It’s now on to the granddaddy of them all.
This past weekend’s Hendricken and Mount Pleasant Invitationals served as the final stop before the state’s top athletes square off at Brown Stadium for Saturday’s RIIL State Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Like the meets that preceded it, this one promises to be electrifying, with both team titles up for grabs and fierce competition expected across all 19 events.
Throughout the week, Ocean State Running will keep you in championship mode with previews of Saturday’s meet.
***
If the final qualifiers were any indication, Saturday’s State Championships should be memorable.
Just as we expected, La Salle Academy and East Providence produced a thriller in the 4×400-meter relay at the Hawk Invite. A week after the Townies claimed the Class A title, the state-leading Rams got the best of their rival, winning the crown by a mere 0.28 seconds with a season best of 3:19.93.
Defending state titlist Caleb Satisfield of Barrington moved to No. 1 in the rankings for the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 8 inches.
Mere inches separated the top two finishers in the hammer throw as Hendricken’s Dimitri Johnson held off East Greenwich’s Ryan Evans, 230-3 to 230-0. Both athletes achieved personal bests and moved to No. 2 and No. 3 nationally.
The girls’ 800m at Mount Pleasant turned into one of the best races collectively we’ve seen in quite some time. Seven in this race broke 2:20! The top five were separated by less than a second with La Salle’s Alyssa Parenteau emerging the victor with a PR of 2:15.21. She was followed by Pilgrim’s Aubrey Jarvis (second, 2:15.52), North Kingstown’s Maura Whitney (third, 2:15.72) and La Salle teammates Layne Stevens (fourth, 2:15.89) and Caroline Terlato (fifth, 2:16.18).
The girls; hammer throw featured three athletes beyond 170 feet. North Kingstown’s Tayla Schneider captured the title with a heave of 177-4. Cece Bizon of Ponaganset was second at 175-4, with Classical’s Nelmarix Santos Mojica in third with a distance of 173-10.
CC Ludwig of Cumberland won the 3K in 10:39.44, a time that ranks No. 7 in the state. The Clipper sophomore, who won the cross-country state title this past fall, appears to be peaking at just the right time. A week earlier, she had a nine-second best of 4:42.48 for the 1,500m at the Class A Championships.
MOUNT PLEASANT INVITATIONAL – RESULTS
BISHOP HENDRICKEN INVITATIONAL RESULTS
STATE MEET TIME SCHEDULE
11:00 a.m. – Girls Hammer (Boys followed by Girls except HH and 100 Trials)
11:10 a.m. – Girls Pole Vault
12:15 p.m. – 4x800m Relay
11:15 a.m. – Girls’ Long Jump
12:40 p.m. – 4x100m Relay
11:20 a.m. – Boys Long Jump
1:05 p.m. -1500m – Unseeded Sections
11:25 a.m. – Boys Javelin
12:15 p.m. – Boys High Jump
100m Trials – Girls followed by Boys
12:30 p.m. – Girls Shot Put
12:35 p.m. – Boys Hammer
1:05 p.m. -1500m – Unseeded Sections
1:20 p.m. – HH Trials – Girls followed by Boys
1:45 p.m. – Girls Triple Jump
1:45 p.m. – Girls Triple Jump
100m Finals – Boys followed by Girls
1:50 p.m. – Boys Triple Jump
2:00 p.m. -1,500m – Seeded Sections
2:00 p.m. – Boys Pole Vault
2:05 p.m. – Boys Shot Put
2:10 p.m. – Girls Discus
2:20 p.m. – HH Finals – Boys followed by Girlss
2:35 p.m. – 400m – Sections
2:45 p.m. – Girls High Jump
3:00 p.m. – 300m Hurdles – Sections
3:15 PM Girls Javelin
3:25 p.m. – 800m – Sections
3:45 p.m. – 3,000m– Boys
3:45 p.m. – Boys Discus
4:00 p.m. – 200m – Sections
4:20 p.m. – 3,000m– Girls
4:35 p.m. – 4x400m Relay
