"Sub-15" for DJ, perhaps?
It's pretty much understood by anyone who follows R.I. cross country that La Salle Academy senior DJ Principe will win his third straight Class A crown. The recent Stanford commit has had another great season that was highlighted by a big win and course record at the Bowdoin Classic in New York and a runner-up performance at the Great American X-C Festival where he came a few strides from an individual victory with his nation No. 2 of 14:32.4 for the 5K course. The question on Saturday is will Principe break the 15-minute barrier on Ponaganset's covered-bridge trail? He already owns the current course record of 15:09, which he did to win last year's state meet. Based on what he's done this season and also during the summer where he won the New Balance Nationals 5K title and later ran a PR of 4:07 for the mile as part of the Nike Elite Camp, Principe is capable of going well under 15 minutes if he goes all out this weekend. That's the big question. Will he go all out? Principe will certainly be pushed the first mile where a few other runners are capable of hitting that mark in the low 4:40 range. North Kingstown's Sam Toolin and Cumberland's Ben Drezek come to mind. We expect Principe to take complete control shortly after the mile. The Ram standout is in the beginning stages of his championship season where he will be defending his titles at the State Meet and New England Championships, both at Ponaganset. He's also eyeing a national meet like the Nike Cross Nationals, an event he should finish high and possibly win. He will not have to go all out this weekend, but the temptation may be there to unleash a sizzler, especially considering he hasn't raced since the Great American in early October. We're guessing Principe will go "sub-15" on Saturday. How fast? That answer will come on the final downhill portion of the course, about 1,200 meters from the finish. If he's booking down that hill, he means business.