Three meets, six team champions, and a bunch of winners..
In a nutshell, that about sums up the results of this weekend’s RIIL Class Championships. Over the next two days, Ocean State Running will be providing quick capsules of what to expect when some of our state’s best collide.
Here we preview Class C boys and girls…
Class C Championships – Boys
Day/Time: Saturday at 10 a.m.
Location: Exeter/West Greenwich
Teams: Juanita Sanchez, Burrillville, Rogers, South Kingstown, North Smithfield, Middletown, Mount St. Charles, Tiverton, Narragansett, Exeter/West Greenwich, St. Raphael Academy, Moses Brown, Scituate, Prout School, Achievement First, Paul Cuffee, Providence Country Day, St. Patrick’s
Last year’s results: St. Raphael won its third straight team title with a 150-114.5 decision over second-place Moses Brown. North Smithfield was third with 105 points.
Athletes/Events To Watch: Could we have another 400m runner under 50 seconds this season. So far we have four. North Smithfield’s Nick Lamoureux could be the latest. The NS senior came just strides from going under the mark at the Classical Classic where he finished second to state-leader Elias Sposato of Coventry with a best of 50.04. Lamoureuz will have some talent to push him, namely South Kingstown’s Brody Shiels (61.58) and the Prout School’s Eli Wood (51.63), the 2-3 seeds…The 1,500m could turn into a battle. This race matches up Moses Brown’s Eli Ziegler against Mount St. Charles Ethan Fadden. Ziegler ran an outdoor PR of 4:07.31 to win the Central Division title and owns an all-time best of 4:04.92 from the indoor season. Fadden clocked a SB of 4:09.91 to finish second at the Northern Division meet and has an all-time best of 4:06.52 from indoor. Both runners are also entered in the 800m and the 3K. Will they run all three? We believe there is a good chance that Ziegler will attempt the trifecta with his team in the hunt for the team title. If this race does turn tactical, both have some speed in their legs to turn this race into a mad dash to the finish coming down the last stretch…We’re predicting a sub 8:40 in the 3K. The runner we feel that has a chance to do it is Narragansett’s Cole Francis. The Mariners’ junior looked awfully strong in winning the the 1,500m at the Sgt. Brian St. Germain Invitational with a 4:02.24 effort. Francis ran an outdoor best of 8:44.47 to capture the Classical Classic in late April. He’s ready for a new PR on Saturday…North Smithfield’s Aidan Bienvenue is the No. 1 in both hurdle events with a bests of 15.88 in the 110m HH and 38.83 in the 300m IH. While we list him as the favorite and feel he’ll sweep his specialties’ this weekend, he will certainly be pushed. Rogers’ Jakan Medina is right behind him in the 110m HH with a seed of 15.97. In the 300m IH, he’ll have to contend with St. Ray’s Devan Tavares, who has a PR of 40.08…The state has six athletes that have exceeded 200 feet in the hammer throw this season. We could have seven after Saturday. Narragansett’s senior Owen Degnan has been in the 190s all season, including a PR of 199-4 this past weekend at the St. Germain Invite to finish fifth overall. He’s the top seed in this event by nearly 30 feet, making him an overwhelming favorite
Team Outlook: Take your pick. We have at least four teams that are expected to be in the hunt – South Kingstown, Rogers, Moses Brown and three-time defending titlist St. Raphael Academy.
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Class C Championships – Girls
Day/Time: Saturday at 10 a.m.
Location: Exeter/West Greenwich
Teams: Juanita Sanchez, Rogers, Middletown, Burrillville, North Smithfield, Prout School PCD/Lincoln School, Exeter/West Greenwich, Moses Brown, St. Raphael, Tiverton, Narragansett, Scituate, Mount St. Charles, Bay View, Achievement First, Paul Cuffee, St. Patrick’s
Last year’s results: Moses Brown won its third straight title with a 151.5-91 victory over runner-up St. Ray’s. North Smithfield was third with 89 points.
Athletes/Events To Watch: Exeter/West Greenwich’s NIni Olawuyi has an outside chance to sweep the jumping events. The Scarlet Knights’ sophomore is the top seed in the long jump (17-8.5) and triple jump 36-9), and is ranked No. 2 in the high jump (5-0). While she’s a strong favorite in the long and triple jumps, the high jump will be a little more difficult to attain gold with Middletown’s Katelin Cruickshank at No. 1 with her best of 5-4…The 1,500m should be a competitive race with top-seeded Emmy Belvin of Mount St. Charles and Moses Brown’s Jay Champlin at No. 2. Both are scheduled to race in other events with Belvin in the 800m and Champlin in the 3K. This will be the first event of the day for the duo, so both will have fresh legs. Belvin gets the favorite label, coming in with a season best of 4:49.82 from the Classical Classic last month. Champlin has as a seed of 4:55 and always comes to race…We’re expecting a potential battle in the 800m between two runners that have had some history together – Saint Raphael’s Rory Sullivan and the Mounties’ Belvin. Unlike most of her meets this time of year, Sullivan will have fresh legs for the two-lapper and has more than likely been given the green light to let it rip this weekend. She has a PR of 2:19.07 from the Eastern Division Championships, which she did the day after running a PR of 4:55 at the BSR Elite Scholastic Mile. With no other races, save for the 4x400m at the end of the meet, we believe she’s capable of a time between 2:12-2:15 with the right kind of race. As she always is, Belvin will certainly be up for the challenge. She brings a 2:17 to the line, which she did at the Loucks Games last weekend….The 400m could prove to be one of the more exciting races of the day with our top three runners separated by less than a second based on their seeds. That trio includes St. Raphael’s Jayla Grimes (1:00.0), Narragansett’s Karina Lohmann (1:00.37) and Exeter/West Greenwich’s Ella Johnson (1:00.98). At the No. 4 seed is Moses Brown’s Skyler Maxwell (1:01.51) and right behind her is teammate Kathyrn Gauvin (1:01.74). With this kind of talent on the line, we should have one, if not more, under a minute this weekend…Prout has a legit chance to win the school’s first class title on Saturday. More than 20 of their points could come from sophomore Julie Smith, who ranks No. 1 in the hammer (142-6), No. 2 in the discus (117-7) and No. 5 in the shot (31-5).
Team Outlook: As stated, Prout has a legit chance to win its first class title in the school’s history. The Crusaders have the ability to score in multiple points with a bulk coming in the jumps and throws. St. Ray’s, Exeter/West Greenwich and Moses Brown could also contend or place high.
