[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Xaverian rising senior and Quincy native John Mariano placed first in the boys Tommy Cochary High School Mile on Saturday, one of the many parts of the festivities surrounding the famous Falmouth Road Race.
Mariano finished with a time of 4:29.19, edging out the competition by less than a second with Rishabh Prakash (4:29.60) and Tyler Brogan (4:29.83) of Franklin finishing second and third, respectively.
“The race came down to the wire,” said Mariano on his victory. “Heading towards the finish, I was focused on trying to win. After I crossed the line first I was real excited, a big reason being the large amount of money I had won for our program.”
John Mariano (8) points to the sky in celebration as the Xaverian rising-senior crosses the finish line in first place at the Tommy Cochary High School Mile on Saturday in Falmouth. Photos by Falmouth Road Race
“I feel like I built some confidence and momentum for not only myself, but the other guys on the team,” said Mariano. “I think by winning a race, especially against such strong competition like there was in Falmouth, can help a lot with the mental aspect of distance running.”
As for what makes him an elite runner, Mariano credits his coaches and state-of-the-art new facilities over on 800 Clapboardtree Street.
“Xaverian has a lot of great facilities,” said Mariano. “The new weight room and the new track surface are awesome. Those definitely help with training, but I believe the best thing about the Xaverian community and especially the cross-country and track & field programs are the coaches. We’ve got so many great coaches for running, especially [head XC and distance coach] Dr. Dunn. The facilities are amazing, but I think I’ve developed into a decent runner through such strong coaching. Big thanks to my parents, as well, for sending me to a place like Xaverian.”
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0.
