Just past the halfway point of Saturday's Nike Cross Nationals Northeast
Regionals, the pack was still relatively tight with no one ready to make a move
for the final downhill portion of the race.
Sam Toolin felt the time was right to forge to the front. In a gutsy move against some of the top runners in the region, the North Kingstown freshman took the lead on the demanding five-kilometer layout at New York's Bowdoin Park.
"The first half of the race was pretty much uphill and I knew that's where I would have to make my move," Toolin said. "Going down, I am much smaller than these guys, and down the hill their strides are double the size of mine."
The Skipper phenom eventually finished ninth overall.
"I tried to hold my own and those guys were just coming and coming with the longer strides and started passing me," he said. "Around a mile left I think I was in second. Coming down another hill, a couple of guys went by, and by that point my legs were rock solid. I was just trying to hold on and fight to the end."
Toolin may have paid the price for his mid-race strategy. But in a season where he has turned heads nearly every race he has competed in this fall, finishing fourth at the state meet and sixth at the New England Championship, the Skippers' fantastic frosh ran yet another race for the ages, crossing the line with a sensational time of 16 minutes, 9 seconds.
Toolin was the third R.I finisher on Saturday. Finishing third overall was La Salle Academy junior DJ Principe. Placing fifth was Ram senior Matt Bouthillette.
"I was coming into this race really excited," he said. "I wanted to run my hardest and end the season with a bang."
It appears that the ninth-grader accomplished his goal. His performance ranks No. 2 all-time among all freshmen competing at Bowdoin Park. New York's Alex Deir of Honeoye Falls owns the fastest with his 16:05.1 effort in 2008. Deir went on to become at two-time cross-country state champion and two-time national titlist for the steeplechase. He later enjoyed success at Iowa Central and the University of Oklahoma.
