Head coach Ken Skelly wasn't fooled. Neither was his assistant coach Bill Myers.
After their team's 15-point victory over Bishop Hendricken at this past Saturday's Class A Championship, both La Salle Academy coaches admitted it wasn't necessarily the best team that came out on top.
As Skelly pointed out, "We definitely woke a sleeping giant today."
Whether it's the Rams or Hawks you want to list as the favorite for Sunday's state meet, the one thing that is clear is the chance of one these two powerhouses not coming home with the team plaque is highly unlikely. And this one could come right down to the wire, the final stretch of the race.
Right now, La Salle has a lethal 1-2 punch with junior DJ Principe and senior Matt Bouthillette, who finished first and second, respectively, at the class meet with the two fastest times of the day, 15:19.98 and 15:28.72. The two teammates and training partners complement each other very well and should be the top two candidates to snare the individual title with defending champion Principe getting a slight edge over Bouthillette. Judging by how comfortable Principe looked in his win, former Westerly great Andrew Springer's course record of 15:14 could be in jeopardy.
Here's what could create headaches for the Hawks and enable the Rams to capture their second straight team title -- Jack Salisbury. The Ram senior has been out the whole season with an injury and in his first race back placed fifth at the class meet with a very-credible time of 15:51.40. Salisbury has the mental willpower to contend with his two teammates for the individual crown but does he have enough training under his belt? We'll see. Whether or not he wins on Sunday, Salisbury still has a legitimate shot at placing in the top three. If the Rams can sweep those first three placements, a victory may be almost assured. Senior Alex Campagna was ninth at the Class A's with a big-time PR of 16:18.36, a clocking that ranked No. 9 among all the other class meets. Alex Martinez, another senior, ranks No. 29 overall. Do the math. With a sweep (or near sweep) by its three star runners and strong finishes by its fourth and fifth guys, La Salle could score less than 50 points, a total that could certainly equate to a 'W.'
But what about the Hawks? For starters, don't count them out. Hendricken didn't have its best race this past weekend, but it didn't have a bad one, either. The Hawks' spread between their first and fifth runners was just 51 seconds. That's impressive in a competitive race like Class A, which is essentially the state meet, minus quality squads like Class B champion Barrington and Class C titlist East Greenwich. But for the Hawks to earn their 23rd state plaque since 1978 they're going to have to run just a little faster collectively to create havoc up front and disrupt the Rams. Senior teammates Dominic Parlato and Avery Ingegneri have both been consistent all season long and had fine performances on Saturday with Parlato taking fifth in 15:51.40 and Ingegneri placing seventh with a time of 16:05.40. The Hawks' next three scoring runners -- Mike Kiernan, Max Waite and Jake Cardello -- placed among the top 22. If you combine the finishes of all three class meets, Hendricken would have scored about 51 points.
Okay, you're looking at that total, and everything appears close. Not necessarily. Here's where it gets tricky. To paraphrase the Beatles, La Salle could get a little help from its friends. Cumberland's Sean Laverty and Ben Drezek, who were sixth and eighth at the class meet, have potential to finish ahead of the Hawks two or three runners. There's also Barrington's Mars Bishop, who didn't compete at the Class B meet this past weekend with a minor injury. He should be ready to compete this Sunday. He ran 15:22 at a fast (and some say short) course at the Brown Invitational a few weeks ago, a time that still transfers to a sub 16-minute effort at Ponaganset. Mount St. Charles junior CJ Berg, who easily won the Class C meet in 16:18, is also capable of cracking 16 minutes, displacing some of those key Hawk runners. Every placement counts and that's something that I'm sure head coach Jim Doyle has drilled into his runners' heads throughout the week.
"We got to look for the back end of our guys to move up and do a better job than what they did today," said Doyle, after the class meet. That's all we can hope for. Stay in the race. Do a lot better job staying in the race. We just weren't in the race this week."
Of course, all of the above scenarios can change with a few off-races by some of the runners, something that is common ground in a championship meet.
Who should be the remaining teams that will finish among the top six and earn a trip for Thetford Academy in Vermont for the New England Championships on Nov. 14? Behind the top finishes of Laverty and Drezek, Cumberland made a strong case for itself at the Class A meet, where it finished third, that it could match that placement this weekend. If someone is sleeping up front, it's not too out of the realm of possibilities that a runner-up finish could happen. But for that to happen, everyone needs to show up with their 'A' game (and perhaps a little more). North Kingstown, with super freshman Sam Toolin, East Greenwich and Barrington all look primed for a ticket to Vermont.
