For about nine hours on Saturday, athletes and schools from throughout the state will battling for individual and team glory at the annual RIIL Class Championships at the PCTA field house. Below we preview the Class B and Medium School championship meets.
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CLASS B CHAMPIONSHIPS
Day/Time: Saturday at 12 p.m.
Teams: Barrington, Central, Central Falls, Chariho, Classical, Hope, Johnston, Lincoln, Mount Hope, North Providence, Ponaganset, Portsmouth, Shea, Smithfield, Tolman
Last Year’s results: Barrington earned its fourth straight team crown. The Eagles posted a 161-71 rout over Smithfield. Portsmouth placed third with 63 points.
Athetes/Events To Watch: It’s all about Barrington and Portsmouth in the 55-meter hurdles. The Eagles swept the top three spots at the Metropolitan Division Championships. Portsmouth went 1-2-3-4 in the Southern Division meet. Barrington’s Ethan Knight and Bobby Wind should secure the first two spots with either capable of winning. Knight, who has beaten his teammate the last two meets – East Coast Invitational and the divisionals – has a top seed of 7.49. Wind is at No. 2 with a 7.50 best. Metro champion Landon Rodrigues of Portsmouth is the only other hurdler in the field that has broken eight seconds with a time of 7.88 from the Yale Track Classic…From the gun, the 3K should turn into a two-person race between Smithfield’s Jason Padula and Barrington’s Brandon Piedade, who have the top seeds of 9:09.01 and 9:10.66. Both looked very strong in winning their respective events at the divisionals. Padula ran a PR of 4:08.08 for 1,500m in the Suburban Division and Piedade clocked 4:07.51 to take the Metropolitan Division. We’re expecting sub-9 with these two warriors in the race. Padula is also entered in the 1,500 and 1K, We think he’ll scratch from one…The high jump features the state’s top leaper, Demetrius Outland of Central. Outland has a best of 6-6, which he did to capture the title at East Coast. This past Tuesday, he cleared 6-5 to take top honors at the Metropolitan Division Championships…Lincoln’s Tyler Durang will be looking for a big day. He’s the top-ranked thrower in the meet with a state No. 2 of 65-9.25 in the weight and 49-9.25 in the shot.
Team Outlook: A fifth consecutive title appears inevitable for Barrington this weekend. The Eagles, who were dominant in their recent 67.5-point victory over La Salle at the Metropolitan Division Championships, could have a similar verdict against Portsmouth, a quality team that won their first divisional crown on Monday in the Southern Division.
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MEDIUM SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Day/Time: Saturday at 12 p.m.
Teams: Chariho, East Greenwich, Johnston, Lincoln, Mount Hope, Ponaganset, Portsmouth, Shea, Smithfield, South Kingstown, Toll Gate, Tolman, West Warwick, Westerly
Last Year’s Results: Powered by a double-winning performance from Lisa Raye, West Warwick captured its first class title by defeating second-place South Kingstown, 111-87. East Greenwich was third with 77 points.
Athetes/Events To Watch: Could we see our first sub 4:40 of the season? It might happen. The runner we believe that has a chance to hit that milestone is Chariho’s Erin vonHousen. The Charger senior has the No. 1 seed with a PR of 4:45.68. That’s about six seconds faster than Toll Gate’s Alison Pankowicz, the No. 2 seed at 4:51.90. We’re predicting that vonHousen will go all out in this one, pushing the pace throughout the eight-lapper. Here’s why. The automatic qualifier for next month’s New Balance Nationals is 4:42.96. VonHousen has already qualified in the two mile and 800m. That could be a time she’s shooting for on Saturday. With a decent amount of rest in between events, we expect she’ll win the 1,000m, too. She’s more than 10 seconds faster than the next best in the field based on her all-time best of 2:57.14 from the Yale Track Classic…Once again, it should be a banner day for West Warwick’s talented sister tandem of Lisa and Xenia Raye. Like the outdoor states, Lisa will be looking for the quadruple. The nationally-ranked sophomore is the No. 1 seed in the 55m (6.94), 300m (40.92), and 55m hurdles (8.44). She also a two seed in the long jump (17-9), just .75 of an inch behind Mount Hope sophomore Thea Jackson (17-9.75). In both sprints, her top rival is her older sibling Xenia, who has seeds of 7.18 and 41.34, respectively. The talented junior will also run legs on the top-ranked 4x200m and 4x400m squads. The 55m hurdles could come down to the final few meets with Lisa Raye matched up with South Kingstown’s versatile senior Sierra Thompson. Thompson, a top seed in the high jump (5-3) and a four seed in the dash (7.44), has a best of 7.69 in the hurdles…Our southern schools could produce an exciting race and our second sub 1:40 of the season in 600m. Westerly’s Sydney Haik is the top seed and ran a best of 1:40.28 at the Yale Track Classic last month. Sophomore teammate Calia Bruno is at No. 2 (1:42.86). Holding the 3-4 spots are South Kingstown’s Greta Dahl (1:43.75) and Sofia Caito (1:43.81). Currently, Mount St. Charles’ Emmy Belvin is the only runner to break 1:40 this season.
Team Outlook: A year after winning its first team crown, West Warwick should do it again this weekend. The Raye sisters could be responsible for close to 70 points. The Wizards could also fill the gaps with top finishes in the weight (Vanessa Jones) and the high jump (Shanna Correia). Mount Hope, Westerly and South Kingstown all have a legit chance to finish second.
