Picking the M-F Athletic male and female Athlete of the Week was not an easy task this past week. With six class meets taking place on Saturday, there were several suitable candidates that performed at their best.
Barrington senior Charlie Ionata, who was selected as the top male in the inaugural week of this feature, had a day to remember in the Class B meet with three victories (shot put, hammer, javelin) and a runner-up effort (discus) in the field events, all of which were personal-best performances. There was also Exeter/West Greenwich senior Zack Hurd, another previous winner, who won the ‘B’ meet with a four-foot PB in the javelin of 194 feet, 3 inches. In Class A, senior Trevor Crawley could have been chosen after his decisive victory in the 3,000-meter run where the defending outdoor champion was timed in 8 minutes, 49.9 seconds.
The girls’ competition had a double-winning effort from Westerly junior Jackie Burr in the 1,500 (4:49.7) and the 3,000 (10:26.9) in Class B that should not go unnoticed. There’s also the two victories by previous winner, Hope sophomore Quashira McIntosh, in the 100 (11.9) and the 200 (24.4) that certainly was commendable. The list is endless how many more that could have been selected during a fantastic day of class meet competition.
After a lot of hemming and hawing, this week’s choices are Chariho Regional senior Bryce Kelley and Exeter/West Greenwich junior Victoria Ebert. MileSplit RI congratulates this truly worthy tandem.
Kelley, who has mastered the middle distance events the last few years, showed his mettle at the Class A meet. The defending outdoor state titlist in the 1,500 and the 800 captured both of his specialties on the Tucker Field oval. He ignored a stiff challenge from La Salle sophomore Dan Paiva in the 1,500 with a season-best of 3:59.9. He came back about an hour later to breeze to a win in the 800 with a time of 1:58.3, another SB.
Ebert, the state’s leading shot-putter and two-time indoor champion, had her best throw of the season at the Class C meet with a first-place toss of 38-0.25. Just a week earlier, she won the Southern Division Championship at 38-0. Ebert also copped the discus at the class meet with a distance of 109-05, just three feet from her PB. She was also third in the hammer with a quality heave of 138-08.