With the dual-meet season starting up in just a couple of days, we’ve decided to put together a preseason ranking of the top 15 teams we believe will have the most success this fall. This ranking was made using a combination of Athletic.net data, knowledge of cross country courses, and knowledge of the teams themselves.
No. 10 — Groton-Dunstable
The final Division 2 team on this list is Groton-Dunstable. With the No. 1 returner from last year’s meet in Andrew Kosiba, as well as a family dynasty of Greyson Duane, Ashton Duane, and Cameron Duane, Groton has all the pieces it needs to take it all.
This team has been near the top of Division 2 for the past few years but has never actually won the meet. They’re not only looking for the Division 2 title, but also hoping to win Division 2B in convincing fashion.
Another thing to note is that Greyson Duane has the potential to be just as fast as Kosiba if he’s on his game. If the two can work off each other, they could form one of the best 1–2 punches Division 2 has to offer. Micah Pierantozzi (16:28) and Ashvik Yadav (16:44) also return as key pieces for the team. Division 2 should be just as much of a battle as it was last year, and it’ll take a lot for one team to come out on top.
No. 9 — Natick
Last year’s state runners-up enter the season with less top-end talent but a lot more bodies to fill out their depth chart. Although they lost their top two runners in John Bianchi and Freddie Van Der Velden, Natick still returns its next nine runners.
This year, they’re led by Callum Doyle and Declan Hava, with Doyle being the No. 5 returner from the Meet of Champions and Hava being No. 11. Last year, Benjamin Gidelson stepped into a major role as their No. 5 runner. This year, the Natick senior will have an even bigger challenge as he tries to stay with Doyle and Hava.
Their next three runners are all incoming juniors: Dylan Cooke (16:48), Kai Vickers-Richard (16:51), and Brady Collins (16:58). Of these three, the focus may be most on Collins after he popped during the winter with a two-mile PR of 10:03.
Also be sure to keep an eye on Johnathan Pereira, Sasha Rennie, and Connor Chviruk, as all three had strong spring track seasons.
No. 8 — Reading Memorial
It’s always tough to hear that your No. 1 runner has to pack it up due to injury. Last year, this happened to Reading and contributed to some disappointing performances for the team in the postseason.
This fall, Finn Johnson-Houlihan is back, and the Rockets are ready to reclaim their Division 1C title. Johnson-Houlihan popped in the spring, running 9:25 and 4:23, making him easily one of the state’s top returners.
He’s backed up by seniors Andrew Princic and Max King, the No. 6 and No. 7 returners from the Division 1C race. Colin Herlihy and Declan Grant round out the Rockets this year. Both had impressive track seasons, with Herlihy running 10:13 for two miles and Grant running 4:39 for one mile.
There’s no doubt that the Reading boys have their eyes set on Division 1C, and we’re excited to see what they can accomplish.
No. 7 — Newton North
This team is such a sleeper that we wrote a whole article about them.
Ryan Costello returns for his senior year ready to battle the best the state has to offer. He’s the state’s top returner in the two-mile, and we expect him to take a big shot at his 16:52 5K PR.
Lucas Allen is right behind him, returning with a mile PR of 4:29 from last winter. After that, William Kenneally, Alex Daly, and Mathew Gallo return after all running around the 10:00 range for the two-mile this track season.
If any team is going to come from behind and win it all, we believe this could be the one.
No. 6 — BC High
It seems that even without Greg McGrath, BC High still has big dreams.
They look a bit lower on paper due to an injury last season involving Owen Geagan, but he should be fully recovered going into the fall and ready to challenge for the No. 1 spot on the team. Geagan will likely challenge Colin Kurtz for that role.
This spring, Kurtz ran standout times of 4:28 and 9:24, while Geagan ran 4:23 and 1:56. This duo could wreak havoc across the Catholic Conference.
Don’t sleep on Joseph Hayes, either. BC High has another returner already under 16 minutes for the 5K. He also placed eighth overall in the mile at the Indoor Meet of Champions, boasting a PR of 4:24.
Theo Weiss and Logan Barry round out this BC High team. If Barry can connect up with Weiss and Hayes, the team will be in a good position to challenge its Catholic Conference rival.
No. 5 — Concord-Carlisle
Although losing some top-tier talent, Concord-Carlisle is still one of the top teams in the state and remains the No. 1 seed in the Division 1B race.
They’ll be led by Jackson Misek, who last spring battled the heat to become the No. 1 returner from the Outdoor All-State two-mile.
Misek probably won’t always be leading this Concord pack, though, as there are four more runners right behind him. Braeden Quayle (16:00), Cameron Smack (16:23), Sawyer Bout (16:24), and Ryan Perry (16:26) all return to the Concord-Carlisle team this year.
This team definitely has the potential to win it all in November, but they’ll need to correct some of the mistakes from last year to do so.
No. 4 — St. John’s Prep
The Division 1 track champions hope to continue their momentum into the fall with an opportunity to earn their third trophy in a row.
Their No. 6 runner on paper might actually be their No. 1 runner in a situation similar to Costello. Mateo DeOrio could take charge of the team after running some crazy track PRs of 4:23 and 9:38.
He won’t be alone up front, though. Henry McDonnell and Leo Seltenrich boast PRs of 15:47 and 15:48 and should provide plenty of top-end talent.
Liam Callahan (16:05), Sam Valentine (16:23), and Hunter Opal (16:28) round out the team’s top six. This team should have some great battles with BC High inside the Catholic Conference and challenge the other top teams in the state.
No. 3 — Brookline
Do we think Brookline has one of the best shots to win in November? Yes. However, this is still September.
Currently, we have them at No. 3, but knowing Coach Glennon, this team now and this team in two months will not be the same.
Liam Hartmann and Ibrahim Abdel-Dayem return and will both try to score some low points for the Warriors. After that, they have a pack of five juniors all trying to contribute to what could become their fifth title in a row.
Nam Danh (16:30), Elias Thomasson (16:37), Mathew Ritter (16:38), Noah Karp (16:46), and Toby Paradise (16:52) all had strong track seasons and will look to contribute to what could be Brookline’s next trophy.
Will the Warriors go five in a row?
No. 2 — Lexington
For now, we won’t focus too heavily on their 5K times because of the fast conditions of the M12 course, so we’ll turn to their track performances instead.
Patrick Noonan and Trevor Stevens return to challenge the Brookline duo and score some low points of their own. Both had great seasons in the two-mile, with Noonan running 9:19 and Stevens running 9:22 to finish right behind Abdel-Dayem at the Outdoor Division 1 meet.
Aidan Hall (4:26), Owen Ross (4:31), and Andrew Zhang (9:58) round out the team’s top five.
For the past few years, Lexington has been one of the top programs in the state. Will this be the year they finally put it together?
No. 1 — Cambridge Rindge & Latin
Where do we even start with this team?
If any team looks like the one to beat this year, it might be Cambridge Rindge & Latin. They return three runners under 16 minutes and another just above the barrier.
Leon Ibanez-Fraile (15:29), Thomas Dewitt (15:46), Liam Eldridge (15:56), and Kieran Eichler (16:03) all return and should put down some more impressive times.
Their one concern is the gap to their No. 5 runner, with Gael Berzin coming in at 16:47. However, their top-end talent helps outweigh some of the concerns surrounding that fifth spot.
If Berzin can take 20–30 seconds off his time, it would be very hard for any other team to stop them.