Winter track here in MA has finally gotten underway with all the leagues starting their dual meet schedule.  Already we have seen some extremely fast times (one runner ran a 35.2x 300 in his first meet, a time that would have won All States last year), and it promises to be a great season.

Events to Watch

Distance: Both the Mile and the Two Mile are absolutely stacked this year.  Some of the returnees from last year's All State Meet include mile winner John Bleday (4:20), Max Darrah (4:21), Andrew Ryan (4:22), Byron Jones (4:23), Greg Krathwohl (4:27), Dana Dourdeville (4:29 as a sophomore), Jared Reddy (4:30), Ryan Kelley (4:30 as a sophomore), two mile winner Johnny Gregorek (9:19), Antony Taylor (9:26), Ed Colvin (9:39), and Jeff Bush (9:49).  Of course, this does not even include some of the stars that were not at All States last year, such as Steve Sollowin, Ben Perron, Paul Cina, and John Murray (fresh off a trip to San Diego for FL). 

This is one of the best years in distance running for Massachusetts since 1998 when Franklin Sanchez and Andy Powell dominated.  With this kind of talent, the mile state record of 4:11 will be in danger of falling.

300: The 300m is going to be one heck of a race at All States, and the state meet record will be in major danger of being broken.  St. John's Prep senior Jared Kadich has set the bar high at his first Tri County League meet with a 35.2x without spikes.  Others contending for the event and the meet record will be Casey O'Brien (35.69 last year), Francesco Cuesta (35.75), and Chris Crosby (36.69 in one of his worse races of the year).  The meet record is 34.73, and with these guys pushing each other in spikes, it could go down.

Jumps: Both the long jump and the high jump should be good to watch as well.  The long jump returns all four of the top guys from last year's state meet, including Jon Williams, Craig Langes (who is only a junior this year), Phito Gondre (also only a junior this year) and Ricardo Jacquite.  In the high jump, although superstar Corey Thomas graduated, there is now a vacuum in the event.  Corey Fairfield, Brandon Higgins, Armando Bucciarelli, Josh Qunnie, Nick Staley, George Louis, and others will all be vying to succeed Thomas as state champ.

Teams to Watch

Andover: The returning state champs also return their 55m state champ Chris McConnel along with three out of the four members of their state champion 4x400 team.  If they can repeat in both of those events, that is twenty points, and a solid finish in the 4x200 (which they won last year) should be enough to repeat as state champs.

St. John's Prep: This team struggled last year (a year in which they hoped to contend), but this year they have reloaded and hope to contend once again.  Kadich is leading the way in the 300, along with Crosby.  Both have a shot at scoring at All States.  Crosby and Kadich will also be leading a 4x400 by committee, in which the other two runners will decide whether they can score in it.  Other places where they might score are the 4x800 (on which John Flanagan, Jarrett Harrigan, Ben Halpin, Mike Galasso, and others will be vying for spots) and the 1000 which promises to be weak because most top distance runners will be running the mile or the deuce.  A guy like Flanagan or Chris Oesterlin could sneak in the 1000 and score some points for the Prep there.

People to Watch (Besides the Aforementioned)

George Louis: Well, I mentioned him before, but just a little.  A high jumper and sprinter from Beverly, Louis should turn heads.  He did not go to states the past two years (he is now a junior) even though he qualified, but expect him to go this year.  In his first dual meet he has jumped 6'2", and everyone knows he is capable of higher.

Steve Souza: The only underclassman to score in the 600 last year, expect him to improve from his 1:24.xx from last year.  He might not set a meet record like Nick Wade did last year, but he is going to be expected to lead the 600, and I expect him to embrace that role.

Andrew Sukeforth: The highest finishing junior in the 1000 last year, Sukeforth is the perennial favorite to win the 1000 in what promises to be a weak year for the event.  He has said on Dyestat that he is afraid of some other runners who may enter the event, while at the same time saying that he is committed to winning this year.  Interesting words from a favorite to win, and it should be interesting to see how his season plays out.

Of course, these are just some of the stories going into the 2010 Winter Track season.  Should be interesting to see what happens on Saturday at the Winter Festival, the first invitational of the winter.  We should be able to get an idea of who is where early on.  Nonetheless, it promises to be another great season at Reggie :D