With a plethora of individuals returning to the Bay State this season, becoming the All-State champion in November will be no small feat. Last year, up until his late injury, it was pretty clear from the beginning that BC High’s Greg McGrath would be the one to take it all in November. Although that didn’t pan out because of the injury, it’s still safe to say that in 2025 there was a clear individual ready to take it all. Now, in 2026, it could be anyone’s race. Here are our top five picks for who could win in November.
Liam Hartmann — Brookline Senior
Last year, he placed fifth at the All-State meet on his way to taking home a team trophy. This year he’s back as the state’s top returner from the All-State meet and the top returner in the 5K. Although dealing with injury throughout his track season, Hartmann started to find his way back toward the end, running 9:25 for the two-mile and placing seventh at the Division 1 meet. His actual PR is 9:12 from the same meet the year prior, and he comfortably won the Twilight Invitational in an upset victory over Natick’s John Bianchi. If Hartmann can find his spark again and carry the drive of his team, he’ll be in real contention for winning it all in November.
Ryan Costello — Newton North Senior
Most people in the community know the story of RCrunning by this point. Out due to illness for a sizable amount of his junior cross country season, he returned toward the end to run a PR of 16:52. But his story doesn’t stop there. Ryan flourished on the track, running PRs of 4:21 and 9:12 at the Weston Twilight meet, with that 9:12 being the state’s returning No. 1 time. If Ryan can continue his momentum into the fall, he has one of the best shots at becoming State Champion.
Patrick Noonan — Lexington Senior
Noonan has accomplished what few have in their careers. During his freshman season, he was a medalist at the All-State meet. Now he’s coming back for his senior year ready to take it all. Since freshman year, it’s been clear that Noonan’s strength is on the grass. The incoming Lexington senior is the No. 1 returner from the Division 1A race, where he beat Hartmann and Costello. He’s also the No. 3 returner from the All-State meet, where Hartmann got him in the final mile. Be on the lookout for Noonan, as he might have high hopes of ending his career at the top.
Mason Niles and Sahil Gandhi — Billerica
That’s right, two teammates from the same school are both in contention to win individual honors at the Meet of Champions. Although Niles had a rough sophomore year due to injury, he still had many impressive accomplishments. As a freshman, he won the Division 1C race at Northfield Mountain. He then went on to place ninth in the mile at the Indoor Meet of Champions—keep in mind, this was still his freshman year.
This year, even while battling injury, he put down many impressive times. This included a gritty fourth-place finish at the Outdoor Meet of Champions in 4:13, a 1:55 800m race, and a two-mile PR of 9:18.
Now, if you thought that was impressive, you might need to look at Sahil Gandhi. He beat Niles at the Twilight meet, where he finished in 9:13, only being beaten by Sarney and Costello. This time also puts him as the No. 2 overall returner in the two-mile. He is also the No. 1 returner for the Division 1C race this fall. We’ll see how competitive and fierce this duo ends up being in the fall.
There are also a few other runners who are a bit farther back but worth mentioning. Patrick Geagan from Weymouth returns for his senior year after a gritty spring where he ran 4:15 for the mile to place sixth at the All-State meet.
Hartmann is joined by teammate Ibrahim Abdel-Dayem, who will be a key part of Brookline’s attempt to take home another team trophy. He finished runner-up in the two-mile at the Indoor Division 1 meet and holds a PR of 9:21.
Though if any one of these runners is going to crack into the top group, it could be North Attleborough’s Anthony Malakidis. Malakidis is the No. 2 returner from the Meet of Champions last fall, boasting a 5K PR of 15:32.