The indoor track & field season has arrived.
As always, we have several talented returnees set to make an impact, a group of notable newcomers ready to challenge the field, and—without question—a few surprises waiting in the wings. Expect plenty of new faces atop the podium this winter, with only six state champions from the 2024–25 season returning.
Here we continue to preview the upcoming winter campaign. We’ll take our best shot at predicting the top performers in each event.
Below we feature the girls’ long jump, high jump and pole vault
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LONG JUMP
When factoring in the State Meet, the top two athletes in this event seem clear: Exeter/West Greenwich’s Nina Olawuyi and Mount Hope’s Thea Jackson, both of whom return this season. The talented jumpers finished second and third, respectively, at last year’s state meet behind West Warwick’s Lisa Raye, who graduated a year early. Jackson and Olawuyi continued their success outdoors, with Jackson claiming the state title and Olawuyi finishing as the runner-up. Both athletes consistently leaped in the 18-foot range, with Jackson reaching an all-time best of 19-1 at the outdoor states and taking silver at the Class B meet in February with an indoor best of 18-9.75. Among several 18-foot performances, Olawuyi recorded bests of 18-5.25 indoors and 18-7 outdoors, both achieved at the state meets. It’s not too far-fetched to think that both have the potential to leap 19 feet this season, along with the Wheeler School’s Autumn Allen, who does not compete in the RIIL. As a sophomore last winter Allen came less than two inches from the milestone with her PR and winning effort of 18-10.50 at the NEPSTA All-Comers Meet.
Look for North Kingstown’s Reagan Farrell and Portsmouth’s Loosaper Tate to be battling for top spots on the podium. As freshmen in 2024-25, Farrell finished the year with an all-time best of 18-2.5 at the New Balance Nationals. Tate came close to the milestone, hitting 17-11.75 at New Balance. There’s also Moses Brown’s Kendra Satine, who’s coming off a spring where she went 17-4 at the states.
HIGH JUMP
Familiar faces return in this event, with Olawuyi and Jackson, the reigning indoor and outdoor state titlists, leading the way as the top two returnees. Both athletes achieved all-time bests of 5-4 at the state championships last spring. Also in contention is Barrington’s Helena Hyde, who cleared 5-4 three times last winter and finished third at the state meet. However, with top athletes often separated by just a few inches, anything can happen at the state level with one big jump. Two athletes who could make a move are East Greenwich’s Sydney Spitzer (5-3) and Chariho’s Lillian Baxter (5-2), both of whom return this season.
POLE VAULT
The clear favorite in this event is Ponaganset’s Amber Shaw, who cleared 11 feet four times last spring. She finished with a best of 11-1.75 at the USATF Region 1 Junior Olympics and cleared 11-0 to take runner-up honors to graduating senior Ellie Noonan of Barrington at the state championships. Other top vaulters returning from the outdoor season include Prout’s Addie Daigle (10-0), North Kingstown’s Abby O’Neal (10-0), and Mount Hope’s Kara Pisasale (9-6), among others.
