Rhode Island athletes showcased their talents this past weekend at the New England Indoor Track & Field Championships. Along with several school records and PR performances, two state marks were broken and three individuals/relay teams stood atop the podium at Saturday’s competition at the Reggie Lewis Center.
So who makes the cut this week as our New Balance Athletes of the Week?
As always, it wasn’t easy. Championship meets like New Englands never are. But we were eventually able to narrow it down to the two who we feel most deserved the honor.
Congratulations to the La Salle boys’ 4×200-meter relay and Moses Brown’s Skyler Maxwell.
Our decision for the Rams’ 4x200m squad is two-fold. The foursome of Jalen Moseley, Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo, Jackson Alves and Antonio Bearden defended their crown with a season-best 1:29.53, just 0.22 seconds ahead of Clinton (MA). It was the Rams’ first time under 1:30 this winter and sets them up nicely for what’s in store in two weeks at the New Balance Nationals.
As usual, all four were called to duty more than once, with Giroux-Pezzullo and Moseley making the biggest impact. Giroux-Pezzullo won a thrilling 300m race, smashing both the meet and state records with a time of 33.87. Moseley etched his name in the record books twice, tying the state record in the 55m hurdles with a runner-up finish of 7.37 and soaring to a second-place leap of 25-3 in the long jump, erasing a three-week-old mark by a mere inch.
Both standouts also ran the two fastest legs on the second-place 4x400m relay, which won the unseeded heat in a season-best 3:22.76. Moseley was timed in 50.86, while Giroux-Pezzullo anchored in 49.31.
As for Maxwell, what more can you say about a runner who chopped five seconds off her previous best in the 600m over her last two meets? After winning her second straight state crown two weeks earlier, the Quakers senior captured her first New England title in impressive fashion. Unleashing a devastating final-lap kick, Maxwell surged past a talented field to win in a PR of 1:31.97.
The Boston University-bound standout also anchored her team’s 4x200m (ninth, 1:45.64) and 4x400m (sixth, 4:02.32) relays, capping a remarkable championship performance.
