With a relay squad that includes the same runners that came less than two seconds from the 4×400-meter outdoor state record at last spring’s state championships, you know the 2017 RI mark of 3:18.09 by Central will be a focus this spring by the four members of La Salle Academy.
(Above photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack)
How about the Knights’ indoor record of 3:21.87 from 2018? No doubt that’s on the minds of the Rams’ fearsome foursome of Amari Monteiro, Thaden Leomensah, Antonio Bearden and Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo this winter campaign.
Could that happen this weekend? Too early, perhaps? More than likely. But you never know, especially considering where the Rams will be on Saturday.
Along with several other athletes and teams from the Ocean State, La Salle will be making the trek to the TRACK at New Balance for the annual MSTCA Boston Holiday Challenge. The same quartet of Amari Monteiro, Thaden Leomensah, Antonio Bearden and Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo that ran a state-leading 3:19.24 at the State Meet last June will be on New Balance’s lightning-fast oval as the No. 1 seed. The Rams will be one of six squads in the field that have seeds under 3:25, including Algonquin Regional (MA), which is at No. 2 with a time of 3:20.35. Whether or not a state record is broken, at the very least, this event should provide the perfect finale to the meet.
Giroux-Pezzullo is also the No. 2 seed in the 300m where the top three have seeds faster that 36 seconds. Holding the top spot is Winchester’s Daniel Killian with a PR of 34.97. Giroux-Pezzullo comes in with a best of 35.25 from his victory at the Yale Track Classic last winter. The third seed is Shepherd Hill’s Anthony Graves at 35.87. The qualifying standard for the 200m at the New Balance Nationals in March is 22.30 or 35.35 for the 300m. That will likely be one of the goals for the top sprinters in this race, including the La Salle junior.
In the New Balance Championship Mile, La Salle’s Marshall Vernon is among the eight elite runners expected to answer the gun. The top seed is Virginia’s Cole Boone, who ran a best of 4:07.05 last spring. Vernon has an indoor best of 4:16.22 from his runner-up finish at the New England’s. He ran an all-time best of 4:10.64 at the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile in May. LSA distance coach James Lourenco, who took over for recently-retired coach Bill Myers, expects a time under 4:15 for his star runner, who took some much-needed time off from his mega-successful cross-country season. For an early-season race, an effort llike that could put Vernon right with the leaders on Saturday.
A week after her impressive victory in the mile at the Beantown Winter Classic at the TRACK at New Balance, Cumberland’s Kiley DeFusco will be back at the Boston venue as the top seed in two mile. DeFusco has a seed listed at 10:55.61. She’s matched up against two MA runners that should also be pushing the pace for the 16-lapper – Attleboro’s Emilia Smith (10:58.54) and Whitinsville Christian’s Emily Flagg (11:05.54). La Salle’s Maeve Casey is the No. 5 seed at 11:29.74.
In the boys’ 800m, St. Raphael’s Alex Ramos is among seven runners with seed times faster than two minutes. Ramos holds the five seed with a best of 1:59.42 from last week’s Beantown meet.
St. Ray’s gifted ninth-grader Francesca Justin is the No. 4 seed in the 200m with a time of 25.72. The Saints’ Jayla Grimes is the two seed in the 400m at 58.94, while teammate Arielle DeMarco is the No. 7 seed with a time of 1:01.08.
La Salle’s Alexander Campbell, a runner-up in the pole vault at the State Meet last June, is a No. 2 seed in his specialty. He has a best of 13-9 from his eighth-place finish at the New England Championships. The top seed is Ben Skilton of Algonquin (MA) with a best of 13-11.75.
Cumberland’s Rose Tuomisto (5:14.43) and Charli McCue (5:18.04) are the six and nine seeds, respectively, in the mile. Reece Vitale of Cranston West is entered in the 55m hurdles (8.94) and the triple jump (35-11) where she’s ranked among the top eight in both events.
