Very few athletes are close to top form in December, but even not at his absolute best, Lowell’s Khai Lin is still a heavy favorite to win or show.

Racing against a tough field at Wednesday’s competitive Boston Holiday Challenge, the junior blitzed the competition for an 8.19 seconds win in the 60-meter hurdles on the New Balance Track infield. Attleboro’s Maxwell Crawford was a close second in 8.25.

The Div. 1 champion in the 55 hurdles last winter, Lin will be looking to improve on his disastrous All-State race where he was tripped up and finished seventh. His block moved in the final Wednesday, but Lin never panicked.

“I slipped in the beginning a bit,” said Yin. “I caught back up at the second hurdle. I went to my arms and held on to the end.”

The meet was the first this season where Lin’s footwork at the hurdle felt strong, particularly getting his trail leg over clean. “I couldn’t get my trail leg over in the first few meets, but it felt good today,” he said.

There was a photo finish in the 60 dash with nearly the entire field together at the tape. Winchester’s Daniel Killian was ruled the winner after finishing with the same time of 7.01 as runner-up Stylz Mitchell of Xavier (CT). Jason DeJesus of Andover was third in 7.02.

Defending champion Jillian Strynar came in as the No. 5 seed and had West Warwick (RI) phenom Lisa Rayer in her crosshairs in the 60 dash. Strynar battled her way to a solid second-place finish in 7.78. Raye was clocked in 7.71.

The Norton senior was pleased with her starts in both the preliminary and final, particularly so early in the season. “The starts felt really good today,” said Strynar. “It’s been the best so far. They’ve been a little rough. It’s really hard to say where I’m at. It’s so early in the season. I am really shocked by my finish. I definitely felt a kick at the end. I usually don’t run against most of these girls until nationals.”

Daniel Ward of Greater New Bedford overtook Newton North’s Theo Teszler and powered home to a solid 1:22.60 win in the 600. Teszler was second in 1:22.78 and Medford’s William Kelley took third with his 1:23.24. Peabody’s Alex Jackson took third in the shot put with a toss of 53-3 and Maxwell Hoffman of Wellesley was the mile winner in 4:23.96. Framingham’s Sasha Lamakina held the early lead in the 600 and wound up with the silver medal in 1:37.50. Brookline’s Lucia Werner, fresh off a brilliant cross country season, was third in the mile at 5:15.98. Dartmouth’s Tyler Medeiros was never really challenged as he coasted to a 2:36.05 win in the 1000. Robert Foster of Wellesley was second in 2:36.78 and Marshfield’s Graham Heinrich was third in 2:37.18.