Athletes to Watch: Ellie Lawler, South Kingstown

ELLIE LAWLER

If there is anyone that is peaking at just the right time, it's this Rebel sophomore. Just a week after dipping under the 18-minute barrier for the first time at the Skee Carter (Bronco) Invitational, Ellie did it again at the class meet this past Saturday. Both times her effort equated to a victory at the end. Ellie goes into the State Meet as one of the favorites, along with La Salle's Eliza Rego. She beat the Ram senior at the Class A meet with her time of 17:50. Ellie is not afraid to take charge from the start, so expect her to be one of the front-runners at this weekend's meet. With clear skies and the temperature in the low 50s for Sunday's race, expect fast times. With the quality of the field, we're guessing a sub 17:40 effort will be needed to win the race. The South Kingstown standout, who was third at last year's states and was also fourth at the Nike Cross Northeast Regionals, is certainly capable of running that fast.