Understandably, Pentucket senior Alanna Poretta is feeling good about herself as she looks forward to Saturday's Division 2 All-State meet at Northfield Mountain in Northfield.

Poretta believes she's ready to end her Pentucket high school cross country career on a high note, and she's feeling awfully content about her recent decision to attend Boston College next year.

An excellent student, who is ranked 27th in a class of 176 students, Poretta accepted a full tuition scholarship at BC after also visiting and considering Dartmouth and UPenn. She also weighed attending Georgetown but she canceled a visit there after deciding to become an Eagle.

"All-around, Boston College was the best fit for me, academically and athletically," said Poretta. "I want to get into business, and they have a great school for that, and I like the people I'll be running with."

A five-time Daily News All-Star, Poretta ran a 4:57.83 in the mile last spring, which is the fifth fastest in region history. She'll be running both track and cross country at Boston College.

"I like both sports a lot," said Poretta. "I like the distance training I do for cross country, but I've had more success in track. But I'm hoping to show in the next two weeks that I'm good in cross country, too."

Of course, Poretta has already flashed her potential in cross country. Last year, she was third in the Division 3 Eastern Mass. meet with a 19:05 clocking on Franklin Park's 3.1-mile course and, back in September, she was clocked in 18:39.6 while taking top honors at the McIntyre Invitational.

On the other hand, Poretta has not fared well in All-State meets. Last year, she slipped to 15th at the Division 2 All-State, a finish she was not pleased with and is determined to improve upon.

"My training wasn't quite right last year and I didn't peak at the right time," said Poretta.

But, after finishing sixth in the rain and mud last week in the Division 3 meet, she is confident that this All-State will be different.

"The most important thing (at the class meet) was to qualify, not get hurt and stay warm so I don't get sick, and I did all that," said Poretta. "I played it a little safe.

"But I'm pretty excited (about All-State). I like the hills (at Northfield) and I want to improve upon the last couple of years. My legs feel pretty strong for this time of the year."

Poretta is also aiming for a strong performance Nov. 28 at the Foot Locker Northeast regional at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City, but her immediate focus is the All-State meet.