The final varsity competition before next weekend’s RIIL State Indoor Track & Field Championships will feature several intriguing matchups.
Many of the state’s top contenders will be at the PCTA Field House on Sunday for the RITCA Last Chance Qualifier, a meet that could offer a preview of what’s to come at states. Originally scheduled for Saturday, the meet was postponed due to the impending snowstorm. The first event is set to begin at noon.
At last week’s Class A Championships, a lean at the finish decided the 55-meter dash, with East Providence’s Jack Pawlik edging La Salle’s Jalen Moseley by one-hundredth of a second in a blistering 6.53 seconds. Both sprinters return this weekend as the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, setting up what could be another razor-thin showdown. Expect an equally close race — one that may mirror next weekend’s state final.
Moseley will also be chasing history in the long jump. The La Salle standout captured the Class A title last Saturday with a PR of 23 feet, 10.5 inches, leaving him just 2.5 inches shy of the state record of 24-1.
Mount Hope’s versatile senior Thea Jackson will narrow her focus to the jumps at the Last Chance Qualifier. Jackson, who ranks No. 1 in the state in the 55m, high jump, and long jump, brings a best of 5-6 in the high jump along with a season-best mark of 18-0 in the long jump.
Jackie Mattos of Bay View, one of our state’s top middle-long-distance stars, is entered in the 1,500m and 3,000m where she owns the No. 1 seeds. In the 3K, her seed of 10:44.85 is nearly 40 seconds faster than her next closest rival. With a 4:49.11 best from last week’s runner-up finish at the Class A meet, Mattos will endure her biggest challenge on Saturday in the 1,500m. She’ll face three runners that have broken five minutes this season with North Smithfield’s Julia Dowling (4:56.80), Cumberland’s Charli McCue (4:57.0) and La Salle’s Satya Mohan (4:58.36) scheduled to answer the gun.
The girls’ 1,000m features La Salle’s Alyssa Parenteau. This will be the only event for the Rams’ junior, who clocked a PR and winning 2:59.56 as part of a 1,500/1,000 double. With just a single event to focus on, there’s no doubt the goal will be for a fast time this weekend, possibly in the low 2:50 range.
The throwing events feature the state’s top girls’ shot-putter, North Kingstown’s Tayla Schneider (43-3.5), and East Greenwich’s Ryan Evans (81-10.68) and Toll Gate’s Vanessa Jones (57-1) in the respective boys’ and girls’ weight. Evans matches up with Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun (80-9.25) and Hendricken’s Dimitri Johnson (72-7). Jones takes on Smithfield’s Taylor McGinness (56-10) and the Prout School’s Julia Smith (55-4.75).
Ponaganset’s Amber Shaw will be looking to earn sole ownership of the state mark in the pole vault. She shares the record at 12-feet even, which she did at the Yale Track Classic last month.
