RIIL state championship girls' preview

With their outstanding depth, the La Salle Academy girls look primed for the ‘four-peat’ at Saturday’s state championship. But as anyone knows, anything can happen on track & field’s biggest stage. Will a new team take home the team plaque? Time will only tell.

Here’s a preview of the top athletes in each event:

100, 200, 400

In last year’s outdoor state meet, a gifted ninth-grader took advantage of the absence of multiple all-stater and injured teammate Royal Cheatham by placing first in the 100-meter dash and 200 and running a leg on the winning 4x100 relay. Since she burst onto the scene, Hope sophomore Quashira McIntosh has not slowed down. She was a double-winner at the indoor states (55, 300) and appears well on her way to winning two more individual titles.  Her best this season in the 100 is 11.9 seconds, four-tenths of a second ahead of Mount St. Charles senior Rita Donahue (12.3) and Coventry sophomore Kathleen Cronin, who have both run 12.3.

McIntosh is more than second faster than Cronin in the 200 with her 24.4 clocking, a time she recorded when she captured the Class B title a few weeks ago. The Hope standout is the Central Division winner in the 100 and 200 and also had success in the Big Apple by taking the 100 and finishing as a runner-up in the 200 at the New York Relays on Randall Island.

Bay View Academy senior Erica Johnson, who made history this indoor season when she captured her fourth straight 600 crown, will be looking to win her second 400 title. She copped the 400 as a sophomore and was a runner-up as a ninth grader and in 2012. No surprise, Johnson is No. 1 in the state in her specialty this spring with a 57.4 clocking, a time she ran to win the Class B meet.  She is also the Eastern Division champion.

Barrington junior Abby Livingston (58.0), La Salle junior Amanda Joyal (59.5), Classical senior Oluwadara Falaye (59.5) and Prout senior Karly Gregory (59.5) have all broken a minute this season and should finish high.

800, 1,500, 3,000

It will be interesting what transpires in these three events with a number of different scenarios that could play out on the oval.

Although she has run some of the top times in the state, Classical junior Maddy Berkson has not had a typical year by her standards. She’s ranked No. 3 in the 1,500 with a 4:43.3, 16 seconds slower than her state record set at last year’s outdoor championship. She is seventh on the list in the 800 with a 2:17.7 season best, 11 seconds slower than her fantastic state mark of 2:06 at the New Balance National Indoor Championship. Berkson commented a few weeks ago that fatigue from a grueling indoor season and a heavy workload in the classroom have been somewhat of a factor.

My guess is Berkson will be back to her old self by the state meet. She demonstrated that at the Class A Championship where she ran her 4:43 and 2:17. She skipped the Mount Pleasant invitational this past week to rest some tired legs, a good decision. Again, I’m thinking she will be ready, but it won’t be easy. Even though the competition is relatively the same as she faced during the indoor season, where she was a triple-winner (1,000, 1,500, 3,000), it has gotten better.

La Salle sophomore Sheridan Wilbur has been on fire this spring. She owns the fastest time in the 1,500 with a 4:39.2, just a tick away from freshman teammate Eliza Rego (4:39.4). Wilbur, who placed second to Berkson in the 1,500 at the indoor states, has developed a stronger kick this past season. It something she utilized to hold off her Classical rival to win the class meet. Wilbur also ran a best of 2:14.2 for the 800, No. 2 among Rhode Islanders, this past Sunday to capture the race at the Mount Pleasant Invitational and has run the fastest 3,000 with a 10:12.1.

The 1,500 could be a similar to the indoor states where Berkson, Rego and Wilbur broke from the pack early and turned it into a three-person race. North Kingstown senior Aisha McAdams (4:45.6), who missed the indoor season due to a stress fracture, could also figure in the mix as well as Westerly junior Jackie Burr (4:45.7). The Eagles’ Livingston will be looking to steal the show in the 800. She ranks No. 1 in the event after running 2:13.3 to win the Cumberland Invitational.

Barrington freshman Emma McMillan, the cross-country state champion, could add the outdoor 3K title to her young resume. She'll have the freshest legs among her top competitors and has run an impressive 10:17 for the distance. Rego, who also has run 10:17, and Wilbur are in the field, too. Both are scheduled to also run the 800 and the 1,500.

Hurdle events

After winning back-to-back titles in the 55 hurdles at the indoor state meet, North Kingstown senior Maria Bolibruch is hoping to capture her first outdoor crown. Bolibruch looks ready to make it to the top of the podium. She has won all the major meets and has run faster than 15 seconds on a number of occasions, including her PB and meet record of 14.5 at the Class A meet. Bolibruch will be facing some strong competitors, including Cumberland senior Breigh Souliere, who was twice a runner-up to the N.K. runner at the indoor states. There’s also Classical junior Alicia Holloway (15.0), last year’s winner Angela Ragosta of Smithfield (15.3) and Mount St. Charles senior Cassie Roberge (15.3).

In the 300 hurdles, Mount senior Rita Donahoe and 2012 champion Shenelle Teixeira of Barrington have both broken 47 seconds with times of 46.2 and 46.8, respectively. Shea senior Ailine Vega (47.0) and Classical’s Holloway (47.1) should also pose a challenge.

Jumping events

Like the indoor state meet, the high jump has potential to finish in a jump-off with multiple athletes battling for the top prize. Woonsocket senior Kaylyn Pitts, the 2009 champion and recent indoor titlist, is tied with two other athletes at 5-3 for the No. 1 seed, Central Falls senior Tiffany Jenkins and Ponaganset’s Sierra Smith. Pitts and Jenkins faced each other in a jump-off during the indoor states with both clearing 5-4.

The Mounties’ Roberge owns the top seed in the long and triple jumps. In the horizontal leap, she has done 17-5.5. That’s slightly ahead Prout’s Gregory, last year’s champion, and Pilgrim junior Rebecca O’Donnell, who have both leaped 17-4.5 this season. Roberge, who has potential to score quite a few points on Saturday, had her PR of 37-1.5 in the triple jump at the Cumberland Invitational. The Villa Novans’ Pitts, the defending champion, had a season best of 36-2 in a winning effort at the Rick Schomp Invitational. Smithfield sophomore Stephanie Mattson (35-7) and the Sentinels’ Ragosta (35-3.25) are also capable a sneaking in a top finish.

Exeter/West Greenwich junior Morgan Hart, a state runner-up at last year’s meet, is the top-ranked pole-vaulter with her season best of 10-6 at the Cumberland Invitational earlier this spring. She also won the Class C Championship (10-0) and the Southern Division Championship (9-7).  Lincoln senior Taylor Flaxington (10-4) and Classical junior Bianca Donaldo (10-3) look as though they’ll be Hart’s biggest threats.

Weight events

This past Sunday, Classical senior Marthaline Cooper unleashed the hammer a nation-best distance of 173-3 at the Mount Pleasant Invitational. After earning her first state title during the indoor season with a win in the 20-pound weight, Cooper appears ready for more gold in her final R.I. meet as a high-schooler. The Classical standout has been peaking the last few weeks with three other throws further than her closest rival, Narragansett junior Leia Mistowski (160-08). Cooper won the Schomp meet (161-7), Central Division Championship (160-11) and Class A Championship (168-4).

The shot put has potential to be a close affair with Exeter/West Greenwich junior Victoria Ebert leading the coup with her state-leading best of 38-00.50, a distance she tossed to win the Class C Championship. Ebert, who has won the last two indoor titles, also placed first at the Southern Division Championship (38-0) and the Cumberland Invitational (36-11.75).

Ebert’s biggest challenge could come from Cumberland senior Kendra Plant, who won the recent Mount Pleasant Invitational with the second-best distance in the state (37-3.25). Pilgrim senior Destinee Barrette is third on the list with her 36-6.5 effort.

Bay View senior Hannah Lee is No. 1 in the javelin with her best of 122-6. Her closest rivals are La Salle junior Jacqueline Esmay and West Warwick senior Mackenzie Ramsay, who have throws of 112-03 and 112-02, respectively, this season. The next three competitors – North Kingstown’s Paige Olausen (111-7) and the Ponaganset duo of Aishwarya Nambiar (111-4) and Taylor Stevens (110-9) – are less than a foot apart.

Alva Hicks, a sophomore from Classical, is favored for prosperity in the discus with her best of 136-03. Hicks recently won the Mount Pleasant Invitational with a distance of 132-03. The Mariners’ Mistowski (114-06) and Ebert (112-11) should also finish among the top three.

Relays

La Salle should have no problem winning the 4x800 relay. The Rams, who placed sixth at the New Balance National Indoor Championships this past winter, have run a best of 9:38.3. Four other teams have dipped under 10 minutes – South Kingstown (9:51.0), Westerly (9:52.2), Cumberland (9:56.0) and Coventry (9:58.0).

It looks like it will be a tight race in the 4x100 with Hope (49.9), La Salle (50.2), Cranston West (50.2) and East Greenwich (50.8) among the possible contenders.

Classical and La Salle, two teams that may be fighting for the championship at the end, could be neck-and-neck in the 4x400. The Purple have the top time at 4:05.1 and the Rams are No. 2 with a time of 4:05.7.