Success came in big numbers for area track and field athletes at the annual Yale Track Classic. Competitors from the state captured seven gold medals during the two-day meet at Coxe Cage, with several others also earning spots atop the podium
Friday’s competition featured a sweep by the Ocean State in the weight throw. Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun remained in the 80-foot zone for the third straight meet, hitting the mark exactly with a winning toss of 80-0 for the boys. East Greenwich’s Ryan Evans finished second at 78-5.75, while Hendricken’s Dmitri Johnson secured third with a personal-best throw of 68-1.75.
State leader Taylor McGinness led a dominant showing for Rhode Island in the girls’ event, capturing first place with a toss of 53-5.5. Nine of the top 10 finishers included area throwers. Placing second overall was Toll Gate’s Vanessa Jones at 53-3.5. Julia Smith of the Prout School was third at 52-4.
North Kingstown captured top honors in the varsity Distance Medley Relay with a season-best time of 12:26.28. The Skippers’ quartet of Lucy Stowe, Abby O’Neil, Maura Whitney, and Abbie Tighe finished just shy of the automatic qualifying standard of 12:25.00 for the New Balance Nationals.
In the Championship DMR, Bishop Hendricken earned runner-up honors with a strong time of 10:29.16. The Hawks’ foursome of Brayden Seraichyk, Daniel Pampiano, Oliver Redmond, and David Hayes finished second behind Brookline (MA), which won the race in a meet-record 10:24.37.
The smallest state in the union started off with a big performance by La Salle’s Marshall Vernon in the 3,000-meter run. The Stanford-bound senior dictated the pace from the beginning and cruised to an all-time best and nation No. 2 of 8:22.76.
“It was a great day and an awesome way to open up the season,” Vernon told OSR. “I really missed racing here last year and today I wanted to go after it in the 3k and chase a fast time.”
Bishop Hendricken’s Colby Flynn, a third-place finisher last year, improved both his placement and his time by securing the silver medal with a personal best of 8:27.88. Competing in the 3K for the first time, Barrington’s Brooks Mello placed third with an impressive 8:35.47. Hendricken’s Fred Russell (fifth, 8:39.79) and Shepard Butler (ninth, 8:47.00) also cracked the top 10.
“Sean (Gray of Portsmouth) unfortunately was not able to race today, so I knew I was going to be on my own leading the race. I wanted to push 8:20 pace and see how close I could get to DJ’s record.” said, Vernon, while making reference to former La Salle great DJ Principe’s state mark of 8:14.15. “After the mile mark, I knew I was in a good spot. I actually didn’t know if I had dropped Colby going into the last lap—it felt like he was on my back the whole time. Overall, a great race and great RI representation.”
In the girls’ 3,000 meters, Saint Raphael’s MacKenzie Lickert finished sixth with a personal-best and state-leading time of 10:13.43.
The state collected three more victories at Yale.
Ponaganset’s Amber Shaw continued her successful season in the pole vault by once again achieving a personal record. Shaw improved her best by three inches, clearing a winning height of 12-0. Bishop Hendricken’s Hayes was victorious in the mile with a time of 4:20.94, while in the girls’ 1,000 meters, North Kingstown’s Abby O’Neil topped the field with a meet-record performance of 2:54.94.
Other notable performances were turned in by North Kingstown’s Reagan Farrell in the long jump (second, 17-4), Lucy Stowe of North Kingstown in the mile (third, 5:15.77), Cumberland’s Matt Fontaine in the 55-meter hurdles (fourth, 7.65), Saint Raphael’s Francesca Justin (third, 7.36) and Ponaganset’s Lillian Richie (fifth, 7.49) in the girls’ 55 hurdles, and Saint Raphael’s Brandon Cardoso in the 55 dash (sixth, 6.53). Also standing out were La Salle’s Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo (third, 34.71) and Bishop Hendricken’s Andrew McCarthy (seventh, 35.53) in the 300 meters, along with the shot put trio of Bishop Hendricken’s Alexzander Prado (third, 47-9), North Smithfield’s Nicholas Tremblay (fourth, 47-5), and Hendricken’s Kayson Kong (fifth, 47-0.75).
PHOTOS by Sterling Vernon at rhodeandtrack
