The state’s best will collide at the PCTA Field House on Saturday for the RIIL Indoor Track & Field Championships. Who are some of the top athletes that will be competing this weekend? Here we feature the girls’ throwing events, which includes the 20-pound weight and the shot.
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WEIGHT THROW
The favorite is defending champion Vanessa Jones of Toll Gate. Since finishing second at the Yale Track Classic, the Titans’ talented senior has been unbeaten in her specialty, highlighted by a season best and nation No. 2 mark of 57 feet, 1 inch from her win at the Millrose Games on Jan. 30. Jones enters Saturday’s meet two weeks removed from capturing the Class A title with a throw of 55-8, her fifth mark over 55 feet in her last five competitions. There’s little doubt she’s carrying a bucket load of confidence into this weekend.
Winning a second straight title, however, will be no cakewalk for the 2025 Nike Indoor National champion. Jones will likely be challenged by Smithfield’s Taylor McGinness, who has shown remarkable consistency throughout the winter. McGinness owns a personal best of 56-10 from her victory at the MSTCA Holiday Challenge on Dec. 27. In her last five meets, she has thrown no less than 55-5.75, a mark she recorded this past Saturday at the Last Chance Qualifier. McGinness finished second to Jones at Millrose and figures to be the biggest threat to the Toll Gate standout.
As is often the case in the throwing events, one big throw can change everything. Sometimes all it takes is a single breakout effort to swing the outcome and produce an upset on a stage like this. Our sleeper pick is The Prout School’s Julia Smith. She has been steady throughout the indoor campaign, never finishing worse than third. She owns an all-time best of 55-4.75. We believe it will take at least a 56-foot effort to take home the crown, and Smith could be right there if she can find that one special throw.
Another athlete to watch is Classical’s Chibuzo Ihenacho, who unleashed a lifetime best of 55-1.5 at Last Chance this past weekend, improving her PR by two feet. Can she carry that momentum into Saturday’s meet?
Other top throwers that could place high on Saturday are Woonsocket’s Avaree Caron (51-1.25), Ponaganset’s Cece Bizon (51-0.75) and Classical’s Nelmarix Santos Mujica (50-6.25).
SHOT
The clear-cut favorite in this event is North Kingstown’s Tayla Schneider. Even if she falters somewhat, we don’t expect the Skipper junior to lose on Saturday. Schneider tossed an all-time best of 43-3.5 in her win at the Class A Championships two weeks ago, an effort that stands more than eight feet ahead of her closest rival. In four of her last five meets, she has eclipsed the 40-foot mark.
The real battle figures to be for the coveted runner-up spot. Less than 16 inches separates the next six seeds. The Sentinels’ McGinness enters as the No. 2 seed with a best of 35-2, while the Villa Novans’ Caron (34-4.75), Prout’s Smith (34-1.75), North Providence’s Jaida Dellamorte-Pitts (34-0), Westerly’s Madison Pellegrino (33-10.5), and Burrillville’s Ellah McCarthy (33-10.25) could all be in the mix for podium positions behind Schneider.
Photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack
