Our state’s top sprinters continue to showcase their talent on the national scale.
Cranston West’s Ailiani Sutherland and West Warwick teammates and sisters, Xenia and Lisa Raye, are among the entries at the USATF National Junior Olympics Track & Field Championships. The speedy trio are competing at the University Of Oregon’s Hayward Field as members of the Providence Cobras.
After clocking the fifth fastest time in her preliminary heat on Wednesday, Lisa Raye advanced to the finals in the age 15-16 200-meter dash where she was timed in 24.18 seconds in the semis on Thursday. She’s the No 2 seed going into the finals, which are Saturday at 6:42 p.m. EST The multiple state champion and record-holder blazed to the quickest time in the prelims of the 100m dash where she posted a time of 11.77. The semis are scheduled for Friday at 9:36 p.m. EST.
In the 17-18 100m, Xenia Raye and Sutherland advanced to semifinals (Friday at 9:46 p.m. EST). The elder Raye was clocked in a PR of 12.10. Sutherland ran 12.47. Raye also raced to a time of 24.54 for the 200m, which placed her 14th overall in the preliminary heats.
The Cobras’ 4x100m squad of Zaida Depina (Classical), Xenia Raye, Ava Lomberto (Ursuline Academy, MA), and Sutherland finished fifth in the prelims of the 17-18 division with a solid 47.46 clocking. The finals are Saturday at 12:20 p.m. EST.
