More than 2,000 athletes are expected to invade the PCTA fieldhouse on Saturday for the annual East Coast Invitational. Not surprisingly, the fields are loaded for tis weekend’s competition, featuring teams from throughout the region.
Here we feature a few that caught our eye.
55-meter dash
This race features the recent winner of the Yale Track Classic, Shelldon Simpson of Windsor (CT). Simpson blazed to a nation-No. 13 time of 6.37 to earn the title, and with that performance comes in as the No. 1 seed this weekend and a heavy favorite to capture his specialty at East Coast.
The Ocean State boasts a strong array of sprinters this season, with five athletes under 6.60. Two of them will be answering the gun on Saturday—Barrington’s Patrick Trainor (6.52) and Classical’s Ephraim Teah (6.56)—the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively. While anything can happen, it’s hard to see Simpson losing this weekend.
Look for a battle within the battle between Trainor and Teah. The top time in the state currently belongs to La Salle’s Jalen Moseley (6.48), who finished second in the 55m at The Nor’Easter at The Track this past weekend. With this level of competition, it’s certainly possible that the talented duo could push close to that mark on Saturday.
Mile
The mile is a race that often creates excitement at a meet, and it should be no different this weekend. The top seed and pre-race favorite is Julien Silva of Fitch, who owns a PR of 4:19.80 for 1,600 meters from last June’s CIAC State Open. Silva ran a season best of 4:31.73 at the Marine Corps Holiday Classic in New York last month and is coming off an 8:44.35 3K at Yale. While he may not yet be in sub-4:20 form, that could level the playing field for the other top runners in the field, including at least three from the host state.
Fellow Nutmeg Stater Tycen LaBelle, the No. 2 seed, is another runner who could make it happen. LaBelle is a 4:20 1,600m performer and owns a 4:24.98 mile best from last April’s CT Distance Festival.
The top Rhode Island entries are Barrington’s Brady Andrew (4:28.0), Mount Hope’s Jackson Cicchinelli (4:29.43), and Barrington’s Colby Napolitano (4:32.0). Look for this trio to be in the mix in a race that appears poised to be highly competitive over the closing laps.
High Jump
Don’t just focus your eyes on the track this weekend. There will be plenty of intriguing matchups unfolding on the infield, and the high jump is one event that should rank right near the top.
This competition features four athletes who have cleared 6-6 or higher. On paper, Connecticut holds the top three seeds, with Waterford’s Brodie Scott, Fitch’s Jacob Smith, and Waterford’s Dilan Dahl all entering at 6-6. Scott has proven capable of more, having won last June’s CIAC State Open with a personal best of 6-8.
Don’t count out West Warwick’s Zachary Morgan, who captured the RITCA Invitational two weeks ago with an indoor best of 6-4. Morgan owns an all-time best of 6-7 from his win at the Southern Division Championships last spring.
This one has the makings of a good competition—perhaps a very good one.
Weight Throw
Of course this event is on our list. How could it not be when the nation’s top two throwers will be behind the cage this weekend—East Greenwich’s Ryan Evans and Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun? Evans still holds the No. 1 spot nationally with his massive PR of 81-10.68 from his victory at last month’s Beantown Winter Classic. Thoun owns a season best of 80-9.25 from his win at the Marine Corps Holiday Classic.
The Villa Novan senior appears to have momentum on his side. He has been unbeaten since that meet, rattling off five straight victories, including back-to-back titles at Yale and the World Trophies Invitational this past weekend.
The No. 3 seed is the only other athlete to exceed 70 feet this winter: Barrington’s Joe Adams, who holds a nation No. 10 mark of 70-11.75.
PHOTO by Sterling Vernon at rhodeandtrack
