MileSplit will be on-site with photos, videos, interviews, updates, stories and more from the 2015 New England Indoor Championships on Friday!
For runners like Joe Luongo, mid-March couldn't come any quicker. The senior from St. John Prep in Massachusetts is one of the nation's best for 600 meters, and will be looking to solidify that stature in New York City the weekend of March 13-15 at the New Balance National Indoor Championships.
But before heading to the Big Apple, Luongo and several other national-caliber athletes will in Boston Friday night competing against the elite from throughout the region at the 28th annual New England Championships at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center.
Among that list are Connecticut's Danae Rivers of Wilbur Cross and Staples junior Hannah DeBalsi, last year's mile and two-mile winners, Maine's Kate Hall of Lake Region, the country's best long-jumper and Rhode Island's Jack Salisbury of La Salle Academy, the 2014 mile titlist, who currently ranks No. 3 in his specialty based on his sensational runner-up time of 4:08.76 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix earlier this month.
Who are the athletes to watch at the New England's? Here's a rundown on the top contenders to keep an eye this weekend.
Beginning with the girls, two of the signature races of the night could be the 55-meter dash and 1,000m. In the short sprint, Lake Region's Hall is the top seed and owns a nation No. 6 of 6.99 seconds. A few weeks ago, she won the Class B indoor crown with an equally-impressive time of 7.05. Hall will not have it easy. She faces her stiffest challenge from Rhode Island's Quashira McIntosh of Hope, who set a state record of 7.09 earlier in the season and also captured her third straight state title last week by tying a meet mark of 7.11.
The meet record of 2:49.29 for the 1,000m, set last year by former Classical, R.I. standout Maddy Berkson, could be in jeopardy. Last week at the N.H. state meet, the field's top two seeds, Maegan Doody of Oyster River (2:49.08) and Hannah Parker of Coe-Brown (2:49.24), both were under the mark with their 1-2 finish. You would have to assume that Ariel Keklak of Lincoln Sudbury, Mass., and Eliza Rego of La Salle Academy, could also figure in the mix. Keklak won the MIAA All State Meet this past weekend with a time of 2:51.17 and Rego captured her state meet with a 2:54.76 effort, an event she won by nearly six seconds! If pushed, she's certainly capable of running faster. The darkhorse is Wilbur Cross's Rivers, who opted out of the mile and is focusing on just the 1K. That could be trouble for her competitors. Last week she beat top rival Jessica Drop of Coginchaug at the State Open meet with a best of 2:56.95, a time that seeds her at No. 7. Of note, she did that race after defeating DeBalsi in the 1,600m with a time of 4:54.68, currently third in the U.S.
Speaking of DeBalsi, she will be eying her third straight crown in the 3,200m, and the odds are favorable. Last year, the Staples runner set a meet record of 10:12.95, falling just a few seconds shy of the all-time NE record of 10:10.5 by future U.S. Olympian Lynn Jennings. DeBalsi hasn't quite gotten to that level this year, still playing catch up after an early-season injury during cross country. But she is always tough to beat and goes into the meet after winning the 3,200m at last week's State Open with a time of 10:40.55. A week earlier, she copped the Class L crown with a season best of 10:32.80. Among her top rivals are Massachusetts' Margie Cullen of Needham (10:51.21) and Emily Bryson of North Quincy (11:00.84), New Hampshire's Morgan Sansing of Pinkerton (11:02.63) and Rhode Island's Sheridan Wilbur of La Salle (11:06.90).
Hingham, Mass., senior Sierra Irvin will be looking to defend her title in the 300m dash. Last year she clocked a winning time of 38.67. She enters this weekend's meet as a No. 3 seed with her season best of 40.11. Fellow Bay Stater, Chelsea Owuso of Wachusett, who defeated Irvin at the recent All State Meet, is the top seed at 40.01. Sasha Hinds of Windsor, Conn., who captured the CIAC State Open title, is second at 40.03.
The four fastest times in the 600m all belong to Massachusetts' runners, but the one name that sticks out is top seed Amy Piccolo of Ursuline Academy. Piccolo was the runner-up at last year's NE meet where she ran her personal best of 1:32.01. She defended her state title in the event at last week's All State Meet where she was timed in 1:34.23. Piccolo will be competing in her final race as a high-schooler on the banked oval of Reggie Lewis so she certainly has that added motivation to push herself harder against a field that has two other runners under 1:35, Lexington's Lucy Lang (1:34.81) and Cambridge Rindge & Latin's Maya Halprin-Adams (1:34.91).
The mile has potential to produce several sub five-minute efforts. Kaleigh Hughes of Neeham, Mass., is the top seed with a best of 4:56.35, which she did to win the recent All State Meet. She'll be challenged by teammate Sarah Armstrong (5:00.63) and the always-tough Kaley Richards of Lowell, Mass. You can't forget La Salle's Rego, who sizzled to a state mark of 4:34.30 for 1,500m at the Headley Last-Chance Qualifier a few weeks ago. The diminutive junior likes to lead so don't be surprised if she tries to take the pace out hard from the start. She owns an all-time best of 4:58.69 for the mile.
The 55m hurdles could produce an interesting race with Massachusetts' state champion Isabella DiMare of Notre Dame Academy matched against Connecticut titlist Gabby Curtis. Both hurdlers clocked identical times of 8.44 in their respective meets, the two best times in the field.
Switching to the field events, Hall will be looking to not only best the meet mark of 19-0, but the NE record of 20-2.75, both records held by Arantxa King of Medford, Mass., back in 2005. Hall has already exceeded the 20-foot barrier this season with a PB of 20-1.5 (US #1). At the state meet in mid-February, she won at 19-6.5. Brianna Duncan of Cambridge has done 18-8.5 and Maine's Tori Daigle of Thornton is a No. 3 seed at 18-2.
Hometown favorite Danae Bucci of Bedford, Mass., leaped a winning height of 5-8 at the All State Meet to earn the No. 1 seed in the high jump. Behind her are four athletes that have cleared 5-6 this winter, including Maria Garman of Scituate, Mass., Anika and Letti Hibbard of Bedford, N.H., and Carly Timpson of Narragansett, R.I. Anika Hibbard is the top returnee. She was second in 2014.
Alva Hicks of Classical, R.I., leads a strong field in the shot put. Hicks, who is one of the nation's top weight-throwers, won her state meet last week with a two-foot PB of 41-0.5. Jenny Lee of Woburn, Mass., Sarah Cicchetti of Greenwich, Conn., and Meghan Richards of Pembroke, Mass., have all cracked 40 feet.
In the boys' competition, Connecticut has a chance to dominate the two mile much like it did last year when it took three of the top four placements. This Friday's race, the Nutmeg State has six of the top seven seeds. Last week's 1-2-3 finishers at the State Open meet will be battling it out with Eric Van der Els of Brien McMahon and the Darien tandem of Alex Ostberg and Armstrong Noonan expected to toe the line. In a down-to-the-wire affair, McMahon edged Ostberg by .33 in the 3,200m at the states with a time of 9:17.39. Look for more of the same at the New England's. Ostberg, a Foot Locker National X-C finalist, was second at last year's meet where he ran his all-time best of 9:02.74.
Salisbury is scheduled to defend his title in the mile, but did indicate last week at his state meet that he may just concentrate on the 1,000m. On the subject of that championship meet, Salisbury won the 1,500 and 1,000m for the second year in a row despite not feeling 100 percent. If the La Salle runner is healthy this week, he'll be tough to beat. He's earned much success on the Reggie Lewis oval and possesses a devastating kick.
Based on what he ran at the states in the 1K, a “slow" 2:39.27, Salisbury is seeded 20th in the event. In other words, he's probably going to be running in the unseeded heat despite owning a 2:35.20 best. If that happens, the potential is there for Salisbury to put a lot of pressure on the entries in the seeded heat by posting a fast time in his heat. Evident by his mile at Grand Prix, he's capable of run a low 2:30, which could win the race overall. Everest Crawford of Gloucester, Mass., is back to defend his crown. This year he has a best of 2:33.58, more than seven-seconds slower than his winning time from 2014. Peter Garmon of Billerica, the Massachusetts' state champion, has the top seed of 2:27.45. Connecticut's Spencer Brown, who is having an exceptional year at Wilton, won his state meet this past weekend with a time of 2:32.14.
Luongo will be looking to make it two in a row in the 600m, and it has great potential to happen. The St. John runner ranks No. 2 in the country with his best of 1:18.34, which he did at the Armory Track Invitational in NYC on Jan. 30. At his recent state meet, he dipped under 1:20 for the second time in his career with a 1:19.36. Right now it looks like some familiar faces to the gifted runner will give him his biggest challenge -- Massachusetts' rivals Jackson Gallagher of Wakefield (1:20.85), Justin Marcantonio of Boston College High (1:21.94) and Rodney Agyare-May of Burncoat (1:21.94).
There doesn't appear to be any clear-cut favorite in the mile, unless the Rams' Salisbury shows up at the line. Right now the top seed is Thomas D'Anieri of Wellesley, Mass., who placed third at the All State Meet and has a seed time of 4:19.51. Connecticut's Ari Klau, who captured the CIAC State Open meet this past weekend with a 4:19.84 for 1,600m, should be battling with the leaders. The field also features a talented La Salle contingent that's capable of running under 4:20 -- D.J. Principe, Matt Bouthillette and Dan Paiva. Paiva was one of the select runners that competed at the Grand Prix and ran a PR of 4:17 in the early February race.
Simeon Okoro of Weston, Conn., leads a tight 300m field with his winning 34.89 effort at the State Open meet. Okoro is the defending NE outdoor 400m champion, an event he won at the Yale Track Classic last month with a 49.64 clocking. Woburn's Chris Jewett, the Mass. state champion, has dipped under 35 seconds, too, and has the familiarity of Reggie Lewis. Look for him to contend. There's also Akiel Smith of Hillhouse, Conn., who won the 300m at Yale last month in 35.15. He also has potential to break the tape. It should be an interesting race.
The 55m dash features Jonathan Derolus of Brockton, Mass., Stanley Little of John F. Kennedy, Conn., and Donatien Djero of Central, R.I., who all won their respective state titles last weekend. Derolus checks in with the fastest time of 6.46, just .01 ahead of Little.
In the field events, Staples' Anthony Bravo has a legitimate shot to take home two crowns this Friday in the high jump and long jump. His best chance is the long jump where he has come close to 24 feet with his top leap of 23-10 (US #7) at the FCIAC Championships on Feb. 5. He recently won the State Open with at 22-10.75 effort. His top contender could be state runner-up Brandon Sebastian of West Haven, who did 22-8.25 at the CIAC meet. Mass. state champ, Kevin Saccone of Old Rochester, has leaped 22 feet several times and should figure in the mix.
Bravo has been a model of consistency in the high jump where he's cleared his best of 6-4 his last four outings, including the State Open meet where he was second overall. Nipmuc's Kevin Hack, the recent Mass. state titlist, did a PB of 6-8 at that meet.
More on 2015 New England Championships:
New England Region Boys Indoor T&F Leaderboard
| Track | Time | Athlete/Team | Meet Date | Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55m | 6.41 | 12,825 | ||
| 60m | 6.93 | 20 | ||
| 200m | 22.50 | 2,238 | ||
| 300m | 34.78 | 8,817 | ||
| 400m | 49.54 | 1,091 | ||
| 600m | 1:18.84 | 6,450 | ||
| 800m | 1:54.55 | 1,278 | ||
| 1000m | 2:27.45 | 6,392 | ||
| 1500m | 4:05.35 | 1,020 | ||
| 1600m | 4:19.84 | 1,870 | ||
| 1 Mile | 4:08.76 | 4,913 | ||
| 3000m | 8:29.68 | 872 | ||
| 3200m | 9:17.39 | 749 | ||
| 2 Mile | 9:16.45 | 2,633 | ||
| 55mH | 7.54 | 6,019 | ||
| 60mH | 8.12 | 10 | ||
| Relay | Time | Relay Team | Meet Date | Count |
| 4x200m | 1:30.31 | 2,324 | ||
| 4x400m | 3:23.83 | 2,069 | ||
| SMR | 3:33.90 | 613 | ||
| 4x800m | 7:58.86 | 1,289 | ||
| DMR | 10:18.14 | 246 | ||
| Field | Mark | Athlete/Team | Meet Date | Count |
| High Jump | 6-8.25 | 3,479 | ||
| Long Jump | 23-10 | 6,015 | ||
| Pole Vault | 15-7 | 962 | ||
| Shot Put | 62-4 | 8,519 | ||
| Triple Jump | 46-6.25 | 769 | ||
| Weight | 83-3.25 | 866 |
New England Region Girls Indoor T&F Leaderboard
| Track | Time | Athlete/Team | Meet Date | Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55m | 6.99 | 13,102 | ||
| 60m | 7.87 | 23 | ||
| 200m | 25.17 | 2,062 | ||
| 300m | 38.89 | 8,446 | ||
| 400m | 58.10 | 779 | ||
| 600m | 1:34.23 | 5,809 | ||
| 800m | 2:15.63 | 1,091 | ||
| 1000m | 2:49.08 | 5,654 | ||
| 1500m | 4:34.30 | 875 | ||
| 1600m | 4:54.68 | 1,436 | ||
| 1 Mile | 4:53.87 | 3,949 | ||
| 3000m | 10:07.37 | 593 | ||
| 3200m | 10:32.90 | 590 | ||
| 2 Mile | 10:50.41 | 2,163 | ||
| 55mH | 8.39 | 7,616 | ||
| 60mH | 9.33 | 20 | ||
| Relay | Time | Relay Team | Meet Date | Count |
| 4x200m | 1:43.60 | 2,479 | ||
| 4x400m | 3:58.75 | 1,867 | ||
| SMR | 4:11.55 | 576 | ||
| 4x800m | 9:18.50 | 1,152 | ||
| DMR | 12:15.01 | 189 | ||
| Field | Mark | Athlete/Team | Meet Date | Count |
| High Jump | 5-8 | 4,173 | ||
| Long Jump | 20-1.5 | 5,540 | ||
| Pole Vault | 12-4 | 818 | ||
| Shot Put | 42-7 | 8,206 | ||
| Triple Jump | 39-6.5 | 744 | ||
| Weight | 57-6.5 | 906 |