There was no need to wait until the final events to determine the team champions at Wednesday’s Bayha Division Championships. Classical and Bishop Hendricken had the respective girls’ and boys’ titles well in hand long before the meet reached its conclusion.
Scoring in 11 of the 15 events, Classical cruised to a 149–96 victory over runner-up East Greenwich on the girls’ side. Meanwhile, Hendricken showed its depth by scoring in every event and producing multiple scorers in most, rolling to a 259–76 win over second-place Classical in the boys’ competition.
On the girls’ side, Classical generated more than a third of its team total in the throwing events, accounting for 56 points overall. In both the shot put and weight throw, the Purple went 1-2 behind the tandem of Nelmarix Santos-Mojica and Chibuzo Ihenacho.
Santos-Mojica captured the shot put with a throw of 33 feet, 2.25 inches, edging her teammate’s 30-1 effort. In the weight throw, Ihenacho claimed gold by a margin of more than two feet with a winning toss of 49-9.5.
Classical also captured both sprint relays. The 4×200-meter quartet of Precious Adefusi, Nyree-Simone Lafortune, Eniola Yusuf, and freshman Jola Fox combined for a winning time of 1:50.06. In the 4x400m, Aurora Reyes-Rodriguez, Noelle Zesk, Camille Payne, and Layla Elanani posted a time of 4:41.61.
Bay View’s Jackie Mattos and Exeter-West Greenwich’s Nini Olawuyi were both multiple-event winners. Mattos claimed victories in the 3,000m (10:44.85) and the 1,000m (3:14.03).
Olawuyi was a three-time champion, winning the 55-meter hurdles (8.87) and sweeping the jumps with victories in the high jump (5-2) and long jump (17-5.25).
In the boys’ meet, Hendricken dominated the middle- and long-distance events, piling up a combined 85 points. The Hawks went 1-2-3-4 in both the 1,000m and 1,500m, with Fred Russell winning both events in 2:38.79 and 4:04.12, respectively. Russell’s 1,500-meter performance moved him to No. 3 in the state rankings.
Hendricken continued its distance dominance in the 3,000m, where David Hayes (8:42.02) and Colby Flynn (8:48.34) finished 1-2, an event in which the Hawks scored 25 points.
The Hawks also made their mark in the throwing events. Dimitri Johnson exceeded 70 feet for the first time in the weight throw, improving by more than four feet with a state No. 3 mark of 72-7. State leader Ryan Evans of East Greenwich was second at 70-9.5.
In the shot put, Kayson Kong delivered a two-foot personal best with a throw of 50-11, while teammate Alexzander Prado placed second at 47-7.75. Kong became the third thrower this season to surpass 50 feet and now ranks No. 2 in the state.
South Kingstown’s Kai Sorlien improved on his state No. 3 ranking in the 55-meter hurdles, winning the event in 7.82.
West Warwick’s Zachary Morgan totaled 20 points in the jumps, capturing both events. Morgan cleared 6-0 in the high jump and leaped 20-7.5 in the long jump.
