(ALL PHOTOS by RAPHAEL BIEBER)
At the conclusion of the Bayha Division Championship, Quashira McIntosh sat down with her teammates on the outside of the track with a bag of ice strapped around her right knee.
Since the beginning of the season, Hope High's multiple all-stater has been battling a slight case of tendinitis. The mild injury has created some discomfort.
“It hurts," she admitted, “but it doesn't hurt to the point that I can't run."
On Saturday, the Blue Wave senior left little doubt her knee problem will
get in her way by continuing her consistency (and dominance) this season in the
sprinting events at the divisional meet, held at the Providence Career
and Technical Academy field house.
McIntosh, the two-time defending state champion in the 55-meter dash and 300 meters, captured her specialties this past weekend by blazing to times of 7.31 seconds and 41.71, respectively. The Hope sprinter also anchored the Blue Wave's state-leading 4x200m (1:45.60) and 4x400m (4:10.40) relay squads.
“Today was a very important meet," she said. “It was a qualification for the states so (head coach) Thom (Spann) just wanted us to go out there and qualify for the states and do our best, obviously."
McIntosh will be testing her mettle against some of the best runners on the east coast this weekend when she competes in the 300m dash at the Armory Track Invitational in New York City. She's currently No. 34 nationally in the event, a ranking she hopes to improve.
"I am really excited for that," said McIntosh, who is ranked 13th in the 55m. "I have been waiting three years to get invited to this meet and I finally have so I'm excited. Hopefully I can run 39 (seconds) low or 38 (seconds) high."
Hope, a squad that has potential to place well at the state meet next month, finished third as a team with 70 points. La Salle won the plaque with 157 points. Cumberland was second with 81 points.
The Blue Wave's Chevell Burgess won a tight race in the 55m hurdles where she was timed in 9.16. She edged Cumberland's Madison Soullier (second, 9.25) and La Salle's Kelsey Coughlin (third, 9.26). Burgess was also fourth in the 300m at 43.08.
Hope also collected 14 points from Whitney Jackson, who was a runner-up in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 1 inch and was third in the long jump with a distance of 16-6.
La Salle earned three individual triumphs in the meet with junior Eliza Rego leading the way by taking the 3,000m and the 1,000m. Senior teammate Sheridan Wilbur earned the other victory by breaking the tape in the 1,500.
In both her wins, Rego took control early and never looked back. She ran consistent 400m splits in the low 80-second range in the 3K where she finished more than 45 seconds ahead of teammate and runner-up Cianna Lynch with a nation No. 4 of 10:08.20. The diminutive junior also dipped under three minutes in the 1K where she was timed in 2:59.40.
Running solo for most of the 16 laps in the 3,000m didn't create too much of a problem for Rego.
“I didn't find it too difficult because I was just trying to hit my splits," she said. “It was a good workout. I felt good…It was a nice surprise in the end getting a time like that."
The Rams' Wilbur essentially ran by herself in the 1,500 where she dominated from gun-to-wire, finishing with a time of 4:47.20. La Salle junior Karina Tavares was second at 4:56.20.
“I didn't really have completion so I was just kind of running against the clock," Wilbur said. “I think it went well. I was just trying to hit my splits. It was definitely a good workout getting ready for the states and the rest of the season."
La Salle scored 22 points in the sprints with senior Stephanie DiTraglia placing second in the 55m dash at 7.40 and third in the 300m in 43.0 and freshman Courtney Caccia taking third in the 55 in 7.69.
Cumberland junior Meaghan Scullin had her typical busy (and productive) day. She won the long jump with a near 18-footer of 17-10.5 and the high jump with a leap of 5-1. She was also second in the 300m (42.74) and ran a leg on the third-place 4x400m squad (4:27.30).
“I wasn't really feeling that well," she said. “My family is pretty sick. I just wanted to do the best that I could."
Woonsocket was a winner in the Dwyer Division, defeating second-place Chariho Regional, 90-71. The Villa Novans' Quinn Harlan, a sophomore, was a triple-winner. She was first in the 55m (7.59) and the 300m (44.73) and also the long jump (16-2.5). Freshman Lailah Insisiengmay took the high jump with a height of 4-6.
The Wheeler School's Lily Foulke was dominant in the 1,500m (5:12.10) and the 1,000m (3:10.30). In both races, she assumed the front-runner position at the start and gradually built a comfortable cushion by the finish.
“It was a good day," she said. “I didn't run the time I wanted in the 1,000, but I felt good. There was no one near me. It was a good race. I felt strong. We all have become friends in the Dwyer Division. We love talking before races. It was a fun day."
East Greenwich copped the Sullivan Division with a 128-95 decision over runner-up West Warwick. In the 55m dash, the Avengers took the second through fifth positions with freshman standout Laura Murphy leading the brigade with a fast 7.51 clocking. Murphy also earned gold in the long jump at 16-0.5, an event EG swept the first three places. The Avengers' Lauren Swanson claimed the title in the 20-pound weight with a heave of 42-10.5.
Juanita Sanchez's Drachelle Judd took the 55m dash in 7.49 and the 300m in 44.47.
In the Headley Division, it was Toll Gate over second-place Classical, 93.5-81. The Titans had an individual win from Erika Pena in the 55m hurdles (8.89) and also won the 4x400m relay (4:17.17).
Westerly freshman Randi Burr cruised to a pair of titles in the 1,500m (5:12.04) and the 1,000m (5:07.66). In the weight throw, Classical's Lysah Russell had a winning toss and personal best of 54-10. Toll Gate's Courtney Jacobsen broke 50 feet for the first time with a second-place distance of 50-1.5.
Narragansett's Carly Timpson won the high jump, matching her personal best of 5-6. She was also fourth in the weight at 48-2.5.
“I felt pretty good. I was pretty rushed," she said, making reference to the high jump. “I had to throw and then run back here so I guess all the running back and forth here warmed me up."