The Rhode Island Outdoor Track and Field State Championships were held this past weekend at Conley Stadium in Providence and many locals made some noise on the big stage.

Johnston’s Lala Olagundoye continued to cement her place as one of the state’s best track athletes by winning the  triple jump. She also finished second in the high jump as well as fifth in the long jump.

Brynn Roche also finished fifth in the high jump for the Panthers while teammate Taylor Powell took eighth in the 200 dash.

The Bishop Hendricken boys team won its 26th title with a first place finish. The Hawks finished with 119 points while second-place La Salle finished with 64.

“We have been fortunate the last two years they have well-rounded teams. We had a couple guys that could throw, our sprinters, our jumpers, our distance runners were all outstanding. It’s rare to have such a strong combination working at once,” said Bishop Hendricken coach Jim Doyle.

Stealing the show for the Hawks was three-sport athlete Brandyn Durand, who won the 200 dash and was part of the 400 relay team’s victory.

“I can’t say enough about him. How dedicated and committed he was to track both during the indoor and the outdoor season. It was a remarkable success. He was an All-Stater in football, was just named Gatorade Player of the Year for baseball and will probably be All-State there, and he’s All-State for track. He is the best athlete the school has had since Rocco Baldelli. He is that significant of an athlete,” Doyle said.

Also coming up big for Hendricken were the distance runners, the throwers and Matt Maroney in the pole vault.
“Our distance runners were fantastic, Evan Reynolds did his job. What I love about Evan is that he is so committed to the team. Him, Evan McGregor, Ryan Dyer, they were significant. They came up big. We had a couple of throwers like John Fay who stepped up. Matt Maroney won the pole vault after competing in wrestling. It was a great story,” said Doyle.

After returning from last year’s lost season due to the pandemic, Doyle was proud of his team and felt that his athletes appreciated the moment more than years past.

“Last year, I felt bad for those seniors. We had a lot of seniors that did not get the opportunity. Then this year with the juniors that are now seniors, it was even worse for them because they had a shortened cross country season, a shortened indoor season, no nationals. These guys were so loose, and their performances reflected that,” said Doyle. “They were just grateful to have the opportunity to compete again. I’m happy for them.”

Here is a look at some of the local results from the day:

BOYS
Bishop Hendricken’s John Fay won the hammer throw while teammate Matt Maroney took first in the pole vault.
Hendricken’s relay team of Joel Felix, Kamalie Pemberton, Brandyn Durand and Jake Kopech finished first in the 400. Durand would also win the 200 dash for the Hawks.

Evan Reynolds placed second in the 1,500 run for the Hawks while Durand placed second in the 100 dash. Ryan Dyer finished second in the 800 meter run. Reynolds also finished second in the 3,000 run.

Hendricken’s Matt Steele finished third in the long jump while teammate Cam Hughes finished third in the shot put. Hendricken’s Amuchin Timbo finished third in the triple jump for the Hawks as well.

Josiah Nhar placed third for Hendricken in the high jump while Evan McGregor took third in the 1,500 run for the Hawks.
Pemberton later took fourth in the 100 dash while McGregor placed fourth in the 800 run. Kopech placed fourth in the 200 dash.

Andres Andujar took fifth in the long jump for the Hawks,
While Cameron Chinn took sixth in the javelin throw and teammate Alex Morin placed sixth in the shot put. Steele finished sixth in the triple jump for the Hawks.

Hendricken’s relay team of Steven Hauser, Josh Breard, Andrew Frezza and Wilson Jablonski took seventh in the 3,200 while Dyer placed seventh in the 1,500 run.

Andujar later went on to finish eighth in the high jump.
Hendricken’s Jude Ibarra finished ninth in the shot put while teammate Levi Wurster took ninth in the triple jump.
Hendricken’s relay team of Dyer, Hauser, Jacob Naiefeh and AJ Monteiro finished ninth in the 1,600.
Pilgrim’s Aidan Viveros took 10th in the shot put
West’s relay team of Kris Degaitas, Makai Teixeira, Alex DelNigro and Michael Conti placed fifth in the 400. Degaitas also finished fifth in the 110 hurdles for the Falcons.

West’s relay team of Shawn Robbins, Peter Morales and Nate Quero took ninth in the 3,200
DelNigro finished 10th for West in the long jump.

GIRLS
Pilgrim’s Dasani Stewart finished second in the triple jump.
Toll Gate’s Samantha Larrivee took fifth in the discus throw while Pilgrim’s Emmanuelle Degos took fifth in the 3,000 run.

Stewart finished sixth in the long jump while teammate Janelle Mixner placed sixth in the javelin.
Hannah Horace placed eighth in the hammer throw for Toll Gate as well as eighth in the shot put.
Emma Corcoran placed ninth in the javelin for Pilgrim.
The Cranston West girls finished sixth while Johnston took ninth place overall.
East’s Samantha Sainristil finished second in the discus for the Thunderbolts. West’s relay team of Mikaya Parente, Lindsey Hobin, Ailani Sutherland and Quiana Pezza took second in the 400.

Parente took third for West in the long jump, while Hobin finished third in the 100 hurdles. West’s Juliana Bucci finished fourth in the discus while Parente took fourth in the 200 dash.

East’s Bethanie Jean-Phillippe took fifth in the javelin while Parente went on to take fifth in the 100 dash.
East’s relay team of Aislinn Baxter, Zoe Catrambone, Madeline Baxter and Stella Loezos finished seventh in the 3,200. Sutherland placed eighth in the 100 dash for West.

Maia Riccio finished 10th in the javelin for the Falcons while Sutherland finished 10th in the 200 dash. East’s relay team of Loezos, Aislinn Baxter, Mikayla Johnson and Isabella Acevedo finished 10th in the 1,600.