Five RI Athletes That Could Strike Gold At NE Meet



Cebastian Gentil, East Greenwich

The 600-meter run is a loaded event with 10 athletes that have dipped under 1:23 this season. But only one  has run sub 1:20 and it's one of our own, Cebastian Gentil of East Greenwich. Gentil clocked a state record of 1:19.92 at the Dr. Sanders Invitational in New York on a banked oval back in January. He ran 1:21 twice on a flat surface at the URI Indoor Classic and the State Meet. In both those races, he had no one near him and still ran 1:21. He's ready! This weekend, Gentil should have plenty of company coming down that final straightaway. Newton North' (MA) junior Theo Burba  ran 1:18.87 last year as a tenth-grader and has finished as a runner-up at his Division 1 State Meet and the All State Championship, two races he lost in the final 30 meters of the race. He'll be hungry on Saturday and the runner we feel will be Gentil's biggest competition. There's also fellow MA rival Jonathan Polanco, who upset Burba at the Division 1 meet and has a best of 1:20.79, to name a few. To win, we're thinking Gentil will have to improve his state mark.