The Rhode Island State Meet is tomorrow and with the heat sheets being released, it is time to look for the most competitive races and events of the day.
#5
The Boy's high jump currently has a three-way tie for first place with Demetrius Outland of Central, Aidan Chen of Portsmouth, and Jakob Reyes of Bishop Hendricken. Out of the three, I would lean towards Reyes as the favorite as in his only three meets where he contested high jump, he cleared 6-4. He also owns a PR of 6-7 from indoors. However, at indoor states, Brady Fisher of La Salle won with a jump of 6-4 while Reyes finished 5th overall with a 6-2 jump.
With Fisher not contesting the high jump, a new champion will be crowned, and Outland, who finished second indoors, could look to upgrade his silver to gold tomorrow. Hendricken will need the points to take home the team title so Reyes will look to bring in 10 points for the Hawks. Throw in three more athletes at 6-2, and the title will come down to whoever brings their A-game to Conley Stadium.
#4
The Boy's hammer throw is a two-horse race with Ethan Wordell of North Kingstown and Christian Toro of Lincoln competing for the title. Early this season, Wordell lost to Toro, but after a month of not competing against one another, Wordell came ahead with a win by one foot and seven inches. In the indoor equivalency of hammer, Toro took home the weight title indoors while Wordell placed 4th. Wordell owns the US#1 with a throw of 231-1 from the Class A Championships while Toro's 228-0 comes from the Class B Championships the same day which is good for US#2. The momentum seems to favor Wordell, but either could come away with the title. Keith Daigneau and Michael Laflamme will look to score points for Hendricken as well.
#3
The Boy's 400 meters looks to be the deepest field in the state and is also the fastest in recent memory. Youton Doe of Tolman is boasting an undefeated season, top seed at states, and has a PR of 49.62 at Brian St. Germain. Second, in that race was Bishop Hendricken's Jacob Coates. He ran 49.78 for his only loss in the 400 this season. The most recent sub-50 runner is Elias Sposato of Chariho. He also has an undefeated season in the 400 with two wins at divisionals and Bishop Hendricken. With Doe and Coates in the race, we could see a low to sub-49 winner. La Salle's Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo also looks to score as the six seed and a 50.79 PR from the Hendricken Invitational.
#2
The Boy's 110-meter hurdles look to be between three athletes: Ethan Knight of Barrington, Aidan Bienvenue of North Smithfield, and Damon Wilson of West Warwick. Knight of Barrington is currently in an undefeated season with 6 wins in a row, prelim and final. He also has an undefeated season in the 300-meter hurdles winning three in a row. However, his PR comes from Classical Classic back in April. Bienvenue of North Smithfield is fresh off a huge PR and school record in the 300-meter hurdles by breaking 39 seconds. With the exception of the Classical Classic, Bienvenue has won every final he has been a part of and seven of his last eight races. His PR of 14.83 from the Class C Championships is just behind Knight's 14.77. The one loss since Classical Bienvenue faced was against Wilson in the prelim of the Brian St. Germain Invitational. Wilson has not competed since that meet, but with a sub-15 PB, he cannot be ignored. Brady Fisher of La Salle is also one to watch as he looks to score points for his team.
#1
The Boy's 3000 meters looks to be the most competitive field in the state. Nicholas Martin of East Greenwich is the top seed with a PR of 8:36.59 from the Class C Championships where he finished second. The person who beat him, Devan Kipyego of Saint Raphael's, will not contest this event or the 1500 like last year. This makes Martin the likely state champion, but he will contest the 1500 earlier in the meet and will be racing on tired legs. He has successfully doubled before, with a 3:57.84, 1:57.82 1500, 800 double at the Southern Divisional Championships.
With that being said, he remains the favorite, although he will have a cast of Hawks looking to swoop in to steal the win and the 10 points that accompany it. Brayton Gazerro, Alex Sjoblom, Troy Silvestri, and Keegan Tierney have all run between 8:47.14 and 8:48.58. All four hawks will be fresh for the race, unlike indoors when Gazerro tripled and Silvestri doubled. The favorite Hawk looks to be Silvestri in a fast race, but if it comes down to a kick Gazerro could be the one to watch. Sjoblom and Tierney's most recent performances in the heat make them equally likely. No matter how they finish, this pack could finish up with up to 29 points from these four athletes. Jack Moretta of Hendricken should also be in contention as Class A Champion and Jeremiah Rocha will likely run the 4x800 before the 3000, but his 8:50.04 from Classical Classic cannot be ignored.