One thing is certain in the girls’ sprints this season—for the first time in three years, they won’t have to contend with Lisa and Xenia Raye.
The West Warwick sister tandem, who dominated the shortest events on the track, have since graduated and are now competing for Division I power Georgia on track scholarships. So what does that mean without the two siblings, who went 1–2 in the 55-meter dash and the 300m the last two years? Add in the fact that Lisa also captured the 300m title in 2023, and the answer is obvious.
We’ll have new champions crowned this winter in both events. Here’s our take on the top contenders in those races, as well as the 55m hurdles, an event that Lisa also controlled, winning back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025.
***
55m
The favorite here is Mount Hope’s Thea Jackson, who finished third behind the Rayes last year in this event and also placed third in the 100m during the outdoor season. Jackson tied her PR of 7.25 to claim the bronze in the 55m and showed impressive consistency by breaking 7.30 four times last winter.
She always seems to preform at her best when championship season rolls around, and we don’t expect that to change this time. Jackson has already kicked off the indoor campaign on a positive note, winning the high jump, long jump, and 55m at a Headley Division meet on Wednesday. Her 55m victory came with a fast, early-season time of 7.35.
So who else is in the mix? We have plenty.
From last year’s podium, the fourth through eighth-place finishers all return alongside Jackson with Ponaganset senior Lillian Racine, Moses Brown senior Kendra Satine, St. Raphael sophomore Francesca Justin, North Kingstown sophomore Ellie Gagnon, and Classical’s Precious Adefusi. All had times ranging from 7.35 to 7.51 last year with Satine the fastest of the bunch at 7.35.
300m
There are several returning in this event, too, with the 3-4-6-7-8 finishers all back at PCTA this season. That quintet includes Racine, Classical junior Morricia Bryant, Justin, Hope senior Zariya Brown and Satine,. Bryant (41.49), Racine (41.55), Moses Brown’s Skyler Maxwell (41.91) and Satine (41.95) went sub-42 last season. We’re not expecting Maxwell to compete in this event at the states. She’ll likely focus on the 600m where she’s the defending champion. But we are expecting the Quaker all-stater to compete in the 1.5-lapper a few times this season. She’s proven she could lower her time into the 40-second range. Maxwell is coming off a strong outdoor campaign where she ran bests of 56.47 for the 400m and 2:11.70 for the 800m. With times ranging frpm 41.49 to 42.61 by our top returnees, it’s tough to predict who will emerge out of that group and take the gold at the season-ending meet. Brown had the state’s third-ranked times in the 200m (25.21) and the 400m (56.58) last spring, She’s certainly someone to keep an eye on in her final indoor season.
55m hurdles
At last year’s Class B meet, eventual state champion Lisa Raye set the current state record of 8.10. We don’t expect that mark to be broken this season, but we are anticipating a very competitive year in this event, with four or more hurdlers breaking nine seconds.
The top returnee is Exeter/West Greenwich senior Nina Olawuyi, who placed second at the State Meet with a PR of 8.69. La Salle junior Jillian Lewis (8.87) and Mount Hope’s Thea Jackson (8.91) also set PRs at the meet with their respective third- and fourth-place finishes.
You have to give the nod to Olawuyi, who also earned runner-up honors in the 100m hurdles during the spring.
Some of the others who could contend for high spots on the podium include Cranston West senior Reece Vitale, North Kingstown senior Julianna Williams, and West Warwick senior Jailynn Huffman, all of whom are capable of mid-to-high eight-second times based on what they showed last year
