We are just a few weeks into the indoor track & field season, but already it appears it will be a somewhat magical one for DJ Principe.
It could get even more magical on Jan. 21. It's on this day that the La Salle Academy senior will join a select group of top collegiate and professional runners in a featured mile race at the New Balance Games in New York. With the level of competition inside the famed New Balance Armory, the potential is there for Principe to improve substantially on his current PR and state record of 4:04.47, set at a Boston University (BU) Mini Meet on Dec. 31.
"This is a great opportunity for DJ to best his 4:04, maybe break four (minutes)," said La Salle distance coach Bill Myers. "No pressure, just race and see what happens!"
Based on what he's done lately, the Stanford commit is certainly well-deserving of the invite.
Just a week after BU, he made his mark this past weekend at the Dartmouth Relays by winning the 1,000-meter run with another state mark of 2:27.86. He also anchored the Rams'first-place distance medley relay with a solo 4:16 for 1,600m leg and capped off the weekend with a blazing 1:53 anchor for the school's victorious 4x800m squad.