The region’s best will take center stage on Saturday with the 78th annual New England Track & Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium in New Britain, CT. Here’s a few top events that feature some of our top Rhode Island athletes.
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GIRLS’ 4x800m
The No. 1 seed in this event is Exeter (NH), which won its recent Meet of Champions with a time of 9 minutes, 8.57 seconds. At the two seed is RI titlist North Kingstown, which dipped just under its school record with a time of 9:18.40. Don’t be fooled by the seeds, which all come from recent performances as each state’s championships meets. This race is going to be a lot closer than the nearly 10-second gap between Exeter and the Skippers. Greenwich (CT) won its State Open competition with a time of 9:18.43, but earlier in the season established a new school mark of 9:13.58. One team that can’t be ignored is Glastonbury (CT), which ran 9:21.86 at the Open. There’s a good chance this Saturday’s foursome could have indoor national champion Brooke Strauss as their anchor. Strauss won the BSR Scholastic Mile earlier this spring with a state record of 4:39.88. She has a best of 2:08.26 from the CCC Outdoor Championships on May 27. That instantly turns the Guardians’ 9:21 into a possible sub 9:10 if everyone’s at their best. What does this all say? With the quality of talent on the line, we could potentially have at least two or three, maybe more in that sub-9:10 range. Could the Skippers be a factor? The Skippers won Saturday’s State Meet by eight seconds over La Salle, In other words, the Skippers weren’t pushed in the late stages of the race. They will this time. Plus, they have the added confidence from their win, where they were hoping to just run a time in the 9:25 rannge. Abby Nicolopolos, the anchor for NK, is also coming off her PR performance of 2:12.89 at the states, an effort that earned her the bronze medal.
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GIRLS’ 100m
in 2015, former Lake Region (ME) standout Kate Hall raced to the current meet record of 11.41 in this event. There’s a good chance that record could be erased on Saturday. This is the only race that three-time state champion and defending New England and New Balance National titlists Lisa Raye will be competing in this weekend. Raye, who has been nursing a sore hamstring the last month, will be focusing on a quality time in this event as she prepares for a defense of last year’s crown at NBN next weekend. At the states last week, the Georgia-bound junior blazed to a time of 11.64. She has a season best of 11.40 from the Loucks Games and in 2024 struck gold at the nationals by running 11.26. She also had a wind-aided 11.16 to capture the age 15-16 category at the USATF National Championships. The weather is not supposed to be ideal with rain expected in the forecast, still we think Raye is capable of getting in that 11.4 range, especially with Nina Kyei-Aboagye of Sharon (MA) in this race. Kyei-Aboagye swept the sprint events at last week’s MIAA Meet of Championships by taking this race in 11.62 and winning the 200m two days later in a state record of 23.28. She should provided the added push for Raye to come close to a record this weekend. You can’t count out Lauren Quarm of Methuen (MA), too. She was second at the MOC with a time of 11.73.
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GIRLS’ 400m
Xenia Raye has made it clear this season that one of her biggest goals this season is to break the current state mark of 54.10 by former Moses Brown great Sophia Gorriaran in 2021. This is a race that might give her the best chance to take down that four-year-old mark. At last weekend’s State Meet, Raye won her third straight individual crown with a season best 54.93, a race she won by four seconds! This Saturday, she’ll be pushed to the max in an event she is the No. 2 seed. The top position belongs to Breanna Braham of Dennis Yarmouth (MA), who captured the 400m at last Sunday’s Meet of Champions in a state-leading 53.70. Among our top contenders, Braham and Raye have the best chance to break the tape at the end. Braham gets the edge, but don’t rule out Raye. She has a best of 54.73 from last year’s states and is the defending New England champion, running 55.08 not too long after competing in the 100m, where she was second overall in 11.92. The Georgia commit will not be competing in the 100m this weekend, concentrating solely on the one-lapper. If the weather cooperates. this race could certainly turn into a classic. The MR is 53.27. It might be out of reach, but you never know.
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BOYS’ 300m IH
Three in this field have broken 38 seconds, including La Salle’s Jalen Moseley, who won last Sunday’s State Meet with a new RI record of 37.67. Holding the one seed is Davian Johnson of East Hartford (CT) with a PR of 37.28 from the CIAC State Open. The Nutmeg State will also be represented by Charles Dalles of Coginchaug at 37.79. Dalles was also the New England 600m titlist and captured the 400m at the adidas Indoor Nationals. This race could certainly turn into something special with this trio on the line. Five other hurdlers in this event have broken 39 seconds, The No. 9 seed is Barrington’s Bobby Wind, who ran a PR of 39.03 to place second at the states last weekend.
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BOYS’ 800m
Expect this race to be tight right to the end with the potential to have four or five, possibly more, still in contention coming down the final straightaway. Eight in this field have gone under 1:54 this season, including La Salle’s Eamon O’Brien. The Rams’ talented junior won his first state title last week with a time of 1:54.54, but he has run faster. Last month, O’Brien captured top honors at the BSR Elite Scholastic 800m with a PR of 1:52.81. The La Salle runner will need a similar effort like that to earn a New England title. The top seed is Yendri Ruiz of New Britain (CT), the State Open winner with a best of 1:52.17. CT has the next two seeds, too, with Hampden’s Alexander Medina (1:52.88) and Cromwell’s Dylan Bathrick (1:52.95). We’re expecting this one to be fast from the get-go with a time in the ballpark of 1:50-1:51
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BOYS’ HIGH JUMP
Anytime you have Caleb Satisfield in the field there’s always a chance for a seven-footer. After all, the Barrington junior has already done it before, clearing seven-feet even at the Class B Championships a few weeks ago. Satsisfield, who was dealing with a slight injury at last week’s State Meet, leaped 6-6 to win the competition. Among some of the other top entries are Brodie Scott of Waterford (CT), who soared to a height of 6-8 to take the State Open title and fellow w CT rivals Camden Mazerrole of E.O. Smith (6-8) and Bloomfield’s Ethan Rowe (6-6). MA entry Derek Shimer of Shrewsbury is another leaper to keep an eye on this weekend. Shimer won the Meet of Champions by matching his season best of 6-6. He was the New England indoor titlist with a near seven-footer and PR of 6-11.
GIRLS’ 1,600m, 800m
We bunched these two events together as both feature Cumberland’s Kiley DeFusco. They’re two events the talented junior has a chance at winning this Saturday. DeFusco is coming off a double-victory and PR day at the State Meet where she claimed gold in the 1,500m with a 4:29.03 effort and ran a best of 2:09.30. She’s ranked No. 2 in the 1,600m with an adjusted time of 4:48.86 for the 1,600m distance and holds the top seed in the 800m. In both races’ she’ll face two of CT finest. In the 1,600m, DeFusco is matched up against Old Lyme’s Chase Gilbert, the winner at the State Open in 4:46.46. Strauss, the All American and NBN indoor mile champion, will be her top rival in the 800m, where she is the two seed at 2:09.47. We’re expecting both events to generate some excitement with the potential to be determined during the final 50m of the race. Moses Brown’s Skyler Maxwell (2:11.70) and North Kingstown’s Abby Nicopoulos (2:12.89), the 2-3 finishers in the 800m at the State Meet, hold the four and five seeds at this weekend’s competition.
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BOYS’ POLE VAULT
This is certainly a competition you won’t want to miss. It features four vaulters that cleared 15 feet at their respective State Meets. Hendricken’s Carson Dean sits atop the seedings after winning his third straight state title last week with a height of 15-6. He owns a best and state record of 16-0 from the Hendricken Invitational on May 31. Carter Engelman of Windham (ME), and CT entries Sean Arms of Daniel Hand and Dylan Vazquez of Sheehan are the other 15-footers in this field. La Salle’s Alex Campbell and Daniel Velez of Westborough (MA) each did 14-6 last week.
