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Favorite Fedrick finishes third at New Englands

Saturday, March, 05 By Christopher Smith
Staff writer

BOSTON — Salem junior football and track standout Jerickson Fedrick ran the fastest schoolboy 55 meters in New England this winter with his 6.39 to win Division 1 States.

So he entered yesterday’s New England Championships at the Reggie Lewis Track as the top seed, but he also had not competed in a race since States on Feb. 13.

Despite the 19-day layoff, Fedrick finished third with a time of 6.50.

“I’m so disappointed,” he said. “I wish we could run the race again.”  

Fred Gobewole a senior from Shea High in Rhode Island won (6.44) followed by Donarth Thompson of Bulkeley in Hartford (6.46). 

"I guess I wasn’t where I was supposed to be,” said Fedrick, who added that he trained with his team every other day in preparation for New Englands. “I definitely could have performed better — a lot better actually. I just didn’t want to end the track season like this. There’s just a lot of room for improvement, I guess. I’ve got to start over.”

He began in track to help get himself into better shape for football. He is a running back who has rushed for 2,767 yards already.

He also has developed into one of elite sprinters locally.

Fedrick’s 6.39 compares to the region’s two other great sprinters of the modern era: Andover’s Christopher McConnell, who set a state record of 6.34 in 2009, and North Andover All-State champ Larry Elizalde, who ran a 6.41 in 1991.

Fedrick is open to running track in addition to playing football.

“Definitely,” he said. “I love track, too, as well as I love football.”

Fedrick is being recruited by Division 1 schools for both football (BC and UConn are showing considerable interest) and track.

He estimated that he has received more than 100 recruitment letters.

Lavallee headed to UNH

Sanborn senior Ginny Lavallee came in sixth in the 55 meter hurdles (8.56).

"I wanted to do better but I am proud of getting this far,” she said.

Lavallee recently gave her verbal commitment to run track at UNH. She said she was offered a $22,000 per year athletic scholarship there.  

“I’m very excited,” she said. “The coaches are very good. I’m not sure what they’re going to have me run but I definitely know I’m staying in the hurdles.

“(UNH) started out offering $15,000, but I set the state record at the state meet (8.41 in the prelims) so they gave me 22,000 after that.”  

Former left winger takes fifth

Methuen’s Cameron Kelley earned a fifth-place finish (2:33.82) in the 1,000 meters.

Kelley, who will run next year at UMass Lowell, actually grew up playing hockey and had planned to play high school hockey.

“I was a hockey player all the way up until high school,” he said. “I joined cross country to get in shape for hockey and I had a really successful freshmen season so I just kept with it and did winter track.”

Kelley, who played left wing, said he occasionally misses hockey.

“But I made the right choice,” he said.

In his free time, Kelley refs youth hockey games.

Salley leaps to third

Andover’s Jess Salley took third in the high jump (5-5).

Salley, who wants to do track and field in college, has applied to three schools: the University of Richmond, Stonehill and UNH.

“This is the first New Englands that I competed for indoor,” said Salley, who finished seventh in the state pentathlon on Tuesday.

“I went into the season with an open mind hoping I would do well as a senior and it was great to be on the podium. It was awesome. It’s one of those things I will remember for a long time.”