Rhode Island athletes made quite the impact at the Dartmouth Relays.
In the two-day meet, which concluded on Saturday night, La Salle Academy captured the boys' team title with a 60-54 victory over second-place Huntington, N.Y. Cumberland was 14th overall among the more than 50 schools that competed inside the Leverone Fieldhouse. The La Salle girls were a runner-up to Rush Henrietta, scoring 40 points to the New York squad's 54.
The Rams' Jack Salisbury defended his title in the mile run, outdistancing teammates DJ Principe and Matt Bouthillette with a winning time of 4 minutes, 15.33 seconds. Principe finished at 4:16.06 and Bouthillette crossed the line in 4:16.75. The three teammates and freshman Joe dosReis combined their efforts to take the 4x800m relay with a time of 8:11.92.
La Salle's Sam Coleman was a victor in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.48.
Running in Section 2 of the 4x400m relay, Bishop Hendricken finished second overall. The squad of Jared Grossi, Harry Antone, Robert Merlino and Nick Williams combined for a time of 3:30.68. The Hawks' Avery Ingegneri was sixth in the 1,000m
Mount St. Charles' CJ Berg was just a few meters from stealing a victory in the two mile, placing second with a personal best of 9:28.44. Hendricken's Dominic Parlato was fourth overall at 9:35.70.
Barrington's Bobby Colantonio, the nation's top weight thrower, captured his specialty with a heave of 76 feet, 9 inches. Cumberland's Michael Coppolino was third at 55-10.5 and West Warwick's Ivan Goretoy secured sixth at 53-9.5.
In the girls' competition, R.I. took home gold in three events. The La Salle quartet of Emily Kane, Karina Tavares, Elise Papazian and Eliza Rego took the 4x800m relay with a US #5 of 9:32.41. Taveres also went home with a victory in the two mile where she was timed in a PB of 10:54.93. Sophomore teammate Grace Connolly was sixth at 11:28.71. Rego was also third in the mile with a time of 5:02.54. Sophomore Emily Kane was fifth in the race with a 5:07.41 effort. Cumberland's Meaghan Scullin was a winner in the long jump with a distance of 17-4. She was also fourth in the 400m with a time of 59.49.
Julia Zitzman of Barrington was fourth in the 600m where she crossed the line at 1:39.44.
Toll Gate's Courtney Jacobsen, who ranks No. 6 in the country, was second in the weight with a heave of 52-6.75. Smithfield Meagan Malloy was third at 50-01. Ponaganset's Gianna Rao was fourth (46-9) and Toll Gate teammates Ari Armenakyan (44-11.75) and Paige Carmichael (44-9.5) were fifth and sixth, respectively.