Of all the seasons (cross country, indoor and outdoor track), at least to us here at Ocean State Running, the outdoor campaign always seems to fly by a little quicker. It’s no different this time around. Here we are at the end of April and the championship season is just around the corner. The league championships are three weeks away, followed a week later by the class championships and onto the State Meet two weeks later.
With all that being said, this is always the time we start seeing some of our athletes and teams get amped up for what’s in store by competing at some out-of-state and elite competitions. This past weekend was a prime example with the Penn Relays, O’Grady Relays and the BSR Mid Distance Classic drawing some of our top talent.
Here’s a breakdown on some of the top things that happened over the last few days.
***
Two days, two meets and three near state marks. La Salle’s 4×100-, 4×200- and 4×400-meter squads, all comprised of three of the same individuals, were present at both the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., and the O’Grady Relays in Danbury, Conn. On Thursday, the 4x400m quartet of Joshua Aceto, Jackson Alves, Thaden Leomensah, and Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo combined their efforts to produce a new school record of 3 minutes, 18.32 seconds. That time improves their No. 2 all-time state ranking and also puts them a clean hand-off away from the nine-year-old mark of 3:18.09 by Central from the 2016 New Balance Nationals. A little more than 24 hours later, the Rams were in the Nutmeg State where they earned gold medals in the 4x100m and 4x200m. The 4x200m squad, which consisted of the same members of the 4×4, was timed in another school mark of 1:28.10. That’s about a half-second away from the 1:27.53 time posted by Central in 2016. The foursome of Aceto, Alves, Giroux and Jalen Moseley won the 4x100m in a season best of 42.38. While that time is not a school best, it’s certainly a good sign of what they’re capable of by season’s end. The 2024 squad, which included the same four guys, captured the State Meet last spring in 41.94, just .12 from, you guessed it, Central’s 2016 mark, this one being 41.86.
***
For the first (and last) time of their storied high school careers before they head off to the University of Georgia in the fall, West Warwick’s Xenia and Lisa Raye competed at the Penn Relays Carnival. It was a last hurrah, of sorts, The gifted siblings no doubt used it as an opportunity to run with their fellow teammates at one of the most prestigious meets of the year. The Rayes, along with Jailynn Huffman and Tatianna Baldinelli, competed in the 4x100m relay. While they didn’t advance to the finals of the featured Championship of America (COA) race, an event dominated by Jamaica, the quartet did earn a spot in the 4x100m Northeast finals. This race features the nine fastest Northeast squads that did not qualify for the COA race, which is all six New England states as well as Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The Wizards placed fifth overall in the finals where they were timed in 48.04. A day earlier, they clocked a season best 47.82.
***
La Salle and Saint Raphael battled the traffic and, shortly after, some tough competition down in Danvers, Mass., at the third annual BSR Mid Distance Classic on Friday night. The meet, held at St. John’s Prep, featured several top performances (and victories) by our local squads.
Competing in his first outdoor season, state 600m runner-up Eamon O’Reilly of La Salle looked impressive in taking the 800m. O’Reilly destroyed the field the last 400m of the two-lap race to win with a PR and meet record of 1:54.39, a comfortable two seconds ahead of second-place finisher, Daniel Padley (1:56.40) of the host school.
Also achieving the two-for-1 deal (PR and meet record) was the Saints’ Devan Taveras, a victor in the 400m. Tavares came mere strides from breaking 50 seconds with an all-time best of 50.01. For the girls, the Saints’ Jayla Grimes made it a sweep of the 400m titles with a triumphant 1:01.71.
Collecting silver medals in the meet were St. Ray’s freshman Francesca Justin in the girls’ 200m (26.33), La Salle ninth-grader Layne Stevens in the 800m (2:22.35), and the Saints’ Mackenzie Lickert in the mile (5:11.0).
***
Just a reminder. On Friday is the third annual BSR Elite Scholastic Mile. The race, which features some of the region’s top runners, will be held in conjunction with the NH Distance Festival at Souhegan High. Cumberland’s Kylie DeFusco is among the entries in the girls’ race. The events will be featured at the end of the meet, beginning at 7 p.m. It will be live streamed by Bay State Running.
