The PCTA Field House played host to the annual World Trophies Invitational on Saturday.
While considered a non-state-qualifying meet, the competition did showcase several performances that could materialize next month at the State Meet, primarily in the throwing events.
The boys’ shot put appears to be an event without a clear-cut favorite. At this point, only two athletes have surpassed the 50-foot mark, while several others are on the cusp of doing so or at least coming close. Johnston’s Jayden Ponte proved he belongs firmly in the conversation. Ponte captured the individual title with a personal-best throw of 48-0.75, an effort that moves him to No. 5 in the state rankings and represents an improvement of more than a foot.
On the girls’ side, North Kingstown’s Tayla Schneider became the first competitor this season to exceed 40 feet, winning the event with a throw of 40-5.
Another event featuring a wide-open field heading into states is the weight throw. After a slow start to the season, defending champion Vanessa Jones appears to have found her groove. The Toll Gate senior recorded her second 53-foot throw in as many days, winning the event with a season-best mark of 53-7.5. On Friday, the state’s third-ranked thrower earned runner-up honors at the Yale Track Classic with a distance of 53-3.37.
Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun continued his winning ways by capturing the boys’ weight throw. Thoun led a trio of throwers beyond 70 feet with a winning heave of 77-4. State leader Ryan Evans of East Greenwich finished second at 76-5.75, while Barrington’s Joe Adams placed third with a throw of 70-2.75.
Portsmouth’s Loosaper Tate, ranked No. 2 in the long jump, captured her specialty with a leap of 17-8.5. Her performance was just 1½ inches shy of her season best of 17-10, set at the RITCA Invitational.
Other highlights included:
In the boys’ 400 meters, just a few strides separated the top three finishers. McKeene Keith won the race in 54.51, followed closely by Lincoln’s Finley Stebenne (second, 54.55) and Moses Brown’s Zain Siddiqi (third, 54.85).
The boys’ 1,000 meters turned into a two-person battle, with Prout School’s Juelz Harris edging Tiverton’s Brady Joslyn. Harris broke the tape in 2:44.61 to Joslyn’s 2:44.68, with the next closest finisher 16 seconds back.
Classical finished 1–2 in the boys’ 4×400-meter relay with times of 3:50.2 and 3:53.21, respectively. In the girls’ 3,000 meters, Classical’s Fionna Hughes was a runaway winner, crossing the line nearly two minutes ahead of the chase pack in 10:59.96.
