“Around the Oval’’ Sidebar
By BOB LEDDY (TAFWA)
R.I. Track & Field Foundation
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28 Dec. – – She comes from the town of Naples, Maine, roughly 20 miles west of Lewiston. Barrington, R.I. is his hometown. Her specialties are the long jump and the 55-meter dash, while he throws the 25-pound weight and puts the shot. Two seniors practicing disparate track disciplines, yet both are tops at what they do, while exemplifying the inherent nature of track’s wonderful diversity.
Kate Hall, a 17 year-old from Lakes Regional High in Maine, and Barrington High’s Adam Kelly were at their respective places Saturday at the R.I. Classic Invitational meet; Hall at the long jump runway and 55-dash starting blocks, Kelly in the throws cage at the PCTA facility. Both went home with gold medals, MVP honors and top national rankings.
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Hall: Jumping since childhood
Hall is no stranger to success. She came to Saturday’s meet as Maine champion and record-holder in the long jump and 55-meter dash. And she utilized that talent to post two victories. Hall traversed 19 feet, 7.50 inches (5.98 meters) to take the long jump by nearly two feet. On the track, she clocked 7.06 seconds for the win. Hall received the Track MVP award in the girls’ meet.
Hall, who is going to Iowa State University next fall, started doing the long jump at 10 years of age. “A friend told me about it, and I liked it,’’ she said. Her P-R in indoors is 19-11.50 (6.08), a silver medal performance at last season’s New Balance Championships in New York. Her approach at the head of the long jump runway includes what she calls “trying to duplicate a [starting] blocks start.’’ Her challenge, even as a senior competitor, is hitting the toe board at the right spot.
“The hardest thing is getting [my] foot on board,’’ she said. “This is the first meet in years that I hit the board five out of six jumps.’’ Similarly, she says, she takes a cue from the dash in executing her runway approach in the long. “I try to relax, then go as fast as I can, and take off with my right foot. I’m still working on my marks.
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Kelly: “I just went for it.’’
Weight and hammer throwers are a community wherein familiarity with performances of fellow athletes is common. So it’s not surprising that Adam Kelly was aware of former Hendricken star Josh Mc Cauughey and his state and New England record with the 25-pound ball. “I’m well acquainted with him. We talk all the time,’’ said the Princeton University-bound Kelly.
At Saturday’s R.I. Classic meet, Kelly was part of a weight throw relay triumvirate that included teammates Bobby Colantonio and Mike Alvernaz. They won the weight throw relay event with a combined distance of 221 feet, 8.75 inches (67.58 meters). Kelly’s contribution to that effort included his individual mark of 82-8.75 (25.21), a foot past Mc Caughey’s 2000 record of 81-8.75 (24.91). The standard not only was a Rhode Island mark, but a New England one as well. Kelly’s throw currently places him atop the United States rankings, and earned him the R.I. Classic’s Field Event MVP honor.
Kelly, who utilizes four spins in his mechanics, got off his record toss on his third and final attempt. “I was trying to get the team win,’’ the 6-foot-2, 255-pounder said. “I just went for it. I wasn’t expecting that far.’’