Meaghan Scullin can score in (and win) multiple events for Cumberland.
La Salle Academy is the defending champion for the boys and
girls. By the looks of it with the level of firepower that each squad has, that
will more than likely remain the same at Saturday's state championship meet (11:30 a.m.) at the Providence Career and Technical Academy fieldhouse.
But as La Salle boys' coach Vin McGinn stated after the class meet, "Winning is never easy." There are several worthy competitors this year that could pull off the shocker with Bishop Hendricken, Central, Cumberland and North Kingstown capable of making things interesting on the boys' side and Cumberland, Classical and North Kingstown viable contenders in the girls' competition.
The Lady Clippers will be relying heavily on Meaghan Scullin to pull off the possible upset of the Rams. Scullin is an athlete that is capable of scoring anywhere from 35-40 points of the Clippers' total. The versatile senior is the two-time defending titlist in the long jump where she currently owns the No. 1 seed of 18 feet, 6 inches, nearly a foot ahead of her closest pursuer, Coventry's Charleen Theroux (17-7.5). Scullin also is the top seed in the high jump (5 feet, 2 inches) and No. 2 for 300 meters (42.52). The Clipper standout will also be lending her footspeed on her squad's third-ranked 4x200m relay, which could be battling Pilgrim and Classical for overall supremacy.
La Salle's Eliza Rego will be looking to defend her titles in the 1,500m and 1,000m.
No surprise, La Salle's strength comes from its distance runners,
led by senior Eliza Rego. The Harvard-bound Rego is entered in the 1,500m and
the 1,000m, two events she has dominated this season. She owns a season best of
4:34 for 1,500m and recently clocked 4:54 for the mile at the New Balance
Indoor Grand Prix. Rego is one of those runners that likes to take control from
the opening gun. Look for her to follow that strategy this weekend. Her
toughest event may be the 1,000m where she has a season best of 2:59.
Barrington's Julia Zitzmann, the No. 2 seed, will have fresh legs. She ran a
state-leading 1:39.29 to win the 600m last weekend in the Medium School
Championship.
One distance race that should be interesting is the 3K where La Salle's Karina Tavares (10:03) and North Kingstown's Bethany Nunnery (10:06) are the top two seeds. Taveres won last week's Class A 1,500m crown with a season best of 4:46.07. She also captured the two-mile crown at the Dartmouth Relays last month and was fourth in the 3K at the Yale Track Classic. Nunnery has been consistent all season long in the 3K and is coming off a win at the Class A meet. Expect a possible sub 10-minute clocking in this event.
Classical's May Stern, last year's 600m champion, is entered in the 300m and 55m.
Classical's May Stern has potential to be a double-winner at the States. Her best chance will come in the 300m where she is the No. 1 seed at 41.03. At the Armory Track Invitational in New York at the beginning of the month, she posted a PB of 38.36 on a banked oval. Stern also set a state 400m record of 55.41 at the Ocean Breeze Invitational on Staten Island in late January. She's ready for a fast time and possible sub 40-second effort at the PCTA fieldhouse. She also ranked No.2 in the 55m dash where she'll match up against speedy Woonsocket junior Quinn Harlan, the No. 1 seed with a time of 7.40 to Stern's 7.45.
The weight throw will be a hotly-contested event with three athletes over 52 feet - Toll Gate's Courtney Jacobsen (56-7.5), Classical's Lysah Russell (54-8.5) and Smithfield's Meaghan Malloy (52-5.75). This will be one of the few times that the trio will face each other at the same time. All three compete in separate class meets. Russell and Jacobsen are in the same division and the last time they met was at the Headley Division Championships on Jan. 30 where Jacobsen emerged the victor with her current best. Malloy and Russell will also contest in the shot put where the tandem own the third and fifth seeds behind Cranston West's Jennifer Iozzi, who holds the top spot with a distance of 38-6.
North Kingstown has the opportunity to pick up a possible 20 points in the 600m and 55m hurdles, two events its athletes have the No. 1 seed. Junior Meghann Maguire holds that distinction in the 600m with her 1:39.88 best, less than a second ahead of the next two seeds - Cumberland's Colleen Enestvedt (1:40.60) and Hope's Lisbeth Valdez (1:40.72). Valdez twin sister Leinni is right behind with a 1:41.0 clocking. Sophomore Tereza Bolibruch, who won the 100m hurdles during the outdoor season, will be looking to add the shorter hurdle event to her young resume. She goes into Saturday's meet with the top time of 8.58. Toll Gate's Casey Gannon is No. 2 at 8.87.
La Salle's gifted trio of Jack Salisbury, Matt Bouthillette and DJ Principe are capable of 60-plus points.
It's no secret that La Salle's strength in the boys' state
meet comes from three individuals - senior Jack Salisbury, senior Matt
Bouthillette and junior DJ Principe. Collectively, this trio is capable of
scoring between 65-70 points if you count the meet-opening 4x800m relay. That's
a total alone that would have placed the Rams second last year.
The event of the meet on the boys' side could be the 1,500m. Salisbury will be aiming for his third straight title where he is clearly the favorite, especially after his recent victory In the Junior Mile at the New Balance Grand Prix where he ran the country's third fastest time in the mile with an indoor best of 4:08.33. During the outdoor season last spring, Salisbury led five runners under four minutes in an incredible 1,500m race at the Schomp Invitational. There's potential for Saturday's 1,500m to match that race (or at least come close). The field includes Cumberland senior Sean Laverty (3:59.94), Bouthillette (4:00.69), Principe (4:00.88), Barrington junior Mars Bishop (4:01.63) and Classic senior Joe Murphy (4:04.65). Also, you can't forget North Kingstown freshman Sam Toolin, the Class A winner, who ran a 4:22 mile at the Yale Track Classic last month. Principe, Bouthillette and Laverty will be coming into the race after competing in the 3K where they own the top three seeds. But all of them have proven the last few years that the approximate 45-minute break they'll have between races will be enough to come back with another strong effort.
The 600m is another race that could be a nail-biter. The top six seeds are separated by less than two seconds with North Providence's Nathan Coogan (1:24.11) and Bishop Hendricken's Nick Williams (1:24.33) holding the top two spots and the Eagles' Bishop, who is the defending champion, a No. 3 seed at 1:25.04. Unless he scratches, Bishop will be going into the race with somewhat tired legs after competing in the 1,500m.
If the meet is close with a few events left, the 1,000m could be where La Salle wraps up title No. 3. The Rams' Salisbury (2:31.48), Principe (2:32.19) and Bouthillette (2:32.63) are the top three seeds, all running those times at the divisionals a few weeks ago after competing in two events each prior to the race. East Greenwich's Cebastian Gentil (1:25.28) and Hendricken's Harry Antone (1:25.41) are among others that could sneak in some points for their teams.
Classical senior Nathan Narcisse looks ready to defend his title in the 55m hurdles. Narcisse, who also claimed the 110m HH at the outdoor state meet last year, is the class and divisional champion in his specialty and has the No. 1 seed with a season best of 7.84. He owns a PB of 7.54. East Providence senior Charles Hazard is the only other hurdler that has broken eight seconds this winter with a 7.89 effort.
Donatien Djero and speedy Central will be looking to make things happen on Saturday.
Central, a team that's capable of finishing high this weekend, will be relying on its speed. The Knights have the top times in the 4x200m and 4x400m relays, the later producing a state record of 3:22 earlier this season. Central's Donatien Djero, who captured the 55m and 300m at the 2015 state meet, is among the favorites for those two crowns. He's ranked No. 2 behind La Salle's Sam Coleman in the short sprint with a 6.60 best to Coleman's 6.59. The Knights also have Austin Wolo (6.69) and Franklin Mercado (6.77), who are capable of scoring. Wolo (35.46) and Djero (35.86) along with Central Falls' Yeury Galva (35.83) and East Providence's Alejandro Duarte (35.98) are the only sprinters that have gone faster than 36 seconds in the 300m. Wolo earned his best and No. 1 seed this past weekend with his win over Djero at the class meet.
Hendricken's Caleb Wurster will try and score some key points for the Hawks in the jumping events. Along with teammate Michael Bittner and West Warwick's Quindel Wilson, he's tied for the No.1 ranking in the high jump with a leap of 6-2. He's also ranked among the top six in the long jump with a leap of 20-9. In that event, South Kingstown's Anthony Shepard is favored to defend his title. He goes into the meet with a best of 23-0.5, nearly two feet further than No. 2 seed Avery Williamson of West Warwick.
The nation's No. 1 weight-thrower, Bobby Colantonio of Barrington, owns that event. He has a best of 82-0.5. Woonsocket's Jared Briere has been a consistent No. 2 all season. He has a PB of 70-8.25. Speaking of consistency, North Kingstown's Stephen Cirella has been unbeatable against RI competition in the shot put, twice unleashing a 50-footer this winter, including a best of 50-10.25 at the Class A meet the past weekend. Cirella can also score some crucial points for the Skippers in the long jump where he has leaped more than 21 feet on two occasions.