La Salle Academy's track and field program sent four athletes to the New England Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston last month, with junior sprinter Dominic Ferrante earning All-New England honors in the 400 meters and sophomore distance runner Aidan Walsh placing fifth in the mile — strong performances that have the program optimistic about the upcoming outdoor season.

Ferrante, who ran a personal-best 48.2 seconds in the 400-meter final, is considered one of the top sprinting prospects in Rhode Island and has drawn interest from several Division I programs including the University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island. "Dominic has been working on his mechanics all winter, and it showed," said La Salle track coach Kevin Sheridan. "He's capable of running in the 47s outdoors, which would make him competitive at the national level."

Walsh, a 15-year-old sophomore, ran 4:12 in the mile final — an extraordinary performance for a student of his age — and is already being compared to former La Salle standout Peter Callahan, who went on to compete at Georgetown and run professionally. "Aidan is a generational talent," Sheridan said. "We're being careful not to overrace him, but his ceiling is as high as any distance runner I've coached."

The outdoor season begins in earnest this week, with La Salle hosting the annual Hendricken Invitational on Saturday. The meet draws more than 30 programs from across Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts and is considered one of the premier early-season track meets in New England.

La Salle is expected to be a strong contender for the Division I outdoor state championship in both the boys' and girls' programs.