DMR title for La Salle, mile win for Berkson at NB Grand Prix (videos added)

 

The high school events of the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix were well-represented by Rhode Island athletes on Saturday.

Bolstered by a strong mile leg from sophomore Jack Salisbury, La Salle Academy captured the distance medley relay with a time of 10 minutes, 24.10 seconds, matching their best from last month’s second-place finish at the Yale Track Classic.

Less than 30-minutes later, Classical senior Maddy Berkson gave the Ocean State its second title of the day by winning the Junior Mile with a season-best 4:56.10 clocking.

“It’s great. Anytime you can come to this meet on this stage is a nice win,” said La Salle distance coach Bill Meyers, about his DMR squad. “A couple of the guys from the other teams, a kid from New Jersey and a kid from Pennsylvania, were in the open mile, so that would have changed things a little bit. But a win is a win.”

The Rams finished more than three-seconds ahead of runner-up West Chester Henderson (PA), who combined for a time of 10:27.53. Marshfield (MA) was third at 10:27.89.

La Salle’s quartet consisted of sophomore Matt Bouthilette, junior Jamie Placco, junior Dan Paiva and Salisbury. The Rams were within striking distance of the lead throughout the race but didn’t assume control of the top spot until Salisbury got the baton for his mile leg.

The sophomore blasted to the lead for good with 400-meters remaining, finishing his leg with a fast 4:22 mile. Salisbury’s admitted his gutsy move was unintentional.

“I actually lost count of the laps. I got to the finish line and stopped for a second or two and then I realized I still had a lap to go,” he said. “I just kicked it in. I just tried to go all out. At that point, I felt pretty comfortable that I pulled away enough to kick it in as much as I did the last lap.”

“I thought he missed counted on his laps when he kicked it but he’s strong enough to hold on,” Meyers said. “I was confident he could hold on.”

Bouthilette led off with a strong 1,200 leg of 3:10, a time that put the Rams in sixth place and about six-seconds behind early-race leader, New Jersey’s Don Bosco (sixth, 10:32.20).

“For my part, I wanted to get out hard and give us a good position to hand it off to Jamie to do well for the 400, and Dan in the 800 and Jack in the mile,” he said. “We trusted Jack the last leg because of his kick.”

Placco moved La Salle to fifth with a 53-second 400 split.

“I was trying to run tactically,” he said. “I didn’t want to go out too hard. With a lap to go I saw our friends and family so it felt good.”

Just two laps into his 800 leg, which he was timed in 1:58, Paiva increased the Rams another placement. He passed one other runner before handing the baton for Salisbury for his anchor leg.

“I thought I was going to be a little behind so I knew I had to go out sort of hard and just keep going and make up some places to give us a good shot to win,” he said.

Salisbury went to work from the start.

“I knew I had to make up some ground,” he said. “I did it pretty quickly and just sat on (the lead). I felt really, really comfortable. In my mind, I knew that (we were) going to win it.”

A relatively “slow” pace for the elite field of the girls’ mile benefitted Berkson in her race. She led from the gun, passing the initial 400 at 73 seconds and the halfway mark at 2:29. She broke from a tight group by the 1,200 (3:42.2) and held on to finish just .08 ahead of Pennridge (PA) junior Marissa Sheva. La Salle Academy sophomore Eliza Rego had a personal best of 5:01.08 to take eighth overall.

“I was looking for a state record, which is 4:53,” said Berkson, who holds the R.I. indoor mark on an oversized track of 4:50.50, set last year at the Brooks PR Invitational. “I figured it would be good to place well, maybe win.”

Read more about Maddy's win.

 

La Salle Interview

 

Maddie Berkson Interview