You know when it gets to this time of the season, the competition goes up a notch, perhaps even two. Now, turn a once all-boys’ competition into a co-ed event, it becomes even more competitive, almost State Meet-like.
That’s what we’re expecting on Saturday at the annual St. Germain Invitational where some of the state’s best will be at West Warwick hoping to achieve some PRs and qualifiers for the upcoming outdoor championships less than a month away.
We looked over the entries and, not surprisingly, the events are loaded for this weekend’s meet. What are some of the events we expect will stick out more than the rest? Here’s some of our picks.
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Hammer Throw
When you have some of the nation’s best in our small state, you know this event is always going to be on out list for both are boys and girls. On the boys’ side, the No. 1 seed is Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun, who had a 16-foot PR at last week’s Northern Division Championships with a nation No. 3 of 214-08. Coventry’s Zack Del Sasso (210-6), Exeter/West Greenwich’s Owen Spira (209-1) and Lincoln’s Tyler Durang (204-0) are few more 200-footers that can make the event interesting at the end.
The girls’ competition features our top thrower from the beginning of the season with Woonsocket’s Adelaide Caron holding the No. 1 seed with a best of 176-8. At the No. 2 seed is teammate Bella Piette, who beat Caron a few weeks ago at the Classical Classic and finished second to the Novan junior at the Northern Division Championships. She has a best of 165-8. Coventry’s Mia Hoskins (158-9) and Classical’s Gifty Bediako (152-2) are among others that will be fighting for top spots.
Boys’ 110m HH, 300m IH
The 110m high hurdles matches our top two finishers from the 55m hurdles at the indoor states with Barrington teammates Ethan Knight and Bobby Winds schedule to answer the gun. Winds defeated Knight at the Classical Classic with an all-time best and state-leading 14.22. Knight returned the favor at the Eastern Division Championships with a PR of 14.27. In a conversation with Knight at the divisionals, he told us one of his season-ending goals is to possibly break the state mark of 13.98. We don’t think that will happen this weekend, but don’t be surprised to see a time under 14.20 with these two warriors answering the gun. At the No. 3 seed is another sub-15 guy with Portsmouth’s Landon Rodrigues bringing his best of 14.96 into the race.
The 300m IH is another event where a state record could be erased by the end of the season. The current mark is 38.13 by North Kingstown’s Ben Stewart in 2014. The top two seeds in this race have both go under 40 seconds with defending state champion and top seed Aidan Bienvenue of North Smithfield running a best of 38.90 at the Hendricken Invitational in 2023. The Eagles’ Knight is the two seed with his best of 39.25 from the Classical Classic a few weeks ago.
Boys’ 1,500m
We looked at the top two seeds and we think this race is going to be a lot closer than the times dictate. The No. 1 seed is Narragansett’s Cole Francis with a best of 4:01.74 from last spring. Holding the two spot is our cross-country state champion Sam Henderson of Cumberland with a PR of 4:09.12. Francis is the favorite and capable of breaking four minutes this weekend with the right kind of race. Henderson proved he’s a competitor that has to be taken seriously based on what he did during the fall. After skipping the indoor season to compete on the Clippers’ swim team, Henderson has been progressing nicely this spring. In mid April, he ran a 4:29 mile at the CT Distance Festival. Two weeks ago he was fourth in the 1,500m at the Classical Classic where he ran his current best and last week he won the 3K at the Northern Division Championship with an 8:55, winning the race by 30 seconds. Francis ran a 4:22 mile at the CT Distance Festival and won the 3K at the Classical Classic in 8:44. Trust us, this race will be close.
Girls’ 4x400m
This event could provide a preview of what to expect once the State Meet roll around next month. The top teams in the state are all schedule to toe the line in the final event of the day with Classical (4:07.89), La Salle (4:08.13), East Greenwich (4:09.00), South Kingstown (4:14.68) and Cranston West (4:15.02) all expected to make this a race that could create some excitement at the end.
Boys’ 400m
Yes, the potential is there to have several under 50 seconds in this race. La Salle sophomore Garrett Giroux Pezzullo has the top seed of 49.50, which he did as a split on the Rams’ top-ranked 4x400m squad. Last week he ran a state-leading 22.02 to capture the 200m at the Central Division Championships. A few weeks ago, he won the BSR Mid-Distance Classic in 50.42. He’s ready for sub-50 on Saturday. Fellow teammate Thaden Leomensah (50.02), Cranston West’s Alonzo Parker-Sharpe (50.04) and Barrington’ Will DiGiacomo (50.09) will no doubt make it a tight race coming down the stretch.
