It’s gonna get nasty.
We’re already anticipating an exciting state championships this coming weekend – a meet that will feature it share of highlights, including two interesting battles for the team titles.
But Saturday’s RITCA Last Chance Qualifier at the PCTA field house just may have added a little more drama that could unfold when our state’s best collide one last time.
Could we have a 60-footer in the shot? It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibilities. Whether or not it happens, one thing looks abundantly clear. It will get intense up front.
At Last Chance, our two leading contenders put on a show. Increased dedication and focus on his craft has proven to be the difference this season for Rogers’ Kaden Thomas. Since his fourth-place finish at the East Coast Invitational in mid January, Thomas has been locked in with no throw less than 55 feet. On Saturday, the Vikings senior unleashed the best of his career, a three-foot best of 59 feet, 4.75 inches to claim the crown. He overtook state-leader Brandon Wolfenden, who wasn’t too far behind with a toss of 58-2, his third straight 58-footer this season. Wolfenden’s all-time best this winter of 58-8.5 came last week with his dominating win at the Class A meet.
“It’s going to be a good matchup with good energy,” Thomas promised about next Saturday’s states. “We just hype each other and push each other to the limit.”
Along with defending champion Barrington, La Salle Academy is one of our favorites to win the boys’ state title next weekend. In fact, the Rams just might be THE favorite to come out on top. In a sport where coaches often do more juggling (with their lineup) than a circus performer, the Rams gave their talented rival one more thing to think about after this past weekend’s meet. What individual event will La Salle put Thaden Leomensah in next weekend? The gifted senior, who runs legs on the team’s top-ranked 4x200m and 4x400m relay squads, also is the No. 2 sprinter in the 300m (35.46 best) behind teammate Garrett Giroux Pezzullo. Leomensah now sits atop the rankings in the 600m. He solidified that position with an impressive victory at Saturday’s meet, one that produced a 1-2 finish for the Rams. In just his second time running the three-lapper this season, Leomensah broke the tape in a winning 1:23.02, a best by more than two seconds. Right on his heels was junior teammate Eamon O’Brien, who was timed in 1:24.91.
Lemensah admitted he wasn’t surprised about his PR performance, especially after starting off his winter campaign with a sub 50-second 400m at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener back on Dec. 7.
“I was really confident in the time that I did,” he said. “I did believe in myself that I could run a pretty fast time because the season-opener for the 400m I was able to run 49.89. I just knew coming from last year’s PR (a winning 1:25.73 at Class A), I was running 51, 52 (seconds) for 400. After running 49 (seconds) this year, I knew I could go really hard.”
in the boys’ 25-pound weight throw, state-leader Shamrock Thoun of Woonsocket claimed top honors with a heave of 78 feet, 7 inches. Finishing second was Exeter/West Greenwich’s Owen Spira, who tossed 70-10.25. Spira was coming off his big win at the Millrose Games where he handed Thoun his only loss of the season with a nearly three-foot best of 77-4.75.
For the girls’ 20-pounder, Coventry’s Mia Hoskins moved to No. 3 in the state rankings with a PR of 55-4.5. Taking second was Woonsocket’s Adelaide Caron at 51-6.5.
The girls’ 600m should generate some electricity at next weekend’s states. The leader in this event is Moses Brown’s Skyler Maxwell, who ran a best of 1:38.76 to win the Class C title last weekend. The next 10 in the rankings fall between 1:40.0 and 1:41.94. While Maxwell took the meet off, several in that less than two-second range were on the line on Saturday, an event won by Rogers’ Laura Hoag. The state’s No. 3 runner improved on her best with a triumphant 1:40.18. Taking the next three spots were Narragansett’s Karuna Lohmann (second, 1:41.12) and La Salle teammates Carolina Terlato (third, 1:41.17) and Layne Stevens (fourth, 1:41.94).
“It felt really good,” Hoag said. “I was really just trying to just get out hard after the first lap and then hold on the second lap and then everything I could after that.”
One race that we expect will produce quite a bit of excitement at the states is the boys’ 3,000m where there’s potential to have our top three finishers from the state cross-country meet answering the gun – La Salle’s Marshall Vernon, Portsmouth’s Sean Gray and Hendricken’s Colby Flynn.
Gray was the only runner of that trio at Saturday’s meet. In his first 3K of the indoor season, the Patriots’ junior looked smooth and relaxed in coasting to a nearly 20-second victory with a time of 9:10.24. St. Raphael’s Noah Vanhorn was took the silver in 9:27.59.
Gray, who was dealing with some tendonitis issues earlier in the season, was satisfied with controlled effort and looking forward to the potential showdown with Vernon and Flynn.
“I think it’s going to be a really fun and fast race,” said the Portsmouth standout, the reigning outdoor 3K titlist. “I am going to try and make it fast. I already told both the guys. They’re probably running multiple events, if they’re running the 3K as well. Really I just want to go out there and run a faster pace, see if they stick with me. I want to try and get my second state championship in the 3K. Just go out there and have fun. It’s going to be one of the greatest races for the state meet for the 3K.”
While West Warwick is the favorite to make it three straight state crowns next weekend, teams like North Kingstown, Classical and La Salle Academy could certainly make things interesting at Saturday’s meet. All three teams were at the Last Chance Qualifier with a few of their key scorers competing inside PCTA.
North Kingstown kicked off the meet with a impressive win in the 4x800m. The quartet of Lucy Stowe, Maura Whitney and Abbie and Ellie Tighe combined for a state No. 1 of 9:36.19. That effort was well under the standard of 9:42.0 for next month’s New Balance Nationals. It also moves them ahead of the previous state-leader La Salle, which ran 9:42.45 at the Yale Track Classic.
La Salle went 1-2 in the 1,500m with top seed Alyssa Parenteau taking care of business with a gun-to-wire victory and time of 4:51.66. Placing second was Olivia Walhberg in 4:53.16.
Parenteau owns an indoor best of 4:49.73 from the RITCA Invitational on Jan. 25.
“I want to do my best and PR, definitely,” said the Rams’ tenth-grader, on her plans for the State Meet. “Around 4:45 would be really ideal. I know I’m fit right now. All my workouts are extremely fast. I just need to put that in a race and kind of break the block of going that fast in my head.”
Classical, which is ranked No. 3 in the 4x200m, had a convincing victory in that event. The Purple’s foursome of Morrica Bryant, Naibel Noreiga, Ehiola Yusuf and Shakeyri Arroyo combined for a time of 1:48.17. North Kingstown was second at 1:50.82.
