Cool conditions and heated competition were the ingredients for a record fast evening at the 3rd Annual Friday Night Lights Meet. Hosted by the Western Mass Distance Project and the Greater Boston Track Club, the FNL Races have quickly evolved into one of the premiere events in the region.

After several exciting open races, the elites toed the line and it all began with the Women’s Mile. As predicted, the Greater Boston Track Club fronted the race. Victoria Barnaby elite female mile winner in 4’53, closing with a 68 last lap. Allison McCabe raced herself to 2nd and snuck under the 5 minute barrier with her 4’59. Teammates Aly Ursiny and Alexandra Conway completed the sweep for GBTC; the ladies won the mile team title in perfect fashion.

On the men’s side, things were headlined by Heartbreakers as Jordan Donnelly set the pace for teammate David Melly and BAA athletes Kameron Ulmer and Brian Harvey. Donnelly cruised through 809m in 2’04, setting his teammate up for a fast late-season mile. Melly held his gap all the way in and took the title in 4’12. Ulmer and Harvey followed up with 4’16 and 4’18 respectively. Melly’s Heartbreaker teammates also wound up with the team title after compiling results from the open races.

The 10ks were undoubtedly the marquee events of the evening as meet records fell on both sides. The women’s race turned into a battle between Rosa Moriello (Heartbreakers), Emma Bates (BAA Elite), and Marci Klimek (Saucony Hurricanes). Bates and Klimek raced stride for stride until the bell rang – Bates then changed gears impressively and kicked it home, winning in a negative split 33’57. Klimek finished a strong 2nd in 34’07 with Moriello 3rd in 34’42. Battle Road Track Club’s Rosie Donegan (34’44) also ran under the meet record with NE Distance recruit Obsie Birru just off of it with her 35’29.

Local elites also ran the show on the men’s side, with Henry Sterling rabbiting teammate Aaron Dinzeo and Heartbreaker Louis Serafini to some fast times. Serafini took off shortly after the halfway point and soloed a near even split to finish 29’25. Dinzeo would pull up 2nd in a very impressive 30’10. Tufts alum Mike Curley would emerge from the chase pack to grab 3rd in 30’47 with four others dipping under the 31 minute barrier, making this hands down the deepest FNL 10k to date. Take a look at the video below:

Full results with splits via USATF-NE: 10k Mile