Fast 1,500m at Schomp Invite

May 03, 2015

It's not often that a high school runner breaks four minutes for the 1,500-meter run.

Saturday afternoon at the Rick Schomp Invitational there were five!

La Salle Academy junior Jack Salisbury led three more of his teammates under the mark and East Greenwich's Tommy Sommer joined the party in one of the most highly-contested 1,500m on a R.I. track in recent history.

Salisbury, who recently anchored the Rams' winning DMR squad at the Penn Relays Carnival, broke the tape in 3 minutes, 57.2 seconds. Finishing right on his shoulders was Ram sophomore D.J. Principe at 3:57.9. Rounding out the next three finishers was the La Salle tandem of junior Matt Bouthillette (third, 3:58.5) and senior Dan Paiva (fourth, 3:58.9) as well as the Avengers' Sommer (fifth, 3:59.4).

“It was a great day for these guys," said La Salle distance coach Bill Myer. “We talked about the splits and what these guys needed to be. I told Matt to be 62 (seconds) at the quarter and then Dan to take over. I wanted 2:06 (at 800 meters). I think they came through in 2:07 and then Jack took that third lap over. I think they went by in 3:10 (for 1,200m) and just kicked it home."

There was lack of breathing room in the girls' 1,500-meter race, too. Just a single second separated the top four finishers with North Kingstown sophomore Katarina Ho pulling off a minor upset with a season-best time of 4:40.9. La Salle junior Karina Taveres placed second at 4:41.7, while senior teammate Sheridan Wilbur was third in 4:41.8. Barrington junior Emma McMillan was fourth in 4:41.9.

Wilbur did most of the early pace-setting. Ho hung behind the La Salle runner and Taveres for most of the race and forged to the front for good on the final straightaway.

“The beginning part I told myself I was just going to let them set the pace and see how I felt, and I did. The beginning first two laps, they were hard, they were fast," said Ho, who has a PR of 4:37 for 1,500m, a time she did at the state meet last year as a ninth-grader. “The last lap (Wilbur) slowed down a little bit so I just stuck with her."

Teamwise it was Ho and the Skippers that earned the girls' crown with a narrow 67-63 decision over second-place La Salle. For the boys, Bishop Hendricken beat runner-up East Providence, 86-81.

Hope senior Quashira McIntosh displayed her usual dominance in the sprint events. She blazed to a hand-held best of 11.7 in the 100m dash and established a meet record in the 200m with her time of 25.0. She also anchored her team's victorious 4x400m relay that was timed in 4:01.8.

McIntosh's final high school season is off to a great start. At the beginning of the month, she set an all-time best in the 200m by placing fifth in her preliminary heat at the CARIFTA Games in Nassau with a wind-aided 24.04 clocking.

“I am very happy with the season," said the multiple state-record holder. “I am doing much better than I did last year."

Barrington junior Bobby Colantonio was less than a foot from his nation-leader in the hammer with a first-place toss of 237 feet, 11 inches. Toll Gate's Courtney Jacobsen took the girls' apparatus with a distance of 168-3.

Classical's Alva Hicks was a double winner, capturing the shot put with a heave of 42-8 and the discus with a fling of 132-03.

Freshman Tereza Bolibruch of North Kingstown, younger sister of Skipper graduate and multiple state titlist Maria Bolibruch, was a winner in the 100-meter hurdles with an impressive time of 15.7. Cumberland's Madison Souliere, whose sister Breigh also starred in the hurdle events as a high-schooler, was second at 15.9.

Tereza credits her older sibling for her love of the hurdles and her early success.

“She inspired me when she was like a sophomore and I was in sixth grade and wanted to try hurdles in middle-school track," she said. “In seventh grade I started doing it and whenever I watched her races I was always fascinated and wanted to be like her. She has always been my idol."

South Kingstown's Tony Shepard won the triple and long jump, both times defeating East Providence's Trystan Casey. Shepard claimed the triple jump title with a leap of 42-8.5 to Casey's 42-7.75 effort. The Rebel standout took the long jump with a distance of 22-4.5 to the Townies' star's 21-11.

In a tight race, East Providence's Alejandro Duarte was the first across the line in the 400m with a fast time of 49.8. Central's Austin Walo was second in 50.2.

“It was very tiring," said Duarte. “Hard work pays off at school and practice. It really does."

North Kingstown's Ian Connors captured the 800m with a time of 1:57.6. Finishing second was North Providence's Nate Coogan in 1:59.4. Mike Monagle of East Providence was also under two minutes with a third-place time of 1:59.8.

Fast 1,500m at Schomp Invite

Elite performances from this session

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights