Best of Massachusetts on display

Want to see the top high school track athletes in Massachusetts? Just drive down to the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston and check out the All-State Indoor Track Championships. Action starts at 1 p.m. The area will be represented. Two boys are the top seeds in their events. James Sullivan of Acton-Boxboro is the runner to beat in the mile (4:15.33). Gilberto Brown of Lowell is the top seed in the high jump (6 feet, 8 inches). Colin Hoey of Lowell is the second seed in the shot put (55-5.25). The area also features some of the best boys relay teams in the state.

Chelmsford is the top seed in the 4×200 (1:30.68), Lowell is the top seed in the 4×800 (8:00.62) and Acton-Boxboro is the top seed in the 4×400 (3:26.38). On the girls side, Maya Jarostchuk of Acton-Boxboro is the second seed in the 300 (40.94), while Stephanie White of Billerica is the third seed in the shot put (39-3.50). A-B’s 4×400 team is seeded second (4:01.35).

– Barry Scanlon

Wild next three Sundays

The wildly-successful Wild Rover Series will begin this weekend. Before it’s over, the three-race event will see thousands of runners take to the streets of Haverhill, Lawrence and Lowell.

The series starts Sunday (1 p.m.) with the Frozen Shamrock 3-Miler in Haverhill. The series continues the following Sunday, on March 4, with the Claddagh Pub 4-Miler in Lawrence (11 a.m. start). The series concludes Sunday, March 11 with the Hynes Tavern 5-Miler in Lowell (1 p.m.). Each race is limited to 1,000 runners. The entry fee for each race is $30. To register, go to www.runthewildrover.com

– Barry Scanlon

‘Rock’ solid running champion

The Lowell Sun in the next couple of days will run an interesting feature story on star Acton-Boxboro Regional High School runner James Sullivan. Sullivan won the mile, in a time of 4:15.33, at last weekend’s Division 1 Track @ Field Champions at the Reggie Lewis Center. The time was the sixth-fastest high school indoor mile in the country so far this season. But Sullivan, who’s headed to Bowdoin College, is more than just a talented runner — he’s a bass guitarist in a rock band with strong Lowell roots. In fact, his grandfather is the former city manager of Lowell. Look for the Dave Pevear story.

- Barry Scanlon

20 miles, minus one state

Just signed up for the 17th annual Eastern States 20 Miler, which will be held Sunday, March 25. In the past, runners made their way from Kittery, Maine to Salisbury, Mass. Seven towns, three states. But with the bridge spanning from Kittery to Portsmouth out of commission, the race will no longer start in Kittery at Traip Academy. Instead, the race will start at Portsmouth High and runners will now run in six towns and two states. Portsmouth is a great city to run in and I’m interested in seeing the new course route. By the way, Casey Moulton of Pelham has the course record in 1 hour, 46 minutes, 54 seconds (2005). Now that’s flying!

- Barry Scanlon

Heartbreak for Lowell High

Lowell narrowly fell short of capturing its first-ever Division 1 boys indoor track championship. The Red Raiders tied Newton North for second with 40 points. Acton-Boxboro won with 45 points. Between the boys and girls, there were eight champions — five individuals and three relays.

On the boys side, winning titles were Connor Brimley of Chelmsford in the 55 dash, James Sullivan of Acton-Boxboro in the mile and Gilberto Brown of Lowell in the high jump. Relay champions were Chelmsford in the 4×200, Acton-Boxboro in the 4×400 and Lowell in the 4×800. On the girls side, Maya Jarostchuk of Acton-Boxboro captured the 300, while Stephanie White was the shot put champion for Billerica. Newton North was the girls champ with 66 points, while A-B took third with 36 points.

- Barry Scanlon

UMass Lowell women soar to title

UMass Lowell won the Northeast-10 Conference Women’s Track and Field Championship on Saturday night at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury.

Senior Ashley Zielinski was named the Athlete of the Meet and captured the 55-meter hurdles. The River Hawks won six events and scored 150 points to stake its seventh championship since 2002 and third title in four years. Head coach Gary Gardner was named the Women’s Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his 10-year career and third time in the last four years.

On the men’s side, junior Evan White (Tewksbury) was part of two wins and was named the Men’s Athlete of the Year as UML placed fourth. White, a former Tewksbury High standout, won the 200 for the second straight year. He also was the anchor leg on UMass Lowell’s winning 4×400 meter relay team.

- Barry Scanlon

Barry shines on Vineyard

Nice performance by Lowell’s Colleen Barry at Saturday’s 15th annual Martha’s Vineyard 20 Miler. The 23-year-old finished the course in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 29 seconds, a sub-seven minute pace (6:59). She finished 40th overall and was the fourth female finisher. I’ve run the race several times and never remember the temperature at the start above 25. Saturday was sunny and about 40 at the start, as this year’s winter continues to be a runner’s paradise. For those who have never run the Martha’s Vineyard 20 Miler, I highly recommend it. Much of the first 10 miles is along the ocean and the scenery, especially through Oak Bluffs, is awesome.

- Barry Scanlon

High school stars to watch

The top Massachusetts high school track stars are on display all week at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, culminating with the Division 1 state meet Sunday. The Lowell High boys have never won a state indoor championship, but this could be the Red Raiders’ year. Lowell will be in the hunt for the crown, along with Acton-Boxboro, Newton North, Brockton, Peabody, Lincoln-Sudbury and St. John’s Prep. Lowell will be led by Colin Hoey in the shot put, Ryan Fitzgerald in the 300, Patrick Coppinger in the 600, Nathan McCarthy in the 1,000, and McCarthy and Mike Kalenoski in the mile. Gilberto Brown will make his presence felt in the 55 hurdles and long jump. Also, Lowell is very strong in the 4×800 and 4×400 relay.

Other athletes to watch are Westford Academy’s Brendan Sullivan in the 55 hurdles, and Acton-Boxboro’s Brian Sommers in the 300, 600 and long jump, and A-B’s James Sullivan, a threat to win both the 1,000 and mile. On the girls side, Billerica’s Stephanite White is the favorite to win the shot put, while Acton-Boxboro’s Maya Jarostchuk is favored to win the 300. Should be a great weekend at the Reggie.

– Barry Scanlon

Still chance to run Boston

Shut out from the 2012 Boston Marathon? The Matty Eappen Foundation has a limited number of entries for this year’s race. The foundation is looking for qualified runners to fund raise. In recent years, I’ve had family and friends raise money for the foundation. This is an outstanding charity. This February marks the 15th anniversary of Eappen’s death in 1997. Abusive Head Trauma, formerly known as Shaken Baby Syndrome, is a violent form of child abuse. The Matty Eappen Foundation’s mission is to prevent Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) through public awareness and education, and to provide assistance to victims and their families. Interested runners can contact Brendan Eappen, marathon coordinator and board member, at e19brendan@gmail.com

- Barry Scanlon

190 and counting

Due to a fear of hills (just kidding, well, kind of), I decided last month not to run the Boston Prep 16-Miler in Derry, N.H. Due to a family commitment, I can’t run the Martha’s Vineyard 20 Mile race this weekend. Those two races, especially the MV one, have helped me get my mileage up for past Boston Marathons . So without those two races, I began questioning, at least a bit, my training schedule. Until I took out by trusty 2011 and 2012 running logs, that is. Now I feel a lot better and more confident that I’ll be ready for April 16. Up until this point last year, I had run 124 miles. This year, in January alone, I had run 126.5. After a five-mile jaunt Wednesday in Tyngsboro, I’m up to 190 for the year. Maybe this is the year I conquer Heartbreak Hill. Ah, probably not.

- Barry Scanlon