For many indoor track athletes, the GBTC Invite was just the start of many big races to come this season. We all know what happened in the Women’s 3k, but some fast fields were brought forth in the Invite Sections. So let’s put the extra lap controversy aside and get to the meet highlights:
In the men’s 3k, Mike Wyman got off to a hot start and by 1200m in, had Battle Road TC (formerly New Balance Boston) John Schilkowski, and GBTCs Adam Pacheck hot on his heels. Schilkowski would battle him down to the last lap, where Wyman would break it open for the win in 8 minutes, 27 seconds. We already discussed the women’s 3k – BAA’s Katie Misuraca was victorious at both the 3000 meter and 3201 meter distances.
In the 600m, GBTC 400/800 specialist Jess Teal would race well in that middle ground and win it in 1’35. Teammate Sarah Bitterman would place 2nd four seconds back. On the men’s side, Alex Engel would race well in his Boston North TC debut as he hammers three quick laps in 1’21.20 for the win. Engel would later double back and take the 200m title as well in 22.71.
The mile races at this meet were exciting last year and this year was even better. Arguably, the Men’s Mile proved to be the tastiest individual race of the day. WMDP’s Sean Duncan made a special guest appearance to provide a rabbitted sub-4 mile attempt for current D3 National Mile Record Holder Coby Horowitz. After being dragged through splits of 59.x at 440yd, 2’01.x at 880yd, Coby continued to put on a clinic, but fell just short of the sub-4 as he crossed the line in 4’01.97. University of New Hampshire Alum Kevin Greene (4’08.15) and UMass Lowell standout Bobby Allen (4’11.36) would place 2nd and 3rd. Those guys definitely weren’t screwing around! The women’s side was pretty solid as well. Phillips Exeter’s Peyton McGovern would outrace the mostly collegiate and post-collegiate field with a 5’00.99. Battle Road Track Club’s Holly Rees and BAA’s Emma Spencer would try to muscle their way around McGovern, but fell just short as they took the 2nd and 3rd spots in 5’01.60/5’02.48.
Later in the meet, the middle distance races would continue with the 1000m and 800m. For the women, Battle Road TC stud Nikki Long would break away with the lead 300 meters in and hold the position till the finish for a 2’53.04 solo effort over Alyssa Lambert and Caitlyn Malloy. while the men’s race would be a battle between Franklin Pierce All-American Dage Minors, Andrew Pitts, NE Distance athlete Ryan Widzgowski, and Steve Carnevale. Minors would take the narrow victory, outleaning Pitts and Widzgowski with his time of 2’27.53 – Dage had already won the 300 meter dash earlier in the day. 18 hundredths of a second would separate the top three men. The 800 meter sections were topped by 12-year old Vivian McMahon of the Cambridge Jets (2’29.50) and Bentley’s Nick Skarin (1’55.60). Alyse Rocco and Mars Bishop would take the silver medal positions respectively.
The 5000 meter race was originally slated for 3:35PM, the perfect prime time for the New England Patriots’ unfortunate loss to the Broncos. Needless to say, four of the five individuals in the women’s race along with 14 of the 21 men’s entries decided to stratch the race to go home and catch every extra bit of the AFC Championship. The 7 guys and one lucky gal who stayed to compete likely made the better use of their time as the game never really got exciting until the end. Regardless, Braden Becker and Mike Creedon from the host club GBTC ran the 25-lap show at in 15’25.38 and 15’26.58. Not to mention Abby Paglia, the lone female in the sea of men finished a solid 20’26.23 for being solo the whole way.
Mike Giberti unleashed a whole playlist of race videos for most of the open distance events and limited sprints. We’ll let the footage and the results do the rest of the talking:
