By BOB LEDDY
R.I. Track & Field Foundation
La Salle Academy junior distance man Jack Salisbury will join 10 of the nation’s elite runners on Friday at the Prefontaine Classic’s inaugural high school mile, part of the two-day open meet. The mile event will take place at the eight-lane Hayward Field track on the University of Oregon campus, and goes off at 11:45 p.m. (EDT) Friday night.
Salisbury received a Prefontaine bid on the basis of his 4:08.8 mile (= 3:50.6 @ 1500 meters), run indoors at the New Balance Grand Prix meet at the Reggie Lewis Center oval, Boston, in early February. He placed second in that race, which ranked him No. 5 indoors nationally.
“I would like to run a P-R,’’ said Salisbury, “and if everything goes well I think I’m in shape to run a 4:05. I know there will be great competition, so my main focus stepping on the line is to make sure I’m in the right mindset to just race and give it all I have.’’ Salisbury is part of a loaded Ram distance corps that includes DJ Principe, Dan Paiva and Matt Bouthillette. (Last month, Salisbury clocked a 4:14.52 1600-meter anchor split, as La Salle won the Penn Relays distance medley relay; the combined time was 10:12.10.)
“Everyone is just so proud of him,’’ said Vin Mc Ginn, head boys’ track coach at La Salle. “As someone who has been able to see him continue to grow and mature into not only this incredibly fierce competitor, but also this really great team leader, it’s something special to behold.
“Jack’s a winner, and he’ll compete,’’ Mc Ginn added. “The Prefontaine Classic is certainly a big race. [Salisbury] is on a big stage, and when Jack gets a stage, there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll perform. His teammates are pulling for him.’’
“It’s just exciting to be invited and to get to go on the trip,’’ said Salisbury, an East Providence resident, whose last major meet victory came at the Schomp Invitational 1500 (3:57.3) earlier this month. “I’m looking forward to . . . running a fast time,’’ he said.
Oval Note: The Prefontaine high school mile field:
Jackson Mestler, senior, Oregon; Dajour Braxton, senior Nevada; Mike Slagowski, junior, Idaho; Kai Benedict, senior, Nevada; Tom Ratcliffe, junior, Mass.; Adam Barnard, junior, Tennessee; Sam Ritz, senior, Pennsylvania; Mike Brannigan, senior, New York; Elijah Armstrong, senior, Idaho; Carlos Villarreal, senior, Arizona.