It is so difficult for any high school player to reach the 1,000 point mark, so its an even bigger feat to do it again in college. Former St. John's Prep star Ryan O'Connell accomplished it last weekend for Bowdoin College in a thrilling overtime victory on the road over NESCAC rival Williams, which is ranked 16th in the country.
O'Connell, who did it at St. John's in his junior year and went on to set the school record for scoring (which was broken by Pat Connaughton,who is now playing at Notre Dame), pumped in a game-high 21 points in join that exclusive club.
Coming into the Williams game he needed only six points to reach the coveted mark after getting 23 the night before in a three-point loss at No. 1 ranked Middlebury.
"I didn't even know I was approaching it until after the Middlebury game when my coaches and my roommate's father told me," said the senior captain, who is the 22nd player in school history to reach 1,000. "I wanted to get it done early so I didn't have to think about it. A bunch of parents had signs, and my mom brought a cake so I couldn't ruin it for them. I felt some pressure early, but I just wanted to get it out of the way and concentrate on winning."
O'Connell, who is from Ipswich, finished his career at the Prep with 1,450 points, but his role in college is different.
"It's definitely more exciting to do it in college, and I'm so glad we won that game," said O'Connell. "I just hope we can take the momentum and keep it the rest of the way. It was a game of runs, but we came out strong in overtime."
O'Connell hit two free throws with under two minutes remaining to ice it after a technical foul was called on the Ephs. After he reached the 1,000 point mark an announcement was made to the crowd, and he was also given the game ball following the big win.
"This was easily the best win of my college career," said O'Connell. "I will never forget the game when I did it in high school either. We were at home against Lynn Classical, and I got so much support from our fans that night. They are both very special memories for me. My roommate Will Hanley also has over a thousand; it's pretty rare to have two on the same team. When I was playing in high school I took a lot more shots, but in college everybody playing was an all-star. We all have to fill roles, and it is so nice to have such good players around me."
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Abbey D'Agostino, a Dartmouth College sophomore from Topsfield, ran the two fastest times in the country in the mile recently. And that is not even her main event.
D'Agostino, a former Masconomet star, set a new school record when she clocked 4:38.44 and six days later broke her own mark with a 4:37.41 to win the BU Terrier Invitational.
"The coaches and I decided that my best event is the 3K, and that's what I hope to do at nationals because it is more competitive (she has already qualified in the mile). I've done the mile a couple of times this year because it's great for training," said D'agostino. "I didn't know what the record was when I ran the first time so I was caught by surprise to find out I broke it, and it was so nice to do it on my home track with so much support."
D'Agostino was an All-American in cross country this year and a spring track All-American as a freshman. She will be going for the trifecta at nationals in Iowa.
"I would love to be an All-American indoors," D'Agostino said. "The 3K is a very competitive event, and it would be great to be a top finisher. I am running at a good fitness level now, hopefully not at my peak because I want that to come a little later. We are doing some really good training and not racing too much keeps me fresh."
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Jean DePlacido is a longtime correspondent for The Salem News. You can contact her at JMDeplacido@aol.com.
