Quarterback Patrick Mahomes did his thing on Sunday night by lifting the Kansas City Chiefs to their second straight Super Bowl title. Now it’s time for track & field’s version of the Super Bowl with this weekend’s RIIL State Indoor Championships. Like Mahomes did with his game-winning drive in overtime to secure of 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, we’re predicting many stars to shine inside the PCTA field house on Saturday when our top boys and girls compete for individual and team glory.
Over the week, we’re going do our best to let you know just who those possible stars may be when the stakes are at their highest. As always, you’re welcome in advance if we happened to provide some billboard material for your athletes and teams. It certainly wasn’t our intention. But it is fun to stir things up a bit, isn’t it?
Without further adieu, here we go. Below we feature the girls’ 25-pound weight throw, shot, long jump and high jump.
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WEIGHT THROW
Like the boys’ event that’s scheduled during the afternoon meet, this one should be close with a number of athletes capable of winning and/or securing top spots on the podium. The favorite nod has to go to Woonsocket’s Adelaide Caron. She’s the only thrower in the field that has exceeded 50 feet this season, and she’s done it thrice this winter, including a PR of 51-8 to capture the high school title at the Millrose Games this past Friday and 50-feet even to take gold the next day at the Last Chance Qualifier. Caron first broke the milestone with a heave of 51-2.75 at the divisional championships on Jan. 27. There are a few more that we believe could win this weekend. Classical’s Susan Adekunie came less than a foot from a 50-footer back in mid December with a PR of 49-7.25 from the RITCA Invitational. She followed that performance with several efforts in the 46-47 foot range. This past weekend, she was a little off from her consistency with a pair of throws under 42 feet at Millrose and Last Chance. We expect she’ll be back on track this weekend with hopes of prosperity at the states. Classical’s Gifty Bediako could be in the hunt, too. She made that evident at the Class A meet on Feb. 3 where she captured the individual title with a PR of 49-6. Woonsocket’s Isabella Piette has consistently been in the 46-47 foot range this season and is coming off an all-time best of 48-11 from her third-place finish at Millrose. Her effort was a PR by more than a foot. Coventry’s Mia Hoskins (48-6.5), Woonsocket’s Angeliea Ortiz (48-5.5) and Ponaganset’s Jillian Walters (48-0.25) are a few others we expect will be in the mix.
SHOT
The target is on the singlet of Cumberland’s Lacie Grenier, who appears to be peaking at just the right time. The Clipper senior is ranked No. 1 after unleashing a three-foot best of 37-10.75 to defeat the Purple’s Biediako, the previous stare leader, at the Class A Championships two weeks ago. Grenier followed the effort by beating Bediako again at the Last Chance Qualifier this past weekend with a 37-5.5 effort. No doubt, Bediako is legit for that top podium spot.She has thrown 36 feet or more her last three meets, including a best of 36-8.5 at Last Chance. Others that could bet vying for high placements on Saturday are Cumberland’s Payton Goulding (35-4), and Ponaganset’s GIana Decesare (35-0.75).
LONG JUMP
This is one of four events that West Warwick’s Lisa Raye is the top seed. Like the other three, it also one that she has a good chance of winning on Saturday. Prior to the class championships, Raye was ranked No. 2 in this event. She overtook the No.1 spot by capturing the Medium School title a few weeks ago with a PR of 18-3.75. It was the first 18-footer of her career and a best by six inches. But the Wizards’ tenth-grader Raye won’t necessarily have it easy in this event. At the two seed is Cranston West’s Quiana Pezza, who also exceeded 18 feet by taking the Large School title with a best of 18-1.25. In an event where it just takes on big jump to take it all, there’s a few others you can’t ignore such as Mount Hope’s Lola Silva (17-9.75), Exeter/West Greenwich’s Nini Olawuyi (17-9.5), South Kingstown’s Sierra Thompson (17-9) and Barrington’s Sophia Ford (17-7).
HIGH JUMP
The favorite here is the athlete that has been No. 1 since the start of the season, Middletown’s Katelin Cruickshank. Besides have the coolest last name among all our entries at this weekend’s meet, Cruikshank has been unbeaten against her R.I. rivals and comes in with an all-time best of 5-5 from the season-opening RITCA Invitational. The Islander junior, who was third last year and a runner-up at the outdoor states, has been relatively consistent throughout the winter, generally in the 5-3 range. The Rebels’ Thompson could certainly pose a threat. The versatile senior leaped an all-time best of 5-4 at the Medium School Championships a couple of weeks ago and in the meet prior matched her previous best by clearing 5-3 at the divisional championships. That’s a good sign that she’ll be ready to contend this weekend. Five more in the field have gone five feet or better this season, including Barrington sophomore Helena Hyde, the No. 3 seed with a 5-2 best.
