“Around the Oval’’ FOUR GIRLS’ RECORDS FALL; CHEATHAM TOPS 27-YEAR-OLD MARK
By BOB LEDDY R.I. Track & Field Foundation Correspondent
18 Feb. - - Four new Rhode Island state girls’ indoor track records were minted today at the Indoor Track & Field Championships today at the PCTA facility in Providence. If those accomplishment weren’t enough, the Chariho boys’ squad notched their first-ever indoor title, 68-53, over Hendricken, thus snapping the Hawks‘ indoor title juggernaut at 17.
Meanwhile, Hope High senior Royal Cheatham eliminated one of the two longest-standing indoor state marks on the books; in this instance the girls’ 55-meter dash. In addition to that achievement, Cheatham won the 300 meters, the long jump and ran leadoff leg on the Blue Wave’s state-record 4x200 relay.
A pair of La Salle girls wrote their names on Rhode Island’s records ledger, while helping the Rams to their sixth consecutive indoor championship. Ram senior Molly Keating cruised to a win in the 3000 meters in SR time of 9:59.47, and teammate Dakota Dailey-Harris once again surpassed her previous SR performance in the high jump with a clearance of 5 feet, 10 inches (1.77 meters).
The Rams took team honors, 115-52, over second-place Hope. “Everyone ran great,’’ said La Salle head coach Kelly Martin. “There were a lot of P-Rs (personal bests). Molly [Keating] has an amazing day.’’
Some meet highlights: Chargers charge to state title Chariho’s boys had never won an indoor track title, but worked hard to repeat their State Meet victory outdoors last June. And, thanks to a crack distance corps, Chariho denied defending state-champs Hendricken an 18th straight team crown. “Unbelievable!’’ said longtime Chariho coach Bill Habarek as he watched the boys 4x400 relays on the track. “I can’t put it into words. [In the 1000] it was gutsy for Dan [Kilcoyne] to come back. This has been an unbelievable team all season. They knew what they had to do, and we asked an awful lot of them.’’
Helping the cause was Charger senior “Long Ranger’’ Mike Marsella. The UVA-bound Marsella (who finished second a week ago at the Millrose high school mile in New York City) clocked 8 minutes, 49.23 seconds to win the 3000. “I laid back,’’ Marsella said of his come-from-behind strategy. “I let [rest of the field] do the work. I had very little training this week, so I didn’t know how I’d react today.’’
Marsella also ran 2:30.88 to take the 1000 meters; his effort, along with teammates Bryce Kelly and Dan Kilcoyne put Chariho over the top. In that race, Marsella battled teammates Kelly and Kilcoyne, but used his endurance to advantage.
A Royal performance If Chariho coach Habarek was ecstatic, he had nothing on Royal Cheatham, The Blue Wave’s “Super Kid’’ repeated her incredible string of four wins (including a relay leg) of a year ago; indeed in the very same events. This time, however, Cheatham’s day included eradication of a state indoor record that was set long before she was born. Cheatham smoked the 55-meter dash field in a record-time 7.11 seconds; it broke the existing mark of 7.15, set by Hope’s Pam Hughes at the 1985 National Scholastic Indoor Championships at Princeton, N.J.
In point of fact, Cheatham had been toying with Hughes’ legendary record all season, at one point this season posted a hand-held 6.9 (unofficially converted to a 7.14). Today, the Blue Wave star inked a new record on the books, this one clocked in fully-automatic (FAT) time. “I can’t describe how I feel,’’ a beaming Cheatham said after her race. “I was just looking to win.’’
For her part, Hughes - who also holds the long-jump record (set in ‘85) - was overjoyed at hearing of Cheatham’s achievement.
“It’s excellent,’’ said Hughes when reached by cell phone, where she was attending a youth sports banquet. “I’m sad I couldn’t be there. I’ve been waiting for it to happen. I knew it was only a matter of time. And a runner from my alma mater,’’ she added. “I wish her well. I wish I could give her a big hug right now.’’
Hughes, in fact, was trackside last June at the outdoor State Meet to see if Cheatham would break her outdoor long jump record. (She also owns the indoor standard). On that day last year, Cheatham fell shy of breaking Hughes‘ measurement.
Cheatham also chipped in on Hope’s 4x200 relay, which the Blue Wave won in a SR time of 1:42.20. That clocking bettered the state-record 1:43.23 the Hope relay clocked at the Yale Invitational last month.. Shyniece Sanders, Jarnae Royster and Quashira McIntosh followed Cheatham’s leadoff. In addition, Cheatham successfully defended her 2011 title in the 300 (40.30), and posted the best long jump mark of the day: a winning 18-5.50 (5.62 meters).
Keating, Dailey-Harris: State-records in hand Just as Hope’s Cheatham broke a record held by an alum from her school, so too did La Salle’s Molly Keating in the girls’ 3000 meters. Facing good competition from South Kingstown senior Paige Ethier, Keating clocked 9:59.47, which wiped out the old record of 10:02.71 by La Salle’s Jean Christensen in 2007. (Ethier placed second in 10:15.90).
“I tried to hit a fast 400 [time] Keating said. “I just wanted to place first.’’ Keating also won the 1500 (4:43.12) and anchored the Rams’ winning 4x400.
Dakota Dailey-Harris, the La Salle senior, had the packed field house audience holding its collective breath every time she approached the high jump bar. She cleared 5 feet, 8 inches (1.73), and chose not to try to equal her state-record height of 5-8.50 (1.74). Instead Dailey-Harris had the bar hiked to 5-10 (1.77). She handled that with ease, then asked officials to put the bar at 6 feet (1.83).
(The New England mark in the girls’ indoor high jump is 5-11 (1.80) set in 1995 by Heather Francis, of Dartmouth Mass. High). Dailey-Harris hit the cross beam on all three attempts at that height, but was close on all three tries. After her final jump, Dailey-Harris was mobbed by teammates, who already sensed that La Salle would bring another trophy back to the Smith Hill campus.
Boys’ HJ goes to a tight finish In the boys’ high jump sector, it was Steve Vasquez, of Central Falls, versus Divon Bailey, of Rogers High. Both went out at 6-8 (2.03), with the Viking jumper getting the win on fewer misses. Lawrence Warwick, of Coventry, placed third (6-4/1.93).
Notables . . . Notables The Meehan sisters of La Salle- seniors McKenzie and Madison - went 1-2 in the 1000 meters (Mckenzie in 2:59.97 to Madison’s 3:00.39). They also alternated on relays . . . Bay View junior Erica Johnson again proved her status as the state’s No. 1 600-meter runner. She turned in a time of 1:35.37 today, thus defending her ’11 title . . . Victoria Ebert, of Exeter/W. Greenwich, put the shot a winning 35-7.75 (10.86) . . . In the boys’ 25-pound weight throw, it was Hendricken senior Reuben Horace scoring a win. Horace threw the ball 71-10.25 (21.90). U.S. prep leader Joe Velez finished third in the competition . . .Aaron Comery, the Coventry junior, took gold in the boys’ shot (55-10/17.01) . . . West Warwick senior Eddie Uthman went 22-11 (6.98) to win the long jump . . . Zack Campo, clocked 1:21.91 in the boys’ 600 . . . Jarell James, a Hope senior, was double-gold. He won the 55 dash in 6.57, and captured the 300 in a meet-record 34.97 . . . Ann Dagrin, of Classical, won the 20-pound weight throw in 51-10.50 (15.81) . . . The Purple’s Maddy Berkson second in the 1500 (4:44.44), and second in the 1000 (3:00.39).
Oval Notes: Former Rogers High great Phil “Tiny’’ Kane presented awards to the meet’s sprint teams . . . The New England meet is slated for Friday, 2 March, at Reggie Lews. GIRLS Team scores 1, La Salle 115; 2, Hope 52; 3, Classical 49; 4, E. Greenwich 28; 5, S. Kingstown 25; 6, Cumberland 18; 7, (tie) Pilgrim, Toll Gate and Mt. St. Charles 15; 10, Bay View 14; 11, N. Kingstown 13; 12, Prout 12; 13, Barrington 11; 14, Tolman 8; 15, (tie) Mt. Hope, Woonsocket, Central Falls, Portsmouth and Westerly 6; 20, Rogers 4; 21, Coventry 3; 22, (tie) Ponaganset, Cr. West, and Lincoln 2; 25, Smithfield 1. Individual results WT - 1, Ann Dagrin, Class. 51-10.50 (15.81 meters); 2, Martha Cooper, Class. 51-8 (15.74); 3, Maggie Dufault, Pil. 49-2 (14.98); 4, Grace Janes, Rog. 48-10 (14.88); 5, Cate Maloney, LS 48-4 (14.73); 6, Destinee Barrette, Pil. 45-8.75 (13.93). SP - 1, Vickie Ebert, EWG 35-7.75 (10.86); 2, Kendra Plant, Cumb. 35-1 (10.69); 3, Veronica Wiggins, Tol. 34-6.75 (10.53); 4, Kate St. Amand, TG 33-10 (10.31); 5, Barrette, Pil. 33-7.25 (10.24); 6, Leanna Ly, CW 32-11.75). HJ - 1, Dakoya Dailey-Harris, LS 5-10 (1.77. SR. OR: 5-8.50/1.73) Dailey-Harris 2012; 2, Ali Sayles, MSC 5-4 (1.62); 3, Tiffany Jenkins, CF 5-4; 4, Kaylnn Pitts, Woons. 5-2 (1.57); 5, Sierra Smith, Pon. 5-0 (1.52); 6, Rylee Candon, TG 5-0. LJ - 1, Royal Cheatham, Hope 18-5.50 (5.62); 2, Karly Gregory, Prout 17;10.50 (5.44); 3, Maddy Berkson, Class. 17-8.50 (5.39); 4, Becky O’donnell, Pil. 17-1 (5.20); 5, Pitts, Woons. 17-0 (5.18); 6, Candon, TG 16-11.25 (5.16). 3000 - 1, Molly Keating, LS 9:59.47 (SR. OR: 10:02.71, Jean Christensen, LS 2007); 2, Paige Ethier, SK 10:15.90; 3, Jackie Burr, West. 10:41.32; 4, Caroline Falvey, LS 10:45.12; 5, Jess Elliott, Prout 10:48.50; 6, Emily Papazian, LS 10:48.51. 1500 - 1, Keating, LS 4:43.12; 2, Berkson, Class. 4:44.44; 3, Madison Meehan, LS 4:45.21; 4, Ethier, SK 4:47.93; 5, Jess Bellows, Cov. 4:50.37; 6, Mary Coogan, Barr. 4:51.84. 1000 - 1, McKenzie Meehan, LS 2:59.97; 2, Madison Meehan, LS 3:00.39; 3, Keating, LS 3:00.65; 4, Kendall Feaster, SK 3:03.94; 5, Berkson, Class. 3:05.14; 6, Ethier, SK 3:05.41. 600 - 1, Erica Johnson, BV ;1:35.37; 2, McKenzie Meehan, LS 1:38.38; 3, Erin Kane, LS 1:40.09; 4, Catlin Marino, LS 1:43.05; 5, Gregory, Prout 1:43.35; 6, Alicia DeCastro, LS 1:43.50. 300 - 1, Cheatham, Hope 40.30 (MR); 2, Jaimee Dorsey, EG 40.35; 3, Dara Falaye, Class. 41.72; 4, Jordan Gray, TG 41.82; 5, Quashira Mc Intosh, Hope 42.28; 6, Amanda Joyal, LS 42.37. 55m - 1, Cheatham 7.11 (SR. OR: 7.15, Pan Hughes, Hope 1985); 2, Dorsey, EG 7.20; 3, Mc Intosh, Hope 7.40; 4, Jarnae Royster, Hope 7.41; 5, Stephanie DiTraglia, LS 7.49; 6, Falaye, Class. 7.50. 55mH - 1, Maria Bolibruch, NK 8.58; 2, Breigh Souliere, Cumb. 8.69; 3, Sayles, MSC 8.72’ 4, Shenelle Teixiera, Barr. 8.96; 5, Britt Redding, Linc. 9.13; 6, Cassie Roberge, MSC 9.17. 4x200 - 1, Hope (Cheatham, Shyniece Sanders, Royster, Mc Intosh) 1:42.20 (SR. OR: 1:43.24, Hope 2012); 2, Classical 1:46.15; 3, La Salle 1:48.12; 4, E. Greenwich 1:48.52; 5, Portsmouth 1:49.14; 6, N. Kingstown 1:49.46. 4x400 - 1, La Salle (Joyal, McKenzie Meehan, Kane, Keating) 4:04.13; 2, E. Greenwich 4:06.10; 3, Mt. Hope 4:12.04; 4, Portsmouth 4:12.66; 5, Toll Gate 4:13.66; 6, Coventry 4:14.17. 4x800 - 1, La Salle (Madison & McKenzie Meehan; Maddie Byrnes, Marino) 9:34.77 (MR); 2, S. Kingstown 9:51.35; 3, Barrington 9:54.50; 4, Bay View 10:06.58; 5, N. Kingstown 10:08.44; 6, Toll Gate 10:09.11. All times FAT. BOYS Team scores 1, Chariho 68; 2, Hendricken 63; 3, N. Kingstown 36; 4, Classical 32; 5, S. Kingstown 30; 6, Coventry 29; 7, Central 24; 8, W. Warwick 23; 9, Hope 20; 10, La Salle 19; 11, Westerly 18; 12, Cumberland 14; 13, (tie) Central Falls and E. Greenwich 10; 15, (tie) Rogers, Cr. East and Barrington 8; 18, (tie) Moses Brown and Woonsocket 4; 20, (tie) E. Providence and Narragansett 2; 22, (tie) Lincoln and Portsmouth 1. Individual results WT - 1, Reuben Horace, BH 71-10.25 (21.90 meters); 2, Kevin Conway, West. 68-1.75 (20.77); 3, Joe Velez, Class. 66-10.25 (20.37); 4, Ndailor Sheriff, Class. 66-6.50 (20.28); 5, Carlos Mangum, Cent. 61-10.75 (19.17); 6, Alex Briggs, Ports. 61-3.25 (18.67). SP - 1, Aaron Comery, Cov. 55-10 (17.01); 2, Velez, Class. 52-9.25 (16.08); 3, Conway, West. 51-1.75 (15.89); 4, Joe Colao, West. 51-1.50 (15.58); 5, Mike Pecchia, BH 49-7 (15.11); 6, Nick DeCiantis, BH 49-6.75 (15.10). HJ - 1, Steve Vasquez, CF 6-8 (2.03); 2, Divon Bailey, Rog. 6-8; 3, Larry Warwick, Cov. 6-4 (1.93); 4, Ryan Rei, Cumb. 6-2 (1.87); 5, Jordan Barboza, BH 6-0 (1.82); 6, Neal Kundu, Cov. 6-0. LJ - 1, Eddie Uthman, WW 22-11 (6.98); 2, Warwick, Cov. 21-11.25 (6.68); 3, Ben Shaw, SK 21-10 (6.65); 4, Rei, Cumb. 21-6 (6.55); 5, Chris Moura, EP 21-4.50 (6.51); 6, Morgan Smith, SK 20-11.25 (6.38). 3000 - 1, Mike Marsella, Char. 8:49.23; 2, Jake Kilcoyne, Char. 8:55.55; 3, Trevor Crawley, Cumb. 8:55.91; 4, Tyler Henesler, BH 8:57.26; 5, Colin Tierney, BH 8:58.43; 6, Andy Estrada, LS 9:00.89. 1500 - 1, Bryce Kelly, Char. 4:02.79; 2, Dan Kilcoyne, Char. 4:07.02; 3, Mike Coleman, NK 4:08.30; 4, Mark Vuono, BH 4:09.18; 5, Henesler, BH 4:13.37; 6, Estrada, LS 4:16.81. 1000 - 1, Marsella, Char. 2:30.88; 2, Kelly, Char. 2:34.43; 3, Tom Barry, Barr. 2:38.59; 4, D. Kilcoyne, Char. 2:39.07; 5, Mason Garfield, SK 2:39.29; 6, Coleman, NK 2:39.85. 600 - 1, Zack Campo, SK 1:21.91 (MR); 2, Zach Emrich, NK 1:24.70; 3, Dylan Manning, EG 1:25.34; 4, Amos Caraiti, MB 1:25.35; 5, Montee Cawley, NK 1:25.88; 6, Kyle St. Pierre, WW 1:26.02. 300 - 1, Jarell James, Hope 34.97 (MR); 2, Jose Ortiz, Cent. 35.77; 3, Alex Perreault, BH 35.80; 4, Uthman, WW 36.34; 5, Derek Jackson, Class. 36.54; 6, Ben Stewart, NK 36.58. 55m - 1, James, Hope 6.57; 2, Uthman, WW 6.62; 3, Jackson, Class. 6.63; 4, Jalen Evans, Woons. 6.68; 5, Bill L’Europa, BH 6.73; 6, Chris Fevry, Class. 6.75. 55mH - 1, Nyuanru Ben, LS 7.67 (MR); 2, Angel Camilo, CE 7.85; 3, O’Connell, BH 7.91; 4, Dan Clarkin, Cov. 8.02; 5, Barboza, BH 8.19; 6, Mike Kimmerlein, SK 8.33. 4x200 - 1, Hendricken (Perreault, Brannigan, O’Connell, Kanga) 1:33.28; 2, Central 1:33.60; 3, S. Kingstown 1:34.62; 4, Classical 1:35.16; 5, N. Kingstown 1:35.71; 6, La Salle 1:35.78. 4x400 - 1, Hendricken (Perreault, O’Connell, Barboza, Brannigan) 3:29.32; 2, N. Kingstown 3:29.46; 3, Central 3:29.53; 4, S. Kingstown 3:31.46; 5, Narragansett 3:31.66; 6, Classical 3:37.52. 4x800 - 1, Chariho (Turner, D. Kilcoyne, Kelly, Gilligan) 8:11.08; 2, N. Kingstown 8:15.48; 3, La Salle 8:16.86; 4, E. Greenwich 8:23.27; 5, Barrington 8:27.14; 6, Lincoln 8:35.44 All times FAT.
