For the next few months, it’s all about the outdoor track & field season as our RI athletes look to achieve PRs, individual and/or team titles this spring on the state level and, for some, even beyond the borders. Who are some of the top individuals we should keep an eye on this spring? Here we preview what we consider some of the best in the girls’ throwing events.
***
SHOT
For the last three state meets (indoor and outdoor), the one constant in this event is the individual that has come out on top, Gifty Bediako. In her final season as a high-schooler, the Classical senior will be looking to make it four straight in defense of her outdoor title. She appears ready after an unbeaten indoor season against her state rivals. Bediako finished the winter campaign with an all-time best if 43 feet, 4.5 inches from her victory at the Class B Championship. She also earned silver at the New England Championship and was eighth at the New Balance Nationals. She finished the season with eight straight 40-plus efforts. Bediako’s top threat to dethrone her crown is Cumberland’s Payton Goulding. The Clipper junior is the only other shot-putter that exceeded 40 feet among the top throwers, including the previous indoor and outdoor state meets where she was second to the Classical star. She owns a best of 40-3.75 from last spring’s states, just a quarter of an inch more than what she accomplished at the indoor championship this past February. See the pattern. In the most important meets of the year, Goulding seems to come up big when its mattered the most. Could this season be the biggest? Among others that should be battling for those coveted podium spots are North Kingstown’s Tayla Schneider (38-1, PR), Scituate’s Ava Pilderian (37-4.75, PR), and Woonsocket’s Isabella Piette (35-8.5, PR).
HAMMER
From behind the cage, it was quite the season by our weight throwers this past indoor season with 10 athletes exceeding 50 feet! For the hammer, we’re not expecting the competition to change much on the outdoor surface. In fact, we believe it will be just as intense. The top returnee is Woonsocket’s Adelaide Caron, the defending state and New Balance Nationals champion. Caron finished the spring with an all-time best of 182-1 from NBN, her first straight meet over 170 feet. The Villa Novan senior is coming off a somewhat difficult indoor season where she was eighth at the states after winning the title a year earlier. We’re expecting the WHS senior to rebound this spring and be among our leaders throughout the season. Coventry’s Mia Hoskins, who was a runner-up to Caron, is also coming back. She has a best of 163-8, No. 2 among our returnees. The Knotty Oakers senior was third in the weight during indoor. There’s also the Novans’ Piette, a fourth-place finisher at last year’s State Meet. She owns a best of 160-5 and is coming off a solid indoor season where she had a school record of 52-6 in the weight. Certainly someone that cannot be ignored is Toll Gate’s Vanessa Jones. The Titan junior was sixth at last year’s meet. Jones is less than a month removed from her breakthrough indoor campaign where she not only won the weight at the State Meet with a PR of 59-2, but claimed gold at the Nike Indoor Nationals. The Toll Gate standout finished with a 12-foot best in the weight this year. We’re expecting a dramatic improvement in the hammer as well. We think it’s safe to say that Jones will be one of our leading contenders for the state title this spring based on what transpired over the previous four months. Other throwers we expect to be in the mix are Bediako, Smithfield’s Taylor McGinness, Ponaganset’s Jillian Waters and Cumberland’s Brynn Patterson. All four throwers had bests in the 150-foot range in 2024.
DISCUS
There should be a lot of familiar faces on the podium this season. Of the top 10 finishers from last year’s State Meet, nine will be returning, including the Villa Novan’s Piette, the defending champion. The Woonsocket senior earned her first individual crown with a PR of 116-1, a distance that ranked No. 3 in the state by season’s end. The competition is tight in this event with seven returnees coming in with bests of more than 110 feet. It’s really anyone’s guess who will come out on top at the states in early June. Along with Piette, among the contenders are the Prout School’s Julia Smith (117.7, PR), the Titans’ Jones (116-10, PR), Scituate’s Ava Pilderian (113-8, PR), the Villa Novans’ Caron (111-11, PR), Westerly’s Madison Pellegrino (111-7, PR) and Barrington’s Kitty Wang (110-4, PR).
JAVELIN
The favorite here is defending titlist Mackenzie Cleary. The Burrillville senior won last year’s crown with a state-leading 120-8, a PR by nearly nine feet. Cleary had a strong finish to her season, which will no doubt give her added confidence for her final season as a high-schooler. She followed her performance at the states with a pair of 119-footers at the New England’s (119-8) and the New Balance Nationals (119-3). Other top returnees include West Warwick’s Tatianna Baldinelli (108-11, PR), the Skippers’ Tayla Schneider (106-3, PR), and Ponaganset’s Alyssa Lupo (104-9, PR), to name a few.
