Without saying a word, Elias Sposato didn’t have to let anyone know what his intentions were for the State Meet in two more weeks.
He let his feet do the talking.
What’s remained relatively unchanged since the start of the season, the Chariho senior was simply at his best at Sunday’s Class B Championships. Sposato took care of business fairly handily with victories in the 400-meter run and 200m at West Warwick’s track & field facility.
The defending state 400m titlist raced to a PR and meet record of 48.58 seconds in his specialty. If that wasn’t enough, he came back about 90 minutes later to add the 200m crown to his day with his first sub 22-second clocking, an all-time best and meet record of 21.95.
For Sposato, it was his second straight 48-second 400 in as many weeks. At the Glenn B. Loucks Games in New York last Saturday, he finished seventh overall in the seeded heat with a then-best 48.89. Prior to Loucks, he was a winner at Southern Division Championships on May 4 in 49.40.
“That’s three weeks in a row that I’ve PR’d in the 400,” he said. “I am not looking to stop anytime soon. Maybe I can get in the low 48s by the end of the year. I’m super excited.”
Sposato was matched up against Classical’s Thomas Breen, who was ranked No. 2 in the state with his best of 49.15 from the Classical Classic. Breen took runner-up honors in 49.81. Barrington’s Will DiGiacomo was third 50.19.
Despite a talent like Breen on the line, Sposato admitted his confidence was boosted after what he did at Loucks.
“Before that, I was a two seed for the 400, behind (him),” he said. “Coming in last week with that first 48 (seconds), I felt really good. And that track was pretty hard. It was kind of like concrete. I knew if I could put a 48 on that track, I could replicate it again.”
Sposato beat Shea’s Tyrell O’Connell in the 200m. The Raider senior was timed in 22.34. Placing third was Barrington’s Bobby Wind at 22.41. O’Connell captured the 100m at 11.34.
Team-wise, Barrington compiled 215.5 points to win its’ second straight boys’ title. Portsmouth was second with 84 points and Classical was third with 76 points. In the girls’ competition, West Warwick captured its first crown in the school’s history with a 124-96 victory over second-place Chariho. South Kingstown was third with 82.50.
Once again, the Lady Wizards were powered by Xenia and Lisa Raye, who complied 66 points individually. Not surprisingly, Lisa was a quadruple victor. The WW sophomore captured the 100-meter dash (11.72), 200m (24.15), 100m hurdles (14.47) and the 300m hurdles (45.31). Xenia took the 400m (58.99) and was second in the 200m (24.91) and 100m (12.13). The Wizards’ junior also ran a leg on the team’s first-place 4x100m squad (50.50).
Virtually unchallenged from the start of her races, Chariho’s Erin vonHousen coasted to a pair of victories in the 1,500m and 800m. In the 1,500m, vonHousen posted a season best of 4:38.04. She won by 17 seconds over runner-up Jessica Deal of Mount Hope, who was timed in 4:55.27. The gifted senior ran even splits in taking the 800m with a time of 2:16.35. South Kingstown’s Sofia Caito was second at 2:23.90.
Now the scary part. Despite her convincing victories, vonHousen admitted she didn’t feel 100 percent.
“I didn’t feel as great, necessarily, as I would have hoped to; just not feeling super great with the speed of it,” she said. “Once I got going and was hearing the splits, I was running a lot better than I thought I was. I was decently happy with the times, actually. Definitely a lot better day than what I was expecting.”
The Charger standout, who also ran a sub 62-second leg as the anchor for her team’s second-place 4x400m relay (4:15.87), was a week removed from a successful weekend at the Glenn B. Loucks Games in New York. At the three-day meet in White Plains, she ran a PR of 2:15.83 for the 800m and 7:00.17 in the 2K steeplechase.
The steeplechase didn’t quite go as planned. She owns the state record in the event with a best of 6:56.53.
“I had a lot of issues with my allergies that I usually have in the fall,” she said. “That’s kind of been hitting me pretty good this spring. I haven’t been feeling great most meets. I felt great in the 800 down at Loucks. The next day, I think because it had rained and with the dampness and everything. I kind of knew within the first couple of laps of the steeple, which just made it really difficult. My water jumps were not pretty. That was kind of bad.”
In the 3,000m, Portsmouth’s Allie Kaull was a runaway victor. Kaull, a leader from the start, crossed the line in 10:24.16. Emily Clarke of East Greenwich was second in 11:02.28.
The PHS junior’s time was a few seconds off from her PR of 10:21.43 from her win at the Eastern Division Championships on May 4.
“I felt really strong coming out here today,” she said. “It’s definitely difficult when I don’t have a ton of people around me because sometimes I’ll loose motivation a tiny bit. But I’m proud of how I did, considering the circumstances.”
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Barrington’s Ethan Knight earned a pair of meet records in the hurdles, winning the 110m HH in 14.35 and the 300m in 38.94. Knight edged Wind in the former by five hundredths of a second. Portsmouth’s Landon Rodrigues have him trouble right to the finish in the latter. He was timed in a best of 39.30.
The Purple’s Breen had an impressive day. After finishing second in the 400m with his sub-50 effort, the talented senior held off a gritty Robbie Wade of Westerly in the 800m with a time of 1:56.97 to Wade’s 1:57.09 effort. Breen was also on his team’s triumphant 4x400m (3:28.41) and 4x800m (8:03.42) relays .
In his typical style, Portsmouth’s Sean Gray took charge from yhe beginning of the 3K en route to a winning time of 8:52.60. Luke Allen of East Greenwich finished second with a time of 9:06.29.
