The indoor track season officially kicked off this week with schools allowed to begin their first practices on Monday. Throughout the next week,MileSplit RI will preview the top returning athletes for the upcoming season based on last year’s results.
This segment - the 55-meter hurdles, the high jump and the long jump.
55-meter hurdles - boys
In last year’s state meet, runner-up Classical got a little more than a third of its 65 points in this event. Good chance it will come close to its 22-point total from 2013. The Purple’s Abdul-lateff Orulebaja is back to defend his title. Last year the junior had the state’s fastest time at 8.0 seconds. He edged graduating teammate Robert Raposa at the states with an 8.1 effort. Orulebaja will be joined by fellow classmate Cristian Pichardo, who was fourth last year and then finished second during the outdoor season in the 110 hurdles. Senior Aljenis Candelier was also in the indoor finals in 2013, placing eighth overall. A few hurdlers that could break up Classical’s party are Chariho senior Maxwell Leatham (third, 8.16), Hope senior Dave Balony (sixth, 8.41) and West Warwick senior Jonathan Menard (eighth, 8.56) to name a few.
| Rank | Time | Athlete Name | Team | C/O | Date | Meet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8.00 | Abdul-lateff Orulebaja | Classical High School | 2014 | 02/01/2013 | Metropolitan Division Championship | |
| 2. | 8.10 | Aljenis Candlier | Classical High School | 2014 | 02/01/2013 | Metropolitan Division Championship | |
| 3. | 8.10 | Maxwell Leathem | Chariho Regional High School | 2014 | 02/13/2013 | RIIL Boys' Class Championships | |
| 4. | 8.10p | John Brapoh | Mount Pleasant High School | 2014 | 02/13/2013 | RIIL Boys' Class Championships | |
| 5. | 8.13 | Cristian Pichardo | Classical High School | 2015 | 12/29/2012 | Rhode Island Classic | |
| 6. | 8.20p | Johnathon Menard | West Warwick High School | 2014 | 02/13/2013 | RIIL Boys' Class Championships | |
| 7. | 8.30 | Aljenis Candelier | Cranston West HS-RI | 2014 | 12/10/2012 | Boys Metropolitan Division Meet 1 | |
| 8. | 8.34h | Ben Stewart | North Kingstown High School | 2014 | 12/22/2012 | RITCA Invitational | |
| 9. | 8.40 | Tyler Levesque | North Kingstown High School | 2014 | 01/04/2013 | Southern Division Meet 3 | |
| 10. | 8.40 | Dave Belony | Hope High School | 2014 | 02/13/2013 | RIIL Boys' Class Championships | |
There’s no surprise here. The overwhelming favorite is multiple-state champion Maria Bolibruch of North Kingstown. The Skipper senior will be looking for her third straight title this season. She won last year’s event with an 8.41 clocking, .25 ahead of Cumberland’s Breigh Souliere, who graduated this past June. Classical junior Alicia Holloway (fourth, 8.8) and sophomore Erica Pena of Toll Gate (sixth, 9.19), had podium finishes last year and are back again. La Salle junior Mary Ernster, who was seventh in the finals, should also fare well.
High jump - boys
At last year’s state meet, Central Fall’s Erik Mateo won a tight three-way battle with Coventry’s Lawrence Warwick and Chariho’s Kyle Kirby to take the individual title with a leap of 6 feet, 2 inches, a height matched by Warwick and Kirby. Warwick has graduated, but Kirby is back to battle his CF rival. The two seniors should have plenty of company. Junior Ben Murphy of Hendricken, third in 2013 at 6-0, is returning. There are also seniors Nicholas Barzaghi of North Kingstown and Anthony Pasquarelli of Mount St. Charles, who both tied for seventh at the states at 6-0.
| Rank | Mark | Athlete Name | Team | C/O | Date | Meet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6-2 | Erik Mateo | Central Falls Senior High School | 2014 | 01/30/2013 | Northern Division Championship | |
| 2. | 6-2 | Kyle Kirby | Chariho Regional High School | 2014 | 02/16/2013 | Rhode Island State Indoor Championship | |
| 3. | 6-0 | Anthony Pasquarelli | Mount Saint Charles Academy | 2014 | 12/22/2012 | RITCA Invitational | |
| 4. | 6-0 | Ben Murphy | Bishop Hendricken High School | 2015 | 01/11/2013 | Dartmouth Relays | |
| 5. | 6-0 | Nick Barzaghi | North Kingstown High School | 2014 | 02/16/2013 | Rhode Island State Indoor Championship | |
| 6. | 5-10 | Devin Johnson | Rogers | 2014 | 12/19/2012 | Southern Division Dual Meet 2 | |
| 7. | 5-10 | Ben Lee | North Kingstown High School | 2014 | 12/22/2012 | RITCA Invitational | |
| 8. | 5-10 | Kyle Sayre | North Kingstown High School | 2014 | 02/13/2013 | RIIL Boys' Class Championships | |
| 9. | 5-10 | Abdul-lateff Orulebaja | Classical High School | 2014 | 02/13/2013 | RIIL Boys' Class Championships | |
| 10. | 5-8 | Jamel Dixon | Rogers | 2016 | 12/22/2012 | RITCA Invitational | |
High jump - girls
The top three finishers at the state meet are gone to graduation, but the next three will be back – juniors Melanie Brunelle of Pilgrim, Carly Timpson of Narragansett and Erika Pena of Toll Gate, who tied Ponaganset’s Taylor Stevens for sixth. La Salle junior Mary Enster has done 5-2, a leap matched by Brunelle. Right now this is an event that is wide open. There is no athlete that particularly sticks out with an abundance of leapers that have registered heights in the 4-10 to 5-2 range. That could all change in the next few months.
| Rank | Mark | Athlete Name | Team | C/O | Date | Meet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5-2 | Mary Ernster | La Salle Academy | 2015 | 12/22/2012 | RITCA Invitational | |
| 2. | 5-2 | Melani Brunelle | Pilgrim High School | 2015 | 12/22/2012 | RITCA Invitational | |
| 3. | 5-0 | Carly Timpson | Narragansett High School | 2015 | 02/16/2013 | Rhode Island State Indoor Championship | |
| 4. | 4-10 | Erika Pena | Toll Gate High School | 2015 | 12/22/2012 | RITCA Invitational | |
| 5. | 4-8 | M Frechette-thibeault | Toll Gate High School | 2014 | 12/22/2012 | RITCA Invitational | |
| 6. | 4-8 | Chyean Robinson | Westerly High School | 2016 | 01/19/2013 | East Coast HS TF Invitational | |
| 7. | 4-8 | Arianna Cohen | Moses Brown School | 2014 | 01/26/2013 | Headley-Sullivan | |
| 8. | 4-8 | Emily Pagliarini | Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School | 2015 | 01/26/2013 | Headley-Sullivan | |
| 9. | 4-8 | Anya Bornstein | La Salle Academy | 2016 | 01/26/2013 | Headley-Sullivan | |
| 10. | 4-8 | Kayla Maria | Classical High School | 2014 | 01/26/2013 | Headley-Sullivan | |
Long jump - boys
Hendricken’s Lee Moses solidified the state crown for the Hawks last year by capturing this event with a personal-best distance of 22 feet, 2.25 inches. In all, ten athletes leaped further than 20 feet at the states last February, including Classical’s Abdul-lateff Orulebaja, senior Aljenis Candelier and junior Cristian Pichardo as well as Hope senior David Balony and Narragansett senior Vincent Santos. Moses, a versatile athlete who also excels in the sprints, will be tough to beat if he can match last year’s effort.
Long jump - girls
Pilgrim senior Rebecca O’Donnell will be aiming to defend her title. She won last year’s event by just 2.5 inches over Prout’s Karly Gregory with a leap of 17-10. Gregory and third-place finisher Cassie Roberge of Mount St. Charles have graduated. O’Donnell is the only returning athlete who has done better than 17 feet, except for Hope's Quashira McIntosh (17-5.25), who did not compete at the state meet to concentrate on the sprints. McIntosh will more than likely do the same this year, too. La Salle senior Kaitlin Walsh, fifth last year, and Ram junior Mary Ernster, sixth in 2013, are back. Both have best in the high 16-foot range.