Valley teams improving headed into Saturday
PROVIDENCE — North Smithfield High head coach Catherine Reyes and trusted assistant Gary Seal couldn’t have been more thrilled with the way their kids opened their Northern Division triple-dual meet finale opposite Shea, Ponaganset and Blackstone Valley Prep.
Junior Nate Masi, in his first 3,000-meter romp of his young life, hustled to a new school record time of 9:57.35 during the first event on the program and won by a landslide, propelling the Northmen to a trio of satisfying triumphs over the Raiders (77-20), the Pride (78-22) and the Chieftains (79-22).
Masi had never run indoor before perhaps six-seven weeks ago, but broke teammate Jarrod Dube’s previous mark by approximately 21 seconds.
“That’s a phenomenal time, especially for an athlete who’s running track as his secondary sport and playing basketball as his primary,” Reyes laughed afterward. “He’ll go to basketball practice, then go out and do some distance runs to prepare for team. He’ll then call me or text me with his times.
“If he has time, if there’s not a conflict, he’ll come practice with us,” she added. “This is our school’s first year of allowing kids to compete in dual sports, and Nathan has been a super example of what a dual athlete looks like.”
Offered Masi: “This is the first time I’ve ever run the 3-K on an indoor track; I mean, I’ve run the mile and the 1,500, but never this. I actually expected the time to be a little faster, but the way the weather’s been lately, I haven’t had the chance to train like I want. As for the school record, now that surprises me.”
It proved to be an inspiring start to a terrific night for North Smithfield (6-4 overall), which finished with 11 victories on the 13-event program.
Junior Cole Dubois closed with a pair of firsts in the shot put (43-1) and 25-pound weight throw (47-4 ¾; classmate Dan Beauchemin finished in the top spot in the 55 hurdles (9.58) and high jump (5-4), not to mention the 4 x 200 relay (where he joined freshman Stamatelatos, junior Kyle Alves and senior Xavier Croteau to earn a clocking of 1:40.29); senior Jarrod Dube took a win in the 1,000 (2:57.35) and tied for it in the 1,500 (4:37.67); and Croteau hustled to victory in the 55 dash (6.94).
L.J. Meriwether, another hoopster, and Beauchemin settled for second and third in the long jump.
Highlights for BVP came from junior Patrick Pires, who placed first in the 300 (39.54) and second in the 55 dash (7.22).
The only other winner came from Tolman, when Renato Santos raced to a time of 1:3.96, just .02 ahead of Shea sophomore Davontay Vaz.
As for Mount St. Charles, it closed its dual-meet winter in bittersweet fashion, as it tied Lincoln, 54-54, then edged Central Falls, 57-49.
According to coach Paul Jacques, junior captain Brad Plamondon proved to be “money” for the Mounties (5-5), winning the 55 hurdles (8.50), high jump (5-6) and long jump (19-0 ½), but also nailed down a runner-up in the 300 (41.33). Then again, so was sophomore Ryan Slaney, who took the 1,500 (4:25.29) and 1,000 (2:49.75).
“We had a lot of PRs across the board,” Jacques said. “I mean, Allan Villatoro had a 16-second PR in the 1,500, which is amazing. And Slaney, he ran the two-mile on Saturday at the East Coast Invitational and won it, then did the 1,500 and 1,000 here.”
Not surprisingly, junior Kyle Moison paced Lincoln, which split its two meets, thanks to a 60-35 verdict over the Warriors. Moison reigned in the shot put (51-1 ½ ) and the 25-pound weight (70-4 ½).
“I was just working on my technique here, trying out different styles in the shot,” Moison stated. “I want to see what I can do to get to the 60-foot mark (in the put).
“I want to have a big day on Saturday at the Northern Division Championships,” he added after the shot. “I’d also love to break the 70 mark in the weight.”
Naturally, he was thrilled when he achieved that several days before.
Senior Chris Lezon tacked on a triumph in the 3,000 and second in the 1,500, while Aiden Fletcher captured the 600 and finished third in the 300; and Ethan Sexton snatched the 55 dash.
For CF, Erick Pineda took the 300 (41.31); the Warriors also swept both relays.