La Salle senior 3 1/1000th away from sub-4 mile
By BOB LEDDY (TAFWA)
R.I. Track & Field Foundation
21 Jan. – – La Salle’s fabulous distance man DJ Principe came within a few ticks on the razor-thin 1000th-second clock to crossing the sub-4-minute mile frontier on Saturday at the Armory Track Center in New York. Running in an eight-man elite open mile field on the Armory’s banked 200-meter oval, Principe finished third in 4 minutes, 97 1/1000ths of a second.
“I’m very happy,’’ Principe said. “I knew the race would be tough. I just tried to stay relaxed, not read [any reports on the event], keep it all out of my head. I made a little move at about 500, 600 meters. (He went through the 800-meter split in 2:01). At 1200 meters I just tried to hold on for dear life and finish strong.’’ DJ maintained 29-second splits, and was 3:00.144 at the bell.
As he dipped into his athleticism, the Stanford University-bound Principe hauled up a net-full of accomplishments; not the least of which brought him ever-so-close to a milestone only six other prep runners have achieved since Jim Ryun first broke the 4-minute barrier in 1965.
DJ’s mile time eclipsed his current R.I. and New England record (4:04.47), as did his en route 1500-meter clocking of 3:44.52. The old New England 1500 mark of 3:50.5 was set 20 years ago by Jonathan Riley, of Brookline, Mass. Riley went on to run at Stanford. Principe also on Saturday bettered the U.S. Catholic High School mark of 4:02.21, and places him No. 4 on the all-time American list. His current status remains No. 1 U.S. for prep milers.
“He ran a great race,’’ said La Salle head coach Vin McGinn. “DJ came in with a positive mindset. It was a great race to watch.’’
The race was won by Drew Hunter, running for Adidas, in 3:58.92. Hunter owns the national prep indoor mile mark of 3:57.81, set last year as a senior at Purcellville High in Virginia. Former East Greenwich standout Nick Ross – running for NE Distance – placed fifth in 4:10.58.
The finish:
1, Drew Hunter, Adidas 3:58.92.
2, Julian Oatley, New Zealand 3:59.04.
3, DJ Principe, La Salle 4:00.97 (New RI record. OR: 4:04.47, Principe 2017. New N.E. record. OR: 4:04.47l Principe).
1500 – 3:44.52 (en route). New R.I. record. OR: 3:53.32, Andrew Springer, Westerly 2009. New N.E. record. OR: 3:50.5(h), Jonathan Riley, Brookline, MA 1997.
4, Al Santana, Juventus TC 4:05.11.
5, Nick Ross, NE Distance 4:10.58.
6, Mark Patton, Speed River TC 4:10.85.
7, Vic Palumbo, New Balance 4:13.08.
8, Corey Wall, New Balance 4:14.31.