What a day it was at this past weekend’s State Meet. As usual, PRs came in abundance on the biggest day of the season. To be honest, we’d like to pick all those deserving runners for this week’s HOKA Athletes of the Week. You’re all among a select group of harriers that earned the rite to toe the starting line for this championship meet. Congrats to all on a job well done.
For this week’s honor, we’re recognizing our two individual champions, Keaney Bayha of Pilgrim and La Salle’s Marshall Vernon. In a race she led from start to finish, Bayha earned her first state title (cross country and track). The Patriots’ senior won with a best at Ponaganset of 18 minutes, 19.23 seconds for the 5K course. Vernon claimed his gold medal by outlasting Portsmouth Sean Gray in a classic showdown of the covered-bridge trail. Breaking away from his rival with a little more than a 1,000m remaining, the Rams junior powered his way to a PR of 15:00.75, the second best time ever recorded at Ponaganset. Only former La Salle great DJ Principe has gone faster with his course record of 14:56.09 from 2017.
