In a meet that came down to the final event on the track, Bishop Hendricken won its 27th team title at Saturday's RI State Championships. The Hawks held off speedy Central by a score of 81-75. Defending titlist La Salle Academy was third with 69 points.
The La Salle girls also had to withstand a gritty battle to win their state title inside the Providence Career and Technical Academy field house, defeating runner-up Portsmouth, 59-53.5
Finishing off his final indoor season on R.I. soil, La Salle's DJ Principe collected 30 points individually by breaking the tape in the 3,000-meter run, 1,500m and the 1K. Principe also ran a 1:57 leg on the Rams' third-place 4x800m squad.
On the girls' side, Portsmouth's Nikki Merrill matched Principe's superlative effort by winning the 1,500, 1,000m and the 600m. She also anchored her squad's first-place 4x800 team.
Girls Highlights
- 1,000 Meter Run - Nikki Merrill (Portsmouth High School) 3:00.39; Emily Kane (La Salle Academy) 3:00.97; Elizabeth Sullivan (Portsmouth High School) 3:02.66; Randi Burr (Westerly High School) 3:07.40; Alyson Walsh (La Salle Academy) 3:08.09;
- 1,500 Meter Run - Nikki Merrill (Portsmouth High School) 4:42.76; Randi Burr (Westerly High School) 4:43.26; Elizabeth Sullivan (Portsmouth High School) 4:46.06; Emily Kane (La Salle Academy) 4:49.71; Grace Connolly (La Salle Academy) 4:52.84; Kate Zitzmann (Barrington High School) 5:00.61; Shayna Cousineau (Cranston East High School) 5:06.96;
- 3,000 Meter Run - Grace Connolly (La Salle Academy) 10:05.42; Eleanor Lawler (South Kingstown High School) 10:08.21; Emily Kane (La Salle Academy) 10:16.00; Lily Nunnery (North Kingstown High School) 10:33.44; Shayna Cousineau (Cranston East High School) 10:35.39; Sydney Bagus (Smithfield Senior High School) 10:57.02; Olive Allen (Portsmouth High School) 10:57.67;
- 300 Meter Dash - Marybeth Fitzsimmons (Moses Brown School) 41.01; Laura Murphy (East Greenwich High School) 41.33; Isabella Gentil (East Greenwich High School) 41.41; Rachel Mens (Central High School) 43.10;
- 4x200 Meter Relay - East Greenwich High School 1:47.10; Central High School 1:47.72; Westerly High School 1:48.68; West Warwick High School 1:48.82;
- 4x400 Meter Relay - Westerly High School 4:10.65;
- 4x800 Meter Relay - Portsmouth High School 9:41.96; La Salle Academy 9:46.57; North Kingstown High School 9:51.53; Westerly High School 10:00.04;
- 55 Meter Dash - Marybeth Fitzsimmons (Moses Brown School) 7.37;
- 600 Meter Run - Nikki Merrill (Portsmouth High School) 1:38.26; Aliya Barrows (St Mary Academy-Bay View High School) 1:39.64; Meghann Maguire (North Kingstown High School) 1:39.68; Lisbeth Valdez (Hope High School) 1:40.86; Leinni Valdez (Hope High School) 1:40.90; Téa Bishop (Barrington High School) 1:41.68; Bridget Mckierman (Classical High School) 1:42.68;
- Weight Throw - Gianna Rao (Ponaganset High School) 60-2; Chelsea Yang (Pilgrim High School) 54-11; Keyarsa Harris (Central High School) 51-6.5; Molly Botts (Cranston East High School) 50-6; Joangely Mata (Mount Pleasant High School) 49-11; Samantha Andrews (Lincoln High School) 48-7; Annika Kelly (Barrington High School) 47-9; Sydney Polando (Barrington High School) 47-8.5; Ani Armenakyan (Toll Gate High School) 46-4.75; Tenin Traore (Mount Pleasant High School) 45-8.5; Maggie Tarmey (Lincoln High School) 45-6.75; Takiyah Lewis (Central High School) 44-3.5; Megan Cook (Ponaganset High School) 44-2.5; Jasmine Gallo-fusco (Toll Gate High School) 43-3.5; Faith Polando (Barrington High School) 42-6.5; Ajahnea Greene (Rogers) 41-2.5; Nicole Valdez (Hope High School) 39-10; Melissa Mejia (Classical High School) 39-2.25;
Boys Highlights
- 1,000 Meter Run - David Principe Jr. (La Salle Academy) 2:29.44; Mars Bishop (Barrington High School) 2:34.06; Elijah Akindolie (Hope High School) 2:35.61; Jack Perreault (North Kingstown High School) 2:38.42; Matthew Walker (Westerly High School) 2:38.67; Jordan Dagrin (Bishop Hendricken High School) 2:39.27;
- 1,500 Meter Run - David Principe Jr. (La Salle Academy) 4:00.15; Mars Bishop (Barrington High School) 4:02.86; Joseph Dos Reis (La Salle Academy) 4:05.95; Kyle Keefe (Chariho Regional High School) 4:08.19; Jordan Dagrin (Bishop Hendricken High School) 4:09.29;
- 3,000 Meter Run - David Principe Jr. (La Salle Academy) 8:46.84; Benjamin Drezek (Cumberland) 8:51.92; Matthew Walker (Westerly High School) 9:00.68; Max Dimuccio (La Salle Academy) 9:06.06;
- 300 Meter Dash - Donatien Djero (Central High School) 35.02; Dametrius Oconnor (Central High School) 35.35; Austin Wolo (Central High School) 35.47; Sam Coleman (La Salle Academy) 36.12;
- 4x200 Meter Relay - Central High School 1:30.19; Bishop Hendricken High School 1:32.51; La Salle Academy 1:33.03;
- 4x400 Meter Relay - Central High School 3:29.28; Bishop Hendricken High School 3:31.30;
- 4x800 Meter Relay - Bishop Hendricken High School 8:02.63; North Kingstown High School 8:05.36; La Salle Academy 8:05.72; East Greenwich High School 8:17.67; Chariho Regional High School 8:20.38;
- 55 Meter Hurdles - Chris Choquette (Cumberland) 7.73; Ethan Famiano (Bishop Hendricken High School) 7.73;
- 55 Meter Dash - Donatien Djero (Central High School) 6.40; Sam Coleman (La Salle Academy) 6.45; Sam Coleman (La Salle Academy) 6.40; Leonardo Daveiga (Central Falls Senior High School) 6.59; Austin Wolo (Central High School) 6.58; Donatien Djero (Central High School) 6.51; Leonardo Daveiga (Central Falls Senior High School) 6.60; Dametrius Oconnor (Central High School) 6.62;
- 600 Meter Run - Cebastian Gentil (East Greenwich High School) 1:22.79; Natham Coogan (North Providence) 1:23.12; Harry Antone (Bishop Hendricken High School) 1:23.60; Nikolas Reygadas (Toll Gate High School) 1:25.56; Adilson Gomes-sequeira (Central Falls Senior High School) 1:25.66; Liam Skelly (North Kingstown High School) 1:25.90; Robert Merlino (Bishop Hendricken High School) 1:26.07; Ethan Shea (Portsmouth High School) 1:26.10;
- Weight Throw - Jared Briere (Woonsocket High School) 70-1.5; Jacob Greenless (Woonsocket High School) 67-9; Dilyn Cote (Woonsocket High School) 65-5; Ivan Goretoy (West Warwick High School) 63-3; Matthew Thibaudeau (Lincoln High School) 62-10; Kevin Fofanah (Classical High School) 62-5.25; Garrett Doyle (Lincoln High School) 62-2.25; Abraham Salako (Bishop Hendricken High School) 60-11.25; Zeke Cohen (Classical High School) 60-10.25; Jacob Farland (Classical High School) 60-0.75; Nicholas Caulfield (Cumberland) 59-1.75; Rondie Almeida (Bishop Hendricken High School) 59-1.25; Evan Grivers (Lincoln High School) 58-2; Jack Dunn (Barrington High School) 56-0; Jason Hoskins (Coventry High School) 55-4.5; Ryan Morel (Bishop Hendricken High School) 55-2;