Around the Track with Bob Leddy

Hendricken Invitational

The last major meet before the State Championships is the Hendricken Invitational, and fortunately the predicted rain held off, and so the meet went unimpeded. (Thanks, too, to the expeditious clerking of Bob Rothenberg, and the finish crew, led by Ron Boemker).

The Hendricken is a final chance for the student/athletes to get good performances, and there were plenty at this year's meet. Westerly distance man Andrew Springer clocked 8 minutes, 38.1 seconds in winning the 3,000 meters. Another 4.3 second faster, and he'd have broken the state record of 8:34.2, set two years ago by Hendricken All-Stater Tom Webb. Meanwhile, Springer's teammate - Tim O'Loughlin - won the 1,500 with a time of 4:06.2.

Over at the pole vault pit, Middletown senior Jake Mathews cleared 14 feet (4.26 meters) to win that event. Mathews has been strong all season in the pole. Hendricken's Nick Casbarro and Jim Strawderman, of Cranston West, each went out at 13-6 (4.11).

The Hawks' Dan Freeman took first place in the javelin (163-2/49.73 meters), and Classical senior Pat Onye won the discus with a throw of 158-9 (48.38). Tom Davis, the East Greenwich senior, put the 12-pound hammer out there at a distance of 214 feet, 1 inch (65.48) to win that event. Justin Nicoll, of East Providence, and Hendricken's Mike Game came in 2-3, respectively: 205 feet (62.48) for Nicoll; 203-6 (62.02) for Gama. In the shot, Cranston West senior Matt Ferdinandi put the ball a winning 48-6 (14.78).

The Hawks got 10 points from senior Ryan Marcus in the long jump. Marcus leaped 21-6 (6.55). Smithfield's Andrew Reigstad cleared the high jump bar a winning 6-2 (1.87). Marcus, by the way, was also victorious in the 200 meters (22.2).

Jordan Monk, of St. Raphael, clocked 11.1 to take the 100, and Avenger senior Nick Evasick was golden in the 110-meter high hurdles (15.3). In the triple jump, Lincoln senior Aaron Sabatino leaped a combined distance of 42-11 (13.08) to win that event.

Hope's Matt Washington went 49.3 in the 400, and the Townies' Elton Duarte hit the tape in 40.4 to win the 300 intermediates.

East Greenwich (4x400), St. Ray's (4x100) and North Kingstown (4x800) were relay champs.

Hendricken took the team title with 98 points, to 50 for the second-place Avengers.

6-3-08

Around the Oval

Sorry for the long absence, but "better late than never". The spring track season comes to a climax on June 7 with the State Championships, at Brown Stadium. As of this writing, three state records (two on the girls' side, one on the boys') have fallen. Both girls' marks were set by the Jusme twins, of Classical High: Didi and Micky. The sisters are headed to Wheaton College in the fall.

At the Class A Championships - held at the vastly-improved facility at Conley Stadium in Providence - Micky Jusme bettered her own state record in the triple jump by leaping 38 feet, 9 3/4 inches (11.83 meters) with a wind gauge reading of -0.85, well below the allowable 2.0m/s limit. Micky had jumped 38-9 (11.80) a week earlier at a divisional meet.

Didi Jusme, meanwhile, eliminated the state record in the girls' 300-meter intermediate hurdles; a standard that had stood untouched for 23 years. At the Central Division Championships this May, Didi Jusme clocked a winning time of 44.6 seconds (hand-held). The old record was 44.8 (also hand-held) set in 1985 by Middletown High's Cindy Buratti.

Meanwhile, in the boys' two mile run, Westerly's Andrew Springer clocked 9 minutes, 14.96 seconds at the Hartford Invitational in Connecticut. Springer's winning time erased a Rhode Island record that had been on the books for 34 years! That mark - a hand-held 9:22.2 - was set in 1974 by Middletown's Mike Murphy.

Congratulations to the Jusmes and to Springer

* Speaking of Westerly track, it was my pleasure to attend the annual Westerly High School Athletic Hall of Fame dinner on April 5 in Westerly. Two great Bulldog runners (whose track and cross country careers I covered while at the Journal) were among those inducted that night.

Jamie Vetelino (Class of '94) is currently the Westerly High athletic director, and co-directs the Interscholastic League's track program. Vetelino ran cross country (he was the state champion in his senior year), and was All-State also in the 1,000 and 1,500 meters on the track. He went to Brown University where, under coach Bob Rothenberg, he earned All-Ivy honors.

Emily Selvidio (now Emily Scharsu, of San Diego, Calif.) captured the state girls' harrier title at that '94 race, in which Vetelino was the winner; she was a sophomore at the time. Scharsu was a nine-time All-Stater, and seven-time All-New England runner. She continued her successful running career at Wake Forest. Schausu was the eleventh American female to finish the storied New York City Marathon. It was her first marathon run.

* An FYI or you track buffs. Scharsu's husband - Alan - was a high school distance runner in Ohio in the late 1970s. His indoor two mile time of 8:53.6(h) is No. 8 on the all-time national list. (That time converts to 8:14.0 for 3000 meters). He owns the sixth-fastest prep time in U.S. history in the outdoor two mile: an FAT 8:44.03 (which equals 8:05.2 at 3,000 meters).

Obviously a lot of running talent in the Selvidio/Scharsu household.

* Classical thrower Victoria Flowers has been getting great marks this season in the hammer and shot put, as has her male counterpart, Pat Onye.

* The New Englands this year will held at Thornton Academy in Maine.

* The girls' track banquet is scheduled for June 17, at West Valley Inn. Coventry track coach Erica Horlbogen, president of the girls' track coaches group, is the contact person.

5-30-08

Cross Country '07

Welcome to cross country season '07!

The first major meet of the fall took place on Saturday, Sept. 29 at Goddard Park in Warwick. More than 3,000 runners participated in the inaugural New Balance/Ocean State Invitational. Former Brown coaches Bob and Anne Rothenberg were the meet directors.

Following are the Rhode Island team and individual results from each race. A runner's overall position is noted in parentheses.

GIRLS

Championship Division

Team scores

7, La Salle 201; 11, Coventry 233.

Individual results

Top 20 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (5), Jeanne Mack, La Salle 18:34.1; 2 (20), Jean Christensen, La Salle 19:16; 3 (25), Allie Stasiuk, N. Kingstown 19:47; 4 (27), Erin Brennan, N. Kingstown 19:55; 5 (28), Emily Doucette, Westerly 19:57; 6 (33), Lindsay Paiva, Coventry 20:10; 7 (35), Kaitlyn Grimshaw, Coventry 20:12; 8 (39), Alex Hollenbeck, Coventry 20:16; 9 (44), Becca Morley, N. Kingstown 20:30; 10 (45), Nicole Cocozza, La Salle 20:34; 11 (54), Cassandra Pederzani, La Salle 20:49; 12 (59), Victoria Lima, Westerly 20:57; 13 (62), Eryn Wheeler, Coventry 21:00; 14 (64), Lyn Pesola, Coventry 21:03; 15 (65), Katie Lynch, N. Kingstown 21:07; 16 (70), Alexa Mazur, N. Kingstown 21:25; 17 (76), Monica Black, N. Kingstown 21:42; 18 (77), Vicky Beardwood, La Salle 21:44; 19 (82), Michaela Connelly, Coventry 21:56; 20 (87), Kelsey Evans, N. Kingstown 22:16. Distance - 5 kilometers.

Varsity I

Team scores

6, E. Greenwich 234; 8, Portsmouth 308; 9, Barrington 317; 11, Prout 376; 12, Lincoln 421; 23, Moses Brown 658; 25, St. Raphael 696; 27, N. Smithfield 813.

Individual results

Top 10 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (11), Liz Corvese, Portsmouth 20:50; 2 (12) Amanda Hallworth, E. Greenwich 20:55; 3 (15) Philomena Hall, Prout 21:15; 4 (16) Spencer Dean, E. Greenwich 21:16; 5 (17) Alyssa O'Connor, Portsmouth 21:17; 6 (27) Kristen Raymond, Lincoln 21:36; 7 (37) Kristin Kaija, E. Greenwich 21:46; 8 (39) Brittany Branconnier, Prout 21:52; 9 (40) Chloe Troia, Barrington 21:54; 10 (41), Cara Quigley, Barrington 21:59. Distance - 5 kilometers.

Varsity II

Team scores

2, Cr. West 84; 8, S. Kingstown 213; 19, Bay View 535; 22, E. Providence 735; 23, W. Warwick 739; 24, Mt. Hope 740; 27, Shea 881.

Individual results

Top 10 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (11), Hope Nelson, S. Kingstown 20:00; 2 (16), Cassie Clarke, Cr. West 20:18; 3 (19), Meg Morrissey, S. Kingstown 20:26; 4 (24), Yadira Ramirez, Cr. West 20:35; 5 (36), Haley Mathewson, Cr. West 20:59; 6 (62), Keri Marnane, Cr. West 21:26; 7 (74), Suzanne Bates, S. Kingstown 21:48; 8 (78), Megan Kenyon, S. Kingstown 21:55; 9 (92), Laura Costa, E. Providence 22:21; 10 (95), Hannah Kraines, S. Kingstown 22:27. Distance - 5 kilometers.

JV I

Team scores

8, Barrington 226; 12, Portsmouth 373; 18, Prout 570.

Individual results

Top 5 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (13), Therese Kerin, E. Greenwich 22:40; 2 (25), Alyson Moreau, Barrington 23:08; 3 (27), Kate Wilheim, Barrington 23:10; 4 (43), Tatyanna Henderson, Portsmouth 24:01; 5 (50), Kaeli O'Connor, E. Greenwich 24:19. Distance - 5 kilometers.

JV II

Team scores

6, S. Kingstown 175; 7, Coventry 185; 8, N. Kingstown 198; 9, La Salle 213; 12, Cr. West 430; 19, Bay View 609; 20, W. Warwick 618.

Individual results

Top 5 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (17), Nicole DeCristofaro, N. Kingstown 21:47; 2 (21), Anita Kundu, Coventry 22:01; 3 (22), Colleen McKenna, La Salle 22:10; 4 (27), Rachel Spirito, S. Kingstown 22:18; 5 (31), Annalisa Sharkey, S. Kingstown 22:24. Distance - 5 kilometers.

Freshman race

Team scores

1, Barrington 76; 4, N. Kingstown 196; 6, La Salle 230; 7, Coventry 288; 8, Chariho 308.

Individual results

Top 5 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (2), Abigail Jones, Barrington 15:20; 2 (5), Alex August, Barrington 16:23; 3 (6), Molly Malinowski, Barrington 16:27; 4 (8), Jackie DeCristofaro, N. Kingstown 16:37; 5 (15), Vera Federanko, Coventry 17:06. Distance 4 kilometers.

BOYS

Championship Division

Team scores

2, E. Greenwich 130; 7, La Salle 227; 9, Hendricken 262.

Individual results

Top 20 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (3), Mark Feigen, E. Greenwich 16:11.9; 2 (5), Tim O'Loughlin, Westerly 16:19; 3 (Nick Ross, E. Greenwich 16:20; 4 (10), Pat Erban, La Salle 16:23; 5 (12), Bronson Venable, Hendricken 16:26; 6 (25), Corey Brunelle, Woonsocket 16:46; 7 (26), Conor Mercurio, La Salle 16:47; 8 (28), Sid Griffin, Barrington 16:48; 9 (29), Mitch Leveille, N. Kingstown 16:49; 10 (31), Brian Doyle, Hendricken 16:52; 11 (32), Akash Choulge, E. Greenwich 16:55; 12 (34), Jayson MvVeigh, La Salle 16:58; 13 (42), Mike Pezzullo, E. Greenwich 17:04; 14 (47), Matt Colavita, E. Greenwich 17:09; 15 (57) Nate Wigton, N. Kingstown 17:18; 16 (59) Tom McLaughlin, Hendricken 17:20; 17 (60), Dylan Leazes, La Salle 17:21; 18 (77) Jim Desmarais, Hendricken 17:32; 19 (83), Andrew Danesi, Hendricken 17:37; 20 (90), Mike Lynch, Portsmouth 17:51. Distance - 5 kilometers.

Varsity I

Team scores

14, Moses Brown 428; 20, Portsmouth 566; 24, Prout 647; 26, Westerly 724; 29, N. Smithfield 800; 32, St. Raphael 1069.

Individual results

Top 10 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (20), Xhoi Gjojdeshi, W. Warwick 17:28; 2 (26) Kyle Mann, W. Warwick 17:39; 3 (29) Mike Martin, N. Smithfield 17:44; 4 (46) Derek Simpson, Moses Brown 18:07; 5 (60), Mike Vettese, Westerly 18:21; 6 (64), Eric Skinkle, Prout 18:23; 7 (68), Paul McCarthy, Moses Brown 18:29; 8 (80), Bob Gordon, Moses Brown 18:42; 9 (85), Dan Lennon, Ex./W. Greenwich 18:48; 10 (89), Grant George, Portsmouth 18:50. Distance - 5 kilometer.

Varsity II

Team scores

4, S. Kingstown 151; 6, Barrington 277; 12, Cr. West 363; 14, N. Kingstown 414; 15, N. Providence 435; 18, Lincoln 476; 19, E. Providence 481; 25, Mt. Hope 722; 28, Woonsocket 793.

Individual results

Top 10 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (8), Dan McCloskey, S. Kingstown 17:16; 2 (9), Ryan Sullivan, E. Providence 17:17; 3 (10), Zack Fraielli, Cr. West 17:18; 3 (13), Conor McCloskey, S. Kingstown 17;25; 4 (17), Mike Ericson, Lincoln 17:30; 5 (18), Corey Coogan, N. Providence 17:31; 6 (19), Craig Johnson, N. Kingstown 17:32; 7 (25), Shawn Stadnick, S. Kingstown 17:40; 8 (29), Dave Hurley, Chariho 17:42; 9 (30), Bob Allen, Cr. West 17:44; 10 (35), Kevin Carey, S. Kingstown 17:47. Distance - 5 kilometers.

JV I

Team scores

2, Barrington 48; 3, E. Greenwich 70; 17, Prout 495.

Individual results

Top 5 R..I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (1), Jack Heine, Barrington 18:40; 2 (4), Praveen Murthy, E. Greenwich 18:44; 3 (5), Robbie McQueen, Barrington 18:54; 4 (6), Alex Rickert, E. Greenwich 19:07; 5 (10), Scott Cipoletti, Barrington 19:21. Distance - 5 kilometers.

JV II

Team scores

3, Hendricken 145; 16, La Salle 451; 18, S. Kingstown 511; 22, N. Kingstown 699; 24, Woonsocket 794.

Individual results

Top 5 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (13), Ben Gibbons, Hendricken 18:27; 2 (14) Ross Riodan 18:28; 3 (17) Nate Ricci, Hendricken 18:29; 4 (25), Cameron Frament, Hendricken 18:42; 5 (74), Mike Stewart, La Salle 19:25. Distance - 5 kilometers.

Freshman race

Team scores

1, Hendricken 98; 3, N. Kingstown 141; 4, La Salle 252; 11, Portsmouth 391; 13, E. Greenwich 417; 15, N. Providence 529; 27, Barrington 701; 29, Moses Brown 782; 30, Prout 850.

Individual results

Top 5 R.I. finishers (and overall place)

1 (1), Alex Gallo, N. Providence 13:47; 2 (3), Matt Mercurio, La Salle 13:58; 3 (7) Ryan Walsh, Hendricken 14:12; 4 (10), Tom Pederzani, Hendricken 14:15; 5 (11), Zack Seites, N. Kingstown 14:27. Distance - 4 kilometers.

Around the Course:

In other cross country news, the annual Columbus Day races will be held at Roger Williams Park next Monday Oct. 8) . . . The Manhattan Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park, New York are scheduled for Oct. 13 . . . The annual Brown Invitational will be held at Goddard Park on Oct. 20 . . . Oct. 27 is the date of the Class Championships at Ponaganset High . . . The State Meet will be held on Sunday, Nov. 4, also at Ponaganset . . . Maine will host this year's New England Championships, on Nov. 10 . . . The Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championships are set for Nov. 24, at Van Cortlandt.

10-4-07

Nike National Championships

The Nike National High School Track & Field Championships were held on the weekend of June 14-17 in Greensboro, N.C. And though we had no champions, there were a number of Rhode Island state records broken. Also, seven of our athletes earned All-American honors. (The top six finishers in each event at the national meet are so designated).

Two state records that have been on the books for the past 20 years fell at Nike. In the boys' 5,000-meter run, Andrew Springer, of Westerly High, clocked 14 minutes, 56.46 seconds to place third. The previous mark had stood for two decades, that being John Hines's 15:11.48. The Toll Gate runner finished second in the Hartford Invitational 5,000 that year. Springer was this season's runner-up in the 1,500 meters.

Another "elderly" state standard that was retired was in the boys' 4x200-meter relay. A Hendricken foursome had held the record since 1986, but at this year's Nike meet, a Hope quartet broke it. Tamba Benjamin, Matt Washington, Darnell Freeman and Kevin Morgan clocked 1:29.81, eclipsing the Hawks' 1:30.17, set in '86. The Blue Wave relay finished second in Heat 2.

The La Salle girls' sprint medley relay (at 800 meters) eliminated one of Westerly's state relay marks. Lilly Kessinger, Allyssia Linparis, Lauren Cardarelli and Jeanne Mack turned in a Nike National time of 4:00.40 to finish fourth overall, and earn the relay team All-American honors. The old record was 4:02.29, which the Bulldogs set in '05. In the process, the Rams also broke the New England record for that event; the same mark held by Westerly. And the Hope boys established a Rhode Island record for the sprint relay at 800 meters. Benjamin, Morgan, Freeman and Revelino DaVeiga clocked 1:41.54 to place seventh in their heat.

Classical's Victoria Flowers finished second in the nation in the girls' hammer. Flowers threw the 4-kilo ball 48.23 meters (158 feet, 3 inches).

Speaking of the Classical girls, it was great to see the team feted at the June 11 track banquet at the old 1025 Club. The Purple showed great competitiveness and sportsmanship in winning the state team title this year. Congratulations again to coach Bob Palazzo and his kids.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Hendricken coach Jim Doyle and his brother, Woonsocket coach Bob Doyle. Bob's son - state trooper Brendan Doyle - was assaulted on June 16 by a reckless driver in downtown Providence. Brendan, himself a runner, was seriously injured when his head hit the pavement after being assaulted by the driver. According to news reports, Trooper Doyle, off-duty at the time, saw the driver weaving through traffic and approached him, showing his badge. The driver allegedly got out of the car and punched the trooper. When he fell, Brendan's head hit the pavement. The driver was later arrested.

6-23-07

New England Championships

The new track facility at Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Mass. was the site on June 9 of the New Englands. The weather, by all reports, was not as nice. Rain all day - including a delay of nearly an hour, so I'm told - marred the six-state event.

But we had three individual New England champs that day, plus a relay team. In the boys' 100, Hope senior Kevin Morgan hit the tape in a winning 10.90 seconds. Morgan clocked 10.76 to win the R.I. State Meet 100. Morgan's teammate, Matt Washington, took regional gold with his 21.56 time in the 200.

Andrew Staples, who competed both in indoor and outdoor track as an individual from Narragansett High, won the New England long jump title. Staples leapt 7.06 meters (23 feet, 2 inches). He also tied for fourth place in the high jump, at 1.88 meters (6-2). Staples won both events at the State Meet.

In the boys' 4x100 relay, the Blue Wave contingent of Morgan, Washington, Tamba Benjamin and Revelino DaVeiga clocked a winning 42.42 seconds. Coach Thom Spann hopes that his relay men can top their state-record 4x100 time of 42.20 at this weekend's National Scholastic Championships in North Carolina.

We had no female New England champions on June 9, but the Westerly 4x800 relay took home the silver. The quartet of Tori Lima, Katie Mangano, Michon Dinwoodie and Emily Doucette turned in a time of 9:14.97.

And there were some bronze medallists. In the 800 meters, North Kingstown's Siobhan Breagy clocked a very respectable 2 minutes, 14.14 seconds for third place. Classical junior Micky Jusme placed third in the long jump at 5.40 meters (17 feet, 8.75 inches). Jusme also won the bronze in the triple. She traversed 11.27 meters, or 37 feet even. Jusme was the state's long jump champ this spring. And the La Salle girls' 4x800 finished third in a time of 9:19.52. Nicole Cocozza, Sydney Lopes, Jean Christensen and Stephanie Vendetti did the honors for the Rams.

* Next week, a look at Rhode Island performances at the Nationals, and a final wrap on the '07 outdoor season.

6-11-07