The newly reorganized league championships—featuring boys’ and girls’ teams competing within the same divisional structure—kicked off Tuesday night.
The Sullivan Division Championships took center stage at the PCTA Fieldhouse and quickly turned into a pair of runaway victories for North Kingstown. The Skippers cruised to a 207–85 win over runner-up Cranston West on the boys’ side, while the Lady Skippers were equally dominant, piling up 186.5 points to claim the team title. St. Raphael Academy finished a distant second with 74 points.
North Kingstown’s dominance was most evident in the distance events. In just three races—the 1,000 meters, 1,500m, and 3,000m —the Skippers matched Cranston West’s entire team total in the boys’ competition.
Colton Orr led a 1-2-3-6 finish in the 1K and paced a sweep of the top four spots in the 1,500m. Orr captured victories in 2:41.95 and 4:30.18, respectively. The Skippers continued to showcase their depth in the 3,000m, going 1-2-3-4, with Gavin Shipperley claiming top honors in 9:38.73.
Among other highlights for North Kingstown was a 1-2 finish by Cole Stotwell and Wilson Bouzard in the high jump at 6-2 and 6-1, respectively. NK was also the lone team entered in the pole vault, with Stotwell leading a 1-2-3-4 sweep.
St. Raphael Academy’s Brendan Cardosa was a double winner, capturing victories in the 55m dash (6.53) and the long jump (21-3.5). Teammates Ryan Stoloff (36.15) and Ryan D’Erico (36.95) finished first and second in the 300m and, along with Averie Johnson and Jonathan Leroux, were part of the Falcons’ winning 4×200 relay (1:34.75).
On the girls’ side, North Kingstown made its depth evident by scoring in all 15 events, winning five and placing multiple athletes in scoring positions in 10.
Individual champions for the Lady Skippers included Maura Whitney in the 600m(1:45.11), Lucy Stowe in the 1,500m (5:01.0), Tayla Schneider in the shot put (41-7.75), Viola Schmitz in the high jump (5-0), Reagan Farrell in the long jump (16-10), and the 4x800m relay of Whitney, Stowe, Avrie Tighe, and Abbie Tighe, which won in 10:17.04.
Hope’s Zariyah Brown was the fastest athlete on the track, moving up to No. 3 in the state rankings in the 55-meter dash with a winning time of 7.34. The Blue Wave senior also claimed victories in the 300 meters (42.06) and as part of Hope’s winning 4x400m relay (4:24.33) alongside Chastylis Mattei, Janelli Sanabria, and Eliany Silva. Brown also ran a leg on Hope’s second-place 4x200m relay (1:51.51). St. Raphael Academy captured the win in that event with Leah Ahmed, Alexa Fernandez, Jazzmyne Justin, and Francesca Justin combining for a state No. 3 time of 1:49.95.
With dominant victories in both the 3,000 meters (10:16.02) and 1,000 meters (3:05.49), Mackenzie Lickert totaled 20 points for St. Raphael, which finished fifth overall in the team standings.
In a race shaping up as a must-watch at the State Meet, Cranston West’s Reece Vitale won the 55m hurdles with a PR of 8.84. Vitale is one of six hurdlers to break nine seconds this season.
In the no-surprise category, Ponaganset’s Amber Shaw cleared 11 feet even to secure gold in the pole vault.
RESULTS
