A few days after the Fourth Of July festivities, a couple of Rhode Island athletes will be trying to make some fireworks of their own this weekend.
Recent New Balance Nationals champions Sophia Gorriaran of Moses Brown and Lincoln’s Christian Toro are among the elite entries competing at the USATF U20 Championships which are being held simultaneously with the USATF Toyota Outdoor Championships from Thursday to Sunday at historic Hayward Field in Oregon.
The Harvard-bound Gorriaran is scheduled for the 800-meter run and the 1,500m. The Quaker grad, who captured the 800m at NBN, owns an all-time best of 2 minutes, 0.58 seconds. She has a season outdoor best of 2:04.09 from TrackNight NYC on May 19. The preliminary round is Friday at 5:30 p.m. EST. The finals are on Saturday at 7 p.m. EST. The 1,500m will just have a final, which is slated for Sunday at 5:01 p.m. EST. Gorriaran clocked her PR of 4:41.98 at New Balance.
Just a few weeks removed from his first national title, Toro will be locking horns with some of the best hammer throwers in the country at U20s. The Duke signee has won his last three meets with victories at the State Meet, New England Championships and NBN. Toro unleashed his all-best of 229 feet, 3 inches at the states. The finals for the hammer are at 8 p.m., EST on Friday. There are no preliminary rounds.
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Former Classical star Maddie Berkson competed in the 1,500m at the USATF Championships on Thursday night. She clocked 4:20.99 in her preliminary heat and did not advance to the finals.
