Dailey’s hard work pays off at states
FOSTER — It’s days like Sunday that confirm the decision made by Burrillville High junior Mitchell Dailey.
There was a time when Dailey had his sights set on lacing up his skates for the BHS hockey team. Alas, he could never crack the varsity code. No matter, thought Dailey. He decided to double down on his running efforts and was rewarded in kind on Sunday at Ponaganset High School’s famed Reservation cross-country course.
Dailey placed 23rd in the boys’ R.I. state meet, a distinction that came with an automatic berth in this coming Saturday’s New England Championships in Manchester, N.H. His time of 16 minutes, 47 seconds helped put a bow on a season that also saw him place ninth in the Class B meet.
“I’ve found much greater success in running and it’s become my new passion,” said Dailey.
“Qualifying for the New Englands was the dream and definitely in the back of my mind, but now it’s happened.”
Added Burrillville coach Samantha Stanton, “He asked, ‘What do I need to do?’ He was very determined and went for it. Not a lot shakes him.”
Dailey’s strategy on Sunday was to stay close with the pack of runners that happened to be closest once the leaders began distinguishing themselves. He recovered nicely after stepping in a deep pile of mud shortly after taking off from the starting line.
“If this person was going to pass me, I’ve got to pass them back,” said Dailey. “I was determined to leave everything out there.”
While Dailey was easily the area’s top feel-good story at Sunday’s state meet, he wasn’t the top finisher among Blackstone Valley participants. That distinction belonged to St. Raphael junior Nasavell Medeiros, who finished 14th overall (16:31). Medeiros took a bow as an All-State honoree, which also proved to be the case for SRA senior Reilly Johnston, who was neck-and-neck with his younger teammate en route to coming in 17th (16:32).
“Reilly is a four-year runner for us who’s also a class champ,” said St. Raphael head coach Chris Magill, referencing Johnston’s first-place showing at last weekend’s Class C meet. “I’m very proud of him.”
Magill was also pleased to see Medeiros bounce back after his 10th-place finish in the class meet.
“He didn’t let that performance get in his head and was able to turn it around,” said Magill. “He’s a pure talent.”
Magill’s two top runners helped his program achieve an 11th-place finish in the team standings. Of the first 10 runners to cross, nine hailed from either Hendricken, which won the state title, or runner-up La Salle.
“The rest of the state is trying to catch up to them, there’s no doubt about that,” said Magill. “Hopefully we can build on this season.”
Like Burrillville’s Dailey, Medeiros and Johnston are also heading to the New Englands. R.I. CROSS COUNTRY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS At Ponaganset High School Sunday
BOYS
Team standings
1. Bishop Hendricken 30; 2. La Salle 35; 3. Classical 161; 4. Barrington 205; 5. Chariho 213; 6. Westerly 216; 8. East Greenwich 243; 9. Cumberland 267; 10. Portsmouth 290; 11. St. Raphael 308; 12. Smithfield 315; 13. Ponaganset 347; 14. Burrillville 350; 15. South Kingstown 367; 16. Wheeler 376; 17. Lincoln 399; 18. Prout 432; 19. Coventry 483.
Local placements
14. Nasavell Medeiros (St. Raphael) 16:31; 15. Reilly Johnston ( St. Raphael) 16:32; 23. Mitchell Dailey ( Burrillville) 16:47; 30. A.J. McClure ( Burrillville) 17:11; 32. Darius Kipyego ( St. Raphael) 17:14; 34. Daniel Collard (Cumberland) 17:15; 44. Nathan Masi ( North Smithfield) 17:27; 46. CeeJay Laquerre ( Mount St. Charles) 17:29; 48. Henry Dennen (Cumberland) 17:30; 49. Nicholas Gaitanis ( Lincoln) 17:31; 68. Michael Swerdlow ( Cumberland) 17:53; 72. Ethan Carpenter (Cumberland) 17:56; 78. John Walker (Cumberland) 18:02; 81. Brendan Johnson (Cumberland) 18:04; 82. Jorge Rocha (Cumberland) 18:04; 87. Boyd Foster ( Lincoln) 18:11; 97. Bryan Roy ( Lincoln) 18:18; 103. Mackenzie Gilmore ( Burrillville) 18:34; 116. Domenic Savastano ( Burrillville) 18:52; 117. Lucas Raimond ( Burrillville) 18:52; 128. Owen Noecker ( Mount St. Charles) 19:15; 131. Garrett Wilson ( Burrillville) 19:38; 134. Joshua Beauregard ( Lincoln) 19:48; 136. Ryan Deschene (St. Raphael) 19:58; 141. Brendan L’Esperance ( Lincoln) 20:20; 142. Michael Vito ( Lincoln) 20:24; 143. C.J. Magill ( St. Raphael) 20:42; 145. John DeAbreu (St. Raphael) 20:44; 146. Colby Luiz ( St. Raphael) 21:11.