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East Greenwich RI Makes History With Third Place In Epic Boys 4x800 Relay - Saturday Notebook

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DyeStat.com   Jun 17th 2018, 2:54pm
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Off-the-radar East Greenwich RI boys run 7:35 for third place in 4x800 relay

By Brian Towey of DyeStat

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Nick Ross, from the Massachusetts brewery where he works, tuned into the New Balance Nationals Outdoor webcast to watch the boys 4x800 relay on Saturday evening. His team, East Greenwich RI, had won the New England Championships in 7:46.37 on June 9, and the third-year coach was anxious to see how his boys would do at nationals. 

View Meet Entries Here | Watch #NBNationals Live Webcast June 15-17 

When the quartet of Quentin Viera, Colin Cianciolo, Jeffery Pedersen and Cebastian Centil ran 7:35.43 for third place and a Rhode Island state record, Ross' emotions overwhelmed him. 

"I started shaking and tears of joy fell," Ross said. "It was hard to go back to work after that." 

In a historically fast race won by Cow Harbor TC (Northport NY) in 7:31.62 – No. 5 in prep history -- East Greenwich was one of the teams that found its footing. Viera, who'll join the Marines shortly, ran 1:56, followed by 1:55 and 1:54 legs by Cianciolo and Pederson. 

Centil, who'll run at Iowa State in the fall, knocked four seconds off his PR and ran the fastest split of the race, 1:49.2. 

"I thought we could become All-Americans." Viera said. "I wasn't sure that we could run this fast." 

Western Cary (Green Hope NC) ran 7:32.06 for No. 6 all-time. 

East Greenwich, a town of 13,000 located 18 miles south of Providence, ran the 4x800 at NBNO two years ago. Since then, Centil has developed into one of the top 600-meter runners in the country, going 1:19.99 indoors. Pederson went from a JV cross country runner to the state's Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year, and Viera, whose leadership has been noteworthy, has finally begun to believe. 

"At New Englands, I told them, 'You guys left some time out there,'" said Ross, a sub-4 miler at La Salle University. Ross ran for coach Peter Dion at East in the mid-2000s. 

After college, Ross moved back to Rhode Island to train under Bob Rothenberg with the New England Distance Project and also took the high school coaching job from his former mentor, Dion. 

"This is a special group," Ross said. "To have one or two kids with this talent right away as a coach is special. It's been amazing to see them grow, not just in their running career but as adults."

Strake Jesuit packs a punch

Houston's Strake Jesuit is annually among the titans of Texas high school track and field.  

The 1,100-student, all-boys school located six miles southwest of downtown Houston owns the distinction of being one of only two private programs, along with Dallas Jesuit, which compete in the state's rugged UIL 6A classification. 

"It's a tough league and we've got to bring our kids to meets like these to show them what real track and field is like," said Mike Kereley, who served as the school's head coach for 13 years and now assists Chad Collier. "We compete against (4,000-5000 student public) schools like The Woodlands and Judson Converse." 

Jesuit finished second in the Boys 1,000-meter Swedish Relay Friday after finishing second in the 1,600- meter Sprint Medley last year in a No. 3 all-time mark of 3:20.47 (Jesuit owns this year’s US#3 4x400 time with 3:11.91). 

"It's a lot of fun for us to come out here and compete against the best teams in the country," said sophomore Job Trahan, who ran on the Swedish relay with Lenny Saizan, Caleb Cavanaugh and Jared Cyprian

Reservoir on the rise

Reservoir MD, with a 1:27.79 showing in the boys 4x200 relay Saturday, continued to show its program's growth. After making its presence felt at the Armory this winter, Reservoir carried momentum into the spring. 

Situated in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore corridor in Fulton, the boys team finished second to South Hagerstown at the Maryland Class 3A state championships. 

"Ever since coach (Phil) Rogers came and a bunch of other coaches (we've had success)," said Kai Muniz, who won indoor state championships in the 800 and 1,600 meters (3,200 meters outdoors) and will walk on at the University of Kentucky.  

Reservoir brought an army of 20 supporters to Greensboro. Team success, said Rogers, lies in their bond. 

"I really believe it comes down to everybody working for each other," Rogers said. "We have a lot of really good guys on this team. Kai Muniz is the best middle-distance/distance guy in school history. But you'd never know it by his demeanor. 

"There's no 'me'. It's 'us.'" 

Canadian wins boys triple jump

Triple jumper Frederic Hanna's second New Balance Nationals experience was a lasting one. 

The Montreal, Quèbec, native, after disappointing himself with a fifth-place finish at NBNI (48-5.50), overtook a stellar field Saturday with his 50-11 mark. 

"I competed indoors but it didn't go well," Frederic said. "In Canada the level is not very high. It is also a bit cold.  

"If I want to perform I have to go where the weather is good." 

Hanna, who was demonstrative on the runway, held off Milton Hershey PA's Treyvon Ferguson (50-9.50) and Rocky River NC's Christopher Alexander (50-6.25). 

"I would like to attend an American university," said Hanna, whose father, a native of Lebanon, was a 100-meter sprinter at Division III Washington University in St. Louis. "It is an attractive thing. (If I can find a school) I will attend it in August."

 

Clovis North CA into 4x100 final

Clovis North CA made its first trip to Greensboro this weekend. The Fresno-area school, which finished second at the CIF championships in the 4x100 meters (41.14), will compete in Sunday's 4x100 final with a group of runners who have defined success for the program. 

"We broke seven school records this year because of these guys," said Clovis North sprints coach Josh Norman, a former professional sprinter who ran 10.09. "We're going to have a tremendous girls team next year. It's the mindset this group (on the relay) has started. It's translated to everybody else." 

The group of Caleb Foster and Christian Wood (who will also compete in the long jump championship on Sunday), Naythn Scruggs and Kurtis Kobzeff looks to leave its mark on NBNO. 

"We'll be back next year with more," Norman said. 

North Dakotans get taste of NBNO

North Dakota’s 4x200 state record-holders, Bismarck Century, debuted in Greensboro Friday. Sloughing off a brutal winter, the team finished seventh in the Boys 1,000-meter Swedish Relay in 1:57.72, then ran 1:29.09 in the 4x200 final Saturday. 

"I think we could have run faster," senior Hunter Wilmes said.  

The team of junior Caleb Monger, sophomore Grant Anderson, senior Oliver Nelson and Wilmes had produced a North Dakota-best 1:27.74 at the North Dakota state championships on May 26. 

"This year there was a lot of snow," Wilmes said. "We didn't have an outdoor meet until the third week of April." 

Parkview GA star chooses track over football

In senior quarter-miler Justin Long, Parkview GA coach Matt Henson sees an anomaly. Long was a decorated football player who has fully embraced track and field. 

"He's one of the few kids I've had who have given up football to run," said Henson of Long, who'd collected 20 scholarship offers for football before giving it up for his senior year. "He was an all-state receiver who decided to do track." 

Long will run for Oklahoma State next year. He has bolstered a formidable Parkview program that won the Georgia’s Class 7A team title this spring. Parkview won the boys 1000-meter Swedish Relay in 1:54.52 and finished sixth in the 4x200 meters in 1:27.34. 

"We love relays," Long said. "And we promote the team over individuals."



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