For sprinters—especially in the shorter races—it’s all about the start. Often, those first few strides out of the blocks can make all the difference at the finish line.
When the gun goes off, Jack Pawlik admits his start isn’t exactly his strongest point. But what has clearly worked in his favor is how the East Providence junior finishes.
And right now, that finish usually has him in first place.
Pawlik used that fast closing speed to his advantage in the 55-meter dash at Saturday’s RITCA Invitational. Trailing eventual runner-up Ephraim Teah of Classical in the final few meters, the Townies’ multiple all-stater utilized his explosive speed to edge Teah at the line in a state-leading 6.54 seconds, just two hundredths of a second ahead of his rival.
“He’s a sophomore, a very strong runner,” Pawlik said. “He has a lot better start than me. I kind of have to play a little bit of a catch-up game. But I know my top-end speed is one of the fastest, if not THE fastest, in the state, so I’m pretty confident I can catch him. That said, if I keep having starts like that, I think they can get away from me.”
La Salle’s Marshall Vernon proved his training is on point for a strong indoor campaign by capturing the 1.500m and the 1,000m. Vernon broke away from the competition in the last few laps of the 1,500m where he crossed the line in a solid 4:05.77. He finished about 30 meters ahead of Hendricken teammates Brayden Seraichyk (second, 4:11.41) and Fred Russell (4:12.84).
Roughly 90 minutes later, the Rams’ senior engaged in a close battle with Barrington’s Brooks Mello in the 1K through most of the race before pulling away with a little more than 300m remaining en route to a time of 2:32.68. Mello held on for second at 2:34.05.
“Definitely part of the goal was to get in some good efforts here today; get some (state) qualifiers,” he said. “I am really happy with the day, especially the competition. Brooks in the 1K, He really made me work for it today. That’s great.”
For Vernon, it was his first meet of the indoor campaign, something that was by design. He’s coming off a cross-country season where he experienced a few ups and downs, including a fourth-place finish at the state meet and coming up short of qualifying for his second straight trip to the Nike Cross Nationals.
“I just wanted to get some good times for myself for the state meet and get the feel back for racing track,” Vernon said. “It’s been a while. I wanted to take some time off after cross country. I didn’t love the way my season ended. I just needed some time away to really train and focus on the basics.
“Cross country was a little bit of a roller coaster for me in terms of getting up for a lot of big races. I just wasn’t feeling my best anymore. I needed time to just go back and train, be by myself again, and really ask myself what my goals are, what I’m doing, and how I’m going to do it.”
In the girls’ 4x200m relay, Moses Brown shattered the meet record. The quartet of Kendra Satine, Amaya Felder, Rose Couto and Skylar Maxwell combined for a time of 1:45.94, breaking the previous mark of 1:47.50 set by Hope in 2010.
The Quakers also captured the 4x400m with Felder, Couto, Maxwell and Sophia Mocco running 4:08.60. Maxwell, who anchored both relays, added another highlight by winning the 300m with a PR of 41.62.
La Salle swept the boys’ 4x200m and 4x400m. In the 4x200m, the squad of Jalen Moseley, Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo, Jackson Alves and Abraham Ghamrawi clocked 1:32.51. The 4x400m team of Giroux-Pezzullo, Antonio Bearden Eamon O’Brien and Brad Laforest followed with a time of 3:32.27.
Moseley also claimed top honors in the 55m hurdles (8.68) and the long jump (22-7.50). In the long jump, less than a foot separated him from runner-up Patrick Trainor of Barrington, who leaped 22-6.75.
For the first time this season, the pole vault will be contested as an official event at the State Meet. The front-runner for the inaugural girls’ indoor title next month is Amber Shaw of Ponaganset.
The Chieftain senior, the top returnee from last year following her runner-up finish at the outdoor state meet, captured the pole vault at Saturday’s competition with a PR of 11-9. Her three-inch improvement would have also been good enough to win the boys’ event.
Shaw’s effort is just two inches shy of qualifying for the New Balance Nationals in mid-March.
“It feels amazing,” she said. “I started off my season with a PR of 11-6 and I got that again last weekend. This weekend, my goal was to get a PR.”
Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun went 80-plus for the second straight weekend in the boys’ weight throw. Thoun, ranked No. 2 nationally, had a winning toss of 80-1.25. Nation-leader Ryan Evans of East Greenwich was second at 77-7.
Inn the girls’ competition, North Kingstown’s Tayla Schneider claimed the crown with a near best of 51-4. Taking the next two spots, also with 50-footers, were Smithfield’s Taylor McGinness (second, 51-2.25) and the Prout School’s Julia Smith (third, 50-8.5).
Schneider’s winning effort came on her fifth throw.
“We started off a little weak, and then we just added little adjustments each throw, stepped it up each time, and made it happen,” she said.
