EPHS outdoor tracks teams strive for state meet spots

Townies aim to qualify individuals to the championship event

By Mike Rego
Posted 5/26/21

EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence High School outdoor track and field teams vie in their respective 2021 seasons hoping to qualify some individuals and relays for the varsity state …

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EPHS outdoor tracks teams strive for state meet spots

Townies aim to qualify individuals to the championship event

Posted

EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence High School outdoor track and field teams vie in their respective 2021 seasons hoping to qualify some individuals and relays for the varsity state championship meet next month at Conley Stadium in Providence.

Unlike past seasons where the realistic goal was to win division, Class A, state championships or score in double digits at the state meet, the realistic goal this year is to qualify entries into states, which is being held at the recently renovated historic complex known to many in the past as “City Stadium” adjacent to the Mt. Pleasant High School grounds instead of its long-time home of Brown Stadium.

The top 18 athletes in all individual events, except the 100 meters and 110-meter high hurdles which take the top 24, and the top 15 relays qualify to compete at states.

Boys’ notes
The EPHS boys’ team is persisting through the, hopefully, last throes of the pandemic with a positive attitude and approach to the ’21 spring season, according to head coach Bob Lyons.

The Townies have a state-meet capable 4x100 meter relay team of junior Adam Marschat, senior Elijah Owens, sophomore Yusef Abdullah and junior Justin Fiore with alternates being seniors Lucas DeSousa and Efren Garcia. Owens, Abdullah, Marschat and Fiore run individually in the 100 and 200 meters.

In their recent meet at Portsmouth, Owens clocked a time of 11.5 seconds to win the 100 meter event, which was just a tenth of a second off the expected state meet qualifying time of 11.4. Abdullah also clocked a time approaching the necessary time with a 11.7 while Fiore ran an 11.8.

“I am particularly proud of the work Elijah Owens has put in the past four years,” Lyons said of the senior. “He has improved greatly since his freshman year, transforming his mind/body and developing a strong work ethic while maturing personally and making himself a factor at the state level in both the 100 and 200 meter.”

Senior Kianu Duarte, who finished 10th in the state as a sophomore in the discus and despite battling nagging injuries, is a “legitimate threat” to qualify for the state meet in both the discus and shot put, according to the coach.

Garcia has jumped well thus far and is a potential state meet qualifier in the long jump. Lyons expects indoor freshman state high jump champion Dylan Slavick to carry that momentum into the spring and qualify for the state meet outdoors.

Other team members, whom Lyons said “continue to work hard and improve each day,” are sophomore Ryan Stover, junior Diondre Valles, junior Colby Babbit, junior Russell Dean, senior Mattheus Ferreira and junior Fabio DaGraca.

“I’m proud of my team's effort thus far and happy with their progress,” Lyons added. “They continue to be very coachable and have improved on a daily basis. The team has also bought into the philosophy that their goal is to improve upon their performance each week, compete against themselves and achieve PRs (personal records) on a weekly basis. If achieved, this will translate to a successful season.”

Girls’ notes
As has been the case with just about all sports teams at EPHS and across the state throughout the 2020-21 term, pandemic related issues have had an impact on the Townies’ girls’ outdoor squad as they gather this spring. EPHS has a smaller outfit than usual, much of the reason due to lingering COVID-19 matters, according to head coach Mike Almeida.

The Townies do bring forward to the spring, intact, their 4x800 meter relay team that qualified for the indoor state meet last winter. Almeida expects the quartet of senior Eva Caron, sophomore sisters Katherine Diaz Araujo and Michelle Diaz Araujo and junior Miranda Moniz to earn a similar trip to the state meet next month. Sophomore Brittany Carlson could also be in the 4x8 mix while also running the 1,500.

The Townies’ 4x100 relay contingent consisting of freshman Emma Heatherton, senior Wendy Carvalho, sophomore Claire Martins and sophomore Emma Nordquist, likewise, should approach the outdoor state meet qualifying time, Almeida added.

Also on the track individually, the coach said Heatherton could qualify for states in the sprints (100 or 200 meters) and hurdles.

In the field, junior Kathy Faial, junior Elke Jones, freshman Mia DeAngelis and freshman Alexia Florez all are throwers, who Almeida said have a reasonable chance to qualify for states. He said the same about Nordquist in the high jump.

The rest of the squad includes freshmen Ines Benadouda and Kelda Garcia, both 800 meters runners, along with sophomore Gladys Valasquez, a hurdler who runs both the 110 and 300 meter distances.

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