It all comes down to this weekend.
The best of the best. The cream of the crop. The elite.
Call it what you will. They’ll all be at the PCTA field house. They’ll all be ready to go at Saturday’s RIIL State Track & Field Championships. As we often say, “Folks, is doesn’t get any better than this!”
(Above photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack)
Over the next few days, we’ll preview our top individuals and teams that will be part of the Best Show in Town. Who has the best chance to earn that coveted gold medal? Who are the others we feel can contend this weekend? We’ll give it our best shot with our predictions of the day’s happenings.
Ready, set, go!!! It’s time to get started!!!
Here we feature the girls’ hurdles and sprinting events
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55m
The question is not who will win this race. It’s pretty obvious who that will be when you have the recent national 60-meter record-holder on the line. The bigger question is how fast will West Warwick’s Lisa Raye run on Saturday. It’s quite possible it could be under 6.7. After all, she went well under that time en route to her record-breaking 60m time of 7.13 at the Millrose Games this past Saturday. Raye’s 55m split there was 6.63, an effort that was four hundredths of a second under the national mark of 6.67. Whatever she runs this weekend, we know it will be special, we know it will be very fast and we know the meet record will be demolished. By the way, she owns that one, too. In 2024, she earned gold in a record 6.89 at the states. Just like last year, the race for second appears to be secured by another Raye, Lisa’s older sister Xenia. The Wizard junior came mere stride from breaking seven seconds this season with a 7.02 effort at the VA Showcase in mid January. No doubt she’ll be looking to exceed or match her PR of 6.95 from last year’s New England’s with hopes of giving West Warwick a 1-2 finish and 18 big points in its quest to win a third straight indoor crown. Mount Hope’s Thea Jackson has been solid all season and holds the three seed at 7.22.
300m
Look for a 1-2 finish by Team Raye in this event, too. Xenia has broken 40 seconds thrice this season at out-of-state, high-level competitions, including a PR of 39.02 at the Millrose Games. Lisa won the 300m at the Class B Championships with a season best of 39.66 on the flat oval of the PCTA. Look for her to possibly break her state record of 38.74 from last year’s New England Championship. Ponaganset’s Lillian Racine (41.84) and Classical’s Morricia Bryant (42.52) are among others that will be fighting for the other top placements on the podium.
600m
The top seed here and our pick to win it all is Moses Brown’s Skyler Maxwell. The Quaker junior is the only runner in the field that has broken 1:40 this winter, and she’s done it three times, including a season best of 1:38.76 from her victory on Feb. 1 at the Class C Championship. Maxwell will not only have momentum on her side, but perhaps a little extra motivation, too. She was second last year to individual titlist Emmy Belvin of Mount St. Charles. The field also includes quality runners like Pilgrim’s Keaney Bayha (1:40.0), Rogers’ Lauren Hoag (1:40.18), Ponaganset’s Ellie Jackson (1:41..0) and a whole bunch more in that 1:41 range. A total of 11 runners in this race have seeds under 1:42. If she doesn’t scratch, which were confident will happen, this will be Bayha’s third event of the day. She’s the favorite in the 3K and could be among the leaders in the 1,500m as well. Will it be too much to contend with our other front-runners and fresh-legged athletes? Maybe, but you never know when the gritty senior answers the gun.
55m HH
Yes, this one will belong to Lisa Raye, too. Less than two weeks ago at the Class B meet, the Wizard phenom broke her ninth individual state record with a triumphant 8.10. That’s a time that is well ahead of the next closest seed, Exeter/West Greenwich’s Nini Olawuyi, who has a best of 8.79. The real race here could be the one for second. Behind Olawuyi are three other hurdlers that have seeds under nine seconds – Cranston West’s Reece Vitale (8.92), the Huskies’ Jackson (8.95) and North Kingstown’s Julianna Williams (8.99).
