Townies perform admirably at 2023 state outdoor track and field meet

City resident, LaSalle senior Gibbons wins boys' 100 meters, Bay View's Sam girls' shot

By Mike Rego
Posted 6/5/23

PROVIDENCE — Keira Mullen, Nazarae Phillip and Kenaz Ochgwu were the standouts for East Providence High School at the 2023 Rhode Island Interscholastic League state outdoor track and field …

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Townies perform admirably at 2023 state outdoor track and field meet

City resident, LaSalle senior Gibbons wins boys' 100 meters, Bay View's Sam girls' shot

Posted

PROVIDENCE — Keira Mullen, Nazarae Phillip and Kenaz Ochgwu were the standouts for East Providence High School at the 2023 Rhode Island Interscholastic League state outdoor track and field championship meet held Saturday, June 3, at Conley Stadium on the Mt. Pleasant High campus.

Mullen and Phillip each placed in a pair of events in the girls' competition while Ochgwu did the same on the boys' side.

A couple of private school students  — Bay View's Suraily Sam and LaSalle's Jared Gibbons — actually had the best individual days of those with local ties. City resident Gibbons, a senior, earned the title of fastest male in the state by winning the boys' 100 meter dash. Sam, also a senior, won the girls' shot put.

Overall, the neighboring Townies and Bengals along with Portsmouth and Mt. Hope finished in a four-way share of 15th place in the girls' team title standings with 20 points. West Warwick, led by freshman superstar Lisa Raye, captured the school's first-ever girls' state title with 67 points. Cumberland was second with 58 and Classical third with 52.

Ochgwu's four points for his results in the high and triple jumps accounted for the entire EPHS total, good enough for 27th place in the boys' team rankings. Hendricken won its fourth team title in the last five years and added to its record haul of 27 all-time with a decisive 117 points. LaSalle was a distant second with 77 and Cumberland third with 47.

More girls' notes
Raye, en route to her four individual state titles Saturday, was the nemesis of both Phillip and Mullen in their respective speciality events, the sprints and hurdles.

Raye won the 200 meters in 24.95 seconds. Phillip was fourth in 26.75. EPHS freshman Kendra Daniel earned a point for the Townies with eighth-place run in 27.39.

The 200 win reaffirmed her place as the fastest girl in the state following her victory in the 100 dash with a time of 12.23. Phillip and EPHS sophomore Kandace Daniel failed to qualify for the finals, running 13.30 and 13.31 to place ninth and 10th in the heats.

Raye proved just as proficient with an obstacle in her way, winning both the 100 and 300 varieties of the hurdles. She took the former in 14.87, well ahead of North Kingstown's Cameron Saleh in second at 16.25. Mullen was sixth for the Townies in 17.26 and senior Amy Papa collected the other two points for Bay View by running seventh in 18.16.

In the 300, Raye clocked a 44.08, again well ahead of the runner-up Sierra Thompson of South Kingstown who ran 47.91. Mullen was fifth in 49.58.

Phillip and the Daniel sisters were joined by Giselle Raphael in earning the best overall finish for the EPHS girls at states, a third-place run in the 4x100 relay in 50.83. Cranston West won the event in 48.97 and Classical second in 49.39.

Mullen, Raphael, Kendra Daniel and Samantha Clarke earned a point for the Townies with their eighth-place finish in the 4x4 relay (4:21.80). Moses Brown won the event in 4:02.08.

Sam collected 18 of Bay View's 20 points, 10 for her victory in the shot as her best toss of the day traveled 39 feet, three-quarters of an inch. She also earned eight points for finishing as the runner-up in the discus (122'6") behind the winner Alyssa Yankee of Cumberland (127'1").

More boys' notes
Ochgwu was one of three athletes to clear six feet as their best height in the high jump, but settled for sixth based on attempts. Central's Demetrius Outland was the lone competitor to leap 6'4" to win the title. EP's Dylan Slavick finished 10th, clearing just 5'8."

In the triple, Ochgwu managed to cover 39'9.25" to finish in the eighth and final point placement. Smithfield's Konny Ezeama won the competition with a distance of 43'3.25."

As for Gibbons, he added a second consecutive outdoor 100 meter title with a time of 11.21 second Saturday to the three indoor 55 meter wins he's collected during his high school career. Alonso Parker-Sharpe of Cranston West was second in the 100 with a time of 11.41

Gibbons was also second (22.91) to Hendricken's Xavier Wilkens (22.46) in the 200. In addition, Gibbons also ran a leg of the Rams' second-place 4x1 relay (43.08) behind the winning team from Central (42.89).

— East Providence Post and eastbayri.com staff photographer Rich Dionne shot the accompanying gallery of photos.

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