New England's is the culmination of the Northeast's postseason. Teams from all over converge on the historic Reggie Lewis Center for a chance of All-New England honors. Rhode Island can send at most 6 individuals from each event, but often due to doubling or tapering the top 6 do not always decide to race. That leaves those who just missed the top 6 to have one more race on a fast track to end their season. The combination of inter-state competition, and an array of talent all aiming to run a new best makes New England's one of the best meets of the year.
On the girls' side, the sprints did not disappoint with huge fireworks coming from Rhode Island's own Lisa Raye. The West Warwick freshman ran a 55-meter dash state record in the prelim with a 7.06! She went on to win the event in 7.12. She came back and ran a 39.50 for a huge PR of almost 2 seconds! She wasn't alone, as her sister and current sophomore at West Warwick Xenia Raye ran a 7.22 in the prelim before running 7.28 for 6th. Fellow Rhode Islander Ailani Sutherland ran 7.11 in the prelim and 7.15 in the final to take runner-up honors. In the relays, Sutherland helped her team, Cranston West, finish 4th overall in 1:45.34, the fastest time in the state this year by over a second. Classical, the state champions this year, took 6th in a season's best as well.
As per usual, Sophia Gorriaran came to New England's and delivered another flawless performance. She began by running the 1k and breaking the meet record set in 2017 with a 2:46.45. She led wire-to-wire and led the top 6 finishers to all-time bests in the event. She came back to run the 4x400 where she finished first overall in 3:58.39. This was anchored by Gorriaran with a blistering fast 55-second split. This was most likely a tuneup for nationals and beyond as she continues to seek a sub-2-minute 800 performance. Finally, Reese Fahys ran the 2 mile finishing 4th overall in 11:07.26. The PC commit continues her return after being sidelined with an injury at the end of the fall and winter.
On the boys' side, the sprints had a similar amount of success. Jared Gibbons of La Salle Academy squeaked into the final in 6.58 before running a 6.50 to take home 4th place. In the 55-meter hurdles, Damon Wilson of West Warwick also just qualified for the final with a 7.86 before running within .01 of his PR to take 6th overall. The state runner-up ran 7.83 to be the top finisher from Rhode Island at the meet. In the 4x200, Bishop Hendricken's team of Jake Kopech, Xavier Wilkens, Edmund Lok, and Jacob Coates broke the school record with a final time of 1:31.18. The Hawks placed 3rd out of heat 5 while Central took 5th by winning the 6th heat in 1:31.44. The Rams of La Salle Academy, who were state champions last week, settled for 7th overall while placing 4th in the 7th heat in 1:31.71. Bishop Hendricken's 4x400 had similar success with a 3:28.56 and a 5th place finish.
In the field events, the long jump saw Salter Arms of Moses Brown win by over 7 inches with a 23-3 jump. This came on his 5th jump to seal his win after taking states last week in a PR of 23-10.25. Saint Raphael's Ethan McCann-Carter placed 4th overall in 21-11.50, and this came on his 3rd jump of the competition. McCann-Carter's fellow teammate Devan Kipyego took home his second consecutive 1000-meter title in 2:29.51. He finished slightly slower than his win the previous year. Finally, Troy Silvestri of Bishop Hendricken took home 3rd place in the 2 mile with a huge PR of 9:14.95.
With the postseason coming to a close, all eyes turn to New Balance Nationals at the Track at New Balance in Boston as well as Nike Nationals at the Armory in New York City. Good luck to all those closing out their indoor seasons!
