Due to the weird dates surrounding Labor Day, many conferences in the state don’t start their meets until next week. However, this doesn’t apply to the Bay State League. This article will talk about what you can expect from the league this week and what’s going on in Mass XC.
#7 Newton North v #9 Natick v Walpole
Easily the biggest meet of this week falls to Newton North v Natick and Walpole. Both Natick and North are gunning for the win against each other in what’s going to be one of the closest meets in the league. Natick has home turf advantage at Elm Bank Park, a very flat course where we can see many good times popping up.
It looks like Ryan Costello will probably take the overall win, followed by Natick’s Callum Doyle and Declan Hava. After that, anything can happen. The next battle appears to be between Newton North’s Lucan Allan and William Kenneally vs. Natick’s Benjamin Gidelson. We’d say Allan might have the edge here, though they are on Gidelson’s home turf. After that, we should see a whole pack of runners trying to get every place they can. Kai Vickers-Richards, Brady Collins, Dylan Cooke, Sasha Rennie, Alexander Daly, Mathew Gallo, and Jamie Evans will probably all be in the mix.
We’re also excited to see what the Walpole team can do. They’re coming back with a core group of four seniors, and although they will most likely not be in a position to win the meet, all four seniors could be in the mix with the pack listed above.
#3 Brookline v Needham
Brookline is facing Needham on the harsh terrain of Larz Anderson Park. Judging by the state of both teams, there’s a high chance that Brookline will either sit some of their top runners or make them tempo the race. Still, we’re excited to see what Needham’s Austin Conti and Connor Bobbin can do against Brookline’s Nam Dahn, Elias Thomasson, and Mathew Ritter.
Wellesley v Framingham v Weymouth
We predict that the Wellesley boys will probably be taking the win here comfortably. The main battle of the meet will be between Weymouth and Framingham. Weymouth’s Patrick Geagan should take the overall win here, followed by Wellesley’s Daniel Goldberg, and then Framingham’s Dylan Wheeler. If we had to make another prediction, we’d say the Wellesley squad would probably take the next three spots. With Framingham and Weymouth, a big matchup will probably be Andrew Himmer vs. Bennet Dalton. Both are coming off great spring seasons, and we’re excited to see what those runners can accomplish. Framingham is the #8 seed in the league while Weymouth is #9. Can the Weymouth boys upset our rankings?
Due to the league’s schedule, Braintree and Milton both don’t have a meet this week.