Rhode Island track & field athletes will be back at it again this Saturday with the World Trophy Invitational at the PCTA field house. The annual meet, which features a full state events, will kick off with the girls’ competition at 9 a.m. The boys are scheduled to compete at 1 p.m. After scanning through the entries, here’s our picks of the top five boys’ events.
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55m Dash
Whoever wins this event will beat more than 200 runners. That’s right. On paper, there is 216 entries in this event! Do the math. Hypothetically, if there are no scratches, that would be 27 heats. Getting ready for an hour’s worth (or more) of prelims in this event. Yikes! Once the field is whittled down to our eight worthy contenders in the finals, who will come out on top? Take your pick. A lean at the finish will more than likely determine our winner. The top two seeds are teammates Elijah Gardea and Joseph Forbes of Central Falls with seed times of 6.63 and 6.73, respectively. Shea’s Tyrell O’Connell (6.80), Pilgrim’s Aiden Prum (6.82) and Lincoln’s Jayden Rodrigues (6.83) are among other top runners in this field.
400m
Here’s another event with a truckload of entries – 176 to be exact. Among the field are seven that have seeds under 54 seconds. Ponaganset’s Jack McEntee (52.18) and North Smithfield’s Nick Lamoureux (52.26) lead the way. The Prout School’s Eli Wood (53.0), and the Wheeler School’s Daniel Rogers (53.49) are among others that could figure in the mix.
High Jump
You can’t ignore this event. It could very well be a preview of next month’s State Meet. Two of the state’s top two leapers will be competing on Saturday with Bishop Hendricken’s Jason Reyes and Central’s Demetrius Outland. Reyes, who also competes on the school’s basketball team, leaped to an all-time best of 6 feet, 7 inches to win the Class A meet last winter. This season, he competed in just three meets with a best of 6-2 in mid December. Outland, the outdoor state champion and a runner-up during the indoor states, cleared a PR of 6-6 to capture the individual title at last weekend’s East Coast Invitational. The Central senior gets the favorite nod here based on his consistency. But if Reyes is performing at his best, we have a battle.
Long Jump
From the high jump, you don’t have to look too far to see another event that has the potential to generate some excitement if everyone is on their ‘A’ game. The long jump features a trio of 21-footers and another on the cusp. The No. 1 seed is Classical’s Joshua Dabanka, who ranks third in the state with a best of 21-6.75. North Smithfield’s Nick Lamoureux is the two seed with a best of 21-4. At Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, are Pilgrim’s Hunter Schobel (21-1.25) and Narragansett’s Carson Oakes (20-11.75).
Weight Throw
Like the girls, nearly all the players are in this event. The state’s No. 1 thrower, Owen Spira of Exeter/West Greenwich, is not entered. But just about everyone else will be competing behind the cage this weekend. In all, the top seven in this field have gone further than 60 feet. Hendricken’s Derek Goll is the top seed with a best of 63-11.75. Woonsocket teammates Shamrock Thoun (63-5.25) and Adam Beaudry (62-10.75) are also scheduled to compete as well as Lincoln’s Tyler Durang (62-9.25), Hendricken’s Matt Giuliano (62-7.75), Barrington’s Joe Adams (61-5.25) and Ponaganset’s Owen Allen (60-4.5). Goll, who has improved dramatically from last year where his best was 52-0.75, won the Ocean Breeze Freedom Games with his current PR. Thoun unleashed his best just a few days ago at a dual meet. Beaudry was a runner-up to Spira at East Coast with his second 62-footer of the season of 62-8.75. He had his PR at the start of the indoor campaign. These are the three athletes we feel have the best chance to win this weekend.
