BARRINGTON — The East Providence High School boys' and girls' outdoor track and field squads began their 2023 championship competitions last weekend when the Townies took part in their respective Eastern Division meets Saturday, May 6, at Barrington High School.

The host Eagles swept the titles, winning the boys with 265.5 points and the girls with 236.5. Portsmouth, likewise, was the runner-up in each, 134.5 points in the boys' meet and 122.5 in the girls. St. Raphael was third in the boys with 82.5 and Mt. Hope the corresponding place in the girls with 105.

EPHS placed fifth in the boys' meet with 61.5 points. Rogers edged the locals for fourth with 63.5. The Townies were fourth in the girls' meet with 71 points, seven points better than those same Vikings in fifth with 64 points. Also of note from the city, Bay View was sixth in the girls behind Rogers with 54 points.

Boys' notes
East Providence junior Kenaz Ochgwu continues to emerge as one of the top all-around jumpers in the state, emphasizing that position by winning the triple jump last week with a leap of 40 feet, 8 inches. Fellow Townie Cam Evora was second with a distance of 39'1."

In addition, Ochgwu was edged out for the high jump title on attempts as Portsmouth's Aidan Chen cleared 6'2" in fewer tries than his EPHS opponent. The Townies' Dylan Slavick shared third with Middletown's Cam Miller, each covering 5'10." Evora sixth alone at 5'10" also needing more attempts to clear the height.

"Kenaz is capable of jumping much higher and much further. In the high jump he was four inches over the bar and skimmed it with his left hand," said EPHS head coach Bob Lyons. "He continues to improve and if he dedicates himself fully the sky is the limit."

One last note from the field, EP's Jaidin Ivy was fifth in the long jump with a distance of 18'11.5." Middletown's Miller won with a 20'11.75."

On the track, the Townies have several top half finishes, including by its 4x800 meter relay team to start the meet. William Anthony, Jayden Delgado, William Massey and Lucas Santa Cruz ran fifth in 9 minutes, 33.3 seconds. Barrington won the event in 8:35.58.

In the 4x1, Barrington also won in 44.83 with EPHS running fourth as Max Whiting, Ochgwu, Martim Moniz and Kit Ruddock clocked a 46.03.

Santa Cruz, Justin Jardine, Ruddock and Ivy were also fourth in the 4x4 with a 3:44.51. St. Ray's won the race in 3:33.58.

Individually, EP's Jardine ran fourth in the 400 with a time of 55.23. Youton Doe of Tolman won the event in 52.71. Lastly, Prayer Gilliard placed seventh for the locals in the 100, running an 11.72. Shea's Tyler O'Connell won the dash in 11.08.

Girls' notes
East Providence's victory in the girls' meet was delivered by the 4x1 team of Giselle Raphael, Nazarae Phillip, Kandace Daniel and Kendra Daniel, who bettered the rest with a time of 50.68.

The same foursome were among the top sprinters in the 100, which was won by Mt. Hope's Thea Jackson. Phillip was second in 12.54. Kandace Daniel was third in 12.91. Kendra Daniel was fourth in 12.99 and Raphael sixth in 13.08.

Jackson also bested the Townie contingent in the 200, winning in 26.47. Kandace Daniel was second in 26.96, Phillip third in 27.31 and Kendra Daniel sixth in 28.18.

Back in the relays, Barrington won the 4x8 in 10:36.37 with the EPHS quartet of Gladys Barrera, Kathryn Patalano, Adriana Perry and Alicia Pinto fourth in 11:56.52. And in the 4x4, the Townies were second to the Eagles (4:20.28) as Barrera, Kendra Daniel, Raphael and Samantha Clarke ran a 4:22.12.

Clarke added a fifth place run individually in the 400 with a time of 1:04.58. Laura Hoag of Rogers won the race in 1:02.88. Bay View's Francine Miller was third in 1:03.28. Likewise, Raphael added a solo fifth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 53.22. Barrington's Jordan Roskiewicz won the event in 51.71.

More Bay View notes
The Bengals received a pair of wins from their veteran standouts as senior Miller claimed the 800 in a time of 2:24.87 while classmate Suraily Sam took the shot put with a toss of 36'2." Sam was also the runner-up in the discus with a toss of 99'5." Barrington's Eva Garofano won with a 127'11."

Bay View's third fine senior, Papa, was also the runner-up in the 100 hurdles running a 16.88 to the 16.65 of Barrington's Jordan Roskiewicz. She added a fifth in the long jump with a distance of 15'1.25." Barrington's Sophia Ford won the event with a 17'2.75."

Also, the Bengals' foursome of Sophia DiChiaro, Olivia Coehlo, Jackie Mattos and Miller were fifth in the 4x4 with a time of 5:08.12.