Who are some of the top athletes to watch at Yale Track Classic?


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It's one of the biggest track & field meets of the indoor season, attracting a bevy of talented athletes from throughout the northeast region. Several athletes from Rhode Island will be making the trip to New Haven this weekend for the Yale Track Classic. Who are some of those athletes and/or relay teams that are capable of placing high inside Coxe Cage? Here's our list.

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Bobby Colantonio has not lost a meet since the beginning of the season and that streak should continue on Friday morning. The Barrington High weight-thrower is ranked No. 1 in the country with his best of 82 feet, 0.5 inches. The next closest competitor in the field is another Rhode Islander, Jared Briere of Woonsocket, who had an all-time best of 70-8.25 this past Saturday at the World Trophies Invitational.

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La Salle Academy teammates DJ Principe and Matt Bouthillette are entered in the 3,000-meter run where they have the No. 2 and No. 3 times in the country. Principe won the RITCA Invitational with a PR of 8:34.91, just .08 ahead of Bouthillette. He has also run 4:15 for the mile and on Wednesday clocked 2:35 for 1,000m. Bouthillette has run similar times to Principe with a best of 4:12 for the mile and 2:35 for 1,000m. Their biggest competition appears to be Connor Lundy of Fordham Prep in New York..Lundy should not be taken lightly. He was second in the 5K at New Balance Nationals this past June where he ran 14:40.61. He was also seventh overall at the Foot Locker X-C Nationals in December and has done 8:55.70 for 3,200m and 2:28 for the 1,000m.

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The girls' 3K will feature All-American distance runner, Hannah DeBalsi of Staples, who will be the favorite to earn the crown. DeBalsi has dipped under 10 minutes for two miles and run 4:52 for the mile. She finished 12th at the Foot Locker Nationals this past December. La Salle's Karina Tavares is also entered in the race. She is fresh off an impressive victory at the Dartmouth Relays where she ran a PB of 10:54.73 (US #2).  Sophomore Emily Kane, who clocked 5:07 for the mile at Darmouth last week, is also in the field as well as North Kingstown's Bethany Nunnery.

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In the girls' mile, Westerly's Randi Burr is entered in the seeded heat. Right now, Burr ranks 24th in the country for 1,500m with her best of 4:50.98.

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Jack Salisbury is favored to capture his second straight mile race this season. The La Salle senior won at Dartmouth by holding off teammate DJ Principe and Matt Bouthillette. Both are not entered in the meet's longest event. Salisbury's toughest competitor could be Cambridge Rindge & Latin's Esu Alemseged, who clocked 4:20.35 at a BU MIni Meet a few weeks ago. That was the same meet that Salisbury ran a season best of 4:12 to finish third overall. The Ram standout looked impressive at Yale with his patented kick securing a close win over Principe. He might not need to resort to that for another important victory this winter. Remember.this guy has run 4:06 before. Keep an eye on Heat 2 of this race. North Kingstown's super freshman Sam Toolin is your highest seed and ran 4:29 a few weeks ago at the RI Classic. He's capable of 4:25 or faster with better competition and a banked oval at Yale.

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Tonight is the Distance Medley Relay where La Salle Academy will have the top-seeded squads in both the boys' and girls' races. Last week the two teams won their respective races at the Dartmouth Relays with meet records and nation No.1s. The boys clocked 12:18.28 and the girls combined for a time of 12:11.68.