Devan Kipyego did what many deemed impossible. He won 4 state titles in a single day. Not only did he win each state title as an individual, but he did so with no tactical racing. He ran a Rhode Island top performance in all 4 events, with some even placing him top 50 nationally. He scored the max points an individual could at a state meet for maybe the first time ever. The only comparable people would be DJ Principe of La Salle sweeping the 3000, 1500, 1000, and placing top 6 in the 4x800, or Donatein Djero of Central winning the 400, 100, and 4x100 with a runner-up finish in the 200. Both performances previously mentioned were impressive, but neither added up to 40 points. If Devan was a team, he would have placed 5th in the new 8-man scoring system and 4th in the previous system.
Distance races provided the most excitement, and the 1500 and 100 both could be considered the race of the day. In the 1500, Nicholas Martin of East Greenwich led the entire 1500 against Devan Kipyego saying he knew if he wanted to win he would need to push the pace early. The field thinned out to two with Martin leading until the k before Kipyego took over and dropped the pace each remaining lap to take the win. Martin walked away with a runner-up finish and a huge PR while Kipyego became one step closer to achieving the quadruple crown. The boys 1000 saw similar tactics. Devan Kipyego was onto his final race, but Smithfield's Elijah Saddlemire made sure to keep the pace honest from the gun. Shooting out in a 29.92 opening lap, Kipyego was in 8th in the 9-man heat 1.3 seconds back. By 600 he had nearly 3 seconds on him, and in the closing 200 Saddlemire had a 40-meter lead. It seemed Kipyego's aspirations would fall short as they had outdoors. However, Kipyego had one last gear no one saw coming. He ran a 27.47 final lap to catch Saddlemire in the final stretch and win in 2:33.17.
Hendricken scored in all but two events as they put up an even 100 on the board. This was evenly distributed between distances with 31 for distance, 26 for throwing events, 22 for relays, 17 for sprints, and 4 for jumps. Their biggest help came from Troy Silvestri who scored 11 points with a 3rd in the 3000 and 4th in the 1500 as well as Brayton Gazzero who placed 4th in the 3000, 5th in the 1500, and 5th in the 1000 for 11 points. Only three athletes for Hendricken scored in more than one event excluding relays. They also only had one champion out of every event; Alex Morin in the shot put. This shows their insane depth in all disciplines of track and field. They won by 13 points to La Salle who finished second.
La Salle had a great day as well. They swept the relays scoring 30 points and had individual winners including Jarred Gibbons in the 55 dash and Brady Fisher in the high jump. Fisher also placed 3rd in the 55mh, 3rd in the long jump, and was a part of their 4x200 meter relay. La Salle's distribution of points saw a further 20 from sprints, 16 from jumps, 15 from distance, and 6 from hurdles along with 30 from relays.
Saint Raphael may not have had the depth of La Salle and Hendricken, but put up an amazing fight. Ethan McCann-Carter was 4th in the high jump and runner-up in the long jump while also placing 3rd in the 4x800 and picking up a point in the throws. Saint Raphael's finished with 66 points, and they beat out Barrington for 4th who had 56 points.
The state meet never fails to disappoint, and as many end their seasons here, some will move on to New England's and nationals to improve on their PRs and achieve All-American honors.
