The Rhode Island Interscholastic League Indoor Track & Field State Championships took place last weekend in Providence and plenty of local athletes shined on the biggest stage.
Headlining Warwick was Toll Gate thrower Vanessa Jones, who took home her first-ever state title after years of knocking on the door, as she won the weight throw with a toss of 59 feet which was her personal best and a school record.
“It felt really good, I haven’t had an official gold where it actually counted, so to get it the way that I got it felt amazing,” said Jones.
Jones had been dealing with nagging injuries which hampered her performance in the practices leading up to the big day. She was not sure if she’d be able to push through the discomfort and had both her shoulder and knee wrapped up on the day of the meet.
“I was injured and had a bad week of practice, so I wasn’t confident going into it. I was in pain, but I knew if nothing else that I could just muscle the ball and get myself into the finals. I was so proud of myself considering I was walking in not expecting much. Walking out with what happened, I was extremely proud,” Jones said.
Jones took fourth place last season and has been competitive across multiple throwing events in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. She also competes in shot put, discus and the hammer throw. The weight throw has become her best event and she recently was elevated to No. 1 in the country.
Although she has become one of the country’s elite athletes, she has only been throwing since her freshman year. Before high school, she never competed or even tried track and field.
“I actually didn’t even know about throwing. My eighth grade social studies teacher told me to go out for the track team, I forgot about it until he emailed me the day of tryouts. I just found it fun. Freshman year I was not competitive because I didn’t know what was going on,” Jones said.
With the upcoming New England Championships and outdoor season approaching, Jones looks to continue to raise her game and finish her high school career strong.
“It gives me a lot of confidence. I think my discus will go up as well as my hammer. It stresses me out being as experienced as I am. I’m put on this pedestal where I have to do good. I need to carry it out, I need to defend it. I can take what I have now and push it, the sky is the limit, I think I can take it to the 70s,” Jones said.
She was also thrilled to represent the Toll Gate track team, which saw Alison Pankowicz take home a state title last season as well.
“I love it. I think our school should get more recognition. Our teams are good but they are not as recognized as they should be,” Jones said.
Also having a big day was Pilgrim’s Keaney Bayha, who won the 3,000 run and took second in both the 600 and 1,500.
Bayha entered the winter season fresh off her individual state championship in cross country which earned her Gatorade Player of the Year honors. She has had several top-5 finishes in both indoor and outdoor track and was able to claim her first gold, beating the second-place finisher by more than 5 seconds.
The University of Rhode Island commit will now turn the page toward the outdoor season as she gears up for the Division I competition next fall. Bayha’s multiple championship wins cement her place as one of the top athletes in Pilgrim’s history and the state’s best distance runner.
Here are some other results from the day:
Bishop Hendricken’s Colby Flynn took second in the 3,000 run while Pilgrim’s Brandon Wolfenden placed second in the shot put.
Fred Russell ran to third place in the 1,500 run for Hendricken. Jeremy Seidi took fourth in the 55 dash for Hendricken.
Flynn also finished fifth in the 1,500 run for the Hawks while BJ Kerachsky placed fifth in the 3,000 run. Teammate Jabari Jackson took sixth in the 55 run. Alexzander Prado placed sixth in the shot put for Hendricken and Dimitri Johnson placed sixth in the weight throw.
Hendricken’s Elijah Guertin took seventh in the 55 hurdles and teammate Okah Wali placed seventh in the high jump.
Flynn also finished eighth in the 1,000 run while teammate Arion Amoruso took eighth in the shot put. Toll Gate’s Kevin Barker placed eighth in the high jump. Hendricken’s Ethan Charnley took eighth in the weight throw.
La Salle Academy won as a team with 124 points, edging second place Barrington who finished with 111.5. Hendricken placed third with 53.