It will be a long day of track & field this weekend when teams statewide occupy the PCTA field house for the RIIL Class Championships. The results of Saturday’s meet, which features Class A, B & C, will crown a combined six team champions and 72 individuals/relay squads.
(Above photo by Sterling Vernon of @rhodeandtrack)
The expected nine-plus hours of competition will further give us a glimpse of the outstanding talent out there and what to expect at the State Meet in two more weeks. It will be intense.
Below is a preview of the boys’ Class A meet. With the deadline for submitting entries closing on Thursday night, we’re predicting what we expect might happen in some of the events. Once the entry list is released, changes could be made prior to Saturday’s meet, so check back often.
Without further adieu, here we go…
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Class A Championship – Boys
Day/Time: Saturday at 9 a.m.
Teams: Central, East Providence, Woonsocket Cranston West, Mount Pleasant, Cumberland, North Kingstown, Toll Gate, Coventry, La Salle, Hope, Pilgrim, Bishop Hendricken
Top Events To Watch: This is a meet that has the potential to be close between defending champion Hendricken and La Salle Academy. The 300-meter dash is one of those events that could make a difference in the outcome for the Rams. La Salle’s has the top three seeds in the field with Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo (34.87 seconds), Thaden Leomensah (35.50) and Jackson Alves (36.28) occupying those spots. The Rams also have the top-ranked relay squads in the 4x200m (1:30.38) and 4x400m (3:26.12). Giroux and Lemensah are legs on both those squads, too…With the possibility of this one coming down to the final few events, our educated guess is that we could see La Salle’s Marshall Vernon and Hendricken’s Colby Flynn going head-to-head in three events – the 3K, 1,500m and 1K.. If this holds true, don’t expect an all-out effort in the 3,000m. Flynn ran a state best of 8:28.91 to finish third at the Yale Track Classic a few weeks ago. Vernon raced the 3K just once this season, clocking a solid 8:45.45 to earn his state qualifier. That’s a time, or close to it, we could see this tandem aiming for at Saturday’s meet where both will be relying on their kick the final lap to come out on top. Vernon holds the edge in the 1,500m. He ran a PR of 3:58.02 en route to a 4:14.76 mile at the Armory Hispanic Games. The Ram junior also ran an indoor PR of 4:10.88 for the mile at the MSTCA Boston Holiday Classic, a time that computes to a low 3:50 for the 1,500m. Flynn is coming off an all-time best of 4:02.81 from his win at the RITCA Invitational this past weekend. We expect both will be in that low four-minute range with another hard last 200m determining the outcome. Finally, there’s the 1,000m. If our premonition is right, both will finish off a long day with the six-lapper. It’s an event where Vernon has a best of 2:35.34 and Flynn is No. 2 at 2:39.16. Look for Cumberland’s Jake Schonhoff to take advantage of those tired legs and potentially steal a win here. He’s the three seed with a best of 2:40.48…The nation’s top two athletes are in the weight throw with Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun and North Kingstown’s Jack Harmon behind the cage. Both earned their current bests of 79 feet, 11.75 inches and 78-4.5 with their respective 1-2 finish at the World Trophy Invitational a few weeks ago. Could we see a rematch of that duel this weekend with the potential for an 80-footer?…Speaking of milestones, how about the long jump and the shot. In the long jump, top seed Jalen Moseley of La Salle is less than three inches from 23 feet with his best of 22-9.5. Pilgrim’s Brandon Wolfenden came close to 60 feet in the shot with a PR of 58-5 at last weekend’s RITCA Invitational…A lean at the finish could determine the winner in the 55m dash with state-leader Jeremy Seidi of Hendricken (6.49) matched against La Salle’s Jalen Moseley (6.56).
Team Outlook: As we’ve already mentioned, this will be a two-team battle between the Hawks and Rams. La Salle gets our nod as the favorite with its strength in the sprints and jumps making the biggest difference in the outcome. North Kingstown is a solid No. 3.
