Motivation comes in many forms.
For Jalen Moseley, it came in the form of a controversial ruling at the New England Championships.
With fire in his eyes and talent on his side, La Salle Academy’s gifted junior struck it rich Saturday at the New Balance Nationals. Avenging a second-place finish in the long jump two weeks earlier against the region’s best, Moseley earned the individual title in his specialty during Day 2 of the national competition at The Track at New Balance.
Moseley leaped a winning 24 feet, 1.5 inches. The LSA standout beat Aaron Rich of Lyman Hall (CT), who finished as the runner-up with a distance of 23-10. It was a reversal of the finish from the New Englands, where Rich claimed the title and Moseley placed second after initially being told he had won.-
“Moseley was very motivated by the disappointment of coming second at New England,” said La Salle coach Eldon Santiago. “He came in with a point to prove and he was able to win on his final attempt.”
Moseley also earned All American as part of the Rams’ third-place Sprint Medley Relay that smashed the state record with a time of 3:26.40, just 1.01 seconds behind Union Catholc (NJ), which was timed in 3:25.41. Moseley and Antonio Bearden blazed to low 22-seconds for their 200m legs. Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo clocked 47.55 for his 400m split and Eamon O’Brien anchored with a 1:54.31 for the 800m.
“Our SMR ran tough against a great field, and really showed depth and versatility throughout the program,” Santiago said.
La Salle also broke another state mark in the 4x200m to qualify for Saturday’s finals. The quartet of Moseley, Giroux-Pezzullo, Jackson Alves and Bearden combined for a time of 1:27.27.
Bishop Hendricken earned All-American status in a stacked distance medley relay. The Hawks finished fifth overall with a school record of 10:08.14. David Hayes set the tone for the Hawks with a spectacular 3:07.38 for his opening 1,200m leg. He was followed by a 50.76 400m leg by Andrew McCarthy and a 1:58.02 split by Fred Russell for the 800m. Colby Flynn anchored with a 4:11.97 for his 1,600m leg.
