Brooks Northeast is at Franklin Park in Boston for the 3rd consecutive year tomorrow. For those not familiar, Brooks (formerly ‘Foot Locker’) is the older sibling of the national meets and designed for individuals, no teams. In the ‘Championship’ races, athletes from the northeast (DE, DC, PA, NJ, NY and New England) hope to qualify for a trip to the national championship in San Diego, California by placing in the top 10. So with 4 regions, that is a pretty select group of only 40 girls and 40 boys who qualify from across the country. New this year, Brooks will be offering ‘Golden Tickets’ to various individuals not competing at a regional but are good enough to be at their Nationals. Think mostly of those who ahve qualified for Nike Cross Nationals. The schedule certainly works with both nationals on separate weekends.
Being so close to home, NH has its fair share of competitors. Highlighting the NH girls has to be Exeter’s Alexis Paterna. The NH State Champion has proven she can run with anyone on the hills and the trails and has a legit shot to qualify for San Diego. Quietly look for her sister Brianna to be in the next pack. Knowing her, she will be ready to pounce if given the opportunity. And while Hopkinton’s Maddy Lane is on the entry list, expect her to sit this one out in preparation for Nike Cross Nationals the next weekend.
The boys competing for a chance to go to San Diego include Monadnock’s Peyton Joslyn, Keene’s Sullivan Sturtz, Pinkerton’s Jason Robie, Trainor Mailloux, Oscar D’Amelio, Hanover’s Ben Groves and Fall Mountain’s Elijah Bodanza. Joslyn and Sturtz both have the resumes to truly say they have a legit shot to qualify. Sturtz did race last week at hilly Bowdoin, but ironically he seems to truly enjoy the flatter courses. Joslyn, well, remember his 14:44??? One can bet the Pinkerton crew is hungry, although they truly rolled and represented the 603 beautifully last weekend! And, as we have learned, we can never sleep on Bodanza and Groves! Excited for this one!
Good luck to all from the Granite State competing tomorrow in Boston!
