Six days ago, La Salle Academy watched as Bishop Hendricken celebrated its sixth straight state championship, winning the title by a mere five points over the Rams.
On Saturday morning, it was La Salle’s time to celebrate.
Highlighted by a pair of top 10 finishes from sophomore Jack Salisbury and freshman D.J. Principe, the Rams took home the team plaque at the New England Championship by holding off Connecticut’s Ridgefield High, 99-102. Defending titlist Bishop Hendricken was third with 128 points.
“They just did an outstanding job,” La Salle coach Ken Skelly said. “It was fun to watch. They have worked so hard this season. I am very proud of them.”
Ridgefield senior Trevor Hopper won the individual title by covering the five-kilometer course at Derryfield Park in Manchester, N.H., with a time of 15 minutes, 8.0 seconds. Hendricken senior Colin Tierney, last week’s state champion, was the top R.I. finisher, pacing fifth among the 260 participants with a personal-best time on the trails of 15:17.1.
The Rams’ Salisbury also earned a placement on the first-team, All-New England squad by taking seventh with a PB of 15:43.9. Principe finished ninth with a time of 15:46.9.
“They did a great job,” Skelly said. “Without the two of them, we would have never had a chance.”
La Salle, which captured its first New England crown since 1958, also had strong placements from junior Dan Paiva (28th, 16:04.3), junior Jake Grundy (46th, 16:19.0) and junior Chris Notarianni (58th, 16:27).
“It’s all about clicking together on the right day,” Skelly said. “That’s exactly what they did. Even our number six and number seven guys (Matt Bouthilette and James Placco) did a good job in displacing the other Ridgefield runners. They really put it all together. It was a great effort.”
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