The Mile. The crown jewel of track & field.
Not since 2015 or 2016 has Rhode Island seen a season quite like this — six athletes ran under four minutes for 1,500 meters in 2015, and five broke 4:15 for the mile in 2016.
This spring, quite possibly, both marks could be surpassed.
The annual BSR Elite Scholastic Meet at UMass Lowell this past Friday not only featured some of the region’s finest runners in the mile, it also showcased something we already knew — the smallest state in the union has become a big-time force in one of the sport’s premier events.
In all, five runners from the Ocean State dipped under 4:17 on the night. In the seeded section Bishop Hendricken’s David Hayes led the way by taking third overall in a six-second PR of 4:10.58. He was followed by Portsmouth’s Sean Gray (fifth, 4:11.02), La Salle’s Marshall Vernon (11th, 4:16.03), and Hendricken’s Colby Flynn (12th, 4:16.96). Add in Barrington’s Brooks Mello, a dominating winner in the unseeded section with his 4:14.59 effort, and that makes our fifth.
Hayes, Gray, and Mello all ran lifetime bests on a perfect night for racing. Vernon and Flynn have run faster before with PRs of 4:10.64 and 4:14.54, respectively.
It will be interesting to see what this group does in the 1,500m at the upcoming championship meets, including this weekend’s class championships and the State Meet two weeks later. So far, three have already broken four minutes.
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The featured race at the fourth annual event certainly didn’t disappoint. Michael Mohoric of Newburyport (MA) ran the race of his life to capture the individual title with a 10-second personal best and US No. 9 time of 4:05.77. No, that is not a typo. Mohoric was 10 ticks faster than his previous best and shattered the meet record of 4:07.60, set by former Saint Raphael Academy standout Devan Kipyego in the inaugural race in 2023.
Finishing second was Falmouth’s gritty senior Silas Gartner, who also dipped under 4:10 with a four-second personal best of 4:08.70.
Sitting in ninth with a lap remaining was Hayes, who blasted a 58.81 final 400m to secure the bronze medal — the fastest closing split in the field.
“My goal was 4:12 — go 63, 63, 63 for the first three laps and then see what I had left,” Hayes said. “I closed in 58, so I had a lot left, you could say. I felt great the whole time.”
While he admits he enjoys a more tactical race, Hayes is hoping to be at his best at the class and state meets.
“I’m hoping to go 3:55, maybe 3:53,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Gray had to weave his way through an aggressive pack from the outset. Despite getting shuffled far back early in the race, he still came through the opening 400 meters in 1:03.46.
“I still felt like I had a lot left in my legs. I got boxed into last place after the first lap,” he said. “From there, I had to run on the outside of lane one and into lane two for pretty much the entire second lap, the third lap and into the fourth lap.
“I can’t complain. I felt pretty good. I just unfortunately didn’t get a great start at the beginning, and it probably cost me a few seconds. I’m happy with the time, but I definitely feel I can run faster.”
In addition to all the standout milers, a few others competed in the meet this past Friday.
La Salle’s Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo placed fifth in the seeded 400m with a PR of 48.58, while Barrington’s Kate Pearse was fourth in the girls race with a time of 58.71.
St. Raphael’s Mackenzie Lickert finished fourth in the unseeded mile with a personal best of 5:08.12.
