Will DeBalsi be tested at New England meet?


Hannah DeBalsi hasn't really been tested this season.

The Staples High senior captured the FCIAC Championships and Wilton invitational meets each by more than 40 seconds. Last weekend DeBalsi claimed her third State Open crown by nearly a minute.

This Saturday's New England Championship, where she'll be vying for her third consecutive title, should be considerably different for the gifted harrier. The regional meet, held on a challenging five-kilometer terrain at Thetford Academy in Vermont, could be a nail-biter right to the finish.

DeBalsi, who owns a best of 17 minutes, 15.8 seconds for the 5K distance, will face a field that features two runners that were very impressive at their respective state meets last weekend - Rhode Island's Ellie Lawler and New Hampshire's Meagan Doody. Lawler, the sophomore from South Kingstown, broke the course record by 14 seconds where she was timed in 17:29. Doody, a senior from Oyster Bay, outdistanced  a talented Elisabeth Danis of Coe Brown Academy to take her third straight title at the NH Meet of Champions with a winning time of 17:34.  

Even though she lacks the experience of her other two competitors, don't be surprised to see Lawler handling some of the front-running duties. That's where she is most comfortable and a strategy that has also been quite successful this fall. She also won the Bronco (Skee Carter) Invitational with her first-ever sub 18-minute clocking and a week later was timed in 17:50 with a victory at the Class A meet. She was tenth at last year's New England meet and later finished fourth at the NXN-Northeast Regionals.

But DeBalsi, a two-time All American at Foot Locker, an event she placed second as a tenth-grader and fifth last year, has to be considered the favorite based on what she has done during her outstanding high school career. Saturday's race, however, should be her most challenging. Besides the presence of Lawler and Doody, you also can't rule out other possible contenders such as La Salle Academy (R.I.) senior Eliza Rego, who was second at her state meet, and has run a best of 17:38 for the 5K distance. There's also Danis, a 4:54 miler, who ran 17:41 at her states and was also a runner-up in the Championship Race at the Brown Invitational last month.

Team-wise, returning champion La Salle will be tough to beat. The nationally-ranked Rams won their state meet with just 28 points and averaged a brisk 18:43 by their scoring five runners. Among their strongest rivals are Coe Brown, second last year and the 2013 winner, and Connecticut's Tolland, a three-time victor of its state meet.

La Salle is eyeing a return trip to the Nike Cross Nationals, a meet it finished ninth last year. A win on Saturday will provide the perfect tune-up for the upcoming NXN-NE meet on  Nov. 27 at Bowdoin Park in upstate New York. The Rams have the tools to accomplish that goal with a roster that features several runners capable of a high finish at the New England's. Sophomore Grace Connolly, senior Karina Tavares and sophomore Emily Kane, all dipped under 18:45 at the state meet.