Our state’s track & field athletes will be heading in at least two different directions – possible more – this weekend as the indoor season hits full stride.
Right here at home, the PCTA Fieldhouse will host Saturday’s annual World Trophies Invitational, which will feature a full slate of events and a strong turnout from across Rhode Island.
Several teams and athletes will also be traveling south to Coxe Cage in New Haven, Connecticut, for the prestigious Yale Track Classic, a two-day meet that begins Friday and routinely draws top competition from across the Northeast.
Simply put, this is the point of the season when the meets start coming fast and furious, with the indoor campaign quickly approaching its midway mark. By the time the weekend wraps up, expect to see some new state leaders emerge — and a few of our athletes make traction on the national stage as well.
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It’s still early in the season, so most of our top athletes have yet to reach peak form. That’s especially evident in the distance events, where many runners are coming off long and demanding cross-country campaigns.
At the moment, a sub-9:30 performance in the two mile is enough to rank among the state’s top 10. In the 3,000 meters, Colorado’s Hunter Robbie of Niwot currently sits atop the national list with a leading time of 8:18.39, set at a BU Mini Meet on Dec. 13. Beyond that mark, the next fastest performance sits at 8:40.0, underscoring how wide the gap is this early in the season.
That picture is almost certain to change in a significant way after this weekend, particularly with high-level meets like Yale on the docket. Expect a handful of Rhode Islanders to earn top spots in the rankings in the seeded sections of Saturday’s competition.
At last year’s meet, Hendricken’s Colby Flynn ran the fourth-fastest 3K time ever by a sophomore, clocking a personal-best 8:28.91 to earn a bronze medal. Flynn returns this weekend in top form and appears poised to match — or possibly exceed — that performance. He was third in the mile at last Saturday’s Armory Hispanic Games, where he ran a career-best 4:14.47.
Flynn will line up alongside familiar rivals Sean Gray of Portsmouth and Marshall Vernon of La Salle, both of whom have openly discussed the possibility of dipping into the low 8:20s — perhaps even faster. It should make for a highly competitive race. Hendricken alone will have more than a dozen runners entered in the 3Ks, which begin at 8 a.m. and continue through late morning with alternating boys’ and girls’ sections.
On the girls’ side, Saint Raphael Academy’s MacKenzie Lickert enters as the state’s top seed. Saturday will mark Lickert’s first 3,000 meters of the season. She owns a personal best of 10:15.91, set during her third-place finish at last winter’s indoor state meet, and has indicated a goal of breaking the 10-minute barrier this season. Could it happen this weekend?
Last year’s race was won by former Chariho standout Elise von Housen, who came strides away from the milestone with a winning time of 10:00.68. Among the top entries this year is senior Chase Gilbert of Old Lyme (CT), a 4:44 miler who ran 10:39.16 for 3,200 meters as a ninth-grader.
Ponaganset pole-vaulter Amber Shaw, fresh off a PR performance from the RITCA Invitational, will be looking to challenge the 12-foot mark in her specialty on Saturday. At last weekend’s meet, she soared to a three-inch best of 11-9.
Friday’s competition kicks off with the boys weight throw, and it features a marquee showdown between the nation’s top two performers. Holding the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds are East Greenwich’s Ryan Evans (81-10.68) and Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun (80-9.25).
Evans got the better of Thoun at the Beantown Winter Classic, where he delivered his PR performance. Thoun returned the favor, claiming victories at the U.S. Marine Corps Holiday Classic and the recent RITCA Invitational. The question heading into this weekend is whether the rivalry will even out — or if the Villa Novan senior can extend his current winning streak.
The girls weight throw is shaping up to be another event dominated by Ocean State athletes. Rhode Island competitors swept 11 of the top 12 placements in last year’s meet. Many of our state’s top throwers will be making the trek to Yale this weekend. Among them are Smithfield’s Taylor McGinness (56-10) and Julia Smith of The Prout School (55-4.75), who currently rank No. 1 and No. 3 in the country, respectively.
On the track, Bishop Hendricken brings a formidable lineup into the Championship Distance Medley Relay, featuring Brayden Seraichyk, Daniel Piampiano, Oliver Redmond, and David Hayes. With the quality legs in this quartet, expect a performance in the 10:25–10:30 range. A time of 10:26 would secure a qualifying mark for the New Balance Nationals, a clear objective for the Hawks heading into the weekend.
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The World Trophies Invitational will once again be split up by gender. The girls begin the action at 9 a.m., followed by the boys at 1 p.m. Once entries are released we’ll let you know some of the top individuals at Saturday’s meet. Marathon Sports will once again be selling merchandise out in the lobby, including meet T-shirts and hoodies.
Below is the schedule of events and a link to live results:
SCHEDULE
Field Events
High jump, long jump, pole vault, shot, weight throw
Running Events
Shuttle Hurdle Relay – mixed age groups
4x800m – mixed age groups
4x200m – mixed age groups
3,000m
55HH trials
55m dash trials
1,500m
55m HH finals
55m dash finals
400m
1,000m
4x400m – mixed age groups
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