Freshman phenoms Jessica Deal and Thea Jackson are primed and ready for the state track meet in June after placing first in multiple events during the Eastern Division Track Championships on Saturday. 

Deal a distance runner, placed first in the 1500 meter and 3000 meter runs and Jackson, a sprinter, placed first in the 100 meter run, the 200 meter run and the triple jump. 

“I was very impressed with both Jess and Thea,” said Huskies’ head coach Renae Cicchinelli. “Jess is looking strong, rested, and ready to start dropping time off her 3000 time. Thea is in a groove, she’s coming out of the blocks fast and hitting some really fast times. She’s working hard in the 200 and jumping further each meet in the triple jump. At practice she tries different events and is good at them all. It’s hard to pick which four to put her in.” 

Deal who ran four distance events during the meet, ran a crafty 1500 meter run. She paced herself behind Portsmouth’s Allie Kaull and St. Rays’ Chandaniey Boyce during the first three laps. On the last lap she motored around them both for a time of 5:01.56.

“I saw that they were keeping their pace and I could try and go around them and see how it went,” a modest Deal said after the 1500 meter run. 

In the 3000 meter run, Deal set a torrid pace and beat the field by half-a-lap with a time of 10:47.99. She beat Kaull who placed second by 77 seconds. 

Deal lauded Coach Cicchinelli for her hard workouts during practice this season and likes the Huskies team atmosphere during the meets. 

“It helps us pump each other up on race days,” she said. 

Jackson breaks meet and school records

Jackson broke the meet record in the 100 meter run with a time of 12.17 and broke the Mt. Hope School record in the 200 meter run with a time of 26.47. The freshman speedster led both races from start to finish and beat East Providence upper classmen Kandace Daniel and Nazarae Phillip in both events. With the victories and times, Jackson has qualified to run in the state championships in June. Jackson also placed first and broke the school record in the triple jump with a leap of 34 feet, 5 inches. 

“I slept well and woke up and had some Cocoa Krispies. That’s my lucky breakfast,” said Jackson after she whooped the field in the 200 meter run. “I had a big PR in the 100. It’s been a pretty good day.”

“I am very excited to see what both of these athletes can do as the weather stays nice and the big meets come up,” said Coach Cicchinelli.

Girls place third 

As a team the Huskies placed third in the eastern division with 105 points. Barrington placed first with 236.5 points and Portsmouth placed second with 122.5. 

The 4x100 meter relay team of Jackson, Hannah Rezendes, Kali Rocha and Karsyn Medeiros placed second with a time of 52.08. 

4x800 meter relay team of Deal, Chloe Carreiro, Lucy O’Brien and Ryan Coffey placed third with a time of 11:14.85. The 4x400 meter relay team of  Deal, Lucy O’Brien, Ryan Coffey and Karsyn Medeiros placed fourth with a time of 5:01.62.

Lola Silva placed second in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet 5 inches. She placed fourth in the 300 meter hurdles and fifth in the 110 meter hurdles. 

Distance runner Lucy O’Brien placed fourth in the 3000 meter run and sixth in the 1500 meter run. 

Kali Rocha placed fourth in the triple jump and sixth in the high jump. Karsyn Medeiros placed seventh in the 400 meter run. Lilliana Redman placed 8th in the long jump. 

Boys place tenth 

The Mt. Hope boys team placed tenth in the eastern division with 8 points. 

The 4x800 meter relay team of Jackson Cicchinelli, Rowan Field, Gavin Stegall, William Southworth placed sixth. 

The 4x100 meter relay team of Logan Toste, Tyler Scarborough, Hunter Ingram, Christian Mourato placed sixth, but broke the Mt. Hope High School freshman record with a time of 50.21. 

Gavin Stegall also broke the school record in the 400 meter run with a time of 57.17.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Gavin Stegall, Suleman Baig, Rowan Field, Tyler Scarborough placed seventh. 

Note: 

Like dinner and golf, the 4th annual Husky Boosters golf and championship dinner is June 4. They are also looking for sponsorships. Contact the school and coaches for more info.