The look on her face said it all.
When she crossed the line of the 1,500-meter run, Alyssa Parenteau placed her hands on each side of her face and just smiled.
All the hard work. All the dedication. The heartache. The injuries and the missed opportunities when she fell short of that illustrious gold medal.
On Saturday morning, the La Salle Academy junior earned what she had so tirelessly fought for, what she so undeniably deserved.
Just as she had all season, Parenteau took control of her specialty early at the RIIL Track & Field Championships. Four minutes, 42.6 seconds later, the Rams’ distance ace crossed the line as champion, exactly as she had scripted.
“This is so huge,” she said. “All the hard work that I’ve done the past three years, I have always ended up falling short. The fact that it’s all come together right now. It just was God’s timing and it was perfect and I feel grateful.”
Finishing right behind Parenteau was senior teammate Olivia Wahlberg with a PR of 4:45.02.
Adding more glory to a day filled with highlights at the PCTA field house, their 1-2 finish and 18 big points were just two of many contributions for La Salle on Saturday. In a meet in where the outcome was decided early, the Rams walked away with a decisive 101-58 victory over second-place North Kingstown. Mount Hope and Moses Brown tied for third.
“We kind of knew coming in here that we had a pretty good team,” said longtime coach Dave Wright. “You never know how it’s going to shake out. The kids worked hard. Great balance throughout all the groups – distance, sprints, some field events. I just can’t say enough about the kids and their efforts. They worked hard. They stayed focused. All our coaches did a great job, they pitched in, they helped out. It was a great team victory.”
Parenteau’s performance was the lone victory for La Salle. The Rams’ depth, and high placements in several events, played an integral role in their dominating victory, first school’s first since the 2021-22 season and 17th overall.
La Salle had runner-up finishes in all three relays, clocking 1:47.69 in the 4x200m, 4:12.68 in the 4x400m and 9:47.80 in the 4x800m. Among other top finishes for the Rams were second-place efforts from Jillian Lewis in the high jump (5 feet, 2 inches) and Parenteau in the 1,000m (3:01.06), along with bronze medals from Sabrina Ghamrawi in the 3,000m (10:43.64) and Layne Stevens in the 600m (1:40.28).
Moses Brown’s Skyler Maxwell was once again at her best against the state’s elite. Maxwell established the only meet record in the girls competition, defending her crown in the 600m with a nearly three-second best of 1:33.69. The Quakers senior was engaged in a tight battle with North Kingstown’s Abigail O’Neil for the first two laps before exploding over the final 200 meters to win by nearly six seconds.
“I had a distinct race plan in mind,” Maxwell said. “My coaches told me to stay on (O’Neil) because it’s really hard to lead a race, especially at the state level. I just tried to stay on her the first two laps and then kick as hard as I can the last lap, and hope I got it.”
The multiple all-stater also contributed her leg speed as the anchor for a pair of triumphant relay squads. The quartet of Maxwell, Kendra Satine, Rose Coutu and Amaya Felder improved their school record and state-leading time in the 4x200m with a 1:44.66 clocking. The foursome of Maxwell, Coutu, Felder and Sophia Mocco were timed in a season-best and state No. 1 of 4:07.81 in the 4x400m.
It was a typical day at the track for Mount Hope’s Thea Jackson, who accumulated 36 individual points. Jackson captured the high jump (5-4), long jump (18-8.75) and the 55m dash (7.18), and was third in the 55m hurdles (8.74). In the long jump, she was less than five inches ahead of Exeter-West Greenwich’s Nini Olawuyi, who was second at 18-4. Six competitors in the field went 17-4.5 or longer.
“I came here seeded first in three of my events, the three that I ended up winning,” she said. “I really wanted to win at least two of the events. Obviously, very happy with three.”
North Kingstown’s Tayla Schneider, the clear-cut favorite in the shot put, won her specialty with ease with a toss of 42-2.25. It was the junior’s fifth straight 40-foot effort and sixth this season. In the pole vault, Ponaganset’s Amber Shaw cleared 11-6 for the sixth time this season.
“It was just staying out of my head and doing what I know how to do best,” Schneider said. “Keeping those positions and just throwing how to throw.”
Adding to the long tradition of standout sprinters and state champions at Hope, senior Zariyah Brown won the 300m with a PR of 40.74. Brown also was second in the 55m dash (7.31) and ran legs on the fourth-place 4x200m (1:49.64) and third-place 4x400m (4:16.01) relays.
Brown became the first Hope runner to win a sprint event at the states since 2014.
“It was a great victory,” she said. “It meant a lot to my team, and to me and my school. Today, it was all about trusting my training and trusting my coach.”
Surprises and upsets? Yes, there were a few.
Cumberland’s Anna Bianchi, a No. 8 seed in the 3,000m, took advantage of a tactical race and emerged victorious with a PR of 10:36.63. Locked in a close contest where 1.04 seconds separated the top four, Bianchi sealed the deal with a final 200m of 33.92. Finishing second was North Kingstown’s Abbie Tighe at 10:39.94.
“I got a race plan from my coach,” Bianchi said. “Going into this, last year I got fifth, so I was kind of hoping to get top three. My coach had all the times laid out for me to PR and hopefully get in that top group. By the time it was the last lap, I felt like I had enough in me to go for the win, and that’s what I did.”
Julia Smith of Prout, a No. 3 seed, pulled off the win in the weight throw. She defeated defending champion Vanessa Jones of Toll Gate and the rest of the field with a career-best 56-6.50. Jones was second at 56-4.25, while Woonsocket’s Avaree Caron placed third at 51-4.
Smith has her eventual winning throw on her third attempt in the prelimaries.
“I struggle a lot with the finish of the throw,” she said. “I felt like it was a good one. I definitely knew it was going to be a big throw and when it landed, I was excited.”
Freshman Meridan Alge of Chariho prevented a double-winning performance by Parenteau in the 1,000m, coming from behind during the final lap to win down the stretch with a time of 3:00.20. Following Parenteau, was Bay View’s Jackie Mattos at 3:01.66.
“I went in thinking that I could possibly win,” she said. ‘Knowing that a lot of girls were doing events before this, I tried to use that to my advantage.”
