Out of control. Through the roof.
Pick any three words. Either phrase describes best what’s happening in the track & field world right now. If you had the chance to watch the Prefontaine Classic on Peacock this past Saturday, you had your proof during five magical hours of competition at Hayward Field.
Thirteen, that’s right 13, broke 3 minutes, 50 seconds in the Bowerman Mile. It was a race that just one hundredth of a second separated the 1-2 finishers with Denmark’s Niels Laros inching past American Yared Nuguse in the final few meters to break the tape in 3:45.95. Two world records were broken on the women’s side with Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon establishing a new mark in the women’s 1,500-meter run (3:48.68) and fellow compatriot Beatrice Chebet making it happen in the 5K (13:58.06). Sub-14, are you kidding me? To boot, she ran the last 400m in 61 seconds!!! For our hammer throwers out there, U.S. Olympian Rudy Winkler unleashed an American record of 83.16 meters, an event that former Woonsocket great Tarik O’Hagan was tenth overall with a distance of 75.08m.
It is indeed a special time in track & field right now, and only going to get better.
The same could be said by our high-schoolers.
Ten under 46 seconds in the 400m this year, and the top one was not even Olympic gold medalist Quincy Wilson. The New Balance champion was No. 2 in the rankings. Really? There’s also Utah’s Jane Hedengren, the distance phenom who has re-written the books in a ginormous way with bests and national marks of 4:23.50 for the mile and 9:17.75 for the two mile.
Absolutely, incredible!
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The Arnold Mills Road Race this past Friday in Cumberland experienced its biggest turnout in the event’s 57-year history with 635 signups and 878 finishers. Among the top runners were a smorgasbord of former high school stars from the Ocean State. Three-time winner and Cumberland all-stater Ben Drezek was third overall in the four-miler with a time of 18:53. Former La Salle Academy great Joseph dos Reis was fourth at 18:59.2. He was followed by Bronson Venable (fifth, 19:09.4), a Hendricken alum and the 2007 RI cross-country champion. Also mixed with the leaders were Nick Martin (East Greenwich) in sixth (19:19.2), Nathan Masi (North Smithfield) in ninth (20:20.0), 2021 titlist Nick Celico (Hendricken) in tenth (20:20.2), Brayton Gazerro (Hendricken) in 11th (20:43.2) and two-time winner and URI coach Brian Doyle (Hendricken) in 12th (20:50.2). Still going strong at the age of 52 was current St. Raphael Academy coach Chris Magill, a six-time victor at Arnold Mills during his heyday. Magill averaged 6:20 pace with a time of 25:21.9, an effort that placed him second in the age 50-59 age category.
In a bit of irony on July 4, the winning time of 18:47.3 by former Wachusett Regional star Colin Bennie in the men’s race was the same winning time run by Milton’s Bobby Carew at the Fourth of July Freedom Four-Miler in Longmeadow, Ma. The 23-year-old Carew was a frequent competitor at Arnold Mills as a youth. His dad, Bob Carew, was a former Cumberland standout during the 1980s.
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The summer never seems to end for the hammer throwers. According to Woonsocket coach Marc Piette, there will be several meets over the next few weeks at Conley Stadium. This Wednesday at 4 p.m., is Hammerheads Hammer Triathlon. There are three more competitions on the slate, also on Wednesdays. Those will be held on July 16, July 30 and Aug. 6 at Conley.
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Our condolences go out to the family of Bob Lamothe. Lamothe, who passed away on Saturday, was a highly-respected and longtime R.I. track and field official. He was also a fierce competitor in his running career, particularly in the triathlon. In an article posted in the Warwick Beacon back in 2010, the Warwick resident had already competed in more than 300 triathlons by age 56, ranging from sprint to Ironman events. He will be sorely missed by all those that have had the pleasure to know him. Several acquaintances expressed their sympathy for Lamothe on Facebook.
“Great triathlete, better person, condolences to his family,” said John Ratier. “(I) loved seeing him at triathlons every weekend during the summer, No one tougher than Bob. RIP.”
“Bob was one of the most respected officials in RI. He was always fun to talk to at meets,” said former Cumberland track coach Tom Kenwood. “RI track and field will miss him. Rest in peace. Condolences to the family.”
“Great runner! Great person! So sorry to hear of Bob’s passing,” said Hendricken coach Jim Doyle. “My condolences and deepest sympathy to his family and friends.”
