MIAA Division 2 Meet of Champions Results - 11/16/24

Wayland had a banner day at the MIAA Division 2 Meet of Champions to close out the 2024 season. This meet is the final stage of the statewide tournament, with three divisions based on school enrollment and all the teams and individuals competing having qualified from the previous week's divisional round. For Wayland and the other Division 2 teams it also was an opportunity to race on the same course as a week ago.

The girls were the first to run, with a large and deep pack forming behind the two front runners that gapped the field. Mia Rent, who has raced all season with a wisdom and maturity belying her relative lack of experience, hung back a bit early before establishing her position in the top 15. In the end she came in 12th which earned her a medal and All-State status for Division 2. Not far behind senior co-captain Arya Samaratunga established her position early on and proceeded to maintain it through the rest of the race, coming in 22nd overall. This result marks the culmination of three years of competing at this level, steadily improving over that time. After finishing 39th in 2022 and 35th last year, it was very much up in the air as to whether this trend would continue this year, as can be seen in looking at a performance list from last week's races on this same course. 

The boys race that followed was competitive from front to back. A tight lead pack formed early on and it took well into the second of three loops on the course for it to string out. Senior co-captain Luke Chisum established his position in this group straight away, and kept all but the top two runners close throughout. Behind him co-captain Will Jackson ran with great poise, weathering the fast early pace to gradually pick off runners who had started off too quickly. Behind this pair two ninth grades, Cyriaque Schaff and Ryan Foley, ran boldly in the first mile and hung in the rest of the way. Senior co-captain Owen Williams rounded out the scoring five, with 9th grader Brandon Hopps and 11th grader Matthew Tan rounding out the Wayland seven runner contingent. The final mile, with a climb up and over the only significant hill on the course followed by a long flat stretch to the finish line, made for high drama. Chisum was locked in a battle for the third place spot, taking it on a well-timed lean, while Jackson held off a charging horde behind him to secure 10th. With many evenly matched teams competing, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, it was possible that Wayland could finish anywhere between 5th and 10th as a team based on how last week's divisional round played out. When the dust finally settled (literally, there was dust everywhere after the dry fall we've experienced) Wayland had come 6th as a team, sandwiched between Walpole and Latin Academy by the slimmest of possible margins. Amherst, a team that had finished a point in front of Wayland last week, was 8th with 6 points separating 5th and 8th place. 

The 6th place finish for the Wayland boys is the highest place achieved in the current era of a Meet of Champions with three divisions; prior to 2022, no Wayland boys team had qualified for the final round of the tournament since 1997. Digging into the online yearbook archive, there was a run of very good boys teams in the early 90s. This year's group compares favorably with any of them. Meanwhile it appears safe to say that there's no record of both the girls and boys teams experiencing the level of accomplishment together that was seen this year, with three athletes achieving All-State status in addition to the boys' team place. The seniors involved in today's results--Samaratunga on the girls side, Chisum, Jackson and Williams for the boys--have left an impressive legacy for current and future Wayland runners, with a combined 13 appearances at the highest level of racing for Massachusetts high schools.  

With the final meet of the season in the books, this website will go into hibernation until next spring when the preseason interest meeting rolls around. It's been a memorable season. Thanks to everyone who took part.

overall girls

overall boys

splits for WHS athletes

Team and Individual Results at DCL and MIAA Championship, 1997-present

MIAA Divsion 2 Meet of Champions, 11/16/24

Live Results

Meet Site:

Willard Park, Sherman Ave., Devens

Bus time 10 AM

Please arrive a few minutes early so we can get on the road in good time. If necessary, use the bathroom before we leave.

Race Schedule:

Girls race 12:30 PM

Boys race 1:15 PM

Awards Ceremony 2:15

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: Mostly cloudy, temperature in the mid to high 50s with NW winds 10-15 mph. Dress appropriately including layers to wear when you're either waiting for your race or after having completed your cool down.
• Report to the starting line 10 minutes before your race is scheduled to start; keep your sweats on until the meet officials at the starting line tell you to remove them. Warmup clothes will be placed in the laundry basket which will then be brought to the tent. 
• Numbers will be assigned to you specifically for this meet; these numbers have an RFID chip attached to the back which interacts with a conductive mat at the finish line to record your time. The meet director has asked that athletes who aren't racing NOT wear their bib number if standing near the finish line; doing so can cause a false reading by the finish line mat. Also, don't crumple or fold your bib number. Finally, don't press the stop button on your wristwatch as you cross the finish line, since doing so might interfere with the RFID chip and your hand and wrist will obscure your bib number from view by the backup camera.

• MIAA tournament format 

Course Map (click to enlarge):

• Link to course map

• Starting from the NE corner of a large area of ball fields, the course is three trips around the fields. The first of these loops is the shortest, while the third loop is the longest and includes a trip into the woods with a short steep climb and descent. Soon after completing the third lap athletes turn off to the finish area.

• Due to the forecast rain in the morning hours and the foot traffic of the other races happening earlier in the day, spikes should be worn (1/4" or 3/8").

• Medals will be awarded to the top 15 finishers. 

Uniform Return:

All athletes will return their uniform after their race. You can put the uniform in the laundry basket. bring a change of clothes to wear after returning your uniform.

What to Bring:

• Uniform, including both jersey and shorts

• spare change of clothes

• Everyday training shoes

• Racing shoes

• Multiple layers of clothing including clothes to wear while warming up and cooling down, in addition to dry warm clothes for after your race

• lunch for after your race

• a bag to put wet clothes in

• Water bottle (filled)

• Snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Festival)

• Folding chair

• Blanket (optional)

For Parents:

• A parking fee will no doubt be collected, I don't know what it is. Parking map.
• We hope to return to WHS around 4 PM.
• Dogs aren't allowed on or near the course.
• Snacks are welcome, but due to allergy concerns the Athletic Director has asked that any snacks be individually wrapped and ideally have the ingredients written on the label.

Week 13 Training Plan, 11/11-11/16

2023 Euro cross mixed relay

Last one...

Monday 11/11 - Practice at Lincoln Station at 10 AM. Warmup including BURPEES followed by a CMR of 36 or 48 minutes. Bring your phone with the Outerspatial app loaded on it both to track your location while running and to review the results of this past weekend's Divisional meet. If planning to run off campus tomorrow, get a vest before leaving practice.

Tuesday 11/12 - On your own, 28-32 minutes starting at an easy pace and getting a bit faster over the last 10 minutes. This will be followed by 6x100 meters on the track with 100 meter jog recoveries at the end. These can be done "hourglass style" on the turf field if available.You can meet together at the school if you like or go home and do the run in your neighborhood, but be careful about any traffic on the roads. 

Wednesday 11/13 - Practice at 3:30. Warmup including BURPEES followed by 10-12 minute jog, 5x800 alternating between repeats on the track (1,3,5) and on the small hill in the corner of the practice field (2.4). The repeats on the track should get progressively faster, while the second repeat on the field should be faster than the first one. The recovery interval after each repeat should be 2.5-3 minutes. Finally, a 10-12 minute cooldown jog.

Thursday 11/14 - off

Friday 11/15 - Practice at 3:30 PM. Warmup followed by a 10 minute jog, two sets of short intervals on top of the aqueduct, 10 minute cooldown.

Saturday 11/16 - MIAA Division 2 Meet of Champions at Devens. More details in a forthcoming post.

MIAA Division 2B Championship Results, 11/9/24

Both WHS teams had excellent results in the MIAA tournament, held at Willard Field in Devens for the schools in Division 2. This is the first of two rounds in the state tournament; unlike with other sports there are no power rankings or brackets. Every school with a team can enter up to seven runners, with the top five comprising a scoring team. Only the top teams and the fastest individual finishers who aren't on those top teams make it to next week's Meet of Champions, the final race of the official high school calendar in Massachusetts.

The over 200 schools competing in the state are broken down into three divisions based on school size, with Division 1 schools being the largest and Division 3 schools the smallest. Each division is further broken down into three "waves," again based solely on school size. Each of the waves has around twenty to thirty teams competing, with not all of them fielding the necessary five runners to make a scoring team. Wayland competes in 2B which sits squarely in the middle of the size breakdown, with 2A schools being a little larger and 2C schools a little smaller. 2B also includes DCL opponent Bedford, which has almost exactly the same student population as WHS. 

The top seven teams in each wave and top ten individuals not on those top seven teams qualify to next weekend's second and final round, where all the qualifiers from 2A, 2B, and 2C face each other in the Division 2 Meet of Champions. There are also two wildcard teams qualifying from across all three Division 2 waves. Last year the boys team squeaked in as the last wildcard team, and Arya Samaratunga qualified as an individual wildcard. 

 The multi-loop layout meant that the wind would alternate between being in the runners' faces or at their backs. The third and final loop of the course takes the runners up and over Malvern Hill with a stair-step style ascent and somewhat terrifying, curving descent back to the field below. The final third of the course runs significantly slower than the first two thirds for all the runners due to this hill. The wind, blowing persistently around 15 mph from the northwest, made for another factor to account for in tackling this undulating course. 

The girls raced first, with Mia Rent continuing her very impressive rookie season. Hanging back off the early leaders, four of whom broke from the pack right away, she patiently reeled in all but the top two finishers to take a well-run third. This is the highest finish by a WHS female athlete at this level of competition since Sarah Tully's 2nd place finish in 2015. Not far back, Samaratunga kept herself in the mix for a medal, given out to the top 15 finishers. Running steadily throughout, Arya came in 14th improving over her 20th place of a year ago in the 2B race. Next was Dana Golanova who impressed once again in her first season of running cross country. She was followed closely by 10th grader Ainsley Jay with the Wayland scoring five rounded out by senior co-captain Naomi Rice. With only five runners in the race, all of them had to finish for Wayland to have a team score. This was the case, and in fact the 11th place finish is the highest by a Wayland girls team at this level since 2011. The 293 points the girls team scored is also the lowest total since 2011. 

On the boys side a large and deep pack formed up front which took a while to separate. Senior captain Luke Chisum stayed near the front of this group throughout to finish a strong fifth, matching his finishing place from 2 years ago and improving upon last year's 8th place. This year's 8th place runner was captain Will Jackson who was 10th a year ago. Both of them raced exceptionally well under pressure from a very competitive field. Chisum and Jackson matched their finishing places from last month's DCL Championship, giving an indication of just how strong the DCL is for boys cross country (most of the DCL schools are in Division 1 as they have much larger student populations). 

The next Wayland runner across the line was 9th grader Cyriaque Schaff, who was the second 9th grader across the line in 37th place. He was followed closely by senior captain Owen Williams who rallied strongly in the latter stages of the race. Rounding out the top five was 9th grader Ryan Foley who had the best race of a very good season when it mattered the most. Yet another 9th grader, Brandon Hopps was the sixth runner, making three freshmen in the top seven which is exceedingly rare. Junior Matthew Tan competed the seven runner Wayland contingent. 

When the team scores were tallied, Wayland came out a strong fourth, a single point behind third place Amherst. Pre-race favorites Ludlow were missing two of their top five runners from the group that dominated last month's Twilight Invitational in Falmouth and finished 8th. Meanwhile, for the first time all season and when it mattered the most, Wayland put its best top five runners on the line in the same race. Like last year, boys Wave 2B was much deeper than either 2A or 2C, as evidenced by the fact that both of the wildcard teams (teams that finished outside of the top seven that qualify for next week based on time) came from 2B, Ludlow and Newburyport.

Overall results - girls

Overall results - boys

 

Splits for WHS athletes

 

Team and Individual Results at DCL and MIAA Championship. 1997-present

 

MIAA Division 2B Championship, 11/9/24

Live results

Meet Site:

Willard Park, Sherman Ave., Devens

Bus time 10:00 AM

Please arrive a few minutes early so we can get on the road in good time. If necessary, use the bathroom before we leave.

Race Schedule, note change in start times:

Girls race 12:30 PM - Golanova, Jay, Rent, Rice, Samaratunga

 Boys race 1:15 PM - Chisum, Foley, Hopps, Jackson, Schaff, Tan, Williams

Awards Ceremony 2:15

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: Sunny, temperature around 50 degrees with SE winds around 10 mph. Dress appropriately including layers to wear when you're either waiting for your race or after having completed your cool down.
• Report to the starting line 10 minutes before your race is scheduled to start; keep your sweats on until the meet officials at the starting line tell you to remove them. Warmup clothes will be placed in the laundry basket which will then be brought to the tent. 
• Numbers will be assigned to you specifically for this meet; these numbers have an RFID chip attached to the back which interacts with a conductive mat at the finish line to record your time. The meet director has asked that athletes who aren't racing NOT wear their bib number if standing near the finish line; doing so can cause a false reading by the finish line mat. Also, don't crumple or fold your bib number. Finally, don't press the stop button on your wristwatch as you cross the finish line, since doing so might interfere with the RFID chip and your hand and wrist will obscure your bib number from view by the backup camera.

• girls teams in Wave 2B

• boys teams in Wave 2B

Course Map (click to enlarge):

• link to course map online

• Starting from the NE corner of a large area of ball fields, the course is three trips around the fields. The first of these loops is the shortest, while the third loop is the longest and includes a trip into the woods with a short steep climb and descent. Soon after completing the third lap athletes turn off to the finish area.

• Due to the fact the course is entirely on grass spikes should be worn (1/4" or 3/8").

• Medals will be awarded to the top 15 finishers.  

• Qualification for next week's Meet of Champions (MOC) is covered in page 4 of this document. 

Uniform Return:

Those athletes who don't qualify for the MOC can put their uniform in the laundry basket. Bring a change of clothes for after you're done racing.

What to Bring:

• Uniform, including both jersey and shorts

• spare change of clothes

• Everyday training shoes

• Racing shoes

• Multiple layers of clothing including clothes to wear while warming up and cooling down, in addition to dry warm clothes for after your race

• lunch for after your race

• a bag to put wet clothes in

• Water bottle (filled)

• Snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Festival)

• Folding chair

• Blanket (optional)

For Parents:

• A parking fee will no doubt be collected, I don't know what it is.
• We hope to return to WHS sometime around or a bit after 4 PM.
• Dogs aren't allowed on or near the course.
• Snacks are welcome, but due to allergy concerns the Athletic Director has asked that any snacks be individually wrapped and ideally have the ingredients written on the label.

Awards Night and Varsity Lists

Next Wednesday November 13th there will be an end of season celebration held in the Commons at 6:30. Everyone will receive a certificate of participation. We'll recognize the recipients of team-specific awards including Most Improved, Rookie of the Year, and MVP. There are also Coaches' Awards and Booster Awards that will be given out. Plus there's the always popular prize bag blowout, a highlight of this event. We hope to be done by 7:30.

While on the subject of recognition, the athletes listed below have earned varsity status for this season. An explanation of what it takes to be varsity in what is a no-cut sport can be found on page six of the team policies and FAQ document.

Girls:

Dana Golanova

Ainsley Jay

Amy Kotzampaltiris

Denedra Ma 

Mia Rent

Naomi Rice

Arya Samaratunga

Karis Tam

Cordia Wang

Boys:

Luke Chisum

Leo Ciccarelli

Morgan Fallace

Ryan Foley 

Jack Goode

Brandon Hopps

Will Jackson

Adrian Narvaez

Cyriaque Schaff

Matthew Tan

Owen Williams

Week 12 Training Plan, 11/4-11/10

Devens course map

Saturday's Division 2B Championship meet is the latest and highest level competition in the championship phase of the season. Everything leading up to Saturday in practice is intended to help optimize performance in that race. We're not reinventing the wheel here, so no major changes are afoot other than a further reduction in training volume. These workouts are less about building fitness than confirming it. 

In the days leading up to the meet you can build on the gains in fitness you've made throughout the season by getting to bed at a reasonable hour, drinking water regularly throughout the day (to the tune of around 48 ounces a day), and eating a nutritious balanced diet. Like the last two weeks, there's a scheduled day off during the week, which is Thursday. 

For people that aren't racing on Saturday and either haven't had an opportunity to run a mile time trial or would like to try it again, we'll be doing a mile time trial on Tuesday as well. Athletes who are racing on Saturday won't participate in this. 

Finally, it's important to note that with the clocks turned back it will be getting dark quite early. The reflective vests are a must when running off campus.

Monday 11/4 - Practice at 3:30. Warmup including BURPEES followed by a PMR of 36 or 48 minutes. The PMR will then be followed by 5x150m (100m race pace, 50m faster than race pace) with a 150m jog recovery.

Tuesday 11/5 - Practice at 3:30. Warmup followed by a 12-15 minute jog, 3x400 at 5-10 seconds per mile faster than race pace, mile at race pace, 3x400 at 5-10 seconds per mile faster than race pace. Wrapped up with a 10 minute cooldown. The recovery between each 400 is 60-90 seconds, with 4.5 minutes before and after the mile. 

OR

Warmup, 10-12 minute jog, 3x100 meters at mile race pace followed by mile time trial. 10-12 minute jog cooldown.

Bring racing shoes today if you have them, particularly for the time trial. 

Wednesday 11/6 - Practice at 2:30, meet in tennis court parking lot for trip to Devens. Abbreviated warmup including BURPEES followed by a run of 36 or 48 minutes on and around the course for Saturday's meet. NB you will be dismissed 15 minutes early from school for this.

Thursday 11/7 - off

Friday 11/8 - Practice at 3:30 PM. Warmup followed by a 10 minute jog, two sets of short intervals on top of the aqueduct, 10 minute cooldown.

Saturday 11/9 - MIAA Division 2B Championship at Willard Field, Devens. More details in a forthcoming post. 

Sunday 11/10 - off