All it took was one jump. One very long jump.
Jalen Mosesley had a distinct goal heading into Saturday’s RITCA Last Chance Qualifier. After coming just a few inches shy of the state record in his specialty at last week’s Class A meet, the La Salle Academy standout was zeroed in on the longstanding, 16-year-old mark by former Chariho great Innocent Jacobs.
On his one and only attempt inside the PCTA field house, Moseley etched his name in the books. The Rams’ gifted and versatile junior soared to a winning distance of 24 feet, 2.5 inches, erasing the 2010 record of 24-1 by Jacobs.
“I woke up this morning and said I’m going to try and get the state record,” he stated. “I just came out today, staying calm, staying healthy. I just did my best.”
Mosesley came into the competition with confidence on his side. After leaping a then season best of 22-7.5 at the RITCA Invitational on Jan. 3, the La Salle leaper twice soared over 23 feet, including 23-10.5 at the class championships just seven days earlier.
He knew right then it was only a matter of time before Jacobs’ record could fall.
“Definitely,” he said. “When I hit 23-10, I was like I could really get 24 (feet) now. I came to Last Chance and just popped it.”
Moseley’s performance highlighted a strong day by several of the state’s top athletes in their final competition before next weekend’s State Meet.
The highly anticipated 55-meter matchup between Moseley and East Providence’s Jack Pawlik — two of the state’s top three sprinters — never materialized, as the La Salle star chose to focus solely on the long jump.
But the race still produced a blistering time, one that was just one hundredth of a second behind state leader Patrick Trainor of Barrington.
Unlike last weekend’s meet, when a lean at the finish earned him a narrow victory over his La Salle rival, Pawlik left no doubt this time. The Townie junior won handily, blazing to an all-time best of 6.46 seconds. La Salle’s Jackson Alves was second at 6.66, while Classical’s Ephraim Teah was third in 6.74. Along with teammates Julius Cortes, Isaac Rodriguez and Justin Jardine, Pawlik also ran a leg on his school’s triumphant 4x200m relay (1:34.080.
Portsmouth’s Patrick Orbon finished just outside the top-10 rankings in the 1,500m with a five-second best of 4:13.63. Sophomore Ryan Hurlock was second (4:16.73) and Providence Country Day’s Leo Woodman, last week’s Class C 3K champion, was third (4:18.32).
In the girls’ 1,500m, the North Kingstown tandem of Abigail O’Neil and Abbie Tighe went 1-2. O’Neil took control late in the race and won with a PR of 4:54.92. Tighe secured her runner-up spot with a time of 4:57.12. Five in the race broke five minutes with Cumberland’s Charli McCue (third, 4:57.20), North Kingstown’s Lucy Stowe (fourth, 4:58.54) and North Smithfield’s Lucy Stowe (fifth, 4:59.61) also going under the mark.
La Salle’s Jacob Kennedy proved he could score some crucial points in the 600m for the Rams in their quest to win their second straight team title. Rebounding from a seventh-place finish at the Class A meet, Kennedy clocked his third 1:26 effort of the season with a PR and first-place time of 1:26.11. The Ram junior, who climbed for No. 6 in the state rankings, won a close race where the top four finishers were separated by .67.
There’s no doubt the shot could get interesting a next Saturday’s states. Four throwers this season have tossed the metal ball more than 50 feet with Barrington’s Joe Adams at No. 1 with a best of 55-0.6, The next three in the rankings faced off on Saturday with Hendricken’s Alexander Prado unleashing a PR of 51-5.5. He was just ahead of Smithfield’s Kaeden Manni, who was second at 51-3.5. Hendricken Kayson Kong was third at 50-2.5.
State leader Tayla Schneider of North Kingstown captured the girls’ shot by eight feet with a toss of 42-6, her sixth 40-plus effort of the season. In the weight throw, Smithfield’s Taylor McGinness was less than five inches ahead of runner-up Chibuzo Ihenacho of Classical with a heave of 55-5.75. Ihenacho had a nearly two-foot best of 55-1.5.
