COUNTDOWN TO X-C
The cross-country season officially started this past week with the first official practice last Monday. During the next week, MileSplit Ri will feature the top boys and girls to watch this season in its Countdown to X-C series. The potential is there for some sizzling times on the trails. Just five runners have graduated from last year's top 14 finishers for both the boys and girls.
RUNNERS TO WATCH
D.J. Principe, sophomore, La Salle Academy
D.J. may have been even better than advertised. La Salle’s gifted underclassman went into his freshman season last year with a lot of fanfare after an exceptional junior high career. He proved from the start that he would not be affected by the pressure, manufacturing one of the strongest years ever by a ninth-grader in Rhode Island.
D.J. broke 16 minutes for five kilometers four times last fall. He ran a personal best of 15:41.5 at the Great American Cross-Country Festival in N.C., in early October where he placed 28th overall in the Championship race and was the fastest frosh in the field by more than a minute. That performance was no fluke. D.J. continued his consistency by placing third at the Class A meet (15:57.74), he was fourth at the states (15:56.44), and was ninth at the New England Championship (15:46.90), a meet he was the No. 2 man for the Rams en route to their team title.
D.J. excelled during the indoor and outdoor track seasons, too. He was consistently one of the top freshman in the country, posting sensational times of 8:45.70 for the 3,000-meter run, 9:15.87 for the 3,200m and 4:28.69 for the mile. D.J. is never afraid to run with the lead pack. He may be young, but he runs like a seasoned veteran.
As we have stated often, La Salle has a chance to achieve great things this fall and D.J. will be a big part of that success. Where will he place at the state level? He's a legitimate top-3 contender but there is also the possibility he could become the first sophomore since Cumberland’s Jerry Bonner in 1998 to win an individual crown.
<p> Countdown to 2014 cross-country season.</p>
