With so many variables, it’s never easy. But we’ll give it our best shot predicting who we feel will be some of our top track & field athletes this outdoor season. Here we feature the girls’ sprinting events, which includes the 100m, 200m and 400m
100m
There has certainly been no shortage of top-quality sprinters over the last decade. With no disrespect to the others that have made their marks in Rhode Island and have since graduated, it would be hard to argue the best of the bunch still has two more years remaining until she earns her diploma and moves on to bigger and better things at the collegiate level. Multiple state champion and record-holder Lisa Raye of West Warwick will no doubt continue her dominance in the short sprints and could be etching her name in the record books in this event as early as next weekend when she competes, along with her talented sister, Xenia Raye, at the All American Track Classic in South Carolina. The current mark of 11.63 is held by former Hope great Quashira McIntosh from the 2015 New England Championships. Lisa Raye ran a PR of 11.73 in her preliminary heat at the New Balance Nationals last June and is coming off another stellar indoor campaign. We’re predicting close to 11.50 by season’s end, perhaps faster. Look for Xenia to be joining the sub 12-second club, too. Last year, she had a best of 12.10 from the USATF National Junior Olympics in late July. Based on what she did during the indoor season, one that included PRs in the 55m, 200m and 300m, she’s on pace to improved significantly in the 100m this spring. We can’t forget the other member of the talented triad, Cranston West Ailani Sutherland of Cranston West, who had a state No. 2 of 11.98 from the New Balance Nationals in 2023. Other athletes to keep an eye on are Mount Hope’s Thea Jackson, East Providence’s Nazaree Phillip, South Kingstown’s SIerra Thompson and La Salle’s Alexis Caggiano, who are all capable of getting in that low 12-second range.
200m
The question is not whether or not LIsa Raye will win another state crown in this event. The bigger question is how close will she get to 23 seconds? The Wizards’ sophomore and defending champion has an all-time best of 23.53 from her runner-up finish at the Nike Indoor Nationals last month. Her outdoor best is 23.58 from the New Balance Nationals in June, an effort that earned her gold in the Freshmen race. The right conditions, the right competition, Raye’s capable of getting that time to at least 23.3 by the end of the season. We certainly don’t feel it’s too early to say that she could be one of the leading contenders to win a national title this spring. Xenia Raye could also break 24 seconds this season. She blazed to an all-time best of 25.54 as tenth-grader last year. Sutherland, Caggiano and Jackson also went sub-26 during the indoor season and will no doubt be fighting for some of those top podium spots.
400m
Underclassmen were prevalent at last year’s State Meet with seven athletes occupying the top 11 placements. Among that group was then-sophomore and overall winner Xenia Raye and four freshmen. We give Raye the nod here to do it again this spring with a legit chance to clock a time in the 55-second range. She currently has an all-time best of 56.98 from her third-place finish at the New England Championships. Could we see Thompson, the Rebels’ versatile senior, in this event more often than in the past? She won the individual crown as a tenth-grader in 2022, and ran it just once last spring against statewide competition, finishing ahead of Raye and behind individual champion and graduating senior Sophia Gorriaran of Moses Brown at the Mariner Invitational. With the ability to score high points and snare a few victories in other events, too, such as the hurdles, high jump and long jump, we’ll likely not see Thompson at the starting line in the 400m at the championship meet. But you never know. There’s also runners like Westerly’s Sydney Halk, Classical’s Zaida Depina, and Moses Brown’s Skyler Maxwell, who went 2-3-4 at last year’s meet, that are coming back. All had success in the 600m this past winter. How about Mount St. Charles’ Emmy Belvin? While she’s primarily a middle/long distance specialist, the MSC senior has proven she’s capable of making things happen in the shorter races as well. She was the 600m titlist at the indoor states and has gone sub-60 for the 400m.
