Yes folks, with the State Meet on Saturday, it’s preview week here at Ocean State Running. We’ll do our best to let you know what to expect this weekend when the best of the best compete at Brown Stadium. Here we feature the boys’ jumping events, which includes the long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault.
ENTRIES
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LONG JUMP
The individual title should be up for grabs in this one. La Salle’s Jalen Moseley holds the top seed with a best of 22 feet, 6.5 inches from the Class A Championships a couple of weeks ago. Moseley is one of three seeds in this field that have gone further than 22 feet this season. At No. 2 is St. Raphael’s Daniel Akan-Disu, who leaped a PR of 22-1.75 at the Class C meet. Pilgrim’s Hunter Schobel exceeded 22 feet for the first time at the Class As by placing second to Moseley at 22-0.5. While anyone of these athletes has a chance to come out on top this weekend, no one sticks out as being the favorite as none have been consistently in that 22-foot range. With that being said, several more have potential to win, too. Those athletes include Rogers’ Derek Lloyd (21-9), Barrington’s Caleb Satisfield (21-7) and Barrington’s Charley Potter VI (21-5.5).
TRIPLE JUMP
The favorite here is Pilgrim’s Hunter Schobel, The Patriots’ senior has been consistent in this event all season long. He soared to an all-time best of 45-2.5 at the Sgt. Brian St. Germain Invitational early in the season. The Merrimack College commit has gone 45-plus on two other occasions and recently won the Hendricken Invitational with a distance of 44-10.25. Schobel was fifth in this event last year. He’s improved in this event by nearly three feet. Based on what he’s done this season, we feel he will be ready to excel once again. Other key athletes in this event that have the ability to place high are the Saints’ Daniel Akan-Disu (44-3.75), the Prout School’s Diego Rocchio (43-9.5), Classical’s Oluwadamilare Adebayo (43-2), Hendriken’s Nathanel Tarlue (43-1.5) and the Hawks’ Michael Shah (43-0), just to name a few.
HIGH JUMP
Two weeks ago, the Eagles’ Satisfield made history by becoming the state’s four athlete to clear seven feet, hitting the mark to win the Class B title. The talented senior, whose previous best was 6-6, did not compete in this event at last week’s Hendricken Invitational, focusing instead on the long jump where he came out on top with a PR effort. Will the Barrington standout catch lightning in the bottle for the second time with another seven-footer? At the very least, we believe his performance at the class meet will give him the added confidence to win this event on Saturday where a 6-6 or 6-8 effort should be enough to win it all. But he certainly will be challenged. The top two athletes we feel will pose the biggest threat to Satisfield are Hendricken’s Jakob Reyes and West Warwick’s Zachary Morgan. Reyes cleared a PR of 6-8 to win the Central Division crown and is coming off a victory at the Bishop Hendricken Invitational where took the gold with a solid 6-6 effort. Morgan had a day to remember at the Southern Division Championships where he cleared a nearly five-inch best of 6-7.
POLE VAULT
The clear-cut favorite in this event is someone that has nearly PR’d and/or broke a record each time he competes – defending champion Carson Dean of Hendricken. The Hawks gifted senior cleared a best of 16-feet even at this past weekend’s Hendricken invitational to erase his own one-week-old mark set at the Class A meet. He’s been laser-focused this season with four meets that he gone 15 feet or higher. We expect that trend to continue on Saturday with his second straight individual crown. La Salle’s Alexander Campbell appears to be a shoo-in for the runner-up spot and the only athlete capable of upsetting Dean this weekend. He has been the second to his rival in all the major meets this spring and has a best of 14-6, which he did at the Hawk Invite. The No. 3 seed is North Kingstown’s Kelsey Hurwitz with a best of 12-6. Four others in the field have done 12-feet even.
