54 this season. In the 3,200, it looks like it will be a similar race as last weekend’s Connecticut state meet with junior Claire Howlett (10:20.03) of Westhill and freshman Hannah DiBalsi (10:21.86) of Staples, battling it out in the eight-lap race. The next runner in the field is more than 14-seconds behind.
Katy Sprout of Tolland (Conn.) and Ally Saccone of Old Rochester (Mass.), who won their respective state titles, are the top competitors in the 300 hurdles. The tandem are the only hurdlers in the field to crack 44 seconds with Sprout at 43.48 and Saccone at 43.55. Bishop Guertin (N.H.) senior Betsy Garnick, a runner-up in last year’s meet, leads the field in the 100 hurdles with a best of 14.23. She will face her stiffest challenge from Massachusetts’ state champion Emily Dawidczyk of Oxford (14.45) and R.I. titlist Maria Bolibruch of North Kingstown (14.69).
The long jump should come down to a pair of Connecticut leapers– senior Natori Jones of Bloomfield and junior Amy Taintor of E.O. Smith. Both athletes have jumped further than 19 feet. Sophomore Kate Hall of Lake Region is No. 3 at 18-5.75.
Connecticut state record holder Emily Savage of Weston appears to be a shoo-in for gold in the pole vault. Savage has a PB of 13-1.5, a mark she achieved in setting a meet record at the Penn Relays Carnival back in April. Maine’s Lindsay Folsum of Coney is seeded No. 2 with an 11-7 effort.
The odds are favorable that Massachusetts will crown a champion in the shot put. The top three seeds all hail from the Bay State. Mahar Regional senior Sabrina Silva, the recent state titlist, had the best throw at 41-11. Oxford junior Taylor Drayton (41-9) and Newton North junior Michaela Smith (41-7.5) are 2-3 in the rankings.
Ridgefield (Conn.) senior Ellie Gravitte looks primed to win a title in the javelin. She has a PB of 152-7 and recently won the State Open title with a distance of 145-9, more than 13-feet further than her next competitor.
In the discus it could come down to state champions Madeline Nicholson, a senior from Simsbury (Conn.), and Alva Hicks, a sophomore from Classical. (R.I.). Nicholson is the top seed at 137-9 and Hicks is No. 2 at 133-5.
The triple jump could be interesting with the top four seeds within a foot of each other. Senior Rachel Hill of (N.H.) leads the coup with a best of 38-2.
The high jump competition features three athletes that have leaped 5-6 – Norwich Free (Conn.) senior Erin Schaeffer, Keene (N.H.) senior Madeline Pacella and Marshfield (Mass.) junior Ellen DePietro.
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