The national championship meets this past weekend signifies the unofficial end to the 2022-23 season for our high school cross-country and track & field athletes. A few of our athletes will still compete at meets like the upcoming U20 Outdoor Championships, but most concluded their seasons over the weekend at the New Balance Nationals at the University of Pennsylvania’ s Franklin Field. It’s a bittersweet time for us here at Ocean State Running. We’ll get somewhat of a break from the continuous coverage we provide throughout the year. But while we’ll still produce some content each and every week, we’re not afraid to admit that we are looking forward to the summer months as it will give us a chance to recharge our batteries and prepare for another exciting and busy year for our athletes in 2023-24. On the other side, we will miss the weekly competitions and getting a front-row seat to watch our athletes compete at their best. We’ll miss the seniors that have graduated, some that will continue to compete as collegians, including a few that we expect to make their marks at Division 1 level. Bittersweet, of course.
This past weekend once again provided an appropriate sendoff to another great year. Let’s take a look at what transpired.
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We’ve got to start with our national champions. We had three that reached the top of the podium at New Balance this past weekend, and one very talented underclassmen that left her mark in the Freshmen races. Capping off an incredible four years at Moses Brown, Sophia Gorriaran looked in control in winning her specialty, the 800-meter run, with a meet record of 2 minutes, 4.59 seconds. Even though she didn’t run the race she was hoping, Gorriaran broke her own state record by two seconds to place seventh in the mile a day earlier with a time of 4:41.94. While she still felt some of the effects from that race, it didn’t look that way in the 800m where she did most of the pace-setting and quickly restored order after getting past by eventual runner-up Angelina Napoleon around 650 meters.
For a while, it looked as though the mile would come down to two runners from bordering states with St. Ray’s Devan Kipyego and Marcus Reilly of Northbridge (MA) battling it out in the last few laps of the race. As he’s shown us so many times over the last two years, Kipyego won in the end for his second national title and fifth sub 4:05 with his 4:04.78 clocking. Reilly took the third spot at 4:06.12.
While Gorriaran and Kipyego and all the gifted runners before them over the last several years have put Rhode Island on the map nationally, there’s no arguing that our weight throwers have done the same. For the second straight year, our small state was crowned a champion in the hammer with Lincoln’s Christian Toro earning a well-deserved victory at New Balance, twice achieving his winning throw of 228 feet, 6 inches on his last two throws. Hendricken’s Keith Daigneau was fifth at 202-8. Three months ago at New Balance in mid March, the disappointment was evident forToro when he stood on the podium for third place in the 25-pound weight, just a day after taking runner-up honors at the Nike Indoor Nationals. It was great to see him on the top this time inside Franklin Field, and it was clear by the expression on his face that he was enjoying his first national title.
What can we say about Lisa Raye? Talk about peaking at just the right time. Over the last few weeks, she’s had quite the ride, winning four titles at the State Meet, three more at the New England’s and then running her absolute best at New Balance where she won two in the Freshmen races, breaking a very good state record in the 200m and coming inches from doing the same in the 100m. There was some confusion recently on the previous state mark of 24.05 by Moses Brown’s Marybeth Fitzsimmons at the 2019 State Meet. It was a sensational time by the Quaker grad, and one that was still recognized as a record leading up to this past weekend’s meet. Here’s the confusion. Four years earlier ,Hope’s multiple all-stater and state champion Quashira McIntosh clocked the fastest time by a RI runner, taking second overall at the New England Championships with a time of 23.59. She finished behind current meet record-holder Kate Hall of Maine. Due to the fact that there was not a wind gauge, the late Larry Bynne, the longtime keeper of the records, would not accept McIntosh’s time as a record because there was not a wind gauge at the meet. For a record to be recognized, the legal tailwind can not exceed 2.0 meters per second (m/s). McIntosh’s time was recently added, along with Fitzsimmons, as it was determined that despite no wind gauge on the premises, the wind was at a minimum and well within the legal limit.
With all that being said, Raye was able to secure the record by herself with her impressive victory in the finals of the 200m where she broke the tape in 23.58. Her time would have earned her a spot in the finals of the Championship 200m where a best of 24.16 secured a top-eight spot. Raye ran 23.85 in her preliminary heat, second to top seed, Skyler Franklin’s 23.59 effort The ninth-grade phenom from Florida, who was third in the Champion 400m, false started in her anticipated match-up with Wizard frosh in the finals. Raye blazed to a time of 11.64 in the 100m, just .01 from McIntosh’s 2015 record.
Joining the Sub-12 club was Cranston West’s Ailiani Sutherland, who was sixth overall in the Rising Stars 100m. She posted a time of 12.12 in the finals, but earned her spot there by clocking a PR of 11.98 in the preliminary heat.
On the subject of records, 3K state champion Erin von Housen etched her name in the books with her strong performance in the 2K steeplechase at NBN. The Chariho junior chopped nearly four seconds from the old mark with a time of 6:56.63. Westerly’ Randi Burr was the previous record-holder with a time of 7:00.31 from the 2018 Glenn B. Loucks Games.
Lincoln’s Jillian Leahy took the silver in the girls’ hammer at New Balance, matching her placement in the weight throw from the indoor nationals in Boston three months ago. Leahy had the best throw of her career with a distance of 167-8. Woonsocket’s promising sophomore Isabella Piette came less than a foot from making the podium, placing seventh with a toss of 153-8.
Rylee Shunney had the appropriate finish to her outstanding high school career. The East Greenwich senior was third in her heat of the mile where she raced to a school record of 4:56.43. It was her first time under the five-minute barrier. In typical fashion, her final 400m was her fastest. She secured her sub-5 by running his last lap in 71 seconds.
Bishop Hendricken’s quartet of Edmund Lok, Nathan Rivas, Xavier Wilkens and Jacob Coates were ninth in the 1,000m SMR where they were timed in 1:58.82. The Hawks were second in their heat and missed making All American by just over a second.
In the DMR, Cumberland’s foursome of Connor Magill (1,200m 3:14.63), Ryan Bourke (400m 54.68), Cole McCue (800m 1:59.51) and Wiilim O’Shea (1,600m 4:23.33) broke the school record with a state-leading time of 10:27.98.
La Salle’s Marshall Vernon was tenth overall in the Freshman 2M where he had an all-time best of 9:49.58. Vernon solidified his sub 9:50 with a 69-second last 400m. Hendricken’s Brayton Gazerro was eighth in the Rising Stars Two Mile where he clocked 9:17.20.
