While he may have received a pep talk from his coaches before facing a loaded 1,500-meter field at Saturday’s Classical Classic, Hendricken’s David Hayes may not have needed one.
All he had to do to gain an emotional edge was think back to just eight days earlier at the Penn Relays Carnival. Running the leadoff 1,200-meter leg for his team’s eventual ninth-place DMR squad, Hayes came just a few seconds shy of three minutes.
“I knew that would help a lot,” he said. “It gave me confidence going into the race, knowing that I could run that fast.”
And run fast he did.
And so did his closest rivals.
After hanging back with the lead pack for most of the race, Hayes executed a well-timed kick with about 200 meters left, one that carried him across the finish line with a PR and winning time of 3:58.05. Down the final stretch, the Hawk standout held off a gritty challenge from Portsmouth’s Sean Gray and La Salle’s Marshall Vernon, who also broke the four-minute barrier with times of 3:58.19 and 3:58.93, respectively.
In a race that lived up to its top billing, the top nine finished under 4:08.
“It was definitely a tough race,” Hayes said. “A lot of guys kept me going. I’m just happy with how it ended.”
An overcrowded lead pack went through the opening 400 meters in 64 seconds, with Hendricken’s Colby Flynn (fourth, 4:01.43), Vernon and Gray all taking turns at the front over the opening laps.
The lead contenders admitted the pace needed to drop to hit their goal times, roughly five seconds faster than where it was heading. Gray was the first to make a decisive move, taking over shortly after the opening lap.
“I wanted to dial down the pace and get it to be a fast time,” he said. “I kind of held pace unintentionally- it is what it is. Marshall took it at 700 meters, and I took it back over the last 300 before getting nicked at the line by Hayes.”
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Despite cold, rainy 50-degree conditions, the performances remained at a high level at the first state qualifier of the outdoor season.
A new state record fell in the girls’ pole vault as Ponaganset’s Amber Shaw, the indoor state champion, cleared a winning height of 12 feet, 1.25 inches. Her mark broke the previous record of 11-10, set by former Classical standout Allyson Humphries at the Mount Pleasant Invitational in 2022.
It marked the Chieftain senior’s 11th clearance of 11-6 this year and her second time reaching 12 feet or higher. She also won the Yale Track Classic during the indoor season at 12 feet even.
She managed to stay focused, despite less-than-ideal conditions.
“Practice has been going really well,” Shaw said. “I was really confident coming into the meet, but it was pouring. It was freezing. I was just trying to stay warm. I couldn’t get the pole I wanted, so I was just trying to work with what I had and deal with the weather. I was just hoping to do my best, and then I got 12. I’m so happy.”
Several athletes at the meet, held at Mount Pleasant’s Conley Stadium, left with multiple gold medals.
Exeter/West Greenwich’s Nini Olawuyi was a triple winner. The Scarlet Knight senior captured the long jump (17-11), triple jump (36-11) and 100 hurdles (15.61). She also tied for fourth in the high jump (4-10), an event won by Barrington’s Helena Hyde at 5-0.
Multiple all-stater Skyler Maxwell of Moses Brown swept the 400m and 200m titles and anchored the Quakers’ first-place 4x100m (48.88) and 4x400m (4:04.61) relay squads. Maxwell clocked a strong early-season 57.26 in the 400m, leading a field that featured four runners under a minute.
She came back to win a tight 200m race against Hope’s Zariyah Brown and St. Raphael’s Francesca Justin, posting a 25.32 to finish 0.44 seconds ahead of Brown. Justin also broke 26 seconds in 25.86.
The versatile senior, who won the state and New England 600m title this past winter, will face a tough decision at the State Meet. Maxwell is also the top returnee in the 800m, where she placed second last June with a PR of 2:11.70.
“I love both the 400m and the 800m,” said the Boston University commit. “I’m going to run the 800m soon and see which one I’ll focus on by the end of the season.”
Nation-leader Ryan Evans of East Greenwich won the hammer throw with a heave of 226-6, finishing eight feet ahead of Hendricken’s Dimitri Johnson, who placed second at 218-6. The EG senior also claimed top honors in the discus with a toss of 155-9.
Defending state 100m titlist Jack Pawlik won his specialty in 10.80. The East Providence junior broke the tape in 10.80, holding off Barrington’s Patrick Trainor (second, 10.93) and La Salle’s Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo (third, 10.94), who also dipped under 11 seconds. Pawlik also anchored the Townies’ first-place 4x100m team that edged Hendricken with a time of 42.77 to the Hawks’ 43.02 effort.
Giroux-Pezzullo had to earn it in the 400m, holding off another EP star, Justin Jardine, for a state-leading 48.63. Jardine was close behind at 49.07.
