NH Distance Festival Meet Hub
Thanks to Coach Jeff Wilson and the Souhegan Track and Field community, NH has a brand new event coming this Friday. The Inaugural NH Distance Festival, which is comprised of only 1 mile and 5000 meter races, begins at 5pm May 2nd at Souhegan High School. Patterned after our friends in CT from Xavier (Coach Wilson is an alum!) and Hall High Schools, the Connecticut Distance Festival has grown in popularity every year because it includes all levels of distance runners. The miles progress faster and faster each heat to the crescendo heater heats! These are followed by 5ks under the lights for the pure distance runners. And now thanks to Souhegan, we have this same opportunity in NH!
To make this event even greater, the BSR Elite Races are being held as a meet within the meet! The Elite Races have occurred the past couple years bringing in the best in New England to compete in the mile distance. The competition has always been super fierce but it lacked one thing…a bunch of spectators!!!! Now combined, we have 1 incredible event for all to enjoy!
And of course, NHTF will be there to livestream, snap pics, interview! Marathon Sports will have a merch tent which will include this spring’s NHTF website tees (all proceeds support the site thanks to Stitches NH!). Below are 2 previews. 1 for the NH Distance Festival and 1 for BSR’s Elite Races by our friend Steve Mazzone at Bay State Running.
NH Distance Festival
Miles
With OR’s Haley Kavanagh and Mackenzie Cook returning for the 2nd year in the Elite Mile as well as Hopkinton’s Maddy Lane and Exeter;s Alexis Paterna, this field is wide open with no clear favorite. So look to Exeter’s Eli Cross as the race favorite if you will. She will not have to look too far as teammate Brianna Paterna is 2nd seed, with Phillips Exeter’s Leta Griffith as the 3rd seed. Expect to see Hopkinton teammates Shaylee Murdough and Reese Bove, but also OR’s Olivia Kavanagh to form a secondary pack.
On the boys’ side, Matthew Giardina and Will Simard are both competing in the Elite Mile. Phillips Exeter teammates Truman Yee and Marcus Kiehl are the top 2 seeds, but look for BG’s Carson Fischer, Monadnock’s Peyton Joslyn, Milford’s Logan Korthals, CBNA’s Luc Kerouac and Kearsarge’s Daniel Dalbec to certainly have a say in the outcome. Parity wins here! Do not overlook host school’s Dallen Noorda either!
5000 Meter Races!
These will certainly be interesting! Most of the athletes have not raced an entire 3.1 miles on the track and the last time they raced a 5k was most likely XC season. Keep in mind NH athletes typically do 6-10 five kilometer races per XC season. So yeah, all those racing are certainly looking to PR for the distance!
PEA’s Ava Bullock is the top seed with an entry time of 18:00. Look for Concord’s Shelly Smith, BG’s Anna Fondakowski, OR’s Madelyn Cook, Plymouth’s Elli Englund and Mascenic’s Erin O’Shea to accompany Bullock in a formation of the front pack.
Mascoma Valley’s Gunner Currier and PEA’s Bocelli Howland-Vlahakis share top seed status with entry times of 15:15. Look for PEA’s Pearce Covert to join them in the front pack. More than likely, Champlain Valley VT’s Benjamin Holoch, Pinkerton’s Trainor Mailloux, PCA’s Christian Barnes, OR’s Oliver Lehman, and Portsmouth’s Nolan Peters will form the chase pack.
Both of these races should be under the lights making for a distance runner’s dream!
BSR Scholastic Races
By Steve Mazzone – BSR
What happens when you put some of the best runners on the line for a one mile race? We’re sure you know the answer. But just in case you don’t, check out the results of the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile the last two years. Last year, nine runners broke 4:12 in the boys’ race and seven dipped under five minutes for the girls. In the initial year of 2023, seven were under 4:11 for boys and five bettered five minutes for girls. The third annual event, which is once again presented by Marathon Sports and HOKA, will be held Friday night at Souhegan (NH) High, the featured races of the New Hampshire Distance Festival. Trust us, per status quo, these fields are loaded! We mean, absolutely loaded. Particularly the girls’ race. Just to give you a sampling. Lacing up their racing shoes will be our indoor champion from the New Balance Nationals and the runner-up finisher from the recent Penn Relays Carnival. In total, eight of the 11 runners have broken five minutes.
Insane, right?
Below we feature all the entries for girls’ mile race The entire meet, including our grand finales of mile races (and 800m races, too), will be live streamed on our YouTube channel. Meet begins at 5 p.m.
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Girls Elite Mile
Abby Hennessy, Westford Academy (MA) – Along with New Balance Nationals Indoor champion Brooke Straus, we’re listing Hennessy as a co-favorite for the title. The gifted junior is coming off a sterling second-place finish at this past weekend’s Penn Relays Carnival where she clocked an all-time best and nation No. 2 of 4:40.1. Hennessy finished just a stride behind eventual winner Dylan McElhinney of Hunter (NY), who was timed in a nation best of 4:39.89. The Westford standout is a fearless runner, who is not afraid to take charge and make the race honest from the gun. That was pretty much what she did this past winter to nearly earn a spot on the podium from the unseeded heat at the New Balance Nationals in mid March. In a solo effort from the start, she won that heat with an indoor best of 4:42.72 to eventually place seventh overall. If this race is close at the end and Hennessy is among the leaders, which we’re almost guaranteeing, she appears to hold the edge over her rivals. She has sub 60-second 400-meter speed and has proven countless times to have plenty in the tank in the closing stages of the race. At the Penn Relays, she ran negative spits, running her final 800m in 2:16.97. Her last 400m was 1:06.80.
Brooke Strauss, Glastonbury (CT) – Straus comes into this race a little more than a month and half from her upset victory at the New Balance Nationals where she broke the tape in a nearly five-second PR of 4:39.53. Her previous best prior to the March 16 race was 4:44.34 from her runner-up finish at the Millrose Games. Among other impressive victories, she also earned titles for the 3K (PR, 9:30.58) at the Yale Track Classic and the 1,000m (PR, 2:46.05) at the New England Championships. See a pattern here. She knows how to up her game when the competition is at its best. Less than three weeks ago, Straus ran a best of 10:16.52 for 3,200m in a league meet. She’s ready for a big race on Friday.
Haley Kavanagh, Oyster River (NH) – Kavanagh is among a plethora of sub five-minute miler that will be lacing up their shoes to face the region’s best. The Oyster River senior won the mile at the NHIAA Meet of Champions last June and owns an all-time best of 4:50.18 from the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 14 at Boston University.
Mackenzie Cook, Oyster River (NH) – Here’s another gifted runner for the Bobcats with some impressive stats on her resume. Cook was fifth at the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile last year where she ran 4:57.06. This past indoor season, the Oyster River senior ran all-time best for the mile (4:54.84) at the Valentine Invite and the 3K (9:57.69) at the BU John Thomas Terrier Classic.
Kiley DeFusco, Cumberland (RI) – It doesn’t matter the meet, the Clipper senior always comes to race. We expect it to be no different on Friday. DeFusco, who is a multiple all-stater, is coming off her best season on the track. She was a double winner at the State Meet with victories in the 1,500 (PR, 4:35.82) and the 1,000 (PR, 2:58.06). She also twice broke five minutes for the mile at the New Balance Nationals with her leg on the Clippers’ 4xMile squad and a 4:55.91 best in the Championship Mile.
Ciara Evans, Newton North (MA) – Evans broke the five-minute barrier for the first time this past winter, clocking a mile best of 4:57.76 at the MSTCA Coaches Invitational back on Jan. 26. She followed that performance a month later with her first individual title at the MIAA Meet of Champions. Recently, Evans was the victor on the road, winning the BAA Invitational Mile on Boston Marathon weekend.
Lucy McLean, Haverhill (MA) – The Haverhill native, who runs for New England Elite, has range from the 400m (PR, 59.52) to the 2M (10:51.66). She was ninth in this race last year where she posted a time of 5:00.39. McLean’s best for the mile came last year at the Valentine Invitational where she clocked an all-time best of 4:58.52. She has a PR of 2:11.11 for the 800m. At the Raleigh Relays on March 27, she ran season bests of 2:13.81 for the 800m and a PR of 4:35.53 for the 1,500m.
Greta Hammer, Needham (MA) – Hammer proved this past winter that her forte is not just in cross country. Coming off a fall season on the trails where she won the Div. 1 crown at the Meet of Champions and also qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals by placing second at NXR-Northeast. Hammer continued her excellence on the oval, too. Her season was highlighted by a victory in the 2M at the Meet of Champions where she beat a quality field with a huge PR of 10:21.48. This past weekend, Hammer went sub-5 for the first time in her career by taking gold in the mile at the Warrior Invitational with a time of 4:58.68.
Amelia Alvazzi, Andover Phillips Academy (MA) – The APA junior ran a best of 5:03.11 for the mile at the New Balance Nationals back in mid March. It was a season where she also had bests of 2:15.61 for the 800m and 1:38.26 for the 600m. In a league meet last week, she won the 800m with an outdoor best of 2:17.47.
Madeleine Lane, Hopkinton (NH) – The talented sophomore had a strong indoor season where she broke 5:10 for the mile four times, including a PR of 5:06.46 at the ECAC/IC4A Open Mile on March 9. She also dipped under 10 minutes for the 3K with a 9:58.93 effort at the Valentine Invitationals and raced to a PR of 10:49.16 for the two mile at the New Balance Nationals.
Samantha Moore, Portland (ME) – The Portland senior is a low five-minute miler, achieving a best of 5:00.81 this past indoor season. She also finished sixth in the 1,000m (PR, 2:58.80) at the New England Championships and registered bests of 1:00.58 for the 400m and 1:37.22 for the 600m.
Alexis Paterna, Exeter (NH) – Just this past weekend, Paterna may have had her best race clocking a 10:49 in the 3200 shadowing one of the best in New England in Cook the entire way. Paterna has shown great range as she led her team to All-American status with a 2:18 leg in this past indoor’s Nike Nationals. She is poised to drop under 5:00 in the mile for the first time Friday.
Boys Elite Mile
Soheib Dissa, Newtown (CT) – We expect the Nighthawks senior to be among the contenders for the individual title on Friday night. In three meets this past indoor season, Dissa broke 4:07 for the mile. He was first at the MSTCA Boston Holiday Challenge where he ran 4:06.64. He also placed fifth at the New Balance Grand Prix with a time of 4:06.86. Dissa’s best effort came at the Millrose Games in New York where he placed fourth among the elite with a PR of 4:04.80. Of recent, Dissa clocked an all-time best of 8:18.08 for 3,000m at the Arcadia Invitational, an effort that placed him eighth overall among the nation’s best. There’s no doubt he’ll be ready to explode against his northeast rivals.
Tam Gavenas, Andover Phillips Academy (MA) – Gavenas was a runner-up last year at the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile where he ran a then best of 4:09.15. Since that performance, a lot has happened for the APA senior; most notably, one memorable victory in San Diego in early December. On the challenging terrain of Balboa Park, Gavenas added his name to the celebrated list of winners of the Foot Locker Nationals, claiming the crown by nearly four seconds with a 5K time of 15:23.9. During the indoor season, Gavenas improved on his best for the mile by placing sixth at Millrose in 4:09.0. He also won the two mile at the Beantown Winter Classic on Dec. 22 with a PR of 9:04.03 and took first for 3,200m four months later at the St. Carroll Texas Distance Festival with another best of 9:04.80.
Alex Fisher, Loomis Chaffee (CT) – Fisher was third at the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile last year where he ran his current best of 4:09.20. During the indoor season, the gifted junior ran a season best of 4:14.02 at the Last Chance Indoor National Qualifier and won the two mile at the CIRCUIT New York City with a PR of 8:58.23. Most recently, he achieved a best of 1:54.38 for 800m in a league meet on April 23.
Jack Ouellette, Xavier (CT) – As what can often happen in races with fields like this, we’re expecting a big race from Ouelette on Friday night. The Xavier senior ran an all-time best of 4:11.21 for the mile at the New Balance Nationals, an effort that placed him 16th overall and was a best by more than four seconds. He proved his training has been on point for the spring campaign by winning the 5K at the CT Distance Festival in mid April with a PR of 14:56.51. Owner of a 54.54 best for 400m, Ouellette has also proven he has some strong foot speed for the closing lap.
Graham Heinrich, Marshfield (MA) – Heinrich is another runner with a impressive range of speed and endurance. Of all our entries, he might be the quickest of them all, having split sub 52-seconds on his team’s 4x400m relay squad. Heinrich ran a best of 4:12.55 for the mile at the Last Chance Indoor National Qualifier at the TRACK at New Balance on March 2 and has run 4:16 thrice during the winter. In addition he twice went 2:29 for 1,000m. In mid April, Heinrich established a new best in the 2M with a triumphant 9:26.64 in a league meet. If everything works out as planned, the Rams’ standout is certainly capable of breaking 4:10 with the quality of talent he’ll be facing on Friday.
John Bianchi, Natick (MA) – Bianchi is strength runner who certainly doesn’t like to hold back whenever he races. He was our runner-up at both the Div. 1 Championships and the Meet of Champions with times of 4:14.95 and 4:13.08, respectively. He continued that positive momentum by clocking his all-time best of 4:12.63 at the New Balance Nationals. Bianchi hasn’t really raced all-out this season yet. Perhaps it’s by design. Perhaps he’s saving it for one big race this weekend. Guess we’ll find out soon.
Silas Gartner, Falmouth (MA) – Gartner, a Foot Locker finalist, is a gutsy runner that always give it his best effort when the gun is fired. He comes in with a PR of 4:14.71, which he did to place fifth at the Showdown at the Heights on Feb. 7. In one of his final races before Friday’s competition, Silas was a victor at the MSTCA Warrior Classic where he was timed in a season best of 9:23.60 for the two mile at the April 24 meet.
Matt Giardina, Bishop Guertin (NH) – This will be Giardina’s first race of the outdoor season. The Tyngsborough (MA) native is primarily a long distance runner. On the trails, Giardina was the individual winner at the NHIAA X-C Meet of Champions and qualified for both the Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals, placing seventh in the latter. Giardina was the New England indoor two-mile champion as a junior in 2024 and this past winter placed second to Nate Assa of Marblehead (MA) at the regional competition with an all-time best of 9:07.34. For the mile, Giardina broke 4:20 three times during the recent indoor season, including a PR of 4:17.86 at the New Balance Nationals in mid March.
Nate Assa, Marblehead (MA) – Assa is a little more than a month removed from a breakthrough indoor season that included victories in the two mile at the MIAA Meet of Champions and New England Championships where he ran times of 9:05.30 and 9:04.60, respectively. He was also sixth in the 5K at the New Balance Nationals with a best of 14:32.40. Assa has only run the mile a limited number of times, but has shown promise there, too. He has a best of 4:20.09 from the Northeast Conference Championships during indoor and this past weekend was close to his PR by taking runner-up honors to teammate Will Cerrutti at the BSR Mid-Distance Classic with a time of 4:20.16.
Colby Flynn, Bishop Hendricken (RI) – Flynn’s a grinder, who never backs down to a challenge. This is something we’ve witnessed several times this year by the talented tenth-grader. Flynn was third at the state cross-country championships and just a few weeks later placed 12th at the NXR-Northeast Regionals where he led near the midway point of the race. On the indoor surface, the Hawk standout was third in the 3K at the Yale Track Classic with a PR of 8:28.91 and battled fellow rival Marshall Vernon of La Salle right to the last meter in the same event at the State Meet where he was timed in 8:35.04. He has an all-time best of 4:19.66 for the mile from the Armory Hispanic Games in NYC on Jan. 4.
Ethan Sholk, Lincoln Sudbury (MA) – Sholk is a runner with both speed and endurance. The L-S senior, who has a best of 4:18 for the mile, clocked a nearly eight-second best of 9:09.48 for the two mile at the New Balance Nationals this past winter. He’s also a 1:56 half-miler and ran 38.28 for the 300m during a league meet last year as a junior.
Will Simard, Con-Val (NH) – Simard is “dropping down” for this one. With personal records of 9:15 in the 3200 and a 5k under 15 minutes Simard certainly has the pedigree to mix it up here. A multi-time NH state champion, look for him to be a part of the 4:18 miler group looking to take advantage of the opportunity to substantially lower his best mile time!
Scholastic 800 Preview – Soon
