Typical cold and windy conditions greeted the participants at the 49th annual Knights of Columbus Relays, held Saturday at Conley Stadium.
The Bishop Hendricken boys and Portsmouth High girls posted the fastest times in the featured 4xMile event. The Hawks' foursome of Joseph Dargin, Jon Imarone, Sean Meehan and Jeff Venter combined for a time of 18 minutes, 59.2 seconds. La Salle was second at 19.03.1. The quickest time of the day belonged to La Salle's Joseph Dos Reis, who clocked 4:33 for his leg.
The Lady Patriots were timed in 22:14.01 for their victory. Comprising the team were Nikki Merrill, Elizabeth Sullivan, Sofia White and Oliva Allen. La Salle placed second in 22:23. Placing third was Barrington at 23:52.1
In the hammer competition, the state's top two throwers won their respective divisions. Woonsocket's Jared Briere had a winning heave and an early-season nation No. 1 of 205 feet, 2 inches for the boys' title. The Villa Novans swept the next two places with Dilyn Cote taking second (192-8) and Jacob Greenless securing third (192-0). West Warwick's IVan Goretoy (191-6) and Classical's Jacob Furland (191-2) also surpassed 190 feet.
Ponaganset's Gianna Rao claimed the girls' crown with a distance of 166-9. Barrington's Faith Polombo was second with a distance of 162-3 and Toll Gate's Ani Armenakya placed third at 160-3. Rao's toss currently ranks No. 2 in the country.
The Freshmen Mile races were captured by La Salle's Jack Wilbur and Smiithfield's Ashlyn Maio. Wilbur crossed the line in 4:53.6 in the boys' race, a few strides ahead of runner-up Matt St. Jean of Hendricken, who was timed in 4:54.0. Hendricken's David DelBonis was third at 5:01.0. Maio took the girls at 5:39.7. Placing second was East Greenwich's Bryn Shunney (5:44.1) and third was Smithfield's Ana Logan (6:08.6).
Girls Highlights
- Hammer Throw - Gianna Rao (Ponaganset High School) 166-9; Faith Polando (Barrington High School) 162-3; Ani Armenakyan (Toll Gate High School) 160-3; Molly Botts (Cranston East High School) 159-6; Samantha Andrews (Lincoln High School) 154-7; Annika Kelly (Barrington High School) 154-1; Sydney Polando (Barrington High School) 147-1; Voski Armenakyan (Toll Gate High School) 138-9; Katrin Kurowski (Woonsocket High School) 136-3; Chelsea Yang (Pilgrim High School) 131-5; Marissa Henley (Woonsocket High School) 129-2; Melissa Mejia (Classical High School) 127-4; Gabriela Ribeiro (Woonsocket High School) 122-10; Cheyenne Figueroa (Classical High School) 119-10; Maggie Tarmey (Lincoln High School) 119-8; Nicole Valdez (Hope High School) 119-3; Tori Tallo (Lincoln High School) 112-8; Morgan Cruz (West Warwick High School) 110-11; Joangely Mata (Mount Pleasant High School) 110-10; Bridget Damon (Woonsocket High School) 110-0;
Boys Highlights
- Hammer Throw - Jared Briere (Woonsocket High School) 205-2; Dilyn Cote (Woonsocket High School) 192-8; Jacob Greenless (Woonsocket High School) 192-0; Ivan Goretoy (West Warwick High School) 191-6; Jacob Farland (Classical High School) 191-2; Ryan Morel (Bishop Hendricken High School) 186-0; Kevin Fofanah (Classical High School) 184-8; Abraham Salako (Bishop Hendricken High School) 182-9; Evan Grivers (Lincoln High School) 175-10; Jonathan Buchanan (Classical High School) 173-8; Derin Paskanik (Woonsocket High School) 173-0; Jake Dalton (Andover High School) 168-8; Jack Dunn (Barrington High School) 167-9; Nicholas Caulfield (Cumberland) 163-9; Matthew Thibaudeau (Lincoln High School) 160-7; Rondie Almeida (Bishop Hendricken High School) 154-3; Joshua Holzberger (Cumberland) 145-4; Cameron Croce (La Salle Academy) 140-9; Alex Cabral (West Warwick High School) 140-9; Jonathan Lejeune (Pilgrim High School) 140-4; Jide Akinjisola (Bishop Hendricken High School) 140-3;