Hendricken copped the 4x800m relay en route to its record-setting Class A win.
It doesn’t matter the year, one team that always has to be mentioned as a contender for a state crown is Bishop Hendricken. The Hawks won their record 39th straight class title on Saturday, a streak that began in 1979.
As usual, Hendricken did it with its depth, placing in 16 of the 19 events. Senior Ben Murphy, the indoor high jump state champion, matched his season best by clearing a winning height of 6 feet, 2 inches. Shane Olson, who ranks No. 4 in the javelin, copped his specialty with a distance of 158-02. The Hawks’ Dominic Parlato ran nine-minutes flat to finish third in the 3K and his teammates finished first in the 4x800m relay at 8:23.40.
East Providence, the 2012 team champions, showed its value at the class meet by placing second to Hendricken, just five points from winning the title outright. Undefeated all season, junior Alejandro Duarte ran a personal best to take the 400m dash at 49.1. His teammates, Charles Hazzard and Paulo Periera, were 1-3 in the 110m hurdles. Both rank among the top six in the state. The Townies also dominated the long and triple jumps by taking the first two placements with Trystan Casey and Duarte taking those spots in the long jump and Pereira finishing fourth and Casey winning his second individual title in the triple jump and Pereira a runner-up. Casey ranks No. 1 in the triple and is third best in the long, an event he won on the indoor surface this past winter.
La Salle showed its usual dominance in the distance events, and that was just the warm-up act. Distance coach Bill Myers didn’t load up his top guys like he plans to do at the states, but a sampling of what the Rams could do in less than two weeks was showcased at Tucker Field.
Junior Matt Bouthillette edged classmate Jack Salisbury in the 1,500m with both timed in 3:56.9. Finishing third was sophomore D.J. Principe at 3:58.6. Principe and Bouthillette took the top two placements in the 3K and Salisbury and senior Dan Paiva were 1-3 in the 800m with East Providence’s Michael Monagle sandwiched between to take second.
Central, another squad that should fare well at the state level, have the No. 1 sprinter in sophomore Donatien Djero, who captured the 100m dash with a fast, hand-held time of 10.50. Djero also won the 200m at 22.0 and was part of the first-place 4x100m relay that was timed in 43.20, a mere .20 ahead of EP.