On January 11th and Janurary 12th several Rhode Island teams will be making the trip to the Dartmouth Relay Carnival in New Hampshire. Darthmouth features some of the best competition in New England. Unlike most track and field invitationals, the meet is team scored. Rhode Island has fared well in the past ten years with the La Salle Academy girls winning the meet in both 2007 and 2008. On the boys side, perennial contenders Bishop Hendricken high school has won the title three times including 2004, 2009, and 2010. This year's squad for the Hawks seems to be aiming for another team title with several top seeds. With a open 300, 400, 600, 800, 1000, as well as countless relays, there are plenty of opportunities to score at this meet which tends to reward those teams with the most depth. Here are some of the notable Rhode Islander contenders competing this weekend at Dartmouth.
55m Dash
The boys side will feature several of the states top athletes. Lincoln senior Aaron Roseman (dash finalist from the 2011-2012 indoor state meet) will be joined by Bishop Hendricken senior Marco Del Vecchio and sophomore Power Kanga, all of which are in the top 12 state wide. East Providence Junior Ryan Williams will also be in attendance.
300m Dash
The state will be well represented by Senior Alex Perreault of Bishop Hendricken. Perreault is the top seed in the event, coming off his victory in the 300m at the RI Classic where he ran a 36.0h. He will be joined by relay teammate and 12 seed John Cute. Also in Perreault heat will be East Providence's Josh Rambert who has a season best of 37.4h.
400m Dash
The story of the 400m for Rhode Island will be Portsmouth loading up the event with both Hibbad and Jessica Kaufman. Having run 43.0 and 44.9 respectively in the dual meet season, it will be interesting to see if they can score in this event.
Chariho's Joe DiPalma is also seeded in the top heat having run 38.6h for 300.
600m Run
Top Rhode Island Contender and Barrington Cross Country all-stater Abby Livingston will be competing in the open 600. Although she is seeded low, she could find her way to the podium. La Salle Academy may also try to score points here with senior Victoria Stephens and Junior Alicia Decastro. The same can be said for RI #5 Marcus Swift who has run 1:27 this season and should benefit from the competitive field. He could sneak his way into some points for the Hawks.
800m Run
Cross Country All State and Hawk Senior Connor Doyle will test the field in the 800. He will be joined by La Salle Sophomore Jamie Placco.
The top RI contenders in the girls race features La Salle cross country standouts Caroline Falvey and Caitlin Marino. La Salle Academy has had a tradition of strong 4x800 teams in recent memory, so expect them to score some points in this event.
1000m Run
Fresh off of his 8th place finish at the Hispanic Games in the mile, Bryce Kelly positions himself to score big in the 1000. He will be joined by Tollgate standout Henry Smithers.
Mile Run
The marquee event of the meet is the mile. According to the Dartmouth Relays website
"The winners of both the boy's and girls' mile at the upcoming 44th annual Dartmouth relays will automatically qualify for the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston...on Feb. 2nd at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston."
From Rhode Island, Cumberland Senior Trevor Crawley will make his case for the automatic bid. On the girls side, La Salle Academy freshmen Eliza Rego will have the opportunity to compete for the automatic bid. Both seem to be outside shots at winning the event, but with the DMR Friday night who knows who might be feeling fatigued by the time the gun goes off.
Two Mile Run
Bishop Hendricken will look to make a big statement in the boys two mile with 3 of their top harriers in the seeded section. Senior Tyler Henseler, Junior Colin Tierney, and Sophomore Michael Potter all have a chance to make the podium this year.
Long Jump
Representing Rhode in the field will be Chris Moura of East Providence and RI #2 Lee Moses of Bishop Hendricken who has a season best of 21' 1 3/4". Steady improvement each week from Moses suggests he could have a big day in this event. Moura will also compete in the Triple Jump.
Relays
With the meet being a team scored affair, most teams will look to earn their points in the relays. Notable entires include Bishop Hendricken in the boys 4x200 and 4x400 where they are currently seeded 2nd in both. They will also battle Chariho and LaSalle Academy in the Distance Medly Relay. In the girls races, look for La Salle to have strong performances in most of the relays that day. The most exciting event will be in the Distance Medly where they will go head to head with in-state rival Barrington high school.
Shot Put
In the Shot, look for Hendricken weightman Nick DeCiantis sitting as the #4 athlete in Rhode Island, his PR of 49' 4 1/2' puts him in contention for being on the podium.
Weight Throw
Leslie Alvarez of West Warwick will be in the seeded section along with two of her teammates hoping to score. Bishop Hendricken will look to secure its attempt at a team title by picking up points in the weight. The Hawks will be led Joe Vincent (Milesplit #15 in the nation) and Matt Casbarro. The boys’ competition should be all about US #1 Charlie Ionata who has already broken 70' this year.