Class A Championships – Boys
Site/Time: Coventry at 10 a.m.
Schools: Central, Cranston West, East Providence, Woonsocket, Cranston East, Cumberland, North Kingstown, La Salle Academy, Mount Pleasant, Toll Gate, Coventry, Classical, Pilgrim, Bishop Hendricken
Top Events To Watch: The 400-meter run could be one of the races of the day, featuring the state’s top two runners in East Providence’s Justin Jardine and La Salle’s Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo. Giroux-Pezzullo is the two-time defending class and state champion in the event and has been unbeatable against Rhode Island competition during that span. While his history and success make him the favorite, he’s actually not the No. 1 seed. That distinction belongs to Jardine, who took over the top spot this past weekend by blazing to a state-leading 48.25 at the Eastern Division Championships. The time is slightly faster than Giroux-Pezzullo’s personal-best 48.58 from the BSR Elite Meet a day earlier. This race could easily come down to the final few meters, with the winner — or perhaps both runners — dipping under 48 seconds...The hammer throw could also provide plenty of excitement. The event features three of the state’s top five throwers in state leader Dimirri Johnson (227 feet, 2 inches), Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun (218-0) and Coventry’s Mark Cleverly (214-2). Johnson owns the top mark in the state and ranks No. 2 nationally following his winning throw at the Sgt. Brian St. Germain Invitational on May 9. He carried that momentum into this past weekend with another impressive toss of 225-2. Thoun and Cleverly currently rank No. 4 and No. 5 in the state, respectively, and are two of only five Rhode Island throwers to surpass 200 feet this spring…Of course, the long jump is must-see as well. The event features current state-record holder Jalen Moseley of La Salle, who broke a 90-year-old mark at the St. Germain Invitational with a winning leap of 24-3.5…Don’t be surprised if the 110m hurdles is close, Moseley is the clear-cut favorite and has the potential to challenge the state record of 13.98 by former Hope star Yudehweh Gbaa. His PR is 14.18 from last year’s State Meet. This spring, Moseley brings a 14.29 season best to the line, and he will be challenged, unlike most of his meets this season. Cumberland’s Matt Fontaine is the No. 2 seed and certainly capable of posing somewhat of a threat to Moseley this weekend. Fontaine, who has been unbeaten this season, won the Northern Division title last weekend in a PR of 14.50. He demonstrated improvement since last year where his best was 15.22….Expect a fast time in the 3,000m. This race features two of the state’s best in La Salle’s Marshall Vernon and Hendricken’s Colby Flynn. Both should have fresh legs, which tells us one thing — they’re planning to go all-out. Vernon enters with a seed time of 8:31.50, while Flynn is listed at 8:35.39. Both, however, have run faster. We should get a good sense of their intentions early in the race. If they’ve already created a sizable gap on the field by the 800m mark, we could be looking at a low-8:20 performance, sub-8:30 at the very least.
Team Outlook: This meet should be close with our state top two teams – La Salle Academy and Bishop Hendricken – going head-to-head on Saturday. North Kingstown and East Providence should be contending for those next two spots.
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Class A Championships – Girls
Site/Time: Coventry at 10 a.m.
Schools: Central, Cranston West, East Providence, Woonsocket, Cranston East, Cumberland, North Kingstown, La Salle Academy, Mount Pleasant, Toll Gate, Coventry, Classical, Pilgrim
Top Events To Watch: Some of our state’s best will be competing in hurdle events. The top seven in the 300m hurdles have seeds under 49 seconds, led by North Kingstown’s Reagan Farrell and Reece Vitale. Farrell owns the No. 1 time in the state with her winning 45.91 from the Classical Classic. Vitale, a state runner-up in 2025, has a PR of 46.77 this season from the St. Germain Invite. The 100m hurdles has four seeds under 16 seconds with Vitale at the No. 1 spot with a time of 15.29….In the 800m, expect a sizable lead pack to still be in contention late in this race. North Kingstown’s Abby O’Neil is the favorite and the top seed with a season best of 2:15.23 from the Classical Classic. Right behind her is four La Salle runners, all with sub 2:20 seed times – Layne Stevens (2:16.68), Carolina Terlato (2:17.06), Alyssa Parenteau (2:17.64) and Olivia Wahlberg (2:19.86)….How about the hammer throw? Five athletes have thrown further than 170 feet this season. Four will be behind the cage in this meet with Classical’s Chibuzo (171-4), Classical’s Nelmarix Santos Mojica (171-2), North Kingstown’s Tayla Schneider (170-7) and Toll Gate’s Vanessa Jones (170-4). Try picking a winner in this one. Just one foot separates them all… The 400m should prove interesting with the top fours seeds all underclassmen. Leading the way is La Salle sophomore Olivia Tucker with a time of 59.83. The next three are all ninth-graders with North Kingstown’s Hannah Clarke (1:01.01), and La Salle teammates Torri Charello-Ingegneri (1:02.03) and Lena Reilly (1:02.53).
Team Outlook: North KIngstown appears to hold the edge with slightly more depth than top contender La Salle, particularly in the jumping events. But never count out the Rams, who always seem to perform at their best in meet like this.
