It never disappoints.
Never!
The RIIL State Indoor Track & Field Championships was everything to be expected and, as usual, entertained a packed house inside the PCTA field house with eight-plus hours of exciting competition that never seemed to stop.
In the morning-to-early-afternoon session, La Salle Academy was on its game from the beginning, manufacturing a total team performance, one that enabled the Rams to earn a satisfying 124-111.50 victory over defending champion Barrington . Hendricken secured third with 53 points.
The stars were plentiful for La Salle. Despite limited training over the last few weeks due to an illness, gutsy junior Marshall Vernon defended his crowns in the 3,000-meter run and the 1,500m. In the 3K, a dive at the finish enabled Vernon to edge Hendricken’s Colby Flynn at the line. Both were timed in 8 minutes, 35.04 seconds, clocking their final 400m in under 61 seconds! Vernon, who was also third in the 1K, out-kicked Narragansett’s Cole Francis in the 1,500m, where he crossed the line in 4:08.26, just .62 ahead of Francis.
La Salle scored 84 points in the hurdles and sprinting events. Junior Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo won the 55m dash (6.58) and the 300m (35.39), an event that teammate Joshua Aceto (35.89) took runner-up honors. Giroux_Pezzullo also ran legs on the Rams’ winning 4x200m (1:30.94) and 4x400m (3:27.44). Thaden Leomensah struck gold in the 600m, leading a 1-2 finish by the Rams. Leomensah blazed to a time of 1:22.80 with teammate Eamon O’Brien taking second at 1:23.95. The LSA senior also ran legs in the 4×2 and 4×4,
Finishing off the day was the girls’ meet where West Warwick made it two straight team titles. To no one’s surprise, the Wizards’ most recent national 60m record-holder Lisa Raye was a four-time winner, capturing the 55m dash (6.87), 55m hurdles (8.20), 300m (40.24) and long jump (19 feet, 1 inch). In all but the 300m, the gifted junior broke the meet record. The Wizards’ Xenia Raye was second to her sister in the 55m (7.12) and 300 (40.57). She also ran legs on the Wizards’ third-place 4x200m (1:48.06) and sixth-place 4x400m (4:19.52) squads
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Other highlights of the day…
- Cumberland’s Kylie DeFusco captured the 1,500m in a meet record of 4:35.82. She came back a little more than an hour later to win the 1,000m where she was timed in a 2:58.06
- Keaney Bayha scored all of Pilgrim’s 31 points, a total that placed the Patriots sixth as a team, a point ahead of La Salle. Bayha won the 3,000m (10:08.22), finished second in the 1,500m (4:49.69) and 600m (1:38.81) and was fourth in the 1K (3:05.40),
- After several near victories, Narragansett’s Cole Francis won his first-ever state crown with a victory in the 1,000m (2:35.57). Francis was also second in the 1,500m (4:08.88).
- Nation-leaders Vanessa Jones of Toll Gate and Shamrock Thoun of Woonsocket won their respective competitions in the weight throw. Jones claimed the girls’ title with a PR of 59-1, while Thoun went home with the boys’ crown with a toss of 78-8.75
Ocean State Running will have a full story on the meet coming soon. Click on the links below for results, interviews and photos (with more to come!)
