By BRENDAN McGAIR
Special to Ocean State Running
The wait was worth it.
Once it was decreed that the St. Raphael girls were the Class C champs, a feat that ended Moses Brown’s six-year run, the focus shifted to see if the SRA boys would also be the recipients of the team hardware handed out at Exeter/West Greenwich High School on Saturday afternoon.
The boys’ javelin was still taking place, hence the need for patience. Eventually, the results from the day’s final event filtered in, and once again, everything came up purple and gold for head coach Chris Magill and his group of determined competitors.
For the first time since 1993, the Saints basked in the glow of the boys and girls winning their respective outdoor track & field class meets. The sight of the current batch of athletes representing Walcott Street taking a well-deserved victory lap around the EWG track was a fitting capper to a day that saw the program’s top-tier performers come through in a major way, while others seized the moment when their time was afoot.
As Magill noted, the margin of victory produced by the Saints spoke to the all-around effort they displayed. With 135 points, the SRA boys proved nine points better than Moses Brown. With 132 points, the St. Raphael girls proved to be seven points in the clear of the Quakers.
“When you win by less than 10 points, there are a lot of unknowns who stepped up. You grab a seventh- or eighth-place, and those add up,” said Magill.
A race that put Magill’s belief to the test came in the boys’ 1,500m. Senior teammates Arthur Ferris (4:14.16) and Joey McFarland (4:14.86) finished 1-2, meaning the Saints pocketed 18 points towards the all-important team standings. Magill pointed out that St. Raphael grabbed 21 points in the same event after freshman Myles MacPhee grabbed sixth (4:23.86).
“We knew both meets were going to be close and that we would need a total team effort,” said Magill.
With over 5,000 meters to cover over three races, the importance of going out at a steady pace before making a move was the prescribed strategy for St. Raphael junior Mackenzie Lickert. The long-distance specialist survived a pair of challenges en route to winning the girls’ 1,500 (4:49.75) and 800 (2:22.97) before running away from the field in her third individual event of the meet, the 3K (10:41.73).
“We had to conserve as best as possible against very good competition,” said Magill, whose buzz phrase for Lickert was “race tactics.”
“I just had to take one event at a time and one lap at a time and just do it for the team, knowing that I was running for something bigger than myself,” said Lickert, who still had some energy to burn and put it to good use as the opening leg of the girls’ 4×400 relay – the final event of the meet.
All told, Lickert contributed 32 points to SRA’s cause. She teamed up with three sophomores – Alexa Fernandez, Jazzmyne Towah, and Gianna Pires-Duarte – to produce a second-place finish in 4:31.55. With senior All-Stater Skyer Maxwell running the final lap for her team, Moses Brown won the 4×400 in 4:12.95.
“It was about giving every ounce of energy that I had left. It was critical that we showed out, and I’m glad we got the job done,” said Lickert. “The girls work so hard, and we did it for each other.”
St. Raphael’s other top point getter was sophomore Francesca Justin. With a Class C title in the 100m (12.43) already tucked in her back pocket, the speedster made it a clean sweep of the sprints and did so in impressive fashion when she edged out the Boston University-bound Maxwell in the 200m. Justin clocked in at 24.98 seconds, with Maxwell not too far off at 25.15.
“It was really important that I ran fast and got as many points as I could to help the team,” said Justin.
On winning the 200, Justin said, “It took a lot of pushing and pulling my arms as I came through the finish line.”
Ferris was the only SRA male to win gold on Saturday. He was also part of the 4×400 relay that helped put a bow on the program’s fifth Class C title in six years. Ferris joined forces with Noah Rivas, Ali Thompson and Elias Wilson to earn silver-medal status in 3:38.62.
Moses Brown’s Walker Brown was a double-gold individual winner in the boys’ 100 (11.14) and 200 (22.86), while Maxwell was pushed in the girls’ 400 but ultimately prevailed (56.56).
Individually, no Class C athlete enjoyed a more banner day than Exeter/West Greenwich senior Nini Olawuyi. Competing in her final meet at her home course, the URI-bound Olawuyi took home gold medals in all four events she entered: 100 hurdles (15.36), high jump (5-1), long jump (17-6.25), and triple jump (37-10.5).
“With every event, I just try to stay focused. Sometimes, I switch between events, but it’s about staying grounded with what I’m doing in the current moment,” said Olawuyi.
