By Stephen Mazzone – Bay State Running
Loaded, absolutely loaded.
Just sit back and enjoy this one.
If you’re into speed, Friday night’s seeded 400-meter races at the BSR Elite Scholastic Meet at UMass-Lowell should provide plenty of it.
There’s little question who the favorite is in the boys’ competition. Brenan McCabe of Immaculate (CT) has made that clear this month. Back on May 2, McCabe swept the 200m and 400m with personal-best performances, blazing to times of 21.49 and 46.95, respectively. This past weekend, he further established himself among the region’s elite by capturing the 400m title at the Glenn D. Loucks Games in New York with a time of 47.65.
Can he be beaten this weekend? Anything’s possible, right?
Especially with the caliber of athletes entered in this fourth annual event.
Five others in the field have broken 49 seconds, separated by just 0.62 seconds. That quintet includes New Hampshire’s Ross Stephens of Con-Val (48.01), Massachusetts’ Ryan Pulpi of Reading (48.08), New Hampshire’s Ewa Edokpolo of Manchester Memorial (48.26), Connecticut’s Charles Dalles of Coginchaug (48.32) and Rhode Island’s Garrett Giroux Pezzullo of La Salle Academy (48.63). Rounding out the field is Massachusetts’ Nathan Cunoosamy of Needham (50.78).
Can you say barnburner down the stretch?
It certainly looks that way.
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It should be no different when the girls answer the gun.
Like its counterpart, this race also has a clear-cut favorite, with Natick’s Chloe Elder earning that distinction. The Red Hawks senior blazed to an all-time best of 53.73 at last year’s Meet of Champions, a massive performance that still landed her second on the podium behind fellow rival and graduating senior Breanna Braham of Dennis-Yarmouth, who won in 53.70. Both efforts eclipsed the existing state record.
Elder owns a season best of 56.11 from an April 29 league meet and most recently clocked a PR of 2:14.73 for the 800m at last weekend’s Weston Twilight Invitational. Expect the Natick senior to be at her best Friday night against a field that includes four other sub-minute performers.
Holding the No. 2 seed is perhaps the biggest threat to knocking off Elder this weekend, Naugatuck’s Lauren Kropo. Kropo raced to a best of 55.30 with her victory at the Tammy Schondelmayer Invitational. During the indoor season, she also demonstrated the kind of range that suggests even faster times are possible, posting marks that include 39-second speed for 300m and 1:32 for 600m.
Kate Pearse of Barrington (RI) is another athlete capable of making an impact. She enters the meet coming off a victory at the Sgt. Brian St. Germain Invitational, where she ran a personal-best 56.93.
Rounding out the entries are Central Catholic (MA) freshman Avery Strickler (57.94) and New Hampshire’s Martelle McBride of Exeter (59.11).
