Smithfield, Narragansett share crown at Cumberland Invitational (updated)

 

CUMBERLAND – Smithfield High coach John Marchand had one primary goal prior to the Cumberland Invitational at Tucker Field. His focus was to get as many of his athletes qualified for the June 1 state meet.

The Sentinels had their share of strong performances in Saturday’s meet and also earned a bonus – a share of the team title. Smithfield had just one individual champion, but had enough key placements to tie with Narragansett with 40 points apiece.

“Honestly, I had no idea we won until (Saturday) night,” Marchand said. “We were just trying to get kids qualified for the state meet. It’s great that things turned out that way, but that’s not what we were focused on.”

Smithfield’s lone victory came from sophomore Stephanie Mattson in the triple jump. Mattson won the event by nearly two feet with a personal best of 35-7, a distance that ranks No. 3 statewide. Pilgrim’s Becky O’Donnell was second at 33-9.50.

“She is one of the best athletes on the team,” said Marchand, while also singling out all-state hurdler Angela Ragosta. “She has had a tremendous season. She is one of our leading point-scorers with over 100 points already. She’s seeded third in the triple jump, somewhere in the top 10 in the long jump (fourth, 16-4.5). She has run 60.9 in the 400. She didn’t get to compete last year because she was injured. I really think you are going to see some more improvement from her. She has had an exceptional year.”

Mattson also placed fourth in the 200 with a time of 27.8 and was third in the long jump with a leap of 16-2. That event was won by Mount St. Charles senior Cassie Roberge at 17-0.25. Roberge also copped the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.0. The gifted Mountie is currently ranked No. 1 in the triple jump (37-1.5), third in the long jump (17-3.5) and sixth in the 100 hurdles (16.0).

“She’s off a lot of coach’s radar,” Marchand said. “She is full of talent.”

The finals of the 100 hurdles were without Ragosta, the defending state champion. Ragosta had the fifth fastest time in the preliminaries, but experienced discomfort in her legs after the race.

“We shut her down,” said Marchand. “She said her shins were sore so we decided to shut her down. We need everyone healthy for (next Saturday’s) class meet.”

Like the Sentinels, Narragansett had just one of their athletes earn an individual title. Junior Leia Mistowski captured the hammer with a toss of 155-7. Mistowski, who was also second in the discus (102-6), was just short of her PB of 160-8, the No. 2 distance in the state.

There were several events that came down to the wire in the five-plus hour meet.

In the javelin, La Salle’s Jackie Esmay won by an inch over Pilgrim’s Taylor Stevens with a winning throw of 110-2. Sierra Cunningham of East Providence edged Cranston West’s Oceana Williams at the line in the 100 with both sprinters recording a time of 12.9. Mount Hope junior Kylie McPherson won a tight race in the 400, crossing the line in 1:00.5. Mount senior Rita Donahoe was second at 1:00.6 and East Greenwich junior Phoebe Ousterhout placed third in 1:00.9.

The top five runners broke 11 minutes in the 3,000 with Coventry sophomore Jessica Bellows beating twin sister Allison by eight tenths of a second with a time of 10:43.4. Ponaganset senior Cassie McGrath was third in 10:49.2.

East Greenwich freshman Maria Nunez moved up to No. 6 in the state by winning the 300 hurdles with a fast time of 48.9. Senior Karly Gregory of the Prout School was first in the 200, running 27.2.

In the 1,500, North Kingstown senior Aisha McAdams continued her stellar season by breaking the tape with a time of 4:49.7. Barrington junior Abby Livingston won the 800 with a 2:20.4 clocking.

Victoria Ebert, the state top shot-putter, won her specialty with a distance of 36-11.75. Cumberland senior Kendra Plant was second at 36-2.5.

Other winners on Saturday were Central Falls’ Tiffany Jenkins in the high jump (5-1), Woonsocket’s Vicky Cooper in the discus (102-11) and Exeter/West Greenwich’s Morgan Hart in the pole vault (10-6). In the relay events, Cranston West copped the 4x100 (50.8), Mount Hope was first in the 4x400 (4:15.7) and Coventry took the 4x800 (9:58.0).

The meet was minus top stars such as La Salle’s Sheridan Wilbur, Bay View’s Erica Johnson and Hope’s Quashira McIntosh, who were competing in the Loucks Games in White Plains, N.Y.

 

Cumberland Invitational -Girls