For our latest HOKA Athletes of the Week, we decided to do something a little different. We decided to recognize the youngest of of track & field athletes, the ninth-graders. The future of our great sport. With the Freshmen State Meet held earlier in the week, it only made sense. Once again, we gave you, our supporters of Ocean State Running, the often-difficult task of choosing the top female and male from the previous week.
With our polls closing on Tuesday, the results have been finalized. Congratulations to La Salle’s Stella Pelagio and North Kingstown’s Camden Florio, our newest recipients of the HOKA Athlete of the Week. A total of 441 voted in girls poll with Pelagio collecting 170 votes (39 percent). For the boys, 613 voted were casted with Florio accumulating 314 votes (51 percent).
Pelagio was a dominate winner in the girls’ 1,500-meter run. The Ram standout won the race by 18 seconds with an outstanding time of 5:02.23. Pelagio’s work wasn’t done in 7.5 lapper. About 90 minutes later, she claimed gold in the 1,000m where she was timed in 3:10.37.
Florio also came out on top in the 1,500m, capturing the boys’ crown in a down-to-the-wire affair with Hendricken’s Shepherd Butler. The NK frosh broke the tape in 4:24.56. Shepherd, who won the 3K earlier in the meet, finished a few strides behind in 4:25.93. Florio also ran a leg on the Skippers’ second-place 4x400m squad that combined for a time of 3:54.47.
