Kipyego and Johnston Headed to Track Nationals

After an impressive spring track season, running standouts freshmen Darius Kipyego and junior Reilly Johnston are headed to the 2018 New Balance Outdoor Nationals in North Carolina this weekend. Reilly will run the 2-mile race in the Emerging Elite section, and Darius is entered in the Freshman 400 and the Freshman 1-mile run.

This spring season saw great times posted by both runners. Early on, Darius broke the 2-minute mark at the Classical Classic with a time of 1:58.48 in the 800-meter. By season’s end, his time had improved further to a personal record of 1:57.03, which he earned at the RIIL Track & Field Championships along with a 5th place finish and an invitation to the New England Championships in Duram, NH. The time also puts him in the top 10 freshmen runners in the country.

Darius also ran a 4:12.65 in the 1500-meter at the Bishop Hendricken Invitational on May 26 and 51.46 in the 400-meter at the Brian Morretti Invitational on May 5 at Westerly High School. Both races qualified him to run in the Nationals.

Reilly had an excellent finish in the 3000-meter at the RIIL Outdoor Track & Field Championships, posting a personal record of 8:44.77 and taking 4th place in the event, earning him an invitation to the New England Championships as well. Reilly posted excellent times in his other events during the season, including 4:22.59 in the 1500-meter and 10:10.40 in the 3200-meter.

Reilly and Darius were part of SRA’s Northern Division Indoor Track Championship team this winter, in addition to running for the cross-country team in the fall. Both runners were named to RIIL’s all-state list, along with their teammate Nasavell Medeiros.