There could be some big performances from a number of local athletes at today’s Central/West Division II Track & Field Championships.
The area has several top-seeded athletes in the annual meet, and with nine titles claimed locally at last week’s Western Mass. Division II Championship, momentum is certainly on their side.
Four locals occupy No. 1 seeds in their respective events at today’s meet, scheduled for a 10 a.m. start at Fitchburg State University. If seed times hold, two of them could cruise to championships.
Let’s begin with Mohawk Trail Regional High School junior Meghan Davis. The distance star of Franklin County, Davis is the top seed in the 2-mile by a wide margin. Her seed time of 11 minutes, 8.32 seconds is over 25 seconds faster than the next-closest competitor. That would be Greenfield High School’s Amy O’Sullivan, and the two are in solid positioning to perform well today as Davis looks to improve upon last year’s runner-up finish at the C/W meet. Davis, who won the 2-mile by 20 seconds in last week’s WMass Championship, is also seeded eighth in the mile today but said last week that she would likely just focus on the 2-mile in Fitchburg.
The other local entry that could make a big statement is the Mahar Regional School boys’ 4×400-meter relay team. The Senators, who broke the meet record at WMass a week ago (3:31.77), are the No. 1 seeds by nearly six seconds. The quartet of Hugo Frost, Aaron Hendry, Sebastian Shaw and Ash Shaw won the 4×400 title at last year’s meet, and enter as heavy favorites to repeat.
The boys’ pole vault has a decidedly local flare, including the top four seeds overall. Frontier Regional School’s Jack Vecellio and Pioneer Valley Regional School’s Jake Kelton both enter with season-best jumps of 12 feet, while Theodor Popusoi of Greenfield and Gavin Curtis of Pioneer are next at 11 feet. Kelton won the WMass title last week, clearing 11-6 to best the field. Popusoi’s older brother Silvian claimed the C/W title a year ago, clearing 14 feet during his senior year.
Greenfield’s Courtney Danielsen is the final local top seed, and she has the top throw of the season in the javelin field at 117 feet, 6 inches from back in April in a dual meet against Pioneer. Danielsen will have to improve from last week’s WMass meet, where she took seventh place with a top throw of 93-8, finishing well behind Frontier’s Olivia Vecellio, the winner at 101-6. Vecellio is the No. 5 seed in today’s javelin field.
Another event where a title could potentially come from is the girls’ discus, where Vecellio is the No. 2 seed (106-4) and Mohawk’s Violet Rawlings is third (102-11). The pair dueled in the WMass Championship, where Vecellio claimed her second individual crown of the day. Hudson High School’s Morgan Collins is the No. 1 seed in today’s C/W meet with a season-best throw of 107-7. Vecellio is the defending champion.
The boys’ 400-meter hurdles is another event to watch today. Athol High School’s Mason Barrieau, the defending champion, is seeded third there, just ahead of Frost, the No. 4 seed. Frontier’s Phaelon Koski could figure into the mix as well as he’s seeded sixth.
Frontier’s Lexa Boyden and Mahar’s Maeve Powell could score points in the girls’ shot put, where both are seeded in the top 7.
In addition to the 4×400 relay, Ash Shaw is seeded well in both the 800 meters (sixth) and high jump (fourth). Mohawk’s Seth Hoynoski is the No. 5 seed in the 400 meters after finishing sixth at last year’s C/W meet, and he’ll likely battle again with Frontier’s Brandyn Robinson (eighth) to figure into the podium after Robinson edged him to win the WMass title a week ago.
Pioneer multi-event standout Scott McDonough is listed as the No. 4 seed in the 100 meters and the No. 6 seed in the long jump. Franklin County Technical School’s Calin Giurgiu is the No. 5 seed in the javelin, while Mohawk’s London Summers is seeded seventh in the event. Greenfield’s Crescens Iavorschi is set as the No. 5 seed in the 100 meters, and Franklin Tech’s Kurtis Kuenzel and Athol’s Chris Waslaske are top 10 seeds in the boys’ shot put.
Mahar’s Kianna Reilly enters as today’s No. 8 seed in the girls’ triple jump, and teammate Delaney Parker is seeded 10th in the 100. Frontier’s Carsten Carey is eighth in the 2-mile and 10th in the mile, with teammate Alex Sharp ninth in the mile.
The top 6 finishers in each event advance to next weekend’s MIAA All-State Meet, also set to be held at Fitchburg State.