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 final of our preview, the boys’ middle- and long-distance events, which includes the 800-meter run, 1,500m and 3,000m.
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800m
The top seed is red-hot Eamon O’Brien of La Salle Academy. O’Brien has a seed listed as 1:56.08 from his victory at the Class A meet, but he has run faster, much faster. Just a few weeks earlier, the Ram junior captured the two-lapper in an all-time best of 1:52.81 at the BSR Elite Scholastic 800m. Behind O’Brien at the two seed is Narragansett’s Cole Francis with a season best of 1:56.90. Both runners are scheduled to compete in the 1,500m, too. We do believe that will be the case with O’Brien as La Salle will be in the hunt for a team title, but not 100 percent sure on Francis. Either way, if they do both, they’ll will have about 50-minutes rest between the them, and can still be sharp with a quality 800m. But it will make things closer with the other seeds in the field. The next three seeds in this race will all have fresh legs with Barrington’s Shea Parrish (1:57.06), Westerly’s Noah Roberts (1:57.14) and North Kingstown’s Mikiyas Ashenafi (1:57.45) among the entries. There are two potential scenarios here. If O’Brien and Francis are fresh, this race could turn into a duel between the two stars with O’Brien getting the edge based on his breakthrough season, where he also won the BSR Mid-Distance Classic in a previous best of 1:54.39. If O’Brien and Francis do run the 1,500m, the race for the individual title is wide open with at least four of five capable of getting it done.
1,500m
This is a race we predict will still have a bunched-up lead pack late in the race, potentially with less than a half lap remaining. The top seed and the runner we’re listing as the favorite is Hendricken’s Colby Flynn. With a similar field at last Saturday’s Hendricken Invitational, Flynn put on a surge late in the race and powered his way to a winning time of 4:00.77 on a day that was not conducive to fast times with cold temperatures and windy conditions. Barrington’s Myles Napolitano, who won the Classical Classic in a best of 4:02.52, and St. Raphael’s Arthur Ferris, the Class C victor with a PR of 4:03.06, are also possible contenders. You can’t count out O’Brien and Francis if their both on the line. O’Brien has a 4:03.51 best this season from the Classical Classic and Francis went 4:04.96 at Class C. With the right kind of conditions, the right kind of race, all are capable of a getting close to four minutes, and possibly under this weekend.
3,000m
In last year’s race, Portsmouth’s Sean Gray concentrate solely on the 3K and ran away with the title, clocking a then best of 8:33.13. Guess what? It could be deja vu on Saturday. This is the only event the Patriots talented junior will be competing in at the states, and he’s proven this season he’s ready to make it two straight at the states. En route to a 9:04.27 for 3,200m at the Loucks Games, Gray ran a PR of 8:31.93 for 3,000m. He’s won his last two 3Ks by 11 seconds over the second-place finishers by breaking the tape at the Eastern Division Championships and the Class B meet. He knows most of his top competitors in this race will have one of two races already under their belts, so like he often does, will more than likely forge to the front and push the pace from the start. We’re predicting Gray will run a time similar to what he ran last year, which we think no one else will be able to match. The more interesting duel might be for the other top placements. If the meet is close in the team competition, which we believe it will be, look for probable contender Hendricken to try and rack up some valuable points in the race. The Hawks have five of the top eight seeds, led by Jack Moretta (8:54.23) and BJ Kerachsky (8:54.33), the 2-3 seeds.
