A state record in the 5K and one step closer to another possible national title for RI’s most prolific sprinter
Those were among the highlights during Day 1 of the New Balance Nationals on Thursday.
In the early afternoon, defending champion Lisa Raye was sharp in her qualifying heats of the 100-meter dash. The West Warwick junior was first in both her heats, clocking 11.36 seconds in the first round and 11.33 in the semifinals. Based on her time, Raye is ranked No. 2 for the finals on Friday, set for 1:42 p.m. She’ll be matched up with Sianni Wynn of Pennsauken (NJ), who was a runner-up to the Wizards standout at last year’s nationals. Wynn, who was the recent the NJISIAA Meet of Champions victor, clocked a best of 11.30 to achieve the No. 1 seed heading into the finals.
The distance events concluded the first day of competition at UPenn’s Franklin Field. Portsmouth’s Sean Gray made the biggest noise of the day by breaking a nine-year-old state record in the 5,000-meter run. The Portsmouth junior earned All-American status by placing fourth overall in a PR of 14:36.70, a time that was just under the 2016 mark of former La Salle great DJ Principe’s winning clocking of 14:37.09 from the 2016 nationals. Gray was a model of consistency in his race with 400m splits ranging from 69 to 71 seconds in the 12.5-lap race.
In an incredible Freshmen Mile, Hendricken’s Oliver Redmond was among 34 runners that dipped under 4:30, securing the 34th spot with a time of 4:29.46. Colton Orr of North Kingstown was 51st at 4:31.71.
Hendricken’s 4xMile squad of Colby Flynn, Fred Russell, BJ Kerachsky and David Hayes combined for a time of 17:47.07, an effort that placed them 1th overall. Flynn posted the fastest time among the quartet with an opening leg of 4:20.95.
In the unseeded section of the girls’ 4xMile, Cumberland’s foursome of Rose Tuomisto, Anna Bianchi, Charli McCue and Kiley Defusco were second overall with a time of 21:07.49. Defusco anchored the squad with a 5:04.75 split.
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What’s on the slate for Day 2 on Friday?
For starters, keep an eye on the 100m finals with Raye aiming for her second straight title.
In the Sprint Medley Relay, scheduled for 1:50 p.m., you have to like La Salle’s chances to excel against the nation’s best. With the team they have compiled for Friday’s race, there’s a very good chance the Rams could break the 2010 state mark of 3:28.59 by East Greenwich. We did the math and it appears as though the squad of Joshua Aceto (200m), Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo (200m), Thaden Leomensah (400m), Eamon O’Brien (800m) could run a time around 3:26-3:27 if everyone’s at their best and the handoffs are clean.
Pilgrim’s Brandon Wolfenden will be among a plethora of throwers that have gone further than 60 feet in the shot this year. That event kicks off at 10 a.m.
Less than 24 hours after his 5K race, Gray will be back on the track for the two mile, set to start at 5:11 p.m. He’ll be looking to possibly break nine minutes. The two-time 3K state titlist will be in the first of six heats.
