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Headed into the indoor track season, we take a quick look backwards at the top New England US Women's Shot Put marks and competitors. For the 2024 indoor season, the top NE women's shot put performances were separated by less than three feet. 50' 5.5"    Kendra Ezeama (Brown)-  01/20/2024 at the URI Invitational            Kendra had the 112th longest throw indoors in the US 50' 4.75"   Martina Mkwantah (UMASS Lowell) -   03/03/2024 at the ECAC/IC4A Indoor Championships,  Martina had the 113th longest throw indoors in the US 49' 7"   Alexis Boykin  (MIT) - 02/23/2024 at the NE DIII Indoor Championships              Alexis had the 133rd longest throw indoors in the US 48' 8.75"  Kasey Thomas (Bryant) - 02/19/2024 at the America east indoor championships, Kasey had the 161st longest throw indoors in the US 47' 11.25"   Juliana Nakouzi  (BU)- 01/20/2024 at the BU Battle in Beantown                Juliana had the 203rd longest throw indoors in the US Chase Jackson notched the top overall US performance at the USATF Indoor Championships with a put of 65' 8.25".

We will continue to look a bit backwards before we begin the indoor season. Today will be the men's 60 meter dash (I know, how old am I?) with a look at last season's top New England sprinters. One of the fastest times by a New England competitor goes to Northeastern University's Ethan Exilhomme with a time of 6.68 seconds, on February 22, 2024 at the CAA Indoor champs. Ethan's posted time was the 110th fastest time in the nation. Ethan also competes in the 60m hurdles. Harvard's Timi Esan had the second fastest 60m time at 6.72. During the 2024 indoor season, Timi also ran a few 200 meter races. At one one-hundreth back in a time of 6.73 stands Rhode Island's Tristen Howard , at the Atlantic 10 Indoor championships, February 24, 2024. Tristen's time tied him with other racers at the 201st place in the nation. Boston University speedster Dakota Jackson sped to 6.75 at the David Hemery Invitational on February 9, 2024. His time was the 252nd fastest time in the US. Dakota also ran a couple of 200m races during last year's indoor season. On that same day, Harvard's Jonas Clarke ran 6.76 across town at the Boston College Eagle Elite Invitational. We look forward to fast races (and fast times) this upcoming indoor season.

Today I'm taking a look at the top times for New England women's 800 meters. The 2 minute mark was a top time when I competed in the 80's. Running near or breaking two minutes will continue to get a runner in or near the top 10 in the country. At the David Hemery Invitational, February 9, Angel Piccirillo ran a sweet time of 2:01.4. Angel runs for Puma and her time was the tenth fastest in the nation. Harvard's Sophia Gorriaran ran 2:01.68 on February 16 at the BU DMR Challenge. That swift time earned her the 12th fastest time in the US. With an excellent 2:03.95 clocking, Katherine Mitchell of New Balance Boston posted the 45th fastest time in the country. Katherine ran her fast time at the John Thomas Terrier Classic. Victoria Bossong of Harvard ran 2:04.02 at the BC Eagle Elite Invitational last Valentine's day. Victoria also competed in 400m, 500m and 600m races last indoor season as well as a number of relays. Her fastest time posted at 47th place in the nation. Kimberley May of Providence College ran the 60th fastest time in the US last indoor season. Her time of 2:04.47 at the UMass Amherst Flagship Invitiational earned her the 60th spot. Kimberly also ran the mile and 3,000 meters last season. Providence College's Alex O'Neill ran a superb time of 2:05.49 at last year's John Thomas Terrier Classic. Alex also competed in 500 and 1000 meter races last season. Her fastest time placed her at the 84th spot in the country. Maddy Berkson of Battle Road Track Club clocked in at 2:06.55, February 3 (BU Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Invitiational). Maddy competed in the 1000m, 1500m and 1 mile races last indoor season setting personal records in two events (1000m and the Mile.) Maeve O'Neill of Providence College ran the 135th fastest time in the US (2:07.13) at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational last season.

High jumpers are simply amazing. The top New England high jumpers have the ability to consistently jump over the heads of the tallest basketball players.   During the 2024 indoor season, Harvard’s Tito Alofe was consistently one of the best high jumpers in the nation, clearing 2.1 meters in each of his events. On January 26, 2024 at the Riverhawk invitational, Tito cleared 2.22 meters to win the meet. That’s 7’ 3.25”! Tito’s mark was the eleventh highest indoors in the US last year.   Clearing a height of 7’ 1.5”, Connecticut’s Mawali Osunniyi posted plenty of marks above the 2 meter height. Mawali was ranked 41st overall in the nation last season and 28th for Division I athletes.   John McNeil of Brown is a multi-talented athlete, ranking 56th and 53rd in the country for high jump and long jump respectively. John’s top indoor high jump mark of 7’ 0.5” came at the Ivy League championships on February 24, 2024 where he finished second.   High schooler Khalil Antoine (Hillhouse – Connecticut) also cleared 7’ 0.5” to become one of the nation’s top high jumpers. What’s really amazing about Khalil’s progression during the 2024 indoor season was that he won a developmental meet in early January with a height of 6’ 6” and finished the season with a personal best of 7’ 0.5” at the Nike Indoor nationals (March 8, 2024.) Clutch performance!   Anthony Meng of MIT cleared 6’ 9.75” at the NE DIII championship meet last February. Anthony won the New England championship with that jump and he would also notch his season’s best performance at the championship.   Rhode Island College’s Matthew Santy would jump 6’ 9.5” at the Atlantic 10 indoor championships to win the meet this past February. Matthew ranked among the top high jumpers and long jumpers in the US last season.   Matthew’s teammate Ryan Tona (Rhode Island College) was a heptathlon standout during the 2024 indoor season. At the URI Coaches invitational, Ryan jumped 6’ 8.75”. That mark would place Ryan with the elite high jumpers in the country. The high jump and hurdles were his strongest events last year.   Tufts university’s Harry Rienecker-Found cleared 6’ 8.75” at the NE DIII indoor championship in February to post a season’s best mark. Harry finished second at the championship meet. He was ranked at 250th in the nation, an amazing achievement for a DIII athlete.   High schooler Ja’Mari Manson (Bloomfield, CT) had a number of marks over 6’ 4” during the season but saved his best jump for his last indoor meet, jumping 6’ 8.75” at the Nike Indoor nationals last March. Ja’Mari place fifth at the national meet with that outstanding jump.

...the starting gun sounds, unleash a controlled fury, hit your steps, the hurdles are coming up fast, three steps, hurdle, three steps, hurdle and about eight seconds later, it's over. Hurdle races in the women's competition in New England are epic because the barriers and short distance do not allow for stumbles, mistakes or recovery. It's eight seconds then you can breathe again... The following are some of the fastest times posted by the top New England hurdlers in the 60 meter race last indoor season: Connecticut huskie Jailya Ash ran a personal best of 8.19 to win the 60 meter hurdle event on January 26 at the Dr. Sander Invitational challenge. Jailya was ranked 42nd in the nation and posted times in every event last season of 8.49 or faster! Jailya was also ranked second in the 60 meter hurdles last season in the Big East. A'liyah Thomas of the University of Connecticut ran a personal best of 8.31 on February 23rd at the Big East championships. A'liyah ran a number of times under 8.4 last season and competed in the long jump, She was ranked 1st in the Big East in the long jump and was one of the nations fastest hurdles. Northeastern University's Dominique Biron won the URI Coaches invitational in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.61 on February 3rd. Earlier that same, she set a personal best of 8.51 in the preliminary heats. Domique also competed in the pentathlon and was ranked 25th in the NCAA and 26th overall in the US. Chiamaka Odenigbo of Brown scored more than 4,000 points to win the Pentathlon event at the Ivy League championships. She also placed third at the 60 meter hurdles at the same championship event. Her fastest time of the season, 8.52 came in the prelims at the 2024 Ivy League championships. Fabiola Belibi of Harvard ran 8.53 to place second at John Thomas Terrier Classic on January 26. Fabiola was also one of the top pentathlon competitors in the Ivy League, ranking 3rd last season. Brooke Ury of Brown ran a very fast time of 8.55 on January 26 at the Dr. Sander invitational challenge prelims. Unfortunately, in the finals, Brooke took a nasty fall at the third hurdle and was unable to complete the race and appeared to have ended a most promising season. Brown University's Lauren Yeboah-Kodie is a multi-event athlete, competing last season in the triple jump, long jump and the 60 meter flat race in addition to hurdles. She ran a number of fast times during the season, but ran her fastest at the Ivy League championships on February 24. Her time of 8.55 in the semi-finals propelled her to the final where she placed second. Lucija Grd of Yale began the season with a win, posting a sizzling time of 8.56 on January 20 at Yale v Dartmouth & Columbia meet. Lucija followed up that win with a number of fast times during the indoor season. Lucija was the top ranked hurdler on the Yale team. Katelyn Gorgenyi of the University of Massachusetts ran a special time of 8.60 on March 2 at the NEICAAA championships, winning the event in her last indoor event last season. Katelyn earned the Atlantic 10 number 1 ranking in the 60 meter hurdles last season. Eliza Cardwell of Amherst College posted a number of terrific times last season. Her best time 8.60, came at the NCAA DIII championships on March 9th. Eliza was also one of the top Division III long jumpers, ranking 12th in the country.

Trials of Miles racing is teaming up with Runnerspace to bring us more indoor racing (and more chances for epic photos of you!) They have dubbed their new venture the Circuit. According to the release on the Runnerspace website , the Circuit will be a race series appearing in four cities during the upcoming indoor track season: Boston, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. The plan is to "blend" high school and open races focusing on relays, distance and sprints. Unfortunately, the Circuit does not appear to feature any jumping or throwing events. The Boston event will take place on Friday evening, February 21 at the TRACK at New Balance.

I agree, an absurb title but I caught the attention of two of my four subscribers. Middle distance runners get to have all the fun. [Disclaimer: I am no middle distance runner.] You run 5K and 10Ks during the fall in these spectacular locations with the leaves changing. You get to rack up t-shirts and frozen apple pies at turkey trots, finishing well ahead of the ten minute milers. When the weather changes, you head indoors for some miles and other distances on the ovals. Come spring, it's back outdoors for 10Ks on the track. And summertime brings road races all over the region. Rinse and repeat. Meanwhile, if you throw the javelin, there aren't many/any indoor events interested in your run-ups. I've reached out to a few coaches to try to get an answer to the question: how do javelin throwers train during the winter months? No answers so far; I will not be deterred. And since I said I would cover track and field, I plan to put together lists of the top jumpers and throwers in our region and try to determine where some of their top performances have them ranked nationally.

Hopkinton State Fairgrounds The mens' teams from Syracuse and Harvard, finishing first and second, received the automatic qualifier spots from the NCAA Northeast Regionals yesterday in Hopkinton, NH. The top three finishers on the men's side were Graham Blanks, senior from Harvard, (29:34.65) in first place, followed by Syracuse's Sam Lawler (29:52.47) with third place finisher Matt Rankin (Iona) with a time of 29:55.93 A few race photos...

I had the pleasure to chat with Tomorrow Peeples-Taylor last week. She is the Head Coach of the Boston Lions Track Club, a track club she started in 2018. More than thirty runners, ages 3-19, are part of the growing club. She is such an enthusiatic, high energy person and her coach talk so engrossing that I was nearly ready to do some 400 repeats! The following is an excerpt of our discussion: Boston Running Scene How did you get your start in coaching? Tomorrow Peeples-Taylor: I had a childhood illness related to lead poisoning, which lead to lots of medicine and a doctor eventually recommending to my family that I should exercise. From that, my father fully supported the exercise regimen. A neighbor noticed my exercising with my father and recommended running. My father went all-in, he taught himself about coaching track and field. From my father’s teachings, my brothers and sisters were set on a path of track. I have always loved track & field and running. Boston Running Scene Do you see (or have you seen) common elements in your most successful athletes? Coach Peeples-Taylor Parents are very important in the success of the athletes. The commitment and struggles the athletes will go through on their journey to success will need to be supported by the coaches AND the parents. If the athlete makes excuses and the parents relent, then coaching becomes difficult. But with the support of the parents, the athlete will be able to push through many barriers, because now they have my support and guidance, and they know their parents won’t let them off the hook. You cannot have parenting at odds with the coaching and expect positive results from the athletes. If it doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t work. You can’t have superstar results with a backyard performance. I keep the athletes responsible and accountable. Many parents have a lot on their plates so having an athlete that takes responsibility helps immensely. Repetition can be a shock to some of our new runners. They haven’t grasped the concept of the hard work yet. I hear often about how fast someone’s kids are. And they might be, but when they encounter an athlete with some training, it can be deflating. But we lift them up and let them know, with hard work, they can get there too. Boston Running Scene What’s your view of the state of the sport? Coach Peeples-Taylor The opportunities for participation are much greater now than they were twenty years ago. Access to information through the internet (especially social media) has made the sport much more accessible than it was before. Boston Running Scene Talking training and technique, what worked twenty/forty years ago that still works today? Hard work, repetition and a consistency mindset. Boston Running Scene Have the latest super shoes made their way into your age group athletes? Coach Peeples-Taylor No, they haven’t. Not yet Boston Running Scene What role does warm-ups and cool-downs play into your runners’ training? Coach Peeples-Taylor Warm ups and most importantly stretching is very important for the young runner. There is no limit to the amount of stretching our athletes need or should be getting. I want them stretching and loosening up muscles almost right up until the gun goes off. Stretching and time for stretching – no limits, more is always better than less. Boston Running Scene Life skill (or happiness) question: what is the best advice you’ve ever received? Coach Peeples-Taylor If you want something different, you be different. Sacrifice to get what you want. And no pain, no gain. When they tell you no, you show them yes. Coach Peeples-Taylor can be reached at BostonLionsTrackClub@gmail. com

Hopkinton NH What a RACE today! The course was fantastic and well-groomed, the sun shone brightly all day. And that first hill! Sheesh, this old man was huffing and puffing walking up the hill. NCAA Northeast Regionals! University of Connecticut's Chloe Thomas led the women's race in a time of 19: 23. It looked like smiles and laughs (and maybe a little conversation) coming over the hill on the second lap but most of the smiles were gone on that last lap. Syracuse grabbed one of the automatic qualifier spots and will be going to the national meet. Savannah Roark was the top performer for the Syracuse women's team, finishing in 9th place overall with a time of 20:02. Phoebe Anderson (Columbia) and Kimberly May (Providence) finished second and third. The Providence college took the top qualifying spot and will take their powerful squad to the national meet.

Quite the cross country weekend ahead for us . Friday NCAA regionals, Saturday state championships with Sunday bringing us the USATF-NE open and masters championships. I'm thinking - Championship weekend ! We plan to capture as much action as my cameras will allow. On Friday, I'll be in Hopkinton NH for the NCAA Northeast Regionals. The Providence College women's team ranks first in the region and 11 in the National Coaches' Poll. The Boston College women are ranked number 2 in the region and land at 25 in the national poll. The women's team from Harvard are ranked 4 in the region headed into Friday's meet. On the men's side the team from Harvard are ranked 3 in the region and sit at No. 20 in the national coaches' poll. The UMass Amherst men's team ranks at No. 5 in the region. Top 2 teams qualify automatically for the national championship with other teams waiting for a qualifying spot from Cross Country subcommittee choices. On Saturday at Devens (Willard Athletic Complex) in Massachusetts , the top boys and girls teams in the three divisions will compete for the State championships. The top teams qualified for this event last weekend in Northfield, Devens and Wrentham. Division 1 girls begin the competition at 11AM. The boys Division 3 race will conclude the event at 2:45PM. Award ceremonies will be held throughout the event day. I'll be taking notes and photos at the USATF-NE Open and Masters Cross Country Championships in Attleboro. The men's masters 8K will begin the event at 10:30AM; open and masters women 6K is set to begin at 11:30AM; with the Open mens 10K starts at 12:15PM. Fresh air and people running through the woods, what more do we want from our weekends!

Boston, MA - BAA Half Marathon On the men's side, Eritrea’s Yemane Haileselassie averaged 4:43 per mile to win in 1:01:46. California Robert Miranda was the top american finishing in fourth place. Miranda finished with an average pace of 4:45, not far behind the eventual winner. On the women's side, Ethiopia’s Fentaye Belayneh won by a second over the second and third place competitors in 1:10:26 (5:23 average pace). Megan Hasz was the top American finisher in overall tenth place, 61 seconds behind the event winner. BAA's wrap-up With the results including paces here