The entries are all in for Saturday’s East Coast Invitational at the PCTA field house. Sponsored by Marathon Sports and HOKA, this weekend’s competition has potential to be a record-setting one with a number of meet records in jeopardy.
Below we preview the girls’ varsity events. The action kicks off a 9 a.m.
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Weight Throw (Meet record, 59-11.25 – Classical’s Cheyenne Figueroa, 2018
One thing is an absolute given in this event. Rhode Islanders will populate the podium this weekend. The top seven seeds all call the Ocean State their home and only three among the top 20 reside outside the borders. Classical’s Gifty Bediako, a winner at the Yale Track Classic and the World Trophy Invitational last weekend, is the favorite. Bit it won’t be easy. She has several other worthy candidates capable of winning on Saturday. Bediako has a best of 54 feet, 4.5 inches and has gone 50-plus in all but one meet. Four others in the field have also thrown more than 50 feet in the weight this season – Toll Gate’s Vanessa Jones (53-4.5), Woonsocket’s Adelaide Caron (53-4.5), and Coventry’s Mia Hoskins (51-0.25). Now add in three more that are on the cusp of breaking 50 feet this season – Woonsocket’s Isabella Piette (49-9.75), Smithfield’s Tyler McGinness (49-6.25) and Classical’s Chibuzo Ihenacho (49-3.25) – and you have an event that, as usual, can get very competitive this weekend.
Shot (Meet record, 45-0 – Bloomfield’s Brittany Jones, 2017)
Classical’s Bediako is the No. 1 seed here, too. Last week at the World Trophy Invite, she tossed a career best of 42-3. The Purple’s talented junior has been consistent so far this season, which includes a stretch of three meets that she has gone 41-2.5 or further. Her top threat appears to be Connecticut’s Bryanna Boroze, who has a seed of 41-2.25. Also competing inside the circle this weekend is Cumberland’s Payton Goulding. She has a season best of 38-5.75. Goulding has gone 40-plus before, finishing second at the State Meet last spring with a PR of 40-3.75. One big throw this weekend could earn her a spot at the top of the podium.
Long Jump (Meet record, 19-2 – Worcester Tech’s Adja Sackor, 2017)
Could it be deja vu? Holding the top two seeds are Mount Hope teammates Lola Silva and Thea Jackson, the 1-2 finishers at last week’s World Trophy Invitational. Silva grabbed the gold with a leap of 18-2.75, while Jackson took runner-up honors ay 18-1.25. The field also includes two others that have done 18 feet and a couple more in the high 17-foot range, including Wheeler’s Autumn Allen at 17-10.25. The meet record appears safe in this one, but not the top position. It could be a number of different individuals that can get it done this weekend.
Pole Vault (Meet record, 11-0 – Classical’s Bianco Donadio, 2014 & Austin Prep’s Emily Dickey, 2018)
The meet record for this event is shared by two people. There’s a chance we could have a couple more added to that list, or perhaps even a new meet record. The No. 1 seed is Kamryn Plikus of Montville (CT), who has a best of 11-0, a height she’s done twice, including last month at an ECC Developmental 1A meet. Barrington’s Ellie Noonan, the defending RI outdoor state champion, won the World Trophy Invite last weekend at 10-6 and has an all-time best of 11-3, an effort that placed her eighth overall at the New England Championships last June.
High Jump (Meet Record, 5-8 – La Salle’s Dakota Dailey-Harris, 2012)
This should be a close competition with no clear-cut favorite. Middletown’s Katelin Cruickshank has the No. 1 seed based on her PR of 5-5 at the season-opening RITCA Invitational from 2023-24. Lately, Cruickshank has generally been in the 5-2 to 5-4 range. That puts her right in the mix with the other top seeds in this event, such as Barrington’s Helena Hyde and New Hampshire’s Ella Goulas of Concord, who have bests of 5-4 to their credit. East Providence’s Nazarae Phillip (5-2) and West Warwick teammates Tatianna Baldinelli (5-1) and Shanna Correia (5-0) could also make this event interesting.
4x55m Shuttle Hurdle Relay (Meet record, 34.49 – Andover, 2018)
The time here that our top teams will more than likely be focusing on is 36.11. That’s the time that is needed to earn an automatic qualifier for the New Balance Nationals in March. It’s a standard that appears well within reach of Shenendehowa Central (NY), which has a seed listed at 36.0. Montville (CT) is the only other team that has a seed under 40 seconds with a time of 38.50.
4x200m Relay (Meet record, 1:45.01 – Hope, 2012)
No surprise. Just like it’s consistently been nearly every year, Bloomfield (CT) has the No. 1 seed with a best of 1:45.33. The next two squads also hail from the Nutmeg State with Windsor (1:46.37) and Norwich Free Academy (1:48.0). Classical, which is coming off a win in the Large School division at the Yale Track Classic, is at No. 5 with its best of 1:48.0. Keep an eye on the clock with the favored Bloomfield answering the gun. We could see a 13-year-old mark go down.
55m HH (Meet record, 8.39 – Bloomfield’s Zaidra James, 2017)
This could be a close race at the finish between our top three seeds – Tomari Gillespie of Windsor (CT), Alvia Smith of New Rochelle (NY) and Windsor’s Jordyn Williams – who all come in with seeds under 8.6. Gillesple is the fastest of the bunch with a best of 8.36 from her victory at he Hillhouse Invitational on Dec. 21. Smith and Williams have seeds of 8.52 and 8.58, respectively. The next closest seed is nearly a half a second behind.
55m (Meet record, 6.94 – West Warwick’s Lisa Raye, 2024)
At last year’s race, current record-holder Lisa Raye of West Warwick ran away with the title with her first-ever sub seven-second clocking. This weekend it will be a much closer affair. With Raye competing at the VA Showcase on Saturday, it’s a more even playing field. The top three runners in the field have seeds within three hundredths of a second – Bloomfield’s Saphyr Brown (7.22), New Rochelle’s Elise Crisp (7.25) and Mount Hope’s Jackson (7.25), last year’s runner-up. The next four seeds have times under 7.4.
Mile (Meet record, 4:54.62 – Bellingham’s Sarah Edwards, 2016)
The odds-on-favorite in this race is Chase Gilbert of Oly Lyme (CT). Gilbert has a PR of 4:50.21 from the New Balance Nationals last spring. That time is more than 20 seconds faster than the next closest seed. The talented junior, a runner-up at the New England X-C Championships this past fall. has competed in just one individual race, winning the 1K in a best of 2:55 at a league competition on Jan. 9, a meet she also anchored a triumphant SMR squad. Expect her to take charge early in this race with the possibility of challenging the nine-year-old MR. The next three seeds are also from CT with Lyman Memorial’s Hazel DeLuca (5:11.0), Simsbury’s Kylie Richie (5:15.0) and Waterford’s Avery Matese (5:19.0) in the field. RI entries Julia Dowling of North Smithfield and Bay View’s Jackie Mattos are the next two seeds with times of 5:19 and 5:20, respectively.
400m (Meet record, 56.63 – Classical’s May Stern, 2016)
The seeded section of this race should create some excitement inside the PCTA. With a listed seed of 59.0 is Windsor’s Paige Wilson, one of five in this race that are under a minute. Wilson could be the best of them all. She owns an all-time best of 56.56 from her sixth-place finish at the New England’s last June. Paige was frequently under a minute during the spring season with times in the 57-58 second range. Hillhouse’s Deanna Moore (59.20), Bloomfield’s Soleigh Dixon (59.45), Old Lyme’s Zoe Eastman-Grossel (59.56) and Barrington’s Katie Pearse (59.60) could also make this race interesting in the end.
200m (Meet record, 24.52 – West Warwick’s Lisa Raye, 2024)
Be prepared for a close one here with New Rochelle’s Elisa Crisp (25.63), the Huskies’ Jackson (25.93) and Bloomfield’s Caleah Baker (25.99) leading the way. All three come in with seeds under 26 seconds. Keep an eye on Crisp, who is only a freshman. As an eighth-grader last year, she blazed to an all-time best of 24.61 during the outdoor season. Among eight-graders, that time tied her for No. 6 in the country.
800m (Meet record, 2:16.12 – Ursuline’s Amy Piccolo, 2014)
Based on the seeds, which has eight runners listed between 2:20-2:25, the winner of this race is up for grabs. Classical’s Orla Howlett and North Providence’s Alexus Coutu are the 1-2 seeds with identical times of 2:20.
2 Mile (Meet record, 11:00.16 – Milford’s Rebecca Durham, 2018)
This is an event that could have a solid lead pack still in contention late in the race. Most of our top seeds are in the low-to-mid 12-minute range. Peyton Vanderstreet of Stonington (CT) is at the No. 1 spot with a best of 11:54.94. Cumberland’s Gabby Stroothoff, who is competing in her first indoor season, is a fifth seed with a time of 12:15.91.
4×400, Relay (Meet record, 4:00.17 – Hillhouse, 2018)
A meet record might be within reach for our No. 1 seed, New Rochelle, which has a top time of 4:03.73. Windsor (4:08.66). Classical (4:12.92) and Simsbury (4:14.0) are our next three seeds.
4x800m Relay (Meet record, 9:32.13 – Barrington, 2014)
We’re predicting a victory for Cumberland in this race, which has the top two seeds with an ‘A’ and ‘B’ squad on the line. The top foursome of Kiley DeFusco, Charli McCue, Rose Tuomisto and Anna Bianchi has a seed listed at 10:10. We expect this quartet will be much faster on Saturday, perhaps in that 9:40-9:50 range. DeFusco has a PR of 2:18, Tuomisto ran a best of 3:01 for the 1K this season and McCue clocked a best of 2:20 during the outdoor campaign. Bianchi is also a quality runner, capable of running in the 2:30 range. At their best, the Clippers should be well under 10 minutes.
