Could It Be Five Straight For Rams In Boys' 1,500m?
La Salle has dominated this event the last four years with DJ Principe taking last year's state crown and teammate Jack Salisbury winning the previous three. That dominance could continue this spring with the Rams' Joseph dos Reis, the No. 1 choice to make it happen at the states. Dos Reis and East Greenwich's Pederson are the only runners to break four minutes this year. Dos Reis ran a state-leading 3:59.44 at the Classical Classic and claimed the Class A title with a 4:03.81 effort. Pederson finished second to the La Salle runner at the Classical Classic with a 3:59.98 time. Both will have relatively fresh legs at the State Meet with possible legs on their team's 4x800m squads about 90 minutes earlier. We could see a low 3:50 performance if the weather cooperates. North Kingstown's Sam Toolin can't be ignored, too. He's having his best season since blasting onto the scene as a freshman two years ago. He ranks No. 3 at 4:01.52 and finished as a runner-up to dos Reis at the class meet, holding on to his rival until the final straightaway. There's also Classical's Conor Murphy, who ranks No. 4 statewide after his Class B victory in 4:02.83.