New England Rankings: 7th Release

It was a high profile week in New England, with New Balance sponsoring two elite events geared towards assembling some of the fastest fields on the East Coast.  Thankfully for track fans, both events delivered as promised.

The New Balance Grand Prix at the Reggie Lewis Center (Boston, MA) crowned a new regional leader in the girls mile after Cayla Hatton (Philips Academy, MA) took the pace out hard and put a scare into the entire field. Hatton would eventually finish second in 4:51.37 and secured a US#7 ranking in the process.  Also in the field was Sarah Gillespie (NW Catholic, CT) who finished 7^th in 4:58.02 (NE#3), Madison Granger (Belchertown, MA) in 8^th (5:00.96 / NE#4), and Molly Keating (La Salle Academy, RI) in 9^th (5:01.02 / NE#5).

The boys mile did not result in a change in the top spot of the New England rankings - Nick Christensen still holds that at 4:12.65 – but teammates Joel Hubbard and Kevin Thomas of Marshfield (MA) moved to NE#2 and NE#3 after their respective 4:14.35 and 4:15.15 finishing times.  Mike O’Donnell (Methuen, MA) and David Taranto (Burlington, MA) also cracked the New England Top 10 after finishing 7^th (4:17.05) and 8^th (4:18.08).

The relay events at the Grand Prix provided some exciting finishes, but it was Chariho (RI) who made headlines for the second week in a row. They broke their own state record (set only a week earlier) with a 7:50.25 performance at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York.  Back in Boston, Pembroke moved to NE#2 with their 7:55.86 school record breaking performance, and Acton-Boxborough moved to NE#3 after finishing third in 7:57.60. Brookline (8:02.69 / NE#4), Lowell (8:04.96 / NE#4), and St. John’s of Shrewsbury (8:09.25 / NE#8) also move up the rankings following their performances at the Grand Prix.

Mollie Gribbin of South Burlington made a statement and solidified her spot as the best track athlete in Vermont.  Gribbin won four events at the Vermont State Championships and took over the top spot in New England with a 7.08 clocking in the 55m.  She also impacted the rankings with her other events; winning the long jump in 18-9 (NE#4), the triple jump in 38’7.5” (NE#4), and the 300m in 41.14 (NE#8).  It’s frightening to think what she will do at the New England Championships after she narrows her event selection.

Tim Murphy of New Fairfield (CT) has been traveling the East Coast in search of the best pole vault competition he can find.  The effort has started to pay off as Murphy launched to the top of the New England rankings with a 15’6” clearance at the Southwest Conference Championships.  The mark also has him ranked #8 in the country.

John Vinnenberg (Bow, NH) opened the week with a New England #1 performance of 2:27.72 at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.  He finished third that day, but the race did not escape controversy.  Several athletes were disqualified for cutting in early and a 2:27.x performance by Joe Vercollone of Pembroke (MA) was wiped from the record books.  The issue was of little consequence to Vinnenberg, who used the momentum to set two New Hampshire Division II records later in the week.  On Sunday, he won the 1000m (2:32.40) and the 1500m (4:06.50) to help his team to a 7^th place finish at the New Hampshire State Championships.

Other news in the 1000m was made by Henry Wynne (Staples, CT) who won the FCIAC Championships in 2:31.66 (NE#3), and Harry Warnick (Fairfield Warde, CT) who finished second in 2:32.89 (NE#5).  In addition, National Mile Champion Josh Lampron (Mansfield, MA) made his first true appearance of the season after suffering a season ending injury in the fall.  Lampron was instructed to run a controlled pace in the 1000m at the MSTCA Last Chance to Qualify meet and cruised to a NE#3 time of 2:32.83.