State Meet Preview: La Salle, La Salle (and a whole lot more)!

Here's the scoop on Saturday's R.I. state championships -- La Salle Academy is the overwhelming favorite!

It doesn't matter the gender, the Rams will be tough to beat this weekend inside the Providence Career and Technical Academy field house. Can they be dethroned? Absolutely. Crazier things have happened on track & field's biggest stage. Will it happen? Probably not.

Let's begin with the boys. What certainly ranks as one of the best core of distance runners ever produced in the state, the Rams' talented sextet of junior Jack Salisbury, junior Matt Bouthillette, sophomore D.J. Principe, senior Dan Paiva, senior Jake Grundy and senior James Placco have the potential to score more than 80 points this weekend. That, alone, should be enough to beat every team in the state, save for Bishop Hendricken.

You can't forget that La Salle also has the No. 2 ranked sprinter in Brody Santilli and all three of its relay teams are among the top 3 statewide. That's pretty lethal stuff.

Right now the Hawks, who finished second to the Rams last winter and have won 26 indoor crowns since 1978, have the best chance to pull off the upset. As always, the Hawks' depth will be the key. But a few of their athletes will have to step up and they'll need to have a little luck go their way to earn state title No. 27.

Other teams that should figure in the mix are Cumberland, Central and Barrington, which can score more than 30 points in the weights and have sophomore standout Mars Bishop, a potential high scorer in the middle distance events.

With the use of our Virtual Meet, the La Salle girls have potential to score more than double the amount of points as the second-place team. While that may not be completely accurate, the Lady Rams still should win easily. They simply have too many weapons.

With the state's top distance runners, led by Eliza Rego and Sheridan Wilbur, the Rams have potential to score nearly 70 points from the 1,000m to 3,000m! Aside from Hope's multiple all-stater and record-holder Quashira McIntosh, La Salle also has one of the top sprinters in state in Stephanie DiTraglia and its three relay squads all rank among the top three. The numbers add up fast.

Classical, led by top-ranked weight-thrower Alva Hicks, and Hope, with a productive afternoon from McIntosh, could be battling for the runner-up spot.

Here's a breakdown of the individual events for each gender:


BOYS
Sprints, hurdle events

The sprints are tough to call with several athletes capable of breaking the tape. Central's Donatien Djero holds the top seed in the 55m dash of 6.63, but La Salle's Brody Santilli actually has the faster time of 6.55, which he did to finish second at the Dartmouth Relays, a non-qualifying meet. Here's an event Hendricken may need to get a few extra points if it wants to try and upset La Salle for the team title. The Hawks' Power Kanga and Lee Moses have run times of 6.73 and 6.77, respectively, and with a perfect race could finish among the top six. Coventry's Jose Santos will be looking to score some points in the short events. He's ranked No. 1 in the 300m dash with his best of 36.07, which he did to win the Class A crown a few weeks ago. He also is No. 4 in the 55m with a 6.72 clocking. Santos was a third-place finisher in the 200m at last year's outdoor states. The 300m could also be a big event for Central with Djero (36.43) and sophomore teammate Austin Walo (36.85) capable of placing high.

The 55m hurdles could be a down-to-the-wire affair with Cumberland's Jared Talbert and Classical's Nathan Narcisse battling for the title. Narcisse, the outdoor 110m HH champion, is the No. 1 seed at 7.59. Talbert is a second seed with a time of 7.66.


Middle, long-distance events

Who will win the 600m? In years' past, that question may have been easier to answer. Not this winter! The top seven runners are all within a second of each other. In other words, it's anybody's guess who will cross the line first. La Salle's James Placco should be listed as the favorite not just because of his top-seed time of 1:25.90, but what he's also done throughout the season. Placco captured the 1,000m at the Dartmouth Invitational last month with a state best of 2:34.01 and also ran a few sub two-minute 800s this season, including a 1:57 leg on the Rams' first-place DMR squad at the New Balance Grand Prix at the beginning of the month. You can't count out North Kingstown's Joe Craven or Barrington's Mars Bishop, too. Craven, who was injured during the early part of the season, has rounded back into shape and goes into Saturday's meet with a 1:26.01 best. He was fourth in the 400m at last spring's outdoor meet where he run a PB of 50.57. Bishop is a gutsy runner who is not afraid to take charge early. He comes in with a time of 1:26.23. Hendricken's Jared Boulanger (1:26.39), Cumberland's David Agudelo (1:26.810, Classical's John Vargas (1:26.84) and Hendricken's Patrick Haggerty (1:26.91) have all broken 1:27 this season. It should be an exciting race.

La Salle has potential to dominate the next three events with its gifted athletes. In the 1,500m, Ram junior Jack Salisbury is the top seed and the clear-cut favorite. He earned that distinction with his runner-up finish in the Junior Mile at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix where he ran 4:08.75. Salisbury will be joined at the line by teammates Dan Paiva, D.J. Principe, Jake Grundy and Matt Bouthillette, who are all capable of cracking the top six. Paiva could secure the runner-up spot. Two weeks ago at the Grand Prix meet he ran a PB of 4:17 for the mile, a time that computes to a sub four-minute effort for 1,500m. For Principe, Bouthillette and Grundy, it will be there second event of the day. They are also entered in the 3K, where they're the top three seeds. Chariho's Mitch Carrier (4:05.71) and Cumberland's Abdullah Kaba (4:07.99) should also figure in the mix.

In the 3K, look for the top two seeds, Principe (8:46.45) and Bouthillette (8:46.53), to take charge early and possible break away from the field by the time they reach the halfway mark. Either runner could win this race. Bouthillette is the defending champion and Principe is the cross-country state titlist. Grundy (8:55.95) will hope to make it a 1-2-3 finish. He was second in the 3K at the outdoor state meet last June. Don't ignore Cumberland's Sean Laverty (8:57.19), who is not afraid to challenge the leaders and is capable of a sub 8:50 effort, and Hendricken's Tom Grizzetti (8:59.73), who always seems to come up big during state meet competition. This past fall, he was the runner-up at the state cross-country championships.

Salisibury should repeat what he did last year with a double-winning performance in the 1,500m and 1,000m. The La Salle junior owns the No. 1 seed in the 1K with a 2:35.45 effort. He'll have plenty of time to rest after his 1,500m race, so chances are he'll be close to running his seed time (or a little faster) on Saturday. Among the next five seeds, North Kingstown's Ian Connors will be the only runner with fresh legs. He'll be looking for the win, and could pull it off. Chances are the Skipper senior will take the pace out hard to take the zip out of his challengers' legs. He comes in with a seed of 2:38.20, a time he will have to improve on substantially to steal the crown. He's capable.


Field events

Barrington senior Adam Kelly is the state record-holder and the nation's top thrower in the 25-pound weight. He's been consistent this season and should defend his title in this event where he has a best of 83-3.25. He toughest rivals should be junior teammate Bobby Colantonio (77-0) and Moses Brown senior Owen Russell (75-8.5). The Eagles could score a considerable amount of points in this event with senior Mike Alvernaz ranked No. 4 at 68-8.

In the shot put, Kelly sits atop the list with his PB of 52-3.5. Hendricken's Chris Storti is the only other thrower that's exceeded 50 feet with a heave of 50-10.

Hendricken will be counting on scoring close to 30 points in the jumping events, and should be able to do it. The Hawks' Ben Murphy is the No. 1 seed in the high jump with a leap of 6-3. Lincoln's Darly Esenow and West Warwick's Quindel Wilson have both done 6-0 and a host of others have cleared 5-10, including the Hawks' Caleb Wurster. In other words, a 1-2 finish by Hendricken is possible. That should happen for the Hawks in the long jump where two-time defending champion Lee Moses and sophomore teammate Kwity Paye are the top seeds. Moses has a best of 23-4 and Paye has done 22-0. The third seed, Paulo Periera of East Providence, has a best of 21-8.5.


GIRLS
Sprints, hurdle events

Who will be second in the sprints? That should be the real question. Hope's Quashira McIntosh is in a class by herself when it comes to the short events. The multiple all-stater and R.I. record-holder is the two-time defending champion for 55m and 300m and should easily retain those titles this weekend. She broke her own state marks in both races this winter with times of 7.09 and 38.89, respectively. Among the athletes capable of finishing high in the 55m dash are La Salle senior Stephanie DiTraglia (7.40), Woonsocket sophomore Quinn Harlan (7.48), Juanita Sanchez junior Darchelle Judd (7.49), East Greenwich freshman Laura Murphy and Cranston West's Oceana Williams (7.51). Cumberland junior Meaghan Scullin (41.52), Murphy (42.71) and DiTraglia (42.72) are capable of a runner-up finish in the 300m dash.

The 55m hurdles could be interesting. Erika Pena of Toll Gate is the top seed with her best of 8.79. Occupying the No. 2 spot is North Kingstown freshman Tereza Bolibruch at 8.93. Hope's Chevell Burgess (8.94) and Classical's Krysan Davidson (8.94) are the only other hurdlers that have dipped under nine seconds. If Bolibruch can pull off the upset as a ninth-grader, she can continue the family tradition in the event. Her older sister, former NK standout Maria Bolibruch, captured the last three state crowns.


Middle, long-distance events

The 600m should be a close race with less than a second separating the first three seeds, Classical junior May Stern (1:39.06), Westerly freshman Randi Burr (1:39.74) and North Kingstown sophomore Katarina Ho (1:39.83). All three have proven they can perform in a big meet like the states so any of the trio can steal the show. There's a few other runners that could make some noise, such as Cumberland senior Nichole Barger, who has an all-time best of 1:38.49 for 600m and was fifth in the 800m at last year's outdoor state meet.

As mentioned earlier, the Rams own the next three longest events on the track, the 1,000m, 1,500m and 3,000m. With a state record 4:34.3 in the 1,500m, the Rams' Eliza Rego holds the top seed by five seconds over her teammate Sheridan Wilbur (4:39.32). La Salle has three of the top four seeds in the event with junior Karina Tavares occupying the fourth slot (4:49.48), a few seconds behind the Wheeler School's Lily Foulkes (4:46.98). If she doesn't run the 4x800m relay at the beginning of the meet, this could be Rego's first race of the afternoon. If that's the case, plan on seeing the La Salle star forge to the front from the opening gun and never letting up until the finish. There's potential for another state record in this race.

Wilbur is the odds on favorite for the 3K crown based on her dominating win at the Large School race two weeks ago where she ran unchallenged from the start and crossed the line with a season best of 10:07.37. That time is more than 25 seconds ahead of No. 2 seed, Bethany Nunnery of North Kingstown, who was second at the class meet with her best of 10:33.20. La Salle has the next three seeds in the event with junior Cianna Lynch (10:41.10), Tavares (10:43.91) and junior Audrey O"Neil (10:43.91) in the field.

In the 1K, Rego is the top seed with her best of 2:59.20. Wilbur is No. 2 at 3:01.70 and Barger is third at 3:02.30. Rego proved last year, when she finished second to former Classical star Maddy Berkson in the three longest events at the state meet, that she can run a quality time in the 1,000m despite two previous races. Look for similar tactics as the 1,500m where she'll try and steal the race right away with a quick opening 400m.

Field events

Classical senior Alva Hicks is favored in the 20-pound weight and the shot put, two events she should earn gold. Hicks had a personal best of 56-11 in the weight, which she did at the Rhody Track & Field Classic last month. Her biggest threat is junior teammate Lysah Russell, who won the divisionals with a best of 54-10. Hicks is far ahead of the field in the shot with her season best of 39-3, nearly four feet further than her closest rival.

In the high jump, Carly Timpson should win her third straight state crown (indoor and outdoor). She has cleared a PB of 5-6 twice this winter. Pilgrim senior Melanie Brunelle, who has cleared 5-3, is the No. 2 seed and the Clippers' Scullin is No. 3 with a best of 5-2.

Scullin, who has potential to score quite a bit of points for the Clippers, has her best chance to earn gold in the long jump. It's an event she is the top seed at 18-3.5. She's the only leaper further than 18 feet. Smithfield senior Stephanie Mattson (17-9), Coventry junior Charleen Theroux (17-8), Pilgrim's Brunelle (17-7) and Toll Gate's Pena (17-6) could also place high.