While it’s certainly a key contributor to a team’s success, individual victories and top finishes alone do not make champions.
Equally important are the sacrifices athletes make to earn that coveted prize. At a meet like the RIIL Indoor Track & Field Championships, some of those sacrifices still equate to victories, and sometimes they don’t.
La Salle Academy had its share of winners in Saturday’s dominating victory, one where the Rams finished 55.5 points ahead of second-place Bishop Hendricken with a score of 137.5 points
Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo defended his crown in the 300-meter dash with a meet and facility record of 34.55 seconds, ran legs on the Rams’ first-place 4x200m (1:30.99) and 4x400m (3:28.78) relay squads, and also finished fourth in the 55m dash (6.49).
Junior Jalen Moseley added 36 points with wins in the 55m hurdles (7.45), long jump (23-11.75) and high jump (6-6), along with a third in the 55m dash (6.47).
Distance standout Marshall Vernon made it three straight crowns in the 3,000m with a meet and facility record of 8:28.38, and only a disqualification in the 1,500m prevented him from another title inside the PCTA Field House.
But the unsung performance of the day, the kind that often inspires teams to greatness at championship meets like states, belonged to Eamon O’Brien.
The Rams’ talented middle-distance star was called to duty three times Saturday, anchoring the meet-opening 4x800m relay and competing individually in the 600m and the 1K. In the 600m, he was the No. 1 seed, matched up in an anticipated duel with Barrington’s Henry Stockwell.
That showdown didn’t stop O’Brien from pouring his heart out in the 4x800m, trying to erase a more-than-two-second gap on front-running Chariho. The Chargers held off the fast-charging Ram down the stretch, combining for a time of 8:06.36.
But they didn’t rest easy.
Ignoring what it might mean for his 600m later in the meet, O’Brien delivered a heroic 1:56.97 split – the fastest of the day – as the Rams fell just short of victory, finishing second in 8:07.40.
Later in the meet, O’Brien placed second in the 600m (1:25.14) to a strong effort by Stockwell, with the Eagles’ senior breaking the tape in 1:23.36. Whether or not the earlier relay leg made a difference in the outcome, it earned O’Brien the praise of his coaches and, no doubt, many others who were part of the more-than-four-hour meet.
“I’ve got to put that one on my shoulders a little bit,” admitted La Salle assistant coach James Lourenco. “I wish I had another guy ready to go. At the start of this meet, we thought it would be a dogfight and had to go for every point. Eamon never wavered on that. I did turn to him and say, ‘Hey, second is okay.’ He shot back at me, ‘I’m going to get him.’ You have to trust your athletes there. The only thing you can do at meets like this is not overcoach it. You’ve got to let them do their thing.”
La Salle finished the day, scoring in 12 of the 15 events with multiple placements in several of them. In addition to Moseley, Giroux-Pezzullo and Vernon, also earning a victory on Saturday was senior Judah Mullings in the pole vault with a clearance of 12-6.
Giroux-Pezzullo was particularly proud of his time in the 300m, which broke the facility mark held by US Olympic 400m HH gold medalist Raj Benjamin, who won the now defunct Rhode Island Classic with a time of 34.83 as a high-schooler for Mount Vernon (NY) in 2014.
“Honestly, it feels great,” said the Boston University commit. “It’s a been a goal for a couple of weeks, just to get it here and break that time, so it feels good to finally accomplish it. My legs were definitely feeling it. It’s been a long day.”
To earn his third 3K title, Vernon had to battle familiar rivals Sean Gray (Portsmouth) and Colby Flynn (Hendricken). With Gray dictating the pace from the gun, the trio quickly broke away from the field, opening a four-second cushion by the 800m mark. They passed the mile in around 4:34.
Vernon didn’t make his move until the final stages, taking his first and only lead with 200m remaining. He powered home with a 29.72 closing lap to seal the victory. Gray finished second in 8:32.35, while Flynn claimed third in 8:38.40. Nine runners in the field dipped under nine minutes.
Like last year, when illness two weeks before the state meet limited his training, the Stanford-bound senior had to overcome another poorly timed setback.
The incident occurred shortly before the BU John Thomas Terrier Classic on Jan. 30, where he ultimately ran a PR of 8:21.69 for the 3,000m.
“I was going on a cooldown after a state-qualifier meet right after it had snowed,” Vernon said. “I was outside and slipped on ice and basically strained my abductor. I wasn’t able to close my leg properly. I thought my season was going to have some rockiness to it.”
Limited to treadmills for a week leading into BU, Vernon wasn’t sure how he would respond.
“I said, ‘I’ll probably be able to race the BU meet.’ I was able to run on treadmills just going in a straight line,” he said.
In the 1,500 meters, Barrington’s Brooks Mello controlled much of the pace in a tightly contested race that grew increasingly physical over the final laps. Vernon, who trailed early, briefly grabbed the lead after 800m before Mello reclaimed it a little more than a lap later.
The race took a dramatic turn approaching the final curve. Vernon attempted to swing wide for a pass, and the two runners made contact. Mello, knocked off balance, stumbled to the track. A startled Vernon maintained his footing and crossed the line first, holding off a fast-closing David Hayes of Hendricken. Vernon was disqualified following the contact, and Hayes was awarded the victory.
Vernon said the incident was unintentional.
“I was on my last lap and Brooks was leading,” he said. “We were jostling a little bit, our arms were hitting each other. On the last turn, he was in front of me. I felt him coming back a little bit, and I knew I had to make my move. I didn’t want to hesitate and get boxed in.
“I went to the outside on the turn. When you’re racing, you’re leaning in, and it’s a flat track. My shoulder was leaning a little bit as I was about to go around. Brooks’ arm was out a bit, and I noticed it. I put my hand out to try to keep our bodies from hitting me. Unfortunately, I guess both his feet were off the ground at that moment. He must have tumbled over because of that.”
Vernon was also fifth in the 1,000m (2:38.58).
It was a typical, high-scoring day for Moseley, who matched a PR of 6.42 in his preliminary heat of the 55m and had all-time bests in the high jump and 55m hurdles.
Moseley has a few goals with the New England Championships (Feb. 28) and the New Balance Nationals (March 12-15) on the docket. One of those includes etching his name in the books in the hurdles at the New England’s.
“I am going to try and win and get a state record,” he said.
The current mark is 7.37, set last year’s by former Barrington standout Bobby Wind at the New England meet.
Elsewhere at the meet…
Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun made it back-t0-back titles in the weight throw. Thoun turned in the best performance of his career, improving his nation-leader with a toss of 83-1.75. East Greenwich’s Ryan Evans was second at 75-1.75. Barrington’s Joseph Adams (third, 73-7) and Hendricken’s Dimitri Johnson (fourth, 72-4.25) also had 70-footers.
Barrington had a pair of victories from Stockwell in the 600m and Patrick Trainor in the 55m. In the short dash, Trainor beat a talented field with an all-time best of 6.37. Four in this race were under 6.5 with East Providence’s Jack Pawlik taking second at 6.40. He was followed by Moseley and Giroux-Pezzullo.
“They’re all great competitors. They helped push me,” Trainor said. “I think that was why I was able to run that time.”
Stockwell was third in this race last year. His performance improved his school record and is his third straight time running 1:23.
“First of all, a shout out to Eamon,” he said. “He doubled today and did the 4×800. I don’t think he was feeling to good for this one, so a huge shout out to him. He’s a great runner, a great competitor. Obviously it feels great to win. That’s what the goal was. That’s what the goal has been since freshman year pretty much.”
Hendricken’s Colby Flynn was victorious in the 1,000m with a time of 2:32.65. The Hawks’ junior was in fifth place after 400m. He took over the lead as he approached the 600m and then simply put to field away the last 400m with a 58.85 split.
“About three laps in I was like, ‘I feel really good right.’ It came as a surprise to me, so I started kicking,” he recalled. “The crowd started hyping me up, I was like, “Now’s when I’m going to do it. Everyone here is off a double or triple, and I have a kick. I just ran away with it.”
Smithfield sophomore Kaeden Manni saved his best for last, uncorking a PR of 52-feet even to claim the shot. Manni improved on his previous best by nearly nine inches. It was his third time this winter where he exceeded 50 feet.
Photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack
