Galva; Clippers dominate meet
Central Falls captain wins two individual events Monday
PROVIDENCE – Central Falls High senior quad-captain Yeury Galva had been in a panic all day Sunday and through the early part of Monday morning. In fact, he was so upset, he actually told head coach Ernest Fennell prior to the Warriors' Northern Division double-dual meet season finale he wanted to scratch from his events.
He believed he had left his spikes behind after the East Coast Invitational Indoor Championships at the Providence Career & Technical Academy field house on Saturday, and spent the previous 24-plus hours looking for them.
“I thought I was going to have to run in sneakers, and that's no good,” Galva stated. “I wanted to withdraw.”
As luck would have it, junior teammate Dexter Ifill found them in his gym bag on the bus ride to the same indoor track Monday, then presented them to him, though not without a fleeting thought of keeping his secret to himself.
Fennell made sure Ifill didn't go through with the practical joke, demanding their return.
So relieved was Galva with the “gift,” he ran like the cold winds howling outdoors Monday morning. Not only did he set new personal records while capturing the 55-meter dash (6.82) and 300 meters (36.27), but also joined fellow captains Jailson Varela Sanches, Stive Mendes and Samuel Adofo in snatching the 4 x 200 relay in a new school-record clocking of 1:36.26.
The quartet also survived a late push by the Mount St. Charles' foursome of seniors Matt White, Aidan Keating and Matt Ciullo and sophomore Chris Ciullo, who registered a tight second with a 1:36.59. That happened to be a new MSC mark as well.
“I felt really good in both the 55 and the 300,” Galva admitted later. “Bettering my times makes me feel better; it shows me hard work does pay off … I never expected this, not after I thought I lost the spikes. I'm more than happy.”
Perhaps the lone downside for Central Falls on this day: Cumberland utilized six individual-event triumphs, two of them by senior captain Mike Coppolino, to claim back-toback victories over the Warriors (66-43) and Mount St. Charles (76-33).
With it, the Clippers posted yet another Northern Division dual-meet championship with a perfect 9-0 slate.
CF, which coasted past the Mounties, 71-37, closed at 81.
“Yeury was crying like a baby (Sunday) because he didn't have them,” Fennell laughed. “Still, he ran like a new person when he got them back. I'm not surprised he ran so well; he works really hard, and deserves this.”
The same Warriors' unit garnered the 4 x 400 relay with another fine clocking of 3:39.67, and Galva produced the best split among his teammates (52.14). That came close to another PR.
The only other CF victors included Ifill in the long jump (19-5 ¼, just four and ¾ inches better than second-place Jerome Evans of Cumberland); and senior Josh McNeil, who commanded the high jump (5-6).
Yet again, Cumberland's depth proved to be too much.
Coppolino snagged the shot put with a heave of 41-11 ½, then reigned in the 25pound weight throw with a best-ever toss of 63-3.
“The weight throw was a PR by over nine inches, so I'm psyched,” he stated. “Usually, before the big meets, I'll have a bad case of the nervous butterflies in my gut, but – with meets like this – I'm a lot more relaxed, so I think that's why. When I woke up this morning, I was unusually calm, and had a good feeling.
“I'm really pumped up, because that (63-3) distance puts me in third place in that event in the state, just ahead of (Woonsocket's) Dilyn Cote,” he continued. “I just want to continue to improve to get ready for states; my goal is to place in the top three in the weight – and break 65 feet.”
Clippers' senior standout Sean Laverty mentioned he was running tired after shattering the 3,000-meter school mark at the Yale Invitational on Saturday (he finished in 8:36, breaking Trevor Crawley's 2012 record by over eight ticks), but it certainly didn't show. While easily winning the 1,000, he earned another CHS mark of 2:34.09.
“I felt pretty good,” the soft-spoken Laverty said. “My legs were a little sore after running at Yale; (the 3,000 time) was an indoor PR for me by 12 seconds. Here, my goal was to break it in the 1,000. It was 2:36.1, so I knew I had to run with purpose.
“More importantly, we took another Northern Division title; that feels great,” he added. “It shows the kind of depth, and coaching, that we have.”
After senior James Haupt took the 1,500 (4:23.64), sophomore Chris Choquette flew to a victorious clocking of 8.57, just .02 faster than Mounties' senior Matt Ciullo.
“This is only my third meet doing the hurdles; I had been a sprinter, but Coach (Tom Kenwood) asked me if I could hurdle a few weeks ago, and I said, 'Yes,' even though I hadn't. TK told me how to do it, and I tried, then it got easier.
“It feels good to win it. At first, I was just jumping over the hurdles instead of coasting over them smoothly. Now I'm hoping to go to the state meet if I can get improve. If not, I'll go to the JV states. As long as I go to one, that's great.”
Among the other winners for CHS: Senior James Haupt, who gleaned the 1,500 (4:23.64) despite being a bit under the weather; and senior Will Mardo, who won the 600 in 1:27.87, a mere .13 over CF runner-up Adofo.
Junior C.J. Berg notched the lone triumph for his Mounties in the 3,000 (9:12.13), then settled for runner-up honors behind Laverty in the 1,000 (2:44.14).
“The 3,000 was a good race, a good battle against (CHS junior) Ben Drezek; it's always great competing against him,” Berg noted. “I'm pleased with my time because it got us more points … In the 1,000, I didn't have a chance. Sean's so talented, he's insane. He's an incredible athlete.”
When asked when he broke away from him, Berg chuckled, “At the start. Like I said, he's a phenomenal distance runner. We have a pretty friendly rivalry. He gets me most of the time, but it's always great to run against someone of that caliber.”
As usual, Woonsocket manufactured most of their points in the throwing events while cruising past Lincoln (61-43) and Shea (74-26) in another Northern Division clash on Monday.
Junior Jared Briere (68-2 ½) led a sweep of the 25-pound weight with classmates Jake Greenless (59-5 ½) and Dilyn Cote (55-9), while Greenless took second in the shot put (419 ½) and Briere third (41-9).
Lincoln sophomore Evan Grivers nailed down that event with a distance of 42-8 ½, 11 inches further than Greenless.
“It was a good day for our guys,” offered Woonsocket weight coach Marc Piette. “We as a unit worked on some things that were inconsistent over the weekend – that is, technique. All did well Friday at Yale, with Jared placing second in the weight, Dilyn fourth and Jake fifth. At the East Coast meet Saturday, Jared took second again (68-1 ½), Dilyn third (62-6 ¾) and Jake eighth (57-2).
“We're always working on our technique; you have to, as it's like a golf swing. We wanted to tweak the little things here.”
The Villa Novans received another charge from sophomore Malik Okojie, who captured the 55 dash (7.16) and 300 (39.01); and classmate Jonathan Upshur, who won the high jump (5-4), then posted second in the 55 hurdles after teaming with Kyle Beaulieu, Brendon Lewis and PaOusman Jobe on the firstplace 4 x 200 relay (1:41.26).
Josh Correira added a triumph in the long jump (19-7 ½).
“I'm satisfied with the team's overall effort, considering we didn't have half of them,” Okojie said. “Some had to work and others were out sick. It wasn't my best effort, but I did give it 110 percent. I'm bummed because I didn't PR, but I'm excited we're heading home with two wins.”
Lions' junior Aidan Enright commanded the 1,500 (4:24.73) and 1,000 (2:52.60), and senior Ian Bridges grabbed the high jump (5-4).
Thanks to yet another superlative effort from junior Patrick Bullen, St. Raphael sailed to wins over Tolman (101-0) and Juanita Sanchez (76-32). Bullen not only captured the long jump (19-2 ½), high jump (5-6) and 55 hurdles (9.38), but also placed second behind Saints' senior Helpisis Genao in the 55 dash. Genao finished in 7.05, just .11 ahead of Bullen.
“I'm not feeling that well right now,” Bullen explained. “I tweaked my foot, so I was just going through the motions, trying to rest while competing. I wasn't even close to my PRs; I mean, I'd like to do my best (time or distance) every day, but some days, it's not possible.”
Genao added a win in the 300 (39.77), while freshman Reilly Johnson led a sweep of the 3,000. Bullen did the same in the hurdles, with Genao second and senior Mike Furtado third.